RTHK: Several Indian states easing lockdown restrictions

Some of India's states are easing lockdown restrictions as coronavirus infections subside, with the world's second most-populous nation on Saturday logging its lowest daily case count in nearly two months.

The national capital territory of Delhi, the seat of India's federal government, was among those relaxing restrictions and will allow shops to open on alternate days. Shops with even numbers will open on one day while those with odd numbers will open the next day. Private offices will also now be allowed to operate at 50 percent of normal staffing levels.

"The coronavirus situation in Delhi is slowly getting better," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in an online news conference as he announced that the state will build oxygen storage capacity of 420 tonnes.

Hospitals in Delhi had struggled to provide oxygen cylinders and beds to patients as infections surged but that wave began subsiding from the middle of last month.

Kejriwal said the state would in future be prepared to deal with 37,000 new cases a day. Its peak thus far was 28,395 new infections on April 20.

In northern Uttar Pradesh, the country's most populous state, only night curfew restrictions remain for 55 of its 75 districts.

"Districts which have positive cases under 600 have been given permission to open but with restrictions, while cities with over 600 positive cases will be under lockdown till the next order," a local government spokesperson said.

Overall, India saw 120,529 new coronavirus infections emerge over the last 24 hours, while deaths rose by 3,380. The country's total case tally stands at 28.69 million while 344,082 people have died.

In the industrialised western state of Maharashtra, the local government will from June 7 allow malls, movie theatres, restaurants and offices to open regularly in districts where the positivity rate has fallen below 5 percent.

In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, also in the west, all government and private offices will be allowed to operate fully staffed from June 7, instead of the current restriction of 50 percent.

The Gujarat government has also eased restrictions on commercial activities, allowing shops in 36 cities to remain open for longer.

In eastern Odisha state, lockdowns have been eased in three districts thanks to a decline in coronavirus cases while the southern state of Tamil Nadu now allows grocery retailers to open for most of the day and has permitted offices to operate with 30 percent capacity. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Lake Charles, Louisiana (70615)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 95F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low near 75F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Two individuals can be regarded as contrasting illustrations of the good and the bad of human beings. At the top is the exotic Black Venus, Josephine Baker, the American-born French entertainer who won the hearts of Paris and then became a French resistance fighter. At the bottom is Walter Duranty, one of Stalins useful idiots, who was the greatest journalist liar of his generation, the model of journalistic mendacity.

On Bakers birthday, June 3, a petition was signed by thousands of French citizens for her to be buried in the Pantheon in Paris, an honor reserved for the most distinguished French individuals, one that can only be decided by the president of France. In 1961, Baker was awarded by President Charles de Gaulle the Croix de Guerre and named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. She should be inducted not because she was a woman or because she was black, but because of her acts of courage for the country of which she became a citizen. She would add to the only five women in the Pantheon.

Josephine Baker was born in poverty in East St. Louis, Missouri in 1906. At age 13 she married a Pullman porter, and after a quick divorce married, at age 15, a man named Willie Baker. In all, she had four marriages and several relationships with both men and women, including one with novelist Georges Simenon. Her favorite song was Jai deux amours, Mon Pays et Paris, but she had many more than two lovers.

After a brief period in New York shows and in the black musical, Shuffle Along, she left the U.S. in 1925 for France. She became one of the first colored American entertainers in Paris, mainly at the Folies Bergere. She quickly achieved notoriety and celebrity with her risque, erotic, provocative, practically nude, dances, especially the one wearing only a short skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded necklace. For a time, she was the most successful entertainer in France, becoming a wealthy woman and a symbol of the Jazz Age. In 1937 Baker was married to Jean Lion (Levy), a French Jew and an industrialist, and became a French citizen.

At the beginning of World War II, she was recruited by Jacques Abtey, head of military counterintelligence in Paris. No one could believe she was a spy, but she was successful since as an entertainer she was able to travel around Europe, collecting information about German troop sites, airfields, and harbors.

When the Nazis occupied Paris, Baker continued her espionage, in her rented home the Chateau des Milandes where she housed resistors, and, starting in January 1941 in the French colonies in North Africa. She established a spy center in Casablanca, and among other activities used her connections to get passports for Jews fleeing the Nazis.

After the war, she toured the U.S and became involved in the civil rights movement. She was given life membership in NAACP by Ralph Bunche. She took part in the August 28, 1963, March on Washington, alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. Wearing her French wartime uniform, Baker was the only black woman speaker at the gathering. She was pungent, I have walked into the places of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents, but I could not walk into a hotel in America and get a cup of coffee and that made me mad.

After Kings assassination, Coretta Scott King asked Baker to replace her husband as the leader of the civil rights movement, but Josephine declined.

In her lifestyle Baker implanted her principles, creating a multiracial and multinational rainbow tribe. She adopted 12 children of various ethnicities and religions, one a Jewish child, for whom she hired a rabbi. President Emmanuel Macron should honor her.

In contrast, Duranty doubled ill deeds with evil words. As New York Times correspondent in Moscow, he played a major role by his articles denying famine and starvation in the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and other areas caused by Stalins policy of agricultural collectivization and grain seizures. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the 13 articles he wrote.

The Pulitzer Prize Board is now considering a petition launched by the U.S. Committee on Ukraine Holodomor Genocide Awareness to rescind the award because of his false reporting on events that killed an estimated 4-5 million.

Duranty, born of a middle-class family in Liverpool, England, was Cambridge-educated, wrote poems and regularly took opium in his youth, and dabbled in magic rituals in Paris, before becoming a journalist. He was a correspondent in World War I and during his experience felt a measure of indifference to blood, squalor, fear, and pity.

He moved to Riga, Latvia, and then to the Soviet Union after the Bolshevik victory in the Russian civil war. He had a French wife in the Riviera and a Russian mistress in Moscow. He became one of the best-known reporters in the world.

In the Soviet Union, he said he learned to respect the Soviet leaders, especially Stalin, whom I consider to have grown into a really great statesman, and with whom he had an exclusive interview in 1929 He praised Stalin as an authentically Russian dictator, though Stalin was Georgian, with some Ossetian ancestry.

Duranty was a skilled writer, adept at innuendos, euphemism, understatement. Famine became food shortage, and the country was experiencing widespread mortality from disease due to malnutrition. He dishonestly attacked the gifted Welsh reporter, Gareth Jones for his accurate reports on the famine, calling them a big scare story. Jones was the first to report, without any equivocation, the existence of the widespread Soviet famine in 1932-1933: everywhere was the cry, there is no bread, we are starving. Jones was murdered, probably by the Soviet NKVD, in Mongolia in 1935.

The basic issue is Durantys minimizing and denial of reports of famine. He reported that conditions were bad, but there was no famine or actual starvation nor was there likely to be any. Any report of a famine in the Soviet Union was an exaggeration or malignant propaganda, Duranty coined the aphorism, you cannot n make an omelet without breaking eggs.

He refused to acknowledge that Holodomor, killing by starvation, resulted from the collectivization policies of Stalin, which involved getting rid of the so-called kulaks, the relatively prosperous peasants who owned their own farms. They had to be liquidated or reduced to members of the proletarian class.

The New York Times became aware of Durantys deception. Karl Meyer, of its editorial board, wrote in June 1990 that Durantys articles were some of the worst reporting to appear in his newspaper. The resulting non-action is shameful. In 1990, the Pulitzer Board decided not to rescind its award. Again, in 2003, after an investigation found Durantys reports to be unbalanced and uncritical, the Pulitzer award was challenged. The Board determined that by todays standards for foreign reporting Durantys work falls seriously short, but there was no clear and convincing evidence of deliberate deception, the relevant standard in this case. It argued that evoking a prize years after it was awarded under different circumstances when all principals are dead and unable to respond, would be a momentous step, and therefore took no action. It is time for the Pulitzer Board to straighten up and fly right.

Image: Public Domain/Hemeroteca Digital

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As the media begin to allow the truth to come out about the origins of the China-made, Fauci-approved COVID-19 virus, it has become clear that our government and our media lied about it early on. The media fear porn was so excessive that it was obvious that something evil was afoot. Government and doctors alike told everyone to stay home and isolate themselves for months on end, leading to untold depression, suicides, and other health problems. The near-uniform condemning of early treatment options for COVID-19 with HCQ protocol or ivermectin was strange. Never before had doctors refused to see patients with confirmed illnesses  and they even refused to provide any medical help except to say to go to the emergency room should difficulty breathing arise...which at that point was too late for many. How many lives were destroyed by not only the government but our own medical community by denying early treatment options? How many lives have been negatively impacted by the experimental "vaccines" being forced upon the population because the so-called experts claimed there were no other options?

I live in Texas and may have had COVID-19 back in 2020. At the time, I developed severe headaches, extreme lower back pain where the kidneys are located, and the complete loss of taste and smell. My family practitioner said to get tested. When I asked what good that would do, she said nothing. I asked for HCQ and was denied and told to go to the emergency room if breathing became difficult. Thankfully, I recovered after several weeks of symptoms.

My 89-year-old parents weren't so lucky. While COVID-19 didn't kill them directly, I believe that it did so indirectly. They lived in Washington State in their own home. As soon as the China flu was confirmed in their state, my parents obeyed the CDC "guidelines" and went into isolation. They put off needed doctor appointments. My sister would buy all their groceries and deliver them. Month after month went by, and my elderly parents became prisoners in their own home, alone and desperate for relief from their confinement. Furthermore, the forced isolation didn't help my mom's Alzheimer's.

My father hid the fact that my mother's situation was getting worse. I believe he did so in order to prevent Mom from being put in a nursing home, knowing she wouldn't survive there. Despite my father also having severe health issues, he took it upon himself to be the sole care provider to Mom. Right or wrong, he sacrificed himself for her. How he did it, I do not know, except to say his love for her gave him the strength. Despite my warnings against the so-called mRNA vaccines, he and Mom both got the Moderna shot as soon as possible. Shortly thereafter, both got sick from it. Dad never recovered.

A year into their lockdown, I received a call that Dad had collapsed and had been taken by ambulance to the hospital. While I can't prove it, I believe that Dad's compromised heart and kidneys were impacted negatively by the vaccine and that it caused him to go into cardiac arrest and kidney failure. Naysayers claim he was dying anyway. My response to them is that the vaccine hastened that death. And it was an ugly death. Dad was aware of what was happening during that time before death.

By the grace of God, my sister and brother were allowed to be with my dad as he died. I was able to say my goodbyes over the hospital phone. I could hear my father straining to breathe as he tried to respond to me. Not wanting him to struggle trying to talk, I kept my conversation short and read a few lines of the Bible to him and told him I loved him. He died that night.

My mom didn't fare well, either. With Dad gone, we entered the home to care for Mom. Due to the Alzheimer's, she had fits of anger and was no longer the person I knew. During her lucid moments, we explained to her that Dad had died, and she would whimper. She started to deteriorate even faster. She could no longer do basic things. The level of care she needed was beyond my family's capabilities. My brother was successful in getting Mom put in an Alzheimer's unit. However, because of COVID, we were refused access to Mom to comfort her and encourage her. Phone calls to her were discouraged. Mom died several days after her admittance  just five weeks after my father died. The doctor at the facility said he had never seen an Alzheimer's patient decline so fast, and he believed she was having multiple mini-strokes. Although I can't prove it, I believe that those strokes were brought on by the COVID vaccine.

Despite family members begging to be let into the facility to be with Mom as she died, we were denied entry due to COVID risks. Mom had to die with just a nurse at her side. However, we were "allowed" to video-conference with her to "watch" her die. In just a few days, she had wasted away to skin and bones and was barely breathing. During my final goodbyes, I was acutely aware that a stranger was in the room, able to listen in on one of the most intimate and painful moments of my life. I could not hold my mom's hand. I could not kiss her cheek. I could not be with the woman who brought me into this world when she needed me...I could not adequately say goodbye this way...but I was forced to.

Our government, the health care industry, the fear-mongering press, and the vaccine-makers all contributed to my parents' deaths, and no one can change my mind about that. Even worse, they denied my parents something we all desire: dignified deaths surrounded by loving family and friends.

No one should be forced to die this way...particularly for political power. It is an abomination that should not stand. I am begging my fellow citizens to please stand with me and demand to have those in positions of government authority who created this situation held accountable. Do whatever it takes within legal bounds.

I realize that given the level of corruption in this country, my dream of holding those people's feet to the fire will be difficult. But with your help, perhaps someday justice will be served. Until then, I know that God is a righteous God, and He will hold these liars, these thieves, these fear-mongering and power-driven whores to account. So for now, while they enjoy their prestige, power, and money, remember that their days in the sun are short...for God will not be mocked.

Image via Pixy.

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U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Mr. Chuck Schumer, portrays himself as an unrelenting warrior for democracy and the champion of the oppressed. But in his narrow perspective, in which maintaining his and his partys political power appears as an overriding value that trumps all other values, he does not seem to realize that he confuses things that the majority of the American people do not.

Would someone, please, explain to him that cheating on behalf of the oppressed has virtually nothing to do with democracy and that a lack of ability or will to succeed in a merit-based society does not automatically make one an oppressed person? Because as long as he and some other Democrats share this confusion, the adjective Democratic is going to mean cheating on behalf of all those who are unable or unwilling to succeed on their own. And that would make the entire Democratic Party an existential threat to our Republic and to the freedom and well-being of the majority of the American people.

Schumer also showed confusion about Senate Bill S.1, disingenuously titled For the People Act, which attempts to perpetuate what the self-styled Democratic Party and its operatives have been doing for many decades now: Facilitating election fraud that benefits the party and its vigorous power grabs. The bill, among other things, will build upon the democratic experiences of the 2020 elections in which a lack of adequate voter identification, breaks in the chain of custody for mail-in votes, and wide-spread cheating during vote counting and tabulation led to Democrats achieving narrow victories of highly questionable legitimacy.

Schumers confusion does not end with misinterpreting democracy and oppression. He also seems to confuse Western ethics with the rule that (sometimes) the end justifies the means. That explains why he sees nothing fundamentally wrong with cheating on behalf of whomever he considers oppressed. It also explains why he and many of his Democratic allies do not hesitate to sacrifice election integrity (and some other cornerstones of our Republic) on the altar of their Democratic power grab.

When you scrutinize it, the excuse that the end justifies the means, even if only sometimes, emerges as a serious threat to the rule of law (as opposed to the rule of men) that is central to the American Republic and the Constitution that defines it. As much as it is often presented as an expedient way of fixing broken political and legal systems, it is a cure that is notorious for being worse than the disease that it purports to fight. What the end/means approach does is desensitize the powerful to the injustices they inflict upon the powerless in the name of a higher good, whatever that ubiquitous term may mean. It is a quintessence of corruption and it justifies virtually any wrongdoing, as long as it is done for an allegedly good purpose.

The Soviet Union serves as an instructive example of what may and likely will go wrong under the end justifies the means rule. The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution promised to stop employers from exploiting workers and to secure comfortable lives for those workers. Instead, it produced the Evil Empire, economically insolvent and corrupt to the core, in which tens of millions of innocent people were killed or driven to death. Additionally, more than a hundred million lived in conditions considered miserable when judged by American standards.

Clearly, the Bolsheviks and their successors did not deliver on their promises. Its easy to see that their commitment to an end justifies the means philosophy, with communism as the justifiable end, was the root cause of the reign of evil that their good intentions unleashed. Indeed, the very definition of a socialist revolutionary is an individual who gave himself the mandate to break all the rules in order to dispense social justice, an approach that presupposes the overriding validity of the end justifies the means rule.

The Soviets (by which term I mean the members of the Soviet Unions ruling party) were notorious for adhering to the end justifies the means rule. They began by confiscating property from some individuals, based on the assumption that these individuals deserved to lose it, and redistributed the property among others without bothering to determine if they deserved to receive it. They replaced the presumption of innocence (a legal doctrine) with the infamous Better that ten innocent people should suffer than one spy get away. When you chop wood, chips fly.

They relentlessly persecuted their critics and adversaries, millions of whom ended up in Gulags where all prisoners were forced to perform hard labor in harsh conditions that, in comparison, would make an American cotton farm look like a vacation resort. And -- surprise, surprise -- the Soviets instituted the rigged election system that made it impossible for their people to vote the Soviets out of their positions of perpetual power. After all, they were the party that could do no wrong, or so they insinuated.

The Soviets did not think that the end justifies the means rule was universal, though. They gave themselves the discretion to decide when it applied and when it didnt. For instance, they never granted it to their opponents, who were also required to adhere meticulously to strict rules regardless of the ends that they might have served. The same is true for Schumer and his Democratic fellow Congressmen. When hordes of rioters vandalized, burned down, and looted under the pretext of protesting a criminal suspects death while in police custody last year, Schumer and his many congressional colleagues kneeled for several minutes in solidarity with the protesters.

Democrats kneel in Congress. YouTube screengrab.

At that time, the means (vandalizing, burning things, and looting) justified the end (expressing utmost disapproval about how police handled the suspect) according to Schumer and other congressional Democrats. But on January 6, 2021, when thousands of Americans engaged in a mostly peaceful protest against 2020 elections fraud and breach of public trust that, arguably, delivered control of the Senate and the White House to the Democratic party, Schumer and his colleagues did not think that the end (protesting the election fraud and the unwillingness of the courts and the Department of Justice to investigate it) justified the means (minor property damage and alleged trespassing into the Capitol building). They declared the protest an insurrection that threatened democracy  a democracy that, as noted earlier, Mr. Schumer confused with the widespread election fraud that benefited the Democratic Party.

Any individual who lives by that rule, even if sometimes only, or suffers from a Schumers confusion, is unfit to govern, and is a perpetual threat to the People and the Republic. Such a threat is particularly grave when the end is equity (the equality of outcomes), also known as social leveling (ooravnilovka in Russian). The history of the Soviet Union and the atrocities that were committed there in the name of the greater good should be enough warning against following that dangerous path in America.

Mark Andrew Dwyers recent columns are posted at The Federal Observer and Canada Free Press. His other commentaries can be found here.

IMAGE: Chuck Schumer by DonkeyHotey. CC BY 2.0.

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The sudden collapse of the COVID-19 animal-to-human transmission theory is just one of many false narratives foisted upon We the People by our legacy Corporate Media with the aid of others in a cabal as reported by Scott McKay in The American Spectator:

. . . the Narrative Wall has come down in a manner metaphorically quite similar to what happened to the civil infrastructure in Jericho, we can see just how devoid of merit is the American mainstream media. For an entire year these people, aided by the totalitarians who run the Big Tech social media sites, . . . have done everything they could to squelch any notion that COVID-19 is the product of irresponsible, if not downright evil, virology research gone wrong in Wuhan, China.

This information is not new. This information was readily available since early last year when the pandemic hit. Many others wrote about the fallacies of the natural theory narrative pushed by the media. These people were derided and marginalized for having heretical thoughts. Big Tech aided by deplatforming, silencing, and suppressing these questioning reports of this narrative as conspiracy theories, false, partially false, lacking context, and other trite phrases as not conforming with the Orwellian World of Newspeak.

What broke the ice was distinguished science reporter Nicholas Wades, Origin of COVID - Following the Clues, which first was published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Wade tediously waded through the current evidence for the animal-to-human transmission theory vs. a lab leak from the Wuhan Lab in China. See Marilyn Wrights review of Wades article at the American Thinker:

[Wades] Origin of COVID article is a clear-eyed analysis of what we do and dont know. He tells us the details that lead a reasonable reader to conclude that the Wuhan Virology Institute created the COVID19 virus and through sloppy techniques released the virus. The disease spread rapidly, killing millions and attacking elderly populations in particular.

Wades article is the metaphorical straw that broke the camels back. He exposed the lies that were told to the American people by our elected representatives, the administrative deep state, the media, big pharma, and big tech that united together to tell the big lie for many self-interested reasons and in many cases were criminal. This behavior is typical of organized crime or a criminal enterprise as defined in the federal RICO Act. Organized crime cant exist without corrupt law enforcement. Why? See my previous article at the American Thinker.

Since Wades article was published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists last month, a tsunami drowned the lies of our media and those who aided and abetted in propagating these lies. No longer can this cabal maintain control of the narrative. Dr. Faucis almost deity-like shroud was torn asunder. Its been my professional experience that crooks cant keep their stories or lies straight. What caught my attention was Dr. Faucis duplicity on whether masks should be worn or not. Common sense says face masks provide little if any protection from COVID-19 because of the size of the virus particles. Even Dr. Fauci's emails exposed he didnt believe mask-wearing would do any good.

Dr. Fauci was playing with fire in his dogged pursuit and support of  gain of function (GOF) virus research. Is the risk of the creation of potential pandemic pathogens (PPO) and accidental release into the wild worth the benefit rather than safer alternatives? This does not address the dual-purpose issue of GOF for bioweapons by malevolent actors. GOF is a two-edged sword, one good the other bad. Dr. Fauci was played as a fool by the Communist Chinese Party (CCP) in thinking this research was for the good of mankind. When in fact the CCP was most likely doing bioweapon research under the guise of civilian white coats. See this piece in Legal Insurrection re the Chinese unique fingerprints,  . . . Chinese scientists reverse-engineered versions of the virus to cover up their tracks after the pandemic began.

As Wright said:

Wades article does not mention it, these monsters in the laboratory can be used as bioweapons. Its a legacy technique of biowarfare, wearing a prevention trench coat.

Glenn Greenwald just wrote this intriguing article, The FBI's Strange Anthrax Investigation Sheds Light on COVID Lab-Leak Theory and Fauci's Emails. Coincidently, Wright at the time wrote this piece, The War Within: The Anthrax Vaccine Story. Has anything changed?

Just breaking is this report by RedState with this analysis by PJ Media, REPORT: High-Ranking Chinese Defector Working With DIA Has 'Direct Knowledge' of China's Bioweapons Programand It's Very Bad. This statement is quite chilling:

Wray [FBI Director] was ambushed with the information, according to Van Laars sources, as was the CIA. Sources say DIA leadership kept the defector within their Clandestine Services network to prevent Langley and the State Department from accessing the person, whose existence was kept from other agencies because DIA leadership believes there are Chinese spies or sources inside the FBI, CIA, and several other federal agencies, according to the report.

Sounds like the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was keeping this information very close to its vest before releasing it at the last minute. I wouldnt trust the FBI and the CIA senior staff with anything.

As law professor Glenn Reynold, AKA Instapundit, wrote, introducing this article:

ARROGANT, INCOMPETENT, AND POLITICIZED EVEN WHEN NOT ACTUALLY CORRUPT: THATS THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO RUN OUR INSTITUTIONS NOW. . .

#FauciEmails Reveal A Career Bureaucrat Who Followed Political, Not Medical, Science [Legal Insurrection] While the propagandist media is busy fawning over Fauci as some sort of superhuman godlet who was single-handedly battling WuFlu in some kind of one-man cage match against President Trump and the Wuhan coronavirus, these emails reveal a startling truth. They tell the story not just of Faucis blatant, politically-motivated lies to the public but also the great lengths the legacy media and Big Tech went to shut down any discussion of the viruss origins or mask use efficacy. It was not about stopping the spread of misinformation but was a calculated political ploy to shut down the truth. But we knew that. And now we have proof.

What were the public policy ramifications of the governmental actions and responses to COVID-19 based on this false narrative?

Many states' current actions are driven by fear of the unknown, not based on objective scientific research. Further, the COVID-19 emergency was weaponized for political agendas . . . The US economy tanked. The airline and tourist-related industries were severely affected, as was the manufacturing sector. Restaurants, bars, and small businesses were closed, and many have since gone under. Schools were closed. We have loosed the Karens on the population who do not conform, arrested people (here and here) for noncompliance with governmental fiats. . . . Nanny state mandated intervention has many unintended consequences that result in the cure being worse than the viruss impact on society.

Funny how the truth will out! The wrath of We the People that have been lied to and whose civil rights were violated by the whim of politicians for political gain by these false narratives will crush Big Tech, the Media, Deep State, and our elected that are complicit and or corrupt. I predict other false narratives will be exposed.

The Emperor is now exposed as wearing no clothes. This dam is about to break. This whole damned house of cards will fall. In the words of the great blogger, Instapundit, "FASTER PLEASE!"

Caricature by Donkey Hotey CC BY 2.0 license

Ron Wright is a retired detective from Riverside P.D., CA. B.A. in political science CSUF, M. Adm. University of Cal, Riverside.

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A lot of people have been wondering why, suddenly, the leftist establishment is embracing the idea that COVID came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which is tied to the Chinese military) after denying the possibility for so long. The answer may lie in the fact that the Defense Intelligence Agency has for months been debriefing a high-level Chinese Communist Party defector  but withheld the information from other agencies until recently because of fears that those agencies are compromised. In other words, it's a twofer: China did create and release the virus, and our federal government cannot be trusted.

The information comes from Jennifer Van Laar, who broke the exclusive story at RedState on Friday afternoon:

A person believed to be among the highest-ranking defectors ever to the United States from the People's Republic of China has been working with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for months, sources inside the intelligence community have told RedState on condition of anonymity. The defector has direct knowledge of special weapons programs in China, including bioweapons programs, those sources say.

By now, we have enough information regarding COVID's origins that the point about China's "bioweapons programs" merely confirms our suspicions, rather than telling us something of which we were completely unaware. So, while it's nice to be validated, that's not the stunning information. Indeed, Adam Housley, a journalist, has much the same information:

Again...what I reported tonight. US intelligence has a Chinese defector with Wuhan info. AND China is trying to produce variants that suggest it came from bats to cover up that coronavirus originally came from a lab  Adam Housley (@adamhousley) June 4, 2021

The really shocking information is why we're suddenly hearing about all of this now. According to Van Laar's informants, who asked that their identities be kept secret, the DIA has had the information for months but refused to hand it over to other agencies, including the FBI and the CIA, which they believe are compromised by the Chinese:

Sources say DIA leadership kept the defector within their Clandestine Services network to prevent Langley and the State Department from accessing the person, whose existence was kept from other agencies because DIA leadership believes there are Chinese spies or sources inside the FBI, CIA, and several other federal agencies.

Read that paragraph again: the DIA refused to talk to other agencies in the federal government because it "believes there are Chinese spies or sources inside the FBI, CIA, and several other federal agencies."

Van Laar also reported that sources say the DIA is convinced that the defector's information about the Chinese bioweapons (and other weapons) program is legitimate, which is why it finally had to release the news  leading to the crisis of confidence in Fauci.

If I had to guess, I'd say it's very unlikely that those "spies or sources" inside the federal agencies are people from China or people of Chinese descent. Instead, and again I'm guessing, they're probably college graduates who were taught that America is an evil country, or they're Marxists who see China as the way to advance Marxism in America, or they are such fanatic NeverTrumps that they were willing to compromise America's national security to destroy Trump's chances of reelection.

When the next true patriot comes to the White House, whether it's Trump, DeSantis, or someone else, that president needs to recognize that the federal bureaucracy must be cleaned out with the thoroughness and ferocity that Hercules brought to cleaning the filth in the Augean Stables. The real clean-up starts with the Biden crime family, which, we hope, will be brought to justice at the earliest possible opportunity.

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Those of us who thought NeverTrumps were actually conservatives who just disliked Trump's flamboyance kept reminding them that one of the most consequential things a president can do is put on the federal bench judges who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law. That these arguments were right on the money was shown late Friday afternoon, when U.S. District Court judge Roger Benitez, a Cuban-born George W. Bush appointee, ruled that California's 32-year-old ban on so-called "assault weapons" violated the Second Amendment.

A press release from the Firearms Policy Coalition, which challenged California's "assault weapon" ban, explains the ruling:

Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced that Judge Roger T. Benitez of the Southern District of California has issued an opinion in Miller v. Bonta (previously Miller v. Becerra), holding that California's tyrannical ban on so-called "assault weapons" is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The opinion, along with other filings in this case, can be viewed at AssaultWeaponLawsuit.com. In 2019, FPC developed and filed Miller v. Becerra, a federal Second Amendment challenge to California's Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA) ban on common semiautomatic arms with certain characteristics, including those with ammunition magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. Throughout the lawsuit, FPC argued that the State's ban prohibits arms that are constitutionally protected, no more lethal than other certain arms that are not banned, and commonly possessed and used for lawful purposes in the vast majority of the United States. In the opinion, the Court ruled that many categories of firearms California bans as so-called "assault weapons" are protected by the Second Amendment, and that "[t]he Second Amendment stands as a shield from government imposition of that policy." It went on to order an injunction against "Defendant Attorney General Rob Bonta, and his officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with him, and those duly sworn state peace officers and federal law enforcement officers who gain knowledge of this injunction order or know of the existence of this injunction order," preventing them "from implementing or enforcing" [multiple sections of the California penal code].

This isn't Judge Benitez's first Second Amendment rodeo. In 2019, Judge Benitez held that "California's law prohibiting acquisition and possession of magazines able to hold any more than 10 rounds places a severe restriction on the core right of self-defense of the home such that it amounts to a destruction of the right and is unconstitutional under any level of scrutiny." And in April of this year, Judge Benitez struck down a California law requiring people to get a background check to buy ammo, holding that this law, too, violated the Second Amendment:

Benitez argued that background checks hurt legal ammunition buyers while doing very little to prevent criminals from getting their hands on ammo. He noted that the law blocked legitimate ammo sales to law-abiding citizens about 16% of the time. "Criminals, tyrants, and terrorists don't do background checks," the judge said. "The background check experiment defies common sense while unduly and severely burdening the Second Amendment rights of every responsible, gun-owning citizen desiring to lawfully buy ammunition."

It's very likely that Judge Benitez, having been born in Havana, Cuba, either remembers the revolution or heard about it from his parents. Either way, he understands that the only bulwark citizens have against a tyrannical government  or any of the other dangers arrayed against them  is the right to bear arms. And again, the fact that Benitez was appointed by George W. Bush is a reminder of why the NeverTrumps were so very wrong.

Image: AR-15. Public Domain.
Now that Dr. Anthony Fauci is feeling the heat for funding gain-of-function research at Wuhan Institute of Virology and covering it up, it's time to scrutinize his wife. Christine Grady, MSN, Ph.D., is Fauci's colleague at the National Institute of Health, where she serves as chief of bioethics and head of human subjects research at the NIH Clinical Center. According to the Center's website, Grady's contributions are "primarily in the ethics of clinical research, including informed consent, vulnerability, study design, recruitment, and international research ethics, as well as ethical issues faced by nurses and other health care providers."

In a gushing portrait, Vogue portrayed Fauci and Grady as "a medical power couple leading the fight against the virus." But taxpayers might not be so effusive about Mr. and Mrs. Fauci's "international research ethics," and "study design," now that America's economy and liberties have been destroyed by the Chinese virus they funded.

Why was Grady ever placed in a position at the NIH, where she was the final arbiter of the ethics of her husband's experiments? If Fauci wanted to study gain-of-function research on lethal viruses, did he just need to roll over in bed and say, "Honey, is this OK?" to obtain "ethical" permission?

And has anybody ever given Americans an accounting of the money that the Faucis were incentivized to make from their decisions? In 2005, a British medical journal reported that Fauci and other NIH researchers were receiving royalties on their pharmaceutical discoveries for AIDS/HIV. "Dr. Anthony Fauci told the BMJ that as a government employee he was required by law to put his name on the patent for the development of interleukin 2 and was also required by law to receive part of the payment the government received for use of the patent. He said that he felt it was inappropriate to receive payment and donated the entire amount to charity." Did he? Did anybody check? Which charity? It's worth noting that Grady also was involved in the governmental response to AIDS, serving on President Reagan's commission.

Now that we're in the COVID apocalypse, are Fauci and his wife in line to receive millions from vaccines they approved? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., founder of Children's Health Defense, has soldiered on through constant online censorship to probe the safety record of vaccines for children. Kennedy had some choice words for Fauci in a recent interview, calling him an "absolute dictator" who turned the NIH "into an incubator for pharmaceutical products[.] ... [A]ll he does is develop new drugs and get us addicted to them. Now, under his watch, we take more drugs than anybody in the world, we paid the highest prices for them, and we have the worst health outcomes, and that is all Tony Fauci."

Kennedy also asserted that Fauci personally owns a piece of the Moderna vaccine, along with his researchers. "The Moderna vaccine  his agency owns half, but six of the top guys who work for him own pieces of that patent, so they will each get $150,000 a year for life for every patent that they own." Is this information accurate? Can somebody please ask Fauci the next time he's hauled in front of the Senate?

Fauci's and Grady's collaboration in America's destruction is a story that needs to be told. To illustrate it, here's the perfect photo:

Nothing screams Im a fraud! more than being against masks until your fans demanded them, lying about why you were originally against them, signaling your virtue by needlessly wearing 1 while throwing out 1st pitch (poorly & like a fame whore) & then doing THIS! #FauciTheFraud pic.twitter.com/s9M1y4GYLd  John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) July 24, 2020

Fauci with a pulled down mask and his wife, enjoying themselves as their "scientific" directives lock down the country, isolate and imprison people with social distancing and masks, and destroy the economy. It's time for Mr. and Mrs. Fauci to come clean.

Photo credit: Twitter screen grab (cropped).

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The nation is watching as states begin to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in schools. The pressure was on Texas lawmakers to join quickly with other red states in passing its own. Though Republicans are crowing about their accomplishment, the bill sent to Governor Greg Abbott for his signature is worse than having none at all. A comparison of the original House Bill 3979 with the final version clearly shows that the 1619 Project effectively will be implemented and America portrayed as a systemically racist nation.

Once again, Republicans have been outflanked by Democrats.

The original bill proposed a civics class to teach students about our nation's founding and self-governance. Teachers were prevented from the use of the highly controversial Critical Race Theory. Because public school students are increasingly unable to answer even simple questions about the fundamental moral, political and intellectual foundations of our self-government, the civics course would use our nation's foundational documents, including the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, one of the most influential books of the 19th century.

The bill bans schools from accepting private funding for the development of a curriculum, purchasing curriculum materials, and providing teacher training and professional development. This is to prevent private funding of "action civics" programs akin to that in Illinois, where schools accept funding from the far-left Robert R. McCormick Foundation to create their curricular materials for an action civics course and teaching training seminars.

The Democrat sabotage of H.B. 3979 began with an amendment to delete the Tocqueville book excerpts and to add the "history of Native Americans" as "essential knowledge and skills that develop each student's civic knowledge."

Even though the main elements of Critical Race Theory are banned, a string of Democrat amendments effectively overrides this. Sounding eerily like the 1619 Project, the revised bill requires teaching "the history of white supremacy" and about the institution of slavery. It is doubtful that students will learn the truth about the history of slavery or that there are currently 40 million slaves worldwide  three times more than the total number in the 400-year history of the transatlantic African slave trade. Because Christianity is rejected as "the white man's religion that justified slavery," will students learn that it was 17th-century Christians who attacked slavery's immorality? Will they learn that one of the first slave-owners in Virginia was a freed black?

Studying the civic accomplishments of the "oppressed"  referred to as "marginalized populations"  will undoubtedly provide an opportunity to push the racism theme with the Chicano movement, women's suffrage and equal rights, the civil rights movement, the Snyder Act of 1924 (gave Native Americans full citizenship), and the American labor movement.

Students will be immersed in the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights and the work of socialist Cesar Chavez, whose bust now graces Biden's Oval Office. More Marxist radicalism will be foisted on these government school captives with the history of LULAC (League of Latin American Citizens), a leftist political group that supports open borders.

The Emancipation Proclamation has been thrown in as a civil rights document. Billed as the end to slavery, students will not likely learn that it freed only those slaves in the seceded states but not in other Southern or in Northern states. Students also will not likely learn that this executive order was a political tactic, using slavery to sway public opinion about the cause of the war and to discredit the seceded Southern states. Will students learn the truth about the economic tyranny of the South by the federal government or that secession was not unconstitutional?

With the study of "white supremacy," revisionist history of the Civil War era, and a string of "oppressed" groups, we can expect the classroom to be an ideological platform to create further racial hatred and division.

The final bill adds this ban:

(h-5) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may not implement, interpret,or enforce any rules or student code of conduct in a manner that would result in the punishment of a student for discussing, or have a chilling effect on student discussion of, the concepts described by Subsection (h-3)(4).

Since that particular subsection is a list of the Critical Race Theory elements that are banned, will students be encouraged to initiate and conduct discussions since teachers and schools cannot?

With both the Texas House and Senate being Republican-led, voters expected them to stand their ground on this bill. Because they did not, students will have even greater exposure to neo-Marxist indoctrination  soon to be legal under Texas law.

Despite the ban, we can be certain that some Texas schools will teach Critical Race Theory. What will be the state's recourse since the bill has no mechanism for enforcement?

This deception is a stark reminder of another major education bill in Texas history. Even though the Texas Republican lawmakers gloated about how they had passed a law to forbid the adoption of Common Core Standards, some of the math processes are in Texas state curriculum standards, and Common Core lessons are not uncommon in classrooms  disguised by a different name. There is no mechanism for enforcement of the Common Core ban in Texas.

As the public begins to understand the "Great Deception" of H.B. 3979, there is certain to be an even greater backlash by voters. In the end, it will be up to parents to stop Critical Race Theory in their schools.

Carole Hornsby Haynes, Ph.D. is a national education policy analyst and curriculum specialist, historian, business owner, and classical pianist. www.drcarolehhaynes.com chaynes@drcarolehhaynes.com.

Image: JMacPherson via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

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In 19811982, for my junior year abroad, I attended Leeds University in Leeds, a city in Yorkshire, up in the north of England. At the time, being there was tremendously satisfying because, while southern England was then a very international (and tourist-ridden) region, Leeds was still extremely British, as was the surrounding countryside. By 2004, though, while in Florida, I met a woman from Leeds who told me that large parts of Yorkshire had come under Muslim control. A new book reveals that, in the ensuing 17 years, it's only become worse.

Ed Husain, a former Muslim radical who is now a professor at Georgetown University, traveled across England to find out just how much Islamification has occurred in the country that provided the template for American liberties. What Husain found is disheartening, especially in the north of England, where Islam took root while London ignored it.

Bradford, for example, is a former industrial hub about 25 minutes east of Leeds. It was a quintessentially English manufacturing city during the Industrial Revolution. Now, though, as Husain described to the Daily Mail, it's becoming a hard-line Islamic city:

In nearby Bradford, Ed was amazed by the lack of white English people in the city, and asked a Muslim taxi driver 'where they are'. He was told they had all 'gone with the wind.' According to the author, there were mosques 'on almost every corner', with Ed writing: 'Then there are houses that also serve as mosques and madrasas , banners affixed to their facades.' [snip] After visiting an Islamic bookstore he discovered works glorifying violent jihad by Sayyid Qutb, the Egyptian godfather of Islamist terror and an acknowledged influence on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. He spoke to the director of a local theatre company dedicated to helping disabled children and those with special educational needs, Louise Denham, about how the communities could come together. But she was pessimistic, and warned that Bradford could become 'an apartheid city' within 30 years. She predicted: 'There'll be more pushback against diversity. We'll have parties like Nazi Germany organising against the immigrant and Muslim populations.' Ed concluded that while the community was physically in Britain, they are mentally living elsewhere.

And so it goes, according to Husain, in one formerly very British community after another. Just as the French have ceded the banlieues around Paris to Muslims who fail to assimilate, and Sweden is struggling with the unassimilated Muslim community in Malmo, England has allowed large swaths of the country to become entirely Islamic.

England is a country that could once boast that it was last invaded in 1066. After that, it repulsed the Spanish in 1588, Napoleon in the early 19th century, and Hitler during WWII. Beginning in the 1990s, though, it willingly invited in a community that will soon overtake it in demographics and in fanatic vigor. Ironically, the only other faith group that has some life in it in England is Catholicism, thanks to the central European immigrants who also came in the 1990s. Henry VIII and Cromwell are rolling in their graves, but Mary Tudor is doing fist pumps in Heaven.

This story matters to me because it saddens me to see the country that was the cradle of American liberties (the Founders got their ideas from England, although they created a better system via the Constitution), and that had a rich and beautiful culture, slowly turn into a Pakistani backwater. It also saddens me because my British friends are frightened. Their communities are dangerous, and they are targets.

This should also frighten you because we are following in England's wake. Biden's illegal and unconstitutional actions to erase the southern border and flood America, not just with illegal aliens from Latin America, but from a variety of countries, many of them Muslim, when combined with the Democrat party's aggressive efforts to create racial schisms in America, means we are also starting down the path to becoming a third-world apartheid country rather than a tolerant, pluralist, constitutional nation.

Image: Bradford Muslims holding a vigil for Qasem Soleimani. YouTube screen grab.

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Yesterday, Katie Herzog, writing at Bari Weiss's Substack site, provided a disturbing close-up look at the Critical Race Theory infecting America's medical establishment. Today, Herzog is back with another disturbing story about the anti-White racism permeating American medicine. She focuses on Aruna Khilanani, M.D., a New Yorkbased psychiatrist, who was invited to Yale School of Medicine's Child Study Center to talk about "The Psychopathic Problem of the White Mind." Herzog's interview with Khilanani reveals fanatical anti-White racism  which is what Yale sought out.

Khilanani is a pure product of decades of Marxism and Critical Race Theory. You can see it in the Masters from the University of Chicago, which she received in 2001:

Areas of Concentration: Critical Race Theory, Gender Theory, Black Studies, Queer Theory, Embodiment Theory, South Asian Texts, Legal Theory, Post-colonial Studies, and Marxist Theory

Her Facebook account is consistent with this worldview. Just a few of her most recent posts highlight her hatred for Whites:

You can scroll through Khilanani's Facebook account endlessly for more of the same.

Nor could there be any question about what Khilanani was offering when she spoke at Yale:

TARGET AUDIENCE Trainees in child psychiatry, psychology, and social work, faculty, clinicians, scientists LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to: Set up white people's absence of empathy towards black rage as a problem.

Understand how racism is part of the mind that white mind that arose during colonialism with a series of lies around violence.

Understand how white people are psychologically dependent on black rage.

The above language comes from Yale's poster advertising the class. (You can see a full-size image here.)

There's no doubt that Yale invited her because she was going to attack White people.

During the talk, audio of which is available at Weiss's site, Khilanani let loose with these gems:

I had fantasies of unloading a revolver into the head of any white person that got in my way, burying their body, and wiping my bloody hands as I walked away relatively guiltless with a bounce in my step. Like I did the world a f------ favor. (Time stamp: 7:17)

We are asking a demented, violent predator who thinks that they are a saint or a superhero, to accept responsibility. It ain't gonna happen. They have five holes in their brain. It's like banging your head against a brick wall. It's just like sort of not a good idea. (Time stamp 17:13)

We need to remember that directly talking about race to white people is useless, because they are at the wrong level of conversation. Addressing racism assumes that white people can see and process what we are talking about. They can't. That's why they sound demented. (Time stamp 17:54)

Herzog's interview with Khilanani is worth reading in its entirety. There are a few really interesting takeaways. Khilanani perceives that everything negative she experienced comes from racism. Even as a child, "since I've interacted with people who are white, and especially white women, I would notice that things were really off." She decided that the problem wasn't with her; it was with all Whites.

In Khilanani's view, minorities suffer because of external factors (violence, racism). White psychological suffering is all self-induced because Whites are bad people. "I think it's colonialism. That history. If you do this much lying to yourself it's going to have an effect on your mind. There's no way it can't."

She believes that Whites are incapable of feeling traumatized by their essential evil because they're so submerged in it. For example, whenever "they steal something they use the word 'discovery.'" Thus, Whites stole all of America. White food bloggers have also stolen flaky salt and parsley sprigs.

Despite her lifelong hostility to White people, and her belief that they're congenitally damaged, Khilanani claims to treat a lot of them, especially White women (who are especially crazy, she says, because they think celiac disease is real and avoid gluten).

When Herzog pointed out that some people at Yale suggested that a speech attacking Whites was equivalent to one attacking Asians or gays, Khilanani would have none of that. To her, it's a false equivalence because Whites are erasing their racism by comparing themselves to Asians.

Most amusingly, Khilanani thinks conservatives are "psychologically healthier" than progressives because they "are more in touch with their anger and negative feelings. ... There's not all this liberal fluff of goodness." In other words, she hates those who grovel before her.

There's much more, but what comes through loud and clear is that Khilanani is a highly paranoid, anti-White psychopath. As a reminder, she is not the first psychiatrist to be a racist psychopath. Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb who committed genocide during the Bosnian War, was one, too.

Khilanani is just one crazy woman. The real problem is that, because of Yale's undeserved prestige in the modern era, other medical institutions look to Yale for intellectual guidance. By promoting Khilanani's genuine evil thinking, Yale becomes responsible for promulgating this kind of KKK/Nazi-style racial thinking through medical schools in America, with the students then bringing it to their medical practices.

Again, if Americans don't stop Critical Race Theory's genocidally racist garbage hard and fast, we will soon be Nazi Germany in 1938 or Rwanda in 1994 or Syria over the past few years. The Biden administration is pushing this anti-White ideology, so the pushback can come only through the state, through individuals speaking up, and through lawfare.

Image: Aruna Khilanani, M.D. Facebook video screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The Family Man 2: Winning the Hearts:- The Family Man, a web series directed by Indian director duo Raj and DK was a smashing hit. Amazon Prime produced The Family Man and right after the first season was a super hit, the plans for the sequel are announced. The Family Man 2 is now streaming on Amazon Prime from today. Manoj Bajpayee, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi reprised their roles and Samantha Akkineni is the new addition for the show. The response for The Family Man 2 is outstanding and extremely positive. Raj and DK lives up to the expectations and there is a huge dose of action throughout The Family Man 2 .

Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha have been top class in their roles and their performances are the major highlights of The Family Man 2. The first four episodes are slow-paced and explain about the characters. The last five episodes of The Family Man 2 offer a thrilling ride. The second season is highly impressive and the action episodes are shot well. Samantha stuns the audience in the role of Raji, a ruthless commander on a mission to assassinate the Prime Minister. Right from the script to the technical crew and the actors, the makers took special care of everything.

Manoj Bajpayee plays the role of Srikant Tiwari who is frustrated because of his family and returns back to NIA because of a crucial mission. Priyamani and Sharib Hashmi are decent in their roles. The makers also announced the third season of The Family Man which is set in the backdrop of Kolkata and it would release next year.
Kerala man saved from death row by an NRI tycoon:- A man from Kerala who is residing in the United Arab Emirates is sentenced for death for killing a young Sudanese boy in 2012 in a road accident. But the 45-year-old man is left free and is sent back to India to be with his family. Becks Krishnan has been facing a death sentence but he is saved by NRI business tycoon M A Yusuffali who paid a crore for the release of Becks Krishnan. Becks Krishnan who is from Kerala was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of UAE after it was proved that he killed a Sudanese boy. The court believes that Becks Krishnan was driving recklessly when the incident took place and Becks Krishnan rammed his car into a children's group in the year 2012 in September.

His family members have been trying hard and they lost hopes and returned back to Sudan after the death sentence was announced. The discussion about this also came to an end. Becks Krishnan's family approached Yusuffali who owns Lulu Group. He came in touch with all his stakeholders after having a study about the case. Yusuffali paid 500,000 Dirhams (Rs 1 crore) as compensation for the court after which Becks Krishnan was released by the court. Becks Krishnan was quite emotional and he could not believe that this would happen. He is left free from AI Watba Jail in Abu Dhabi.

Becks Krishnan wished to meet Yusuffali before meeting his family. All the legal procedures are completed and he will travel to his hometown in Kerala soon.
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The Home Office is investigating an incident in which migrants attempting to cross the English Channel were reportedly picked up in French waters by the UK Border Force and taken to Dover.

The move was orchestrated between senior crew members of HMC Valiant and French patrol ship Athos last Saturday, the Daily Mail reported.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has repeatedly vowed to make the dangerous route across the English Channel unviable, but crossings have surged.

Priti Patel (Aaron Chown/PA)

A Home Office spokeswoman said: We are urgently investigating the circumstances behind this incident.

It comes as nearly 600 migrants were intercepted attempting to cross the Channel in three days this week.

The Home Office confirmed that the French authorities dealt with eight incidents involving 130 people on Friday, with the UK dealing with four boats involving 83 people.

This follows 201 people being stopped by Border Force officers in eight incidents on Thursday.

And the French authorities intercepted nine crossings on Wednesday and Thursday preventing 171 people from reaching the UK.

This makes a total of 585 attempting to make the crossing in just three days.

The number of people crossing the 21-mile stretch of water has almost doubled so far in 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, with more than 3,100 having reached the English coast by the end of May.

Anti-immigration demonstrations were held in Dover last weekend with protesters blocking access to key trade terminals.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: This Governments approach to tackling Channel crossings isnt working and is destined to fail.

The reality is that when fleeing war, terror and persecution, ordinary people are forced to take extraordinary steps to seek safety in another country.

Instead of relying solely on an enforcement approach to stop the crossings, this Government needs to expand safe routes so that people dont have to risk their lives taking dangerous journeys at the mercy of criminals and people smugglers.

Creating safe and regular routes to the UK  through an expanded resettlement programme, humanitarian visas and reforming the restrictive family reunion rules  is the way to effectively address the issue.
Britons have headed out to the beach, parks and lakes to soak up the sunny weather.

Bournemouth beach and the Lake District National Park were among the places proving popular for people wanting to enjoy the summery weekend temperatures.

People enjoy the weather on Bournemouth beach in Dorset (Steve Parsons/PA)

Regents Canal in Little Venice, London, was a hive of activity (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Members of the Rainbow Carnival Stilt Walkers perform in Roundhay Park in Leeds ahead of a World Triathlon Series event (Danny Lawson/PA)

Bournemouth beach was a popular choice for sun-seekers (Steve Parsons/PA)

June has brought a taste of summer, with temperatures nearing 30C in parts of the country this week.

Northolt in west London peaked at 28.3C on Wednesday afternoon, meaning the UK recorded its third successive warmest day of 2021.

The warm weather follows a washout May, which brought heavy downpours and prolonged spells of rain for much of the UK.

People enjoy the weather at Derwentwater in the Lake District National Park near Keswick (Owen Humphreys/PA)

A man performs a balancing act in Bournemouth (Steve Parsons/PA)

People take a paddle at Derwentwater in the Lake District National Park (Owen Humphreys/PA)
The tax year could be altered to bring it into line with calendar months, a Government advisory body has mooted.

A review has been launched which could see the end of tax years for individuals starting on April 6, with April 1 or January 1 suggested as potential dates.

The Office of Tax Simplification  an independent adviser to Government on tax simplification  said its scoping review would focus on the costs and benefits of moving the tax year end date from 5 April to 31 March.

A move to March 31 would bring individuals into line with corporations and the UK Governments own accounts which run to the same date.

The OTS said: The UKs tax year for individuals runs from 6 April to the following 5 April. This is for historical reasons and has been the case for hundreds of years; the UKs modern tax system and infrastructure have been developed around this date.

By contrast, accounting systems used by businesses have been developed around month and quarter ends.

Across businesses and internationally, it is common to account to a month end date. Many countries use 31 December for their government accounts and the two most popular accounting dates for multinationals are the calendar year end date of 31 December and 31 March.

The first year after such a move would see the tax year shortened by five days if the date was moved to March 31, while moving it to fall into line with calendar years  such as in France, Germany and the US  would mean a transitional year shortened by more than three months.
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ATLANTA  The Fulton County School System is earmarking a significant part of its $1.1 billion budget next year to boost employee pay and provide a hiring incentive and retention bonus for special education staff.

The fiscal year 2022 budget includes a 2 percent salary increase for all employees, plus a step increase for eligible staff members. Step increases are built into the salary schedule and provide automatic increases at certain years. The total cost of the salary adjustments is $30 million.

Additionally, special education staff will receive a retention bonus of $600 for para-professionals and $1,200 for teachers. Federal funds tied to the COVID-19 pandemic relief will cover the $2 million cost of the bonuses.

Staffing special education is difficult, said Chief Talent Officer Ron Wade. Its been critical for the 20 years Ive [been with the district] and continues to be critical.

He noted teacher vacancies have been relatively low this school year, but of the 300 open positions, nearly half are in special education. COVID relief funds will also help fund hiring incentives for these open positions.

Moving forward, Wade said the focus on staff appreciation is especially important a year of challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It needs to be illustrated and be part of our story how this school board and this district values its employees, Wade said during a recent meeting of the Fulton County School Board.

The tentative FY22 budget was approved by the Fulton County School Board on May 13 and is set to be formally adopted on June 8.

Attracting top teachers

The budget includes more than $913 million dedicated solely to employee compensation, which is about 84 percent of the general fund budget. This figure is slightly higher than the current years budget which did not include a raise for staff, but did provide a one-time bonus.

Wade said attracting and retaining top employees is critical to the overall success of the district.

As we look at compensation the school board has asked that we be mindful of the competitiveness of it, as well as the fiscal sustainability, Wade said.

He noted salaries in Fulton County Schools are near the top among metro Atlanta school districts for new teachers as well as those with 15 or more years of service, and among the middle of the pack in across the other years.

The starting salary next school year for a teacher with a bachelors degree is $47,892. Wade noted the majority of the districts 8,000 teachers hold a masters degree and have between seven and 18 years with the district. The annual salary in that range is $58,00 to $72,000.

The Fulton School System is also reinstating it no work no pay guidelines that were waived for the past year because of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

The board made some decisions to ensure frontline workers maintain and earn pay, so we did some exceptional things in an exceptional year, Wade said.

He said that is not sustainable moving forward.

Were going to have to go back to paying our employees for work done and not creating a gratuity situation, Wade said.
ATLANTA  There is a sense of optimism in the Fulton County School System as it looks to fiscal year 2022 in positive economic shape despite months of disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teachers and staff are set to get a raise, along with a one-time bonus, the millage rate will not rise, and the districts rainy day fund will remain intact.

In November 2020 the Fulton County School Board provided a budget direction by setting budget parameters [to follow], said chief financial officer Marvin Dereef. My hope is that it is clear we complied with the parameters.

The constraints included finding alternative funding sources, allocating at least 75 percent of the general fund to schools, provide a millage rollback to revenue-neutral, increasing efficiencies, maintaining competitive compensation for staff and keeping fund balance at a minimum of two months of operating costs.

On May 13, the school board gave tentative approval of the 2022 fiscal year general fund budget of $1.1 billion. The board will formally adopt the budget on June 8. The general fund budget, which covers all school-based operations, is a $30 million increase from the current years budget.

The bump in the budget will be cover a 2 percent pay increase for all employees, along with a step increase for eligible employees based on years of service.

Fundamentally we believe that compensation is a mission critical lever in retaining and getting top talent, Chief Financial Officer Ron Wade said.

The goal is not to be the highest-paying district in the metro area, Wade said, but in the top three.

The funds to cover the raises comes from the biggest source of alternative funding sources, which is the federal government. The current fiscal year included only $700,000 in federal funding. The 2022 spending plan expects $13.8 million in federal funding.

Over the last year Fulton County Schools has been the recipient of nearly $244 million  the equivalent of $2,700 per student  over three rounds of federal stimulus funding beginning with the Trump administration and continuing under President Joe Biden.

The funds were to help school districts weather the pandemic storm and came with limited restrictions.

Pull Quote The current fiscal year included only $700,000 in federal funding. The 2022 spending plan expects $13.8 million in federal funding.

In addition to compensation, Fulton County Schools is using stimulus funds on mitigating learning loss, summer school programs and ensuring safe environments in schools.

Despite the increased federal funding and slight increases to local and state tax revenues, the FY22 budget still has a nearly $29 million deficit, Dereef said. That gap will be closed by a drawdown of the districts healthy reserve funds.

However, Dereef is confident those reserve funds will serve only as placeholder to balance the budget, and will likely not be pulled.

Even though we are budgeting to use fund balance, we dont necessarily need it, Dereef explained. He noted the budget has a built-in five percent contingency for expenditures.

Currently Fulton County Schools has $258 million in its reserve funds, which is more than the targeted two months of expenses.

While there have been some mention of lowering the millage rate from its present 17.796 mils, the tentative budget keeps that rate unchanged. Dereef noted Fulton Schools rate is the lowest millage among the five large metro districts.

One mill brings in $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of a propertys taxable value. In Georgia, a propertys taxable value equals 40 percent of its appraised  or real  value. A home with a real value of $100,000, for example, would have a taxable value of $40,000.

Currently Fulton County Schools does not have a senior citizen exemption for school taxes, but Dereef said he expects that to be in place in the near future.
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GIPMER, one of the leading facilities here, has asked its nurses to use only Hindi and English for communication or face strict action

Many nurses at various hospitals across India, hail from Kerala, with Malayalam being their native language. (Representational Photo:PTI)

New Delhi: A Delhi government hospital Saturday issued a circular asking its nursing staff not to use Malayalam at work as "maximum patients and colleagues do not know this language" which it said causes a lot of inconvenience.

The circular issued by the Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (GIPMER), one of the leading facilities here, has asked its nurses to use only Hindi and English for communication or face "strict action".

G B Pant nurses' association president Liladhar Ramchandani claimed it was issued in pursuance of a complaint sent by a patient to a senior officer in the health department, regarding use of Malayalam language at the hospital, while adding that "the union disagrees with the wordings used in the circular".

The circular says, "A complaint has been received regarding Malayalam language being used for communication in working places in GIPMER. Whereas maximum patient and colleagues do not know this language and feel helpless causing a lot of inconvenience".

"So, it is directed to all nursing personnel to use only Hindi and English for communication. Otherwise serious action will be taken, it reads.

Ramchandani, also the secretary-general of Delhi Nurses Federation said, "As a language's name, Malayalam, has been inserted in the circular, many will take offence".

He also claimed that this circular was "consequent of the complaint filed by the patient" and "internally, there is no issue among the nurses and the administration".

Many nurses at various hospitals across India, hail from Kerala, with Malayalam being their native language.

The circular has drawn sharp criticism from other nursing unions too.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Basalt resident Anabel Meza receives her vaccine at an afterwork clinic inside Carbondales fire station. Meza found out about the Garfield County Public Health pop-up from a post on local Spanish radio station La Tricolors Facebook page.
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The seven-seat option wont return for 2022 because of the Lodgy multi-purpose vehicle and Bigster sport utility vehicle, yet Dacia couldnt kill off the Logan MCV despite the surging demand for crossovers. As ever, the affordable price is the Romanian automakers bet for the new longroof.Masterfully rendered by Bernhard Reichel, the Logans roomier brother has been imagined with the companys new corporate logo, just a pinch of brightwork for the black grille, Y-shaped daytime running lights, and a radar sensor in the lower grille for the emergency brake assist system. The side profile features alloy wheels as well as painted handles and mirrors, denoting a higher trim level than Access. To whom it may concern, Access translates to unpainted plastic bumpers and steel wheels with 15-inch tires.Already spied in regular and Stepway formats, the all-new Logan MCV is much roomier than the sedan although the platform and oily bits are shared. Based on the low-cost version of the CMF-B vehicle architecture that Renault uses for the Clio and Nissan for the Note, the station wagon offers three mills, two manual transmissions, and a continuously variable transmission.The combo you should ignore is the SCe 65 three-cylinder engine with the five-speed stick shift because you wont feel exactly safe overtaking with only 95 Nm (70 pound-feet) of torque. What Dacia calls TCe 90 is the mid-range option that levels up to a six-speed transmission, and this is the only motor offered with a Nissan-developed continuously variable transmission.And finally, ECO-G 100 is the name of the bi-fuel option that promises the most range of the lot. Coincidence or not, this force-fed engine also happens to feature the most torque at 170 Nm (125 pound-feet) from 2,000 rpm.As for the pricing guesstimate, a tastefully equipped Logan MCV should cost around 13,000 euros. That's 11,170 or $15,815 at current exchange rates, which is very good value indeed for a Renault Clio Estate in disguise.
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And now more information is making its way to the web, suggesting that Apples ambitious car project has hit some roadblocks caused mostly by the departure of no less than three key managers.A recent report from Bloomberg reveals that senior director Jaime Waydo, previously working on car safety in the Project Titan team, as well as Benjamin Lyon, one of the first engineers that joined Applesunit, left the iPhone maker in February for key roles at other companies.Waydo, for example, is now Chief Technology Officer at Cavnue, while Lyon has been appointed Chief Engineer and Executive Vice President of Engineering at Astra.A third departure took place a few weeks ago when Dave Scott, the leader of the robotics team working on the Apple Car, decided to leave the company and take over the president and CEO role at health care company Hyperfine.Apple hasnt officially announced these departures, though some of these engineers, including Jaime Waydo, have already updated their LinkedIn profiles to confirm theyre now working for other companies. Waydo revealed on her personal LinkedIn account that shes the Chief Technology Officer of Cavnue since February 2021 after previously working for Apple for 2 years and 9 months.At this point, its not yet known what impact all these departures could have on Apples car expansion plans, but some analysts believe the company could at least confirm plans to launch an EV as soon as this summer While this is rather unlikely, given Apple typically keeps such details completely secret until the official announcements, several people close to the matter said the company is close to signing a manufacturing deal with a joint venture formed by Magna and LG
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One doesnt have to be a connoisseur to tell that it has a few inches added to its length. In fact, the ad, which well get to in a minute, claims that it has been extended by 50 cm (20 in). A necessary asset to open up tons of room in the rear passenger compartment, which is separated from the driver by a partition wall and features comfy seats, integrated iMac, surround sound, independentsystem, and refrigerator.Besides featuring longer rear doors and a new three-quarter design with bigger third windows, it can literally take a bullet for its occupants. The company behind it, Trasco Bremen of Germany, claims that it has VR7 ballistic protection. This means that it can withstand 7.62x51mm NATO rounds shot from an automatic rifle. And if things go south, the escape is guaranteed by additional mechanical upgrades, such as the reworked suspension and available run-flat tires, joined by the emergency lights, intercom, additional battery and other interesting items.Now, a Mercedes-AMG G 63 with no mods whatsoever starts at 160,679.75 in Germany and $156,450 in the United States, so this armored and stretched example is not exactly a bargain either. Advertised on Mobile for 1,166,200 ($1,423,580), including tax, it will be available in six months after placing the order. The cost includes the donor vehicle, extended body, and armoring protection, but Trasco can also convert your very own-badged G-Wagen, and probably other rides too.The only thing is that the 2021 G 63 uses a 5774.0-liter bi-turbo V8 and the ad states that this one is powered by the old 571 HP 5.5-liter V8 engine , when its clearly the new generation. But thats probably a typo, right?
Back at the end of May, the Atlanta Air Show took place, hosting demonstrations from both Air Force and Navy aircraft. On deck for the crowds were both branches F-35 Lightning II demo teams, the F-16 Fighting Falcons, the Army Black Daggers, and even teams fielding older aircraft, like B-17s and F4U Corsairs For the Air Forces F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team, the event was the first public outing in a long time. Part of the 388th Fighter Wing, the team comprises nine pilots flying the most modern aircraft fielded by the USAF.The main pic of this piece (click the photo to enlarge) was taken in Atlanta in May and published last week by the Air Force. It shows the F-35, flown by team commander Maj. Kristin Wolfe, as it performs a dedication pass maneuver for the crowds gathered in Georgia.The F-35A is the airplanes variant for the USAF. It first flew in 2006, but was introduced in service only ten years later.This particular version takes off in a conventional manner (the F-35 family has members that can take off and land vertically), and it is the lightest one available.The aircraft can reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 and has a range of 1,700 miles (2,800 km). It is armed with a 4-barrel rotary cannon and comes with a large number of hardpoints on which a wide range of missiles or bombs can be mounted.So far, the F-35 as a family was not used all that much in combat. The first to use one was the Israeli Air Force, in 2018. That same year the first crash took place, with an F-35B variant of the Marine Corps going down in South Carolina.
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But dont think theactually traveled to the China-Nepal border and hired some Sherpas to do the legendary climb. Instead, Jaguar cooked up an alternative right at home in UK and enlisted the help of Olympic, two-time world, and six-time European champion team pursuit cyclist Elinor Jane Barker, MBE.The Member of the Order of the British Empire (since 2017) took to the steering wheel of the I-Pace and completed the companys own Everesting Challenge by climbing the equivalent height of Mount Everest on a single charge. The feat was achieved by performing exactly 16.2 ascents of Great Britains highest surfaced roadGreat Dun Fell, with a gain of 547 meters (1,795 feet) on each full climb And because were dealing with an EV, every time the I-Pace returned to Base Camp, it also used its smart regenerative braking system to recover some of the previously lost energy, which amounted to the equivalent of some additional 58 miles (or 93.3 km).Since we all know that in this day and age, its quite hard to reinvent the wheel, the idea for the challenge came up because popular exercise tracking service Strava noted that in 2020 the interest for repeatedly completing a climb until on par with the Everest height has surged some 600% among cyclists.This time around, though, it wasnt so much a human endurance challenge but a way to showcase the performance and technology of the I-Pace as the crossover EV stormed Great Dun Fell, in Cumbria, with a single charge of the 90-battery. The highest surface road in Great Britain is also popularly referred by cyclists as Britains Mont Ventoux, a direct call to the tricky Alpine stage from the legendary Tour de France.It presents itself with many sweeping turns, up to 20% gradients, and a peak height of 848 meters (2,782 feet) on a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) climb. As such, during the more than 16 loops spanning 7.2 miles (11.6 km) each, Barker was able to generate an additional 60% energy, according to the automaker. In the end, she drove for a total of 124 miles (199.6 km), including an eight-mile (12.9 km) trip to the starting point, and still had some 31% SoC in the battery, enough to cover some additional 80 miles (128.7 km).
King Yuan Electronics says it has found that a total of 77 employees at its Miaoli manufacturing facility tested positive, so the company has decided to suspend all domestic operations for 48 hours.The temporary shutdown is specifically aimed at the Miaoli and Hsinchu factories and started on Friday.King Yuan says it needs to halt operations specifically to disinfect both facilities, therefore planning to resume operations on June 6.Unfortunately, the company has already projected an up to 6 percent drop in terms of production for the month of June, but on the other hand, it says itll be working around the clock on recovering as fast as possible.The global chip shortage is far from over, and more and more companies in all industry sectors are struggling with the lack of semiconductors for their products.In the car industry, most companies turned to temporary halts of their operations as they waited for suppliers to deliver more chips that would end up powering the electronic systems on their cars.General Motors, however, says the chip crisis is already easing , with the company now planning to increase delivers of certain models as it records strong demand in the United States and Canada.But on the other hand, tech industry leaders have warned that the lack of chips wouldnt come to an end too soon, with some projecting the crisis to last until at least the first quarter of 2022. The good news is that more companies have already expressed their intention to start the manufacturing of chips for the car market, including Intel, whose production lines for this purpose should be up and running by the end of the year.
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Shared on their Facebook page, the superbecame the focus of the camera lens in Qatar. It bears the Venatus moniker , which signals the presence of other upgrades, besides that purple interior thats bedecked with carbon fiber trim and displays the tuners logo on the headrests, steering wheel, and center console.To spot them, well move on to the OTT exterior, defined by the new carbon fiber hood, more aggressive looking front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and fenders flares. The side vents, rear spoilers, custom mirror caps, and various logos are part of the build, as are the purple pinstripes and brake calipers with Mansory branding. More purple can be seen on the black-finished Y-spoke rims, which round out the visual part of the project.Mansory hasnt said anything about any potential power upgrades, but from their previous builds, we know that the Venatus is a bit punchier than the stock Urus. The modified twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine kicks out 800 PS (789/ 588) and 1,000 Nm (738 lb-ft) of torque. The extra oomph allows the Italian super SUV to accelerate to 100 kph (62 mph) in just 3.3 seconds, en route to a maximum speed of 320 kph (199 mph).Without any outside intervention, the Urus has 650 PS (641 HP / 478 kW) and 850 Nm (627 lb-ft) available via the right pedal. It needs 3.6 seconds to hit 100 kph (62 mph) from a standstill, and can keep pushing up to 306 km/h (190 mph), where the road and legislation allow it.Those stock specs are about to become even more exciting, as the SantAgata Bolognese auto firm is putting the final touches on the mid-cycle refresh. The 2022 Urus will presumably get a hot EVO variant, next to the electrified model rumored to boast in excess of 800 PS (789 HP / 588 kW).
This brings us to the headline: a new world record has been set for the most expensive parking spot. According to South China Morning Post , a single parking spot, measuring 12.5 square meters (134.5 square feet) in The Mount Nicholson development, situated in The Peak affluent neighborhood of the city, has sold for the equivalent of $1.3 million.For context, Mount Nicholson is considered Asias most expensive address: in 2017, two apartments here sold for a combined $149 million. A house in The Peak neighborhood costs over $10 million, while rent for one can go all the way up to $210,000 a month.As such, and considering how expensive space is in the city, its no wonder one parking spot sold for such a ridiculous amount. In 2019, Hong Kong set a similar record when another spot traded hands for $969,000; one year prior, the city was again making headlines for another parking spot selling for $430,000. You would be excused to see here a pattern.Developers would not confirm the transaction, which reportedly closed last month. SCMP spoke to William Lau, a sales director at Centaline Property Agencys branch on The Peak, who pointed out the obvious with the new record: considering how much money residents are paying for their homes, this amount for a parking spot is a drop in the proverbial (money-filled) bucket.What concerns them most is that they need space to park their cars and not the money. They have bought it for their own use and not as an investment, Lau explains.Some things never change, even if ones financial situation does. Like the bond between man and machine, a love story that transcends time.
Back in May, the American space agency released a short video to bring us up to date with all the space rocks that may change our way of life, should they decide our planet is ripe for plucking. And theres a lot of themAs far as Earth scientists know, as of May 2021 there are 25,705 near-Earth asteroids circling our planet like sharks, at various distances. For the record, a space object is considered near-Earth when its closest approach to our planet is less than an astronimical unit, or 150 million km (93.2 million miles).Of those 25,000 asteroids , 9,632 further fit the definition of near-Earth objects by being larger than 140 meters (459 feet) in diameter, and 890 of them exceed 1 km (0.62 miles).The worrying thing is that NASA estimates there are 15,000 more asteroids fitting the description out there, and we know absolutely nothing about them so far: we have no idea of their size, orbits, composition, and so on.The video was released as part of a planetary defense bulletin of sorts. The space agency, together with a wealth of other interested parties, have been conducting for years so-called impact exercises to get us prepared for the time when well have to face an asteroid impact.The last one took place in Vienna last month, and the results, like all others before them, were disastrous . All of Earth greatest minds couldnt stop an imaginary rock from slamming into Europe, even if these minds pretended theyve discovered the asteroid six month prior to impact,The worrying conclusion of the exercise was that current infrastructure for spacecraft and launch make reconnaissance or mitigation missions impossible.As said, a near-Earth asteroid is considered as such if it passes by at less than one astronomical unit from Earth. But not all of them are that far out. As per NASA, 107 of these rocks passed closer to Earth than the Moon last year.
EVA is a humanoid robotic head built by engineers at the Columbia University in New York. The autonomous robot has an expressive face that can display and mimic human expressions. Making EVA was a difficult challenge that took engineers five years. Robots are usually made of still, hard materials and the humanoid robot had to be able to move its face easily.EVAs parts were mostly 3D printed and the robot has cables and motors acting as the muscles of its face, allowing it to make different moves. It can mimic the movements of over 42 muscles in the human face. It can express six basic emotions: joy, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, and disgust, as well as a wide range of more subtle, nuanced emotions.The robotic human skull uses deep learning artificial intelligence to read and then mirror the expressions of the human it interacts with, as explained on Columbia Engineerings website . In order to accomplish all that, EVA watches videos of itself making random faces and uses trial and error learning.According to the team, people tend to humanize robot devices and give them a name, identity, cloth and accessorize them, to make them look friendlier and more expressive. Our brains respond better to machines that have some kind of recognizable physical presence, explains Hod Lipson, professor of Mechanical Engineering and Data Science at Columbia University.For now, EVA is just a lab experiment with limited applications, but researchers hope thats going to change in the future. They think robots that can respond to human body language could prove to be useful in schools, hospitals, and our workplaces.
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Thirty-two years after the Chinese government cracked down on student protesters in Tiananmen Square, people around the world gathered to remember the bloody June 4 event and its victims.

Why it matters: Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have long rallied around the Tiananmen anniversary, which over the years has become synonymous with the struggle against the Chinese Communist Party. This year, Hong Kong officials banned a scheduled vigil for the second year in a row.

The CCP has never allowed public vigils on the anniversary of the massacre on the mainland, but vigils were permitted in Hong Kong in the past.

A 1989 cable from the British ambassador to China, declassified in 2017, describes the civilian deaths at a "minimum" of 10,000.

Thousands of people typically gather in Hong Kong's Victoria Park on June 4 to mourn those killed by Chinese troops during the massacre.

Friday's suppression of the planned event is the latest example of the Chinese government's crackdown on rights and freedoms previously enjoyed by those living in Hong Kong, Axios' Jacob Knutson writes.

In photos

Alexandra Wong, an activist known as "Grandma Wong" who says she was held by mainland China for 14 months, protests in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong after police closed the venue where Hong Kong people traditionally gather to mourn the victims of China's Tiananmen Square crackdown. Photo: Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images

People use their mobile phones to shine light outside Victoria Park. Photo: Hsiuwen Liu/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Victoria Park is empty for the first time as hundreds of police officers surround the park to enforce the city's ban against a vigil. Citizens in black shirts, along with flowers and candles, marched around Victoria Park despite heavy law enforcement and threats from Hong Kong's national security law. Photo: Dominic Chiu/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A member of the Hong Kong University Students' Union cleans the Pillar of Shame as part of the annual ritual of washing the Pillar of Shame, a sculpture located on the University of Hong Kong campus that commemorates the victims of the crackdown. Photo: Hsiuwen Liu/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Lam Wing Kee, a Hong Kong bookseller who fled to Taiwan to avoid political suppression, is seen at a commemoration booth at Liberty Square in Taipei. Photo: Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Protesters hold candles and flags during a protest outside Shinjuku Station in Japan to mark the anniversary. Photo: Viola Kam/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Bangladeshi social activists from the Open Dialogue movement perform street art in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to mark the anniversary and protest the violence against Uyghur Muslim people in China. Photo: Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The director of Israels domestic security service, the Shin Bet, warned on Saturday of growing incitement that could lead to politically motivated violence.

Why it matters: Nadav Argaman's rare public statement raised concerns about the threat of a Jan. 6-style attack in Israel to prevent a peaceful transition of power if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ousted after 12 years in office.

Driving the news: Netanyahu on Friday published a Facebook post that cited a story from the Bible, which compared his political rivals on the right to the spies Moses sent to tour the land of Canaan and that lied to the people when the returned.

According to the Bible, the spies received a punishment from God and died of a plague.

Netanyahus right wing rivals who are part of the change government  mainly Prime Minister-designate Naftali Bennett and his party members  have been the subject of social media attacks in recent days by Netanyahus supporters.

Netanyahus backers demonstrated in front of their houses and sent them text messages with death threats.

The Shin Bet decided to give Bennett a security detail even though he hasn't assumed office yet. And the police boosted security for several of members of his party.

What they are saying: A day after Netanyahus Facebook post, the Shin Bet director released a statement warning against serious radicalization in incitement and discourse on social media.

Argaman said the incitement could be interpreted by groups or individuals as an approval to use violence. He called on Israeli politicians to publicly ask for calm and denounce violence.

Shortly after the Shin Bet directors statement, Yair Netanyahu, the prime ministers son, attacked him on Twitter. The is a disgrace. They are trying to shut the mouths of the right and label every political criticism as incitement, he wrote.

Whats next: The Knesset on Monday will convene for a special session to announce that opposition leader Yair Lapid managed to form a government. The vote of confidence in the new government is expected to take place on June 14.
The Telegraph Fire south of Superior has prompted new evacuation orders in Arizona, as the wildfire swelled to roughly 85,000 acres with 40% containment. Five buildings have burned. More than 923 firefighters are on the fire lines.
MyPillow Chief Executive Officer and former President Donald Trump's ally Mike Lindell has filed last Thursday another lawsuit against Dominion Voting System that now includes Smartmatic over violations on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act.

The Washington Examiner reported that Lindell, in the new lawsuit that was filed in a federal court in Minnesota, accuses the two companies of "weaponizing the judicial system and the litigation process to silence dissent, unpopular beliefs, or facts inconveniently out-of-line with mainstream groupthink." The new lawsuit seeks trial by jury and alleges that both companies played a big part in election fraud last November 2020.

As per the Washington Examineer, Lindell is stern in his stand that the Supreme Court will side with him since he has strong evidence on election fraud, which occurred by tampering and compromising the results. Lindell has included in the lawsuit his entitlement "to recover his actual and special damages from Dominion and Smartmatic for their collective role in their conspiracy and enterprise to harm him--damages which presently are estimated to exceed $2 billion."

"Lindell will prove that the Dominion Defendants, acting in concert and as part of an unlawful enterprise alongside the Smartmatic Defendants, have weaponized the court system and the litigation process in an attempt to silence Lindell's and others' political speech about election fraud and the role of electronic voting machines in it. In the specific context of political speech about something as vital to a republican form of government as election integrity, no litigant should be permitted to use the courts and the litigation process as a bludgeon to suppress and stifle dissent," the lawsuit stated.

WND said Lindell alleges that the ballot count difference of 43,000 votes, spread across a few states, show possible fraud. This is in line with some questionable incidences such as the shutting down of vote counting while President Trump was in the lead, only to resume counting hours later but this time with Biden having more votes than the Republican leader.

Other evidences include accounts of witnesses on fraud, ballot dumping, and other oddities that the courts have not even looked into prior to dismissing the lawsuits filed on it. This is on top of Democrats changing election rules even without approval of state legislature.

Through the new lawsuit, Lindell aims to stop Dominion and Smartmatic from "weaponizing the litigation process to silence political dissent and suppress evidence showing voting machines were manipulated to affect outcomes in the November 2020 general election." Lindell said Dominion abused the legal process by filing a defamation suit against him, which deprived him of his civil rights. Both companies also were sued for civil conspiracy and violation of the "Support and Advocacy" clause of the United States Supreme Court 1985(3).

In January, Lindell was on the receiving end of anti-Trump attacks as retailers dropped his products due to his stand on voter fraud during the elections and his friendship with Trump. The MyPillow CEO said his products were being boycotted by Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohls, among others.

Dominion also issued him a cease-and-desist letter for his allegations against them, stating that he had no basis for his statements and was just participating "in the vast and concerned misinformation campaign" against them.

Lindell's First Amendment rights were then curtailed by Big Tech companies Twitter and YouTube who suspended his accounts for supporting Trump and for posting claims on election fraud before Dominion filed their defamation lawsuit against him.

The Washington Examiner said Dominion has already reacted against the new lawsuit filed by Lindell and called it a "meritless lawsuit" and a "desperate attempt." While Smartmatic has not commented on the matter.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5 ) - Large protests continued in Scottsdale Friday afternoon over a temporary migrant facility at a hotel. Many of the nearby residents said not only do they not agree with that at all, but feel they were given no information that this would be happening before migrants were already being moved in.

Hundreds of protesters lined the crowded sidewalk for more than a block in front of the Scottsdale hotel. "Over the Memorial Day Weekend, we were notified about the hotel and the illegals that were moved in under the cover of darkness without any kind of consultation from the local community," said Lisa Seger.

Protesters upset by Scottsdale hotel used as temporary housing for immigrants ICE says it would be using the hotel to house immigrant families on a short-term, emergency basis while they await processing.

Seger helped organize the protest both on Wednesday and Friday, and was pleasantly surprised at how many people showed up. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed the City of Scottsdale that starting on May 29, they'll be using a Scottsdale hotel to house immigrant families on a short-term, emergency basis while they await processing.

The lodging plan is part of an $87 million contract with the faith-based nonprofit Endeavors. The contract will last through Sept. 30. For now, though, the hotel rooms are intended to house people for 72 hours or less.

Tamorah Trahant said she just wants things done legally. "I'm all for people coming in through the proper channels," she said. "It's not about being discriminatory in any way on any level. It's purely about the Constitution from the start to finish."

That seemed to be a similar sentiment from the crowd. "I wouldn't have a problem with increasing the amount of legal immigrants we have coming into this country. I think that needs to be a very important continuation of our history, but illegal immigrants, that's just not the way for it to happen," said protester Michael Clifton.

ICE said the housing is consistent with the law for the safety and well-being of children and their parents, who also will get meals, access to medical attention, and transportation to their next stop while at the hotel.

But for Seger and the other protesters, they want to see immediate change. "I'd like to see our mayor and City Council step up and close this down," said Seger. She said the next move may be taking this protest to Scottsdale City Hall.

But City of Scottsdale representatives addressed the issue earlier this week on Facebook and said the city has no current authority to prevent the hotel from being rented for these migrant families and that immigration is a federal matter that the city has no oversight over.
We all know that dogs are man's best friend. A new study out of the University of Arizona shows that puppies might be hardwired to understand and interact with people.
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Ten members of the Class of 2021 and two recent BC alumni have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships, which support a years post-baccalaureate study abroad. Recipientschosen on the basis of academic merit and leadership potentialtypically pursue research in various disciplines, or serve an English Teaching Assistantship, through which they teach English language and provide insights about American culture.



Winners of Fulbright open study/research awards and their prospective host countries are Sophie Frushell 21 (Dominican Republic), Luke Murphy 20 (Peru), Jaehun Lee 21 (South Korea), and Austin Bodetti 18 (Morocco). English Teaching Assistantships were awarded to 2021 grads Brianna Stonick (Cote dIvoire), Elizabeth Davis (Germany), Holly-Anne Grell (Germany), Suzanna Diehl (Kyrgystan), Alexia Kovatsis (Netherlands), Grace Cavanagh (Spain), Catherine Passarello (Spain), and Jennifer Liao (Taiwan).



In addition, the following Class of 2021 members have been designated as Fulbright alternates, pending confirmation of funding for their projects: Chloe Zhou (Malaysia), Rachel Vatelia (France), Jasmine Schmidt (Germany), Darren Zheng (Germany), Albert Ha (Bulgaria), and Jacob McErlean (Hungary).



The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, operated by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education, announced in March that the decision to allow in-person exchanges to resume is based on the operating status of the host institutions, the administrative resources in place at the U.S. Embassy or Fulbright Commission to support participants while on their program, the availability of international travel and visa services, and the capacity of local facilities to protect public health.



With efforts to halt the pandemic making headway in the United States and other countries, organizations in the U.S. and abroad that administer the fellowships are cautiously optimistic that most programs will go ahead, although in some cases they may be offered as hybrid courses or at different dates and locations than originally planned.

Three new alumni and two undergraduates are recipients of Critical Language Scholarships, enabling them to participate in an intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for American students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities. Most of the CLS institutes will be held in virtual format.



Boston College School of Social Work 2021 graduate Bridget Sakowski will study Arabic, as will new Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences graduates Sofia Marino and Keegan Coppola; Morrissey College students Rigas Rigopoulos 23 and Isaiah Brown 24 will study Russian. In addition, Morrissey College rising sophomore Vincent Sablich was chosen as an alternate to study Russian.



Nine BC undergraduatesout of 10 overall who appliedwere selected for the U.S. Department of States Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to American national security and economic prosperity.

Three Morrissey College students were selected for awards to fund summer studies: Ashmini Weerakoon 22 in France, Jax Cai 23 in the Czech Republic, and Mark Darko 24 in Italy.



Ireland is the planned destination for Morrissey College rising junior Madison Cabrera, who received a Gilman Scholarship for the 2021-2022 academic year. Also expecting to study in Ireland are two other rising juniors, Jacqueline Rojas of the Connell School of Nursing and Noleen Smith of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, who were awarded funding for the spring 2022 semester.



Two Carroll School of Management rising juniors are among the Gilman recipients: Andy Bonilla, who seeks to go to Spain this fall, and Abel Yohannes, who would study in Australia next spring.



Another prospective Gilman Scholar for spring of 2022 is Morrissey College rising junior Baris Tezel (Netherlands).



In addition, two BC undergrads awarded Gilman Scholarships during the previous cycle of funding, Gabriella Knox 24 of Morrissey College (France) and Connell School rising senior Jamarii Johnson (Switzerland), are looking to pursue studies this summer.



Amarlyis Valentin 23, a Morrissey College student, was approved for study this fall at the American College of Greece in Athens with the support of the Fund for Education Abroad, a program that aims to make the demographics of American undergraduates studying abroad reflect the rich diversity of the U.S. population.



Morrissey College rising junior David Kim plans to spend the 2021-2022 academic year at Waseda University in Japan as a Boren Scholar. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships are awarded to those undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate commitment to long-term, overseas immersive language study and to public service. In exchange, they agree to utilize those skills within the government by seeking and securing federal employment for at least one year.



Kim is also one of two BC students to win a Freeman-ASIA Award, which provides need-based funding to defray the cost of the study-abroad program and related expenses, including airfare, basic living costs, local transportation, and books. Connell School student Michelle Li 23 is the other winner.

Office of International Programs Associate Director Christina Hatzipetros said her office is planning for fall and spring academic programs to resume for the 2021-2022 academic year, pending further confirmation from the University. BC-sponsored grants and scholarships that support study abroad through the OIP, including the McGillycuddy-Logue Travel grants and the Fung Fellows Program awards, are contingent upon BC programs running.



The health and safety of our students, staff, partners, and host communities are our top priority as we continue to monitor conditions in BC program sites regularly, she said. I am optimistic that BC students will again be able to leave a meaningful mark in all places of the world, as I am very hopeful that many programs will be able to resume safely this fall.



Regardless of whether or not students are able to participate in their programs as planned, it is a great achievement and honor to have been selected. The work students put in to apply for these highly respected programs was worthwhile, because the application challenged them to discern their goals and make fundamental decisions about the directions of their academic and future careers.

University Communications | May 2021




Commonwealths Attorney Chris Plaster said at a press conference Friday in Tazewell those people will not be identified because of connections with a drug cartel that could pose danger to their families who were not involved.
Orca and Gray Whale Sightings Still Strong on Oregon Coast - Where to Look, Video

Published 05/30/21 at 6:15 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast)  The Orca and gray whale sightings continue along the entire length of the Oregon coast this week and weekend, with some truly striking photos and video popping up from Port Orford through to the wreck of the Peter Iredale. Still, the reports of killer whales are higher than grays for some reason, at least on the four or so main whale watch groups on Facebook. (Photo courtesy US Coast Guard station, Newport)

Thus, the question continues to surface: where are the whales being seen? And where are your best chances to spot them?

Unfortunately, there is no way to answer that latter question. Whales simply show up when and where they show up, and the gray whale and Orca sightings are all over the place. The good news is there's been a lot of them and there's good weather right now: both situations that make them easier to spot.

That being said, there do seem to be hotspots where more reports have come out of. Although that could simply mean there are people paying more attention in some locales. The one area where Orcas and other whales keep getting reported is right around Port Orford, thanks to the group Port Orford and PNW Whale Watchers. Also on the south coast, Coos Bay has had quite a few reports, but all over  from the bay itself to Cape Arago and Simpson Reef.

Up north near the Wreck of the Peter Iredale near Astoria, a few have popped up there in the last month.

Probably the biggest hotspot is the usual one: the Depoe Bay area. There are more resident whales there year-round, and they often come in closer because of food sources and the way the reefs are structured.

The official advice from Oregon Coast Beach Connection on where to find whales: park yourself in a slightly higher-than-usual spot and check out the ocean for awhile. Look for the telltale spouts of gray whales. Grays do not have dorsal fins on top  only in the back. Orcas have that giant fin near their heads.

Reports from Sunday, May 30:

The surf footage was fun to get today but this Gray whale surrounded by Neahkanie mountain, Smugglers cove and Cape Falcon stole the show! Posted by Mike Peeples on Saturday, May 22, 2021

Mike Peeple's video of a gray whale near Manzanita



According to Oregon Coast Killer Whale Sightings, three or four gray whales were seen by several witnesses lounging around the Rodea Point area  which is just south of Depoe Bay. This spot is a good one in general to keep an eye out for whales.

At Port Orford, that group had an impressive encounter with a young gray whale calf around noon. Group admin Dave Foley said its pattern was wandering around the docks area and around Mill Rocks.

Latest Sightings This Week:

An Orca was seen on Thursday meandering around Simpson Reef near Coos Bay.

Also that day, Mike Peeples caught some incredible footage by drone of a gray whale offshore from Manzanita's Neahkahnie Mountain / Cape Falcon area. The video is above.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard snagged some excellent shots of at least one Orca wandering inside Yaquina Bay at Newport (top photo).

There were reports of Orcas near the wreck of the Iredale on May 22, where several sightings had happened quite a bit earlier in May and late April.

Ultimately, your best bet for spotting whales will be the whale tours, which run out of places like Port Orford, Newport, Depoe Bay and perhaps some fishing charters out of Garibaldi or Astoria. MORE PHOTOS BELOW

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(Photo above courtesy Garibaldi Charters: killer whales wandering Tillamook Bay on May 8).





Above: Orcas near Sea Lion Caves, courtesy Seaside Aquarium. Below: killer whale photos courtesy Oregon State Parks











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Warrenton Had an 'Exploding Whale' 30 Years Before Central Oregon Coast

Published 06/02/21 at 4:35 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Warrenton, Oregon)  1937 on the Oregon coast. Newspapers around Oregon and the coastal region are filled with ever-ominous reports from Europe on the machinations of Hitler, Mussolini and Franco, as well as the comings and goings of all things Hollywood. In late summer of that year, however, one rather momentous event goes relatively unnoticed. (Photo above: a deceased sperm whale at Warrenton, 2017. Courtesy Seaside Aquarium)

There was an exploding whale on the Oregon coast more than 30 years before the more famous Exploding Whale that shook the airwaves and the beaches of Florence in 1970. Thats right, someone else blew up a whale.

How it went depends on how you think of it. Reports of the incident on September 1 of 1937 in Warrenton are extremely scarce, and at the time it wasnt remarkable at all. Was it as bad as the Exploding Whale we all know and love? Quite likely, as there are some intimations it was as gory and as spectacular, but almost nothing was written about that. Warrentons Exploding Whale took care of the problem, apparently.

A legal ruling came out of this incident, however, that would theoretically help Oregon coast towns in the future during such incidents. However, as the recent article regarding Waldports Tillie the Whale indicates, an incident that occurred just a year later, that may not be the case.

Like the whale that became Tillie, the great cetacean that floated onto a tidalflat beach on August 18 was already deceased. However, it made landfall more on the Columbia River side of Warrenton rather than on an ocean beach, which later became a problem.

At first this whale was a big hit. Many flocked to check it out, and Warrenton was digging its new tourism draw. But that slacked off rather quickly as the creature began rotting in the summer sun. Soon, the entire burgh of Warrenton was getting hit with the stench and by the last few days of August it was a nasty, pervasive odor.

According to various newspaper reports, including The Bend Bulletin, The Oregonian, and the Medford Mail Tribune, among others, Warrenton sought the help of the State Highway Department in removing the smelly carcass. Just like what happened in Waldport almost exactly a year later, state officials said no. The departments engineer RH Baldock explained that the highway department only had jurisdiction over the ocean shores and not the tideflats where the whale ended up.

So Warrenton turned to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which had been formed during the Great Depression and whose members built lovely Oregon coast things like trails and the stone shelter at Cape Perpetua. Locals hoped the CCC boys would burn the carcass. According to the Capital Journal: but they balked after the Clatsop County court decided the highway department first must give its permission.

Warrenton official G. Clifford Barlow was practically livid at this point. Something has to be done to destroy the whale because of the increasing stench, he wrote in a letter to the highway department.

So locals turned to dynamite. You can guess where this is heading. They snagged a powderman as news reports called him, a man named A. W. Foster from Portland. He volunteered, actually.

A large crowd had gathered, and as The Eugene Guard (later Register-Guard) put it Like the crowds that rush to a fire, a lot of people stuck their noses into something that didnt concern them at Warrenton last night, much to their own chagrin."

The 53-foot whale sat stinking to high heaven as Foster placed some 500 pounds of dynamite around it, hit the button and.

Boom.

If only Foster could see into the future some 33 years. Then again, maybe he wouldnt care. Blubber did indeed blast into the air. The Guards headline was Whale Splatters  Crowd Scatters.

They said it scattered Warrentons dead whale all over the landscape of Clatsop Beach. The next day the paper ran another blurb and proclaimed it was a noisy funeral.

The Oregonian notes tourists arrived and departed hurriedly because of the smell and the raining chunks.

The first piece in the Eugene Guard politely described what happened to onlookers. The day after the big boom locals flooded Astorias cleaning and dyeing shops and automobiles were lined up waiting for their chance at auto steam-cleaning laundries.

In other words, towns folk were soaked in whale guts and goo, as were their cars.

Still, locals considered the explosion a success, with tons of pieces scattering in all the right places, into bite-sized morsels perfect for local meat-eaters like gulls and such. At least a success is how regional papers described it.

The footnote to the tale is that a week later, the highway commissions attorney ruled on the subject of state jurisdiction over those beaches. He reinforced what the department said before about only overseeing the ocean beaches. The legal precedent here was that the beaches were still considered highways, as declared early in the century. So the highway department was still in charge of the sandy shores (Oregon State Park took that reign later in the century).

The whale was not in any part of the shore of the ocean which by law had been made a public highway, wrote attorney JM Devers.

Barlow at the time thought this would help oceanfront communities in the future if massive whale carcasses needed removing. For whatever reason, it did not help a year later in Lincoln County when Waldport had its whale issue. [Also See: Before Exploding Whale, Legend of Oregon Coast's Imploding Whale] MORE PHOTOS BELOW

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Warrenton and the Old Young's Bay Bridge decades ago

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A Black community leader from Minnesota was reported to have launched a campaign to "return to our faith in God" and the core values where America was founded on as a way to combat Critical Race Theory and its Marxist philosphy.

The Western Journal reported that Kendall Qualls, a businessman who hails from New York and lived in poverty with separated parents, founded an organization called TakeCharge on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Qualls said he aims to "inspire and educate Black and other minority communities of their full rights and privileges as Americans granted to them by the Constitution" through TakeCharge.

"We desire to inspire them to take charge of their own lives, the lives of their children and not to rely on government and politicians for redemption and prosperity. We do not apologize for embracing America or its history. We believe that a well-grounded knowledge of American and world history strengthens our diverse country," TakeCharge said in its website.

The Western Journal said TakeCharge caught national interest after releasing a video that took aim at critical race theory, which has a different way of addressing racial disparity. TakeCharge is known as an organization that "explicitly rejects" the notion that the United States is "structured to undermine the lives of black Americans."

TakeCharge's 142-second video, released last March, is entitled "Take Charge: A New Narrative In The Black Community Of America." The video gave focus on the need to go back to God and to the core values where America is founded on as a means to "take charge of our culture and our future."

"We will succeed when we return to our faith in God, and the core principles of our nation," Qualls and other members of TakeCharge said in the video. "We invite you to join us, and take charge of our culture and our future."

This approach is completely different from CRT, which, in Qualls' own words to Breitbart, alleges that Black Americans "can't make it, not without this whole Critical Race Theory, because look at the equity disparities, look at the racial disparities. Well, the 'racial disparities' are not racial disparities, they're family disruption disparities."

"And the only reason why it looks racial, is because the black community is 50 years ahead of everyone else," he added, emphasizing that CRT is based on Marxist beliefs.

Qualls, whose parents did not finish high school, also aims to address through TakeCharge the "stark decline in academic motivation" and the worsening "academic performance gap for Black students in Minnesota," along with the "dramatic increase in fatherless homes." He pointed out in an article he wrote for the Minnesota Star Tribune that the Black community's three pillars of "faith, family, and education" were stronger during Dr. King's time.

"Sadly, these pillars have crumbled and desperately need repair," he stressed.

Qualls hopes that King's dreams for the Black community would be fulfilled through the efforts of TakeCharge. He said he will use his life story--being a successful businessman now and a philantrophist as well--to fight the Critical Race Theory even in public schools as a means "to reclaim the black nuclear family."

"If it can work for a guy like me, who started his life in Harlem, New York, as a kid, then later lived in a trailer park in Oklahoma. And I tell people, 'Look, I've been called trailer trash, ghetto kid, and a lot worse. But, in this country, where you start in life is not where you have to stay in life," he pointed out.

MPR News said that Qualls previously launched a congressional bid to replace Democrat Representative Dean Philips who did not deliver his promises for Minnesota's 3rd District. His main purpose for running was seeing the "country more divided than it is now." The Western Journal highlighted that though Qualls lost in the said elections, his presence being a new candidate has brought across the message that "the idea of America works."
Adding to a list of changes at its branches, 5Point Credit Union has officially opened its new Orange office and added improved drive-thru capabilities.

The new branch is located across the street from Northway Shopping Center and just a few minutes up the road on North 16th Street from the previous location.

The new location uses a live teller system that the credit union recently integrated into its drive-thru at the Dowlen Road branch in Beaumont.

The teller system allows customers to talk to a teller and extends the branchs drive-thru hours, as well as having all the capabilities of an ATM. Drive-thru transactions will be available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Branch Manager Amber McCranie will be leading operations at the new Orange location. McCranie has been with 5Point Credit Union for 7 years and previously worked as an assistant manager, operations administrative assistant, full-service representative and teller.

5Point currently serves members from eight branch locations, a full-service call center and a Live Teller Center.

Al Basha Mediterranean Grill has now added a market to its recently renovated space off the I-10 frontage road in Beaumont, taking advantage of the former lounge area no longer in use.

Fans of the mid-town staples food can now pick-up its spiced meats, baked goods and specialty items to cook at home. Al Bashas meat market is also fully halal, according to owner Murad Hraiz.

Food that is certified as halal has been prepared in a way that meets with Islamic tradition and law. For meat, that means cuts must be prepared by specific guidelines and can only come from certain parts of an animal.

The restaurant celebrated the markets opening with a special event from May 29 to June 2, offering special buffet prices and sweepstakes.

PNC Financial Services Group announced Tuesday that it had acquired BBVA USA Bancshares and could be transferring its branches and systems by the fall, including at least seven branches in Southeast Texas

Through this transaction, PNC is now the fifth largest U.S. commercial banking organization with over $560 billion in assets.

Our acquisition of BBVA USA accelerates our national expansion and positions us to increase shareholder value over time by bringing our industry-leading technology and innovative products and services to new markets and clients, William S. Demchak, PNCs chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement.

BBVAs branches and systerms could change by October of 2021, but PNC said both companies will continue offering service in person and online through the transition.

PNC will provide comprehensive information to BBVA USA customers prior to the conversion, according to the company.

Raos Bakery & Coffee Cafe is again offering a summer baking camp for kids 5 through 8 and 9 through 12.

Parents and kids can choose to participate in a cake decorating camp or a cookie camp, depending on their interests.

Each child will receive a certificate of completion, take-home recipes, instruction from Raos professional baking staff, a drink and cookie break, T-shirt and a pastry bag with decorating tips to practice their skills at home.

Camps will be held at 3504 FM 365 in Nederland, 4440 Dowlen Road in Beaumont and 6915 Cypresswood Drive Suite F in Spring three times a week from June 1 to Aug. 5.

Registration is only made through the Raos website at Raosbakery.com.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
Click here to read the full article.

A little less than two months ago, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a hastily called press conference outside an emergency shelter in San Antonio, where he delivered a blistering indictment of the federal governments failure to properly care for the migrant children held there. This facility, Abbott said, is a health and safety nightmare. He called for the Freeman Coliseum shelter to be shut down immediately, and for the children housed inside to be moved to other federally operated facilities, presumably those run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, where, Abbott said, the federal government has the space, personnel and resources to ensure their safety.

But on Monday, Abbott did an about-face, formally ordering officials who work for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to pull the state licenses accrediting those O.R.R. facilities  a move that would effectively force the roughly 4,000 migrant kids currently housed in federal facilities in Texas back to the over-crowded, under-resourced emergency shelters Abbott decried in April.

Its a serious form of hypocrisy, and certainly political showmanship, says Hope Frye, a longtime immigration attorney and the executive director of Project Lifeline, a nonprofit that supports the legal and medical needs of migrant children.

The order is tucked inside a two-page proclamation officially declaring the ongoing surge of migrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border a disaster. In the document, Abbott blasts the Biden administrations unwillingness, ambivalence, or inability to fix the situation at the border. Abbott has a long, storied history of grandstanding against Democratic administrations  he sued the Obama administration 44 times  and this latest declaration comes as the Texas governors approval rating has fallen underwater for the first time since he was elected in 2015.

Fifty-two of the Office of Refugee Resettlements roughly 200 shelters are located in Texas; under Abbotts order, all 52 locations would be forced to wind down their operations within 90 days. Some of those facilities have been subject to previous complaints, like the Shiloh Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas, where children accused the operators of abuse, neglect, and forcibly administering psychotropic drugs to control them.

One of the things thats so troubling about Abbotts order, Frye says, is that those O.R.R. facilities have dramatically more oversight than the emergency shelters where the kids will be moved if Abbotts order is ultimately enacted. (Advocates plan to sue Abbott to keep it from going into effect.)

Emergency intake sites are not designed to hold children. They are makeshift, Frye says. In the O.R.R. shelters, Theyre taking care of the children while they process them for release in an orderly manner with case managers who are trained, who are part of the system. In the emergency shelters, you have a hodgepodge of people hired on an emergency basis to do case management who have no training Youre going to take a system that is more functional, that is safe, and more protective for children, and youre going to make it dysfunctional, and further burden an already dysfunctional system.

Abbott, she says, could be helping the system to improve itself instead of creating a chaotic mess if he wanted to.

As dangerous as Abbotts order is, it highlights a problem facing the Biden administration, which has already said it expects more migrants will attempt to cross the border this year than at any point in the last 20 years. The administration does not have a solution for how to handle the increasing volume of asylum seekers and unaccompanied children who have a legal standing to stay.

In April, Rep. Pramilla Jayapal (D-WA) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-WA) suggested one possible solution: the Freedom for Families Act would overhaul the current system, replacing detention centers with appropriate community-based non-detention programs. Whether or not the legislation will gain any traction this session remains to be seen. But it doesnt appear that there is much appetite in the Biden administration to make immigration a central issue. Even Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden tasked with taking charge of the situation at the border, is according to one report, trying to get out of the gig.
Popular Austin-based TikToker and apiarist Erika Thompson has amassed over 6 million followers of her account @texasbeeworks, however over the last 24 hours, the hive has come for her, so to speak, after a distressed Los Angeles beekeeper called Thompson out.

Thompsons videos are typically characterized by their soothing ASMR quality, her long, honey-blonde locks, and the relocation of swarming hordes of buzzing bees.

On May 22, TikTok user and bee removal specialist @lahoneybeerescue, listed a myriad of ways she and the general female beekeeping community are frustrated with Thompsons methodology, safety practices, and from the sound of it, just her overall vibe. Now, the videos are going viral.

READ MORE: Texas Game Wardens responded to six open-water drownings over Memorial Day weekend

What shes doing, going and opening up hives with her hair down, with dark clothes and exposed skin is dangerous, said the user.

The user goes on to lament that Thompson fails to evaluate the types of bees shes relocating, with no protective gear to boot. This is all the more offensive, according to her critic, considering a man recently died in Texas after mowing his lawn near a hive of swarming Africanized bees. (Africanized bees are a more aggressive variety, and can only be discerned when antagonized.)

The critic also claims Thompson has her husband do all the dirty work, describing that she never observes her using power tools to cut the honeycomb. While theres no definitive evidence that her husband is always the one to cut the comb, its clear Thompson has left a sting.

While Thompson is said to have set a very dangerous precedent with her lack of gear, the L.A. beekeeper does concede she appreciates that she shows people that swarms are docile. However, her long and loose hair persists as an issue.

Every female beekeeper I know either cuts their hair off or they put it in a ponytail and scrape it up in a bun so bees dont get in there and sting their neck or face, the L.A. beekeeper with the notably cropped hairdo said.

She looks really pretty doing it and thats because its faked.

On Twitter the issue is divisive. Some find themselves not taking the allegations too seriously, while others are quick to judge, readily calling Thompson a fraud. One supportive Twitter user asked, Why does she need to show power tool use? She's cutting out the boring parts and getting straight to the action. Another replied, Excluding the power tools she doesnt have the proper attire or takes safety precautions so if ppl see that they might imitate thinking thats the norm."

To cap off her series of videos, the Texas Bee Ladys critic left her with a rather direct and surveillant message.

I am straight up calling her out and saying what you do is fake @texasbeeworks I see you, we all see you, all of us female removal specialists all see you, we know youre faking.

As it stands, the Texas Bee Lady has not yet responded to the LA Honeybee Rescuer. MySA was unable to reach Thompson for a comment.

Whichever hive you fall into, you probably didnt think that bee drama could be this buzzy.

READ MORE: Guadalupe River State Park strongly recommends not to swim or tube due to heavy rainfall

Courtesy, San Antonio Airport

In light of the recent TikTok controversy hovering over Erika Thompson, known affectionately by fans as "The Texas Bee Lady," we reached out to a Bexar county entomologist and hobbyist beekeeper, Molly Keck, to see what another Texas beekeeper thinks of the buzz.

Keck who errs on the side of caution when it comes to wearing protective gear, has been beekeeping for 12 years and maintains 10 hives, which she uses for a variety of purposes, including environmental stewardship, retrieving honey, and teaching beginner beekeeping classes through a Texas A&M Agrilife Extension program.

In regard to the criticism of Thompson surrounding her lack of gear, Keck notes that every beekeeper she knows wears "at least a veil" to protect their face, but the range of gear worn by veteran beekeepers varies. Keck, who watched the videos, initially didn't think that Thompson was from Texas.

"In Texas all of our feral bees are considered to be Africanized, one of the traits of the Africanized hybrids is that they're very aggressive, so I figured she was from somewhere up north where bees are more gentle," Keck said.

She mentioned that she suspects Thompson is likely doing some behind-the-scenes work, and doing some checking out of the bees to ensure that they are more docile prior to filming her videos. And that viewers are probably only seeing the gentle extractions and removals, and Keck presumes Thompson has likely encountered some hotter ones off camera.

Ultimately, Keck doesn't fault her too harshly, since Thompson is not encouraging people to not wear suits, and rather appears to just be drawing attention to what she does. However, to prospective beekeepers, she was not without warning.

"She seems to be being cautious, but I would say that if you're a beginner bee keeper, until you're very comfortable around your bees always wear protective equipment, the risk of being stung and not being able to get away is incredibly high."

Courtesy of Molly Keck

Ashley Ralph, a bee specialist based in College Station and President of the Texas Beekeepers Association, told MySA that shes been dealing with the issue long before the controversy.

When I saw the LA Bee Rescue video, there was a little bit of relief there because it is something that we have had inquiries on, and it should be a conversation, Ralph said.

While she doesnt care about the details of the Thompson accusation videos (Ralph stated that her husband also occasionally helps with the power tools) her primary concern, especially after dealing with legislative issues through the Bee Keepers Association, is safety.

The bee safety, the bee advocacy, the professional aspect of it, I think most beekeepers a billion percent agree that there is a risk in the way shes creating that content, knowing that bees really can be dangerous, and that people tend to trust what influencers say, Ralph told MySA.

Courtesy of Molly Keck

San Antonio bee expert Paul Gembarowski, who operates Second Chance Bees, a bee removal service, doesnt get what the big deal is, and infers shes likely using gear before filming. He himself has been known to take off some gear on a hot and sweaty day, once evaluating the hive to be safe.

For the most part after five or six minutes after you open them up thats the most dangerous part, thats when they come pouring out and theyre pissed, but you know, bees calm down, too, Gembarowski said.

Not very many people die of bee stings, I think its like a 100 a year, but at the same time its not zero, Ralph ended.

The post has been updated to include an interview with a local expert.
ExxonMobil has been accused of committing unfair labor practices at its Beaumont facilities leading up to the lockout of more than 600 employees over a month ago, according to a federal complaint by the United Steelworkers Union.

In documents obtained by the Enterprise, legal counsel from the USW claimed that on April 30  a day before the lockout began  refinery and packaging facility employees seemingly were placed under surveillance by management and shifts were changed without notice.

The complaint to the National Labor Relations Board was filed April 13 and delivered to ExxonMobil Beaumont the next day, but nothing has been officially substantiated so far.

Related: ExxonMobil answers questions about ending union representation

A field investigator from the agency has been assigned to the case and is still verifying the claims from the union.

ExxonMobil representatives cited a policy of not commenting on ongoing legal matters but said the company has acted fairly throughout the months-long negotiation process.

The Company has at all times acted lawfully and will continue to do so, Nakisha Burns, a spokesperson with the company, told the Enterprise in an email.

In a brief summary included with the complaint, the union paints a picture of distrust toward employees and preparation for the upcoming lockout.

Related: USW plans protest at ExxonMobil headquarters

The complaint alleged that around April 30, employees arriving for their shift were told to park away from the worksite and were driven into the complex by two supervisors in a company vehicle. It also claims that workers were then shadowed by supervisors at all times.

According to the document, USW claims the company changed the terms of employment without notice by changing the hours of some employees and adding a requirement that employees be transported into the facility.

Following the May 1 lockout initiation, representatives from USW District 13 told the Enterprise that some employees had claimed they were escorted out of the facility as early as 10 p.m. on April 30, but those testimonies werent included in the official complaint.

This isnt the first time the union has filed a complaint in the last few months.

Related: 600 workers remain locked out of ExxonMobil, but how did it begin?

In the document filed on April 23, USW lawyers alleged that the company had been providing an employee with materials about decertification as well as email addresses of employees and use of its email system. The complaint says the company since early March has allowed that employee to keep a lock box on the companys property for petitions.

It also alleged the company had been making changes outside of employees contract that impacted safety and rights of workers, like ending the requirement for employees working at heights to have a spotter.

ExxonMobil started answering questions from employees about decertifying the bargaining unit  which would end USW representation for local employees  in an informational bulletin last Friday.

There has still not been a publicly-confirmed negotiation meeting between the union and ExxonMobil since May 12.

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USW District 13 Staff Representative Richard Hoot Landry told the Enterprise the May 12 meeting ended after the company told union leadership that it had to gather more information to answer their questions about a proposal, which it provided the next day.

On Friday, State Representative Joe Deshotel (D-Beaumont) called on the ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods to end the lockout and return to the negotiation table with the union.

While the oil industry needs ever-increasing support in order to thrive in the future, workers need to be supported as well, Deshotel wrote in the letter. ExxonMobils ongoing lockout of USW Local 13-243 is depriving these skilled workers of millions of dollars in lost income, on top of the hardships they just experienced with COVID-19 and doing harm to the businesses and community services in my district which benefit from workers spending their hard-earned wages.

Read Deshotels full letter on beaumontenterprise.com.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
Texans, free fishing day is coming up.

On Saturday, anglers across the Lone Star State can fish for free and without a fishing license in any public waterbody, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

READ ALSO: See prehistoric beasts stand tall at the Houston Zoo

Craig Bonds, TPWD Inland Fisheries Director, stated in a release the free fishing day is a great opportunity for anglers to share their knowledge, skills, equipment and love for fishing with a new participant.

"We hope those trying fishing on this special day will also learn that purchasing a license is an act of conservation," Bonds added in the release. "A fishing license purchase is one of the simplest and most effective ways people can support fisheries science and management."

To help celebrate the day, TPWD offers multiple resources to provide fun, high-quality fishing opportunities to anglers of all skill levels and all ages. The following are some tips:
WASHINGTON (AP)  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Friday that a nearly eight-hour interview with former President Donald Trump's top White House lawyer shed new light on several troubling events" during his presidency, though it was unclear how Democrats would use the information long after investigations into Trump's ties to Russia have concluded.

The closed-door interview with Don McGahn, which came two years after House Democrats originally sought his testimony, was originally part of Democrats' efforts to investigate whether Trump tried to obstruct Justice Department investigations into his 2016 presidential campaign. House Democrats sued after McGahn defied an April 2019 subpoena on Trumps orders.

McGahn appeared Friday after an agreement was reached in court to sit for a transcribed interview behind closed doors, with his answers limited to information that had already been publicly released in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Trump and Russia. That report also came out in April 2019.

Even if the interview unearths new information, Democrats made clear that it was primarily for history, and to set a precedent that executive branch officials must comply with congressional subpoenas. Nadler said in a statement after the interview that it was a great victory for congressional oversight, although two years had been too long to wait.

Since Democrats first subpoenaed McGahn, Trump was impeached twice by the House and acquitted twice by the Senate. Neither impeachment centered on the Russia investigations, in which Mueller pointedly did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice but also did not recommend prosecuting him, citing Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president.

Still, Muellers report quoted extensively from interviews with McGahn, who described the Republican presidents efforts to stifle the investigation.

In a statement released after the interview, which lasted almost eight hours, Nadler said he could not comment on McGahn's testimony, but said McGahn was clearly distressed by President Trumps refusal to follow his legal advice, again and again, and he shed new light on several troubling events today.

Nadler said a transcript of the interview would be available at a later date, as laid out in the court agreement.

At a break in the interview earlier, Nadler said McGahn was being somewhat difficult at times. While the questioning was led by staff, a handful of members of both parties attended, including Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Matt Gaetz of Florida.

Gaetz, a close ally of Trump, said near the end of the meeting that weve learned nothing new.

As White House counsel, McGahn had an insiders view of many of the episodes Mueller and his team examined for potential obstruction of justice during the Russia investigation. McGahn proved a pivotal  and damning  witness against Trump, with his name mentioned hundreds of times in the text of the Mueller report and its footnotes.

McGahn described to investigators the presidents repeated efforts to choke off the probe and directives he said he received from the president that unnerved him. He recounted how Trump had demanded that he contact then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to order him to unrecuse himself from the Russia investigation.

He also said Trump had implored him to tell the deputy attorney general at the time, Rod Rosenstein, to remove Mueller from his position because of perceived conflicts of interest  and, after that episode was reported in the media, to publicly and falsely deny that demand had ever been made.

McGahn also described the circumstances leading up to Trumps firing of James Comey as FBI director, including the presidents insistence on including in the termination letter the fact that Comey had reassured Trump that he was not personally under investigation.

And he was present for a critical conversation early in the Trump administration, when Sally Yates, just before she was fired as acting attorney general as a holdover Obama appointee, relayed concerns to McGahn about new national security adviser Michael Flynn. She raised the possibility that Flynn's conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak  and his subsequent interview by the FBI  left him vulnerable to blackmail.

Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean, a member of the committee who attended the interview, said McGahn brought to life the chaos that must have been the White House at that time, with a president in a panic over special counsel Mullers investigation.

She said it was a good day for democracy that McGahn finally fulfilled his obligation to testify.

Trumps Justice Department fought the testimony even after District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2019 rejected arguments that Trump's close advisers were immune from congressional subpoena. President Joe Biden's administration helped negotiate the final agreement.

____

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman and photographer Scott Applewhite contributed to this report.
Entergy Texas has set a new date for work on the Bolivar Peninsula that will leave hundreds of customers along the coastline without power while it installs new critical infrastructure.

The work originally was scheduled in May, but had to be rescheduled for June due to weather. The work now is expected to take place Monday with blackouts possible from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., unless rain persists through the weekend. The utility has set a contingency date for Tuesday during the same time frame.

Entergy has been working on installing the new High Island Substation since last March, which will replace the older Himex Substation and double the amount of electric service available to the area. It should also increase stability during periods of peak demand or strain on the system.

Crews must wait until the older substation is de-energized before they can make the switch, which will require the extended outage.

We understand that any time without power is inconvenient, and we make every attempt to limit customer interruptions, Ron Fletcher, Entergy Texas customer service manager, said in a statement. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers as our crews safely work to implement reliability improvements to serve you better.

More electrical demand on the Bolivar Peninsula has followed the trend of growing development in the area in the past several years as more holiday home-buyers and rental companies have taken interest in the beachside communities.

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For one resident, its a change that didnt seem possible after the devastation of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Anne Willis, who has been a Crystal Beach resident for more than 60 years and is a board member of the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, said the area has been on a gradual upswing, growing from about 400 homes a few years ago to about 6,000.

Its just been a constant wave of growth, Willis said. Weve seen companies buy up some of the empty lots left after Ike, but there is also building on places that didnt have development before.

In the wake of Ike, damage reports estimated that around 62% of the structures across the Bolivar Peninsula had been destroyed or severely damaged by the 13- to 17-foot storm surge.

The population of the Bolivar Peninsula was at more than 3,800 people in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but dipped down to 1,959 by 2014. Since then, the number of people living along that stretch of coast has risen 2,549, according to a 2019 population estimate.

Willis said she remembers the months without power after the September storm  and how grateful she felt when the lights finally came back on in December.

I remember there had been some linemen sent down from Missouri and they just spent day after day working here until it was finally done, she said. By the time the lights were finally on, I think they were as happy as we were.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Famine is imminent in Ethiopias embattled Tigray region and in the country's north, the U.N. humanitarian chief said, warning there's a risk that hundreds of thousands of people or more will die.

Mark Lowcock said the economy has been destroyed along with businesses, crops and farms and there are no banking or telecommunications services.

We are hearing of starvation-related deaths already, he said in a statement Friday.

People need to wake up, Lowcock said. The international community needs to really step up, including through the provision of money.

No one knows how many thousands of civilians or combatants have been killed since months of political tensions between Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmeds government and the Tigray leaders who once dominated Ethiopias government exploded into war last November.

Eritrea, a longtime Tigray enemy, teamed up with neighboring Ethiopia in the conflict.

In late May, Lowcock painted a grim picture of Tigray since the war began, with an estimated 2 million people displaced, civilians killed and injured, rapes and other forms of abhorrent sexual violence widespread and systematic, and public and private infrastructure essential for civilians destroyed, including hospitals and agricultural land.

There are now hundreds of thousands of people in northern Ethiopia in famine conditions, Lowcock said. Thats the worse famine problem the world has seen for a decade, since a quarter of a million Somalis lost their lives in the famine there in 2011. This now has horrible echoes of the colossal tragedy in Ethiopia in 1984.

In the disastrous famine of 1984-85, about 2 million Africans died of starvation or famine-related ailments, about half of them in Ethiopia.

There is now a risk of a loss of life running into the hundreds of thousands or worse," Lowcock said.

He said getting food and other humanitarian aid to all those in need is proving very difficult for aid agencies.

The United Nations and the Ethiopian government have helped about 2 million people in recent months in northern Ethiopia, mainly in government-controlled areas, he said.

But Lowcock said there are more than 1 million people in places controlled by Tigrayan opposition forces and there have been deliberate, repeated, sustained attempts to prevent them getting food.

In addition, there are places controlled by the Eritreans and other places controlled by militia groups where it is extremely difficult to deliver aid, he said.

The access for aid workers is not there because of what men with guns and bombs are doing and what their political masters are telling them to do, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs said.

Lowcock said all the blockages need to be rolled back and the Eritreans, who are responsible for a lot of this need to withdraw, so aid can get through to those facing famine.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed needs to do what he said he was going to do and force the Eritreans to leave Ethiopia, he said.

Lowcock said leaders of the seven major industrialized nations -- the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy and Canada -- need to put the humanitarian crisis and threat of widespread famine in northern Ethiopia on the agenda of their summit from June 11-13 in Cornwall, England.

Everyone needs to understand that were there to be a colossal tragedy of the sort that happened in 1984 the consequences would reach far and last long, he said.
Brandon Romero

A San Antonio graduate celebrated the end of his K-12 education and beginning of his college career in one of the most emotional photo shoots a zoomer (young ones from Generation Z) can have.

Though the first "Toy Story" was released years before he was born, Josiah Robles says he and his mother had the idea to take a graduation photo inspired by the movie franchise. Robles told MySA that his mother had seen a Facebook post in which a graduate posed with his childhood toys. They said the photos inspired them to recreate (spoiler alert!) one of the last scenes of "Toy Story 3," when Andy says goodbye to Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the gang.
Several Texas officials and groups don't agree with Gov. Greg Abbott's recent actions.

On Tuesday, Abbott issued a disaster declaration in response to what he is calling a border crisis due to the "ongoing influx of unlawful immigrants." The order authorizes all available state resources to assist state and local law enforcement to protect Texans from property damage, trespassing, smuggling, and human trafficking.

The Governor directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to take all necessary steps to discontinue state licensure of any child care facility under a contract with the federal government that shelters or detains unlawful immigrants.

Additionally, Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and the Texas Commission to work with Texas counties to request any necessary waivers in order to give counties the flexibility needed to establish alternative detention facilities or otherwise add or expand capacity.

READ ALSO: NBA fans respond to rumors of Spurs' Becky Hammon heading to Celtics

San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro responded by calling the order a "cynical political move" that will keep vulnerable kids locked in border jails. He said Abbott's intentionally sabotaging the system for resettling unaccompanied children.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, told KXAN he doesn't support Abbott's labeling of the situation at the border as a "disaster."

"I do not think that this is a disaster," Cuellar told KXAN. "This is a state version of [former President Donald Trump] declaring a border emergency. I disagree with that."

Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a statement regarding the proclamation, in which he says that local law enforcement had not reported a level of criminal activity that would require a disaster proclamation.

"Apparently, Governor Abbott has information that we don't have," stated. "In speaking to local law enforcement, they have not reported levels of criminal activity that would require a disaster proclamation. I have repeatedly suggested to our federal government to address comprehensive immigration reform because our current laws need change to address what we want and what we don't want."

Border group La Union del Pueblo Entero also said Abbott's order is an attempt to distract from "his failure of leadership," adding his "political stunts" are the real threats to Texans.
A Christian man from Pakistan was reportedly killed last May 23 for defending his sister from Muslim harassers.

The Christian Post reported that 32-year-old Arif Masih, a Christian Pakistani from the Punjab province's Tariqabad village, was kidnapped and then beaten, poisoned, and abandoned by a group of radical Muslims for defending her sister who they harassed in public.

Masih filed a complaint with local police against the harassers of her sister last May 20. The harassers--Muhammad Tariq and Muhammad Majid-- followed his sister home from a local store and broke into their home. Then they dragged her out to the street where they stripped her naked.

The two Muhammads then threatened Masih to drop the complaint, which the latter did not do. The radical Muslims then attacked him, loaded him onto the motorcycle they were using and beat him up before they poisoned him and threw him in the street to die. He was rushed to the hospital where he died because of his sustained injuries.

Asia News added that Masih, the son of Saleem Masih, only protected his 18-year-old sister after following the suggestion of District policeman Toba Tek Singh Rana Umar Farooq to file the complaint, although no arrest was made on the two Muslims. Asia News disclosed that witnesses who saw Masih lifeless on the street informed his family about him. His family then took him to Gojra's Tehsil Headquarters Hospital before transferring him to Faisalabad's Allied Hospital due to his critical condition before he died.

His family then exhibited Masih's body in their street as an act of protest for the injustice done to him and their family. The family also called on local officials such as Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Bazdar, Punjab Inspector General Inam Ghani, and Regional Police Officer Raja Rifat Mukhtar demanding for justice.

Asia News said the family's call for justice has spread that human rights activists have expressed their support. One of the said activists is Aqliyat-e-tahafuz Party President Baba Intizar Gill who condemned the violence and inaction of local officials.

"The government must take prompt action against the guilty and protect the rights of minorities, considering them full citizens. These incidents against religious minorities are not new in our nation, but unfortunately the government never takes firm steps against the culprits. It is sad to see that up to now, none of the perpetrators have been arrested," Gill told Asia News.

In addition, the Union of Catholic Asian News reported that Pakistani Christians are now joining the protest for justice. Around 300 mourners have gathered where the 32-year-old Masih's remains lie and protested for several hours. The protesters carried placards with the message "O Lord we are helpless" and "Injustice with Christians."

The Minorities Alliance Pakistan (MAP) is providing legal assistance to the family, who has been advised by local authorities to bury Masih already. MAP Chairman Akmal Bhatti revealed to UCA News that local police even attempted to cover up the murder by reporting it as a suicide case.

"Arif Masih was murdered for demanding justice. The panchayat [local village assembly] scolded the Christian family for filing the case and threatened them with a social boycott for pursuing it. The influential accused easily attained pre-arrest bail," Bhatti said.

"We condemn the murder reported earlier as a suicide. The local police were reluctant to record a report," he added. "Our people are tired of protesting with dead bodies. They were forced to protest under the scorching sun irrespective of the COVID pandemic."
Bedford, PA (15522)

Today

Thunderstorms likely. Rainfall will be locally heavy at times. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall possibly over one inch..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
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Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
After personally coming to Christ and living as a believer for some time, a former Muslim woman realized that many famous preachers lack the substance of the whole Gospel message.

In Islam, God's oneness is an absolute and believing in a Trinitarian God like Christians do violate that belief. Though they accept Jesus as a prophet, they refuse to acknowledge him as God's Son.

So, when Hedieh Mirahmadi, a Christian Post columnist, heard one preacher refer to Jesus as God's Son, she was perplexed. She said she came across this preacher after seeing a tweet from a woman she didn't know, who said his preaching "healed her of her emotional trauma."

With her interest piqued, she listened to the pastor preach about the "healing and redemptive power" of coming to Christ and making Him Lord and Savior.

"It was like listening to a Christian Tony Robbins seminar, filling me with hope, motivation, and the desire to learn more about the Jesus of the Bible."

She listened to the pastor's teachings for more than a month and began praying for God to show himself.

"I heard the audible voice of Christ say, 'Hedieh, it's Me.' At that moment, my life changed forever. The Lord Jesus Christ had answered my prayer, and it was not long before I was baptized and became a Christ-follower," she wrote.

Mirahmadi went to North Carolina to get baptized at the megachurch of the preacher she's been watching on YouTube. After that, she was surrounded by a group of believers who helped her through the emotional turmoil of informing loved ones and close friends that she had turned her back on Islam and became a Christian. They also taught her the value of prayer and Scripture reading and how to listen to God's voice and live a life that reflect His Holiness.

After some time, she discovered that what her church mates were teaching her was not found in the pastor's sermons. Instead, they urged her to become closer to God's word and follow the example of the disciples, who taught about what it means to live a faithful Christian life.

"Our pastor was charismatic and led me to explore what Christ had to offer, but eventually, I needed more," Mirahmadi explained.

She was also concerned about the lack of discussion of repentance and turning away from sin, as well as the warnings about false teachers and the extent of deceit that would occur before Christ's coming. She also noted that sermons sometimes simply cover one or two Bible scriptures. She realized all these after attending Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.

"Had the Lord not led me to seek out true teachings of the Bible, I would have stayed in the megachurch that was the 'cool place to be' but left me without the relationship to Christ I needed to withstand the storms of life," she said.

"All of this is to say that as a Muslim convert, the crisis of many megachurches is beyond the hypocrisy of celebrity pastors who preach what they do not emulate," she continued.

The trap of self-glory as a minister

According to Mirahmadi,"many celebrity pastors fail to teach the whole counsel of the Gospel." Their pursuit of fame and wealth, she said, leads to "an intentional omission of the hard truths of Christ's message."

Repentance and turning from sin, refusing to conform to the patterns of this world, and experiencing persecution for one's convictions, on the other hand, are recurring themes in the Bible.

"Without these truths to guide our behavior, a church body ends up more like a self-help group or a social club than a place of discipleship," she commented.

Her recommendations:



"As a community of believers, we must do everything in our power to prevent corruption in the Church," she said while outlining what the Scripture already said about how Christians should live.

Pursuing maturity and growing in discernment, as per the apostle Paul in Hebrews 5:12-14.

Recognizing the truth that the enemy plants "tares" among the "wheat" and being discerning of it, as per Matthew 13:24-30.

Following God's standards in the Bible, not corporate America's.

Watching out and guarding against false teachers, particularly those who look and sound like they're authentic Christ followers but are in reality "wolves in sheep's clothing" (Matthew 7:15).

Lastly, she admonishes that those who go to church must be "focused on drawing near to God, not idolizing a preacher and his hip sense of style."

Mirahmadi, who started Resurrect Ministry noted that while these principles are true, Christians cannot dismiss the fact that God can still use some celebrity pastors to draw people to Him, just like what He did to her. Those who are drawn to God through these preachers, however, must seek to go beyond the hip and stylish preacher and pursue God Himself.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Sidney Powell, right, speaks next to former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, as members of President Donald Trumps legal team, during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Nov. 19. 2020. On Friday, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting election technology firm Dominion Voting Systems lost its lawsuits against Powell and Giuliani. Dominions defamation lawsuits against the pair are ongoing, according to legal records.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A police officer injured in a shooting Friday in which the suspect and a K9 were both killed and another officer wounded has been released from the hospital
The author says that work has become just a job for many, and according to HR Dive, 88 percent of workers would consider pursuing a new job opportunity. It is no wonder that 53 percent of workers are unhappy at work, according to Forbes, and 61 percent are burned out (stress, fatigue, depression, anxiety, anger), according to CareerBuilder. Workers want more than paychecks.
In hopes of providing others with a safe space where they can be free to grow in their faith in Christ, Iranian Christian Kouroush* took on the task of building a center for Iranian refugees in Turkey, a report says.

It's made up of four walls, a ceiling, and a great deal of construction material, Open Doors said. But, according to Kouroush, when he looks at it, he seems more than just the unfinished space before him.

He points to the doorway, saying, "here we will make the entrance, and this part will become the library. And that there in the back, that will be the hall where we'll have trainings."

He also sees a library filled with Christian materials in Farsi, and a classroom for discipleship. Additionally, the center will coordinate distribution of relief whenever it is required.

Kouroush yearned for a safe and secure environment where he could speak his native language and interact with Iranians. He also wanted it to be a place where he and other Iranian believers could prosper in their faith.

"And I am not the only one," he said. "Finding such a place is one of the biggest challenges for any Iranian refugee."

Now, it's just a matter of time until the community center opens with the support of Open Doors, which has worked with its partners on the ground for the creation of such a venue where Iranian believers can grow together safely.

And although the construction is still underway, Kouroush is already counting down the days before the inauguration of the center. He has dreamed of such a place for Iranian migrants like himself, and that is what he has been working to build for the rest of them.

Expressing his gratitude, he said: "Without the international family of God, we wouldn't have been able to establish this center. I feel like God's hand was in this: He brought us all together."

Surrendered but never abandoned

Kouroush was raised in a Muslim home but discovered Jesus in high school. Despite his initial reluctance, he eventually gave his life to Christ years later. He found a house church, but not without dangers. He was eventually arrested and became subject to torture for his leadership.

"I hadn't committed any crime to deserve this," he recalled. "All I did was surrender my heart to Jesus."

He was released, but instead of backing down he continued with his ministry. Iranian authorities tracked him down, forcing him to leave for his own safety to Turkey. Kouroush could not adequately describe how he felt the first time arrived there.

"It was some kind of fear, mixed with sadness and confusion about why I was here: I lost everything," he said pertaining to his job, family and his country.

This led him to work for the creation of a "safe place where he could feel at home and talk to people in Farsi, the language of Iran," and a "place where he could grow in his faith."

Left with no option but to flee from their homeland

According to Open Doors, approximately 1,000 Iranians make the journey to Turkey every year, fleeing from the religious discrimination and persecution they face in their homeland.

In January of this year, the International Christian Concern highlighted a report from the special United Nations investigation group that chronicles the persecution of Christians in Iran. The report expressed significant concern about the alleged extensive persecution of people who are members of the Christian minority in Iran especially those who have converted from Islam. In addition, it condemned Iran for having violated the most basic principles of fair judicial procedures.

The High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran disputed the charges, claiming that their actions were for national security because those detained were just posers holding "illegal and secret meetings to deceive citizens and exploit the deceived persons, particularly children."

*Not his real name. Open Doors changed the name to protect identity.
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.
Reporter

Heather Bellow, a member of the investigations team, joined The Eagle in 2017. She is based in the South Berkshire County bureau in Great Barrington. Her work has appeared in newspapers across the U.S.
Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. lost a groping lawsuit by default.

According to Page Six, Natasha Ashworth won the lawsuit against Gooding after he did not respond for a year. Ashworth filed the lawsuit in October 2019.

The outlet reports Gooding never hired an attorney or even submitted court records. Therefore, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Alexander Tisch granted Ashworths request for a default judgment on the claims of assault and battery. She was denied a default judgment on the claim of infliction of emotional distress citing redundancy, according to Page Sex.

The case will go to trial to determine the damages.

RELATED: Cuba Gooding Jr. Accused Of Sexual Assault By 14 Women, Including Graphic Claims

Goodings criminal defense attorney Mark Heller stated the claim is baseless and the judgment is worthless.

Surveillance video footage showed that Cuba Gooding Jr. did make contact with the backside of Ashworth. The incident happened in October of 2018 at TAO nightclub in New York City, where she was a server.

In the security footage obtained by TMZ, two camera angles show the actor appearing to make contact with Ashworth's behind. After the initial touch, Ashworth is bothered, and the two proceed to have a heated conversation. In court documents, Ashworth claims she told Gooding not to touch her butt, and added that he allegedly replied, "Aw, that's no fun, and I didn't, I touched your back."

In the video, Gooding can be seen attempting to show her where he claims to have touched her. Prosecutors said in the indictment, however, that Ashworth clearly grabbed his arm before motioning him to leave her alone.

Ashworth claimed in court documents that the actor used his right hand to pinch her right buttock as he was walking past her.

Heller said in October of 2019, "This is a bogus butt grope claim. The video proves Cuba is innocent beyond a reasonable doubt."

Gooding has also been criminally charged on six misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse and forcible touching stemming from the allegations other accusers.

The actor has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Actress Jodie Turner-Smith is coming to Meghan Markles defense, calling out the royal family for their reported lack of protection and treatment of the Duchess of Sussex.

Turner-Smith, who is from the UK, was a guest on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (June 2) and shared her thoughts on the royal family and Megan Markle and Prince Harry's marriage, Daily Mail reports.

I think they could have looked at this marriage and that relationship as a way to evolve and could have embraced it and embraced her fully, and protected her, and protected their son in a way that made him feel like he didnt need to leave, Turner-Smith said.

RELATED: Meghan Markle Reveals The Royal Family Wouldn't Allow Her Son To Be A Prince And Black Twitter Knows Why
Workers in Tulsa, Okla., who were searching for bodies of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre discovered five coffins in a cemetery on Thursday (June 3), which brings the number of unidentified victims found buried in a mass grave to 20.



CBS News reports once an excavation and analysis is completed this week at Tulsas Oaklawn Cemetery, a formal exhumation of the coffins will proceed. Historians have said that as many as 300 people were killed in two days of violence on May 31 and June 1, 1921, led by a mob of racist whites who attacked the citys Greenwood community, where a large number of middle class and prosperous African Americans lived.

There has never been an official death toll following the massacre. Residents, survivors and descendents alike have long searched and asked for help in finding where those killed in the terror were buried after the violence.



RELATED: Tulsa Cemetery Excavation Underway To Determine Possible Connection To 1921 Massacre



In October 2020, an investigation found a mass grave that was believed to hold victims. After that discovery, the CIty of Tulsa partnered with the University of Oklahoma to begin excavating the cemetery, exhuming bodies, and, according to the Tulsa World, is expected to provide DNA testing to connect the dead with their relatives, generations removed.



As many as 30 bodies could be at the Oaklawn Cemetery site, state archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck told reporters.



"I hope that even though it's not going to be tomorrow and it's going to take us some time, I hope that we have answers and that I hope we can lend something to learning more about who these individuals are, who are in this unmarked mass grave that we didn't know about previously, Stackelback said at the beginning of the excavation, according to local Tulsa station KOTV.


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Former President Donald J. Trump only recently launched a blog meant to give his fans and supporters a way to hear from him, without worry of being censored under Big Tech. The blog, however, was shut down very recently. What could be the reason behind it?

President Trump was known for making many announcements and sharing his opinions candidly on social media platforms, particularly Twitter. Sadly, following the chaos that erupted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the Head of State was banned from making any posts online, on the unproven allegation that he "incited" violence.

Those who opposed the then-President accused him of inciting violence, even going as far as trying to impeach him for what he never did. CBN News, in an article, took a look back at the then-President's posts prior to being censored on social media, and easily revealed that the "America First" leader actually called for peace and rejected the violence that ensued.

Here's a short timeline of the events that happened on Jan. 6 and the Republican President's comments before Big Tech shut down his social media accounts, as per USA Today:

6 a.m. - Trump supporters prepare for the "Save America" rally near the Ellipse at the White House.

11 a.m. - The "Save America" rally begins with President Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. speaking, followed by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. President Trump spoke at about 11:50 a.m., and continued speaking for well over an hour.

1 p.m. - "Lawmakers gather for a joint session in the House of Representatives chamber to count Electoral College votes," USA Today noted.

1:10 p.m. - President Trump wasn't finished with his speech yet. In it, he called for his supporters to walk to the Capitol building "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." Towards the end, he said,

"We fight like h***. And if you don't fight like h***, you're not going to have a country anymore ... So we're going to, we're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I love Pennsylvania Avenue. And we're going to the Capitol, and we're going to try and give."

At the same time, rioters were already "grappling with police on the Capitol steps," USA Today said. It's worth noting that President Trump and his supporters were still at the Ellipse, more than four kilometers away from the U.S. Capitol, when the commotion started.

2:11 p.m. - Rioters break through police lines on the west side of the Capitol.

2:38 p.m. - President Trump tweets, "Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!"

3:13 p.m. - President Trump makes another tweet after news of shots being fired and more chaos ensued. "I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence!" he tweeted. "Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order - respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!"

4:17 p.m. - President Trump posts a video addressing his supporters, telling them to "go home now' because "We have to have peace ... law and order." He continued, "go home in peace."

It was clear from these messages that he did not support the violence there. Nevertheless, Facebook, Twitter and other online media sites banned him and prevented him, the U.S. Commander-in-Chief at the time, from expressing his thoughts to Americans and netizens.

President Trump kept looking for ways to communicate with Americans and supporters using various means such as Telegram. Eventually, he launched a blog, "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump," which allowed him to post messages longer than what he could via Twitter.

Less than a month after its launch, however, it was shut down. Reports say it was because it didn't gain much traction. Trump senior aide Jason Miller, however, told CNBC that while the blog "will not be returning," it was merely a small part of the group's plans, something of a placeholder.

"It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on," Miller said.

Apparently, the decision to close the blog wasn't an act of surrender or defeat. Rather, per Miller's response to former Nevada GOP Chair Amy Tarkanian's question, it is in reality a necessary step towards something better.

"Perhaps this is a precursor to him joining another social media platform?" Tarkanian asked.

"Yes, actually, it is. Stay tuned!" Miller responded.

Now, Facebook has finally announced that it will ban former President Trump for two years, until 2023. Mr. Trump called out the Big Tech company's abuse, saying

"Facebook's ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75M people, plus many others, who voted for us in the 2020 rigged Presidential Election. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our Country can't take this abuse anymore!"

Nevertheless, it appears that whether Facebook reinstates his account or not, the former President already has his plans to reach out to his supporters in place.
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In today's polarizing world where Christian values and Biblical beliefs are often labeled as "hate speech" and not being "inclusive," Christ-followers should be prepared to face what could possibly come their way as they stand for God.

Pastor Andrew Brunson knows this very well and urges believers to prepare for it even before it happens.

"Jesus said that it would happen," Brunson told Charisma News' Stephen Strang in a podcast. "Just as the world hated him, that it will hate His followers."

Brunson knows persecution, having been incarcerated for his faith for two years in Turkey over trumped-up charges of terrorism and spying. He said that he almost turned his back on the Lord while in prison, but was able to stay in faith because he had developed an intimacy with Him, characterized by an intentional coming after His heart.

"The thing that best prepared me for my time under persecution was cultivating that love for God and running after His heart," he said.

Theologically unprepared

What worries Brunson the most, however, is how many Christians, Charismatics in particular, tend to focus on only one aspect of the Christian life -God's presence- and largely ignore the other, equally-important part that the Lord Jesus Himself warned about: persecution.

"I'm especially concerned about my charismatic brothers and sisters," Brunson said. "We have an emphasis on presence and on glory and encounters and miracles. When those don't happen, how are we going to handle it?"

"I think many charismatics could be in danger," he continued. "Jesus specifically warns that the love of many will grow cold, and this is talking about offense in the heart. That distances people from God, and it specifically happens in times of persecution, which I believe is coming."

Brunson emphasized that many might be disillusioned with God because of several things, namely increasing wickedness, the judgments that God will bring, the persecution that might happen to those who stand for Christ, and even just the seeming "silence of God" that people will have to go through. These things, he said, puts some Christians at risk of disillusionment and turning away.

"Jesus warns that many people will be knocked out. I think this is especially a risk for charismatics because of the heightened expectations that we have," he said.

Brunson said Christians will need to do more than storing up food and supplies, even arming themselves for defense when the trouble comes. Christians must prepare themselves so that they will not be offended at God for the things that might happen, particularly those mentioned above.

This is especially true for Charismatics who hold to the belief that God is a good Father who will provide for and protect His children and will not let them experience trouble. This is also applicable to those who put a rather large emphasis on Jesus Christ as a miracle worker and not on Jesus Christ as the Suffering Servant and Savior, a Man of "suffering and grief."

That said, Brunson warns that Christians must prepare themselves theologically and strengthen and condition themselves for the spiritual warfare that is to come. Strang noted that while Western Christians might've seen persecution come as a "trickle," Brunson warns of "a tidal wave on the horizon, and it's coming toward us very quickly. It's not some far-off threat."

"Someone said to me recently that Jesus will not be unequally yoked to his bride," Brunson said. "She will also be a bride who has suffered. So we need somehow to begin, as a part of our theology and teaching, to prepare people that actual suffering can happen. That can be more difficult than we expected."

Brunson warned that persecution can come in many ways. These include "silencing, marginalizing, shaming, canceling people." It also includes struggling with Big Tech, "how we get our message out to other Christians, to nonbelievers also," especially if Christians get banned on social media or their websites and podcasts are no longer hosted by tech companies.

He also warned of Christians losing their credit card processing providers or banks, and added that in the future, churches might also lose their tax-exempt status simply for advocating and speaking Biblical morality, Biblical sexuality, and so on.

"We need to prepare ahead of time so that when we are afraid (or under pressure) we do not run but stand firm," he said.

Preparing to stand firm

Pastor Brunson outlined several ways to prepare for persecution.

First and foremost, he said Christians must work on, as of paramount importance, "cultivating love for God."

"Over the years, this pursuit of God's heart prepared us for difficult assignments, including my time in prison. So, God knew that I would struggle; He knew that I would break," he said. "But He also knew that because of all of those years of drawing close to His heart in the most difficult times, I would turn toward Him and not away."

The second thing to do comes naturally once Christ followers cultivate that love for God: "running after His heart."

"So, the truth is that intimacy fuels perseverance, and we are willing to suffer for those we love," Brunson said. "The thing that best prepared me for my time under persecution was cultivating that love for God and running after His heart."
It was a day many of us will never forget. On this day, I got up as usual to take my daughter to school before heading back home to get ready for work. Upon arriving back home and sitting down in front of the television, just before getting ready, my son, just home from basic training in the Navy, tells me to change the television station. What I saw would be the beginning of a journey that Im still travelling. The day Im speaking of is September 11, 2001. My twenty-year-old son would eventually be deployed off the coast of Afghanistan.

The phone call came near the end of my work day, on December 4, 2001. My co-worker took the call and handed the phone to me. Out of nowhere the words came to me softly from my wife at home, Jamel is dead. I had just spoken to him just three days before this; he told me that he was coming home, so I had to ask her to repeat herself. She told me that two soldiers showed up at our door with the news. I then proceeded to take the longest subway ride of my life to go home. What I walked into I will never forget: media waiting outside, with friends and family on the inside. I will never forget the sight of my then ten-year-old daughter, curled up in a corner crying over the death of her big brother. I went to console her first. Of the thousands of lives lost in Afghanistan, our son was the eighth casualty of the war.

Ten months later, to the day, on October 4, 2002, I was awakened early in the morning by my oldest daughter. She informed me that my youngest daughter, now eleven, was having difficulty breathing. When I reached her, and put her in my arms, she went to be with the Lord. Her name was Charis Annette. I chose her name very carefully. Her name literally means, Grace Grace. Over the years, we have come to cherish His grace. Ten months. Two children. Two deaths. Both unexpectedly. What do you do? How do you cope? Ive not spoken any these words to illicit any type of pity; but only to make real to you that death is no respecter of persons. I know that my story is not unique; but it is my story.

When it comes to death, age or status does not matter. After all, death is an enemy. We read these simple, but powerful words from Scripture:

The last enemy that will be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26).

But the question remains: How do we deal with the death of a loved one? In spite of deaths inevitability, you would think we would be prepared for it; but this is not always the case. The loss of a loved one can be a harrowing experience. And while this is a most difficult question to answer, through the grieving process, there are three things which are divinely contained within it. They are: provisions, promises, and preparation. I believe that through these, we will see several solid and basic truths that we need to remember in these times of grief.

The Provision of His Power and Grace

When the apostle Paul was dealing with his self-described, thorn in the flesh, he asked the Lord for relief. The Lords response was such that we can take with us, and apply to every situation which finds us in need; whether that need be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.

And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

What this means is that through His grace, He supplies an ample measure of His strength; just what we need to endure the circumstance. I can remember hearing this question constantly during those days, How are you holding up? My answer would almost always be, Fine, by Gods grace. His power finds its perfection when I am at my weakest point. When I am overwhelmed, I look to the Rock that is higher than I am, and that is stronger than I am. This measure of grace sustains us by keeping us from falling over the edge, so to speak, and keeps us from attempting to rely upon ourselves.

The Promise of His Peace

Throughout Pauls letters we read the phrase, Grace to you, and peace, from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But it was more than just a greeting to open a particular letter  it was both Gods and his own desire that grace and peace would be something that they could be assured of having. And while His grace is guaranteed during dark times of grief, peace can flee from us. If we begin to give ear to the devils lies concerning our plight, such as, Why has this happened to you?, or Why has God allowed this to happen?, we will find peace ebbing from us. We need His peace because it comforts us with the truth that God is sovereign; He has all things under control. Peace also declares that God regulates; He never puts more on us than we can bear. Finally, peace provides us the opportunity to praise Him. We read:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).

During times of grief, we are not to worry, but rather to pray  with a measure of thanks. We are to thank Him, not for the circumstance in itself, but for who He is. The psalmist said, I will yet praise Him. This is the most difficult thing to do during times of grief, but it is necessary, because it shifts our focus from ourselves, to the Lord. When this takes place, something wonderful happens:

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3).

Perfect peace! This is that same peace spoken of in Philippians 4, that passes all understanding. This peace will surround us as we bless His name, and trust Him that He alone knows what is best. In this world that is filled with confusion and fear, He gives us His peace. Jesus Himself spoke of this peace:

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).





Photo credit: Getty Images/Prostock Studio

The Promise of His Presence

In our times of grief, the Lord does not stand aloof, wondering what it feels like to grieve. Scripture tells us otherwise when it states:

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:14-15).

While in the throes of sorrow and devastation we can rest assured that He is close by our side. His promise to Israel is easily applied to us as well:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you (Isaiah 43:2).

You will note the words, when you pass through, and when you walk through. These words not only tell us that he will be with us, but they also clearly indicate that He will see us through to the other side.

There is another side to grief. Its a side that continues to remember, but where the pain and hurt has subsided. Does time heal? While we are yet in these mortal and decaying bodies, it may be very difficult to entirely alleviate all the pain associated with the passing of a loved one, but time does have a way of suppressing some of the anguish. Yes, the pain and hurt does subside, for I have experienced it myself.

His Precious Preparation

From our perspective, we dont always understand what God is doing. This stems from the fact that His ways and thoughts are far above ours. We read:

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

For this reason, we at times are perplexed within ourselves, with no help from the enemy of souls, as to why God allows what He does. But from Gods perspective, He always has a plan and a purpose for everything. One of the greatest purposes God has for grief is so that we can become ambassadors of His comfort. Watch this because this is powerful:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

The value in all that we experience is that God is equipping and preparing us to bring comfort to others in need with the very same comfort He provided for us. This is glorious! We definitely do see this at the time of our grief, but without question, as the Lord carries us through, He gives us a testimony that speaks only of Him, and who He is, and what He is able to do.

His grace, His peace, His power, and His presence  all provided by the finished work of the cross, prepare me to advance in life, in ministry, and in support of others along the way in need of comfort. Its all about Him!

Related articles

10 Important Things the Bible Says about Death

How to Use Scripture to Encourage Grieving Kids

20 Comforting Verses for the Person in Grief

Photo credit: Pexels/Van Thang
The Biden administration has proposed a $6 trillion budget aimed at improving infrastructure, education, and health care. If passed, it would push federal spending to its highest level since World War II. It could also usher in the reversal of a long term-trend of declining government employment.

Over the last decade, the number of Americans employed by governments at the local, state, and federal levels has fallen from 22.5 million in 2010 to 21.9 million in 2020, a 2.6% drop. Nationwide, the public sector accounts for 15.4% of all employment. Government employment is not evenly distributed across the country, however. Depending on the state, the share of all jobs in the public sector ranges from less than 13% to over 25%.

In Idaho, 16.5% of the workforce are employed by the government -- either at the state, local, or federal level -- the 23rd highest share of all states. Breaking with the national trend, the number of government workers in Idaho has increased in recent years. There are currently 124,300 public sector workers in the state, up 4.8% from 2010.

States with a larger than typical share of public sector workers often have higher than average government spending on a per capita basis -- and vise-versa. Idaho is an exception, however. Per capita state and local government spending in the state totaled $7,436 in 2019, compared to the $10,131 national average.

Data on government employment and total employment are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 24/7 Wall St. calculated the share of government employment. Preliminary data on direct state and local government expenditure in 2019 came from the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances with figures was adjusted for population using data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. These are the states where the most people work for the government.
A West Yellowstone smokejumper died Wednesday night from injuries sustained last week while responding to a fire in New Mexico.

Tim Hart has worked in West Yellowstone as a smokejumper squad leader and spotter with the West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base since 2019, according to a news release from the Custer Gallatin National Forest Service.

He and his wife lived in Cody, Wyoming, according to the GoFundMe set up for Harts medical bills prior to his death.

Our hearts go out to Tims family, loved ones, friends, fellow Forest Service employees, and the entire wildland fire community, said Vicki Christiansen, U.S. Forest Service Chief, in a news release announcing Harts death. I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sorrow while respecting the familys privacy.

Hart was responding to the Eicks Fire in the Animas Mountains in southwest New Mexico on May 24 when he was injured. WildfireToday.com reported that he was flown by air ambulance to a hospital in El Paso, Texas.

The Eicks fire burned about 900 acres before being fully contained, said fire spokesperson Wendy Mason.

Through a Forest Service spokesperson, Harts family said he loved living in Cody with his wife Michelle and their dog Dash.

Hart has worked in wildland firefighting since 2006, when he began his firefighting career on the Coconino National Forest in Arizona and then the Fremont-Winema National Forest in Oregon. In 2009, Hart became an engine crew member and lead forestry technician on the Shoshone National Forest and, the following year, became a lead firefighter with the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew in North Carolina.

He joined the smokejumper program in 2016, the release said, and relocated to Grangeville, Idaho. In 2019, Hart became a smokejumper squad leader in West Yellowstone and the following year also worked as a spotter.

Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines released a statement Thursday saying he was saddened by Harts death.

Tim bravely served as a West Yellowstone Smokejumper and protected communities from devastating wildfires. Im thankful for his service, Daines said.

About 30 smokejumpers work out of the West Yellowstone base, said Forest Service spokesperson Mariah Leuschen-Lonergan. There are nine smokejumper bases in the nation and about 450 smokejumpers.

Smokejumpers respond to fires in isolated areas that engines and more traditional wildfire crews may take a long time to get to, Leuschen-Lonergan said. They parachute into the area of the fire with enough supplies and equipment to be a self-sufficient module for several days, until engines and more crews can arrive.

The West Yellowstone Smokejumper Base serves the Custer Gallatin National Forest, the Shoshone National Forest, The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, the Bridger Teton National Forest and both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Early in fire season, the crews also respond to fires across the nation.
The Biden administration has proposed a $6 trillion budget aimed at improving infrastructure, education, and health care. If passed, it would push federal spending to its highest level since World War II. It could also usher in the reversal of a long term-trend of declining government employment.

Over the last decade, the number of Americans employed by governments at the local, state, and federal levels has fallen from 22.5 million in 2010 to 21.9 million in 2020, a 2.6% drop. Nationwide, the public sector accounts for 15.4% of all employment. Government employment is not evenly distributed across the country, however. Depending on the state, the share of all jobs in the public sector ranges from less than 13% to over 25%.

In Washington, 17.1% of the workforce are employed by the government -- either at the state, local, or federal level -- the 18th highest share of all states. Breaking with the national trend, the number of government workers in Washington has increased in recent years. There are currently 561,400 public sector workers in the state, up 2.1% from 2010.

States with a larger than typical share of public sector workers often have higher than average government spending on a per capita basis -- and vise-versa. Washington is no exception. Per capita state and local government spending in the state totaled $10,750 in 2019, compared to the $10,131 national average.

Data on government employment and total employment are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 24/7 Wall St. calculated the share of government employment. Preliminary data on direct state and local government expenditure in 2019 came from the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances with figures was adjusted for population using data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. These are the states where the most people work for the government.
LONDON  In a previous investigation, MintPress News explored how one university department, the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, functions as a school for spooks. Its teaching posts are filled with current or former NATO officials, army officers and intelligence operatives to churn out the next generation of spies and intelligence officers. However, we can now reveal an even more troubling product the department produces: journalists. An inordinate number of the worlds most influential reporters, producers and presenters, representing many of the most well-known and respected outlets  including The New York Times, CNN and the BBC  learned their craft in the classrooms of this London department, raising serious questions about the links between the fourth estate and the national security state.

National security school

Increasingly, it appears, intelligence agencies the world over are beginning to appreciate agents with a strong academic background. A 2009 study published by the CIA described how beneficial it is to use universities as a means of intelligence training, writing that, exposure to an academic environment, such as the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, can add several elements that may be harder to provide within the government system.

The paper, written by two Kings College staffers, boasted that the departments faculty has extensive and well-rounded intelligence experience. This was no exaggeration. Current Department of War Studies educators include the former Secretary General of NATO, former U.K. Minister of Defense, and military officers from the U.K, U.S. and other NATO countries. I deeply appreciate the work that you do to train and to educate our future national security leaders, many of whom are in this audience, said then-U.S. Secretary of Defense (and former CIA Director) Leon Panetta in a speech at the department in 2013.

Kings College London also admits to having a number of ongoing contracts with the British state, including with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), but refuses to divulge the details of those agreements.

American connections

Although a British university, Kings College markets itself heavily to American students. There are currently 1,265 Americans enrolled, making up about 4% of the student body. Many graduates of the Department of War Studies go on to attain powerful positions in major American media outlets. Andrew Carey, CNNs Bureau Chief in Jerusalem, for example, completed a masters there in 2012. Careys coverage of the latest Israeli attack on Gaza has presented the apartheid state as responding to Hamas rocket attacks, rather than being the instigator of violence. A leaked internal memo Carey sent to his staff last month at the height of the bombardment instructed them to always include the fact that the Gazan Ministry of Health is overseen by Hamas, lest readers begin to believe the well-documented Palestinian casualty figures brought on by days of bombing. We need to be transparent about the fact that the Ministry of Health in Gaza is run by Hamas. Consequently, when we cite latest casualty numbers and attribute to the health ministry in Gaza, we need to include the fact that it is Hamas run, read his instructions.

Once publicized, his comments elicited considerable pushback. This is a page straight out of Israels playbook. It serves to justify the attack on civilians and medical facilities, commented Al-Jazeera Senior Presenter and Producer Dena Takruri.

The New York Times, the United States most influential newspaper, has also employed Department of War Studies alumni. Christiaan Triebert (M.A., 2016), for example, is a journalist on their visual investigations team. He even won a Pulitzer Prize for Revelations about Russia and Vladimir Putins aggressive actions in countries including Syria and Europe. Hiring students from the school for spooks to bash Russia appears to be a common Times tactic, as it also employed Lincoln Pigman between 2016 and 2018 at its Moscow bureau.

Josh Smith, senior correspondent for influential news agency Reuters and formerly its correspondent in Afghanistan, also graduated from the department in question, as did The Wall Street Journals Daniel Ford.

Arguably the most influential media figure from the university, however, is Ruaridh Arrow. Arrow was a producer at many of the U.K.s largest news channels, including Channel 4, Sky News and the BBC, where he was world duty editor and senior producer on Newsnight, the networks flagship political show. In 2019, Arrow left the BBC to become an executive producer at NBC News.

The British invasion

Unsurprisingly for a university based in London, the primary journalistic destination for Department of War Studies graduates is the United Kingdom. Indeed, the BBC, the countrys powerful state broadcaster, is full of War Studies alumni. Arif Ansari, head of news at the BBC Asian Network, completed a masters analyzing the Syrian Civil War in 2017 and was soon selected for a leadership development scheme, placing him in charge of a team of 25 journalists who curate news primarily geared toward the substantial Middle Eastern and South Asian communities in Great Britain.

Many BBC employees begin studying at Kings years after their careers have already taken off, and balance their professional lives with pursuing new qualifications. Ahmed Zaki, Senior Broadcast Journalist at BBC Global News, began his masters six years after he started at the BBC. Meanwhile, Ian MacWilliam  who spent ten years at BBC World Service, the countrys official news broadcast worldwide, specializing in sensitive regions like Russia, Afghanistan and Central Asia  decided to study at Kings more than 30 years after completing his first degree.

Another influential War Studies alumnus at the World Service is Aliaume Leroy, producer for its Africa Eye program. Well-known BBC News presenter Sophie Long also graduated from the department, working for Reuters and ITN before joining the state broadcaster.

Its an open secret that Kings College London Department of War Studies operates as the finishing school for Anglo-American securocrats. So its maybe not a surprise that graduates of its various military and intelligence courses also enter into a world of corporate journalism that exists to launder the messaging of these same security agencies, Matt Kennard  an investigative journalist for Declassified U.K. who has previously exposed the universitys connections to the British state  told MintPress. It is, however, a real and present danger to democracy. The university imprimatur gives the departments research the patina of independence while it works, in reality, as the unofficial research arm of the U.K. Ministry of Defence, he added.

The Department of War Studies also trains many international journalists and commentators, including Nicholas Stuart of the Canberra Times (Australia); Pakistani writer Ayesha Siddiqa, whose work can be found in The New York Times, Al-Jazeera, The Hindu and many other outlets; and Israeli writer Neri Zilber, a contributor to The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Foreign Policy and Politico.

Whats it all about?

Why are so many influential figures in our media being hothoused in a department well known for its connections to state power, for its faculty being active or former military or government officials, and for producing spies and operatives for various three-letter agencies? The point of this is not to allege that these journalists are all secretly card-carrying spooks: they are not. Rather, it is to highlight the alarmingly close links between the national security state and the fourth estate we rely on to be a check on their power and to hold them accountable.

Journalists trained in this sort of environment are far more likely to see the world in the same manner as their professors do. And perhaps they would be less likely to challenge state power when the officials they are scrutinizing were their classmates or teachers.

These sorts of questions abound when such a phenomenon exists: Why are so many journalists choosing to study at this particular department, and why do so many go on to be so influential? Are they being vetted by security agencies, with or without their knowledge? How independent are they? Will they just repeat British and American state talking points, as the Department of War Studies publications do?

On the question of vetting, the BBC admitted that, at least until the 1990s, it conspired with domestic spying agency MI5 to make sure that people with left-wing and/or anti-war leanings, or views critical of British foreign policy and empire were secretly blocked from being hired. When pressed on whether this policy is still ongoing, the broadcaster refused to comment, citing security issues  a response that is unlikely to reassure skeptics.

While it strikes me as very interesting that a single academic institution could play such a major role in the recruitment of pro-establishment activist intellectuals and delivery of the same to the media, it is not so surprising, Oliver Boyd-Barrett, Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green States School of Media and Communication and an expert in collusion between government and media, told MintPress, adding:

Elite institutions in the past and doubtless still today have been major playgrounds for intelligence services. The history of the modern nation-state generally, not just the USA, seems to suggest that national unity  and therefore elite safety  is regarded by elites as achievable only through careful management and often suppression or diversion of dissent. Far more resources are typically committed to this than many citizens, drilled in the propaganda of democracy, realize or care to concede.

The Bellingcat Boys

While the journalists cataloged above are not spooks, some other Department of War Studies figures working in journalism could possibly be described as such, particularly those around the influential and increasingly notorious investigative website Bellingcat.

Cameron Colquhoun, for instance, spent almost a decade at GCHQ, Britains version of the NSA, where he was a senior analyst running cyber and counter-terrorism operations. He holds qualifications from both Kings College London and the State Department. This background is not disclosed in his Bellingcat profile, which merely describes him as the managing director of a private intelligence company that conduct[s] ethical investigations for clients around the world.

Bellingcats senior investigator Nick Waters spent four years as an officer in the British Army, including a tour in Afghanistan, where he furthered the British states objectives in the region. After that, he joined the Department of War Studies and Bellingcat.

For the longest time, Bellingcats founder Eliot Higgings dismissed charges that his organization was funded by the U.S. governments National Endowment for Democracy (NED)  a CIA cutout organization  as a ridiculous conspiracy. Yet by 2017, he was admitting that it was true. A year later, Higgins joined the Department of War Studies as a visiting research associate. Between 2016 and 2019 he was also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, the brains behind the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Bellingcat has received money from the following:

OSF

Meedan

NED

Google

Adessium

Crowdfunding  Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) February 6, 2017

Higgins appears to have used the university department as a recruiting ground, commissioning other War Studies graduates, such as Jacob Beeders and the aforementioned Christiaan Triebert and Aliaume Leroy, to write for his site.

Bellingcat is held in very high regard by the CIA. I dont want to be too dramatic, but we love [Bellingcat], said Marc Polymeropoulos, the agencys former deputy chief of operations for Europe and Eurasia. Other officers explained that Bellingcat could be used to outsource and legitimize anti-Russia talking points. The greatest value of Bellingcat is that we can then go to the Russians and say there you go [when they ask for evidence], added former CIA Chief of Station Daniel Hoffman.

Bellingcaught

A recent MintPress investigation explored how Bellingcat acts to launder national security state talking points into the mainstream under the guise of being neutral investigative journalists themselves.

Newly leaked documents show how Bellingcat, Reuters and the BBC were covertly cooperating with the U.K.s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to undermine the Kremlin and promote regime change in Moscow. This included training journalists and promoting explicitly anti-Russian media across Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the FCO noted, Bellingcat had been somewhat discredited, as it constantly spread disinformation and was willing to produce reports for anyone with money.

Nevertheless, a new European Parliament proposal published last month recommends hiring Bellingcat to assist in producing reports that would lay the groundwork for sanctioning Russia, for throwing it out of international bodies, and to assist Russias transformation into a democracy. In other words, to overthrow the government of Vladimir Putin.

An academic journalistic nexus

The Department of War Studies is also part of this pro-NATO, anti-Russia group. Quite apart from being staffed by soldiers, spooks and government officials, it puts out influential reports advising Western governments on foreign and defense policy. For instance, a study entitled The future strategic direction of NATO advises that member states must increase their military budgets and allow American nuclear weapons to be stored in their countries, thereby shar[ing] the burden. It also recommended that NATO must redouble its commitment to opposing Russia while warning that it needed urgently to form a coherent policy on the Chinese threat.

Other War Studies reports claim that Russia is carrying out information-psychological warfare through its state channels RT and Sputnik, and counsel that the West must use its technical means to prevent its citizens from consuming this foreign propaganda.

Kings College London academics have also proven crucial in keeping dissident publisher Julian Assange imprisoned. A psychiatrist who has worked with the War Studies department testified in court that the Australian was suffering only moderate depression and that his suicide risk was manageable, concluding that extraditing him to the United States would not be unjust. As Matt Kennards investigation found, the U.K. Ministry of Defence had provided 2.2 million ($3.1 million) in funding to the institute where he worked (although the psychiatrist in question claimed his work was not directly funded by the MoD).

Kings College London markets the War Studies department to both graduates and undergraduates as a stepping stone towards a career in journalism. In its career prospects section for its masters course in war studies, it tells interested students that graduates go on to work for NGOs, the FCO, the MoD, the Home Office, NATO, the UN or pursue careers in journalism, finance, academia, the diplomatic services, the armed forces and more.

Likewise, undergraduates are told that:

You will gain an in-depth and sophisticated understanding of war and international relations, both as subjects worthy of study and as intellectual preparation for the widest possible range of career choices, including in government, journalism, research, and humanitarian and international organisations.

Courses such as New Wars, New Media, New Journalism fuse together journalism and intelligence and are overseen by War Studies academics.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the department has taught many influential politicians, including foreign heads of state and members of the British parliament. But at least there is considerable overlap between the fields of defense policy and politics. The fact that the very department that trains high state officials and agents of secretive three letter agencies is also the place that produces many of the journalists we rely on to stand up to those officials and keep them in check is seriously problematic.

An unhealthy respect for authority

Unfortunately, rather than challenging power, many modern media outlets amplify its message uncritically. State officials and intelligence officers are among the least trustworthy sources, journalistically speaking. Yet many of the biggest stories in recent years have been based on nothing except the hearsay of officials who would not even put their names to their claims.

The level of credulity modern journalists have for the powerful was summed up by former CNN White House Correspondent Michelle Kosinski, who last month stated that:

As an American journalist, you never expect:

Your own govt to lie to you, repeatedly Your own govt to hide information the public has a right to know Your own govt to spy on your communications

Unfortunately, credulity stretches into outright collaboration with intelligence in some cases. Leaked emails show that the Los Angeles Times national security reporter Ken Dilanian sent his articles directly to the CIA to be edited before they were published. Far from hurting his career, however, Dilanian is now a correspondent covering national security issues for NBC News.

Boyd-Barrett said that governments are dependent on the assistance of a penetrated, colluding and docile mainstream media which of late  and in the context of massive confusion over Internet disinformation campaigns, real and alleged  appear ever more problematic guardians of the public right to know.

In recent years, the national security state has increased its influence over social media giants as well. In 2018, Facebook and the Atlantic Council entered a partnership whereby the Silicon Valley giant partially outsourced curation of its 2.8 billion users news feeds to the Councils Digital Forensics Lab, supposedly to help stop the spread of fake news online. The result, however, has been the promotion of trustworthy corporate media outlets like Fox News and CNN and the penalization of independent and alternative sources, which have seen their traffic decrease precipitously. Earlier this year, Facebook also hired former NATO press officer and current Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Ben Nimmo to be its chief of intelligence. Reddits Director of Policy is also a former Atlantic Council official.

Meanwhile, in 2019, a senior Twitter executive for the Middle East region was unmasked as an active duty officer in the British Armys 77th Brigade, its unit dedicated to psychological operations and online warfare. The most notable thing about this event was the almost complete lack of attention it received from the mainstream press. Coming at a time when foreign interference online was perhaps the number one story dominating the news cycle, only one major outlet, Newsweek, even mentioned it. Furthermore, the reporter who covered the story left his job just weeks later, citing stifling top-down censorship and a culture of deference to national security interests.

The purpose of this article is not to accuse any of those mentioned of being intelligence agency plants (although at least one person did actually work as an intel officer). The point is rather to highlight that we now have a media landscape where many of the Wests most influential journalists are being trained by exactly the same people in the same department as the next generation of national security operatives.

It is hardly a good look for a healthy, open democracy that so many spies, government officials, and journalists trusted to hold them accountable on our behalf are all being shot out of the very same cannon. Learning side by side has helped to create a situation where the fourth estate has become overwhelmingly deferential to the so-called deep state, where anonymous officials words are taken as gospel. The Department of War Studies is just one part of this wider phenomenon.

Feature photo | The Maughan Library Gate at Kings College London, UK. David JC | Alamy

Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP)  A year ago, Ross Martinsons Center City store, Philadelphia Runner, was ransacked in the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd. As raucous crowds cleared out of Rittenhouse Squares retail corridors, Martinson and his business partners were left to contend with an upturned, waterlogged store after sprinklers had activated to quell a fire set inside.

A year later, Martinson says he plans to reopen Philadelphia Runner this summer in a new location at 17th and Walnut Streets, a block away from the former store at 16th and Sansom. While many businesses in the Rittenhouse Square area were able to bounce back within a few days to several months, locally owned Philadelphia Runner, which was surrounded by mostly high-end chains, was a notable exception  and a reminder that not everything downtown has returned to normal.

It was completely destroyed, Martinson said last May about the store, which needed to have its floors and drywall replaced. Now that he has signed a lease for the new, significantly larger store, Im definitely feeling positive for the future. He added that Philadelphia Runner did well in the spring once its online store went live in February with all of the stores merchandise.

As the unrest trickled out from Center City to the 52nd Street shopping corridor in West Philadelphia last year, some small business owners have continued to struggle.

As of late April, 53 of the 1,906 ground-floor businesses in Center City, or 2.8%, were still boarded up, said JoAnn Loviglio, a spokesperson for the Center City District. Over on the retail strip of 52nd Street, many businesses were damaged twice last year, and some owners are still reeling.

Im open back up, but the business right now is kind of shaky, said Mohammad Rahman, the owner of SNS Electronics at 203 S. 52nd St. His business was ransacked two times last year, in the spring and fall, and then burglarized this year. He said he didnt have insurance that would have protected him against property damage last year but has bought it since then. I know for a fact if I had insurance, I would have been fine.

Rahman said his merchandise was valued between $40,000 and $60,000. Most of it  phones, televisions, speakers, and other electronics accessories  was stolen during the unrest last year, and he cant afford to fully restock.

Im just hitting my savings, said Rahman, 25, who immigrated to the U.S. from Bangladesh in 2007 and opened his store in 2016 after gaining work experience at other electronics stores for about a decade. I borrowed some money from my parents and people that I know just to get back up, but its not enough.

He received about $5,500 in private aid from organizations that included the Enterprise Center, a West Philadelphia group that assists underrepresented entrepreneurs. Rahman said he applied twice to receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration with the hope he would receive some help.

I didnt get nothing at all, he said.

People got in through the back door of the Foot Locker on Chestnut Street between 52nd and 53rd Streets in October after the Philadelphia police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.

The money he received from other sources dwindled quickly.

A total of 36 businesses on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia were affected by civil unrest last spring, said Sadiyah Sabree, the 52nd Street commercial corridor manager for the Enterprise Center. In October, after Philadelphia police shot and killed Walter Wallace Jr., whose family said he was having a mental health crisis when he confronted officers with a knife, 22 businesses were impacted, some for the second time.

The Enterprise Center raised more than $150,000 and started to distribute $2,000 to each local business that sustained damage, Sabree said. Some stores that experienced particularly heavy damage  such as Kings Fashions, which was set on fire  received a little more. A man who picked up the phone at Kings Fashions, which reopened at the end of February, said the owner was out of town for an extended trip. He declined to comment.

The community rallying around local businesses has been really supportive, Sabree said, although there are still some lingering fears. The experience was so traumatic that its now at the back of their minds.

Across the city, many merchants declined to talk about the fallout of the civil unrest and vandalism. In Center City, spokespeople for some stores that were vandalized last May declined to comment. Major Rittenhouse Square retailers that sustained heavy losses last year included Nordstrom Rack, Bloomingdales Outlet, H&M, Doc Martens, Vans, Urban Outfitters, and Apple.

We had a lot of products that were taken, said Nicole Miller, marketing director for Adolf Biecker Salon, which has a location at 16th and Sansom and two spots in the Philadelphia suburbs. Luckily, we were able to rebound from it and get the repairs. She said no one was inside when people started breaking windows, and no tools or dryers were stolen because of the way the salon is arranged.

As an organization, we were upset about what was going on within our salons, she said, but we had a greater concern as part of what was going on in the greater society as a whole. Adolf Bieckers staff was able to reopen the salon in two to three days after it boarded up its storefront while it waited to replace its broken glass doors. It was a challenging time, but we are definitely on the rebound.

Many were delayed waiting for insurance adjusters as well as materials and supplies, Steve Gartner, executive vice president of global retail services for the commercial real estate firm CBRE, said of businesses that were damaged during civil unrest last year. Almost all tackled the desire and the task to reopen as soon as possible.

In April, as the murder trial for Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin drew to a close as millions nervously waited for the verdict, Sabree, who oversees businesses on the 52nd Street commercial corridor, asked local business owners in an email to make sure their security cameras were set up and their security gates were working properly.

We dont want people to be fearful, she said. We want them to be prepared.



Online:

https://bit.ly/3wRp4wP
WARMINSTER, Pa. (AP)  William Dobbs didnt miss the boat.

But the ship the young soldier was assigned to take from North Africa to the China-Burma-India theatre during World War II, His Majestys Transport Rajula, had to turn back to port. It couldnt keep up with its sister ship, HMT Rohna, in a convoy crossing the Mediterranean.

Too many barnacles attached to its hull and engine trouble slowing the ship down might have saved Dobbs life.

As he looks back on his war experiences this Memorial Day, Dobbs  a North Jersey native now living in Warminster  took time to remember the 124 members of his 31st Signal and Construction Battalion who were among 1,015 American soldiers killed when a Nazi-guided missile sunk the Rohna on Nov. 26, 1943.

The ships sinking resulted in the largest number of American soldiers killed at sea during World War II and would become known as the first casualty of a radio-guided missile ever launched against the US  once declassified decades later.

Rohnas fate shrouded in secrecy

The remote-controlled Henschel HS 293 bomb, released by a German airplane, was the first of its kind. The Allied command didnt want word of the terrifying device to get out, less it demoralize American and British forces fighting the Nazis, so they classified the attack and made the survivors keep the secret, under threat of court martial.

The history of the Rhona wasnt declassified until the 1990s and wasnt really known by the American public until Charles Osgood reported it on his radio show on Veterans Day, 1993.

The Rohna, a British cargo ship that was to transport American soldiers to Southeast Asia, was bombed by the Nazis with a guided missile on Nov. 26, 1943. More than 1,000 soldiers were killed or drowned in the attack which was kept classified for 50 years, historians say.

But, some were determined not to let it fade into history.

Caitlin McHugh, of Philadelphia, Dobbs granddaughter, researched the Rohnas history for a paper she wrote as a student at Cornell University, Unraveling the Secret Behind the HMT Rohna. It was published by Ezras Archives, a Cornell Historical Society publication, in spring 2011.

For 50 years from 1943 to 1993, families never learned the fate of their soldiers who went down with the ship and survivors needing medical and other veteran benefits had long battles back home trying to prove that their war injuries were legitimate while keeping the secret about the vessels sinking, McHugh noted in her report.

Now the Rohna Survivors Memorial Association is trying to find survivors and make contact with the families of those killed. Some 104 Pennsylvanians died, another 79 from New Jersey and three from Delaware, according to records. New York saw 133 causalities.

Most of the bodies of the soldiers were never recovered; there were no funeral services or burials  the boys just never came home, said Jack Ballo, who is producing a documentary, Rohna: Classified, about the ships sinking. The South River, New Jersey, filmmaker got started researching the ship after finding letters in his attic that were sent home by Joseph Pisinski, his wifes great-uncle who was one of the soldiers killed.

The films outreach project is also working to identify families of the casualties.

According to the researchers, 35 Nazi planes targeted the 24 ships in the convoy heading to India that day, but the remote-controlled bombing of the Rohna was the major tragedy. Air power to protect the ships was missing due to preparations for the D-Day invasion.

Worst 35 days of my life on that ship

Dobbs said it was his good fortune during the war to be sent back to port twice.

The Liberty Ship Patrick Henry that was supposed to transport him and other troops to Africa from Newport News, Virginia, in October 1943, was late getting started across the dangerous, U-boat infested Atlantic Ocean, so it had to head back to port to wait for a new convoy to form.

By the time Dobbs got to Africa 11 days later, the manifest for the Rohna going to India was set. He was assigned on the Rajula, its sister ship.

Both were operated by the British India Steam Navigation Co. but had been converted from cargo to troop ships during World War II. Due to is engine difficulties, the Rajula had to go back to port on that late November day when the convoy it should have been in was targeted by the Nazis.

I got sent back twice by God, Dobbs said.

In her essay, McHugh, who is now an attorney, noted: The Rohna was originally a civilian ship designed to hold 100 people comfortably. On the fateful transport mission in 1943 from Oran, Algeria, to India, the HMT Rohna was carrying 2,193 military personnel and 195 crew members, roughly twenty times its capacity. The result of this massive overloading was that the men were crowded below deck in appalling conditions.

Dobbs remembers that both the Rohna and the Rajula were overly crowded ... It was the worst time, he said. We werent allowed to come upstairs for 30 days.

I spent the worst 35 days of my life on that ship; we were practically starved, went on a hunger strike, not enough latrines or washing facilities, sleeping quarters, slept on tables, on floors, on barrack bags and any other place a body could squeeze.

He thought similar conditions existed on the Rohna and it was vulnerable even before leaving the harbor.

According to the Rohna Memorial Association website, created in 1998, the events, which occurred after the Rohna was struck by the guided missile were so shameful that the secrecy continued for decades, McHugh reported.

I knew we were missing men

Dobbs said that when he arrived in Bombay, India, after the Rajula safely crossed the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal with another convoy, the men already there said, Where did you guys come from? Youre supposed to be dead.

Dobbs didnt learn that the Rohna was downed by a missile until the report on its sinking was declassified but he said, I knew we were missing men.

He learned from the tragedy that training is so important.

The men aboard both the Rohna and Rajula were given a life preserving belt that was inflated by pressing on carbon dioxide cartridges, he said, but they were never given instruction how to use it so many on the doomed ship jumped overboard with them tied as a belt at their waist.

They should have moved them up under their arms to keep their heads afloat, Dobbs said. Instead, when the belt inflated, it brought their midsection and rear to the surface, not allowing them to right their head above the choppy water.

On the Rohna, they lost hundreds of people who jumped in the water and drowned ... Once it inflates, it tightens around your waist. They couldnt get their heads up... Hundreds died because of it, Dobbs said.

He said that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower required training in the use of the lifesaver belts before the D-Day invasion.

Survivors reported that the lifeboats aboard the Rohna were old, were almost glued to the ships with paint and some of their chains were rusted in place.

As men tried to escape the crippled ship, some of the lifeboats that were able to be freed tumbled over, killing many in the boats and those who may have jumped into the water below them.

A nearby ship, the USS Pioneer picked up many of the survivors, some of whom had been in the cold, November waters for hours.

Surviving the war

When Dobbs got to India, he quickly got to work in the headquarters office for his battalion.

When I was in high school I could type 100 words a minute. I was the best typist in the high school, he said.

He also scored very highly in an aptitude test even though he hadnt studied academic courses in school, so the Army asked him what he would like to do. He said work in personnel. He was assigned to a commanding officer, who was an older attorney in civilian life. Promotions soon followed.

When his boss tour of duty was up, Dobbs took charge of the department, being promoted to staff sergeant. I came in sitting on a box. I went out running personnel, Dobbs said with a smile. His pay was $96 a month.

He said the battalion was responsible for setting up signal wires over hundreds of miles from Assam Valley in India, going through the hot, mosquito-infested jungles in Burma to Kunming, China.

After the war, Dobbs went back to school to take English and algebra classes before enrolling in Rutgers University where he graduated with a degree in accounting.

But then, as he sat crunching numbers on a calculator, he realized accounting wasnt for him.

He and his brother Louis took over their dads auto body shop in 1954, moved it to Springfield in North Jersey, and started Dobbs Auto Body, a successful business that could service 23 cars at a time and employed 20 people.

Its still there. I retired in May 1999, he said. Its probably one of the oldest businesses in Springfield.

As he spoke, Minnie, his wife of almost 70 years nodded in agreement. The couple have three children and four grandchildren.

Still spry at age 97, Dobbs hasnt kept many mementos of his war years, but he did keep his Army uniform jacket. He didnt wear the decorated wool jacket much in the hot jungles of Southeast Asia, but it still fits him, though the buttons wont close.

Believe it or not, I was 147 pounds when I got out of the Army. If I get on the scale now, Im 147, he said.

Honoring the Rohna and its sacrifice

World War II veteran William Dobbs, of Warminster, reminiscences about his two years in the service.

Dobbs said hes proud that his granddaughter saw the loss of the lives on the ship as needing recognition and that her efforts and those of other historians and Ballo with his documentary film will help share its history with a wider audience.

The fate of the Rohna and its soldiers was finally recognized by Congress in October 2000 when the late Congressman Jack Metcalf of Washington spearheaded a campaign to have a tribute to the soldiers and crew of the Rohna read in Congress and placed in the Congressional Record.

McHughs parents, Diane Dobbs and her husband, Dr. Joseph McHugh, of Newtown Township, are proud that their daughter took such an interest in her grandfathers story which she first learned about when she interviewed him for a seventh-grade project.

It stuck with her and she ran with it, her mom said. Now experts are calling her for more information.

In her paper, McHugh wrote that there were three reasons why the Rohna sinking was secret for so long: the immediate needs to avoid demoralizing troops during the war, followed by the American and British governments not wanting to cast blame for the condition of the ships or the lack of proper training in the rescue operation, as well as the communication issues that arise when two governments both had classified documents on the tragedy to declassify.

Without this veil of secrecy, McHugh said, maybe then the HMT Rohna could have taken its due place next to the celebrated and observed disasters such as the RMS Lusitania in the Atlantic and the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and earned its rightful place in the hearts and minds of the American people.



Online:

https://bit.ly/3c0wdmQ
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP)  Mario Kovach stood at a trailhead near Hawk Mountain the other day, with the Appalachian Trail stretching to Maine one way and Georgia the other and a perfect blue sky spilling sunshine over everything  a red car parked on the side of the road, a gaggle of genial thru-hikers pausing among their heaps of gear to rest and drink water.

He slowly rotated his right forearm, displaying 20 surnames of men and women tattooed in a font patterned, he said, after the one on the tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery.

All died in service of their country. Solesbee, Bell, Schwartz, Seidler, Weiner, Miller, Loncki, Moss. On and on. As members of the U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, they were steel-nerved experts in the highwire job of defusing bombs, including the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that killed so many troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This was Kovachs job, too, during his 20 years in the Air Force. The Pottstown native, who retired in 2018, survived five rotations through Afghanistan without serious injury, except to his psyche. It is this wound the retired master sergeant has been treating on the trail and other places where nature is still able to soften the sharp edges of the manmade world and hush its incessant screech and roar.

Its natural stimulus versus manmade stimulus, he said. Nature is nothing that man controls. Its the combination of the environment and solitude that gives me the feeling of resetting my internal locus.

This is where Cindy Ross enters the story. She is a writer and lifelong hiker whose adventures in travel and education have filled nine books so far.

The latest, Walking Towards Peace  Veterans Healing on Americas Trails, is about the veterans Ross serves through the nonprofit River House PA, headquartered at the log cabin she and husband Todd Gladfelter built 30 years ago in East Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County.

The organization was born out of Ross experience with some veterans who thru-hiked the trail in 2013, meaning they walked all 2,180 miles. When the group paused in Albany Township, she and Gladfelter organized a dinner for them at the cabin, listening to the stories they told of wars horrors and the unexpected happiness they found in the arduous but beautiful trek along the trail.

Its a place they can find peace, said Ross, who speaks intently and earnestly, in the manner of someone sharing information you absolutely have to know.

It is, after all, an urgent matter. Post-traumatic stress disorder  PTSD  is endemic among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, with one study suggesting the rate is as high as 30%. Many Vietnam veterans still carry the burden, too.

Veterans also take their own lives in extraordinary numbers. Military suicide has rightly been called an epidemic  the Department of Veterans Affairs says nearly 18 veterans a day committed suicide in 2018. And though rates have declined among veterans who have received care through the department, much work remains to be done.

Kovach is among the veterans profiled in Ross book. They are men and women who have seen the worst of the worst and, in many cases, came close to suicide before discovering natures restorative power  manifested in the flute-like call of a wood thrush, the rattle of a woodpecker, the glimpse of a sun-mottled deer among the trees.

Ross worked with veterans affairs early on and word spread about the program, so she has no shortage of veterans visiting River House and hitting the woods. The water, too  they do a lot of tubing and paddling. Paralyzed veterans can ride adaptive mountain bikes on the trails.

At the end of these days, they gather back at Ross and Gladfelters house and, like that first night, have dinner and gather around a fire.

At least a few of them would start to cry and say, It was the best day of my life, Ross said. They say, I need to do this with my family and kids.

Most gratifying are the messages from veterans who tell her a day in nature was crucial to saving their lives.

Kovach, who grew up in the shadow of the Limerick nuclear power plants cooling towers and now lives in upstate New York with his wife and two sons, was circumspect about what led him into explosives disposal.

I didnt get into it on purpose, he said, then veered into a discussion of the history of the Ordnance Disposal unit  how it evolved from the need to clear English city streets of the time-delayed bombs dropped by Nazis in Luftwaffe raids.

All four military branches have EOD units. Kovach said the Air Force unit numbers in the hundreds but is a close-knit group nonetheless.

Most I knew or worked with in some capacity, Kovach said of the fallen colleagues whose names cover his arm.

He recounted the ways some of them perished. Airmen Timothy Weiner, Daniel Miller and Elizabeth Loncki  Team Lima  died in Iraq in 2007 when a device they were investigating detonated. Technical Sgt. Kristoffer M. Solesbee was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan.

Airmen Matthew Seidler, Bryan Bell and Matthew Schwartz were hit by a giant IED in Afghanistan in 2012, Kovach said. And Walt Moss was the first EOD killed in Iraq. That was in 2006.

Carrying such memories, not to mention the accumulated stress of moving through war zones where every moment posed a threat, turned Kovach into a different man, a change he sums up in Ross book:

Guys like me thrive in crisis situations. But the longer you are in combat, the more your nature begins to change. Our wires get crossed. You might be in a mall at home on leave, but hypervigilance mode is going through the roof. I feel as if I have to pay close attention to details and I cant turn it off in a normal situation. We dont have a switch. For so long and for so often, I needed to keep the team alive. Urgency becomes the norm. This lifestyle has completely eroded my nerves.

In 2019, Kovach hiked the 85-mile Susquehannock Trail in Potter and Clinton counties. Thats where he learned that nature can restore what life has taken.

Not a single part of me on that hike felt as if I were on a mission, he told Ross. I was not teleported back to the mountains of Afghanistan.

Kovach is keenly aware that for every vet who finds healing and solace, many more still struggle to the point of despair. Last fall he co-founded Project Felix, a nonprofit group for unit technicians coping with survivors guilt and other trauma.

Were trying to put a dent in the ether of military suicides, he said.

There are means of healing other than hiking and paddling, of course, but Kovach said a day in the woods  or a week, or a month  must be reckoned among the best.

It doesnt cost anything, he said. Youre not putting medications into you. And you can do it anytime.



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With his own money, Kelly Tataryn of Brandon, decided to circumnavigate the globe for cancer. His family has been touched by the deadly disease more than once and it was his way of giving back.

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With his own money, Kelly Tataryn of Brandon, decided to circumnavigate the globe for cancer. His family has been touched by the deadly disease more than once and it was his way of giving back.

He started in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam and got as far as Padang, Indonesia when it was time to head home.

Kelly Tataryn of Brandon travelled roughly 5,500 kms in the first leg of his trip in circumnavigating the globe from Vietnam to Indonesia. (Submitted)

He had travelled approximately 5,500 kilometres.

His father, Keith Tataryn, was sick and needed chemotherapy in Winnipeg.

With a pandemic nipping at his heels and a gravely-ill parent at home, Tataryn took it as a sign to head back to Manitoba.

"I flew from Padang to Jakarta, to Tokyo to Vancouver, to Calgary and to Brandon with a bike," he laughed.

"I put it in a bike box. I taped the sh@! out of it. And I said, OK, here we are."

He threw out half of his stuff to make the weight for the bike. "Turns out I didnt need to."

Kelly Tataryn of Brandon travelled 5,500 kms roughly in the first leg of his global bike ride for cancer through Vietnam to Padang, Indonesia. (Submitted)

That was March 29, 2020.

His reasoning was, what if something happened to his Dad and he missed out on an opportunity to see him one last time?

"No bike trip is worth that."

Keith died in September, 2020, just before his 70th birthday.

Tataryn first got into biking around 2004. In 2005, he bicycled from Vancouver Island to Halifax, approximately 9,000 kms, for Multiple Sclerosis. Then again in 2015 from Halifax to Vancouver.

When a friend was getting married in Istanbul, Turkey and invited Tataryn to attend the wedding, he saw it as a way of living his dream and doing good at the same time.

After the wedding, he travelled to Egypt and saw the pyramids, heading to Hanoi afterward.

For three weeks, he hunted for a bicycle that would fit his six foot frame. On the day before he was about to fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), he found his bike.

The bike, an Acoca, was made in a reputable Vietnamese factory, he said. "I rode it all the way down (to Indonesia) without any major repairs."

He doesnt know how long it took him to get to Padang. "I count my days in sunburns and litres of water, not kilometres," he chuckled.

The highlights of Tataryns adventure include running into a herd of elephants (not literally) and being treated to the kindness of strangers who fed and sheltered him along the way.

"People in Asia are pretty nice. If there was going to be any crime, Im about twice the size of anybody over there.

"Id rather make friends with people than seem imposing though."

Semi-retired at 41 (he worked in the oil patch for roughly 15 years and a diamond mine in northern Canada), Tataryn is pursuing his degree with an eye on following in his fathers footsteps. But not before he finishes travelling around the globe on his bike.

"By the time Im finished circling the globe, I should be done with my degree," he said. And, like his father, he plans on teaching English in a school overseas.

Once the travel restrictions lift though, hes back on his bike riding for cancer. Hell strike out from Brandon, head over to Vancouver Island and down the coast to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From there, hell head across the pond, maybe on a container ship, he said.

"I kind of always wanted to do the world anyway."

For now, hes writing a book in the woods, where his creativity flows.

You can read about Tataryns last bike adventure on his blog, at https://tatarynk.com

kkielley@brandonsun.com
As the sun shines bright and the mercury tops 30 C highs, community groups are helping people beat the heat and cope as the pandemic makes it harder to find a place to cool down.

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As the sun shines bright and the mercury tops 30 C highs, community groups are helping people beat the heat and cope as the pandemic makes it harder to find a place to cool down.

The extreme heat will continue across southern Manitoba into next week and can be a safety risk for people outside, said Janelle Gergely, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

While hot temperatures arent abnormal or in record-breaking ranges in Brandon, the heat can still be dangerous, she said. The temperature on Friday was forecasted to be as high as 35 C and up to 32 C on Saturday.

If youre going to be outside, try to plan activities in the morning or evening, rather than in the middle of the afternoon. Gergely said its important to take lots of breaks from the heat and stay hydrated.

"Theres a lot of things you can do to stay cool and avoid heat stroke and heat exhaustion with these high temperatures," she said.

Not everyone has access to an air-conditioned room or a place to cool off though, including people experiencing homelessness.

Samaritan House Ministries will be open on Saturday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. to give homeless people a place to cool down and get a sandwich or a bottle of water. The shelter was also open on Thursday and Friday afternoons as the temperature topped 30C, executive director, Barbara McNish said.

"Its just a safe, cool place to be to get rested," she said.

Concerns over COVID-19 have shut many air-conditioned, public buildings where people could otherwise go to escape the heat. People arent allowed to congregate in malls, so instead are largely left to be outside.

"We havent found a lot of places open," she said.

"When you look at heat stroke or heat exhaustion, they can be fatal to you so when youre out in the heat and you have no place to kind of cool down or have a reprieve from it, it could be fatal to you. Were taking care of people and making sure theyre safe."

The Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation will have water and ice available outside its downtown offices over the weekend, director Matt Grills said.

While some homeless people were able to get a break from the heat in the Town Centre, COVID-19 means thats not an option during the current heat, he said.

There are competing emergencies in Manitoba right now, City of Brandon emergency co-ordinator Tobin Praznik said  both the pandemic and a heatwave.

"It certainly provides that additional challenge and we want to make sure we keep our community as safe as possible," he said.

An emergency cooling centre could be opened if needed, but Praznik said the city is waiting on guidance from Prairie Mountain Health for information on the need as the weekend progresses.

Police officers and paramedics will also have cases of water bottles available to distribute during calls.

While some spray pads opened in Winnipeg on Thursday, the Kinsmen Pool is scheduled to open on June 15 and spray pads not until June 21.

The citys schedule is based on the public health orders that were set to expire on June 12, Praznik said, but the province amended them to let spray pads reopen as cooling options during the heatwave.

"Right now, the focus is recruiting all the staff and training them up to speed it was unexpected to get this release wth this heatwave on last-minute notice, so because were in those stages of recruiting the staff and getting them trained, those timelines are still the ones were looking to meet," he said.

"We just didnt have the flexibility to make those changes until we get all the correct procedures in place."

On Friday, acting deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said the splash pads arent for recreation, but as a break from the heat.

"This isnt a family of four with two parents and two kids who have air conditioning at home to go to a splash pad. This is maybe a single parent or two parents and two kids who live in a home without air conditioning who dont have access to sprinklers or something, that theyre able to get out, cool down, stay for a short time and go back home," he said.

The City of Brandon will be following public health orders once the splash pads open, Praznik said.

"Those procedures havent really been determined because we didnt ahve the ability to open them up, but well assess them when we have the opportunity and we will be meeting the requirements," he said.

Until the splash pads do open, Praznik said its important to take opportunities to cool off, stick to the shade and drink lots of water. He also advised against strenuous outside exercise until temperatures cool off.

Gergely said the hot temperatures are forecasted to last into next week. There is also a risk of thunderstorms until it cools off, so people should be aware of the risk of lightning.

 dmay@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @DrewMay_
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Interrupted by the pandemic, an investigation to identify children buried in unmarked graves off Grand Valley Road is still being planned.

A carpentry class takes place at the Brandon Industrial Institute, circa 1910. (United Church of Canada Archives photo)

Brandon University offered an update on the delayed effort Friday, a week after the issue was thrust back into the international spotlight.

Last week, it was announced burial sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School site in B.C. included the bodies of 215 children.

The former Brandon Residential School property along Grand Valley Road in Brandon is long known to have also housed bodies.

At latest estimate, more than 100 potential unmarked graves are believed to be spread through three burial sites, including those at Turtle Crossing Campground, the Sioux Valley property at the north side of Grand Valley Road and the Brandon Research and Development Centre property.

Investigation into these graves began in 2012, resulting in a report by then-University of Manitoba masters student Katherine Nichols, who found death records for 70 children.

A site survey indicated the existence of additional unmarked graves.

Funding was received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in April 2019 to pursue the project further, but the pandemic interrupted the effort.

This funding, a Brandon University spokesperson clarified, does not include the land at Turtle Crossing, where approximately 50 bodies are believed to have been buried.

Although the project has been delayed and no fresh timeline has been provided, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Coun. Evelyn Pratt said shes optimistic things will soon speed up.

"With all the media attention this is getting Im sure theyll be getting funding flow into our communities to do all the research necessary," she said Friday, adding this work has already been long overdue.

"When I hear about his news, I think about all the elders who have passed on.  I think of them and what they had to endure, and in their memory Im glad this work is going to begin.

"All the wrongs can not be corrected, but at least theres a willingness to recognize that it was not a good situation for the First Nations people in Canada, especially children."

The Brandon Residential School Cemeteries Project intends to identify the names of children who died at school while it was in operation from 1895 to 1972, according to Brandon Universitys release.

"Using forensic methods coupled with archival research and interviews with survivors, the project team will reclaim the identities of children and work with affected communities and families."

Project collaborators include people from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Simon Fraser University, Brandon University and the University of Windsor.

Project collaborators include Simon Fraser professor and project lead Eldon Yellowhorn; Simon Fraser PhD candidate Katherine Nichols; Simon Fraser faculty researchers Donna Reder, Hugo Cardoso and Dongya Yang; University of Windsor professor John Albanese; Brandon University professor Emily Holland alongside student Darian Kennedy and other student research assistants.

Despite repeated messages left with her this past week, Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Jennifer Bone has consistently either declined to speak with the Sun or said she was too busy, deferring all comments to written statements.

"Despite the associated ethical, legal and logistical challenges, the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation is committed to ensuring that community-led research is grounded in culture, following the guidance of our Elders and is conducted in a holistic and ethical way," she said in Fridays release.

The researchers behind this project "are currently letting the release stand on its own," a Brandon University spokesperson said, noting they were planning a wider media availability in the future, but wanted information out in the public as soon as possible given how timely it was.

"This project has the potential to facilitate reconciliation," Holland said in the release. "At the core of our work is ensuring that we respectfully follow the desire of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation and associated Indigenous communities as to steps forward."

Pratt said shes pleased to see this past weeks resurgence in public awareness on the residential school system.

Canadians often see their nation as a leader in humanitarian causes around the world, and the residential school system a clear blotch on their record that she said needs addressing.

"Hopefully this is the beginning of that. They talk about Truth and Reconciliation  thats a huge area. Lots of work needs to be done there to address all of the issues that are affecting First Nations people."

 tclarke@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
A saviour may be emerging for the beleaguered Park Community Centre.

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A saviour may be emerging for the beleaguered Park Community Centre.

At Mondays Brandon Citys Council meeting, the centres board chair Jennifer Moes will make a presentation on a proposal for the repair and upgrading of the building.

The facility has been unsuitable for use for years due to various hazards in need of repair.

Sneath Projects, owned by local business owners and developers Robyn and Jason Sneath, is proposing to do the work and complete part of it at no cost in exchange for a charitable donation receipt worth $25,969.

Though the total cost is not mentioned, Sneath Projects lists what they would do in a document attached to the agenda for Mondays council meeting.

The structurally challenged floor would be removed and replaced with a concrete floor topped with a hardwood surface suitable for dancing and a carpeted stage area.

All main ductwork, AC lines, plumbing drains, vents, water lines, fixtures, ceiling tiles, interior doors and lighting would be replaced.

The skate shack would have washrooms added after being removed, its floor would be fixed, rubber mats and heat would be added and all needed fixtures for rink flooding equipment would be installed.

A commercial-grade kitchen and food storage area would be built, including fixtures and appliances.

At the southwest entrance, a concrete ramp and landing area would be added.

In the facilitys basement, the concrete floor would be levelled and drywall would be replaced.

All shingles, roof sheathing, stucco, soffits, facia and paint on the exterior would be repaired or replaced. The interior would also be repainted.

In the dance hall, new wall panelling and millwork would be installed.

At a council meeting in January, Moes and former city councillor Drew Caldwell gave a presentation advocating for the centre to be saved rather than demolished.

Council will also vote on whether to participate in an infrastructure program for zero-emission vehicles.

Eco-West Canada has been working on a project to install level two and three electric vehicle charges for municipalities in Manitoba.

Under that program, two charging sites have been proposed for Brandon by city administration, one at Brandon City Hall and the other at the A.R. McDiarmid Building on Princess Avenue.

The kind of level three chargers the city is looking at would cost $100,000 each to purchase and install, but the program would fund up to 50 per cent of the cost.

If approved, council would add $100,000 to the 2022 budget to pay for the project.

 cslark@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
Is there something in the water over at Air Canadas headquarters? Can you help me understand why one of the best-known Canadian companies is working so hard to be one of the least-respected?

Is there something in the water over at Air Canadas headquarters? Can you help me understand why one of the best-known Canadian companies is working so hard to be one of the least-respected?

Im writing with righteous indignation, of course, about the revelations of Air Canadas huge bonuses to top staff and management which were paid out at the same time the corporation was negotiating with our Federal Government for a bail-out.

Due to COVID, Air Canada had a terrible 2020. There isnt an airline in the world that can boast about 2020. Air Canada saw its revenues drop from over $19 billion to under $6 billion. Thats a massive loss of revenue.

As a result, in April the Federal Government announced it had lent the airline approximately $6 billion of taxpayer money to keep it afloat.

The funds consisted of a repayment plan for Air Canada to refund passengers who had their flights cancelled, plus $500 million of equity for the Government, plus a $4 billion dollar loan.

In return, Air Canada had to commit to keeping many of their less-profitable regional routes flying, begin the refunding of flights cancelled during the pandemic, and guarantee that employee pensions, jobs and collective agreements would be maintained.

There were also stipulations including a ceiling of $1 million on executive pay, and restrictions on share repurchases and dividends. Why? Because the feds clearly understood taxpayers would not accept a company receiving bailouts only to then pass along benefits to shareholders and executives.

Its long been among my favourite axioms that politics consists of both symbols and substance. To be fair, there is not a huge amount of substance here.

In todays grand scheme of massive deficits and enormous corporate losses, $10 million isnt a big number. While $10 million represents a life-changing amount of money for folks like you and me, when we are talking about athletes, celebrities and corporate leaders, it really isnt an enormous amount.

What makes it so grating is that Air Canada was crying poverty and pleading for taxpayer money while distributing these funds to the top ranks. Its obscene that the CEO and a tiny coterie of his obsequious sycophants would profit while all Canadians funded their party. (To borrow from Seinfelds lawyer Jackie Chiles, it is lewd, lascivious, salacious and outrageous.)

Remember back in 2008 when the CEOs of the Big Three automakers all used their own private jets to fly to Washington and beg for taxpayer bailouts? They could have enjoyed a windfall of positive media coverage if they had carpooled in a Chevrolet, but they chose to give taxpayers the one-finger salute.

"There is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hand, saying that theyre going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses," Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-New York said at the time.

Feels like we are getting the one-finger salute right now.

Last year the ailing airline cut its workforce by half, eliminating over 20,000 jobs. The company also received over $650 million from the feds under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program.

Recently retired Air Canada CEO Calvin Rovinescu did okay in 2020, receiving a total compensation package of $9.26 million. While this pay decreased from his compensation in 2019, he still did well considering his companys revenues dropped by over 60 percent.

To be fair, COVID impacted Air Canada in countless ways that were far beyond its control. Its not reasonable to expect the corporation wouldnt be unfairly targeted given its industry and outsize profile. Air Canada, as a result of its near-monopoly position, is an important fixture in the lives of countless Canadians.

It is not surprising that high-ranking corporate leaders would not simply stand by and accept a destruction of their personal finances, for reasons not of their making. This is true of all Canadians.

However, it is galling to all of us that Air Canadas tone-deaf leadership would be lining their pockets while ordinary hardworking Canadians barely get by.
The Branson Board of Aldermen on Thursday (now postponed to July 28) will consider an ordinance that would require face coverings in public spaces. The aldermen might approve it, disapprove it, or approve an amended version. Would you be in favor of some form of mandatory face covering ordinance in the city of Branson?

You voted:
From my point of view, weve got a lot more options by hanging onto the place as long as we can rather than downsizing or doing something before we retire in full. Her 24-year old daughter Nicole, who rents in Camperdown, said it would be difficult to buy an entry level apartment, let alone a house, which is some years away for her. It is harder to save for a deposit when you are paying rent. I would be more inclined to move back in with my parents when Im serious about my property goals, Nicole said. Emanuel Comino of McGrath Leichhardt said Baby Boomers increasingly factored in their adult children returning home as a reason not to downsize.

Its certainly something they consider. I spoke to a client who is doing exactly that, he said. Theyre looking at downsizing but wont do so until their last of their dependents has either secured a home or has made a decision to move. For first-home buyer Claire Walker, returning to her family home in Strathfield allowed her to buy her own place in Dulwich Hill a lot sooner. A two bedroom apartment was probably not what I thought I would be purchasing as my first home two years ago. But I guess thats the cards weve been dealt with, she said. We couldnt have done it without our parents. I always thought wed have a big block of land as our first house but it looks like everyone is going to somewhere smaller. While Ms Walkers parents have contemplated downsizing, they are happy where they are. It allows them to accommodate their children and grandchildren when they come back home.

Henny Stier, principal buyers agent at OH Property Group, says the cost of childcare is another reason many Baby Boomers hold onto the family home. Nicole and Ashley Reed have moved into their own flat. Credit:Steven Siewert With childcare being so expensive, there are a lot of people who are taking care of grandchildren so the grandparents do need the backyard, the spare bedrooms, Ms Stier said. Rebecca Bissett owned a home in Epping until last year but still chose to move to her parents place in Hunters Hill with her husband and three children while they searched for an appropriate housing upgrade. Instead of renting, my parents have a really large home and we thought well move in with them. We were wanting to upgrade in the Putney [and] Concord area, Ms Bissett said.

Changing suburbs Loading The retirement of the Baby Boomer generation  born between 1946 and 1961  is reshaping the demography of many Sydney suburbs. In the north shore and eastern suburbs  both high amenity districts well connected to the CBD  the number of workers has stagnated. Over the two years to April 2021 total employment in the north shores statistical district fell by 13,000. In the eastern suburbs employment declined by 5000 over the same period. This suggests the fall in employment is being driven more by demographic change, such as Baby Boomers leaving the labour force, than by economic factors, says Rawnsley.

In contrast, employment in many Sydney districts much further from the CBD, and with younger age profiles, registered solid employment gains in the two years to April 2019 despite the effects of last years recession. This includes Parramatta (+8000), Sutherland (+5600), the outer western suburbs (+4000) and Blacktown (+3300). The share of over-65s living in much of Sydneys north shore and eastern suburbs is now well above the city-wide average, according to data from the Public Health Information Development Unit at Torrens University. A different retirement Terry Rawnsley says the lifestyle preferences of Sydneys retirees have shifted. In past generations, as people hit retirement age they were thinking about moving up the coast or into a retirement village, and when that happened it opened up housing for new people to move in, he said. Claire Walker with partner Hugh and her parents outside their family home Credit:Steven Saphore

There are still some people doing for sure, but in the current Baby Boomer generation more people seem to be staying put because of the lifestyle it provides, like the cafes and other amenities ... they seem to be more tied to an urban lifestyle than perhaps previous older generations were. Rebecca Bissett said her parents, who are retirees, have no intention of downsizing because they love their space and the neighbourhood. Theyre in good health. Theyre only young themselves, in their 60s and theyre in a good area. They dont want to move, she said. I dont envision them ever selling the home. They built that themselves. Its their dream home. Catherine Murphy of The Agency North said some home owners were also fearful of change. When people have been in their community and their home for a very long time, there is a fear of whats next? And is the grass any greener [when downsizing]?

When Im talking about selling, they ask: But where will I go? I dont want to share a wall with someone else. I dont want to pay strata,  Ms Murphy said, adding that strata fees were a big bone of contention for would-be downsizers. Older Australians are also staying attached to the jobs market for longer. For many, retirement is the trigger to shift from the empty nest family home but that is being delayed because in a knowledge economy older people can keep working a lot later in life, said social researcher, Mark McCrindle. The high quality health services in inner Sydney are attractive, and there are also many barriers to downsizing. A recent Grattan Institute report on housing affordability concluded the failure to build more medium-density housing in established suburbs means older people lack downsizing options in their local area.

Kathleen Synnott of Atlas Northern Districts says a lack of local smaller alternatives forces Baby Boomers in many suburbs to stay put for longer. She says downsizers face stiff competition for townhouses and villas from younger buyers including first-timers. The reason why I see people holding on [to the family home] is that they havent got, in their minds, a wonderful choice out there  it is not a good enough driver [to move], Ms Synnott said. Changing an area and a home for them is bigger than Ben Hur for them. Dana Reed and her husband Rodney at their inner west house with their daughters Nicole and Ashley, who have moved out. Credit:Steven Siewert Tax and welfare settings also discouraging empty-nesters from moving. Because primary residences are not included in the age pension means test, pensioners may lose some or all of their pension if they downsize. Another disincentive is stamp duty on the purchase of a smaller home. A NSW government proposal to replace stamp duty with an annual land tax aims to reduce disincentives for moving, although this change has not yet been implemented.

A city-wide challenge Sydneys housing mismatch is already having far-reaching consequences. Its a real challenge from an urban planning perspective, says Rawnsley. The trend for empty-nesters to stay put limits the supply of well-located family homes which, in turn, puts upward pressure on the price of properties that do become available. It is one of many factors contributing to the high cost of housing in Sydney. Figures released by CoreLogic last week showed the citys median house price rose by 3.5 per cent last month, one of the biggest monthly gains since the late 1980s, to a record $1.186 million. When prime-age workers are forced to locate a long way from work hubs it puts added pressure on overstretched transport networks as well as other basic services including schools and hospitals. If more workers are locked into long commutes it will increase the economic and personal costs of congestion.
She was with her sons father for five years but the couple broke up last year during the first COVID-19 lockdown. She has embryos in storage but they are in Europe; in order to use them, she would need consent from her ex-partner plus a travel exemption from the Australian government. Loading I used to imagine as a teenager that I would find my soulmate, have five kids and live happily ever after, and it just hasnt worked out that way, she said. Its not like I was out to catch a man and have a baby - I wanted to have a really amazing relationship and children would be the natural result of that. Now Im doing it in reverse order. When Ms Sweeney first tried to conceive, she thought she would still be fertile because she looked after her health and her mother and grandmother both had a later menopause.

She believes there should be an Australian egg bank and young women should be encouraged to freeze their eggs and also do a donation round at the same time. Loading Associate Professor Mark Bowman, the medical director of fertility clinic Genea, said to donate eggs, a woman must go through one round of IVF, taking medication and having a procedure to extract the eggs. Egg donation in Australia must be altruistic - meaning a woman cant be paid to donate her eggs - and it is usually only something women do for their family and friends. Dr Bowman said the same rules apply to any eggs imported from an overseas supplier such as the World Egg Bank on behalf of an Australian woman. IVF in Australia is subsidised by Medicare with no age limit. However some women head overseas for treatment to access donor eggs in countries where women can sell their eggs or to find a doctor willing to help them conceive with their own eggs when the woman has a low chance of success. There are also experimental treatments not available in Australia.

Most Australian IVF clinics report their results on the Your IVF Success website, launched by the federal government in February. Loading Dr Bowman was sceptical about the prospects of an Australian egg bank. How many responses has she got by putting up posters on telegraph poles? he said. If thousands of women have come forward, youve got yourself an egg bank. If she cant get one, thats telling you something. Sarah Dingle, the author of Brave New Humans, has seen the posters around the inner west and is concerned the advertisement does not mention the rights of the child, including the right to know their biological parents and any siblings.

Why not mention the rights of the child up front? Dingle said. To me thats the biggest thing with donor conception - it is the start of the conversation. Dingle, who was conceived with donor sperm, has previously addressed the United Nations about the rights of donor-conceived and surrogacy-born children. She believes there should be national regulation of the fertility industry. Dingle said she also found it deeply disturbing that the poster was seeking a woman aged 18 to 32 because no 18-year-old should be undergoing hormone treatment for a stranger. She pointed out Ms Sweeney would also need donor sperm. Emma Sweeneys notice. Credit:Janie Barrett Ms Sweeney says women in Generation X were sold the myth of being able to have it all, while some men the same age had been too cavalier about wasting a womans childbearing years.
To use the shortcut method, all you need to do is be able to produce a timesheet, roster or diary to show the number of hours you actually worked from home. There is still just about enough time before the end of the financial year to squeeze in keeping a four-week diary to show your hours. Assuming your work pattern hasnt changed too much across the year, thats enough, says Loh. If youve worked 40 hours a week from home, 48 weeks of the year  full time  thats going to be roughly a $1500 deduction under the 80-cents-per-hour shortcut method, estimates Loh. However, H&R Blocks Chapman warns: The shortcut method is easy to use but the problem is it doesnt always give the best return. Most H&R Block customers instead use a second strategy  known as the 52 cent method. Basically, you get to claim 52 cents for every hour worked from home to cover all the increased running costs you have incurred, including extra lighting, cooling, heating, power to your computer, cleaning costs and a decline in value of your furnishings.

Then, you add on top deductions for the work-related portion of your internet bills, phone bills, office consumables such as ink cartridges and stationery and the decline in value of equipment and devices, such as phones, computers, laptops, headphones and monitors. Using the 52 cent rate  and not claiming any of the above things  would give a worker using Lohs example a deduction of $998. Thats $538 less than the short-cut method, so the question is: can that worker find $538, or higher, in costs to claim on top of the 52 cent rate? If you paid a lot for work-related phone bills, internet bills or purchased expensive equipment, such as a laptop, you could be better off using this method. Equipment under $300 can be claimed in full in the year it is purchased. For things costing more than $300, they must be depreciated over their lifetime  and only from the date they begin to be used. So, say you buy a laptop tomorrow that costs $2000, you cant claim $2000 as a deduction this financial year. Laptops have an life of about two years, so your maximum annual claim is $1000. And if you only used it for three weeks of the year, you could claim only a small percentage of that amount. For the 52 cent enthusiasts out there, beware also that the ATO is cracking down this year on people claiming too much of their home internet bill as work related.

Says Loh: Obviously, in the past year, many Aussies were on the couch watching Netflix, so making sure that you only claim your work-related portion of your internet expenses is really crucial. If your internet bill is, say, $100 a month and therefore $1200 a year, if youve been watching Netflix most of the time, we expect the deduction to be closer to zero than $1200, warns Loh. For households with multiple people working at home, you also have to make sure to portion out each persons individual usage. It can get a bit complicated. To use the 52 cent method, Loh warns you must also have a dedicated workspace in your home. It doesnt have to be a separate room, but my dining table does not count. It has to be a space which is only used for work purposes. It cant be the lounge room, where theres a TV and someone else is watching Netflix. If you dont have a dedicated space, like me, the shortcut method is your only real option.

Loh also warns against blurring the lines between business and pleasure when it comes to device purchases. If youve got fancy headphones, I dont think youre going to be using them for work most of the time  youll want to use them for leisure as well  so you cant be claiming a full deduction for the headphones. So its got to be reasonable as well. Finally, people who do have a dedicated work-from-home area and have forked out to furnish it might consider using the ATOs third, or actual method. This one is onerous and requires meticulous book-keeping to figure out actual usage costs for everything, including power, lighting and heating. Loh calls it quite an intense method and Chapman warns it comes with potentially onerous substantiation requirements, so if you are interested, it might be something worth consulting a tax agent about. Me, it looks like Ill be claiming using the shortcut method. Theres the dining room table issue and I do watch rather a lot of Netflix.
People interviewed this week by The Age say there is a sense of frustration that, despite the sacrifices and lessons learnt, Victoria is the state thats once again been brought to a standstill. Theres anger that the federal government has not been able to roll out an efficient vaccination program, and particularly for failing to do so in aged care homes where residents and staff are among the most at risk. And theres a sense of helplessness, the kind that comes with knowing that you can do the right thing  wear a mask, stay at home, wash your hands  but the virus can still prevail. Phillip Island resident Michael Schuller says he feels more discombobulated under this lockdown. At the start of last years lockdown, Phillip Island resident and management consultant Michael Schuller lost his business. This time, he has plenty of work, yet my focus and productivity is shot. Until restrictions eased in regional Victoria on Thursday, he also felt discombobulated and disconnected by the small things: the lack of human interaction; the mandated masks hiding smiles of friendly faces; the endless doom scrolling of the internet. Other factors are also taking a toll. The loss of the Jobkeeper wage subsidy has left casual workers struggling to make ends meet, while the infiltration into aged care has triggered memories of last years outbreak, particularly among those who lost their relatives last year.

And then theres the nature of the virus itself: an Indian variant of COVID-19, dubbed Kappa, that Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton described as an absolute beast because it has moved faster than any other strain weve dealt with. While this was later disputed by infectious disease experts, the fear of a speed of transmission wed never seen before added to the anxiety many Victorians felt. Shivrani Choudhary was confined to home after her Wollert business was visited by an infected delivery driver. Credit:Chris Hopkins Melbourne mother Shivrani Choudhary, who runs a grocery store in Wollert  the outer Melbourne suburb central to the latest outbreak - had both business and mental struggles after the contact tracers visited. Health authorities discovered a food delivery driver had visited her store on May 18 while asymptomatic. He was only there for a few minutes, but it was enough to force her store to shut down for deep cleaning and inspections, and confined her to home for two weeks.

While Choudhary accepted the need to chase down the virus, the lost income and lack of clarity from authorities over when her store could reopen has caused extra anguish. Its not just financial  theres so much mental stress, she says. You are quarantining in your house, but when you have two kids who are full-time students and your husband has to work, who will do all the work at home? A lot of things that are familiar: Cafe worker Bryden Vasquez. Credit:Eddie Jim Across town, cafe store manager Bryden Vasquez is somewhat more upbeat. The 24-year-old also had his own COVID scare last week, when he discovered he had been at an exposure site in Brunswick at exactly the same time as an infected person. His test results turned out to be negative, but he admits the wait was unsettling  and learning of the new COVID variant was equally scary. Nonetheless, Vasquez is more optimistic than most about the days ahead.

There are a lot of things that are familiar with this lockdown so its not as bad as last time, he says. We kind of know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that things can go back to normal quite quickly. I think thats pushing me to think that everythings gonna be fine. Monash University professor of psychiatry Jayashri Kulkarni said the feeling was a little different around this lockdown. Theres a feeling of futility and powerlessness: Professor Jayashri Kulkarni. Credit:Jason South Last time we went into a bit of panic, there was a major anxiety around what was going to happen. This time, its not a massive unknown but theres a feeling of futility and powerlessness, she says.

One likes to feel a sense of natural justice, but heres a situation where we feel as though, Weve done the right thing, but all is still not well. So instead theres this sense of is this ever going to end?. Victoria does lockdown hard, with policies such as the five-kilometre travel zone (now expanded to 10km), mandated outdoors hours, curfews and fines. In the process, businesses have been crippled and employees have lost their jobs. Its hit parents juggling online schooling with working from home and women trapped in their homes with abusive partners. Substance and alcohol abuse have soared. And while the long lockdown proved the right call  like the rest of Australia, Victorians spent most of the summer and autumn with no community transmission  the lingering trauma of 2020 remains. Therefore, says Kulkarni, the minute a new lockdown is announced the post-traumatic stress disorder kicks in. That became apparent this week, when The Age asked readers to tell us how they were coping. Drinking alcohol every day straight from the morning, wrote one unnamed reader.

Feel like I am running on empty, wrote Naomi, a teacher and parent of school-aged children in remote learning. As a VCE student its stressing me out to have so much uncertainty during such an important part of year 12, said Mullauna College student Ryan Kepper. Im only coping because we know that staying home is protecting ourselves and our community. Its stressing me out to have so much uncertainty: VCE student Ryan Kepper. Credit:Simon Schluter Ashley de Silva, chief executive of online mental health service ReachOut Australia, said the cumulative effect of Victorias four lockdowns meant people could take comfort in the resilience theyd previously shown to get through the process. On the other hand, theres a line to tread between drawing on that strength and resilience while equally acknowledging that lockdowns are really difficult, and they can be really tough for people. Just because you got through the one before doesnt mean youre going to feel the same way this time.
Pot shots: Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Andrew Hastie. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen As Morrison and his governments stocks have started to rise once more and as the next election  which could be held as soon as August or as late as May 2022  draws nearer, there is growing concern in the caucus about the partys path to victory. Whenever the poll is held, Morrison will be the first prime minister since John Howard in 2007 to serve a full term and lead his party to an election. That (relative) stability, a generally-well-received budget that cauterised political wounds, a vaccine roll out that is slowly gathering pace and the boost that the pandemic is giving incumbents across the country, means Labor has a mountain to climb to win the next election. A fourth term in opposition beckons.

For this story, The Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald spoke to 15 Labor MPs in the federal party, including backbenchers who fear losing their seats under Anthony Albanese: those who believe the leader is doing a good job in tough circumstances, through to senior figures who argue  quietly, for now  that a change of leader may be Labors only chance of victory. What emerged was a picture of a restive caucus in which a growing number of MPs are beginning to focus on their own difficult electoral prospects  Meryl Swansons warning to the caucus that the ALP is sleepwalking off a cliff is a concern more widely shared among Labor MPs than is immediately apparent. Small things that fly under the radar when things are going well are drawing disproportionate attention internally. Colleagues have noticed that Victorians Bill Shorten, a former leader and Clare ONeil, a frontbencher demoted by Albanese, have been cutting through with their attacks on the Morrison government over vaccinations and aged care. And Shortens pointed remark a little over a week ago in an interview with the ABC, in which he said not politicising COVID shouldnt render an opposition mute from just calling it as it is, was widely noted in the caucus too.

A Jenna Price column published in the Herald calling for Tanya Plibersek to lead the party was widely circulated in the caucus. A Plibersek interview on Radio National  in which she was asked about her leadership ambitions  was noted (as was the fact the leaders office didnt send out the transcript to the media, as is normal practice). The budget reply speech, which promised $10 billion for social housing and focused heavily on Albaneses personal story, was seen by some in the caucus as a missed opportunity to promise something vote-changing, like a more generous paid parental leave policy. Federal Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese with former leader Bill Shorten, at the ALP conference in Sydney in March. Credit:Janie Barrett Several MPs say Albanese should have made two announcements that would have cut-through with voters: to fix the vaccine roll out; and to build quarantine facilities in every state and territory. As one MP, who wished to remain anonymous, says look at the marginals. People are starting to lose confidence and the mood has shifted over the last two weeks.

As Labors fortunes have waxed and waned in recent months, talk has turned to who could revive the partys fortunes. The ALP has an abundance of touted potential leaders including Tanya Plibersek, Chris Bowen, Jim Chalmers, Richard Marles, Tony Burke and Bill Shorten. What has changed since February  when there was a brief flutter of speculation about a possible Plibersek installation, though there was no clear path for her to the leadership because of factional allegiances  is that senior MPs who once would have rather chewed broken glass rather than support the member for Sydney for leader are taking a second look. Concerns about her appeal in, for example, parts of western Sydney or with blue-collar workers are receding. It was once said that she had no institutional support, from within the party and the union movement. Thats not the case now, the ground is starting to shift because Albanese is not cutting through. People are worried we could go backwards, a second MP says. Make no mistake. Albanese still has a loyal Praetorian Guard, strong support from the vast majority of his Left faction, a shadow ministry that backs him and the backing of most of the NSW Right and a good chunk of the Victorian Right. He has the numbers. His MPs understand that he is trying to win government during a pandemic. Hes not about to be blasted out.

Leadership material: concerns about Tanya Pliberseks appeal in parts of western Sydney or with blue-collar workers are receding. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But MPs patience is not infinite and there is concern about Labors direction and offerings. The argument being put by critics of the current regime is that Plibersek would wrong-foot Morrison in a way that Albanese simply isnt at present and, that further, she would attack harder and make more of an impact with voters. Plibersek does want to lead the Labor Party one day but she has no intention of challenging Albanese in a bloody re-run of the Rudd-Gillard years to get there. As she told Radio Nationals Hamish MacDonald when he tried to flush out her leadership ambitions last week: I think hes doing a great job in really difficult circumstances and that my focus, the focus of our whole caucus, our whole Labor Party caucus, is to hold the government to account for the fact that they have failed on quarantine and on vaccinations.

Of the other contenders, Bowen is still rehabilitating himself after his long stint as shadow treasurer, Burke is welded to Albanese, Chalmers is not in play, Marles has limited support even in his home state of Victoria and Shorten accepts that  like John Howard  if he is ever to return to the leadership it must be after an extended period out of the job. A third MP, who despairs over Labors election prospects and thinks a switch to Plibersek is the partys only path to victory, albeit a slim chance, says: The basic problem is we just arent cutting through. We have to tell people why we are different, we cant wait for election day. This last comment is a pointed reference to Albaneses oft-repeated plan to kick with the wind in the final quarter. Loading People want Albaneses numbers after the election so they arent doing anything, the MP says. And there isnt exactly a lot of incentive for her to have a crack. Look at what happened to Julia [Gillard].
The Morrison government has placed religious freedom back on the political agenda, as Attorney-General Michaelia Cash restarts meetings with key stakeholders and church groups embark on a lobbying blitz to shape and enact the laws before the election.

Freedom for Faith, a lobby group run by law professor Patrick Parkinson, is organising a religious freedom weekend for June 11-13. Priests will use sermons to preach the need to protect religious freedom and parishioners are being urged to lobby their MPs about the urgency of the issue.

Attorney-General Michaelia Cash has restarted talks about the governments proposed Religious Discrimination Bill. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The group has also secured a meeting this week with Senator Cash, who has re-engaged with the issue after the pandemic put it on the backburner last year under predecessor Christian Porter.

As it stands the Religious Discrimination Bill would prohibit discrimination based on faith and provide greater freedom to individuals such as Israel Folau, as well as religious organisations and charities, to act on their beliefs.
When then-Prime Minister Paul Keating dedicated his 1993 election victory to the nations true believers, a very young Chris Minns was listening.

To living rooms across Australia, the Labor legend spoke of imagination and faith, good beliefs and opportunity for all.

I was 13 and Keating pulled it off when no one thought he would. The vision, the charisma, was one in a million. Ive been pretty hooked ever since, Mr Minns said.

Keating talked about the art of the possible. I found everything about him inspiring and it made you like politics, not recoil.
Tenants would be allowed to keep pets and rent increases would be capped under proposals from the Queensland Greens.

Greens member for South Brisbane Amy MacMahon has introduced a private members bill aimed at addressing the growing rental crisis in Queensland on Wednesday.

Queensland tenants would be allowed to keep pets under proposed laws from the Greens. Credit:

The bill, which would need the support of Labor to become law, would cap rent increases to once every 24 months and by no more than CPI each year.

This would include any period during which the property was not rented and any change in tenants.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has demanded the federal government take over responsibility for building and operating a dedicated quarantine facility as the stoush over the issue heats up.

Criteria for attracting federal funding was tabled at national cabinet on Friday, including that centres must be an hours drive to a tertiary hospital, which would effectively kill off Queenslands plan for a facility near Toowoomba.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese at the Queensland Labor Conference in Brisbane. Credit:Jack Tran/Office of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

However, Ms Palaszczuk showed no signs of letting the issue go.

Speaking to the party faithful at the Queensland Labor conference on Saturday, Ms Palaszczuk said Prime Minister Scott Morrison wanted to set his own Commonwealth criteria.
Dhaka: A boat carrying dozens of Rohingya refugees that has been adrift in the Andaman Sea since February has landed on an Indonesian island after a voyage of more than 100 days.

Villagers in the Aceh province discovered the stranded boat on Friday, along with 81 survivors.

Miftach Cut Adek, the leader of the local tribal fishing community, said 90 people were on board the boat when it left the refugee camp on February 11, but nine died during the 113-day trip.

The vessel sailed on February 11 from Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh carrying 90 Rohingya refugees, most of them women and children, with the hope of reaching Malaysia.
Lansdale, PA (19446)

Today

Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 76F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening. A steady rain arriving overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
(PNB) has identified bad loans worth Rs 8,000 crore that it will transfer to the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), expected to be operational from July, the lenders managing director S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao said.

In the first tranche, the bank has identified non-performing assets worth Rs 8,000 crore to be transferred to the NARCL, Rao said, adding that the bad bank will be operational by July 1.

The bad bank, initially proposed by the Indian Association, and later endorsed by the government in the Union Budget, will have public sectors as its promoters, who will collectively hold 51 per cent in the bad bank. PNBs share in the bad bank will be little less than 10 per cent, Rao said.

The bad bank will help in aggregating the loan book of stressed assets from all banks, and facilitate an easy process of auctioning through the Swiss challenge method.

However, the operational guidelines are in final stages, and the decision whether such assets will have to be transferred to the bad bank at net book value, is yet to be taken, Rao said.

Asset Sale

Rao said PNB board has decided to exit Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company (CHOICE), and the sale process would take around 1-1.5 years as it would involve appointment of intermediaries and engagement with advisors. The bank expects to exit the insurance venture at a good valuation.

The bank has also decided to exit Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Limited (Arcil), and currently doesnt have any plan to further cut its stake in PNB Housing Finance.

In current quarter, the bank expects substantial recovery from DHFL, although there are some issues lingering at NCLAT, Rao said. Overall recovery in April-June would be around Rs 8,000 crore-Rs 10,000 crore. The bank has already realised Rs 3,000 crore, he said.

Indias second largest public sector lender, PNB, reported a profit of Rs 586 crore in January-March quarter on Friday, and reported a global net interest margin of 2.88 per cent. Rao said Q1FY22 will be tough for the entire banking industry and it is difficult to predict credit growth for the period. However, PNB would show a credit growth of 8 per cent in FY22, and estimates to report a net profit of not less than Rs 6,000 crore next year, he said.
Suraksha Group has sought at least seven days' extension to submit an "improved revised" bid to acquire debt-laden Ltd (JIL) through insolvency as it is exploring ways to sweeten its offer for both homebuyers and lenders.

The Mumbai-based firm, which is pitted against NBCC to acquire JIL, did not submit its resolution plan on June 4 and rather sought at least seven-day extension to sweeten its offer for homebuyers and bankers.

NBCC, however, submitted its resolution plan. It is up to financial creditors now to decide whether Suraksha should be given the extension or not.

In a letter to Interim Resolution Plan (IRP) Anuj Jain on Friday, Suraksha Group asserted that it had already submitted a legally compliant resolution plan on May 18 and the bid was deliberated upon in the meeting of the CoC (Committee of Creditors).

Suraksha said it plans to further revise the resolution plan to improve offering for both homebuyers and bankers, considering that the CoC has already decided to seek extension of timelines for completion of the insolvency process from the Supreme Court.

"...we are evaluating the possibility of revision in our resolution plan so as to incorporate better terms for homebuyers including further reduction in the project completion timelines, reviving and expediting construction work immediately after the CoC approval as well as infusion of funds for the same," the letter said.

The company said it is also evaluating on possibility of improving the resolution plan as regards the lenders. This could include provision of timelines for monetisation of land.

"The said evaluation with respect to reduction in completion timelines and land monetisation timelines, being complex involves considerable time and efforts especially in current pandemic situation," the letter said.

Stating that the company had never asked for any extension before and always submitted bid ahead of deadline, Suraksha said: "We request you to grant us time of at least 7 days to submit an improved revised resolution plan, in the interest of lenders and homebuyers."



In the May 18 bid, Suraksha Group had offered over 2,600 acre land to bankers and promised homebuyers to complete the pending over 20,000 flats in 42 months. Yamuna Expressway that connects Greater Noida to Agra will be retained by the company as per the bid.

Last week, financial creditors of embattled JIL decided to give time till June 4 to NBCC and Suraksha Group to submit their final bids.

The two-day voting process, which began on May 27, was conducted to decide whether a further extension should be given to both the contenders.

In its meeting held on May 24, the CoC of JIL decided to defer the voting process on the Suraksha Group's bid and conduct voting process for allowing both parties to submit their final offers.

On May 20 meet, the CoC had decided to put Suraksha Group to vote and rejected NBCC's bid citing non-compliance related to its proposal for dissenting creditors.

NBCC had protested against its bid being declared as non-compliant.

This is the fourth round of the bidding process in the matter of JIL bankruptcy case.

JIL went into the insolvency process in August 2017 after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium.

In the first round of insolvency proceeding, the Rs 7,350-crore bid of Lakshadweep, part of Suraksha Group, was rejected by lenders.

The CoC had rejected the bids of Suraksha Realty and NBCC in the second round held in May-June 2019.

The matter reached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and then the apex court.

In November 2019, the Supreme Court directed that the JIL insolvency process be completed within 90 days and ordered that the revised bids be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha.

Then, in December 2019, the CoC approved the resolution plan of NBCC with a 97.36 per cent vote in favour during the third round of the bidding process. In March 2020, NBCC had got approval from NCLT to acquire JIL.

However, the order was challenged before NCLAT and later in the Supreme Court, which on March 24 this year, ordered that fresh bids should be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha.

The apex court had also directed that the resolution process be completed in 45 days, which lapsed on May 8 and an application has been filed to extend the timeline for finding a buyer for JIL.

(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 total value of Indias top 100 brands has increased by 2 per cent, from $162.1 billion in 2020 to $164.9 billion in 2021, according to the latest Brand Finance India 100 2021 report. This uplift in brand value over the course of the first year of the pandemic is an impressive feat given the global economic crisis following the implementation of national lockdowns in March 2020, when business activity was brought to a halt, affecting both production and consumption.

Among the brands that came on the top of the list include Tata Group, Reliance Industries, and Mahindra Group. In BFSI, took over State Bank of India as the best financial brands.

has retained the title of Indias most valuable brand by a considerable lead with a brand value of $21.3 billion. Operating in more than 100 countries across six continents and employing over three-quarters of a million people, is a force to be reckoned with on the global stage, said the report. With 30 under the umbrella, ranging from Tata Steel and Tata Motors to TCS and Tata Consumer Products, the brand has managed to protect itself from COVID-19 damage  this year recording a 6 per cent uplift in brand value.

There are eight further conglomerate brands in the Brand Finance India 100 2021 ranking, which accounts for over a quarter of the total brand value, making it the most valuable brand category in India. (up 9 per cent to US$8.1 billion) and Mahindra Group (down 6 per cent to US$5.4 billion) sit in 4th and 9th place, respectively.

Ajimon Francis, Managing Director, Brand Finance India, commented: Despite being one of the worst-hit nations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian brands have shown remarkable resilience to the challenges that have ensued since the first lockdown in March 2020. Over the past year, the nations top 100 most valuable brands have recorded a 2 per cent uplift in total brand value, showcasing their strength. Yet the current national health emergency presents an even greater challenge than last years lockdown.

In these trying times for all of India, brands will need to play their part in supporting recovery.

After conglomerates, banking is Indias second most valuable sector, with its 16 brands accounting for 16 per cent of the total brand value in the ranking. Indian banks have bucked the global sector trend, recording a cumulative brand value growth of 8 per cent year-on-year.

has become Indias most valuable banking brand, up 11 per cent to $6.6 billion and claiming 5th spot in the ranking, ahead of last years most valuable Indian banking brand State Bank of India (down 9 per cent to $5.8 billion) which sits in 7th.

ICICI claimed the spot of Indias third most valuable banking brand, brand value up 23 per cent to $3.5 billion. This success follows moves in 2018 to pursue more innovative banking solutions, with a focus on digital and technology-driven processes. The Union Bank of India saw the fastest year-on-year brand value increase in the ranking, growing by 163 per cent to $1.2 billion and simultaneously soaring 39 places to claim 31st spot.

The third most valuable sector in India is IT services. Tata Groups, IT services business TCS brand value jumped 11 per cent to $14.9 billion, which contributes a significant proportion of TATA Groups conglomerate brand value.

Infosys is the highest-ranked standalone IT services brand and 3rd in the overall Brand Finance India 100 2021 ranking, jumping up one place from last year following a solid 19 per cent brand value growth to $8.4 billion.

Among the Indian IT services players, LTI is the fastest-growing IT services brand this year not just in India but also globally, recording an impressive 68 per cent brand value growth to $982 million. For the last five years, LTI has consistently delivered double-digit growth year-on-year and shows no signs of slowing down

Fellow IT services brands HCL (up 13 per cent to $5.5 billion), Tech Mahindra (up 11 per cent to $2.3 billion  included in Mahindra Groups conglomerate brand value), and Mphasis (up 13 per cent to $536 million), have all recorded healthy uplifts in brand value this year.

Another IT major, Wipro (down 1 per cent to $4.3 billion), has dropped one rank but remains a formidable player in the IT services space.

A notable challenger brand in the market, Hexaware has swiftly risen through the ranks, moving 10 spots up since last year.

In addition to measuring overall brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. According to these criteria, Jio has claimed the title of Indias strongest brand as well as the worlds strongest telecom brand, according to the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2021 report, with a Brand Strength Index score of 91.7 out of 100 and the elite AAA+ brand strength rating.

Despite only being founded in 2016, Jio has quickly become the largest mobile network operator in India and the third-largest mobile network operator in the world, with almost 400 million subscribers.
Indian microblogging platform may consider drawing in Nigerian audiences to the platform by providing its interface in the local languages of that country.



@kooindia is available in Nigeria. We're thinking of enabling the local languages there too. What say? wrote cofounder Aprameya Radhakrishna on



On Friday, the Nigerian government indefinitely suspended Twitter, after the social media giant had deleted a tweet from the countrys President Muhammadu Buhari's account for violating its rules.

@kooindia is available in Nigeria. We're thinking of enabling the local languages there too. What say? pic.twitter.com/NUia1h0xUi  Aprameya R (@aprameya) June 5, 2021

In India too, has been engaged in a month-long offensive with the Indian government. In the last few months, the Centre asked to censor tweets that supported the farmers protest at the borders of Delhi or were critical of the countrys Covid response. Twitter didnt always comply with these requests, which led to tensions between the two sides. The social media giant is yet to comply with Indias new IT rules for digital media intermediaries, as it feels that the rules could undermine the freedom of speech and the privacy of its users.



Amid these tensions between Twitter and the Indian government, has witnessed increased traction, with several ministers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also endorsing it.



Koo, which claims to have six million users, was also the first significant social media intermediary to announce that it was complying with the new IT rules.



Launched in March 2020, Koo is a vernacular microblogging platform with very similar features to Twitter. Its interface is available in several Indian languages, namely Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bangla and Gujarati. Except for Telugu, Twitters interface can also be viewed in these languages
With COVID cases declining, will see further relaxation in lockdown, including reopening of markets and malls and resumption of metro services, from June 7 while will implement a five-level plan to ease curbs based on weekly positivity rate and occupancy of oxygen beds in districts.

Even as the COVID situation has relatively improved in most of the northern and western states, southern and eastern parts of the country are still reporting a high number of cases. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced the extension of the lockdown by a week till June 14 with some easing of restrictions from Monday, except in 11 districts where the number of new cases reported was still high.

Earlier, neighbouring Karnataka had extended the lockdown till June 14.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced relaxations in the curfew in Bareilly and Bulandshahr districts from Monday, allowing shops and markets outside the containment zones to open for five days a week.

With this, the number of districts where the restrictions have eased as the count of active cases has fallen below the 600-mark has reached 67, out of the 75 districts.

In the national capital, where the unlock' process began from May 31, the Metro will operate at 50 percent capacity and markets and malls will open on an odd-even basis from June 7, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

The lockdown in Delhi, which was to end at 5 AM on Monday, will be extended further but several relaxations will be allowed, Kejriwal said during an online briefing.

Government and private offices will be allowed to reopen with 50 percent attendance. Markets and malls will be allowed to open on an odd-even basis from 10 AM to 8 PM, he said.

In the worst-affected Maharashtra, cities and districts, which have a positivity rate of below five percent and the oxygen bed occupancy of less than 25 percent, will open up completely, according to a government notification.

But restrictions of varying degrees will remain in cities and districts where the positivity rate is five percent and oxygen bed occupancy is 25 to 40 percent, where the positivity rate is five percent to 10 percent and the oxygen bed occupancy is more than 40 percent and where positivity rate is 10 to 20 percent and oxygen bed occupancy is more than 60 percent.

In the fifth category, where the positivity rate is more than 20 percent and the oxygen bed capacity is more than 75 percent, only essential shops will remain open till 4 PM and office attendance will be 15 percent.

Almost all states and Union Territories have extended the curbs which they first started imposing in mid-April as the second COVID wave hit the country, though a few have begun easing restrictions in June.

The Rajasthan government also issued guidelines on Monday to start the "unlock" process by easing certain restrictions from June 2.

India reported 1,20,529 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in infections in 58 days, taking the infection tally to 2,86,94,879, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 3,44,082 with 3,380 new fatalities, while the number of active cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the fifth consecutive day.

India reported more than 88.82 lakh infections in May alone during the raging second wave of COVID-19, accounting for 31.67 percent of the over 2.8 crore cases reported in the country so far and making it the worst month of the pandemic.

The month of May also saw 1,17,247 fatalities due to the disease, which is around 35.63 percent of the total 3,29,100 deaths recorded so far.

The daily cases peaked on May 7 when the country registered 4,14,188 infections in a span of 24 hours, while daily deaths were the highest on May 19 with India reporting 4,529 fatalities due to COVID-19.

The active cases had peaked on May 10 at 37,45,237.

Here is a look at coronavirus-induced restrictions/lockdown imposed by states and union territories:



* will continue with lockdown with second phase of easing of restrictions from June 7.

*Haryana has extended lockdown till June 7 with some easing of restrictions.

*Punjab has extended the restrictions till June 10.

*Uttar Pradesh has eased restrictions in 67 districts. Night curfew and weekend lockdown to remain in the state.

*Bihar has extended lockdown till June 8.

*Jharkhand has extended lockdown till June 10.

* Odisha has extended lockdown till June 17.

* West Bengal government extended ongoing COVID-19 restrictions till June 15.

*Rajasthan has extended lockdown till June 8 but has eased some restrictions.

* Madhya Pradesh has extended corona curfew with eased restrictions till June 15. The state has announced separate unlock guidelines for districts.

*Gujarat has extended night curfew in 36 cities of the state for a week from June 4, with further relaxation in timings.

*Chhattisgarh government has on May 31 extended lockdown till further orders.

*Kerala has extended lockdown till June 9 with some concessions.

*Tamil Nadu has extended the lockdown till June 14.

*Puducherry has imposed lockdown till June 7.

* Lakshadweep administration has extended lockdown till June 10.

*Karnataka has announced an extension of lockdown till June 14.

*Telangana has extended lockdown till June 9.

* Andhra Pradesh has extended curfew till June 10.

*Goa government has imposed curfew till June 7.

* has extended the lockdown-like restrictions till June 15, though they will be eased from June 7.

*Assam has extended the restrictions till June 15 though on June 4 it increased the curfew relaxation by one hour.

*Nagaland has extended the lockdown till June 11.

*Mizoram has extended the lockdown, which was imposed in Aizawl and other district headquarters, till June 6.

* Arunachal Pradesh has imposed complete lockdown in Anjaw, Dibang Valley, Lower Subansiri, Lohit and Tawang districts and the Capital Complex Region till June 7.

*Manipur government has imposed curfew in seven districts of Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Ukhrul, Thoubal, Kakching and Churachandpur till June 11.

* Meghalaya extended lockdown in the worst-affected East Khasi Hills district till June 7.

*Tripura government has extended corona curfew in Agartala Municipal Corporation areas and urban areas in the state till June 10.

*Sikkim has imposed lockdown till June 7.

*Jammu and Kashmir administration has eased restrictions but night curfew and weekend lockdown will remain.

*Uttarakhand has extended COVID curfew till June 8.

*Himachal Pradesh government has extended the coronavirus curbs till June 7 with some relaxation.

(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.)
Brazil has approved the import of Bharat Biotech manufactured COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin into the country with regulations, informed ANVISA on Friday.

The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) of Brazil last night gave its nod to the import and use of Covaxin. But the approval came with strict conditions which limit the number of doses that can be imported and with restrictions on the use of vaccines in Brazil.

The authorisation defined an amount of four million doses, which can be used only under specific conditions e phage determined by the vergence. The decision was taken at the 9th Extraordinary Public Meeting of the Collegiate Board.

The Health Surveillance Agency had earlier denied permission to import Covaxin.

The South American country has also given its nod to Sputnik V vaccine.

Announcing the approval of Sputnik V by Brazil on its official Twitter account, the Russian vaccine manufacturer said, "Sputnik V will be used in Brazil following ANVISA's approval. Brazil has become the 67th country in the world to authorize Sputnik V. The Sputnik V team fully answered all questions from ANVISA on the vaccine's efficacy and safety."

After using the authorised doses, the agency will analyse the data for monitoring the use of the vaccine in order to assess the next quantities to be imported.

(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.)
authorized the emergency use of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.s vaccine for children, becoming the first major country to grant approval for those as young as three.

The move comes amid reports that young people with the disease could be as infectious as adults. Singapore, Hong Kong and some U.S. states have so far authorized the use of Covid-19 vaccines against children 12 years and above.

Its not yet confirmed when this age group will receive their first doses of the vaccine in Phase I and Phase II research, involving several hundred participants, showed that the Sinovac vaccine is as safe and effective for children as it is for adults, the companys Chief Executive Officer Yin Weidong told state broadcaster Central Television on Friday.



Read More: Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine now expanded to US children as young as 12

The same vaccine, the same amount, and the same process can be used for children aged between 3 and 17, Yin said. Chinas health authority will push forward vaccine use for different age groups in an orderly manner based on Chinas epidemic needs and population structure.

The World Health Organization approved Sinovacs vaccine as part of its emergency use listing on Tuesday for people aged 18 and older. The authorization granted to the Sinovac shot is the second given to a Chinese Covid vaccine, after state-owned Sinopharm Group Co. secured WHOs nod for emergency use in early May.

Also cleared for emergency use by the WHO are vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE, AstraZeneca Plc, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc.
Customs officials seized a total of 222 of various models along with various electronic goods among other items with an overall estimated value of over Rs 2.5 crore were seized from Delhi airport's new courier terminal on Saturday, officials said.

Apart from 222 iPhones, 173 used laptops, 4391 bottles of food supplements, 10 Sony PS 5 and cosmetics with an overall market value of around Rs 2.50 crore were seized at New Courier Terminal by Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) of Air Cargo Customs Export Commissionerate, Delhi Customs said.

The goods were misdeclared as household goods from Dubai. Further details are awaited.

Earlier on Thursday, customs department seized 367 with an estimated market value of Rs 3.19 crore shipped from Riyadh.

(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 on Saturday reported a net reduction of 80,745 in active cases to take its count to 1,555,248. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 11.70 per cent (one in 8). The country is second among the most affected countries by active cases. On Saturday, it added 120,529 cases to take its total caseload to 28,694,879. And, with 3,380 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 344,082, or 1.20 per cent of total confirmed infections.

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has cleared the proposal



to import Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin into the South American country.

National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil- Anvisa had earlier denied permission to import Covaxin after authorities found that the Indian plant in which the jab was being made did not meet the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements.

The Brazilian health regulator also approved another proposal to import Russia's Sputnik V vaccine into that country.

According to Anvisa's approval, is expected to receive four million doses of Covaxin initially.

After using the authorized doses, the agency will analyse the data for monitoring the use of the vaccine in order to assess the next quantities to be imported.

"Anvisa authorized this Friday the exceptional import of the Covaxin vaccine by the Ministry of Health, for distribution and use under controlled conditions.

The authorization defined amount of 4 million doses , which can be used only under specific conditions... the decision was taken at the 9th Extraordinary Public Meeting of the Collegiate Board," it said in a statement in Portuguese.

All batches to be destined for must have been manufactured after the adaptations of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) implemented by the manufacturer, Bharat Biotech, according to the corrective and preventive action report (Corrective and Preventive Action - CAPA) presented to Anvisa, the regulator said.

On February 26, Bharat Biotech Ltd had said it signed an agreement with the Brazilian government for the supply of 20 million doses of Covaxin during the second and third quarters of 2021.

Announcing the approval of Spuknik V by Brazil on its official twitter page, the Russian vaccine manufacturer said, "#SputnikV will be used in Brazil following ANVISA's approval. Brazil has become the 67th country in the world to authorize Sputnik V.

The Sputnik V team fully answered all questions from ANVISA on the vaccine's efficacy & safety.

(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.)
Private entities involved in organising beauty pageants and other business activities by illegally using the brand name "Khadi" of and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) have been restrained by the from carrying out any "misleading" activities in the name of

The Noida-based ' Design Council of India' (KDCI) and 'Miss India Khadi Foundation' (MIKF) were accused by the KVIC of fraudulently using the brand name and deceiving people.

In an ex-parte order, the high court said the names of the two entities were "deceptively similar" to the KVIC's trademark 'Khadi' and hence, amounted to violation of the trademark.

The high court also directed the defendants -- 'Khadi Design Council of India', 'Miss India Khadi Foundation' and its self-proclaimed CEO Ankush Anami -- to take down all their social media accounts on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook under the tradename 'Khadi Design Council of India' and 'Miss India Khadi'.

It also ordered taking down infringing content from their websites -- www.missindiskhadi.in and www.kdci.org -- and an e-commerce portal www.paridhaanam.com run by Anami -- that is analogous to KVIC's e-portal.

The high court accepted the arguments of the KVIC that the defendants' websites and social media pages have been scripted and structured in a manner that gives the impression that they are the same as the KVIC or they are part of a government body providing the same services as the Khadi India.

"The same demonstrates the serious bad faith on part of the defendants and their intention to mislead the consumers and ride on the plaintiff's goodwill," the KVIC alleged.

The KVIC alleged that the private entities were planning and advertising two events titled 'Miss India Khadi' and 'National Khadi Designers Awards, 2019' in Goa from December 19 to 22, 2020, and thus creating a false impression that the events are organized by the KVIC.

Further, the defendant KDCI was duping people by promising 'Khadi Certification' to fashion designers and charging Rs 2,000 per head in lieu of that and they also claimed to be associated with KVIC's Prime Minister's Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) on their website www.missindiakhadi.in which contained a hyperlink to the KVIC's PMEGP page.

Taking note of KVIC's contention, Justice Sanjeev Narula said, "The plaintiff (KVIC) has established a prima facie case in its favour... An irreparable loss would be caused to the plaintiff, i.e. KVIC in case an ex-parte interim injunction is not granted."



"Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, the defendants are restrained manufacturing, advertising or providing any kind of goods or services under the trademark 'Khadi'... Further, the defendants are directed to take down their Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages under the mark tradename 'Khadi Design Council of India' and 'Miss India Khadi', and the infringing content from their websites being www.paridhaanam.com, www.kdci.org and www.missindiakhadi.in," the judge said in the recent order.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena welcomed the court order saying this would deter individuals and firms from illegally using brand name Khadi and luring people on false promises.

"The activities of 'Khadi Design Council of India' and 'Miss India Khadi' is a clear case of duping people using the name of 'Khadi'. These entities have no connection or affiliation with Khadi at all. Those who have been duped, must seek a refund and lodge complaint against these fraud entities," Saxena said.

It is pertinent to mention that KVIC, in recent times, has won several cases against violation of its trademark 'Khadi'.

An arbitration tribunal in Delhi last month had said that 'Khadi' was not a generic name to be used by private individuals or firms while permanently restraining an individual from using the brand name 'Khadi'.

In March this year, the had also restrained a firm from using brand name Khadi and the charkha symbol to sell its products under the name "IWEARKHADI".

The KVIC in the last few years has acted tough against such violators. So far, the KVIC has issued legal notices to over 1,000 private firms, including Fabindia, for misusing its brand name and selling products under the name of Khadi.

The KVIC has sought damages to the tune of Rs 500 crore from Fabindia which is pending before the Mumbai High Court.

(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 Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been given one last notice to comply with the newly notified Information Technology Rules, 2021, applicable to social media intermediaries, or lose its safeguards as an intermediary in the country.

In a letter addressed to Jim Baker, Twitter's deputy general counsel, the Ministry said: "The refusal to comply (with IT Rules) demonstrates Twitter's lack of commitment and efforts towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform. Despite being operational in India for more than a decade, it is beyond belief that Inc. has doggedly refused to create mechanisms that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in timely manner through fair processes, by India-based clearly identified resources."



"As gesture of goodwill, Inc is hereby given one last notice to immediately comply with the rules. Failure to comply will lead to losing exemption from liability under IT Act and draw penal provisions," MeitY said.

MeitY had said on May 28 that major social media intermediaries have shared the details as required under the new IT Rules, 2021, except Twitter, which is yet to send in details about its chief compliance officer.

The Ministry had written to all social media firms on May 25, the deadline for compliance with the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

As per the rules, significant social media intermediaries have to notify details of their Indian-based Chief Compliance Officer, Nodal Contact Person and Grievance Officer.

Twitter had, the ministry said earlier, shared details of a lawyer working in a law firm in India as their nodal contact person and grievance officer. The rules require that these designated officers of the significant social media companies must be the employees of the company and resident in India.

In the letter on Saturday, addressed to Baker, the Ministry further said it was 'dismayed' at Twitter's responses to ministry's questions on May 28 and June 2.

Government of India gives final notice to Twitter for compliance with new IT rules. pic.twitter.com/98S0Pq8g2U  ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2021

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

Earlier in the day, Twitter was caught in another controversy over some prominent public figures losing their verification blue tick on the platform. The figures include Vice President M Venkaiah Naidus account, and those of some leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Naidu's account was later restored with the verified badge.

According to Twitter, the account was inactive since July 2020. As per its account verification policy, Twitter may, through an automated process, remove the blue verified badge and verified status if the account becomes inactive or is incomplete.

Inactivity is based on logging in. To keep the account active, the account holder must make sure to log in at least once every 6 months.
The Indian government has issued a final notice to social media giant for complying with the new IT rules for digital media intermediaries.



Rakesh Maheshwari, group coordinator for cyber law at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in a letter to Twitters deputy general counsel Jim Baker, noted that despite repeated letters from the ministry, had failed to provide adequate clarifications.

Government of India gives final notice to for compliance with new IT rules. pic.twitter.com/98S0Pq8g2U  ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2021

Till date, Twitter has not informed about the details of the Chief Compliance Officer as required under the rules. Further, Resident Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact Person nominated by you is not an employee of Twitter Inc. in India as prescribed in the Rules. The office address of Twitter Inc as mentioned by you is that of a law firm in India, which is also not as per the Rules, read the letter, first shared on Twitter by ANI.





"As gesture of goodwill, Twitter Inc is hereby given one last notice to immediately comply with the rules. Failure to comply will lead to Twitter losing exemption from liability under IT Act and draw penal provisions," the notice mentioned.

Section 79 of the IT Act grants social media platforms a safe harbour or immunity from legal prosecution over the content that is circulated on their platforms. This is because most jurisdictions recognise that social media platforms dont author the content but merely serve as platforms connecting a sender to a recipient.



Earlier this month, Twitter in a statement expressed its willingness to comply with applicable laws in India, but expressed concern over users freedom of speech and privacy being compromised with the new IT Rules. The social media giant also talked about fearing for its employees safety in India, after a special cell of Delhi Police had visited Twitters Delhi and Gurugram offices to serve a notice.



On Saturday, Twitter removed and later restored the blue tick verification symbol from the personal account of India's vice president M Venkaiah Naidu.



Reacting to the brief removal of the 'blue tick' from the vice president's handle, IT Ministry sources, to NDTV, termed it an "outrageous act", adding that vice president is a constitutional post. The sources also questioned whether Twitter would have done the same with American leaders in constitutional posts.



Twitter reasoned that the 'blue tick' had been removed because the said account had been inactive since July 2020. "As explained in the Twitter verification policy, Twitter may remove the blue verified badge and verified status if the account becomes inactive or is incomplete. The verified badge of the Vice President's account has now been restored," it said in a statement.



Five senior functionaries of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, have also lost their 'blue tick' verification on Saturday for inactivity.
The government has



issued a licence to a Jabalpur-based company to manufacture Amphotericin-B, a key anti-fungal drug used in the treatment of black fungus or mucormycosis, an official said.

The Food and Drug Controller of issued the licence to Revacure Lifesciences, a private sector company in Umaria-Dungaria industrial area of Jabalpur district, on May 31, which is valid till December 22 this year, a government release said.

The manufacturing of Amphotericin-B injection in Jabalpur will benefit Mahakaushal, Vindhya and Bundelkhand regions of the state as this drug will be available easily to the patients suffering from black fungus disease at a relatively low cost, it said.

The government said this is the second company in the state to be given the licence for Amphotericin-B production.

Earlier, Indore-based Modern Laboratories had received the licence.

Meanwhile, state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday claimed that there is no scarcity of Amphotericin-B injections in the state.

A consignment of 12,240 injections arrived at Indore on Friday and around 17,000 more injections will be available after two days, he said.

At present, there are 1,005 active cases of black fungus in the state, he said.

There are 235 such patients in Bhopal, 428 in Indore, 116 in Jabalpur, 40 in Sagar, 85 in Ujjain, 52 in Gwalior, 31 in Rewa, 15 in Dewas, two in Ratlam and one in Burhanpur, the chief minister 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.)
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief on Saturday said that selling Covid vaccines to private hospitals at a premium was "indecent, inhuman, condemnable and very unfortunate."

She also urged the Centre to take proper cognizance of it.

In a series of tweets, the BSP chief lashed out at the Congress government in Punjab stating that it was seeking to make profits during a time when the country was grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The act of making a profit by the Congress government of Punjab during this time of pandemic by buying Covid-19 vaccine at Rs 400 and selling the same to private hospitals for Rs 1,060 instead of giving benefits to the public through government hospitals is indecent, inhuman, condemnable and very unfortunate," said BSP chief in a tweet.

termed this a "wicked act" and demanded the Central Government to take cognizance of it.

"After exposure of this wicked act of the by the media, it is clear that whatever stand and rhetoric of the Congress leadership regarding the corona vaccine, so far, there seems to be less seriousness and more drama. The Central Government should take proper cognizance of this, this demand of BSP," said

Earlier, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had demanded a High Court-monitored probe into the alleged selling of COVID vaccine doses by the to private hospitals for profit.

"The Punjab government is getting vaccines at Rs 400 but selling them to private hospitals at Rs 1,060. And private hospitals are administering vaccines at higher prices. A case should be registered against Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu for diverting vaccines meant for the common man to private institutions," Badal said.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government on Friday withdrew its earlier order of providing "one-time" limited vaccine doses to the 18-44 age group population through private hospitals after allegations by opposition of "diverting" Covaxin doses at "hefty margins".

A brief letter-- signed by Vikas Garg, the state-in-charge for vaccination-- said the order "has not been taken in the right spirit and is hereby withdrawn".

Further, it has been decided that the private hospitals should return forthwith all the vaccine doses available with them. The doses which they have utilised as of date should also be returned, once they get supplies from the manufacturers," the order added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The southwest arrived in on Saturday, bringing showers in some coastal parts of the state, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The progress of the is as per our expectations, said Shubhangi Bhute, director of the IMD's regional centre.

"The southwest has arrived in It has officially reached up to Harnai port in coastal Ratnagiri district and its actual line is spread till Solapur and some parts of Marathwada, followed by some parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh," she said.

It is expected to bring showers to these regions, she added.

"Conditions are favourable for further advancement of the monsoon," she said.

A few days back, the IMD had predicted that monsoon is likely to be normal in north and south India, above-normal in central India and below-normal in east and northeast India.

Quantitatively, the monsoon seasonal (June to September) rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be 101 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of plus or minus four per cent, it had said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The southwest is likely to advance into Odisha, Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal and Bihar, the India Meteorological Department said on Saturday, hinting at its good progress in the next 10 days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest has further advanced into more parts of central Arabian Sea, entire coastal Karnataka, Goa, some parts of Maharashtra, most parts north interior Karnataka, some parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, more parts of Tamil Nadu and central Bay of Bengal, and some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal.

However, a lull is expected in the rainfall activity on June 7-8, Rajendra Jenamani of the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the IMD, said.

But a low pressure area is expected to form in the Bay of Bengal by June 11. This will help in the progress of the and it is likely to advance into Odisha, Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal and Bihar, he said.

The monsoon set over Kerala on June 3, two days after its normal onset date.

The IMD has also made a forecast of a normal rainfall in June.

It said no heatwave conditions are likely in the country over the next five days.

The IMD said maximum temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius were recorded at many places over west Rajasthan and at isolated places over Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat and

The highest maximum temperature of 43.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at Banda in east Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

No heatwave conditions are likely in the country over the next five days, the IMD said.

Meanwhile, several parts of the country, including north India, are witnessing rainfall activity.

(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 Anti-Narcotics Cell of the arrested a 50-year-old woman, who is suspected to be a drug peddler at Kalbadevi area, the police said on Friday.

According to the police, 1.27 kg worth over Rs 3 crore has been seized from her possession.

"The woman has been identified as Saraswati Parma Naidu and is believed to be a major supplier of in south Mumbai," the police said.

A case against the woman has been filed against Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and an investigation into the matter is underway.

(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 nine-year-old Neela has died of COVID-19, and few other lions have tested positive for the virus at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur area of Tamil Nadu's

"A COVID-19 outbreak has been reported in the Asiatic lions at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur on June 3. Few of the lion has been found symptomatic and one of them - a nine-year-old Neela succumbed to the disease on the evening of June 3," read a press release from the Zoo issued on Friday.

"The zoo officials have immediately quarantined all the Asiatic lions and under the supervision of the senior vets of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary University treatments have been started," it said.

Moreover, on the request of the state government, a team of experts was also deputed by TANUVAS to help the veterinarians in the zoo to investigate the condition of the lions.

Swab samples of 11 lions were sent to the National Institute of High-Security Diseases (NIHSAD) Bhopal, and further samples of tiger and other large mammals are being sent for testing.

"As precautionary measures, the Tamil Nadu government had closed all the zoos for the visitors in the state since April 20," the statement said.

Earlier, on May 8, two lionesses have tested positive for COVID-19 at Etawah Safari Park in Uttar Pradesh and eight Asiatic lions housed in the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) Hyderabad have tested positive for SARS-CoV2 virus on May 4.

(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.)
Odisha's COVID-19 tally on Saturday breached the eight-lakh mark after 7,395 more people tested positive for the infection, while 40 fresh fatalities pushed the toll to 2,952, a health department official said.

The coastal state's caseload has now risen to 8,06,094, the official said.

Of the 7,395 cases, 4,169 were recorded in quarantine centres, and the rest detected during contact tracing.

Accordingly, the number of active cases climbed to 78,687, the health department official said.

As many as 7,24,402 patients have recovered from the highly infectious disease, including 11,347 on Friday.

Khurda district, of which the state capital Bhubaneswar is a part, reported the maximum number of new cases at 1,069, followed by Cuttack at 868, Jajpur at 561 and Angul at 443.

At least nine of the state's 30 districts reported less than 100 cases each -- Bolabgir (81), Nuapada (22), Sonepur (91), Deogarh (57), Dhenkanal (81), Gajapati (52), Ganjam (69), Jharsuguda (66) and Kandhamal (76).

The number of red zones -- having more than 1,000 active cases each -- has fallen to 13 from 25 in May.

Taking to Twitter, the health department said, "Regret to inform about the demise of forty Covid positive patients while under treatment in hospitals."



Six deaths were reported from Khurda, four each from Cuttack, Mayurbhanj and Sundergarh, three each from Angul, Boudh, Jharsuguda and Kalahandi, and two each from Bolangir, Bargarh and Deogarh.

One patient each succumbed to the infection in Ganjam, Kandhamal, Naygarh and Sambalpur.

This apart, 53 other COVID-19 patients in the state have died due to comorbidities, the official said.

Odisha's positivity rate stands at 6.66 per cent.

Over 1.21 crore samples have been tested for COVID-19 thus far, including 70,313 on Friday.

(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.)
Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu on Saturday directed various department officials and the district Collectors to work towards making the State a COVID-free one.

Irai Anbu, along with Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, held a review meeting here on the steps taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the districts of Coimbatore and Tirupur.

Though there was a high incidence of the virus in Coimbatore, the visit of Chief Minister M K Stalin twice to the district and steps taken resulted in bringing down the positive cases, Anbu said.

He directed the officials to monitor the availability beds with oxygen facility, medicines and vaccines, those home quarantined and setting up of new care centres, an official release said.

Earlier, the two officials visited a COVID Care Centre set up at Codissia Complex with oxygen facility, 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.)
Top American lawmakers on Friday applauded the Biden Administration for its decision to distribute 25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to India and other countries.

I applaud the Biden Administration's commitment to getting COVID-19 vaccines to countries that need them most, Senator John Cornyn, Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus said.

As Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, I believe this is an excellent opportunity to help India respond to their current, dangerous surge, Cornyn said in a tweet.

In a tweet, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith said as India fights its COVID-19 crisis, it's important to continue to share extra US vaccines to help its friend and important ally.

A return to normalcy and an eventual end to this brutal pandemic will require some global cooperation, Hyde-Smith said.

Congressman Dwight Evans said he supports Biden's plan to send vaccine doses to India and other countries.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who was recently engaged in discussions with the Indian-American community in Houston over the devastating COVID-19 conditions in India, applauded Biden for the step.

The Democratic Congresswoman from Texas urged Biden to increase vaccines and medical equipment to be sent to India as soon as possible, including providing any necessary waivers that did not happen in the last administration.

India is a close friend and our strategic partner. As India had assisted the US during America's pandemic last year, I urge the Biden Administration to add to its very positive efforts to immediately send surplus vaccines and supplies to India to deal with the devastation of COVID-19 in India, Jackson-Lee said.

We are all grateful for the vaccines the current administration has already delivered, and thanks again to our local Indian American leaders!, she said. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the Indian-American Caucus, urged President Biden to take the necessary steps to address the deadly second wave of COVID-19 in India.

Medical supplies and surplus vaccines are needed to get this virus under control across the globe, he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian scientist couple is working with netizens globally and has discovered some compelling evidence to support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) originated from a lab in Wuhan rather than a seafood market as China as widely informed.

Pune-based scientist couple, Dr. Rahul Bahulikar and Dr Monali Rahalkar said their theory that was initially dismissed as a conspiracy has again grabbed global attention after the US President Joe Biden ordered a probe into it.

Talking about their research, Dr Rahalkar said they do not know exactly if the virus had leaked but it is a strong hypothesis as our research point out towards a possible lab leak.

"We started our research in April 2020. We found that a relative of SARS-CoV-2, RATG13, a was collected from a mineshaft in Mojiang of Yunnan province in South China by the Wuhan Institute of Virology. We also found out that the mineshaft was infested with bats and six miners hired to clean the fecal matter were infected with pneumonia-like illness," said Dr Rahalkar.

"Wuhan Institute of Virology and other labs in Wuhan are experimenting on the virus, and there is a suspicion that they did some changes in the genome of the virus, and it may be possible that the current virus was invented in the process," she added.

Dr Bahulikar informed that after they published their first pre-print, they were contacted by a Twitter user SEEKER, who is part of a group called DRASTIC who is working on a common goal to discover evidence to support the hypothesis of lab leak theory.

"SEEKER specialise in finding hidden research material. He shared a thesis in the Chinese language that described in detail the severe illness in miners. Their symptoms were very similar to that of COVID-19 infection. Their CT scans were also compared with the COVID parents and it was discovered that they were almost similar," said Dr Bahulikar.

Adding to Dr Bahulikar statement, Dr Rahalkar said the theory about COVID-19 spread from the Yunnan mineshaft does not stand because there are no cases in Yunnan.

"Other theory that virus was transmitted to someone from a bat and later spread through a market also does not have any proof. Also, the structure of the virus is such that it was ready to infect humans, and that indicates that it might have come from a lab," she said.

The scientists also alleged that World Health Organisation (WHO) has not done enough research to probe the possible lab leak theory.

"We are demanding a proper probe into the theory. We have written three letters to WHO, that were published in international publications. WHO has done very limited research on the theory that the virus may have leaked from a lab. Now, US President is also saying that the matter should be investigated within 90 days, and India has also supported the notion," Dr Rahalkar added.

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The Biden administration said Friday it is cancelling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing

The reviews by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service are aimed at five Endangered Species Act regulations finalised by the Trump administration, including critical habitat designations and rules defining the scope of federal actions on endangered species.

The Fish and Wildlife Service also said it will reinstate the so-called blanket rule, which mandates additional protections for species that are newly classified as threatened. Under former President Donald Trump, those protections were removed.

Habitat designations for threatened or endangered species can result in limitations on energy development such as mining or oil drilling that could disturb a vulnerable species, while the scoping rule helps determine how far the government may go to protect imperiled species.

Under Trump, officials rolled back protections for the northern spotted owl, gray wolves and other species, actions that President has vowed to review. His administration already has moved to reverse Trump's decision to weaken enforcement of the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which made it harder to prosecute bird deaths caused by the energy industry.

The decision on the bird law was among more than 100 business-friendly actions on the environment that Trump took and Biden wants reconsidered and possibly revised or scrapped. The reviews announced Friday follow through on that executive order.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to working with diverse federal, tribal, state and industry partners to not only protect and recover America's imperiled wildlife but to ensure cornerstone laws like the Endangered Species Act are helping us meet 21st century challenges, said Martha Williams, principal deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The agency looks forward to continuing these conservation collaborations and to ensuring our efforts are fully transparent and inclusive,'' Williams added.

The reviews announced Friday will take months or years to complete. Many rules targeted by Trump originated with former President Barack Obama and took him years to undo, continuing a decades-old, back-and-forth between Democratic and Republican administrations with starkly differing approaches to environmental regulation.

Industry groups and Republicans in Congress have long viewed the Endangered Species Act as an impediment to economic development and under Trump they successfully lobbied to weaken the law's regulations. Environmental groups and Democratic-controlled states battled the moves in court, but those cases remained unresolved when Trump left office in January.

Noah Greenwald with the Center for Biological Diversity said the environmental group was grateful to see the Trump rules being cancelled or changed, particularly a rule that would have denied blanket protections for threatened species.

We hope they move quickly so more species aren't harmed, Greenwald said.

Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles, who was involved in legal challenges to the Trump rules, said Friday's announcement covered major changes under the previous administration that needed to be addressed. But Boyles said questions remain about what will happen while the new proposals go through a lengthy rule-making process.

These will take time, and in the interim we don't want the harm to continue, she said.

Jonathan Wood, a lawyer for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative law firm that advocates for property rights, said the Biden proposals could backfire by removing incentives for landowners to cooperate in helping imperiled wildlife.

There were some things in the Trump rules that were right, Wood said, citing regulations that he said offered needed flexibility and better incentives to recover endangered species.

This looks basically like a 180-degree reversal,'' he said. "Once again we're going to yo-yo back and forth on what the rules are.''



The Biden administration said in January it was reconsidering a Trump rule that removed federal protections for wolves across most of the Lower 48 states, but officials so far have not backed away from the Trump rule and continue to defend it in court. Wildlife advocates have pressed to revive the federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies and Upper Midwest after Republicans in Idaho, Montana and other states made it much easier to kill the predators.

In the final days of the Trump administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service cut by one-third the amount of protected federal old-growth forest used by the spotted owl, a move that was cheered by the timber industry and slammed by Democrats and environmental groups.

The Biden administration has temporarily delayed putting the Trump-era rules into effect in order to review the decision.

Last week, the Biden administration proposed federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, saying its habitat across five states is in danger of becoming more fragmented, with a further toll expected from the effects of and drought. The chicken's habitat spans parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas -- including a portion of the oil-rich Permian Basin.

The administration said this week that an extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevada's high desert should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Tiehm's buckwheat flower grows where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium.

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US President on Friday rejected a new Republican counteroffer, but will continue talks with Republicans next week.

During a phone call with the president Friday, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican negotiator, proposed a new offer to increase about $50 billion in spending across a number of programs, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

"The President expressed his gratitude for her effort and goodwill, but also indicated that the current offer did not meet his objectives to grow the economy, tackle the climate crisis, and create new jobs," Psaki said.

"He indicated to Senator Capito that he would continue to engage a number of Senators in both parties in the hopes of achieving a more substantial package," Psaki said, adding the two sides agreed to speak again on Monday, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Republicans had previously offered a $928-billion counteroffer, while the White House had lowered the overall price tag of Biden's $2.3-trillion infrastructure plan to $1.7 trillion.

Biden also spoke Friday to Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which plans to begin debate on Biden's infrastructure proposal next week.

"The President and Chairman DeFazio agreed on the benefits of continued engagement with Democratic and Republican Senators as the House work on infrastructure advances this coming week," Psaki said.

Biden could pursue a massive infrastructure package with only Democratic votes if bipartisan negotiations ultimately collapse, according to local media.

--IANS

int/rs

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Dr Anthony Fauci has been a political lightning rod since the early days of the pandemic, lionised by the left as a beacon of truth in an administration that badly mismanaged the pandemic and villainised by the right as a misguided, spotlight-seeking bureaucrat seeking to undermine former President Donald Trump.

But with the release of a trove of Fauci's emails this week, Republicans' attacks on the nation's top government infectious-diseases expert have gone into overdrive.

On conservative news channels, Fauci who now serves as President Joe Biden's pandemic adviser has been pilloried as a liar who misled the American people about the origins of COVID-19 to protect the Chinese government.

In Congress, Republican calls for his resignation have grown louder, as have demands for new investigations into the origins of the virus.

Given what we know now, I don't know how anyone can have confidence that he should remain in a position of public trust and authority, said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a potential presidential hopeful who is calling for Fauci's resignation and a full congressional inquiry.

The moves by Republicans represent a new effort to find a reliable foil in the first few months of the Biden administration, as they have struggled to turn public sentiment against the new president.

So far, Biden has enjoyed widespread job approval, buoyed by the public's broad backing of his handling of the pandemic, which 71 per cent of Americans support, according to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

Fauci, who has a security detail because of ongoing threats and who did not respond to a request for comment for this story, has repeatedly defended his work, saying he received thousands of emails and has never ruled out any theory.

I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human, but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak, Fauci said Thursday on CNN.

The doctor's newly released emails, which span the early days of the pandemic and were obtained by BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post, show no evidence of any kind of coverup about the origin of the virus. Indeed, many of the discussions reflect the science at the time. But



Republicans, including Trump, have seized on the emails as proof of a conspiracy to obscure the source of the virus.

In one email, from Feb 1 of last year, Kristian Andersen, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute, wrote to Fauci, the longtime director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about ongoing efforts to decipher the origin of the novel

At the time, the lab leak hypothesis was largely dismissed by experts. It has recently gained traction, though the origins of the virus remain unknown.

The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (0.1 per cent) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered, Andersen wrote.

He said he and his colleagues all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory. But, he added, we have to look at this much more closely and there are still further analyses to be done, so those opinions could still change.

By the next month, it turned out, they had. He and his colleagues published an article in Nature Medicine in which they concluded that it was improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of a related SARS-CoV-like

In another email, Fauci was thanked by the head of a nonprofit that helped fund research at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin, which he said will help dispel the myths being spun around the virus' origins.

Andersen, the scientist who wrote the engineered email, has tried to offer further explanation.

As I have said many times, we seriously considered a lab leak a possibility. However, significant new data, extensive analyses, and many discussions led to the conclusions in our paper. What the email shows, is a clear example of the scientific process, he tweeted amid the backlash.

It's just science, he later added. Boring, I know, but it's quite a helpful thing to have in times of uncertainty.

The former president disagrees. While in office, Trump, who disdained the scientist's popularity, frequently flouted Fauci's recommendations on battling COVID-19 by playing down the severity of the pandemic and often touting unproven scientific remedies, including a malaria drug and even injecting disinfectant.

And he frequently tried to undermine Fauci's credibility by refusing to acknowledge the evolution in scientists' understanding of the virus and how it spread, which informed guidance about policies like masking.

Trump is expected to yet again go after Fauci when he returns to the public stage in a speech in North Carolina on Saturday night. He sees the emails as further vindication that he was right about the doctor, according to an adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

There are a lot of questions that must be answered by Dr. Fauci, Trump said in a statement this week. What did Dr. Fauci know about gain of function' research, and when did he know it?



Gain of function refers to enhancing the severity or transmissibility of a virus.

House Republican Whip Rep Steve Scalise said on Fox Business Network on Thursday that Fauci needs to be brought in under oath to answer questions about the emails, while Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., now the No 3 Republican in the House, blasted out a fundraising email with the subject line FIRE FAUCI.

Anthony Fauci's recently released emails and investigative reporting about #COVID19 origins are shocking. The time has come for Fauci to resign and for a full congressional investigation into the origins of #COVID19 and into any and all efforts to prevent a full accounting, Hawley tweeted after recently voting along with Scalise and Stefanik to block a full congressional investigation into the origins of the Jan 6 insurrection.

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The worlds richest governments enter a second day of talks in London seeking to pave the way toward a historic rewrite of the code for business.

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations ended Friday closing in on a deal to jointly support a minimum corporate rate of at least 15% when broader negotiations resume. That would signal an end to decades of countries racing each other to lower levies.

Differences remained on how to treat technology companies as part of a related effort to force multinationals to pay more in the places they operate. President Joe Bidens administration is wary of American tech giants such as Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. getting unduly singled out.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and their G-7 counterparts are set to release a statement after discussions end.

Whatever they agree will set an important marker for upcoming talks with most of the worlds countries, some of whom, like Ireland, benefit from boasting low-tax havens. Domestic legislatures such as the U.S. Congress will also weigh in.

We are close to an agreement and we are agreed all together that we need a very big step forward to fight against tax avoidance, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Friday. We all understand that big corporates must pay their fair share.

A pact could be a money-maker for governments who have run up debt dealing with the economic fallout of the pandemic. A study published this week by the EU Tax Observatory projected that a 15% rate could generate the equivalent of 41 billion euros ($49.9 billion) a year for the U.S. and 48 billion euros for European Union members.

Agreeing on the at least wording on a minimum levy would leave room for maneuver in wider talks involving around 140 nations on how to rework rules to stop multinationals shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions. It would also give Bidens administration a bargaining chip as it pursues its infrastructure plan in Congress.





Governments have been trying to find common ground on dealing with companies for much of the past decade in discussions overseen by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

But it was the arrival of Biden on the world stage which gave the talks fresh impetus, first with the proposal for a minimum rate of 21%. It wasnt clear on Friday night whether a specific rate would be included in the G-7 communique.

Clearly 15% is only a starting point, and if it is higher, it is better to have a level of rate that is higher than 15%, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the BBC on Friday.

A G-7 deal would help build momentum -- and potentially clear some obstacles -- ahead of a meeting of financial officials in the larger Group of 20 in July and the G-20 summit of leaders in October.

According to one official on Friday, one of the sticking points is a U.S. demand that France, Italy and the U.K. immediately drop digital taxes once a deal has been struck -- even before it has been implemented.

European governments, under political pressure at home, have insisted those rules must target digital firms such as Alphabet Inc.s Google and Amazon.com. But the U.S. has said -- under Biden as well as his predecessor, Donald Trump -- that there should be no bias against mainly American companies in a new rulebook.

The U.K. said in a statement Friday that finance ministers held productive negotiations about reforming the global tax system and tackling the tax challenges that arise in a complex, digital global 
By Paresh Dave and Joseph Menn

(Reuters) - Corp on Friday blamed "accidental human error" for its Bing search engine not showing image results for the query "tank man" in the United States and elsewhere after users raised concerns about possible censorship around the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary.

Users, including in the United Kingdom, Germany and Singapore, reported Friday that when they performed the search Bing returned the message, "There are no results for tank man."

David Greene, civil liberties director at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that content moderation was impossible to do perfectly and "egregious mistakes are made all the time."

But he said it could be more sinister: "At worst, this was purposeful suppression at the request of a powerful state."

Hours after acknowledged the issue, the "tank man" search returned only pictures of tanks elsewhere in the world.

"Tank man" is often used to describe an unidentified person famously pictured standing before tanks in China's Tiananmen Square during pro-democracy demonstrations in June 1989.

said the issue was "due to an accidental human error and we are actively working to resolve this."

Smaller search engines such as DuckDuckGo that license results from Microsoft faced similar issues around "tank man" searches and said they expected a fix soon.

Rival Google showed many results for the famous image when the "tank man" search was performed on Friday.

A significant percentage of the Microsoft employees who work on Bing are based in China, including some who work on image-recognition software, according to a former employee.

China is known to require search engines operating in its jurisdiction to censor results, but those restrictions are rarely applied elsewhere.

(Reporting by Paresh Dave in Oakland, Calif. and Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)

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PRI ESPL INT .SEOUL FES8 NKOREA-KIM N Korean leader calls for meeting to review battered economy his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month, and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy. The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that Kim expressed appreciation that a lot of works were being sped up thanks to the ideological enthusiasm and fighting spirit of self-reliance demonstrated by the party and his people. But he also said there was a need to correct deflective matters and called for a plenary meeting of the Workers' Party's Central Committee to review overall state affairs for the first half of 2021. The party announced that the plenary meeting was set for early June. Kim's appearance at Friday's Politburo meeting was the first time he showed himself in public since May 6, when he held a photo session with families of North Korean soldiers. North Korea's battered economy has deteriorated further amid pandemic border closures, which significantly reduced trade with China, its major ally and economic lifeline. The Workers' Party last held a plenary meeting of Central Committee members in February, when Kim ripped into state economic agencies for their passive and self-protecting tendencies in setting their annual goals. While Kim said Friday that was continuing to face challenges brought by unfavourable subjective and objective conditions and environment, the KCNA report did not mention any comments he made toward the United States or South Korea. has so far ignored the allies' calls to resume nuclear negotiations that have stalled since the collapse of the second summit between Kim and former President Donald Trump in February 2019. The Americans then rejected North Koreans' demands for lifting sanctions in exchange for a piecemeal deal toward partially surrendering their nuclear capabilities. Following a meeting last month in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a joint statement that Washington would take a calibrated and practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with Pyongyang. But has questioned the sincerity of the proposals and claimed that Biden's agreement to end Washington's decades-long range restrictions that capped South Korea's missile development, which was announced after his meeting with Moon, demonstrated continuing US hostility toward the North. US officials have suggested Biden would adopt a middle ground policy between his predecessors Trump's direct dealings with Kim and Barack Obama's strategic patience. But some experts say Washington won't likely provide the North with meaningful sanctions relief unless it takes concrete denuclearisation steps first. Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches, while saying that the fate of bilateral relations depends on whether Washington discards what he perceives as hostile policies. During a rare ruling party congress in January, Kim urged his people to be resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance. He called for reasserting greater state control over the economy, boosting agricultural production and prioritizing the development of chemicals and metal industries. Experts say such sectors are crucial to North Korean hopes to revitalise industrial production that has been decimated by sanctions and halted imports of factory materials amid the pandemic. (AP) RDK RDK 06050626 NNNN

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on Friday (local time) indefinitely suspended Twitter's activities two days after the deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari.

"The federal government has suspended, indefinitely, the activities of the microblogging and social networking service in Nigeria," the Ministry of Information and Culture said in the statement, reported africanews.

On Wednesday, the microblogging site deleted a tweet by the President which Nigerians had criticized as a declaration of war.

In the deleted tweet, Buhari had made a reference to the country's 30-month civil war in 1967-1970, warning "those who wanted the government to fail" to desist from fomenting trouble.

"Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the civil war. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand," the president tweeted on Tuesday night.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed accused of 'having an agenda', reported africanews.

"The mission of in is very, very suspect. Has Twitter deleted the violent tweets that Nnamdi Kanu has been sending," Mohammed wondered.

Kanu is the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The main aim of IPOB is to create an independent state for the people of old Eastern Region of Nigeria through an independent referendum. He lives in exile in Israel.

When people were burning police stations and killing police officers during #ENDSARS, for Twitter it was about the right to protest. But when a similar thing happened on the Capitol, it was insurrection", Mohammed said, reported africanews.

Earlier, the Nigerian government on Wednesday had expressed doubts about Twitter's mission in the country, accusing the US technology company of double standards and supporting the secessionists in the west African country.

Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed took a swipe at Twitter after it deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari who issued a warning to troublemakers in Nigeria.

"We have a country to rule, and we will do so to the best of our ability. Twitter's mission in Nigeria is very suspect, they have an agenda. The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspicious," Mohammed said.

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A South African court on Friday froze the assets of the controversial Indian-origin and their associate, Iqbal Meer Sharma, which included palatial homes in upmarket areas.

On Thursday, the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa asked Interpol to issue Red Notice Arrest Warrants for Atul Gupta and Rajesh Gupta, and their wives Chetali and Arti.

Meer Sharma, one of their close associates, is spending the weekend in jail, along with with a senior official of the Provincial Free State Government, pending a bail application on Monday.

An ID spokesperson, Sindisiwe Seboka, earlier said they have a strong case against the Guptas and Sharma involving fraud and to the tune of more than 12 million South African rand.

The Guptas, accused of siphoning billions of rand from state and parastatal institutions, are believed to be in self-exile in Dubai, with reports that some family members are in India.

South Africa has sent extradition papers to both India and the UAE, although it has no extradition treaty with the UAE.

The wanted four members of the are the owners of the company, Islandsite, against which the High Court order was granted on Friday.

"Leave is granted to institute asset forfeiture proceedings against Islandsite and the property of Islandsite," read the order, which Seboka confirmed applied to assets, including all properties in South Africa belonging to Islandsite.

The court has appointed a curator who will take charge of the assets pending the outcome of criminal charges for fraud and money laundering offences instituted against the Guptas, their company Islandsite, Sharma and his company Nulane.

"The freezing order, granted in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act, will be served on Iqbal Sharma at the Bloemfontein Bainsvlei (police) holding cells, while Islandsite will be served at its local business address," Seboka said.

Should they be found guilty, the assets concerned will be forfeited to the state.

The properties of the Guptas that are part of the order, include a 21 million rand mansion in the elite suburb of Constantia in Cape Town and a 12 million rand estate in Johannesburg.

Sharma's assets, include his residence in the upmarket suburb of Sandton in Johannesburg valued at more than 12 million rand that the ID said is owned through a UAE-registered company, Issar Global, as well as other assets worth around 1.8 million rand.

The arrived from Saharanpur in India in the 1990's as democracy dawned with the release of anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela.

The Guptas grew their business from a humble retail shoe store to a vast empire spanning information technology, mining and media.

There have been widespread allegations, including by witnesses at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, that the Gupta brothers used their closeness to former president Jacob Zuma to carry out a wide range of irregular deals totalling billions of rand.

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Torrential rains battered on Saturday, resulting in flooding, mudslides, and the death of six people, while fives others were reported missing, officials said.

This is the third consecutive day of heavy rains, which began to lash six districts in the country's southwest on Thursday night.

On Saturday, over 20 centimetres of rain was recorded. Officials said at least 5,000 people have been displaced till now. Houses, farms and roads have been inundated. News channels showed stills of waterlogged main roads.

A family of four died when a heavy mound of earth crashed into their house in Devanagala village in Kegalle district, about 85 kilometers from capital Colombo, Disaster Management officials said.

"We have deployed the three armed forces and rescue officials in the badly-hit areas," said disaster management official Pradeep Kodippily. The Navy has been conducting rescue operations in inundated areas.

D Abeywardena, a senior irrigation department official, said sluice gates of all reservoirs have been opened.

Spokesman for the state power utility, Sulakshana Jayawardena, said all hydropower reservoirs were running at full capacity as catchment areas received heavy inflows.

"We have over 103,000 distressed electricity customers in four districts due to breakdown of powerlines caused by the rains," he said, adding that restoration works were delayed due to the extreme weather.

Weather officials said above 10 centimetres of rains is expected on Sunday.

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A report by the UN Monitoring Team has said that the still maintains close ties with Al Qaeda.

The 18-member States report released on Wednesday said, "the and remain closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties. No material changes to this relationship, which has grown deeper as a consequence of personal bonds of marriage and shared partnership in struggle, now cemented through second generational ties," reported Tolo News.

The report comes amid US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan and plan to leave completely by September 11.

As part of last year's agreement between the preceding Trump administration and the Taliban, the group promised to instruct its members "not to cooperate with groups or individuals", reported Tolo News.

"While the Doha agreement has set some expectations for a break in the longstanding relationship between the and Al Qaeda, the publicly available text of the agreement does not define expectations, and its annexes remain secret," the report said.

According to UN member state information, "Al Qaeda is resident in at least 15 Afghan provinces, primarily in the east, southern and south-eastern regions, and are led by Al-Qaeda's Jabhat-al-Nasr wing under the direction of Sheikh Mahmood," reported Tolo News.

"19 Members of the group have been relocated to more remote areas by the Taliban to avoid potential exposure and targeting," it said.

According to UN member states report, " maintains contact with the Taliban but has minimized overt communications with Taliban leadership in an effort to 'lay low' and not jeopardize the Taliban's diplomatic position vis-a-vis the Doha agreement."

The report said that "Member States reported that a significant part of Al Qaeda leadership remains based in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the core is joined by and works closely with Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent."

"Al Qaeda's own strategy in the near term is assessed as maintaining its traditional safe haven in Afghanistan for the Al Qaeda core leadership, the Monitoring Team takes note of assessments that have suggested a longer-term Al Qaida core strategy of strategic patience for a period of time before it would seek to plan attacks against targets again. This scenario is untested against stated Taliban commitments to prohibit such activities," the report stated.

"Although ... Member States assess that formal communication between senior Al Qaida and Taliban officials is currently infrequent, one Member State reported that there is regular communication between the Taliban and on issues related to the peace process," the report said.

Amid foreign troop withdrawal, the violence in Afghanistan is at its highest level in two decades.

According to the UN report, 2020 was the "most violent year ever recorded by the United Nations in Afghanistan." Security incidents have risen over 60 per cent in the first three months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, the report said.

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The on Friday announced a USD 57 million aid for efforts against in seven high-burden countries, including India.

Other countries for which the aid is being given are Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, Tajikistan and Ukraine.

Designed in collaboration with partner governments, the initiative will provide a foundation to the high-burden countries to recover the ground lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a media release said.

In the 23 countries where the US Agency for Development (USAID) focuses, one million fewer people had access to (TB) diagnosis and treatment in 2020 than in 2019 due to COVID-19 and measures to control it.

The USAID said alongside COVID-19, TB is the leading infectious disease killer, particularly in low and middle-income countries, sickening 10 million people and taking 1.4 million lives every year.

In the wake of the devastating impact of the pandemic on TB services, this assistance will strengthen simultaneous testing for both and COVID-19, identify cases through contact investigations and community screenings.

This commitment represents approximately 19 per cent of the USAID's annual TB funding, the agency sid.

The US agency said due to the far-reaching impact of coronavirus, TB is projected to sicken 6.3 million more people with an additional 1.4 million deaths by 2025.

The pandemic toll puts the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations at even more risk, it said, adding that those suffering from both COVID-19 and TB are about three times more likely to die than those with only TB.

As the world's largest bilateral donor leading the fight to end tuberculosis, the USAID remains committed to addressing both diseases, ultimately helping countries get back on track by putting 40 million people on TB treatment by 2022, it said.

Since 2000, the USAID efforts have saved over 60 million lives, said the media release.

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By Jonnelle Marte and Ann Saphir

(Reuters) - Hotels, restaurants and other businesses are boosting pay as they try to rebuild their staffs and meet increasing demand from Americans ready to venture out as pandemic-related restrictions are lifted and more people are vaccinated.

But it is unclear if the increases will be sufficient to entice enough workers back to close the employment gap remaining in the sector hit hardest by COVID-19 job losses.

Average hourly earnings for workers in leisure and hospitality rose to $18.09 in May, the highest ever and up 5% from January alone, according to Labor Department data released on Friday. Pay rose even faster for workers in non-manager roles, who saw earnings rise by 7.2% from January, far outpacing any other sector.

Where wages are growing fastest https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/WAGES/gjnvwmabnvw/chart.png

That higher pay could be a sign that companies are lifting wages as they seek to draw people back to work after more than a year at home. Some businesses are struggling to keep up with higher demand as more consumers, now fully vaccinated, get back to flying, staying in and dining indoors. Job gains in leisure and hospitality this year have so far outpaced gains in other sectors.

But it is too soon to know whether the boost will be enough to help speed up hiring at a time when many workers are still facing other obstacles, including health concerns and having to care for children and other relatives.

"The fact of the matter is, the pandemic is still going on," said Daniel Zhao, a senior economist for Glassdoor. "The is running ahead of where we are from a public health situation."

Pay surges for workers in leisure and hospitality https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/WAGES/yzdvxmxgjpx/chart.png

Some 2.5 million people said they were prevented from looking for work in May because of the pandemic, according to the Labor Department. And just about 40% of Americans are now fully vaccinated, meaning that many workers may still be concerned about the health risks they might face on the job, Zhao said.

STILL IN A HOLE

Employment in leisure and hospitality is still in a deep hole when compared with pre-pandemic levels.

The industry added 292,000 jobs in May, with about two-thirds of that hiring happening in restaurants and bars. But overall employment is still down 2.5 million jobs, or 15% from pre-pandemic levels, more than any other industry.

Where employment rose fastest in 2021 https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/WAGES/qzjpqrydnvx/chart.png

If job gains continued at the pace seen in May, it would take more than eight months to replace the jobs lost. And it's not yet clear that all of the jobs will be recovered, especially if business travel remains depressed or if other habits change after the pandemic.

Some people who previously worked at or restaurants moved on to other types of jobs during the pandemic, such as packaging goods at a warehouse, and it's too soon to know whether they will switch back as more of the reopens, said Zhao.

Some Republicans and businesses struggling to find workers say generous unemployment benefits are slowing down the labor market recovery by making it easier for workers to stay home. Others say the benefits may be helping workers cover the bills while they wait for schools to reopen, receive vaccinations and resolve other obstacles that made it difficult for them to work during the pandemic.

"People were making decisions based on those other factors, but they had the wherewithal to make those choices because of the extended unemployment benefits," Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester said during an interview with CNBC.

Jobs by industry https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-FED/INDUSTRY/jznpnrzdxpl/chart.png

Either way, any frictions caused by unemployment benefits may be resolved over the next several months as those benefits are reduced. About half of states are putting an early end to a $300 federal supplement to weekly unemployment benefits, winding them down as soon as June 12. The supplement expires nationwide on Sept. 6.

(Reporting by Jonnelle Marte and Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)

(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.)
zonal unit of the along with the police arrested three drug peddlers and seized 710 grams of Morphine along with two country-made pistols, the NCB officials informed on Friday.

Four live rounds were also recovered from their possession.

According to a statement issued by the officials of NCB, the accused has been identified as Sunny Kumar, Munna Ravidas and Raju Prasad.

"Acting on information's received from various sources and further working and corroborating/verifying them on the ground for more than two months, on June 3, intensive operations by NCB Zonal Unit and Police lead to seizure of 710 grams of Morphine along with 2 country-made pistols, 4 live rounds. 3 persons have been arrested through operation jointly conducted along with Patna Police, which continued for more than 18 hours," the statement read.

The NCB Patna unit further informed that an active cooperation was received in the operation from Ramkrishna Nagar police station.

A case has been registered against arrested persons under relevant sections of the Arms Act.

Further investigations in the case are underway especially regarding the network linkages with other anti-state activities including the money laundering aspect.

(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 Board of Zuari Global at its meeting held on 04 June 2021 has approved to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding between the company and AZC, A.S., a SolvaKian company to co-operate with each other and intend to enter into joint venture to develop and operate a distillery to produce ethanol in India. This ethanol will be supplied to Government owned oil marketing companies to meet their blending requirements. The MoU is also explore within India the opportunity to grow the business to achieve a total capacity of 1,000 kilo litres per day of ethanol more through both organic and inorganic way.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals' Sardar Brand Agri products are now available on AgroStar, an exclusive agri inputs e-commerce platform, to help farmers by providing a complete range of agri solutions.

Continuous improvement in company's product portfolio along with success in creating solutions for farmers has led to the Company's unique position in the agri-business.

To further support the farmers and ease their purchasing experience, Sardar Brand agri inputs will now be available on the AgroStar Website and App.

AgroStar currently operates in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh and has over 5 Lakh farmers on its digital platform. Farmers in these states can avail agri solutions for their entire crop life-cycle with a simple "missed call" or through its Android app, which is amongst the highest rated farming focused apps in the country.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The public sector bank reported a net profit of Rs 586.33 crore in Q4 FY21 as against a net loss of Rs 697.20 crore in Q4 FY20.

The bank's total income increased by 37.5% to Rs 22,531.73 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20. The bank's operating profit (before provisions & contingencies) surged 43.3% to Rs 5,634.31 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

The public sector bank posted a profit before tax of Rs 948.27 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with pre tax loss of Rs 969.03 crore in Q4 FY20.

The bank's provisions & contingencies for Q4 FY21 stood at Rs 4,686.04 crore, declining 4.4% from Rs 4,901.31 crore in Q4 FY20. The bank's provision coverage ratio stood at 80.14% as of 31 March 2021 compared to 77.79% in previous year.

On the asset quality side, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 104,423.42 crore as on 31 March 2021 as against Rs 94,479.33 crore as on 31 December 2020 and Rs 73,478.76 crore as on 31 March 2020.

The gross NPA ratio stood at 14.12% as on 31 March 2021, compared to 12.99% on 31 December 2020 and 14.21% as of 31 March 2020. The net NPA ratio stood at 5.73% as on 31 March 2021 from 4.03% as on 31 December 2020 and 5.78% as on 31 March 2020.

The PSU Bank posted a net profit of Rs 2,021.62 crore for the year ended March 2021 (FY21) compared with net profit of Rs 336.20 crore in the year ended March 2020 (FY20). Total income jumped 48.3% to Rs 93,561.62 crore in FY21 over FY20.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) is a public sector bank. The Government of India held 76.87% stake in the bank as on 31 March 2021.

Shares of PNB closed 1.49% lower at Rs 43.10 on BSE.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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Digital Editor
on Saturday held a review meeting with the heads of companies through Video conferencing to review the progress made under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) Scheme for health workers fighting Covid-19.

The Finance Minister asked accelerate the disbursement of pending claims under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) during the pandemic and stressed the importance of streamlining the process and documentation requirements.

During the review, Sitharaman observed that under the PMGKP scheme, a total of 419 claims have been paid till date, amounting to Rs 209.5 crore disbursed in the account of their nominees.

To address the issue of delays arising out of States sending documents, Sitharaman said that a new system has been put in place whereby a simple certificate from the District Magistrate (DM) and endorsed by the nodal state health authority will be sufficient to process these claims.

FM also directed the States to take up Covid claims of health workers on priority and make maximum use of this simplified mechanism that has been put in place.

Sitharaman further observed that under PMJJBY, a total of 465,000 claims have been paid of value Rs 9,307 crore and since the beginning of the pandemic i.e., April 1 2020 onwards till date, 120,000 claims have been paid amounting to Rs 2,403 crore, at a disposal rate of 99 per cent.

" company officials should continue being sympathetic while providing services to nominees of deceased policy holders, especially during pandemic period," Sitharaman said.

PMJJBY was launched in 2015 to provide life and accidental insurance covers respectively of Rs 2 lakh each to all beneficiaries enrolled under the schemes through their bank with annual premium of only Rs 330.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Saturday that shops in the national capital will be allowed to open on an odd-even basis from Monday, June 7. He added that Delhi Metro will be allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity.

"Lockdown will continue with more relaxation in other activities. Markets, malls to be opened on odd-even basis," said Kejriwal on Saturday, according to ANI.

Kejriwal added that private offices in the national capital will be allowed to function at 50 per cent capacity. "Group A staff of government offices will be allowed to function with 100%, group B with 50% staff," added the Chief Minister.

Discussing the potential third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kejriwal said that the Delhi government is ready to combat the third wave of coronavirus. He added that the administration has set up a pediatric task force for the same. Kejriwal explained that the Delhi government will set up two genome sequencing labs for the detection of new coronavirus variants, if any.

"With an expected third wave of COVID-19, 420 tonnes of oxygen storage capacity is being prepared. We have also spoken to Indraprastha Gas limited to produce 150 tones of oxygen," said the Chief Minister. He added that a team of doctors and experts will be set up to examine the demand for medicines in order to tackle the "WhatsApp forwards of medicines".

Also Read: India records 1.20 lakh new COVID-19 cases, daily positivity rate reaches 5.78%

Also read: US colleges, universities ask Indian students inoculated with Covaxin, Sputnik V to revaccinate
The southwest monsoon is likely to advance into Odisha, Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal and Bihar, the India Meteorological Department said on Saturday, hinting at its good progress in the next 10 days.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest monsoon has further advanced into more parts of central Arabian Sea, entire coastal Karnataka, Goa, some parts of Maharashtra, most parts north interior Karnataka, some parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, more parts of Tamil Nadu and central Bay of Bengal, and some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal.

However, a lull is expected in the rainfall activity on June 7-8, Rajendra Jenamani of the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the IMD, said.

"But a low pressure area is expected to form in the Bay of Bengal by June 11. This will help in the progress of the monsoon and it is likely to advance into Odisha, Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal and Bihar," he said.

The monsoon set over Kerala on June 3, two days after its normal onset date.

The IMD has also made a forecast of a normal rainfall in June.

It said no heatwave conditions are likely in the country over the next five days.

The IMD said maximum temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius were recorded at many places over west Rajasthan and at isolated places over Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat and Odisha.

The highest maximum temperature of 43.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at Banda in east Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

"No heatwave conditions are likely in the country over the next five days," the IMD said.

Meanwhile, several parts of the country, including north India, are witnessing rainfall activity.

Also Read: Paytm's loss narrows to Rs 1,704 crore in FY21, revenue declines 10%

Also Read: Covid dent: GST revenue down 27% in May at Rs 1.02 lakh cr
China's mass vaccination drive, which administered 723.5 million doses of vaccines as of June 3, is currently only open to those aged 18 and above.

China has approved emergency use of Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine in people aged between three and 17, its chairman Yin Weidong told state TV late on Friday.

China's mass vaccination drive, which administered 723.5 million doses of vaccines as of June 3, is currently only open to those aged 18 and above.

When Sinovac's vaccine will be offered to younger groups depends on health authorities formulating China's inoculation strategies, Yin told state TV in an live interview.

Yin said minors have lower priority for vaccination against the coronavirus compared with the elderly, who face higher risk of severe symptoms after infection.

Preliminary results from Phase I and II clinical trials showed the vaccine could trigger immune response in three to 17 year-old participants, and most adverse reactions were mild.

State-backed drugmaker Sinopharm, which has two shots using similar technology to Sinovac's product, is also submitting data for clearance in younger groups. A vaccine from CanSino Biologics', adopting a different technique, has entered a Phase II trial involving those aged between six and 17.

Sinovac has also completed a Phase II clinical trial where participants were injected with a third booster dose after completing two regular shots, Yin said.

Participants saw 10 fold increase in antibody levels compared with previous levels in a week, and 20 fold in half a month, Yin said.

Yin cautioned that Sinovac still needs to complete longer-term observation of antibody duration before it can make recommendation to authorities about when a third dose should be given.

Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: UK approves Pfizer jab for 12 to 15-year-olds
Flipkart is seeking a $50 billion valuation through its IPO (Initial Public Offering) in the US by next year. This would be the biggest public offering in the consumer tech space in India.

In order to set the stage, the e-commerce giant is holding discussions with investors such as sovereign wealth funds like Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Abu Dhabi's ADQ, and Japan's SoftBank to raise total funding of around $3 billion, the Business Standard reported citing sources.

Meanwhile, existing investors such as Qatar Investment Authority and GIC may also participate. The investment may take Flipkart's valuation to approx. $30 billion - $35 billion.

Also Read: SoftBank in talks to invest $700 million in Flipkart

Meanwhile, SoftBank is also holding talks with the Bengaluru-based company to invest over $500 million in it and is looking to invest in Flipkart, three years after it offloaded its entire stake in the firm to Walmart Inc.

Prior to its exit in 2018, SoftBank had pumped in $2.5 billion in Flipkart. Another investor, ADQ, which is a close ally of SoftBank has been investing in its portfolio companies.

Also Read: LIC, PolicyBazaar, Flipkart and more: Top 10 IPOs to watch out for in 2021

The Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund might infuse $500 million, while CPPIB may invest around $800 million. Existing investors such as GIC and QIA are expected to pump in another $1 billion. However, decisions regarding these investments have not been made yet.

"The allocation of funds or how much each investor would invest is expected to happen in the next two weeks," a source told the publication.
Highlights Apple employees have written an email to the company asking them to reconsider the three-day work from office policy

Apple employees were required to start working from the office for at least three days a week starting from September.

Tim Cook in an email to his employees had asked them to return to the office on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays.

Apple employees have written an email to the company asking them to reconsider the three-day work from office policy which will be rolled out in September. As per the recently announced work policy by CEO Tim Cook, Apple employees were required to start working from the office for at least three days a week starting from September. However, the employees have express concern over the same and demanded a flexible approach.

"We would like to take the opportunity to communicate a growing concern among our colleagues. That Apple's remote/location-flexible work policy, and the communication around it, have already forced some of our colleagues to quit. Without the inclusivity that flexibility brings, many of us feel we have to choose between either a combination of our families, our well-being, and being empowered to do our best work, or being a part of Apple," the letter obtained by The Verge reads.

Tim Cook in an email to his employees had asked them to return to the office on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays. He had said that the employees can work from home on the remaining days. However, the teams that need to work from the office were asked to return to the office five days a week. Apart from this, the company had said that it would allow its employees to work remotely for up to two weeks per year.

Apple employees in their letter addressed to Tim Cook have said that they have often felt not just unheard and at times actively ignored. "Messages like, 'we know many of you are eager to reconnect in person with your colleagues back in the office,' with no messaging acknowledging that there are directly contradictory feelings amongst us feels dismissive and invalidating. Not only do many of us already feel well-connected with our colleagues worldwide, but better connected now than ever. We've come to look forward to working as we are now, without the daily need to return to the office. It feels like there is a disconnect between how the executive team thinks about remote / location-flexible work and the lived experiences of many of Apple's employees," the letter reads.

The employees have credited the work from home culture for a successful year. They have said that they could work more efficiently because they were unconstrained by the daily commutes to offices.
Highlights The government on Saturday issued a notice to Twitter giving it one last chance to immediately comply with the new IT rules.

The government warned that failure to adhere to the norms will lead to the platform losing exemption from liability under the IT Act.

The notice, however, did not give a specific deadline to comply with the rules.

The government on Saturday issued a notice to Twitter giving it one last chance to "immediately" comply with the new IT rules and warned that failure to adhere to the norms will lead to the platform losing exemption from liability under the IT Act.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said that Twitter's refusal to comply with the rules demonstrated the microblogging site's "lack of commitment and efforts towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform".

"Despite being operational in India for more than a decade, it is beyond belief that Twitter Inc has doggedly refused to create a mechanism that will enable the people of India to resolve their issues on the platform in a timely and transparent manner and through fair processes, by India based, clearly identified resources," the IT ministry said.

The ministry said that though with effect from May 26, 2021, "consequences follow" given Twitter's non-compliance with rules "however, as a gesture of goodwill, Twitter Inc is hereby given one last notice to immediately comply with the rules, failing which the exemption from liability available...shall stand withdrawn and Twitter shall be liable for consequences as per the IT Act and other penal laws of India."

The notice, however, did not give a specific deadline to comply with the rules.
Pictured is a scene from the 2013 Back to the Bricks event in Cadillac. On Monday, the Back to the Bricks classic car show tour will be returning to Cadillac.
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Do you have an athlete in mind that contributes to the team or sport, holds sportsmanship and team spirit, has epic playmaker moments and/or in general makes the the sports fun? If yes, please make your nominations for our edition of Athlete Spotlight.

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A detailed analysis report of the Global Bio-Tech Flavors Market has been covered in the report coupled with a thorough description of each company profile with information on the H.Q, future capabilities, key mergers & acquisitions, financial outline, partnerships and new product launches and developments.

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US researcher with ties to Wuhan lab personally thanked Fauci in April 2020 for dispelling lab leak theory myths
A recent paper published by researchers from NC State and other universities found that natural gas pipelines tended to be routed through poor communities. Photo credit: National Parks Conservation Association/ Flickr Creative Commons
Two men have been charged after a wild road rage incident in Alberta.

Video posted to social media captured the altercation that saw a truck ram an SUV multiple times. The driver of the SUV had punched the mirror of the truck while they were both arguing in a traffic circle in Leduc County.

RCMP were called to the scene near Highway 60 and Highway 39 at about 2:20 p.m. on Thursday.

After the second collision between the two vehicles, both drivers exit and continue to yell at each other.

Both men, a 45-year-old and 59-year-old, were charged with careless driving under the provincial Traffic Safety Act.
Photo: The Canadian Press The Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine is prepared at a vaccination clinic in Dartmouth, N.S. on Thursday, June 3, 2021. Large shipments of COVID-19 vaccines will continue to pour into Canada through the summer, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, with over two million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab expected to arrive each week until the end of August. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

As Canada's COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues to pick up speed, the country's top public health officer is reiterating the importance of receiving a full two-dose series, especially with the latest variant of concern now detected in several provinces.

Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday that the recently dubbed "Delta" variant, which was first detected in India, has been found "essentially across Canada."

The variant, believed to be behind recent spikes in COVID-19 cases in parts of the United Kingdom, has demonstrated to be more transmissible than previous versions of the virus, Tam said.

Preliminary data released last week from Public Health England suggested that COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca were effective against the new variant after two doses, but less efficacy was shown with only one dose.

Sixty-five per cent of eligible Canadians had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday, but vaccine trackers show roughly seven per cent of the eligible population were fully vaccinated.

Tam said the heightened transmissibility of Delta was "obviously a characteristic of concern."

"(It) means in under-vaccinated populations, or if we let go (of) public health measures ... in the context of a transmissible variant, that variant could well takeoff and replace other viruses in the communities," she said.

"So it is very important to get that second dose when variants such as the Delta variant (are) in our community."

Several provinces are speeding up their second-dose rollouts as more vaccine supply pours into the country.

Prime Minister Trudeau announced Friday that large shipments of vaccines will continue through the summer, with more than two million Pfizer doses expected each week until the end of August.

Trudeau said nine million Pfizer doses will arrive in July with another 9.1 million expected in August. He added that Canada has also negotiated an option for three million more Pfizer doses to be delivered in September.

Trudeau said he's been encouraged by the country's vaccine rollout, adding that Canadians have "reason to be hopeful about this summer and fall."

"The more people vaccinated, the safer we all are.... So let's start looking forward to more of what we love, from camping to dinner with friends," he said.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to trend downward in parts of the country while vaccinations ramp up.

Tam said the latest seven-day average for daily cases in the country was 2,300, down 73 per cent from the peak of the third wave.

Hospitalizations were down 47 per cent, ICU admissions were down 31 per cent and deaths down were down 35 per cent, Tam added.

Twenty-five million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across Canada, with 2.8 million Canadians getting a dose in the past week alone.

Data for how many Delta variant cases have been detected in Canada was not available on the Public Health Agency of Canada's website as of Friday. The webpage said PHAC was in the process of updating its graphical view to include the Delta variant.

The webpage said the B.1.1.7 variant, or Alpha variant first detected in the U.K., continues to account for most of the variant cases in Canada, adding that Delta has "only been recently identified and thus is less understood."

Peel Public Health in Ontario, one of the country's most COVID-ravaged areas, said as of Wednesday 100 cases of the Delta variant had been identified in the region, leading Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown to urge the province to prioritize the area for second doses.

Variants of concern are typically identified through genomic sequencing, a laborious and expensive process by which the virus's entire genome is analyzed to detect mutations.

Tam said Canada "does a lot more sequencing than many" other countries, adding that as COVID-19 cases continue to decline, provinces will "(move) towards sequencing a vast majority of the positive cases."

"Monitoring all variants of concern are very important," she said. "The Delta variant or B.1.617 has been detected essentially across Canada. It is important then to characterize the exact distribution and the trend as well."

The U.K. government said in a report last month that both Pfizer and AstraZeneca were 33 per cent effective against symptomatic disease caused by the Delta variant three weeks after the first dose, but that number rose above 80 per cent after two doses were complete.

Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician in Hamilton and an associate professor at McMaster University, said in an interview this week that most of the U.K.'s recent Delta cases have been in unvaccinated individuals, with the vaccines seeming to still offer good protection against death and severe disease.
Photo: Contributed

Three men are facing sexual assault charges in relation to an incident near UBC Vancouver more than two and a half years ago.

Just before 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 5, 2018, University RCMP received a 911 call from a woman who reported she had been sexually assaulted by three men at a residence in Vancouver on Acadia Road.

University RCMP launched an investigation and sought assistance from the BC RCMP Major Crime Section, who took conduct of the investigation.

After a lengthy investigation, the BC Prosecution Service has approved charges against the three men allegedly involved in the assault.

Treymont Levy, 26, Trivel Pinto, 25, and Ben Cummings, 24, have each been charged with one count each of sexual assault.

Levy has been charged with one count of voyeurism in addition to the sexual assault charge.

The three men have been arrested and are now in police custody. They are expected to appear in Richmond provincial court at a later date.

We understand there may be questions related to the circumstances around this assault but we respect that this matter now is before the court. As such no further information will be provided, said Acting Officer-In-Charge Supt. Sanjaya Wijayakoon.

Our priority at this time is to prepare for, and to continue to provide support for the victim through the upcoming court process.
AI in Drug Discovery Market Landscape

One of the years most prominent market stories: Global AI in Drug Discovery Market 2020, illustrates some hopeful signs of repositioning as the investors have dwelled in rising stocks. The stocks of AI in Drug Discovery, after the end of the lockdown period, imposed owing to deadly Coronavirus, wavered with a bang as most of the vendors have started businesses all over the world. On this note, Market Research Future presents a report on the market in which it stated that the global AI in Drug Discovery Market market would make a benchmark with 40.8% growth from 2019 to 2025. At this pace, the global market will generate revenue of USD 2,015.1 Million by the end of the year 2025.

Also read @ https://www.medgadget.com/2020/09/ai-in-drug-discovery-market-global-industry-size-share-growth-factors-companies-application-large-scale-molecular-case-study-review-development-covid-19-impact-future-prospects-demand-and.html

AI in Drug Discovery Trends and Opportunities

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is projected to provide productive avenues in the healthcare industry. The implementation of AI has helped with reducing the researches and development gap in the drug manufacturing process and also in the targeted manufacturing of the drugs. Owing to these aspects, biopharmaceutical industries are tending towards AI to enhance market share. This is an influential factor fueling the growth of the global AI for drug discovery market.

The escalating pressure on the drug manufacturer to reduce drug prices is yet another factor expected to boost the AI for drug discovery market. This is all due to Al reduced the failure rate of clinical trials, and eliminated research and development costs in drug discovery. Apart from this, there has been a regular increase in the number of patients suffering from chronic diseases globally, and pharmaceutical companies are investing high in the development of various drugs. Artificial Intelligence has been able to assist manufacturers by offering a solution to complex situations. In the current scenario, AI is providing many novel analytical approaches for the design and development of novel products, which is another reason behind the markets exponential growth.

More factors, such as the flourishing healthcare sector coupled with manufacturers approach towards lowering the manufacturing cost associated with drug development, have also recorded to be reasonable for the markets growth. Besides, escalating investment by significant players in biopharma companies and rising public and private partnerships for R&D activities are more critical factors expected to boost the growth of the target Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery Market

In the case of point, back in the year 2019, GlaxoSmithKline plc, a multinational pharmaceutical company, invested US$ 300 Mn in 23 and Me, a gene testing company. The deal, in the current time, is expected to facilitate the company to access the database related to DNA related to relations between genes and diseases. This factor will further help in the development of novel products as well as the AI drug discovery market.

On the contrary, the factor of the scarcity of skilled healthcare professionals has been considered as a hindering factor and anticipated to slow down the growth of the global AI for the drug discovery market in the future.

AI in Drug Discovery Market Segment Review

By the segment of product type, the market has included software and services

By the segment of molecule type, the market has included Large Molecule and Small Molecule.

By the segment of technology type, the market has included machine learning, deep learning, and others.

By the segment of indication type, the market has included Immuno-oncology, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Cardiovascular Diseases, Metabolic Diseases, and others.

By the segment of the application, the market has included target identification, candidate screening, drug optimization and repurposing, de novo drug designing, and preclinical testing.

By the segment of End-User, the market has included pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, contract research organizations, research centers, and academic & government institutes.

AI in Drug Discovery Market Regional Landscape

Americas and its Countries such as the US and Canada have been at the vanguard of the healthcare industry over the years. The rising number of big AI platform developers in the region is one of the primary reasons for the express growth of the AI in the drug discovery market in the region. Some top AI platforms such as Google AI, Microsoft Azure, and TensorFlow have adopted the Big Pharma companies for utilization in the drug discovery procedure.

Europe is the second-largest market for AI in drug discovery after the Americas. Rising R&D activities in the pharmacy sector and high demand for AI solutions by Big Pharma companies are other factors expected to boost the augmentation of the regional market. Peak pharma companies have made partnerships with AI service providers to integrate AI technologies into the drug discovery process.

The growth of the Asia-Pacific AI In Drug Discovery Market is attributed to the escalating demand for effective drug discovery solutions. Many startups are working to integrate AI applications in drug discovery. Some of these startups are Adagene, Mozi, Accutar, Xbiome, Elucidata Corporation, Deep Intelligent Pharma, CaroCure, and Interprotein, among others. With the rapidly upward pharmaceutical market in the Asian region, probably, the approval of the AI technologies in the majority drug discovery protocols will take place in the forecast period.

Top Players

The top players are Microsoft Corporation, Google (A Subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.), IBM Corporation, Atomwise, Inc., Cloud Pharmaceuticals, Inc., BenevolentAI, Cyclica, Bioage, Envisagenics, Owkin, Inc., Verge Genomics, and Berg LLC.

Obtain Premium Research Report Details, Considering the impact of COVID-19 @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/ai-drug-discovery-market-9393

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About Market Research Future:

At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions
June 8: IN-PERSON: Hixson Council Coffee

8-9 a.m.

Join the Hixson Councils first in-person coffee networking in over a year. Hurry & sign-up space is limited! Due to limited availability and to avoid unregistered attendees, a confirmation email with the location will be sent before the event to confirm your planned attendance.

Register here.

$5 Tickets are non-refundable at this time.

June 8, ONLINE: Member Networking

10-11 a.m.

We are proud to host networking for our members to educate us on their businesses. Everyone can join in! We also want to welcome the fantastic businesses who joined our Chamber community last month. These events occur on the second Tuesday of every month.

Register here.

No cost.

June 9, ONLINE: MidTown Council Meeting

noon - p.m.

Our MidTown Council is determined to keep you informed on the great work taking place within the MidTown area. Join us as we hear more about whats been going on in our community.

Register here.

No cost.

June 10, ONLINE: Southside Council Meeting

11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.

Networking: 11:45 a.m. to Noon; Program: Noon to 1 p.m.

Register here.

No cost.

June 10, ONLINE: Evolve Your Talent Attraction & Retention Approach

1-2 p.m.

Join the second session of Talent Upload: A Virtual Roundtable Series as we discuss how to Evolve Your Talent Attraction & Retention Approach. With cities and regions competing for top talent, businesses and organizations are finding creative ways to engage, strengthen and enhance their organization and employees. During this webinar, Ken James, Director of Inclusion of the Grand Rapids Chamber, will share some of their current initiatives, and an opportunity for a fireside chat as they discuss best practices and insights that can be applied in your organization.

Register here.

No cost.

June 10, IN-PERSON: YPC + After Hours: Moxy Downtown

5:30-7:30 p.m.

Join your YPC friends at a much anticipated social event held in-person at the Moxy Downtown. There will be health and safety measures for the event, provided upon registering.

Register here.

No cost.
Marsha seems obsessed with Dr. Fauci. Does it always have to be about her? I wish it was more about us. If it was more about us, instead of Marsha, she would be hard at work finding compromise on the federal infrastructure bill. No other city in the nation would benefit more from the infrastructure bill than Chattanooga. But Marsha has never read the bill and does not ... (click for more)
My name is J.B. Gaskins and I am the president and CEO of Blood Assurance. I am honored to serve at the head of Blood Assurance and am honored to help provide blood to our area patients in need. I am writing today to say that we need our communitys help now.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we knew that we would see a decline in blood donations. Many people were staying home to avoid the virus and take care of their health. The decline in donors was thankfully slightly offset by hospitals deciding to cancel all elective surgeries which decreased the need for blood. When hospitals resumed these procedures and things began to go on more normally, we were hopeful that our donors would return.

Unfortunately, we are seeing fewer donors than when the pandemic first began. That combined with resumed travel and elective procedures has led us into a critical situation. Ideally, we would see 540 donors a day and keep a five-day supply of blood on our shelves, however, we have been struggling to even keep one-days supply of several types including the universal type O. This has been an ongoing issue for several weeks and the only way to solve this problem is for our donors to come back and for new donors to give.



We are the steward of the blood supply, ensuring it goes where it is needed, but our donors are the literal life-blood of our organization. Without our communitys support, we cant effectively supply our area hospitals. We are the sole supplier of all Chattanooga area hospitals and patients in those hospitals count on Blood Assurance. When you give with Blood Assurance you are giving local. Donating blood with other organizations, such as The Red Cross, will help patients in need, but they will not be patients from our area. To truly help our local patients and hospitals we need our community to give with Blood Assurance.



I cannot stress enough the importance of blood donation and giving locally, but I hope readers will understand how essential giving blood truly is to the health and overall well-being of our community. If you can, please consider giving blood at Blood Assurance. It takes about 30 minutes and saves three lives in our community. To schedule, donors can visit bloodassurance.org, text BAGIVE to 999777, or call 800-962-0628.

J.B. Gaskins

* * *

Dear Mr. Gaskins, may I begin this letter by expressing gratitude to you and to your entire team, and to those local heroes, like Mr. Fant, who for so many decades have worked tirelessly to assure that our friends and neighbors possess an adequate supply of blood when the need arises.

I have considered it a privilege to be a Blood Assurance donor for more than a decade, and I intend to remain so for life. Your staff have always treated me with care, courtesy and respect, and I have a even had the pleasure of meeting you in person during those times when you have so graciously walked around the donation center to personally thank donors.

I appreciated your letter to the Chattanoogan.com editorial page; and, as I read your words, I was, unfortunately, reminded of our citys current and sadly increasingoutbreaks of gun violence. These shootings are intentional acts of violence. With terrible consequences.

Bullet wounds often require emergency surgery and associated loss of blood and resulting blood transfusions. A drain on our communitys precious and limited blood supply.

It is my hope that every able-bodied citizen will heed your call and go to a Blood Assurance location to donate.

It is also my hope that every single member of our community, including those who are deliberately gunning down fellow citizens, will consider that it could be one of their own loved ones who has a medical or accidental emergency requiring a blood transfusion, and that the shooters act of gun violence, not so ironically, could leave one of their own, innocent, loved ones without the privilege of receiving life saving blood transfusions.

Local gun violence is, but should not be, a drain on our communitys blood supply. It is my hope that the gun violence will abate and that the glass is half full.

Michael Mallen
Market Highlights

According to MRFR analysis, the Global Neurodiagnostics Market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.88% from 2019 to 2025 and held a value of USD 4,848.48 Million in 2018.

Segmentation

The Global Neurodiagnostics Market has been segmented based on Product, Condition, and End User.

The market, based on product type, has been divided into diagnostic imaging systems, clinical diagnostic instruments, and reagents & consumables. The diagnostic imaging systems segment held a major share in 2018 owing to the rising number of diagnostic laboratories an imaging centers in the developing as well as developed countries. The reagents & consumables was the fastest-growing segment in 2018 due to high consumption in various routine techniques. The market, based on diagnostic imaging systems, has been further segment is segmented as, MRI systems, EEG systems, CT scanners, PET scanners, EMG devices, ultrasound imaging systems, MEG devices, angiography systems, and others. The market, based on clinical diagnostic instruments has been further bifurcated into PCR instruments, NGS instruments, sanger sequencers, and others. The market, based on reagents & consumables has been further segmented into media & sera, antibodies, buffers, solvents, enzymes, proteins, & peptides, probes, and other

Neurodiagnostic tests which are also known as neurodiagnostics. records and monitors electrical activities of patients peripheral nerves, spinal cord, and brain. These tests help physicians to confirm or rule out a neurological disorder or other medical condition. The growth of the global neurodiagnostics market is boosted by factors such as rising number of strategic initiatives by key players such as mergers, joint ventures, acquisitions, partnerships, coupled with the advancements in technology across the globe. Furthermore, many non-profit organizations in various countries are working towards creating awareness regarding neurological diseases. For instance, the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), founded in July 2016, is a membership organization focused on raising awareness about the age and neurological conditions and diseases associated with age.

However, the high cost of neurodiagnostic treatment is likely to restrain the market growth to a certain extent in the coming years.

Get sample copy @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/8762

Market players such as GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips Healthcare, and Hitachi, Ltd., currently dominate the global neurodiagnostics market. The key players are involved in product launches and agreements to strengthen their market positions. For instance, in December 2019, GE Healthcare (US), signed USD 100 million technology partnership agreement with AFFIDEA (Ireland). GE Healthcare will install 200+ new equipment in Affideas network of centers across Europe. The deal includes the provision of 60 new MRIs, 50 ultrasound devices, 40 CT scanners and 30 X-rays machines in the next 3 years. It also includes a six-year service contract.

Regional Analysis

The market has been divided, by region, into the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The Americas held maximum share in the base year 2018, owing to the high incidence rates of neurological disorders in countries such as US. According to the American Neurological Association, as of 2016, mealy 100 million Americans were affected by at least one of the neurological diseases. The Neurodiagnostics Market Trends in the Americas has further been branched into North America and Latin America, with the North American market divided into the US and Canada. The European neurodiagnostics market has been categorized as Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The Western European market has further been classified as Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and the rest of Western Europe. The neurodiagnostics market in Asia-Pacific has been segmented into Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, and the rest of Asia-Pacific. The neurodiagnostics market in this region is anticipated to be the fastest-growing during the assessment period due to the increasing awareness about the diagnostic treatments and favorable reimbursement policies. The neurodiagnostics market in the Middle East & Africa has been divided into the Middle East and Africa.

Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/neurodiagnostics-market-8762

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About US:

Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.
Renowned actor Charlize Theron starred in several hit movies. She is enjoying her success and earns millions of dollars every year. The star once negotiated her salary so that she would take home a $10 million paycheck.

Theron managed to gain enough fame to be influential. She may have even helped shape the first John Wick film. Yet, she wouldnt have been around to inspire the franchise if she did not go to the bank when she did.

Charlize Theron grew up in South Africa

Charlize Theron | Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for CDGA

Theron is successful now, but she had her share of struggles growing up. The actress was born in South Africa on August 7, 1975. She came from an Afrikaner family, and her ancestry consists of Dutch, French, and German origins. Theron is fluent in both English and Afrikaans.

For many years, Theron lived in a broken home, and her father died due to an act of self-defense on her mothers part. As a child, she experienced the reality of race relations in South Africa. She witnessed Apartheid, which led to her developing trauma. It would not be until the early 90s when Theron moved to the United States.

Today, Theron is a mother of two adopted children. She has had multiple relationships over the years but has no plans on marrying anyone. There were engagement rumors between her and actor Sean Penn. However, Theron denied the claims, and the couple broke up in 2015.

Charlize Theron is an award-winning actress

Charlize Theron as Furiosa is one of the great action film performances of all time, a masterclass of physicality & emotional subtlety, so it kind of sucks that she isn't getting to reprise that role. pic.twitter.com/iM90fPv4BD  Kayleigh Donaldson (@Ceilidhann) October 13, 2020

When Theron was 16 years old, she worked as a model for a year throughout Europe. She and her mother moved to the United States, and Theron trained as a ballet dancer. She flew to California in the hopes of becoming an actress. Her first role was in the film Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest in 1995.

In the following years, Theron continued to find steady work in the industry, like Trial and Error and Mighty Joe Young. Her biggest roles include The Devils Advocate, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Atomic Blonde. Theron earned acclaim for her performances and won multiple awards.

Some of Therons roles were challenging, and the actress received various injuries while on set. She fell on her neck while filming Aeon Flux in 2005. The injury almost led to her becoming paralyzed. Later, Theron tore a thumb ligament on the set of The Old Guard.

In the past couple of years, Theron worked on Home Movie: The Princess Bride and F9. She has plans to star in the upcoming adaptation of The School for Good and Evil.

Charlize Theron was noticed while at the bank

Some stars have interesting stories about how they got discovered. According to Oprah.com, Theron told Oprah Winfrey that she arrived in Hollywood with a single suitcase and $400. She worked as a waitress to pay rent. Eventually, the aspiring actress landed a small part in Children of the Corn III.

Theron would not get noticed until a fateful day at the bank. In the interview, she told Winfrey, I was trying to cash my last check from a modeling job in New York, but because it was an out-of-state check, the bank wouldnt accept itand I really needed the money. So I began pleading with this teller to help me.

While Theron described her actions as pleading, others have said that it was more of a tantrum. A man came over to help her and gave her his card afterward. The man was John Crosby, who represented actors John Hurt and Rene Russo. Theron found herself with a manager and a promising career.

RELATED: Do Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron Really Have a Feud?
Even fans of Doja Cat will admit that she can be a little unpredictable. Although that has caused her problems at times, it also contributes to her unique and irresistible sound. Shes not afraid to be different, and its made her a star.

One of the inspirations for her music is her heritage, including the culture of her father. But this connection isnt what you may expect. Yet despite the issues that Doja Cat has with her dad, shes still able to appreciate what his homeland has to offer her music.

Who is Doja Cat?

Doja Cat | Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

According to IMDb, Doja Cat was named Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini when she was born in Los Angeles in 1995. She showed an early talent for music, releasing her songs on Sound Cloud when she was a teenager. Her song So High drew the attention of music executives, and she signed a record deal when she was 17.

She decided to change her name, and she chose Doja Cat because it referred to two of her favorite things at the time. Doja is slang for weed, and she happens to like cats. Since then, she has said that shes stopped using the drug, but shes still a big fan of cats.

Her career really took off in 2018, when her single Mooo! became a TikTok sensation. Shes continued to use social media to boost her popularity, creating content for YouTube and TikTok. At times, social media has also been a problem for her. Some of her past statements have drawn criticism for being racist.

Despite that, shes been a big success. Shes been nominated for three Grammy Awards, won two American Music Awards, as well as the MTV Video Music Award for Push Best New Artist.

What is Doja Cats heritage?

Just as Doja Cats success on social media has been something of a mixed bag at times, her heritage can be a little confusing if you dont pay close attention to the details. According to People, her mother, Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer, is an artist and an American. Shes white and is Jewish. Doja Cat grew up in the US with her mom.

Her father is Dumisani Dlamini, is from South Africa. Hes an actor and a dancer who has appeared in Broadway musicals such as Lion King. After years living in the US, he was homesick and returned to South Africa. Doja Cat has said in several interviews that shes never met Dlamini, although he denies this is true.

But although her relationship with her father isnt close, he does appear to contribute to her music.

Her South African heritage impacts her music

It still my birthday it took 2 days to get me out. pic.twitter.com/kSIjyTxYvG  PLANET HER (@DojaCat) October 22, 2020

Although Doja Cat is not connected to her father, she does appreciate the heritage he gave her. According to Pop Sugar, she draws on her South African roots when she samples other genres of music in her work. She likes to use unexpected combinations of styles to create her unique style, and her South African heritage is a big part of that.

Yeah, this album is a lot more African influenced, she said about her 2019 album Hot Pink. I can sample Blink-182 but put an African vocal sample in there. The whole song feels like youre in a tropical forest.

If theres one thing thats clear about Doja Cat, its that she isnt easy to put in a box. Despite the estrangement between her and her father, she is comfortable embracing the cultural connection he gave her.

RELATED: Doja Cat Looks for This 1 Quality in an Ideal Partner
As the Friends reunion continues to dominate the news cycle, an old video of Gabrielle Union discussing her experience on the show has re-emerged. Union, known for projects such as Bring It On and Being Mary Jane, appeared in a single episode in the seventh season of the hit sitcom, which ran from 1994 to 2004. But she apparently didnt have the best time.

In a clip, Union recalled feeling minified and belittled by certain co-workers behind the scenes.

Gabrielle Union at an event in September 2019 in Hollywood, California | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Gabrielle Unions Friends experience came up in a past interview

As The Atlanta Black Star notes, Union first shared her experience on the show in 2017. She was interviewing with the Free Library of Philadelphia to promote her book, Were Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True, which highlights some of the high and low moments in her life.

Growing up in Pleasanton, California, Union said she was often othered by her white peers before moving to a primarily Black neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska, where she finally felt seen.

That dual consciousness though is what prepares me to go then do an episode of Friends after being on City of Angels,' she said around the 17:00 minute mark. (City of Angels was a CBS medical drama, which had a predominately Black cast including Blair Underwood, Hill Harper, Vivica A. Fox, and others.)

Voted!!!! Long line, met some new friends and made my voice heard. Make sure you vote!! pic.twitter.com/hi1ti3l5cQ  Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) March 3, 2020

RELATED: Gabrielle Union Had The Most Epic Response To Those Criticizing Her Family

Elaborating on that experience, Union recalled TV executives on Friends allegedly speaking to her as if she were inexperienced rather than a trained actor. In one alleged incident, she said, she was asked if she knew the meaning of the acting term mark.

Yeah, Im an actor didnt have to audition for this job because I was just on a hit show on CBS, she continued. But the man talked to me in sing-song voice for the whole week. But, Id been there. Do Buckwheat, we love it when you entertain us. Thats where Im most comfortable  assimilate. Disappear. Be complacent where youre nice and safe.

A clip from that interview resurfaced online in May, earning over 20,000 likes and tons of comments supporting Union. Of course, there were some readers who tried to defend the situation, but the majority of the messages seem negative.

Many readers also used the moment to highlight Friends diversity issue and the lack of brown and Black actors on the show. NBC, which aired Friends, has not addressed this latest round of criticism and did not return our requests for comment. But several cast and crew members have previously expressed regret over the series cultural shortcomings, including David Schwimmer (Ross) and Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe).

I wish I knew then what I know today, show creator Marta Kauffman said in a panel in 2020, according to Complex. I would have made very different decisions. Weve always encouraged diversity in our company, but I didnt do enough.

RELATED: Lisa Kudrow Getting Fired From Frasier Led to Breakout Role as Phoebe on Friends
Housing Authority of Cherokee Nation using $27M in COVID-19 relief to help renters
Marion Manufacturing, which started out of a basement and grew to produce parts used worldwide, is celebrating 75 years of operation.

For 75 years weve been a quiet company here  we contribute to the tax revenue to the town. I think the towns proud to have companies like us here, said president and owner Douglas Johnson. The firm specializes in fabricating metal parts for clients including Raytheon, the U.S. Navy, Stanley Works, and Chevrolet.

The companys history was recognized by the Cheshire Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, May 20, when it chose Marion Manufacturing to host its first in-person Business After Hours event since the pandemic started.

It was a great way to start, to celebrate their 75 years, said chamber President Yetta Augur.

Between 30 and 50 people attended to network, eat and tour the facility.

Marion Manufacturing was also a fitting pick to mark the end of the pandemic because, as mask mandates went into effect last year, the company shifted its metal presses to create the nose pieces required for N95 masks and donated some of the metal strips to individuals stitching their own masks at home.

I was very impressed that they had made the little piece for the nose on the mask and during COVID they had donated all those pieces that they had made, Augur said.

Marion Manufacturing was founded in 1946 by Fred Cramer, who manufactured clock hands for IBM in the basement and garage of his familys house on Marion Road. The business grew and diversified products there until moving in 1999 to their current 30,000-square-foot facility at 1675 Reinhard Rd.

Johnson said the company has been able to survive for 75 years because of its ability to change. Manufacturing no longer involves the dark and dirty factories people may think of and instead relies on technology and an educated workforce.

We are all the things that manufacturing was not 50 years ago, Johnson said.

When he gives tours, many are surprised to learn the company makes the connectors for the electrodes on electrocardiogram machines, which are used to measure the electric impulses in the heart.

Its something you see you just dont think, Wow, that component is made here in Cheshire, Connecticut, he said.

The town has also helped the company grow, providing a location near major transit routes and a skilled workforce through partnerships with Cheshire High School. Johnson aims to keep the company in the community and noted that his son, who works for the business as a tool and die journeyman, is being groomed to take over one day.

It is exciting to see Marion beginning a new chapter with new leaders shaping the company and our community for the future, Mary L. Cramer, a past president of the company, said in a May 17 announcement of the anniversary. The company has a strong foundation and is building on it in a way that ensures success for employees and customers.

Johnson joined the company in 2010 as the vice-president of operations and purchased the company from the Cramer family in 2015. He sees high-tech as the future.

Weve progressed over the years. You can look at our business over the years and see how the business has changed; at one point there was a lot of automotive here and now there's a lot of medical and (tele)communications, Johnson said.

Economic Development Coordinator Jerry Sitko said the company has proven to be a great corporate citizen through involvement in regional and charitable organizations, including the United Way and Connecticut Community Foundation.

When you're in business since 1946, youre doing something right  being in business for 75 years  not many companies can say that, but I think it speaks highly of the products of Marion Manufacturing, Sitko said.

The next Business After Hours will be held at Re-Read Books, located in the Watch Factory at 104 Elm Street, on June 3 at 5 p.m.
A collection of Native robes on display at the Alaska State Museum. Klukwan's Healing Robe is pictured at the far right.

Master weaver and Klukwan resident Lani Hotch helped curate a new exhibit at the Alaska State Museum in Juneau that traces the history of Northwest Coast textile arts. The exhibit, "The Spirit Wraps Around You: Northern Northwest Coast Native Textiles," features historical and contemporary Chilkat and Ravenstail robes.

Only 12 of the historical Ravenstail robes are known to be in existence and they reside in European and East Coast museums. Two were temporarily loaned to the Alaska State Museum for display. Altogether, 24 robes are included in the exhibit, which runs through October 9.

Hotch made a presentation during the exhibit's May 8 opening, wrote display cards and helped conduct research for the exhibit.

Hotch has helped revive the nearly lost art of Ravenstail weaving. Only a few weavers practiced the art in the 1900s when Tlingits were punished for practicing their culture. Hotch began learning to weave in the Chilkat style, a style that has curves and formline shapes, as opposed to the more geometric Ravenstail designs, from her grandmother in 1976. When the last of the Klukwan elders who kept the art alive died, Hotch made efforts to continue learning the craft.

"Klukwan had such a legacy of weaving," Hotch said. "I really wanted to keep that tradition alive in the village. I worked hard to learn it and share my knowledge with other people."

She began learning from Cheryl Samuel, the person responsible for learning how to replicate the Ravenstail design after years of study and research.

"Cheryl Samuel researched the old-style robes, went to the museums that had them and figured out, by reverse engineering, how to make them and started teaching classes through the University of Alaska," said Alaska State Museum curator Steve Henrikson. "It led to a resurgence in this earlier form in weaving. Lani Hotch was one of the premier students of Cheryl Samuel."

Ravenstail weaving died out in the mid-1800s and many Native groups began practicing the Chilkat style. It's unclear exactly why Ravenstail weaving died out, Henrikson said, but experts believe the Chilkat weaving style allowed weavers to design curves and add crest and clan images on the robes. The remaining Ravenstail robes were collected by early European and American fur traders that traveled to the region in the late 1700s.

Hotch said she's woven about 10 large robes. The yarn is made from mountain goat wool. It can take up to a year to weave the robes, not including the time it takes to design the patterns and dye the wool.

The name of the exhibit, "The Spirit Wraps Around You," comes from the idea that the weaver's energy goes into the robe when it's made. The robes are often worn during ceremonies like funerals, potlatches and other special occasions. The robes are thought to carry the spirit of the ancestors through time.

"As a weaver, we're taught when we sit down to weave to be in a good spirit when you do it," Hotch said. "You can't be angry or depressed or have hard feelings because when we weave, the energy that we have when we're weaving goes into that piece and stays with it."

Hotch said the idea exists across cultures and time.

"In our church here in Klukwan, sometimes we pray over a handkerchief and send it to someone who is sick," Hotch said. "That prayer stays with that cloth. It's not a new concept. It's a concept that's been around a long time. In other Native American cultures there's similar thinking."

More than 100 weavers are now weaving using the once-abandoned Ravenstail design, Henrikson said. Now it's the Chilkat style that is in danger of being lost.

"I would call it an endangered art form," Henrikson said of the Chilkat style. "The materials used to make Chilkat robes are endangered in and of themselves. The mountain goat wool is extremely hard to get and the processing of it takes hundreds of hours. The yellow cedar bark that's used, yellow cedar is in decline."

The exhibit features Hotch's "Klukwan Healing Robe," a robe made over a period of eight years by Hotch and other Klukwan weavers in both the Chilkat and Ravenstail design. Samuel assisted in the weaving of that robe.

Fragments of one Ravenstail robe will remain in Alaska permanently. It was discovered during an archaeological dig in Sitka in the 1990s. It was deposited in the site 1830 for an unknown reason.
The Rural Matters Institute is a community for pastors and Christian leaders serving in non-urban contexts that was created to provide support, learning, and community. Read more from this column.

Image: Canva

In the last month or so, Ive been wrestling with the power of words as it concerns the conversation about rural ministry and our polarized national geography in general. Since about the middle of the last decade, rural America and rural ministry have garnered a good bit of attention thanks both to political currents as well as increasing levels of engagement from evangelical denominations, institutions, and networks committed to raising the profile of rural and small-place ministry. For many of us, it is a development long-sought and deeply appreciated.

Recently, however, Ive been wondering whether the way we frame this conversation deserves more careful attention. In many instances, the folks who talk about these places attempt to contextualize them by highlighting things like the commercial amenities rural areas lack (the list is usually headed by favorite fast-food chains and stores) and the sense that, for most of America, small places and the churches that serve them are forgotten. I know how the conversation goes. Ive talked about amenities and forgottenness too.

These days, I am starting to think differently about the usefulness of both categories. The first focuses on rural shortcomings in terms of our cultures obsession with orienting our lives around consumerism; the second makes inattention to rural areas, pastors, and churches more palatable. To forget is different than to neglect, dismiss, or disdain. If I forget to pick up milk when my wife asks me on my trip to the store, it feels different than if I know I need to pick up milk at the store and choose not to simply because I decide it isnt that important.

To claim rural places and rural churches are forgotten gets us off the culpability hook, but it doesnt do justice to reality.

Rural America isnt Forgotten

The reality is that rural America and small-town churches arent forgotten. They show up everywhere, from Pulitzer Prize-winning novels like Marilynne Robinsons Gilead (2004), which was recently picked up by Oprahs book club, and New York Times bestselling memoirs like J. D. Vances Hillbilly Elegy (2016) and Sarah Smarshs Heartland (2018) to pieces in national news outlets and the lyrics of every other country song. Sure, this remembering is sometimes misremembering, as lazy stereotypes take the place of complex realities in the portrayal of rural communities and churches on television or in songs and print. In other cases, the representations of rural life and ministry seem to penetrate to the marrow of life in these communities. They speak to what those of us who know these communities sense at an almost intuitive level. Life is both hard and good in these places, just as it is in most places.

And people know it. Thats one of the reasons why so many people who have left small towns feel torn between a desire to move back and a desire to move on. If it was all bad, or if it was forgotten, we wouldnt have books like Grace Olmsteads recent Uprooted: Recovering the Legacy of the Places Weve Left Behind (2021), which amounts to a two-hundred-page exercise in discerning whether to leave Washington D. C. and return to her ancestral home in rural Idaho. Shes not alone. Far from forgotten, rural areas have captured Americans attention anew during the COVID-19 pandemic as thousands of folks have left the city, some of them permanently, for more rural areas.

All of this points to the possibility that for most Americans, the word that describes their approach toward rural America is not forgetfulness but a distant, half-knowing fascination with the wide-open spaces and local cultures many either moved away from or only encountered in books and film. They may idealize, stereotype, look down on, or pine for these places, but chances are they havent forgotten about them.

Rural Churches and American Evangelicalism

Similarly, chances are that evangelical denominations, educational institutions, and media hubs havent forgotten about rural churches either.

This is where the common refrain about forgotten churches and forgotten places proves too readyand too misleadinga response. Rural churches and the folks who attend them arent forgotten. Denominations keep tabs on their giving and their attendance; Christian liberal arts schools are happy to solicit students from them, and many urbanites can easily conjure up an image of a white-steepled church on a small-town Mainstreet or in a cornfield. Its not a matter of knowing, its a matter of attending, of cultivating empathy, and paying attention to these places by inviting rural churches and pastors into the conversation within evangelical denominations, institutions, evangelical publishing, and realms of influence.

To say rural pastors and rural congregations are forgotten is probably less true than to say rural churches and pastors (and really, small churches and their pastors everywhere) are often underrepresented and underutilized in denominational leadership and overlooked by Christian publishers and conference organizers. Its not a matter of forgetting; its a matter of caring more about what we know and what we dont know about rural ministry. Its a matter of taking the time to realize that the one-size-fits-all pathway to influence in publishing, conference speaking, and denominational leadership that seems to go through large urban and suburban churches is less an unintentional act of forgetting and more a failure of attention, a failure of imagination.

Valuing the Contributions of Rural Leaders

So where do we go from here? If rural America and small churches arent forgotten, how do we move from knowing to attending, from remembering vague stereotypes to remembering well?

For me, the honest answer is, Im not exactly sure. I have some hunches related to building bridges between urban and rural churches and between diverse communities of Christians that Ive talked about on this blog before, but these are still a work in progress for me. I think creating room within evangelical publishing and media outlets for small-town pastors to tell their stories along with inviting more small-town pastors into denominational leadership is another way we can better attend to what God is doing in small places and churches.

Thinking about this kind of diversity will mean that we have to look beyond the marketplace metrics of church size and pastoral platform. It might also mean that the wider church will get some fresh ideas and more on-the-ground perspectives.

God Remembers

No matter how we talk about so-called forgotten places, everyone, everywhere, in communities and churches large and small, can take heart that they are truly remembered, seen, and known by God. It is in Jesus that we find the capacity for a larger imagination and appreciation for the small, seemingly insignificant people, churches, and places we are tempted to neglect or say weve forgotten about.

Jesus attended to rural Galilee, just as he paid attention to a group of men with little in the way of status and platform. We know the story. Jesus remembered the small places and people then just as He does now. The fact that one of the very titles he was known byJesus of Nazarethincludes for all time the name of a seemingly insignificant small, Galilean town drives the point home.

Its self-evident rural is not forgotten. However, we can do better to enhance how we see and value the rural church and the leaders who serve them.
Good morning!

Dads gonna dad on this one:

CHICAGO (WGN)  When Trevor Williams signed with the Chicago Cubs this offseason, it was a dream come true  for his dad. Im a little league dad, what am I doing here with a son on the team, joked Richard Williams outside of Wrigley Field. Richard Williams grew up on the South Side, taking the L (train) to Wrigley as a teenager. I came out here a lot. I was just a crazy Cubs fan, he said. Williams even worked at Wrigley from 1970 to 1974 as an usher, and still has his uniform. He joined the Marine Corps and settled in San Diego, where Trevor was born 29 years ago. Through high school, college, then the pros, Richard was always watching and always keeping score. I think hes kept score since I was in T-ball, noted Trevor. Hes got scorebooks going back years. The consistency that he has shown, showing up to games, is something I dont take for granted. But in the fall of 2015, with Trevor in Triple-A, Richard wasnt sure how much longer hed be able to show up. Diagnosed with double B-cell lymphoma, Richard was given 60-90 days to live. He went through months of in-patient chemo and radiation. I just wanted to make it to Thanksgiving that year, let alone spring training or anything else, he remembers. One year later, on September 7, 2016, he was in the stands in Pittsburgh for Trevors Major League debut. Im the luckiest guy alive, remarked Richard. I watch the sunrise and I wink at the sunset. I use the Game of Thrones reference when I wink at that sunset. Not today. God of Death, you did not get me today. More than five years after defying his diagnosis, Richard never wants to miss another chance to keep score for his son. I quit trying to be the richest man in the cemetery, he said. Williams sold an apartment building so he could pay to follow Trevor around the country.

Thinking outside da block:

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer, and often a violent one in Chicago, but several community groups have partnered to keep the peace.



A party at 67th Street and Hermitage Avenue was put together by a group called "Think Outside Da Block." The event included games and music for everyone from young children to adults, including bouncy houses and other attractions.



In one corner, kids were getting pony rides, and in another they were getting their faces painted. There was a giant chess board for big kids and plenty of food for a picnic atmosphere.



There was a petting zoo with animals many city kids rarely see up close.



"It's always great to come back to our community to do great things," Shohn Williams said.

SBC and the stories of abused, wounded women, by Mary DeMuth:

As the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention nears, I cant help but remember my time there two years ago. It was a time of anticipation, of hope, of seeing light pierce the darkness of sexual abuse. The powers that be wanted to put a spotlight on that very real issue within the churchand rightly so. The Houston Chronicle piece about numerous abusers in our midst being shuffled here and there between congregations without penalty, and certainly without transparency, had rocked the evangelical world. The issue became a PR nightmare for the Southern Baptists, as you can imagine. Enter survivors like me (along with so many other important voices within and without the convention.) I will not speak for them, however, as they have their own stories to tell about these events. But I can say this: I shared my vulnerability both at the convention and at the ERLC Caring Well Conference. For the sake of the gospel and my love of the church, I sacrificed pieces of my narrative for public consumption. There is always risk when you share your story. I understand that down to my bones. I have shared often for decades now, weighing risks against benefits, and Ive have found mostly benefits. Why? Because sharing these in-the-dark stories helps others feel less alone. It dignifies other peoples narratives. It renders a blow to the enemy of our souls who uses sexual abuse as one of his greatest weapons against humanity. The sad thing is that he also uses complacency and silence, particularly in the churchs response to abuse. The Southern Baptist Convention, in the intervening years after all that vulnerability by survivors, has tended toward complacency and silence. A flurry of good happened in the aftermath of the convention and the Caring Well conference, but of late were seeing a shrinking back, and a hustle toward reputation managementonce again. Im literally sickened by it. (My stomach is aching as I write this). Those who have gone before me, who have advocated much longer within this behemoth called the SBC, warned this would happen, and they were right. It would appear to be a show of support for survivors when the PR spotlight was hot, but when the world moved on to other news, the SBC powers-that-be would quietly slip from godly fear (doing the right thing no matter what) toward a cowardly fear of shareholderss opinions.

Two pastors, two stories, one history, now told:

Last weekend, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, two preachers  one Black, one White  stood on stage at a suburban church. They faced each other, held hands and bowed their heads. Help us, Father, to learn to erase the past and live for the future  as one in Christ, prayed Tim Luster, the Black minister. After the final amen, Luster leaned forward, hugged Tim Pyles, the White minister, and said softly, God bless you, man. The interaction came at the end of a 45-minute dialogue on racism that emphasized the massacres centennial, which was commemorated on Monday and Tuesday. On May 31-June 1, 1921, White mob violence destroyed Tulsas Greenwood District  an affluent African American community known as Black Wall Street  and claimed as many as 300 lives. Last Sundays Bible class discussion resulted from a five-year racial unity effort between the Broken Arrow Church of Christ, about 15 miles southeast of Tulsa, and the North Sheridan Church of Christ in Tulsa. The 500-member Broken Arrow church, where Pyles preaches, is predominantly White. The 100-member North Sheridan church, which Luster serves, is about 60 percent Black and 40 percent White. The two churches started getting together in 2016  in the spring at Broken Arrow and in the fall at North Sheridan  after a White police officer shot an unarmed Black man in Tulsa. This too: TULSA, Okla. (AP)  Hundreds gathered Monday for an interfaith service dedicating a prayer wall outside historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsas Greenwood neighborhood on the centennial of the first day of one of the deadliest racist massacres in the nation. National civil rights leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Barber, joined multiple local faith leaders offering prayers and remarks outside the church that was largely destroyed when a white mob descended on the prosperous Black neighborhood in 1921, burning, killing, looting and leveling a 35-square-block area. Estimates of the death toll range from dozens to 300.

Learning from the least of these:
My world fell apart: School chaplain accused of terrorism over LGBT sermon says he won't be silenced

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A school chaplain who was fired from his job and reported to the governments counter-terrorism watchdog for delivering a sermon questioning the schools LGBT policies, says in a media interview that his world fell apart after he was accused of being a terrorist.

The Rev. Bernard Randall, 48, told Premier Christian News that he discovered that he had been referred in 2019 to the counter-terrorism watchdog, Prevent, as he was going through the documentation related to the disciplinary action over his sermon at Trent College, a Church of England school.

Its not as if they sat me down and said, This is what we feel we have to do. I found that, as it were, by accident and all of a sudden, my world falls apart because Im being accused of being a terrorist, which is just about the worst thing you can accuse anybody of in our society on the basis of I knew not what. It was just extraordinary, Randall is quoted as saying.

He was dismissed from school for gross misconduct and reported to the counter-terrorism program after he told students, aged 11 to 17, that they were not compelled to accept an ideology they disagree with. He also told the students that they could make up their own minds about gender identity and sexuality.

In the 2019 sermon, he referred to a new LGBT-inclusive curriculum at the school because a student asked him to talk about it, he says.

The teaching material from the Educate and Celebrate curriculum was adopted after a visit by Elly Barnes, founder of Educate & Celebrate, an LGBT education charity. The material aims to equip you and your communities with the knowledge, skills and confidence to embed gender, gender identity and sexual orientation into the fabric of your organization.

Although the police ruled that he was not a counter-terrorism risk or at risk of radicalization in his case two years ago, the chaplain said that being thought of as a terrorist is still a wound.

Randall recalled, Fortunately, it was only a few days before the disciplinary hearing where I was given a chance to ask questions, and I said as part of that, Do you think the Church of England is a terrorist organization? to which the (headteacher) said, Well, no. And oh, we probably should have told you that Prevent referral came back with no further action required.

His dismissal was also overturned on appeal, but he said earlier that he was forbidden from speaking on topics likely to cause offense or distress to members of the school body, and was told not to publicly express beliefs in ways which exploit our pupils vulnerability.

Despite the prolonged trauma, the chaplain said he has become more vocal as a Christian.

The bizarre thing about being reported to Prevent, which is supposed to tackle violent extremism, is that it has pushed me a bit toward being more radical about the importance of free speech. Its not violent extremism, but its made me much more aware of that as an issue. Its slightly ironic, Im now more likely to speak about it than I was before, he said.

I think, as a Christian in particular, speaking about truth is really important, as Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life.

Randall has taken Trent College to court for discrimination, harassment, victimization and unfair dismissal.
Critical race theory sparks flurry of resolutions for annual SBC meeting, Denny Burk reveals

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In what is shaping up to be a historic annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, this month, the denominations Resolution 9 acknowledging critical race theory as a useful tool to explain how race has and continues to function in society is the target of multiple resolutions seeking to strip it of its power.

Denny Burk, professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, the undergraduate school of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, revealed in a blog post Friday that he was aware of nearly 60 resolutions being submitted to the Resolutions Committee asking SBC messengers to condemn critical race theory.

I am aware that a number of people have submitted resolutions relating to CRT. I know of at least three that are opposed to CRT (here, here, and here) and one that is in favor of CRT (here). As I write this, it looks like there are about 57 people submitting the exact same resolution as Mike Stones proposed resolution, Burk wrote.

Mike Stone, the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia, and one of three nominees vying to become the next president of the nations largest Protestant denomination, recently proposed a resolution asking the denomination to condemn the theory.

The proposed resolution also seeks to affirm the controversial portion of the November 2020 statement from the Council of Seminary Presidents that states, affirmation of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality and any version of Critical Theory is incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message."

And these are just the ones I know about because theyve been publicized on the internet," Burk added.

"I have heard through the grapevine that there are other proposals that havent been publicized and that we wont know about until the Resolutions Committee reports on them at the convention. This means that the committee is not going to be able to please all sides and likely wont try to. It also means that they have their work cut out for them."

Regardless of what happens, Burk expressed confidence that SBC messengers wont leave Nashville without a strong resolution against critical race theory.

I have heard of at least one effort to rescind 2019s Resolution 9. If that came to the floor of the convention, I would support it, but Im not sure if its possible under the rules (someone else who knows more about Roberts Rules can weigh-in)," he wrote.

"But Im also not sure that its even necessary. If the convention passes a strong resolution against CRT, it would serve as a de facto rescinding of Resolution 9 (sort of like subsequent resolutions became a de facto repudiation of the SBCs infamous pro-choice resolution of 1971). For me, the priority is getting a strong statement against CRT. That is the main thing."

The professor expressed support for a resolution proposed by Stephen Feinstein, a pastor at Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, California, and a chaplain in the United States Army Reserve.

What I like about this is that it defines institutional racism not as CRT does, but in terms of willful discrimination," Burk explained.

"In CRT, no human agency is required at all for racism to be present in a given institution or system (as I have written about here). CRT says that racism is everywhere all the time and that all white people are racists whether they choose to be or not. Any racially disparate outcome is racism even if no one willfully discriminated against anyone."

Burk argues that such an argument is "completely incompatible with what scripture teaches about sin and judgment, but this resolution fixes that."

"It recognizes that sinful partiality can affect institutions and systems while not alleging that all institutions and systems are racist by default (as in CRT)," he wrote.

Any member of a cooperating Southern Baptist church can propose a resolution for adoption by the SBC.

However, the SBC Committee on Resolutions may decline to recommend properly submitted resolutions to the convention for adoption.

Prominent Southern Baptist Pastor Dwight McKissic, who founded and leads Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, warned earlier this year that if Resolution 9 is rescinded, he would leave the SBC.

His threat came after he quit the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention after leaders adopted a strongly worded, anti-CRT policy that denounces all aspects of critical race theory.

McKissic's declaration also came amid an exodus of prominent black Southern Baptist pastors, such as Ralph West and Charlie Dates, over the Council of Seminary Presidents renouncing critical race theory and intersectionality.

The 2021 annual gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention is set to take place in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 15 and June 16. More than 13,000 messengers have pre-registered for the event, according to Ronnie Floyd, president of the SBC Executive Committee.

Only four other conventions have attracted at least 10,000 messengers since 2000, he said.

This could be one of our largest gatherings since 1995 in Atlanta, when we had 20,654 messengers, he recently noted.
California churches celebrate win for religious liberty as state agrees to pay $2.1M over lockdown battles

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Churches in California are celebrating their victory for religious freedom after a religious freedom legal group secured settlements requiring the state to pay $2.1 million in attorneys' fees to a Pentecostal church and a Catholic priest and to never again impose discriminatory restrictions on houses of worship.

In an injunction on Monday in a lawsuit filed by South Bay United Pentecostal Church last year, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant prohibited Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officers from issuing or enforcing regulations against houses of worship in response to the pandemic.

The state has also agreed to pay $1.6 million in attorneys' fees to settle the lawsuit, as well as to pay another $550,000 toward a lawsuit filed by a Catholic priest, Fr. Trevor Burfitt, who oversees mission churches in the counties of Kern, San Bernardino, San Diego and Los Angeles.

The two cases against Newsoms controversial measures in response to the novel coronavirus were filed by the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm that takes on religious freedom cases.

The South Bay case represents an unprecedented three trips to the United States Supreme Court in a one-year period, which resulted in a landmark decision that opened up the churches in California for 40 million people, Thomas More Society Special Counsel Charles LiMandri said.

The permanent injunctions in these cases, he said, uphold and protect one of the most cherished principles of our republic: The Free Exercise of Religion.

Paul Jonna, also a special counsel with the legal group, added, Restrictions on churches cannot be more severe than restrictions on retail. We are pleased with the final results in these two important cases.

Christopher Ferrara of the Thomas More Society, who was the lead counsel on Burfitts lawsuit, said, the injunction in thatcase was the first of its kind in the country, anticipating what the Supreme Court would later hold definitively, that houses of worship must receive the same treatment as the most favored secular comparators. If favored businesses are allowed 100% occupancy during a pandemic, so must churches be allowed.

Burfitts lawsuit argued that Newsoms lockdown measures had radically and severely restricted his ministry.

The complaint went on to argue that the restrictive measures placed on the ministries that Burfitt oversees are hypocritical in nature and unfairly target his and other houses of worship.

One can march shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of shouting, singing, and chanting political protesters  many without masks  but one is forbidden to be closer than six feet to a fellow worshipper or to sing a religious hymn or intone Gregorian chant during Holy Mass, the suit continued.

In April, the Supreme Court vacated a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that denied South Bay Pentecostal injunctive relief from the pandemic restrictions on in-person worship.

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.

Last November, the Supreme Court issued a major decision preventing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from limiting houses of worship to up to 25 people. The court also vacated decisions by lower courts against houses of worship in several other states.
Canadian church faces $183K in fines for holding worship in defiance of lockdown orders

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A congregation in Ontario has been slapped with a $66,000 fine for holding outdoor worship services after its church building was ordered closed by a judge, bringing the total that the church and its leaders have been fined to $183,000, according to the pastor.

Henry Hildebrandt, the pastor of The Church of God in Aylmer, Ontario, announced that his church was facing fines for refusing to abide by the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown orders in a YouTube video posted Wednesday.

We were back in court on Monday. We were back in court earlier in May, and the judge had fined us $117,000, and he also ordered that our meetinghouse would be locked, which happened later on that day.

After the doors to the meetinghouse were locked, the Church of God held outdoor worship services.

Hildebrandt defended the decision to continue holding services.

We must obey God rather than man," the pastor added. "We must continue to have meetings, which we did on the 16th of May, and he now fined us another $66,000, total now coming up to $183,000.

"The scripture that came to my mind when I saw those fines as the judge was speaking ... was that the Lord owns the cattle on 1,000 hills. So for the Lord, $183,000 ... He can work that out," the Hildebrandt added. "Maybe there is a way how He works it out where it doesn't get paid. If it needs to be paid, then there will be a way to do it. Whatever He wants, we are seeking His will in the matter to know what we need to do with that."

Hildebrandt said that the fact that the Church of God held outdoor worship services on the two subsequent Sundays did not come up in Mondays court hearing, maintaining that he was not sure if thats still coming. He estimated that attendance at the most recent outdoor worship services ranged from 850 to 1,000 people.

I wish that all of us would look with open eyes to see what is happening, he added. A revival has begun, an awakening is taking place, and God is using these things to kick out lukewarm Christianity, and like the Book of Revelation says, Its either we are hot or we are cold.

Hildebrandt indicated that the threat of additional fines would not deter the Church of God from continuing to hold church services.

Were looking forward to a wonderful, wonderful service this coming Sunday," he said.

As Hildebrandt noted in the video, The Church of God has already faced fines for failing to abide by a stay-at-home order in Canadas most populous province. Ontario Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas ordered the church to cease holding in-person worship services.

According to the Canadian website Global News, Thomas ruled on April 30 that the church had violated his orders by holding Sunday services streamed online. Two weeks later, Thomas imposed fines of more than $100,000 on the Church of God and two of its pastors. He ordered authorities to lock the church doors.

The ongoing lockdown orders limit worship gatherings in Ontario to 10 people for in-person religious services. More than 100 unmasked worshipers gathered at the April 25 service that led Thomas to hold the church in contempt five days later.

On the two Sundays immediately following the April 30 contempt order, The Church of God continued to hold in-person worship services, where attendance ranged from 166 people to more than 200.

On the three Sundays since May 14, when the fines were handed down and the church was ordered closed, the church held outdoor worship services.

Thomas held the church in contempt of court again last Friday. He subsequently ordered the place of worship to pay $66,000 in fines. The church itself will have to pay a fine of $35,000. Hildebrant was ordered to pay $20,000. Assistant Pastor Peter Wall will have to pay $6,000. The remaining $5,000 will go toward legal costs.

The Church of God is not the only Canadian church that has attempted to push back against the ongoing COVID-19 worship restrictions. Calgary, Alberta-based Pastor Artur Pawlowski has gone viral multiple times after sharing his encounters with local law enforcement officials who came to his church to enforce the restrictions.

An immigrant from Poland, Pawlowski likened the officials to Nazis and communist fascists and forcefully told them to leave his property.

Pawlowski was arrested for not abiding by the worship restrictions. Last month, his garage caught fire in an act that he said was an arson attack.

Another Canadian pastor, James Coates, spent about a month in prison for failing to abide by the ongoing worship restrictions.
'I am not being muzzled': Fauci's emails reveal candid response to media's Trump censorship claims

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Dr. Anthony Fauci shot down claims that he was being muzzled by the Trump administration during the initial months of the COVID-19 surge, according to emails released this week.

Thousands of pages of emails sent to and from Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who was also part of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, were obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post. Among the emails was a response from Fauci who dismissed claims that he was being muzzled by the Trump administration.

In one email dated March 2, 2020, Fauci denied being censored from speaking out about the pandemic when he was asked if it was true that the Trump administration controlled his speech, as was reported at the time.

When then-President Donald Trump appointed former Vice President Mike Pence to oversee the governments response to the pandemic, some believed Faucis scientific opinion was being silenced.

I have been very explicit in stating publicly that I am not being muzzled or censored, Fauci wrote in an emailed response.

I say exactly what I want to say based on scientific evidence, I have stated this on multiple TV programs over the past few days including at a major press conference with many, many reporters present including several TV cameras, Fauci continued. Could not possibly be more public about this. No censor. No Muzzle. Free to speak out.

On April 15, 2020, Fox News' Bret Baier reported that multiple sources believed the novel coronavirus outbreak originated in Wuhan lab where patient zero was infected. These sources also said that the World Health Organization was complicit in covering for China.

That same month, Fauci repeatedly said that the virus was not man-made and was the result of anunusual human-animal interface in a Chinese wet market and that the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.

Peter Daszak, a zoologist and president of the EcoHealth Alliance, sent an email to Fauci on April 18, 2020, thanking him for "stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The EcoHealth Alliance had received an NIH grant and used those funds to study coronaviruses in Chinese bats and gave $598,000 to the Wuhan lab from 20142019. Under the Trump administration, the NIH subsequently canceled a five-year $3.7 million grant for EcoHealth Alliance, saying it didnt believe the work aligned with program goals and agency priorities, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Questions surrounding the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak have resurfaced in recent months after State Department documents revealed that a month before the first confirmed case of COVID-19, three researchers working in Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) were hospitalized after becoming sick in November 2019.

This has reignited interest in investigating the origins of the COVID-19 virus to find out if it escaped from the laboratory.

The fact sheet released by the State Department during the final days of the Trump administration said several researchers at a lab who studied coronaviruses and other pathogens became sick with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illness, the Journal reported.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who was among the first to raise concerns about the virus' origins coming from the Wuhan lab, responded to the corporate media's sudden about-face after reporting for over a year that such claims had been debunked and were nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

The common-sense case for a lab leak is the same as it was in January 2020, when I first mentioned the possibility, Cotton tweeted on May 24.

Isnt it strange that this once-in-a-century bat coronavirus pandemic just happened to emerge within a few miles of Chinas biggest laboratory researching bat coronaviruses? Shouldnt we at least look at that lab? Cotton asked.

Three Wuhan lab researchers went to the hospital with COVID symptoms in November 2019a month before the first confirmed case of the disease.



Its time for the Chinese Communist Party to come clean about what happened at that lab.https://t.co/7XZrLRCBFH  Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 25, 2021

The Republican senator cited a Hudson Institute event on the origins of COVID-19 and said evidence of a lab leak has been building for months due to the lax safety conditions at Wuhan Institute of Virology, similarities between research at the lab and features of the virus and patents for bat cages and other live-animal research tools filed by WIV.

The lab-leak hypothesis was always reasonable, but reporters & activists in white lab coats nonetheless spent the better part of a year denouncing it as a conspiracy theory. They were wrong, Cotton continued in the Twitter thread.

Cotton called for truth and accountability, as well as a full, impartial investigation into COVID-19 origins, with a special focus on the Wuhan labs.

If we want closure in the aftermath of this pandemic  and if we want to avert the next one  we must learn about its origin, Cotton added in an op-ed for Fox News. That means we must look at the lab in Wuhan and the experimental research its scientists performed.

Following the Journals report about the three WIV researchers being hospitalized in November 2019, the Senate unanimously approved a bill last Monday introduced by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., to require the federal government to declassify all information linking Chinas WIV and COVID-19, Forbes reported.

President Joe Biden said in a statement released on May 26 that the U.S. intelligence community has coalesced around two likely scenarios but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question regarding the origins of COVID-19.

Biden reportedly asked the intelligence community in March to prepare a report on the origins of COVID-19, including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.

Biden has since asked these agencies to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion and report back to him in 90 days.

China's communist regime initially claimed that the deadly virus originated at a wet market in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, but there was much speculation surrounding that claim.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki advised Americans not to jump to conclusions on the origins of the virus before the international investigation is completed, Breitbart reported.

What we cant do, and what I would caution anyone doing, is leaping ahead of an actual international process, Psaki said last Monday. We dont have enough data and information to jump to a conclusion at this point in time.

A World Health Organization report released in March claimed the coronavirus likely emerged from bats and is extremely unlikely to have emerged from a laboratory leak, NBC News reported at the time.

More than a year after the first infections were detected, WHO staff investigated the WIV and visited a market in Wuhan in February, the Journal reported.

Some have raised concerns about gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab and other locations worldwide. Gain-of-function research occurs when an organism or disease is altered in a way that increases its transmissibility or when naturally-occurring animal viruses are altered to infect humans.

During a Senate hearing in May, Fauci said the National Institutes of Health had never directly funded this type of research at the Wuhan lab when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., asked if Fauci supports the NIH funding that lab.

Last Tuesday, the Senate passed an amendment by Paul that would permanently ban any U.S. funding for gain-of-function research in China.

We dont know whether the pandemic started in a lab in Wuhan or evolved naturally, Paul said in a statement on the Senate floor. While many still deny funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan, experts believe otherwise. The passage of my amendment ensures that this never happens in the future. No taxpayer money should have ever been used to fund gain-of-function research in Wuhan, and now we permanently have put it to a stop.

Senate Amendment 2003 banned the National Institute of Health and U.S. agencies from funding gain-of-function research in China, but this amendment defines gain-of-function as any research project that may be reasonably anticipated to confer attributes to influenza, MERS, or SARS viruses such that the virus would have enhanced pathogenicity or transmissibility in mammals.

In the recently released FOIA emails, Fauci exchanged messages with staff from January to June 2020, when the pandemic was first emerging in the U.S.

In an email from Fauci to Lawrence Tabak, principal deputy director of the NIH, sent on Feb. 1, 2020, the title of an attached PDF included the phrase, SARS Gain of function.

Fauci also sent an email to Hugh Auchincloss, NIAID principal deputy director, with the same document attached to it and said it was essential for them to speak that morning, instructing him to read the attached paper.
Judge tosses Planned Parenthood's lawsuit against largest 'sanctuary city for the unborn' in US

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A federal judge has dismissed Planned Parenthoods lawsuit seeking to invalidate an ordinance outlawing abortion in a major Texas city, arguing a "lack of jurisdiction."

Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas, appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, tossed the lawsuit filed on behalf of the abortion provider against an ordinance banning abortion in the city of Lubbock.

Because the ability to remedy a plaintiffs injury through a favorable decision is a prerequisite to a plaintiffs standing to sue  an ability absent here  the Court dismisses the case for lack of jurisdiction, Hendrix said in his Tuesday night ruling, as reported by The Texas Tribune.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas filed a lawsuit against Lubbock, asking a federal judge to declare the voter-approved ordinance outlawing most abortions within the city limits except for cases when a woman's life is at risk unconstitutional.

The ruling comes after oral arguments were heard Friday in Hendrix's court during which he expressed reservations about the scope of his authority over the ordinance, The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported.

In response to Hendrixs decision, the city of Lubbock released a statement acknowledging that the City has reviewed the June 1 Court Order in the litigation challenging Lubbocks Sanctuary City of the Unborn ordinance and is pleased with the result.

Praising the judges thorough and well-reasoned opinion, the city vowed to vigorously defend the ordinance in any litigation that may be filed.

Hendrixs ruling follows Planned Parenthoods announcement that it will no longer perform abortions at its Lubbock facility.

In a statement released Tuesday, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, the Texas affiliate of the nation's largest abortion provider, which operates a clinic in the city, indicated that Abortion services will be provided when legally permissible.

The announcement comes after Lubbocks abortion ban, approved by more than 62% of the citys voters, went into effect Tuesday, making the town of over 250,000 residents the largest sanctuary city for the unborn in the U.S.

The abortion provider chastised the ordinance for creating significant barriers and the need to travel a minimum 600-mile round trip or out of state for patients seeking to obtain an abortion.

Due to the controversial ordinance passed on May 1, Lubbock residents are currently required to travel to access a safe, legal abortion, said Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas CEO Ken Lambrecht. This ban on abortions provides no exemptions, even in cases of rape or incest. The ban on abortion violates patients constitutional right to an abortion and were in court to block this ban for Lubbock patients.

Planned Parenthood opened up a clinic in Lubbock, the 11th largest city in Texas, last year.

As the organization noted in its lawsuit, a health center operated in Lubbock by a separate Planned Parenthood entity was forced to close in 2013 following the States imposition of a series of state funding cuts and abortion restrictions.

Shortly after the abortion provider announced its intentions to open a new facility in Lubbock, Republican lawmakers representing the city in the Texas state legislature urged Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope, also a Republican, to take all necessary actions to prevent them from opening.

Additionally, the lawmakers called on Pope to enact an ordinance making Lubbock a sanctuary city for the unborn. When city officials unanimously opposed the idea, pro-life advocacy organizations successfully pushed to put the issue before the voters in a referendum, which passed on May 1.

While the overwhelming majority of the sanctuary cities for the unborn are located in Texas, the movement has recently spread to other states.

In addition to two cities in Nebraska, Lebanon, Ohio, passed an ordinance declaring itself a sanctuary city for the unborn last month, making it the first city in the Buckeye State to enact the ban.

Twenty-eight cities have declared themselves sanctuary cities for the unborn, and more than three dozen cities in Texas and Florida are considering banning abortion within the city limits.
Prosecutors want Derek Chauvin sentenced to 30 years in prison for George Floyds murder Defense asks for time served, lower sentence or probation

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Citing aggravating factors, including committing the crime in the presence of children, prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin to 30 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.

The State respectfully requests a sentence of 360 months, or 30 years, for Defendant Derek Chauvin, a former police officer convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of George Floyd, prosecutors led by Attorney General Keith Ellison noted in a sentencing brief filed Wednesday.

Such a sentence would properly account for the profound impact of Defendants conduct on the victim, the victims family, and the community. Defendant brutally murdered Mr. Floyd, abusing the authority conferred by his badge. His actions traumatized Mr. Floyds family, the bystanders who watched Mr. Floyd die, and the community. And his conduct shocked the Nations conscience. No sentence can undo the damage Defendants actions have inflicted. But the sentence the Court imposes must hold Defendant fully accountable for his reprehensible conduct."

Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, after he was restrained for several minutes by Minneapolis Police Department officers. Chauvin was caught on video kneeling into Floyds neck as he begged for his life until he stopped breathing despite passersby and other eyewitnesses begging him to stop.

The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that officers had responded to a call about a man suspected of forgery. Authorities were told someone tried to pay with a fake $20 bill at Cup Foods.

The video of Floyds death sparked international protests and calls for justice from many, including Christian leaders.

On April 20, a jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for Floyds death at the end of an emotional trial.

In their arguments seeking twice the upper end of the presumptive sentencing range for Chauvins crime, prosecutors cited four aggravating factors for their recommendation.

They contend that Chauvin abused a position of trust and authority, acted with particular cruelty, acted in concert with three other individuals who all actively participated in the crime and committed the offenses in the presence of children.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has made clear that where one or more aggravating factors are present, the district court can impose a sentence up to double the upper limit of the presumptive range,'" the prosecutors argued.

"Here, the existence of four separate aggravating factors reflects the seriousness of Defendants conduct. The severity of several of these aggravating factors  this Court found that Defendants abuse of his position of trust and authority was egregious, and that multiple aspects of Defendants conduct were particularly cruel.'"

According to the document, the presumptive sentencing range for the second-degree unintentional murder conviction is 128 to 180 months.

"The State therefore respectfully requests that the Court sentence Defendant to 360 months, or 30 years, in prison, the document states.

In another brief filed Wednesday, Chauvins defense team asked the court to sentence him to probation, limit his incarceration to time served, or consider an incarceration period lower than the presumptive sentencing range for his crime.

There is no evidence that the assault perpetrated by Mr. Chauvin against Mr. Floyd involved a gratuitous infliction of pain or cruelty not usually associated with the commission of the offense in question," Chauvins attorney Eric J. Nelson wrote. "The infliction of substantial bodily injury necessarily causes pain. The assault of Mr. Floyd occurred in the course of a very short time, involved no threats or taunting, such as putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger,  and ended when EMS finally responded to officers calls."

Nelson argued that the "requisite substantial and compelling circumstances for a downward dispositional departure are present in this case." He urged the court to "grant its motions and impose a probationary sentence" and limit "incarceration to time served, or in the alternative, a downward durational departure."

Chauvin's sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 25.
VENICE, Italy (AP)  The first cruise ship since the pandemic wended its way Saturday through the heart of Venice, escorted by triumphant water-spouting tugboats and elated port workers as it traveled down the Giudecca Canal but also protested by hundreds on land and a small armada of wooden boats waving No Big Boats flags.

The battle for Venices future was stark as the MSC Orchestra set sail with some 1,000 passengers. The voyage heralded the return of cruise ships to the historic city of canals after more than 18 months, but the vessel reignited an anti-cruise movement that for more than a decade has opposed the passage of the enormous ships through the fragile lagoon due to environmental and safety concerns.

Italian Premier Mario Draghis government pledged this spring to get cruise ships out of the Venice lagoon, but reaching that goal will take time. Even an interim solution rerouting larger ships away from the Giudecca Canal is not likely before next year. Ridding the lagoon of the ships, which run more than 250 meters (yards) in length and weigh over 90,000 tons, could take years.

Venice has become one of the worlds most important cruise destinations over the last two decades, and in 2019 served as a lucrative turnaround point for 667 cruise ships embarking nearly 700,000 passengers and carrying a total of 1.6 million, according to the association Cruise Lines International (CLIA).

Passengers arriving Saturday for the week-long cruise aboard the 92,409-ton, 16-deck MSC Orchestra, with stops in southern Italy, two Greek islands and Dubrovnik, Croatia, were greeted at the port with signs reading Welcome Back Cruises.

Antonella Frigo from nearby Vicenza had her departure date delayed multiple times due to the pandemic and was excited to finally be leaving on vacation. But she also sympathized with activists who want the huge ships moved out of the center of Venice.

I have always said that they should be moved, but Im sorry, I need to depart from Venice, since I am from nearby, Frigo said after being was dropped off with a companion at the cruise terminal. But I hope they can be rerouted. I ask myself, Is it not possible to come up with another solution, so they dont pass where they shouldnt?'

The message for passengers taking in Venice from the ship's decks was mixed as the ship navigated the Giudecca Canal, past St. Mark's Square and the Doges Palace. Hundreds of Venetians gathered at a noisy canal-side protest to demand an immediate halt to cruise ships moving through the lagoon, citing a series of past decrees they say were never enforced.

The MSC Orchestra responded with noisy blasts of its horn, while two dozen boats filled with port employees and VIPs motored alongside, celebrating the renewal of cruises and the return to work for hundreds of port workers. According to the Venice Works Committee, more than 1,700 workers deal directly with cruise ships, from tug boat drivers to baggage carriers, while another 4,000 jobs depend on cruise traffic.

The long battle over cruise ships in Venice ramped up after the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew members. And it sharpened after the MSC Opera struck a dock and a tourist boat, injuring five people, while maneuvering through the Giudecca Canal two years ago this week.

In all those years, no viable alternative has ever gotten off the drawing board.

The Venice Environmental Association, one of the groups against the ships, is demanding that Italian cultural and Venice port officials immediately ban ships from the lagoon, threatening legal action if there is no action within 15 days.

It is a great provocation that a ship has passed, Andreina Zitelli, an environmental expert and member of the association, said. You cannot compare the defense of the city with the defense of jobs in the interest of big cruise companies.

The cruise industrys trade association said it supports moving bigger ships to other areas to avoid traversing the Giudecca Canal but maintains that cruise ships still need access to Venices lagoon.

We dont want to be a corporate villain, said Francesco Galietti of Cruise Lines International Italy. We dont feel we should be treated as such. We feel we are good to the communities.

Galietti said cruise ships account for only a small percentage of the tourism to Venice, somewhere around 5%, and that many passengers stay in the city before or after their cruises, contributing an average of $200 a day to the tourism-dependent economy.

Prior to the pandemic, Venice struggled with over-tourism, receiving 25 million visitors a year. It was about to impose a tax on day-trippers before the pandemic struck, bringing tourism to an abrupt halt.

In Rome, the Italian government said it is organizing bids for a viable alternative outside the lagoon, and the request for proposals should be posted any day now. Still, even an interim alternative route to the Giudecca Canal - moving larger ships to an industrial port west of Venice - wont be ready until next year, Italys Ministry for Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility told The Associated Press.

Preparing the port of Marghera, which is still within the lagoon, requires lengthening existing piers to accommodate larger vessels as well as dredging a canal on the approach, cruise industry officials say. Under current plans, ships over 250 meters, representing about 70% of cruise traffic, would be rerouted.

While some cruise companies have experimented with Trieste to the east or Ravenna to the south as drop-off points for those visiting Venice during the pandemic, industry officials say the lagoon city with 1,600 years of history remains a key port of call for cruises in the Adriatic Sea and eastern Mediterranean.

But environmentalists say the cruise industry must change.

Venice is at water level. There are days when Venice is below water level," said Jane da Mosto, executive director of We Are Here Venice who was also representing the Global Cruise Activist Network. "We need ships that use renewable energy. We need ships that dont bring thousands of people into our narrow alleyways at one time. We need visitors that are interested in learning about Venice.
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The Department of Justice under former president Trump attempted to seize the email logs from four New York Times reporters in an attempt to identify their sources, the Times reported Friday. On Saturday, the department announced the Biden administration will end the practice of aggressively pursuing leak investigations by trying to uncover the medias sources through court orders.

The DOJ attempted to seize email records from Google, which hosts the papers email system, but Google resisted the efforts. This news comes on the heels of recent revelations that showed the Trump administration secretly seized phone records for four Times reporters from 2017. The investigation is believed to be tied to a 2017 story written by journalists Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt about then-FBI director James Comey and Hillary Clintons emails.

The government also imposed a gag order on Times executives who were informed of the investigation, preventing them from telling the papers editorial leadership, including executive editor Dean Baquet, about it. David McCraw, the Times attorney, told the paper that this kind of move from the DOJ was unprecedented. News also recently broke that the department also seized records from reporters at CNN and Washington Post.

Justice Department spokesperson Anthony Coley said in a statement obtained by Politico that it will end such practices. Going forward, consistent with the Presidents direction, this Department of Justice  in a change to its longstanding practice  will not seek compulsory legal process in leak investigations to obtain source information from members of the news media doing their jobs, Coley said.

Coley also said that the DOJ under Biden tried to pause the enforcement of the order: On multiple occasions in recent months, DOJ moved to postpone enforcement of the  order and voluntarily moved to withdraw the order before any records were produced.

Speaking about the matter, Baquet criticized the DOJs actions. Clearly, Google did the right thing, but it should never have come to this, Baquet said, according to the Times. The Justice Department relentlessly pursued the identity of sources for coverage that was clearly in the public interest in the final 15 days of the Trump administration. And the Biden administration continued to pursue it. As I said before, it profoundly undermines press freedom.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki released a statement Saturday that said the White House only learned about the gag order on Friday and reaffirmed that the practice will be abandoned, saying, As appropriate given the independence of the Justice Department in specific criminal cases, no one at the White House was aware of the gag order until Friday night. While the White House does not intervene in criminal investigations, the issuing of subpoenas for the records of reporters in leak investigations is not consistent with the Presidents policy direction to the Department, and the Department of Justice has reconfirmed it will not be used moving forward.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci called the latest round of bogus attacks on him from Republicans anti-science and nonsense during a Friday interview.

MSNBCs Rachel Maddow asked the White Houses chief medical adviser about the baseless accusations thrown his way by Republicans since the release of a trove of Faucis emails this week.

Im concerned because its really an attack on science, Fauci said. It is what it is. Im a public figure, Im going to take the arrows and the slings, but theyre just  theyre fabricated, and thats just what it is.

Since the tranche of Fauci emails was published this week as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, disingenuous actors like Republican Sen. Josh Hawley have called for the doctors resignation.

Given what we know now, I dont know how anyone can have confidence that he should remain in a position of public trust and authority, said Hawley.

Hawley and others spread the falsity that the emails were leaked, resulting in the hashtag #FauciLeaks to trend on Twitter. But their accusations that the emails show Fauci was in on some kind of conspiracy connected to covering up the actual origins of the coronavirus is a lie. According to the AP, the newly released emails show no evidence of any kind of coverup and many of the discussions [in the emails] reflect the science at the time.

Fauci said to question the origins of the virus is important and fair. But he called the backlash inappropriate and misleading.

It is important to understand But it is being approached now in a very vehement way, in a very distorted way I believe, by attacking me, Fauci said, adding, The question is extremely legitimate. But whats happened in the middle of all that, Ive become the object of extraordinary, I believe completely inappropriate, distorted, misleading, and misrepresented attacks.

When asked by reporters, on Friday, if he still had confidence in Dr. Fauci, President Bidens response was unequivocal: Yes, I am very confident in Dr. Fauci.
A 7-year-old girl, whose family moved to the United States for a better life, reeled in the biggest catch of the day at the 2021 Kids Fish Fest on Saturday in Conroe.

Tia Khoury smiled proudly with two trophies nearly as tall as her after winning her fight with a 3.5-pound fish at the Safe Harbor Walden Marina in Montgomery located at 12050 Melville Dr. in Montgomery.

Tia shared the fish was her second catch of the day and nearly got away due to a little distraction.

I wasnt paying attention too much, I was looking at my brother because he loves fishing, but he didnt catch anything, Tia said with a laugh. And then I was like, poor him and then I looked back at it and it was sinking.

A big fight followed for the small child who remembered the lessons taught to her earlier in the day by her father and a volunteer, including to count to five once the fishing bobber sinks.

You have to be patient and dont move because if you move it will scare the fish away, Tia said she learned on Saturday.

The event, which was hosted by the Trophy Catfish Association and sponsored by Keating Honda, saw nearly 225 participants. It featured various activities that cover the importance of conservation, angler safety and etiquette.

Tias mother Malvina Khoury, 39, shared that her family moved from Palestine three years ago because of the political situation with the childrens future in mind.

This is something totally new for us, Khoury said. We loved it. It is so family friendly. The atmosphere is so good. You know, it lets kids experience new stuff in their lives.

She described the event as a blessing and believes it teaches the children valuable lessons and gives them an alternative to technology devices.

Kids started thinking that life is just a button that theyre going press and they get frustrated if they have to wait for stuff, Khoury continued. So, I think fishing is the best thing for them because theyve got to be patient.

Event Coordinator Rachelle Guppy Slaughter with the Trophy Catfish Association shared the event began in June 2018.

Since then, the event has provided the free fishing lessons to a total of nearly 4,220 children. Slaughter also hosts Casting for Casey for children and adults with special needs to celebrate her late sons birthday.

Saturdays event saw one of the largest turn outs with more children and more catches.

One of the participants, Jansen Leiker, 5, caught a stringer full of 13 fish. The child, who also got a trophy, hopes to join the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department one day and shared his secret motivation to catching so many fish.

I like to eat the fish, Leiker said as he returned to playing with Catfish in an oxygenated rejuvenation tank set up to teach the kids about tagging and safe release.

Tia giggled and she shared that her brother let out a groan when she informed him there would be trophies. He ended up ditching the fishing to go play games for a chance to earn more points.

But overall, it appeared the children, the volunteers, and Slaughter enjoyed the chance to get out in the sunny weather after days of rain and the seclusive novel coronavirus pandemic.

We are surrounded by clouds, Slaughter said. There are storm clouds in every area of the sky, except for right above where we are. The sun came out for the first time in weeks and everybody is ready to get outside, especially the kids.

They havent had a normal fun time in over a year, she continued. I think it was really important to get them out and the weather just agreed which was a huge blessing. I think everybody is pretty relaxed and happy to be outdoors for the first time in a very long time.

Michael Boston with Keating Honda shared he was happy to sponsor Kids Fish Fest and Casting for Casey that will be held later this year, which he plans to continue to support.

I think what they are doing is great for kids, Boston said. Anything that I can do as a general manager of a dealership to help out, I am happy to do and I think what they do is amazing. I love to fish. I grew up fishing on Lake Conroe, to introduce that to kids at young age and get them into doing something that gets them outside is great.

This years event was held in memory of the late volunteer, Jim Meier, who was hooked on the event that teaches kids to fish for free.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
A former Conroe High School teacher received probation in May after pleading guilty to charges he pulled down a students pants and underwear and touched her.

On May 13, Johnny B. Simmons Jr., 41, of Conroe, entered a guilty plea to the second-degree felony charge of an improper relationship between an educator and a student in the 359th District Court.

Presiding Judge Kathleen Hamilton gave Simmons a 10-year probation with 240 hours of community service, court records show.

A 17-year-old female student of Simmons told investigators the teacher was giving her a private tutorial session Nov. 16, 2017 in his class. Simmons, the 12th grader said, lowered her sweatpants and underwear, touching her with his hand, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by an officer with the Conroe Independent School District Police Department.

The students boyfriend, also a senior at Conroe High, alerted school officials during Thanksgiving break about the incident after she told him about it. An investigation was started Nov. 27, 2017, according to the affidavit.

In 2018, Simmons told a Texas Ranger he resigned from Conroe High the day the students boyfriend confronted him about the allegations in front of a room full of students, according to charging documents.

Conroe ISD takes reports of improper conduct seriously. Mr. Simmons resigned shortly after being interviewed by campus administration, said Sarah Blakelock, school district spokeswoman, in an email on Friday.

Simmons was taken into custody around Oct. 9, 2019, court and jail records showed at the time.

Simmons was originally charged with two counts of the offense, but one count was dismissed, court records show.

Simmons defense attorney, Timothy Rose, said that part of his clients plea involves deferred adjudication. Upon successful completion of Simmons probation, the offense could eventually be expunged, Rose explained.

As part of the plea deal, Simmons will surrender his teaching license, according to court documents.

Rose said conditions include Simmons not pursuing another teaching license anywhere else. He is also barred from doing in-person tutoring, being in contact with children or be involved in childrens activities, Rose added.

The attorney said his client took the plea deal as a risk-reward.

Its just a difficult case to try because it looks really bad, it does, Rose said.

Rose said the alleging student had previously accused a coworker. Charges in that case were dismissed, according to Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Mike Holley.

The accuser, Rose said, officially requested through a signed affidavit that Simmons not be prosecuted.

jose.gonzalez@chron.com

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BANGKOK (AP)  Improved access to coronavirus vaccines and other tools needed to fight the pandemic are vital to crushing the pandemic and hastening a recovery, officials said Saturday in an online meeting of Pacific Rim economies.

The unprecedented crisis brought on by COVID-19 requires a coordinated, cooperative response, said New Zealands Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien OConnor, who hosted the meeting. The 21-member APEC gathers economies all along the Pacific Rim, from tiny Brunei to the United States to Chile and New Zealand. One of its long-term aims is to promote a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific region.

The focus Saturday was on the most pressing problem our region faces, getting people vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible," O'Connor said, adding he would be asking his counterparts how they could speed up trade in vaccines and other needed goods.

The successful distribution of vaccines across our region will be critical to our recovery," he said.

APEC has long focused on dismantling trade barriers, and many of its members are still struggling to obtain and deploy enough COVID-19 vaccines to vanquish coronavirus flare-ups.

Nearly 5 billion doses are still needed for the region of almost 3 billion people, OConnor noted.

In much of the Asia-Pacific region, the share of people vaccinated so far is in the low single digits. That includes places like Thailand and Taiwan that initially managed to avoid initial massive outbreaks but have seen cases rebound recently.

APEC members Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are ranked among the worst among all developed nations in vaccinating their people for COVID-19, below some developing countries such as Brazil and India. Australia is also performing comparatively poorly.

This week, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for Asia, South and Central America, Africa and others.

That would be a substantial and immediate boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries.

While some countries at times have limited exports of vaccines, chemicals needed to make them or of protective equipment such as surgical masks, it's unclear whether tariffs and other trade barriers have been the main problem since countries like Japan and New Zealand imposed onerous approval requirements that have slowed inoculations.

The average tariff on vaccines is a low 0.8%, according to the APEC Secretariat. But duties on some other products such as freezing equipment, vials and alcohol solutions can be as high as 30% for some countries.

Control of patents for the vaccines is a contentious issue. The U.S. has urged countries and pharmaceutical companies to waive COVID-19 patents to help increase supplies, and officials said they expected to discuss that issue during their talks this weekend.

But some say such intellectual property rights are crucial for boosting vaccine production and should not be waived.

A broad waiver of such rights requires a consensus under World Trade Organization rules, O'Connor said.

We're very mindful that the development of the intellectual property is what's enabled us to very quickly get vaccines developed, in a time we previously haven't seen across the globe," he said. We have to respect that intellectual property."

These are extraordinary times," O'Connor said. We believe if there clearly are barriers to the rollout of vaccines caused by IP, then we should seek a waiver."

We're actually really encouraged to see more WTO members come forth with proposals on what they can support at the WTO with respect to the intellectual property rules of the WTO and how they apply to the COVID vaccine," said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

She said the U.S. was carefully reviewing proposals on the issue and hoping to move toward text-based negotiations."

At a vaccine summit last month, the head of the WTO said it was also crucial to diversify manufacturing and have more jabs produced in Africa and Latin America.

Much is at stake. Beyond potential lives saved or lost, trade in vaccines and related supplies and equipment was estimated at $418.5 billion in 2019, according to the latest available data, and likely surged in 2020.

The APEC meeting additionally focused on "building back better" by reallocating resources to improve health care, education and social safety nets.

Even with the region still staggering from the pandemic and tourism still paralyzed by quarantines and border restrictions, Pacific Rim economies are forecast to regain momentum this year, with growth rebounding to more than 6% from a 1.9% contraction in 2020.
NIAMEY, Niger (AP)  Gunmen killed at least 100 people in a northern Burkina Faso village, the government said Saturday, in what was the countrys deadliest attack in years.

The attack took place Friday evening in Solhan village, in the Sahels Yagha province, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement blaming jihadists. The local market and several homes were also burned down in the area toward the border of Niger, he said.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore called the attack barbaric.

This is the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the West African country was overrun by jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago, said Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

It is clear that militant groups have shifted up gears to aggravate the situation in Burkina Faso, and moved their efforts to areas outside the immediate reach of the French-led counter-terrorism coalition fighting them in the tri-state border region, he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Despite the presence of more than 5,000 French troops in the Sahel, jihadist violence is increasing. In one week in April, more than 50 people were killed in Burkina Faso, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist. More than 1 million people in the country have been internally displaced.

A local who did not want to be named, fearing for his safety, was visiting relatives in a medical clinic in Sebba town, approximately 12 kilometers from where the attacks occurred. He said he saw many wounded people enter the clinic.

I saw 12 people in one room and about 10 in another. There were many relatives caring for the wounded. There were also many people running from Solhan to enter Sebba....People are very afraid and worried, he told the Associated Press by phone.

The government has declared 72 hours of mourning.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the killings and offered the world body's full support to authorities in their efforts to overcome the threats to the peace and stability in Burkina Faso according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

He strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to Member States in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll, Dujarric said in a statement.

Islamic extremists have been increasingly staging assaults in Burkina Faso, especially in the region that borders Niger and Mali.

Last month, gunmen killed at least 30 people in eastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger.

Burkina Fasos ill-equipped army has been struggling to contain the spread of jihadists. The government enlisted the help of volunteer fighters last year to help the army, but the volunteers have incurred retaliation by extremists who target them and the communities they help.

Mali also is experiencing a political crisis that has led to the suspension of international support. France has said it is ceasing joint military operations with Malian forces until the West African nations junta complies with international demands to restore civilian rule.
MICHIGAMME TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP)  A conservation corridor with links to existing protected areas is planned for a remote region in Michigans western Upper Peninsula.

The nonprofit Nature Conservancy said the 6,172-acre (2,497-hectare) Wilderness Lakes Reserve in the Michigamme Highlands area is being expanded by 4,854 acres (1,964 hectares) of forest and wetlands.

The expansion will create a mostly contiguous 19,000 acres (5,689 hectares) of conserved forestland when combined with neighboring Craig Lake State Park, said Helen Taylor, state director in Michigan for The Nature Conservancy.

Opportunities to reconnect such large areas of protected lands dont come along every day. Its one of many important steps toward a healthy, thriving future for U.P. forests," Taylor said in a statement.

Wilderness Lakes Reserve is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Marquette.

Taylor said scientists have identified the area as some of the most resilient land in Michigan that can sustain natural diversity in a changing climate.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)  Delaware has seen a 35% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the past year, though local experts say the total is likely far higher due to the challenges of counting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Almost 60% of that increase were children, according to a recent report from the Housing Alliance Delaware, a statewide nonprofit that performed the countand aims to alleviate issues facing the homeless population.

The count didnt include unsheltered people living in cars and encampments due to COVID-19 precautions and logistical challenges this year  communities that would drive up the total number of people experiencing homeless across Delaware.

Even though they didnt count the unsheltered, which should have brought the count down, the count went up by thirty five percent, said Stephen Metraux, director of the University of Delawares Center for Community Research and Service.

Experts say the increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness is due to a variety of factors, including a lack of affordable housing and COVID-19 safety concerns that led people to stay in hotels and motels for extended periods of time.

In response, increased funds and rapid rehousing programs in the state are helping members of the homeless population find and maintain stable housing.

THERES NOWHERE FOR THEM TO GO

Metraux doesnt attribute the increase to a new influx of people, but instead to the fact that more people are finding it harder to leave the homeless population and find permanent housing.

Additionally, he said, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the weaknesses in systems meant to help the homeless population find housing  both long- and short-term.

Shelters across the state reduced their capacities and imposed restrictions, such as requiring a negative COVID-19 test upon entry, in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. The increased requirements to be admitted into a sometimes crowded shelter during the pandemic discouraged many from staying there.

Youve got this situation now where shelters are less than ideal places to stay when youre homeless, Metraux said. Shelters are just congregate places and people are afraid of getting COVID.

In an effort to mitigate these exacerbated conditions, state-run centers and nonprofit organizations housed people experiencing homelessness in hotels and motels, which proved to be safer than shelters during the pandemic.

Last December, New Castle Countys Hope Center opened its doors as a long-term shelter to members of the homeless community during the height of the pandemic in Delaware. The center, a former Sheraton hotel, offers health screenings, mental health services and COVID-19-related resources to its residents.

In March, the center, located on Airport Road off of I-95, worked to vaccinate its residents against COVID-19 in an effort to protect one of the states most vulnerable populations.

Who knows if Id have been able to get this, said Robert Johnson, a resident at the center after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I have that extra sense of security that I dont have to worry about it.

Rachel Stucker, executive director of Housing Alliance Delaware, emphasized the importance of these resources in relocating people from overcrowded and unsafe living conditions into safer alternatives.

Resources were made available, and it allowed us to see the true need of folks who may otherwise not necessarily be homeless, but be living right on the edge, Stucker said.

More than half of people experiencing homelessness were staying at a hotel or motel at the time of the count in January, according to the report. Many of these people continued their stay due to a lack of resources and safe, affordable housing.

Theres nowhere for them to go, Metraux said. People are staying in the hotels and motels and theyre not leaving, and that basically accounts for the increase in the population size.

The report attributed the dramatic influx of homelessness in the state to an affordable housing crisis that forces many to rely on temporary shelter for too long. The report goes on to state that Delaware has a shortage of 20,000 affordable housing units for the lowest-income households.

If you cant afford market rent, youre going to have a really hard time getting housing, Metraux said.

This also comes during a housing market boom, prompting many private landlords to offload properties at a time when property values are higher than theyve been in recent memory. This in turn has had a ripple effect on the rental market, limiting affordable and available properties.

Rapid rehousing programs across the state are helping people experiencing homelessness relocate into permanent housing. In 2020, Delaware jurisdictions issued more than $1.5 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development relief funding to these programs, the report states.

I feel very hopeful that those folks will be back into stable housing in the community this year, along with some support, but its not going to be easy, Stucker said.
DOVER, Del. (AP)  Delaware State Police have arrested a Dover man for a convenience store robbery.

Police said they arrested John Walstrum, 29, on Friday for a robbery that occurred earlier in the week at a Wawa convenience store in Dover.

Walstrum is accused of entering the store Wednesday afternoon and demanding money. The cashier complied and handed over an undisclosed amount of money before the suspect fled out the front door of the store. No one was injured during the robbery.

Walstrum was charged with second-degree robbery, a felony. He was arraigned Friday and released on his own recognizance. It could not immediately be determined if Walstrum has hired an attorney.
HONOLULU (AP)  A review of Hawaii Gov. David Iges emails shows the state epidemiologist spent key weeks in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic resisting suggestions and requests from both inside and outside the administration that she boost contact tracing to control the spread of COVID-19.

They also showed Dr. Sarah Park repeatedly telling her superiors that the state's failure to adequately fund and staff the division she headed was preventing her from quickly expanding their work to respond to the crisis.

Park left the department at the end of 2020 after spending more than three months on paid leave. Attempts to reach her for comment were not successful.

The Associated Press obtained the emails a year after a May 2020 request submitted under Hawaii's open records law. The emails underscored the strain on the Ige administration as it scrambled to address a pandemic that overwhelmed states across the country.

Contact tracing was especially difficult for many states. The effort aims to alert people who may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus and prevent them from spreading it to others. Health experts say it's key to containing the virus.

The governor's records show that University of Hawaii President David Lassner emailed administration officials on April 16, 2020, to say university researchers had written a report about the need to boost contact tracing and other steps to control COVID-19.

Park didn't outright reject more contact tracing but replied: I am increasingly disturbed that people seem to think contact tracing is somehow easily accomplished as a simple task when it is a part of the practice of applied epidemiology.

Lassner offered to have the university help train contact tracers.

Two days later, Ige's chief of staff, Linda Takayama, asked whether the state could do a full court press on contact tracing. She noted Hawaii had set up sites to process a flood of pandemic-induced unemployment insurance claims and wondered whether something similar could be done for contact tracing.

We are standing by to help, Takayama wrote.

Park replied, were OK when it comes to contact tracing at the current disease activity level. That day, Hawaiis seven-day average of new infections was only 10.

However, if disease activity spikes, we will be challenged, Park wrote.

She said she would start using online software that would decrease the burden on her staff and bring on more volunteers and staff as needed. Park added she could better expand her operation if the state hadnt failed to properly fund public health.

Theres a lot of focus on contact tracing, but really the issue for us and all of public health (i.e., in other jurisdictions as well) is that all of us are chronically understaffed even in routine times, given limited funds and, especially here, less than competitive salaries. If we were all appropriately resourced and staffed (not just my programs but also other areas of DOH), we could more readily surge, especially by reassigning particular positions toward the response, she wrote.

Park said the state also needed public health education and community outreach, especially to vulnerable populations. She didnt mention any particular groups, but COVID-19 was surging among Pacific Islanders at the time.

She wrote she had no public health educator on staff and epidemiologists had to develop educational materials and infographics in their spare time.

About a month later, Park asked the House Finance Committee to fund a University of Hawaii program that would train 200 people in contact tracing. In testimony on May 12, she said each worker would be capable of monitoring 20 people per day using phone calls and a cellphone app. Together, the new trainees could track 4,000 people, she said.

The caseload for contact tracers at that point was not high: The Health Department reported just one new positive case the day Park spoke to the House committee.

But lawmakers were eager to bring in more. An aide to the Senate president emailed the attorney general saying best practices dictated 30 contact tracers for every 100,000 people. Hawaii would need 450 contact tracers under that guideline.

Still, months later, Hawaii had just 100 contact tracers even as new daily cases spiked above 200.

On Aug. 7, senators made an unannounced visit to Parks office with a Hawaii News Now camera crew in tow. One investigator told a senator she had 131 cases to keep track of and another said he had 192.

Park told the TV crew she was glad the senators visited and said she hoped they saw the department needed more staffing, resources, space and equipment. She said it wasnt easy to bring in more contact tracers because they needed to be trained in the specific work her disease outbreak control division was doing.

But emails showed many in the administration were alarmed. Attorney General Clare Connors sent Ige an email with the subject line DOH Ambush, saying she drafted a letter for him to send to the Senate president.

Takayama lamented that the senators missed the bigger picture, including contact tracers working from home, the inspectors who were out in the field and examiners working the files. Park herself expressed concerns that the senators and news media entered her office despite the presence of a security guard.

The following week, a Health Department whistleblower held a news conference with then-U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard saying contact tracers were struggling to keep up with their caseloads. Gabbard called for the firing of Park as well as Health Director Bruce Anderson.

By late August, the emails got more tense.

Ige emailed Anderson on Aug. 21 telling him to immediately create reports about the pandemic for the Legislature and the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

These reports have been requested multiple times and the (Disease Outbreak Control Division) has, thus far, not produced the data and/or reports as requested, the governor wrote.

Park replied to Ige and Anderson that she couldn't flog her investigators to do more.

A week later, Anderson announced he would retire in mid-September. On Sept. 4, Park was placed on paid leave. She left the department on Dec. 31.

The governors office provided the emails so long after they were requested in part because Ige issued an emergency proclamation in March 2020 suspending the states three-decades-old open records law, citing the pandemic. He later modified it to suspend deadlines in some circumstances.

The initial blanket suspension amounted to most extreme restrictions on the publics access to official records in the United States during the pandemic. The state's open records law aims to protect the public interest by exposing government to scrutiny.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP)  Kansas police arrested a former school worker for sexual exploitation of a child Friday.

Riley County police arrested 31-year-old Junction City man Aaron Zachry, The Manhattan Mercury reported. He's jailed on a $60,000 bond.

An attorney for Zachry wasnt listed on court records Saturday.

Police told the newspaper that they arrested Zachry after they got a call about suspicious activity Friday at a Manhattan, Kansas pool. Police found nude photos of children on Zachrys phone.

Zachry worked as a paraprofessional at Manhattans Northview Elementary school from 2018 through the end of this school year, the district told the newspaper. The district said it will cooperate with the police investigation.
Litchfield (06759)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 58F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
LONDON (AP)  The Group of Seven wealthy democracies agreed Saturday to support a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15% to deter multinational companies from avoiding taxes by stashing profits in low-rate countries.

G-7 finance ministers meeting in London also endorsed proposals to make the world's biggest companies - including U.S.-based tech giants - pay taxes in countries where they have lots of sales but no physical headquarters.

British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, the host, said the deal would reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and crucially to make sure that its fair, so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the agreement provides tremendous momentum for reaching a global deal that would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world.

Nations have been grappling for years with the question of how to deter companies from legally avoiding paying taxes by using accounting and legal schemes to assign their profits to subsidiaries in tax havens - typically small countries that entice companies with low or zero taxes, even though the firms do little actual business there. International discussions on tax issues gained momentum after U.S. President Joe Biden backed the idea of a global minimum of at least 15%  and possibly higher  on corporate profits.

The meeting of finance ministers came ahead of an annual summit of G-7 leaders scheduled for June 11-13 in Cornwall, England. The endorsement from the G-7 could help build momentum for a deal in wider talks among more than 135 countries being held in Paris as well as a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice in July.

Manal Corwin, a tax principal at professional services firm KPMG and a former Treasury Department official, said the meeting had clarified where important countries stood on several key issues, including the 15% minimum.

"Signaling that there is consensus around some of the key features of whats being discussed globally was really, really important so they have the momentum to go to the next phase of this with the G-20," she said.

The tax proposals endorsed Saturday have two main parts. The first part lets countries tax a share of the profits earned by companies that have no physical presence but have substantial sales, for instance through selling digital advertising.

France had launched debate over the issue by imposing its own digital services tax on revenues it deemed to have been earned in France by companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook. Other countries have followed suit. The U.S. considers those national taxes to be unfair trade measures that improperly single out American firms.

Part of the agreement Saturday is that other countries would repeal their unilateral digital taxes in favor of a global agreement.

Facebooks vice-president for global affairs, Nick Clegg, said the deal is a big step toward increasing business certainty and raising public confidence in the global tax system but acknowledged it could cost the company.

We want the international tax reform process to succeed and recognize this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places, Clegg said on Twitter.

The G-7 statement echoes a U.S. proposal to let countries tax part of the earnings of the "largest and most profitable multinational enterprises  digital or not  if they are doing business within their borders. It supported awarding countries the right to tax 20% or more of local profits exceeding a 10% profit margin.

Yellen, asked if she had given her European counterparts assurances that large U.S. tech firms would be included, said the agreement will include large profitable firms, and I believe those firms will qualify by almost any definition.

The other main part of the proposal is for countries to tax their home companies' overseas profits at a rate of at least 15%. That would deter the practice of using accounting schemes to shift profits to a few very low-tax countries because earnings untaxed overseas would face a top-up tax in the headquarters country.

At home, Biden is proposing a 21% U.S. tax rate on companies' overseas earnings, an increase from the 10.5%-13.125% enacted under former President Donald Trump. Even if the U.S. rate winds up higher than the global minimum, the difference would be small enough to eliminate most room for tax avoidance. Biden's proposal requires congressional approval.

KPMG's Corwin said the final statement was silent on several key points, including exactly which of the largest and most profitable multinationals would be covered by the proposal and how companies would be protected from double-billing if countries disagree on who has the right to tax them. Those complexities are fodder for the G-20 talks and the ongoing Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development talks in Paris.

The devil is in the details, Corwin said.

The Group of 7 is an informal forum among Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States. European Union representatives also attend. Its decisions are not legally binding, but leaders can use the forum to exert political influence.

___

McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.
AP

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  Law enforcement have launched a tip line to help find a missing Iowa boy who vanished from a rural Iowa trailer park days before his 11th birthday.

The FBI and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are hoping the digital tip line will help in the search for Xavior Harrelson, The Des Moines Register reported.
When Arthur Castro was born, doctors could immediately tell something was wrong. The color of his skin belied trouble with his heart that hadn't been picked up on several ultrasounds typical of a routine pregnancy.

"His oxygen was very low. He was very purple and blue, and they had to revive him (with CPR)," his mom, Sophia Castro, said. "As soon as I delivered him, they just took him."

Tests at the small hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona, revealed multiple congenital heart defects that would need to be monitored and eventually require open-heart surgery.

Arthur was born with aortic and mitral valve stenosis with coarctation. In other words, he had narrowed valves, and blood didn't flow properly throughout his body. It made his heart work harder, which can cause fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain and a rapid, fluttering heartbeat. His aorta, the heart's major artery carrying blood to the body, also was narrowed.

The newborn was home for only a few weeks when he appeared to have a cold. Sophia took him to the doctor. The problem was the narrow aorta; not enough blood was getting to the rest of his body. He was flown to a larger hospital in Phoenix for an emergency surgery.

Doctors feared Arthur wouldn't live long enough to even reach the operating room. They also feared he wouldn't survive the operation. The challenge was his small size.

Using an improvised ballooning technique, the surgeon was able to open the aorta.

One month later, Arthur got sick again. Doctors again repaired his narrowed aorta, this time a different surgeon used a different technique.

When Arthur was very young, his family moved to the Inland Empire area of Southern California, where his parents and extended family helped take care of him. He lived a fairly typical life for several years. The exceptions were limitations on exercise, sugar and caffeine, and having to wear a heart monitor after episodes of an irregular heartbeat.

At 12, Arthur complained of headaches, so doctors ordered a CT scan of his brain. It revealed he'd suffered a stroke that damaged his optic nerve. His ophthalmologist told him it likely happened during surgery as a baby. While Arthur had been wearing glasses for years, he didn't realize the severity of damage to his peripheral vision.

"Little signs were there like bumping into things or not even being able to see change on the floor," Arthur said. "I would trip over things."

Despite his limited vision, Arthur  who is now 21  makes the most of what he can see.

"Believe it or not, I'm a legally blind photographer," said Arthur, who runs an arts magazine that he launched two years ago. "I still do take photos, and I do portrait photography. I have tunnel vision, so I see only what I'm directly staring at."

Among the things he can't do is drive. That's a challenge for someone living and dating in Southern California.

"I'm hoping self-drivable cars become mainstream soon because, for people like me, it would benefit us a lot," he said. "Depending on others to get around just isn't fun."

Arthur graduated high school a year early and went to college in Northern California. Health problems forced him to return home.

Arthur also has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which can affect the blood flow and cause a rapid heartbeat and fainting, and mast cell activation syndrome, a disease that causes repeated episodes of the symptoms of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction. Additionally, he has obsessive-compulsive disorder in the form of ruminations and distressing, anxious thoughts.

"It's a rollercoaster," he said. "My body definitely takes a toll."

Arthur faced one of his biggest challenges last August: open-heart surgery during the pandemic.

Doctors determined he needed a new aortic valve, so they replaced his old one with his pulmonary valve, then put a tissue valve in his pulmonary valve's place. He was hospitalized for five days following the surgery. He wrote about the experience for his magazine. A cousin created cover art for the issue showing a bare-chested Arthur and his scar.

Arthur also uses social media to connect with fellow members of the chronic illness community, the arts community and the gay community. He took to Instagram to bring awareness to congenital heart defects on the American Heart Association's National Wear Red Day. He also found a community of heart defect survivors through Facebook groups. He's currently taking classes at a community college.

"I'm trying to explore avenues of becoming a licensed clinical social worker," he said. "I have so much experience with all these different conditions, why not help other people?"

Advice he would share with others facing a similar journey is to persevere, have compassion for yourself and try to be happy.

"I noticed from everything I have been through I have not allowed myself to truly be happy," said Arthur, who hopes one day to find a boyfriend and true love. "I fear happiness because then I have something to lose. I'm trying to get out of survival mode and allow myself to feel peace. Be kind to yourself and allow happiness in again. We deserve it."

Stories From the Heart chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.

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SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP)  A Southern California man who killed his wife and propped up her body on a sofa as her children opened Christmas presents was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison.

William Wallace, 39, of Anaheim was convicted of second-degree murder earlier this year for the 2011 killing of ZaZell Preston, 26.

Authorities said Preston suffered repeated abuse from Wallace during the marriage.

Preston's mother spoke at his sentencing hearing, the Orange County Register reported.

He beat and tortured my daughter and at the same time mentally assassinated her children, Saidell Preston said. He showed her no mercy. Lets show him no mercy.

Prosecutors said Preston was taking college classes in hopes of becoming a domestic violence counselor when she was fatally beaten on Dec. 24 or early Dec. 25 in 2011 by Wallace, who already had served jail time for beating her.

Prosecutors said the couple had gone to a neighbors Christmas Eve party, and a neighbor described hearing an argument later that night.

The next morning, according to the prosecution, Wallace dragged his wifes body from the bedroom to the living room couch, placed sunglasses on her and told the children: Mommy ruined Christmas, she got drunk and ruined Christmas.

He then had them open their Christmas presents, authorities said.

Wallaces attorney argued that Preston died from injuries after she drunkenly tripped and fell into a glass table, shattering it.

Preston was slumped over on the couch when paramedics arrived. She left a 7-week-old son and two daughters from a previous relationship, who were then 3 and 8 years old.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  Family members of a young woman whose rape and murder remains an unsolved mystery nearly 40 years after her death say they are cautiously optimistic a renewed round of interviews in the case could bring police closer to finding out what happened to her.

Santa Fe beauty school student Teal Pittington disappeared in the summer of 1984.

A passing motorist discovered her body nine months later in a culvert near Lamy, so badly decomposed she had to be identified with dental records.

The state Office of the Medical Investigator said Pittingtons death  among the most notorious in Santa Fe in the 1980s  was a homicide, ruling an unknown assailant(s) had raped the woman and strangled her with her own bra.

Over the years, the case  which began as a missing persons investigation by the Santa Fe Police Department and was transferred to New Mexico State Police when her body was discovered outside city limits  grew colder and colder.

Key pieces of evidence, including the potential murder weapon, Pittingtons undergarment, have gone missing. And in 2020, Pittingtons live-in boyfriend, Marion Owen Jent, once considered a prime suspect in the case, died.

Still, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports that investigators have never stopped trying to close the case and conducted new interviews this year  thanks in part to persistent pressure from Pittingtons family members, who have refused to stop believing her killer might someday be brought to justice.

Youre always hopeful, said Pittingtons father, John J. Pittington, 76, of Los Lunas. You always hope they will figure out who did it. Thats always on my mind. But you know, were talking 36 years.  Im hopeful, but then again Im not gonna hold my breath.

___

The beginnings

The state police case file on Teal Pittingtons death  many typed pages created in an age before computers were common  provides a glimpse of what life was like for the young woman living in Santa Fe decades ago.

She attended Vogue College of Cosmetology, where the uniform was blue pants, white shirt, smock and closed-toe shoes, the report says. She worked nights at a local pizza place, where, her manager told police, he suspected she was dealing marijuana as well.

She had many male admirers, according to witnesses interviewed by police  including Jent, with whom she lived in a house on Declovina Street with a rotating roster of roommates. Some had criminal records.

Police discovered early on that Pittington and another young woman, Tamara Britton, who vanished about a week before Pittingtons disappearance, had both lived with and dated Jent, then 20.

Pittington was living with Jent when she disappeared, according to the police file, and hed been seen driving her car several days later.

The story became more complex when investigators learned Britton had been living under an assumed name and Social Security number, one belonging to an infant who had died in 1959 in Wisconsin.

Jent reportedly passed two polygraph exams related to the Pittington case and was never charged. He later left the state and was convicted of drug and property crimes in Florida and Idaho, but he was never charged with any violent crimes.

Investigators contacted Jent in 2018, state police spokesman Dusty Francisco said, but he declined to be interviewed.

Brittons fate and true identity remain unknown.

___

A little movement

Gladys Waltman, Pittingtons aunt by marriage, said its her understanding investigators reinterviewed state prison inmate David Bruce Morton about the case in April.

Morton is serving time for having killed two other young Santa Fe women in the mid-1980s. He also has been convicted of killing a woman in Texas, according to previous reports.

Francisco confirmed investigators from the state police Cold Case Homicide Unit have interviewed one person and plan to conduct more interviews.

There are other persons of interest in this case, although none of them are considered suspects at this time, he wrote in an email.

Francisco wrote state police would not identify the people investigators interview, adding he couldnt provide more detail because the case is still an active investigation.

There are no recent developments that would bring the case closer to resolution, he wrote.

This isnt the first time Mortons name has surfaced in the Pittington investigation.

Santa Fe police Detective Tony Trujillo  who worked the case in the late 1980s and has kept up with it over the years  told The New Mexican in 2017 he suspected Morton was involved in or knew something about Pittingtons death.

He recalled interviewing Morton about the case in 2003, when Morton was doing time in a Texas prison.

I asked him about Teal Pittington, Trujillo said in the 2017 interview. He stared off to the side, and he said, I remember her. She was a cute little thing. 

Trujillo said Morton told him he and a friend used to visit Pittington at the pizza place where she worked, and if Trujillo wanted to know what happened to Pittington, he should find that man, who could be in Texas.

Waltman said she has been given a name of a person in Texas police intend to interview. The New Mexican is not publishing his name because he has not been charged or named a suspect in the case.

Trujillo said in a recent phone interview it wasnt his place to say who state police had interviewed. But he said he believes investigators could still crack the Pittington case.

Its a very solvable case, Trujillo said, adding many cold cases are being unraveled using DNA analysis that didnt exist at the time of the crime.

Unfortunately, he said, that wont help in Pittingtons case because much of the physical evidence has been lost over the years.

State police in 2017 told The New Mexican the agency was still hoping to locate the bra that might have been used to strangle Pittington. But the bra and other missing items still havent been found.

___

A family mystery

Pittingtons short life and tragic and mysterious death have continued to haunt Waltman and other family members  including some who never met her.

Waltman, who lives in Albuquerque, said she has spent much of her free time since retiring in 2019 sifting through evidence in the case and keeping in touch with investigators to ensure they are still looking for Pittingtons killer.

She said she met with new case agent Mark Jackson and Trujillo in January, and she has called every month since to see if there has been any progress.

I want them to know that people still care, she said in a recent phone interview.

Nothing will bring Pittington back, Waltman said, but knowing what happened to her could bring the family some closure.

Closure is not finding out there is a mummified body at (the Office of the Medical Examiner) that has to be identified, she said.

Waltman said her older sister, Melinda Waltman, married Teal Pittingtons father when the girl was about 6. Gladys Waltman was only 5 years older, and the two girls became close.

She was such a sweet, sweet young person, Waltman said. She maintained such a positive personality. We got into shenanigans together. She was so fun. She had a lovely laugh and sincere smile.

She spent a lot of time at our mothers house, Waltman said. There were not a lot of grandparent figures in her life. Her mother moved around a lot  so the stable influence was my mother, and they had a great relationship. Thats what caused me to pursue this.

Waltman said that when Pittington first went missing, she and her mother drove up and down Interstate 25 searching rest stop bathrooms for any clues  hoping to find etchings on bathroom walls that could lead to her whereabouts.

Waltman said she doesnt know if the recent round of interviews will lead police to Pittingtons killer, but they are giving me hope that its not closed and that if information comes about they will pursue it.

Erica Bellar, a cousin on Pittingtons paternal side who lives in Colorado, also has taken interest in the case. She said she and her sister want to produce a multipart podcast about Pittingtons life and death to preserve what memories and evidence do exist.

Bellar, 47, is John Pittingtons great-niece. She said family members are far-flung and she didnt even know Teal Pittington existed until her death.

Bellar was 10 at the time and said she remembers hearing the adults talking about what had happened, though never openly.

Probably my parents and grandparents interpreted it as being painful for (John Pittington) if it was brought up, she said in a recent phone interview.

As a kid, I would hear bits and pieces, but I really didnt understand it. I actually grew up thinking Ted Bundy had killed my cousin.  It wasnt until much later, when I grew up and started looking into stuff, that I realized that wasnt true. It was something I was very curious about. Plus, the forbidden nature of even asking questions made me want to understand what actually happened.

My sister and I have followed Teals case as adults because we didnt want her memory or the memory of what happened to her to be forgotten, Bellar wrote in an email.

Teal Pittingtons mother, Julie Keating, said she quit her job to search for her daughter after Teals disappearance and even hired a psychic to help at one point. But in a phone interview from her home in Oregon, she said she gave up calling to check on the case years ago.

Its very troubling, said Keating, 79. I do wonder about it, but I just kind of came to the conclusion that if its meant for me to know something I will. I think thats the excuse I gave myself because I dont know what to do."

Im hopeful, she said upon hearing police had begun a new round of interviews in the case. But it would really surprise me if anything came of it. Ive just learned how to live with (it). I just put it in Gods hands.
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. (AP)  A New York man told a jury Friday that he spent two nights trying to cover up the 2019 killing of a woman he beat to death with a baseball bat and sledgehammer at an upstate deli where she had been an employee.

James Duffy, who has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, said deli owner George Kakavelos paid him $800 to kill Allyzibeth Lamont because the 22-year-old had complained to the state Department of Labor about his practice of paying employees off the books.

The Daily Gazette reports Duffy testified for more than four hours Friday at Saratoga County Court about their efforts to conceal Lamont's death, including burying her in a shallow grave in the town of Malta, 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Johnstown.

Duffy is to be sentenced to 18 years to life in prison in exchange for testifying against Kakavelos, the newspaper reported.

Kakavelos' defense attorney, Kevin OBrien, called the state's case a disaster," adding Lamont's death was a heinous crime that was orchestrated and done solely by James Duffy.

The government has bought what this drunk, self-serving crackhead has sold them to get a better deal for himself, O'Brien told The Associated Press. Now the prosecutors will have to watch as I destroy Duffy and the governments case in front of the jury.

Lamont went missing after an October 2019 shift at the Local No. 9 deli in Johnstown and was found three days later. An autopsy found she died of multiple blows to the head.

Duffy, 35, recalled cutting off the woman's clothing before placing fertilizer, concrete, cement pavers and dirt over her. He and Kakavelos then put leaves, grass and branches over the grave, he said.

I asked him to help me  he was really hesitant," Duffy testified. "Said he didnt want to see her face, it would haunt him.

Duffy, who managed the deli, told a Saratoga County jury that Kakavelos, 52, had been a role model to him and always taken care of me. He said Kakavelos organized Lamont's killing.

Kakavelos has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. His trial resumes Monday.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  An attorney for a man charged with two felonies after being shot by a Richmond police officer asked the judge in the case to recuse himself, but the judge refused.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that attorney Katherine Poindexter alleged in court Friday that Judge David Eugene Cheek Sr. had already made up his mind and that she fears her client, Orlando Carter Jr., may not get a fair trial.

The judge denied any bias or partiality on his part.

I will try this case, and I will try it fairly, he said.

Carter, 27, was shot three times by a police officer after a vehicle pursuit through Richmonds East End on Dec. 31. Carter was charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, as well as eluding police.

In court Friday, amid tense exchanges between the defense attorney and the judge, Poindexter said some of the facts of the case are very much in dispute.

Poindexter said Carter was shot three times in the back, something she said is inconsistent with the prosecutions theory that Carter was pointing a gun at officer Ja-Ontay Wilson when Carter was shot.

Whether Carter was in possession of a gun at the time is a key issue in the case, but Poindexter alleged that Cheek already had decided that Carter had a gun.

On Friday, Cheek maintained that all the evidence that I had is that he had a gun and he had a record.

Cheek pointed out that at an earlier bond hearing, he ruled in Carters favor regarding the $20,000 personal recognizance bond.

I havent found him guilty, the judge said. I gave him a bond; that would be inconsistent."

After Fridays hearing, Poindexter said shes now considering withdrawing herself from the case.

If your relationship with your client or the court deteriorates to the point that you can no longer be effective or zealous in his defense, you have to ask the question if you should step aside," she said.
DETROIT (AP)  After five trips to the Michigan appeals court, a prison sentence for a fire that killed a Detroit firefighter might be settled 13 years later.

The court on Thursday affirmed a 30-year sentence for Mario Willis, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2008 death of firefighter Walt Harris.
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP)  Its been nine months since Ashley LaCour and her family have slept in their home on Lake Calcasieu just south of Lake Charles.

The family of six evacuated in late August, days before Hurricane Laura barreled through southwest Louisiana, causing more than $19 billion in damages.

Now theyre getting ready to return, just in time for another hurricane season to start.

(The storms) are coming, she said. Its just a matter of when.

Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predict the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which started June 1, to be above normal with 13-20 named storms.

Despite a prediction for an above-average hurricane season, 2021 is not expected to be as active as 2020, which saw five storms make landfall in Louisiana.

SO MUCH TRIAGING GOING ON IN MY MIND

Ashley and Lucas LaCour grew up near Alexandria. The couple married and lived about a mile away from where they graduated high school. Lucas LaCour was a pastor at a church for about 11 years.

When they felt that season of their lives coming to an end, they looked for a home on Lake Calcasieu, also known as Big Lake.

Its a restful and peaceful place, the 40-year-old said. They had looked years before but didnt find anything until August 2018.

Our dream in life was to move to this community, LaCour said.

It took about a year for the family to remodel the home, sitting on 14-foot stilts about 8 miles south of Lake Charles in a neighborhood with about 40 houses. They moved in September 2019.

The LaCours four children could run crab traps in the morning. It was a perfect spot for husband Lucas, who loves to fish. They love their neighbors, who have become like family.

Ashley would wake up, look at the lake and think, How do we get to live here?

Eleven months after the family moved in, Hurricane Laura was headed their way. They packed up the important documents, took pictures of the house and major appliances, loaded into one car and headed to Baton Rouge. They took their camper, which Lucas had just considered selling earlier that month.

The night Laura made landfall, Ashley and Lucas stayed up all night watching the storm coverage. They watched as the eyewall passed over their home. As soon as the sun came up the next morning, they returned.

When they arrived, they found the roof had been ripped off. Siding was missing from the house. It hadnt shifted, but the familys passenger van had been moved over three feet.

It was just a nightmare. I didnt think it was going to be that bad. Its just mind-blowing, Ashley said. There was so much triaging going on in my mind. I started prioritizing things.

The first thing she grabbed was her great-grandmothers antique blanket. It was still on the couples bed  saturated.

Most of their sons things were gone from their upstairs bedrooms, strewn from the house when winds took the roof. Boxes that had been stuffed in the attic for safekeeping  Christmas decorations and memorabilia from the childrens time in school  were lost in the marsh somewhere.

LOSING HOMES, SCHOOLS IN ONE SWOOP

Families like the LaCours lost not only their homes and belongings to fall storms, but also their schools in many cases. Due to significant damage to school buildings and lack of electricity for weeks, students in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes couldnt start the school year as planned, which already was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Calcasieu Parish School District, which serves about 33,000 students, planned to open schools Aug. 24, the week Hurricane Laura was making its way toward land. The storm caused fairly significant damage to 74 of the districts 76 campuses, which includes schools, maintenance buildings and offices, Superintendent Karl Bruchhaus said.

While temporary roofs were put on and generators used to dry out facilities, students took classes virtually or on paper packets.

We tried to keep it moving the best we could instructionally, Bruchhaus said.

The district reopened 15 of its 60 schools for face-to-face instruction Oct. 2, and just over a week later, Hurricane Delta made landfall in southwest Louisiana.

(Schools) took on so much water because they had temporary roofs, Bruchhaus said. It was a mess.

Next door in Cameron Parish, students made it to school for five days before the area was forced to evacuate for Laura. With major damage to facilities and most residents displaced, school was put on hold while administration worked toward virtual capabilities.

As Delta began to barrel toward Cameron, school leaders hosted drive-thrus for families to pick up an internet hotspot and a device for students to learn remotely. Through sharing facilities, some schools were able to open for in-person instruction in late October and November.

Calcasieu was able to reopen all of its schools to students, although some parts of buildings have remained closed, the superintendent said. Now the district is moving toward more permanent fixes, with 125 projects in the bidding process and 14 different architects working in the school system.

Its a long and exhausting process thats far from over, and it shows, he said.

Everybody tried to toughen up and get through what we needed to get through, Bruchhaus said. Now that were approaching the end of the year, people are just drained, not just physically but emotionally.

Its hard to describe, he continued. I know what all of our people are feeling. COVID was traumatic in its own right. Everything else (hurricanes, winter storm, recent flooding) was just overwhelming, and theyre feeling it now.

NEW SEASON, NEW STORMS

As June 1 approached, Louisiana residents knew to anticipate a new hurricane season, which is expected to be above normal, said Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist and co-founder of WeatherTiger.

The good news, though, is it shouldnt be as bad as last year.

I dont think were going to see another 2020, Truchelut said. I certainly hope and expect it will not be as bad for Louisiana as last year, because that was historically unique. Every year is its own year.

But, There are probably slightly higher-than-normal odds of an above-normal season.

No matter the forecast, Truchelut said theres always a need to be prepared.

As it continues to deal with the aftermath of the last hurricane season, Calcasieu Parish school leaders are already making plans for this next one.

Its like we cant really think about it, but we have to, Bruchhaus said. Were doing the usual things. Were meeting, lining up recovery companies.

The prep goes beyond facilities, as the district will be offering many sessions of professional development for its teachers this summer, both in-person and virtually, to train them in a new virtual learning software.

We realized our virtual offerings and software were outdated, Bruchhaus said.

By the fall, educators will be trained in Canvas, which the district purchased this spring, and every student will have a device  an iPad for pre-K-2 and a Dell laptop for grades 3-12 purchased through federal COVID funds  that they can use whether learning in-person or remotely.

We will be in a much better position this time around, with software that can handle it, teachers trained on the software and a device for every student, Bruchhaus said. We will come back full strength next year.

STILL REBUILDING SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA

The LaCours spent about three weeks in their 212-square-foot camper while they fought with their insurance company about whether the house was livable. Going back and forth with the insurance company has been one of the most difficult parts, LaCour said.

Since September, theyve lived in Lafayette, waiting for their house to be repaired. Despite the frustrations, LaCour said she and her family have relied on their faith to help them through.

We learned big lessons about what am I putting my safety and trust in? when the Lord is saying Im your refuge and shelter, she said. That has been the peace our family has experienced. If our foundation is truly in Christ, its unshakeable.

The next storm might take out the foundation, but our foundation is Christ.

Still, LaCour has mixed emotions about the upcoming hurricane season.

I absolutely love the house and where I live, she said. I want to be back.

But what will we do when the next storm comes?
ATHENS, Texas (AP)  An East Texas mayor has resigned after being arrested for online solicitation of a minor.

Athens Mayor James Montgomery resigned on Friday, a day after his arrest during an undercover sting operation, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported.

Montgomery and three other suspects were arrested when they arrived at an undisclosed location after soliciting sex online with investigators posing as minors, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Montgomery, 63, was arrested by Longview police and released Thursday after posting a $300,000 bond. Court records did not list an attorney for Montgomery who could speak on his behalf.

Athens officials said they will appoint an interim mayor within the month. Montgomerys term was not set to end until 2023.

These are very serious allegations and the City of Athens does not take them lightly, the city said in a statement. We are committed to the protection and safety of our children. The City Council will be considering all possible actions as details become available.

Athens is located about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Dallas.
Richard Harris, of West Hartford, was driving behind the trooper when he then drove into the construction pattern at which time it struck the drivers side, of the police vehicle.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The blob, captured on distant, fuzzy video by Navy pilots, seems to skitter just above the ocean waves at improbable speed, with no discernible means of propulsion or lift. Oh my gosh, man, one aviator says to another as they laugh at the oddity. What ... is it?

Is it a bird? A plane? Super drone? An extraterrestrial something?

The U.S. government has been taking a hard look at unidentified flying objects like this one. A report summarizing what the U.S. knows about unidentified aerial phenomena  better known as UFOs  is expected to be made public this month.

There won't be an alien unmasking. Two officials briefed on the report say it found no extraterrestrial link to the sightings reported and captured on video. The report won't rule out a link to another country, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss it.

While the broad conclusions have now been reported, the full report may still present a broader picture of what the government knows. The anticipation surrounding the report shows how a topic normally confined to science fiction and a small, often dismissed group of researchers has hit the mainstream.

Worried about national security threats from adversaries, lawmakers ordered an investigation and public accounting of phenomena that the government has been loath to talk about for generations.

There is stuff flying in our airspace, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, one of the senators who pressed for the probe, recently told Fox News. We don't know what it is. We need to find out.

Congress late last year instructed the director of national intelligence to provide a detailed analysis of unidentified aerial phenomena data from multiple agencies and report in 180 days. That time is about up. The intelligence office wouldn't say this past week when the full document will be out.

The bill passed by Congress asks the intelligence director for any incidents or patterns that indicate a potential adversary may have achieved breakthrough aerospace capabilities that could put United States strategic or conventional forces at risk.

The chief concern is whether hostile countries are fielding aerial technology so advanced and weird that it befuddles and threatens the world's largest military power. But when lawmakers talk about it, they tend to leave themselves a little wiggle room in case it's something else  whether more prosaic than a military rival or, you know, more cosmic.

Right now there are a lot of unanswered questions, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California told NBC this week. "If other nations have capabilities that we dont know of, we want to find out. If there's some explanation other than that, we want to learn that, too.

Luis Elizondo, former head of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, said he didn't believe that the sightings were of a foreign power's technology in part because it would have been nearly impossible to keep that secret. Elizondo has accused the Defense Department of trying to discredit him and says there's much more information that the U.S. has kept classified.

We live in an incredible universe, Elizondo said. Theres all sorts of hypotheses that suggest that the three dimensional universe which we live in isnt quite so easy to explain.

But Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic magazine, is skeptical.

The science historian, a longtime analyst of UFO theories and other phenomena, said hes seen too many blurry images of supposed alien encounters to be convinced by still more blurry footage of blobs from airplanes. This is a time, he notes, when several billion people worldwide have smartphones that take crisp images and satellites precisely render detail on the ground.

Show me the body, show me the spacecraft, or show me the really high quality videos and photographs, he said in an interview. And Ill believe.

Mick West, a prominent researcher of unexplained phenomena and debunker of conspiracy theories, said it was right for the government to investigate and report on the potential national security implications of sightings captured in now-declassified videos.

Any time there is some kind of unidentified object coming through military airspace, thats a real issue that needs to be looked into, he told AP.

But the videos, even though theyre showing unidentified objects, theyre not showing amazing unidentified objects.

Pilots and sky-watchers have long reported sporadic sightings of UFOs in U.S. airspace, seemingly at unusual speeds or trajectories. In most cases, those mysteries evaporate under examination.

In 1960, the CIA said 6,500 objects had been reported to the U.S. Air Force over the prior 13 years. The Air Force concluded there was no evidence those sightings were inimical or hostile or related to "interplanetary space ships," the CIA said.

Reports of UFOs have, of course, persisted since then. Some people who study the topic argue investigations have been limited by the stigma of being linked to conspiracy theories or talk of little green men storming Earth. They note that the government has a history of stonewalling and lying about the unexplained.

It took 50 years for the government to offer what it hoped was a full debunking of claims that alien bodies were recovered at a crash site in New Mexico in 1947. In 1997, the Air Force said the Roswell "bodies were dummies used in parachute tests, recent ancestors of the car-crash dummies of today.

Retired Air Force Col. Richard Weaver, who wrote one of the official reports on the Roswell rumors, tried to assure the public that the government isnt competent enough to cover up a genuine alien sighting. We have a hard time keeping a secret," he said, let alone putting together a decent conspiracy.

A recent turning point came in December 2017, when The New York Times revealed a five-year Pentagon program to investigate UFOs. The Pentagon subsequently released videos, leaked earlier, of military pilots encountering shadowy objects they couldnt identify.

One was the video clip of the aviators tracking the blob above the ocean off the U.S. coast in 2015, dubbed Gofast. In another from that year, labeled Gimbal, an unexplained object is tracked as it soars high along the clouds, traveling against the wind. There's a whole fleet of them, one naval aviator tells another, though only one indistinct object is shown. It's rotating.

In 2019, the Navy announced it would create a formal process for its pilots to report unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs. Last August, the Defense Department created a task force dedicated to the matter. The mission was to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could endanger the U.S.

In an era of increasingly sophisticated drone aircraft, now seen as a risk to sensitive domestic military sites such as nuclear missile bases, the focus has been more on foreign rivals than on any supposed visitors from another planet. Yet the formation of the task force stood as a rare acknowledgment from the government that UFOs posed a potential national security concern.

More recently, a story on CBS 60 Minutes featured the declassified videos and raised questions about what intelligence the U.S. government has.

Rubio, top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and its former chairman, said it is important for investigators to follow up on the reports of its pilots and make the findings public. I am going off what our military men and their radars and their eyesight is telling them, Rubio said. There are multiple highly trained, highly competent people."

Yet things in the sky are very often not what they seem. Shermer rattles off examples of how phenomena that appear otherworldly may be tediously of this Earth.

Ninety to 95% of all UFO sightings," he said, can be explained as weather balloons, flares, sky lanterns, planes flying in formation, secret military aircraft, birds reflecting the sun, planes reflecting the sun, blimps, helicopters, the planets Venus or Mars, meteors or meteorite space junk, satellites, swamp gas ... ball lightning, ice crystals reflecting light off clouds, lights on the ground or lights reflected on a cockpit window, temperature inversions, punch clouds.

For any of these things to be real, we need something more than these grainy videos and blurry photographs, he said.

"We need really some hard evidence, extraordinary evidence, because this would be one of the most extraordinary claims ever if it was true.

___

Associated Press video journalists Dan Huff and Nathan Ellgren and AP National Security Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Taliban insurgents show no sign of reducing the level of violence in Afghanistan to facilitate peace negotiations with the government, and appear to be trying to strengthen their military position as leverage, with the unprecedented violence" of 2020 carrying into 2021, U.N. experts said in a new report circulated Friday.

The panel of experts said the Taliban are reported to be responsible for the great majority of assassinations that have become a feature of the violence in Afghanistan, targeting government officials, women, human rights defenders and journalists among others. These attacks appear to be undertaken with the objective of weakening the capacity of the government and intimidating civil society,it said.

In the 22-page report to the U.N. Security Council, the panel said the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces by Sept. 11, the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, will challenge Afghan forces by limiting aerial operations with fewer drones and radar and surveillance capabilities, less logistical support and artillery, as well as a disruption in training.

The Taliban were ousted from power in Afghanistan in 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition for harboring Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11 attacks.

A peace deal that Washington brokered with the Taliban and signed in February 2020 was aimed at bringing American troops home and ending more than four decades of relentless wars following the 1979 Afghan invasion by forces from the former Soviet Union.

Negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan representatives began last September in Doha, Qatar and continued earlier this year. But the Taliban announced on April 13 -- a day before President Joe Bidens announcement that all U.S. troops would leave by Sept. 11 -- that it would not take part in any conference intended to decide the future of Afghanistan until all foreign troops were gone.

The U.N. experts, who monitor sanctions against the Taliban, predicted more violence in the run-up to their departure.

Taliban rhetoric and reports of active Taliban preparations for the spring fighting season indicate the group is likely to increase military operations for 2021, whether or not a spring offensive is announced, they said.

The experts also questioned how Afghan forces would fare without coalition support.

Afghan forces have successfully reversed many Taliban gains with the assistance of international coalition close air support, but have done so with heavy casualty rates, they said. It remains to be seen how Afghan forces will perform without it.

The panel of experts painted a grim picture of the violence in Afghanistan, which had been expected to decrease in 2020 but instead soared to the highest level ever recorded by the United Nations in the country  more than 25,000 incidents, a 10% increase over 2019.

Violence surged as the Doha talks began, the experts said, and incident rates in the usually calmer winter were higher than those in the spring or summer of 2020.

Unprecedented violence over the winter carried into 2021, with 7,177 security incidents recorded countrywide between Jan. 1 and March 31, representing a 61 percent increase over the same period in 2020, they said.

The panel said the number of Taliban fighters remains robust, with estimates ranging from about 58,000 to 100,000.

The panel said many sources its members spoke to  which include governments  believe the Taliban used the 2020 fighting season to further strengthen strangleholds around several provincial capitals, seeking to shape future military operations when levels of departing foreign troops are no longer able to respond.

While no one claimed responsibility for most assassinations, the experts said it is widely believed that approximately 85 percent of them were carried out by the Taliban. The U.N. recorded an increase in reported assassinations from 780 in 2019 to 996 in 2020, the report said.

As part of the U.S.-Taliban deal, the Taliban was supposed to reduce violence and part ways with al-Qaida, the extremist group that the Taliban sheltered prior to the 9/11 attacks.

But the experts said ties between the Taliban and al-Qaida remain close, based on ideological alignment, relationships forged through common struggle and intermarriage.

The Taliban has begun to tighten its control over al-Qaida by gathering information on foreign terrorist fighters and registering and restricting them, the panel said. However, it has not made any concessions in this regard that it could not easily and quickly reverse, and it is impossible to assess with confidence that the Taliban will live up to its commitment to suppress any future international threat emanating from al-Qaida in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaida is reported to number from several dozen to 500 people, mainly nationals from north Africa and the Middle East, it said.

The experts said al-Qaida and other militants continue to celebrate developments in Afghanistan as a victory for the Talibans cause and thus for global radicalism.

According to U.N. member states, al-Qaida is present in at least 15 provinces primarily in the east, south and southeast and a significant part of its leadership remains based in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, the panel said. Its leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, is believed to be located somewhere in the border region, it said.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffes signature exuberance was on full display as he campaigned on Memorial Day weekend in downtown Petersburg, cracking jokes in a beauty salon, leading a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, and breaking into a dance on a sidewalk.

I want everybody to know we are back here in Virginia, and were going to be stronger than weve ever been. We are going to lead the nation out of this COVID crisis, he told a crowd of supporters and spectators that began chanting his name.

In his quest for a second term, McAuliffe heads into Tuesdays five-way Democratic primary with an undeniable lead in public polling, name recognition, endorsements and money. But the question facing voters in the primary election is whether the political veteran with decades of experience is the right man for the moment in a state and nation deeply divided and in the throes of unsettling change.

In Virginia, Democrats assumed full control of state government in 2020, two years after McAuliffe left office, and pushed through sweeping change, from gun control to police reform to marijuana legalization to an increase in the minimum wage, transforming what was once a reliably red state into an outlier in the South.

McAuliffe is an old-school politician who cut his teeth working on President Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign and later led the Democratic National Committee. If he wins the nomination hell face a tough GOP challenger from Northern Virginia who has the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and vast personal wealth to boost his campaign.

Thats not a matchup in tune with the times or that bodes well for Democrats, say McAuliffes two leading primary opponents  a well-respected veteran state senator and an energetic former state delegate both looking for a shot to become the nations first Black woman governor.

Virginians deserve better than two millionaire out-of-touch politicians at the top of the ticket, Jennifer Carroll Foy, who stepped down last year from her state House seat to focus on her run for governor, said in an interview.

On the campaign trail earlier this week in Hampton Roads, she doubled down on that line of attack.

The wealthy and well-connected have a lot of representation in Richmond. But what about us in our community? said the 39-year-old Carroll Foy, as she appeared with the father of a young Black man killed by police in Virginia Beach in March. We need someone whos gone to church and worshipped where we worship, gone to our schools, breathed our air and drank our water, who understands the struggles that we face because shes lived them.

State Sen. Jennifer McClellan called out McAuliffe in a recent debate, saying the Democrats need a nominee who will excite and expand the base.

McClellan, an attorney who has served in the legislature since 2006, has worked diligently over the years to help craft and deliver much of the reform legislation that now defines Virginia. She said her campaign has spoken to over 100,000 voters, interactions that leave her confident Virginians are ready for change.

This is not a conventional wisdom moment, and we need someone who is not a conventional wisdom candidate, McClellan, 48, said in an interview.

The field of five Democrats also includes Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Del. Lee Carter, a self-described socialist, who embraces a move away from establishment politics and even more sweeping social change such as statewide universal health care and reparations for Black and indigenous Virginians.

McAuliffes opponents like to point out that he lost the Democratic primary during his first run in 2009 and won the general election in 2013 by just two points. They say he puts the party at risk in a rare off-year election that will be closely scrutinized as a bellwether for the national mid-term elections.

Voters like Richard Averitt, an independent-voting never Trumper, say so, too. He is a landowner along the path of the now-scuttled Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which McAuliffe backed during his first term. He has donated to and volunteered for Carroll Foy, saying he was impressed by her track record, grit and early promise not to take money from lobbying powerhouse Dominion Energy.

I truly believe she will vote to represent the people and not the corporations, said Averitt, who predicted McAuliffe would lose the general if tapped as the nominee.

McAuliffe, 64, has promised if elected again to create the nations best economy and education system, and hes attracted a broad swath of endorsements from community leaders and 350 elected officials, including Gov. Ralph Northam and nearly half the legislative Black caucus.

Theres also a sense of immense gratitude for his role in 2019 in helping Democrats retake control of the House majority, which positioned them to enact the transformative policy changes unimaginable during his own term.

There is nobody that worked harder, House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn said.

In an interview outside a Petersburg soul food restaurant, the former governor made the case that beating the GOP's nominee, Glenn Youngkin, who has the ability to self-fund a substantial portion of his campaign, will take someone with fundraising prowess and the ability to build a broad coalition.

Im the one whos proven in the campaign that I can do it, he said.

Thats a message that resonates with voters like George C.W. Lyons, a pastor in Petersburg, who said he was impressed with this years broad field of Democratic candidates. But Lyons said McAuliffe was his pick because of the experience, the track record of somebody whos been in it before.

Lyons said voters will get their say Tuesday on whether McAuliffe is trying to stand in the way of others offering a fresher perspective. But for him personally?

I want him to win by a landslide, he said.
WESTERLY, R.I. (AP)  Westerly's zoning board has approved modifications to terms of a permit issued to a medical marijuana grow facility in town that had been accused of violating its original permit.

The amendments approved by the Zoning Board of Review became necessary when South County Cultivators Inc. was issued a notice of violation and cease-and-desist order last year alleging that it started operations without meeting terms of its original planning and zoning approval, The Westerly Sun reported Thursday.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP)  Olivia Neville still remembers the time her father, Richard, was in the kitchen wrestling with the lid of a spice container when:

All of a sudden, he said, Ive got an idea for work, and picked up the phone to call it in, she said.

While the Newport News Shipbuilding engineer cant always talk much about what he does  although the family enjoys tales of trips to the Bahamas and Alaska to work on ships  Olivia says its hard to miss his enthusiasm for what he does.

She just graduated from the College of William & Mary, thanks in part to one of the 750 scholarships awarded by the Huntington Ingalls Industries Scholarship Fund since the shipyards parent company set it up in 2016. The funds scholarship awards total more than $2 million; it is funded primarily by HII President and CEO Mike Petters decision to decline his annual salary, all but for $1.

Ten recipients have gone on to work for HII, either at the Newport News shipyard, the companys Mississippi shipyard or its fast-growing Technical Solutions Division.

Olivia Neville knew early on that she wanted to work at the shipyard  even though she figured her experience with high school physics suggested she shouldnt follow her dads hints about an engineering career.

I knew from my dad it was a good place to work, she said.

Richard Nevilles high school physics teacher got him started on what is now a 35-year career at the shipyard. That teacher introduced his student to a shipyard official; Richard kept the mans business card and, graduating a few years later with an engineering degree from North Carolina State, gave him a call.

Family or community connections are often the way the shipyards multi-generation employees arrive  shipyard president Jennifer Boykin has said shes proud that there are fourth-generation shipyard workers.

And Richard Neville is excited that Olivia wont be the only member of his family working at the yard. His son Philip is on track for a job in one of the yards many skilled trades, he said.

Olivia, who earned 65 college credits as a high school student through dual enrollment courses at Richard Bland College, is the third of Richard and Helen Nevilles seven children to earn an HII scholarship. Her older sister, Susan, is a nurse, and brother Andrew studied business, as she did.

Shes been working a co-op job in the yards contract and pricing section  a unit her dad says he learned is one of the most important at the shipyard from his early days working as a designer for the Seawolf submarine and the DDG-1000 destroyer.

Theyre the ones who make what we do possible, he said. Some of the people he met are senior staff in Olivias department now.

These days, he brings his training and years of experience working on acoustics and vibration in ships to the shipyards waterfront engineering team, working side-by-side with technicians and trades employees.

Yes, we do listen to ships with stethoscopes, he said. Not like your doctors, though.

What he hears  and with one experimental digital system can sees with the vibrations that the systems sensors reveal  can diagnose potential faults with carrier and submarine engines and mechanical systems.

After 35 years, theres still always something new, something to learn, he said.

It was, in fact, something he sensed when opening that spice container, that helped him figure out a mysterious vibration that had until then stumped him and his team.

When I tell that story to people who know my dad, Olivia says. They all say: Yeah, thats Richard.
Its an early Wednesday afternoon and Im speaking with Roberto Trevino, one of San Antonios boldest progressives currently in elected office, about the final stretch of his District 1 council runoff against environmental activist Mario Bravo.

To start, I ask Trevino to list the core values that would sum up the essence of his six and a half years on the dais.

They are compassion, equity, and simply being thoughtful about everyone, he says via phone with a warm, raspy voice.

Trevino, 50, faced five challengers in last months election. Of the 12,569 in-district ballots counted, the incumbent earned 44.9 percent of the vote (5,645 votes) and Bravo registered 33.6 percent (4,225 votes), resulting in Saturdays runoff.

As an outspoken housing advocate, Trevino has fought for initiatives like the Under 1 Roof program and the Citys emergency housing assistance program. Addressing the issue of homelessness has been a top priority throughout his tenure, however, his approach to solving the matter has drawn sharp criticism from some D1 residents.

Among his accomplishments has been his efforts to protect small businesses through hospitality relief programs, which has prevented many pandemic-related closures.

READ MORE: Catching up with District 2 Council candidate Jalen McKee-Rodriguez

As a councilman, you want to be that bridge to find a way to connect your community with resources to get them access [to assistance]," he says.

Regardless of the electoral outcome, Trevino believes hes made a difference in the way local government operates.

City Hall will never be the same again, he says. Now it is an ultra-accessible City Hall. [Thats] because of me.

Ahead of the election, the citizen-architect paved his own way as the only council member to support Proposition B, the ballot measure to repeal the police unions collective bargaining power, and also endorsed progressive Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, the opponent of his District 2 colleague, Jada Andrews-Sullivan, because the candidates views on equity and housing were in step with his own.

READ MORE: Hidden mural uncovered at San Antonio museum after 10 years

I think Jalen [and I have] worked on similar issues, he says. We provide a voice to people who feel like they are voiceless.

Perhaps the most-circulated upbraiding of Trevinos work was his handling of the $450 million Alamo Plaza redevelopment project.

On this point, he seems happy to set the record straight.

The [Alamo Plaza] project, as agreed upon by [all participating committees], was blocked politically by the Texas Historical Commission, effectively cancelling out a great project, he says. The disagreement that I had was that City management came up with a solution where the City would pay for improvements on State-controlled property. The fight wasnt over the Cenotaph. I realize the Cenotaph cant move.

The City, he explains, will be spending more money in the end.

Its a stand [I took] based on every [principle] weve talked about: Our need for more housing, our need to help the homeless, our need to help small business, and our need to improve infrastructure. All those things cost money, so why would we spend our money on State-controlled property? Answer me that.

When he can take a break from the campaign, Trevino enjoys spending time with his family and Captain, his German shepherd, who pops up on my Instagram feed on occasion.

Its a reminder that theres people that love [and] care about you, he says.

But now, hes razor-focused on this high-stakes runoff.

A fourth term is very important to me because of all these programs that Ive started that I want to see through, he says.

I tell him that the road to get there seems like a lot of hard work.

It is, he says heartily. But its worth it.
Bill Maher kicked off the June 4th edition of Real Time with an opening monologue touching on a range of subjects that had been in the news lately, ranging from UFO sightings to Pride Month. But things really kicked into gear when he was able to revisit the public figure whod given him the most material in recent years. Former government employee Donald Trump is in the news, Maher began  and segued from there to a long discussion over Trumps vote recount obsession.



But that is not what Americans are worried about. Theyre worried about their meat! Maher said, to muted laughter. That, in turn, led to a riff on hacks on meat producers and gas pipelines, culminating in a punchline about Chipotle.

Mahers first guest was Rep. Ritchie Torres, who holds the distinction of having been New York Citys youngest elected official and the first Afro-Latino, LGBTQ Member of Congress. Maher opened by complimenting Torres on addressing the poor, rather than the more traditional fighting for the middle class route taken by many a politician. Torres responded by characterizing his life as having been interwoven with public investments, from schools to housing, over the years.



It didnt hurt that the two had a good conversational rapport; it also didnt hurt that Torres has the ability to speak about his goals both in terms of policy and in terms of morality. It was the kind of conversation that covered, for instance, Richard Nixons consideration of a universal basic income program.
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A. Transportation. There's a strong need for a long-term mobility plan, especially on U.S. 19 and State Road 44.

B. Resiliency. Crystal River needs blueprints for the future, especially focusing on sea level rise and health of bay waters.

C. Downtown. Areas within the city's CRA need more projects like the Town Square.

D. Revitalization. Abandoned shopping centers and older structures like the mall need a makeover.

E. Residential neighborhoods. Interconnecting communities and maximizing the potential in Crystal River neighborhoods is the key to happy living.

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Though he was no fan of Brookes artwork, and was famously irascible and mercurial, Van Gogh enjoyed learning about Japan. He had been exposed to Japanese art in for the first time in Belgium in 1885 and became passionate about it. He collected, copied and festooned the walls of his studios with Japanese prints. Sometimes they even showed up in the background of his paintings. And he incorporated what he learned from Japanese artists, like Utagawa Hiroshige, into his own technique in subtle and inventive ways.
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Dianne Morales, once a rising New York City mayoral candidate, refused her newly formed staff unions demands on Friday, likely extending an impasse that has mired her campaign in internecine drama just weeks before the June 22 Democratic primary election.

Highlighting the impact of the labor dispute, the Working Families Party, the influential progressive organization, told its supporters on Friday to rank Maya Wiley no. 1 in ranked-choice voting. The WFP had previously co-endorsed Morales and Wiley, but a spokesperson for the party told City & State that its support for Morales had been suspended while she is at an impasse with her campaign workers and their union.

A group of more than four dozen staffers calling themselves the Mayorales Union sent a letter to Morales on Thursday morning detailing specific demands, including a salary floor of $25 per hour and severance packages worth two weeks of pay for staffers who leave the campaign voluntarily or involuntarily. As of the last filing deadline on May 17, Morales campaign had nearly $3.8 million on hand. The letter also requested that Morales not spend her campaign funds on the same old political tactics, but rather on events such as community grocery giveaways and multilingual teach-ins on ranked-choice voting.

Thursdays letter came after a tumultuous 10 days in the Morales campaign that included the resignation of her campaign manager Whitney Hu, among other senior staffers, and the firing of four staffers, all of whom the union claims were terminated in retaliation for organizing the staff union. About 40 staffers and volunteers participated in a work stoppage after that, and even marched on Morales campaign office in Midtown Manhattan on May 28 to protest the firings, poor working conditions and Morales slow response to terminate two other former staffers who had been accused of creating a hostile work environment.

In her response to the union, Morales said their demands included things that either violate state and local laws, and/or create a risk of fiscal liability for the campaign. A former campaign treasurer with experience on New York City campaigns who asked to speak on background to discuss a sensitive topic, agreed with Morales assessment, saying campaigns are not able to change existing employment contracts in the middle of a campaign. The former treasurer said Morales is right to be careful, since the candidate could be held personally liable for any fines the city might levy against her campaign.

Morales also accused some of the union organizers of misconduct that is in violation of the National Labor Relations Act, though said she would not be pursuing legal action. Morales did not expand on the accusation, and her campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative of the labor union also did not respond to a request for comment.

Morales did attempt some conciliation, writing that she is eager for anyone who wants to return to work to engage in the unionizing process and is willing to consider any of the demands that are legally possible.

Morales, the former CEO of a social services nonprofit, has been running the most progressive campaign of the leading mayoral candidates, calling for the New York City Police Department to be defunded by $3 billion, among other policy proposals. But the recent labor dispute has seemed to halt her campaigns momentum and cost her supporters. Apart from the Working Families Party, groups including the New York Progressive Action Network and the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club have pulled their support for her campaign.
Grace Louise Archer, age 90, a resident of Aurora, Colorado, a former resident of Chillicothe, Missouri, passed away on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, at Shalom Park, Aurora, Colorado. Grace was born the daughter of Maurice P. Martin, Sr., and Margaret (O'Connor) Martin on October 10, 1930, in Chi
Grab and go meals can be picked up Monday and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Claremore Public Schools Enrollment Center, Stuart Roosa Elementary and Westside Elementary.
The 1968 Rockwell painting on the governors office wall is part of the Lamonts personal art collection, purchased for a reported $1.05 million more than a decade ago. It was conceived as a commentary in Look Magazine about the need for the government to be more open and honest with citizens during the Vietnam War. The wealthy couple has loaned it in the past for display at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4) President Rodrigo Duterte will soon decide on the fate of Manila's Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with Washington, according to Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.

His statement on Friday comes after Philippine and US officials concluded talks on the military agreement.

"It's now in the Office of the President and a decision may come anytime now," Romualdez told a joint virtual conference on the 75th anniversary of PH-US diplomatic ties.

Romualdez is optimistic the President will accept the "improved" version of the agreement. The Philippine envoy, however, refused to disclose the details and fine print of the new VFA.

"We're very hopeful, hopeful that the VFA will continue because it's an important piece of agreement," he said.

US Charge d' Affaires in the Philippines John Law said the negotiations on the VFA lasted for weeks.

"So the status is that we are waiting for the Philippine government's decision. We think the VFA has been a fundamental part of helping make the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) successful," the American official stressed.

Diplomatic sources told CNN Philippines the talks focused primarily on the criminal jurisdiction of American forces in the country.

The President terminated the VFA on February 11, 2020. The termination process, however, was suspended in June last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging threats in the South China Sea. The Philippine government again extended the suspension in November 2020.

The VFA provides the legal framework for the presence of American troops in the Philippines as they conduct joint military exercises.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  President Rodrigo Duterte greenlighted more funds to buy COVID-19 vaccines, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said on Saturday.

"Kaka-approve lang ng ating Pangulo ng 2.5 billion equivalent to $56 million chargeable against the 2021 contingency fund," he said in a virtual briefing, adding that the contingency fund this year is 13 billion.

He said the amount will cover the purchase of four million vaccine doses and accompanying logistical and administrative costs.

Avisado said the initial budget of 82.5 billion for the COVID-19 vaccination program this year is not enough.

RELATED: 72.5-B vaccine budget 'not out of line'  ADB

"Sa madaling sabi hindi lang po talaga 82.5 billion ang gagastusin natin ngayong taon para sa pagbili ng vaccines kaya pati contingency fund kailangan gamitin," he said.

"Out of the 70 billion allocation for vaccine procurement, 59.39 billion na po ang nare-release natin sa DOH," Avisado said.

[Translation: In other words, we will not only spend 82.5 billion this year for the purchase of vaccines, so we have to tap the contingency fund. Out of the 70 billion allocation for vaccine procurement, we have already released 59.39 billion to the Department of Health.]

The government is targeting to vaccinate 70 million Filipinos by the end of 2021.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  More than a million private sector employees will get their first shot of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in July, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said Saturday.

"Ang padating ay AstraZeneca... 1.17 million (doses) darating ng mid-July at mid-August, tuloy-tuloy 'yan," he told a virtual briefing.

[Translation: We're expecting 1.17 million AstraZeneca (doses) to arrive by mid-July and mid-August.]

"Easily over one million, we'll be able to implement the first dose," the official added.

Asked about the schedule for the second dose, Concepcion said they would have a clearer picture once more AstraZeneca doses arrive in September and October.

The country is following the 12-week interval since there are studies showing the vaccine is more effective with the longer wait, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Friday.

RELATED: Govt to study shorter interval between AstraZeneca shots

The government will start the inoculation of the A4 priority group on Monday, June 7.

READ: IATF trims A4 priority group, orders dedicated vaccination lanes for A1-A3
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5) Filipino American Ari Agbayani is Marvel's newest addition to its growing list of heroes.

The franchise on Friday gave fans a sneak peek of Agbayani  a heroine inspired by Captain America who aims to fight for justice in her college campus.

In a statement, Marvel described Agbayani as a "scholarship student at a small private university."

"When her school turns a blind eye to fellow students behaving badly, she springs into action  and she's not afraid to fight dirty."

Writer Alyssa Wong, who created the local hero together with Jodi Nishijima, explained she wanted to craft a Filipino American character from the beginning.

"There just aren't very many of us in comics! I grew up without a Filipino American community for the most part, so every time I see a Filipino character, I get excited," Wong said. "And getting to create one  a Captain America, even!  feels incredibly special."

Wong added that like other heroes, Agbayani "has a strong sense of justice and admires the ideals Captain America embodies."

Ari Agbayani will debut for the Marvel comic "United States of Captain America" in September.
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The wealthy and well-connected have a lot of representation in Richmond. But what about us in our community? said the 39-year-old Carroll Foy, as she appeared with the father of a young Black man killed by police in Virginia Beach in March. We need someone whos gone to church and worshipped where we worship, gone to our schools, breathed our air and drank our water, who understands the struggles that we face because shes lived them.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
For 15 years, Magahay and her husband have been meeting weekly at the Hampton VA to run the Poppy Program, which started back up in April after its pandemic hiatus. The money raised from distributing the poppies to the public, via posts, other units, churches, can rake in some $300,000 annually, Magahay said. Those funds go back to the main offices of the American Legion Auxiliary in Richmond or to other state affiliated offices and are used for the veterans, active duty and their families.
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Animals are adorable, dependable, and occasionally will lay waste to your enemies. Their skins also make for nice coats, but they're a lot more interesting alive, as proven by the following remarkable stories.

1. Salty

Salty was a guide dog whose blind owner Omar was in the south tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. Omar tried to tell Salty to escape without him since there wasn't enough time to get out together, but Salty led him down over the course of an hour, and they escaped with just minutes to spare.

2. The Flamingo

A flamingo escaped a Kansas zoo in 2005. Zoos normally clip flamingos' wings, but this one got away and was eventually spotted eight years later in the Gulf of Mexico, living with a partner who had fled a different colony.

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3. Percy

Percy the cat jumped out of the window of Paul Robertson's truck while he was throwing up. Paul searched for the missing cat all day then drove off. Four hundred miles later, Percy emerged from under the truck, having survived the trip in its undercarriage.

4. The Van Sheep

In 2005, a sheep in the Turkish province of Van jumped off a cliff for unknown reasons. The other 1,500 sheep in the herd saw this and decided to follow suit. Luckily, though the first 400 died, their corpses cushioned the others, saving them

5. The Freiburg Hamster

German police found a woman dead in her home, and based on her ripped clothing and violent injuries around her groin, they assumed this was a sexual assault and murder. Actually, she'd died of natural causes, then her pet hamster had torn her open and used her skin and fat to make a nest.

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6. Shrek

For details, read 7 Unbelievable Stories Of Pets Reuniting With Their Owners

7. Blair's Croc

Ryan Blair sailed to an island off Australia, planning to kayak back to the mainland later that day. But a 20-foot crocodile showed up to eat him if he returned to the water. The croc stayed there, stalking him, for two weeks until a rescuer came with a bigger boat.
Gennai was so obsessed with learning from the foreign traders, he even started studying Dutch so he could use foreign textbooks. His visit to Nagasaki seemed to have opened his eyes to a much bigger world, so after learning all that he could in the city, he gave up his status and became a wandering ronin scientist. He spent years composing a multi-volume work on the taxonomy of animals and plants:

Daderot/Wiki Commons He was an animagus, as well as a professor of herbology.

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He used his knowledge of mining and refining technology to open various mines in Japan, one time finding deposits of asbestos and inventing a way to turn it into an amazing fire-resistant cloth. The government wanted to mass-produce it, but the process was not scalable and generally just a huge pain in the ass (also, weirdly, in the lungs.) Gennai also constructed one of Japan's first thermometers, was the first to cultivate ginseng in the country, and apparently came up with a more efficient way to produce charcoal. He was basically one energy device away from putting all of his inventions together and becoming an 18th-century Iron Man. Also, you'll never guess what he came up with next.

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During his second trip to Nagasaki, Gennai acquired a broken Dutch static electricity generator. This was basically sci-fi technology in Japan at the time, consisting of a wooden box, a device to create friction, and a Leyden jar (the precursor to the battery that stored the resulting electricity.) Gennai had never seen anything like it but, him being him, he decided to just ... figure it out. He spent a few years on the "Elekiter" as it came to be known, actually got it working, and used it for exhibitions and as a therapy device.

Momotarou2012/Wiki Commons Pain management therapy. Not terrifying torture shock therapy.

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He weirdly never came up with the idea of connecting it to a katana and creating a lightsaber prototype, though. (Thankfully, one anime later fixed that.)
Reader, are you enjoying a nice, weekend getaway to Nigeria? Did you have big weekend plans of ignoring all of the nation's beautiful attractions -- the breathtaking national parks, the delicious cuisine, the exciting museums -- to instead scroll mindlessly through Twitter? Well, folks, it seems your extremely boring plans may be foiled. On Friday, the nation's Ministry of Information and Culture announced that Twitter's operations would be "indefinitely suspended" within the country after the social platform deleted one of President Muhammadu Buhari's posts, that many deemed offensive, according to The Guardian.

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"The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria," the agency wrote in a statement surrounding the move. Although it's unclear what, exactly, this suspension entails, with Lai Mohammed, the country's Information Minister, telling Reuters to wait and see how things will turn out," he spoke candidly about the government's rationale for suspending the site, citing the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

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Twitter, naturally, was seemingly not too happy about the move, issuing a statement that they were looking into the deeply concerning matter and planned to provide updates when we know more.

So, folks, it's been a long weekend for social media and politics. If you needed a sign to get of Twitter and enjoy the nice, summer weather, let this be it.

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok as @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
Saleen Martin Staff writer

Saleen Martin, a Norfolk native, is a reporter on The Virginian-Pilots features team. She joined The Pilot in 2018 after getting her master's degree from the University of Georgia. She also has a bachelor's degree from Virginia Wesleyan University. She has a weakness for horror movies, witchy Netflix shows, reality TV, and sushi.
The court gave several directions to the investigation team and asked for evidence from passengers, drivers and conductors of RTC buses, on the incidents that led to the couple being hacked to death on February 17. (Photo:PTI)

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Friday closed the suo motu petition taken on its own over the brutal killing of advocate-couple Gattu Vaman Rao and P.V. Nagalakshmmi in Kalvacherla village of Peddapalli district.

As the charge sheet by the investigation team was filed before the trial court and it was to commence before the special sessions court in Karimnagar on June 10, the High Court disposed of the suo motu petition, through which it had monitored the investigation.

The court was given status reports every fortnight by the investigation authorities. The court gave several directions to the investigation team and asked for evidence from passengers, drivers and conductors of RTC buses, on the incidents that led to the couple being hacked to death on February 17.

Police submitted a fresh status report before the High Court on Friday.

Although, pleas were filed before it seeking a CBI probe into the daylight murder, the High Court made it clear that it would only monitor investigation done by the local police, in order to avoid unnecessary delay.
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BOULDER, Colo. (AP)  When a man who fled to Mexico after being suspected in the disappearance of a Colorado woman in 2018 returned to the United States, he seemed almost relieved to learn that he was wanted for a sexual assault and would likely be extradited to Colorado, according to a grand jury indictment announced Friday.

Thats it? ... Just sexual assault? ... Sweet (claps) lets get this over and done with so I can get my bond, get it posted," Juan Jose Figueroa said, according to the indictment.

However, authorities viewed Figueroas prosecution in the 2017 sexual assault of another woman he met at a bar in Longmont as a stepping stone to eventually holding him accountable for the disappearance and presumed death of Rita Gutierrez-Garcia months later.

The first grand jury convened in Boulder since the coronavirus pandemic began charged Figueroa on Friday with murder and kidnapping in Gutierrez-Garcias death, relying in part on statements he allegedly made about the killing that were captured on a wiretap in the prison where he is serving a 93-year-to-life sentence in the 2017 sexual assault case.

Grand jurors, who convened in court in evenings starting in April wearing masks and practicing social distancing, also had the power to force witnesses to appear before them to offer testimony, unlike investigators, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said at news conference announcing the charges.

Online court records show Figueroa is being represented by public defenders, who do not comment on cases to the media. It's not known when he will be able to appear in court, given restrictions on the movements of prisoners between state prisons and county jails because of COVD-19, Dougherty said.

He was joined outside court by police and Guitierrez-Garcias mother, Diane Romero, and her two sisters. Her three sons stayed inside the building as the news was announced.

Romero called it a day that was both heartbreaking and joyous. I have been praying for this day, so God has given this to me, she said.

It took so long to bring charges against Figueroa partly because Gutierrez-Garcias body has not been found, Dougherty said.

In one of the wiretapped conversations, Figueroa allegedly said that he had buried her body and the only way to find it would be if police inserted a probe into his brain, according to the indictment.

Investigators and her family did not believe Guitierrez-Garcia, who was a month away from finishing her education to become a paralegal, ran away. But authorities still spent a lot of time working to prove that she was not alive, monitoring her social media and financial accounts. All have been inactive since her disappearance after going out with friends and cousins to celebrate St. Patricks Day in 2018, according to the indictment.

Guitierrez-Garcias sister, Jessica Reyes, thanked prosecutors and Longmont Police Detective Cody Clark for their work on the case. She urged people not to forget her sister.

Remember her more than anything and not as a victim, but she will be victorious. She is not going to be a victim, Reyes said.
CARENTAN, France (AP)  In a small Normandy town where paratroopers landed in the early hours of D-Day, applause broke the silence to honor Charles Shay. He was the only veteran attending a ceremony in Carentan commemorating the 77th anniversary of the assault that helped bring an end to World War II.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, this year's D-Day commemorations are taking place with travel restrictions that have prevented veterans or families of fallen soldiers from the U.S., Britain and other allied countries from making the trip to France. Only a few officials were allowed exceptions.

Shay, who now lives in Normandy, was a 19-year-old U.S. Army medic when he landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Today, he recalls the many good friends he lost on the battlefield.

Under a bright sun, the 96-year-old Penobscot Native American from Indian Island, Maine, stood steadily while the hymns of the Allied countries were played Friday in front of the monument commemorating the assault in Carentan that allowed the Allies to establish a continuous front joining nearby Utah Beach to Omaha Beach.

Shay regretted that the pandemic is interrupting everything. He is expected to be the only veteran at Sundays anniversary day ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer.

We have no visitors coming to France this year for two years now. And I hope it will be over soon, he told The Associated Press in Carentan.

Shays lone presence is all the more poignant as the number of survivors of the epochal battle dwindles. Only one veteran now remains from the French commando unit that joined U.S, British, Canadian and other allied troops in storming Normandys code-named beaches.

While France is planning to open up to vaccinated visitors starting next week, that comes too late for the D-Day anniversary. So for the second year in a row, most public commemoration events have been cancelled. A few solemn ceremonies have been maintained, with dignitaries and a few guests only.

Local residents, however, are coming in greater numbers than last year, as France started lifting its internal virus restrictions last month.

Some French and a few other World War II history enthusiasts from neighboring European countries gathered in Normandy.

Driving restored jeeps, dressed in old uniforms or joyfully eating at the newly reopened terraces of restaurants, they're contributing to revive the commemorations' special atmosphere  and keeping alive the memory of June 6, 1944.

In France, people who remember these men, they kept them close to their heart, Shay said. And they remember what they did for them. And I dont think the French people will ever forget.

On Saturday morning, people in dozens of World War II vehicles, from motorcycles to jeeps and trucks, gathered in a field in Colleville-Montgomery to parade down the nearby roads along Sword Beach to the sounds of a pipe band. Residents, some waving French and American flags, came to watch.

Sitting in an old sidecar, Audrey Ergas, dressed in a vintage uniform including an aviator hat and glasses, said she used to come every year from the southern city of Marseille, except for last year due to virus travel restrictions.

We absolutely wanted to come ... its great pleasure, we needed it! she said. We were afraid that we might feel a bit alone, but in the end we were happy to do even small gatherings.

Pascal Leclerc, a member of the Remember Omaha Beach 44 group, shared the same joy.

We missed it a lot. That's just fun, happiness, and also being able to pay tribute to all the veterans. Thats the main goal, he said.

Henri-Jean Renaud, 86, remembers D-Day like it was yesterday. He was a young boy and was hidden in his family home in Sainte-Mere-Eglise when more than 800 planes bringing U.S. paratroopers flew over the town while German soldiers fired at them with machine guns.

Describing an incredible noise followed by silence, he remembers crossing the town's central square in the morning of June 6. He especially recalls seeing one dead U.S. paratrooper stuck in a big tree that is still standing by the towns church.

I came here hundreds of times. The first thing I do is look at that tree, he said. Thats always to that young guy that Im thinking of. He was told: Youre going to jump in the middle of the night in a country you dont know... He died and his feet never touched (French) soil, and that is very moving to me.

More than 12,000 soldiers were buried temporarily in Sainte-Mere-Eglise during and after the Battle of Normandy, before being moved to their final resting place.

In the years following the war, local people were allowed to go to the cemeteries. Often, people had adopted a grave because they had seen a name they liked ... They were a bit like friends, Renaud said.

Some, especially at the beginning when there were no coffins yet, had been buried in the ground. They had become the Normandy soil, he added, in a voice filled by emotion.

On D-Day itself, more than 150,000 Allied troops landed on beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. The Battle of Normandy hastened Germanys defeat, which came less than a year later.

Still, that single day cost the lives of 4,414 Allied troops, 2,501 of them Americans. More than 5,000 were injured. On the German side, several thousand were killed or wounded.

This year, Col. Kevin Sharp came with a delegation of three other U.S. military officers from the 101st Airborne Division, based in Kentucky, to attend Fridays commemorations in Carentan  the same division that took part in the D-Day operations there. His delegation received special, last-minute permission to come to France despite virus restrictions.

The U.S. military really values the legacy of the soldiers and the paratroopers who came before us," he told the AP. It was important enough to send a small representation here to ensure that our appreciation for their sacrifices is made known.
DERBY - If residents want to get copies of vital records, they either need to go to city hall or send an email to the city government to start the process. But that may soon be a thing of the past.

On May 27, the operations and procedures subcommittee for the Board of Alderman unanimously recommended a motion for a North Carolina-based software company, Permitium, LLC, to process vital record requests for the city. The full board will consider the motion on June 10.

The company is already serving other municipalities in the state according to the city clerk, Marc Garofalo who spoke at the meeting.

They have a couple other customers in Connecticut so far and a bunch are signing up because it actually works very well and the ones that are using it already are very pleased, Garofalo said.

Garofalo said that the proposed online portal is an attractive proposition because it offers not only added convenience, but added security compared to email since communications will be encrypted. Permitium would process requests and payment, speeding up the process, according to Garofalo.

The state already allows residents to request records from VitalChek. Certain records, such as birth certificates, would cost $30 from Permitium, instead of $20 if residents choose to request them from the town or city directly.

Permitium has worked with other municipalities all over the country, processing records for things like weapons permits, sex offender tracking, licensing and biometric data, in addition to vital records, according to the company website.

Alderwoman Barbara DeGennaro, representing Ward 1, asked if the service would be free for the city government. Garofalo confirmed it would be.

If approved, Garofalo said Permitium would be able to set up an online portal by early July. The way the portal would work if built, is that a resident would upload information to process a request for a document from the city and would also pay a fee to do so. Once that is done, the city would mail a certified copy of the records to the resident.

If the contract is approved, it would be in effect for one year, ending on June 22.
BRIDGEPORT  Add state Sen. Dennis Bradley to the list of city politicians who have crafted unusual living situations to comply with requirements they reside in the area they were elected to represent.

Bradley, 37, was indicted last week on federal conspiracy and wire fraud charges related to his 2018 campaign.

When Bradley was arraigned May 25 in federal court in New Haven, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Francis told the judge the legislator splits his time between two addresses in Bridgeport. Francis did not provide additional details.

Bradley, according to public records, is actually linked to three different city properties: One within his 23rd Senate District which also includes a portion of Stratford; another just inside the border between his and another district; and the third in the 22nd District represented by fellow Democrat state Sen. Marilyn Moore.

That last parcel, in the Brooklawn neighborhood, was purchased by Bradleys wife in late 2019 and has been her voting address since March 2020, according to the Bridgeport Registrars of Voters. Prior to that, she lived in Naugatuck.

3 1 of 3 Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3





The couple married last July and Bradley announced the birth of their first child in late October, days before he won re-election for a second two-year term in the General Assembly.

While records show his wife and child are living in the 22nd District, Bradley, according to the Registrars, lists a one-bedroom apartment at his law firm, BDK, in a 120-year-old multi-family home on Fairfield Avenue, as his voting address. That building within the 23rd District is owned by a limited liability corporation  Bradsham  of which Bradley is vice president. He has also claimed the law firm site as his residence on paperwork filed with the state Elections Enforcement Commission when he ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2016 and for his 2018 and 2020 campaigns.

According to public documents, Bradsham LLC is also the listed agent for Bradsham Charity Corporation, which has the same Fairfield Avenue address. Bradsham Charity Corporation owns a Clinton Avenue home on the border between the 22nd and 23rd Senate districts, but just within his district.

Reached Thursday, Bradley said he was advised by his attorney not to make any comments to the media.

The SEEC defines a bona fide residence as the place where an individual maintains a true, fixed and principal home to which he/she, whenever transiently relocated, has a genuine intent to return.

The commission has also concluded a person does not have to remain at a residence for an indefinite period.

A spokesman for the state Elections Enforcement Commission, which investigates allegations of elections law violations, has declined to say if it was aware of Bradleys multiple residences. Owning multiple residences is not a violation of the law.

The commission has in the past charged Bridgeport politicians for living out of their district.

In 2015, former-state Rep. Christina Ayala received a suspended sentence following her arrest on elections violations. An SEEC probe had concluded Ayala between 2009 and 2012 voted in various Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee elections, a municipal primary election, a state primary election and a general election in districts other than where she was living.

More recently, SEEC investigators found Bridgeport was not Board of Education member Chris Taylors primary address at least from Nov. 8, 2016, until Oct. 28, 2019, during the time he was elected to the school board. The SEEC late last summer moved forward with a settlement in which Taylor would deny the allegation but pay a $750 fine. Taylor and his attorney, however, said Taylor had not struck a deal. An SEEC spokesperson this week said the fine has been referred to the state Attorney Generals office for collection.

Other local elected officials in the past have juggled multiple addresses without running afoul of the law.

Former veteran state Rep. Bob Keeley maintained multiple properties in and out of his districts and could be found at different addresses, including his familys travel agency. Keeley in an interview this week recalled that, because of redistricting, he sometimes had to switch neighborhoods in order to continue serving in the legislature.

We (his family) had nice houses and businesses and I would move in, Keeley recalled. I would run and move in. I did it all legally.

And former state Senator Andres Ayala, who also represented the 23rd District, split his time between his longtime girlfriends out-of-district home on Cleveland Avenue and a small, in-district third-floor apartment he shared with her brother in a Hancock Avenue house owned by his girlfriends family.

It was an SEEC probe of a 2018 campaign fundraiser for Bradley that led to his arrest last week on federal charges.
The coronavirus pandemic is not over yet, experts say, and when it does end it wont be a hard date but instead a prolonged transition toward recovery.

Rather than a specific, arbitrarily determined end point, the pandemic will die in phases, according to Rick Martinello, Yale New Haven Healths director of infectious diseases.

A tornado, or a volcano or an earthquake are all finite incidents that occur at a point in time, he said. Pandemics cannot really be thought of in that way.

In emergency management, there are phases of preparedness, response, and then there's a recovery phase, Martinello said. So even once it is over, it's going to be that transition.

We may be in that transition period now, from response to recovery, he said. But, if so, it's not black and white.

We don't have clear distinctions of when we're transitioning from one phase of our response into a recovery position, Martinello said. It kind of blends because of the prolonged time these events occur over.

Perception and politics, too, play roles in determining whether or not the world is in the midst of a pandemic. Politicians and the populace, along with the scientific community, will decide when the pandemic ceases to be a concern.

It's impossible to separate politics from anything that rises to the level of being a national or international health crisis, Martinello said.

Official declarations

The coronavirus outbreak became an official pandemic when the World Health Organization declared it so on March 11, 2020.

At some point, there will be a formal declaration that the pandemic is over, Martinello said.

Regardless of an official declaration, when the pandemic ends is as much a matter of perception as hard, scientific fact, experts say. The consensus is that, to be called a pandemic, the outbreak must be widespread on all five continents, which is still the case.

But Martinello said, locally at least, we may be shifting from one phase to another.

It goes from a pandemic state to this virus being endemic in the human population, he said, though it may be too early to determine if thats the case.

Viruses, particularly respiratory viruses, often wax and wane seasonally, and Martinello said there is concern that when students get back, you know, into the classrooms in September, you know, are we going to see another wave starting.

What are we going to see at that point? We don't know, he said. And so I think that's one very good reason why it's premature today and tomorrow to declare that this is mission accomplished quite yet.

Kevin Dieckhaus, chief of infectious disease for UConn Health, raised similar concerns. Its nearly summer now, and Connecticuts population, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, is spending much of the time outside. Variants are still spreading, and new variants may emerge. There is talk of the need for booster shots, and if people will consent to getting them so soon after the initial vaccine injections.

Nobody knows, Dieckhaus said, what will happen next fall and next autumn, when we are living in closer quarters.

Pandemic perception

The human metapneumovirus was first identified in 2001. It is now known to cause respiratory disease in people of all ages. Everyone you know has, most likely, been infected by it.

Prior to that nobody knew anything about it. It was yet to be discovered, Martinello said. After that, as the months went on and people started looking, this virus was not only found everywhere across the globe, but they found evidence that, in some specimens, they could find it from the 1950s.

The global medical community had, in that case, identified a virus with which everyone had been infected. But Martinello said we never declared that to be a pandemic, because this virus was just something that was already present, that now was finally described.

Dieckhaus said these definitions are more designed to deal with illnesses that have some perception, a manifestation that people are noticing.

Epidemics and pandemics are typically diseases that were aware of and experiencing, he said.

The death rate from human metapneumovirus is, of course, far lower than the death rate from the coronavirus. But the issue of when a pandemic begins or ends is, Dieckhaus agreed, something of a philosophical question.

To some degree, the pandemic is over when people collectively decide its over. As a culture, we may have decided that the pandemic ended when the CDC lifted the national mask mandate.

The masking mandates seem to be the quote unquote end, said Dieckhaus. In terms of there being a litmus test of pandemic present versus pandemic not present, its much more shades of gray.

AIDS is another example of a disease that, while never officially declared a pandemic, has widespread transmission and has never been completely overcome, though it has become much more survivable.

This is a nomenclature issue, and, and there is imprecision here, because we would never refer to HIV as being pandemic 40 years later, but frankly, nothing's changed, Martinello said. It's still being transmitted on five continents, and the human population is still not immune to it.

Among Connecticut residents who are not medical professionals or infectious disease academics, there is some caution.

I'm not so sure we're out of the woods yet and I'd hate to screw it up now, said Sue Sweeny of Stamford. We are at 100 COVID hospitalizations -- same as last September. Anyone remember what happened between last September and now?

Elinor Pianin of West Hartford would agree. Not by a long shot, she said. Just spoke to a friend yesterday and I said, What is in store come flu season? People are too anxious to declare a holiday.

Danburys Michael Thompson said, My thoughts are yes, generally, when asked if the pandemic was over, though he did offer a qualification. COVID is surely not. I think it will be with us forever, which is why it's so important for everyone to be vaccinated.

Global vs. local

Lyn Burr Brignoli lives in Greenwich, but she often spends a lot of time in Ghana, where she also feels totally at home. Brignoli is fully vaccinated, but has postponed a planned trip back to Africa because of slow vaccination rates.

In the rural north of Ghana, for example, where I am also totally at home, they still have not received the vaccine, she said. My Ghanaian friend, Bishop Vincent Sowah Boi Nai in Yendi told me he received one shot, but the government ran out of the vaccine and he doesnt know when he will receive a second one. The problem is both lack of supply and a wobbly distribution system.

It is for this reason Brignoli is unwilling to say that the pandemic is over and done.

I am fairly confident here in my little corner of the world, but I am not complacent, she said. COVID-19 will not be over until it is over  for everybody.

From a technical standpoint, Dieckhaus said metrics will matter in the determination. Hospitalization rates, infection rates, deaths, vaccinations and more will lead academics and politicians to declare, at some point, that the pandemic is officially a thing of the past.

There are enough countries in enough continents still dealing with high infection and hospitalization rates so that Dieckhaus said definitively, this is not under control yet.

In that sense we are not out of the pandemic, he said, though our local situation is substantially improved due to high vaccine rates.

Even locally, though, its important to note that COVID is not likely to disappear completely any time soon.

I dont think were going to make the United States a place with zero transmission, at least for a long time, Dieckhaus said.

Still, when asked to say definitively whether or not the pandemic was over, neither Martinello not Dieckhaus minced words.

I wouldn't say it now, Martinello said. But yeah, that is going to be what occurs at some point. We put a lot of thought on the front end of, Is a pandemic occurring, but it's one of those things that maybe we don't realize it's over until it's in our rear view mirror to an extent.

Dieckhaus was more blunt. He said the pandemic is not over, though its certainly improved.

I do think thats premature, he said. You can quote me on that.
Though trends often come and go, cost-saving movements tend to gain momentum and stick aroundparticularly for businesses. One area frequently targeted for savings by employers is employee benefits. Its easy to see why companies are trying to reduce costsemployee benefits account for about 1/3 of total spending on employee compensation! While it certainly makes sense to cut costs where you can, at the same time, you must offer benefits that allow you to attract and retain the quality employees your business needs. Companies that use benefits strategically experience better overall company performance, above-average effectiveness in recruitment, and higher retention than companies who dont.

In this blog post, well discuss the top trends in employee health and wellness that have emerged in 2021. Well also give you tips for actionable and timely strategies you can implement to save on your companys employee benefits costs and improve your offerings.

Increasing Access to Care with Telehealth and Telemedicine

Telemedicine, or the ability for healthcare providers to evaluate, diagnose, and treat illnesses and injuries remotely, has been gaining favor among insurance companies and providers for years. Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, this trend has gained a lot of traction in the healthcare industry.
Pamela Powell is a film critic located in Bourbonnais and a member of the CFCA and the CCA and is a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic. Writing reviews for 10 years, Pamela also can be found on WCIA TV in Champaign. She can be contacted at pampowell5@att.net.
KHAMMAM: Nearly one-fourth of the 1,656 employees working with the Northern Power Distribution Corporation Ltd in united Khammam district has been tested Covid-positive. The employees are worried and tensed.

The fast spreading of Covid-19 in the second wave showed more effect on the employees working in the meter-reading department. About 342 employees were hit by the pandemic and four persons died of it so far.

There are 1,002 employees in the district electricity department. Of them, 192 tested positive and two persons died. In Bhadradri district, about 150 persons out of the 650 employees were hit by the virus and two of them passed away.

About 75 per cent of the meter-reading workforce is drawn from outsourcing agencies and 25 per cent from among the electricity department staff. The outsourcing employees are not coming to do meter reading due to the intense spread of virus in the second wave.

Faced with this situation, the electricity department introduced a self-billing App and asked customers to download the App. The customers can read the meter through the App and pay the bills online. But, the App did not give the expected results.

On the other hand, the unseasonal gales in various areas in Khammam district forced the field staff like artisans, lineman, sub-station operators, assistant engineers and deputy engineers to go to the villages to restore the power lines and burnt transformers.

Lineman Srinivasa Rao said these personnel have to meet the casual labourers while restoring the transformers and there is every possibility of contracting the virus.

United electricity employees union secretary Prasad said more employees in the meter-reading department fell victim to the virus. The government is urged to recognize them as frontline warriors and give vaccination to the employees on priority basis, he said.

Though electricity officials wrote letters to the collector and the DMHO of two districts for giving them vaccination on a priority basis, the process has not commenced.
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Edenton, NC (27932)

Today

Considerable clouds this morning. Some decrease in clouds later in the day. High 82F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 68F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
Rama Rao was critical of the manner in which the Centre was going about procuring and distribution Coronavirus vaccines, making the states answerable to their people. (Twitter)

Hyderabad: Telangana state has urged the Centre to import Covid-19 vaccines from countries that have them in surplus. This, IT minister K. T. Rama Rao said, will help states vaccinate their people.

Universal Covid-19 vaccination is the only permanent solution for dealing with the present crisis, said the minister while inaugurating a 150-bed intensive care unit (ICU) for Covid-19 patients at the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) in Gachibowli here.

Rama Rao pointed out that 50 crore vaccines manufactured by AstraZeneca are lying unutilised in countries like Norway, Denmark, Canada and the USA. "What is preventing the centre from opening dialogue with these countries and procuring the vaccines. This will allow for vaccination of half of the Indian population," he stated.

The minister regretted that the Central government has depended only on two companies  Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India  for supply of vaccines, though it would not be possible for them to meet the huge demand of the country.

"Central government policy on procurement and administration of vaccines is faulty. Exporting vaccines to other countries when we have a large population was a wrong decision. We now need vaccines but there are no sufficient stocks. Opening up vaccination process for 18-44 years group without sufficient stocks has further complicated issues at the ground level," he underlined.

Rama Rao was critical of the manner in which the Centre was going about procuring and distribution Coronavirus vaccines, making the states answerable to their people. There is a hue and cry for vaccines and long queues at public health centres. But the private sector has been slow in meeting the challenge due to lack of a robust vaccination process, he said.

The minister underlined that with cases of Coronavirus reducing in the state, state government is upgrading its health infrastructure to ensure that there is availability of oxygen, ventilators and other medical devices at government hospitals.

Incidentally, the Telangana state government and Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) member companies are coordinating in providing ventilators, oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, beds, masks, flow meters and other equipment to TIMS, Kondapur District Hospital, Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital, Niloufer Hospital, Gandhi Hospital, King Koti and Fever Hospital.

Rama Rao, along with principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan, Cyberabad police commissioner V. C. Sajjanar, Ranga Reddy district collector Amoy Kumar, and health and medical education director Dr K. Ramesh Reddy went around the TIMS hospital and met patients. The minister spoke to patients and inquired from them about the treatment being given to them.
Local

Barnes recalls low and high points at ECSU

cday / Chris Day/The Daily Advance Harold Barnes, a civil rights attorney and member of the Elizabeth City State University Board of Trustees, attends a memorial service for Andrew Brown Jr. at Waterfront Park.

After hosting so many difficult conversations that hes lost count of them, Harold Barnes has reached the end of his service as a trustee at Elizabeth City State University.

Barnes, a civil rights and personal injury attorney and 1977 graduate of ECSU, served on the universitys Board of Trustees from 2015 to 2021 and was board chairman during 2017 and 2018. He also served as vice chairman for a year before that.

Then Chancellor Stacy Franklin Jones asked Barnes to join the ECSU Board of Trustees following a precipitous drop in enrollment that prompted some state leaders to question publicly whether the university had outlived its usefulness.

There was a significant threat to the existence of the university itself and I was asked to come on the board to help out, Barnes said.

Barnes, who grew up in Elizabeth City and now practices law across the state line in Suffolk, Virginia, said he was the kind of leader who was needed at that time.

But now, as the university thrives under the leadership of Chancellor Karrie Dixon and an effective Board of Trustees, Barnes no longer sees his particular strengths and leadership style as being needed on the board.

I am more of a disruptive type leader in terms of doing some things that other people might not be comfortable doing, he said.

Barnes cited as an example building relationships with Republican state legislators.

Any leadership must understand when they have used their strengths and served their purpose, Barnes said. My time has come and gone.

Barnes was actually approached about serving as a trustee decades earlier, when Jimmie Jenkins was chancellor of the university.

After graduating from ECSU in 1977 and then earning a law degree, Barnes had returned to his alma mater in 1980 as a professor of business and law.

He was a full-time professor for six years and served a few stints after that as an adjunct instructor as he and Ron Penny pursued a busy law practice in Elizabeth City. Penny went on to several jobs in state government; hes currently secretary of the Department of Revenue.

Barnes also has empathy for students who struggle to adjust to college life. He enrolled at ECSU on a basketball scholarship in 1965 but left after just one year and joined the U.S. Air Force.

After being stationed in Thailand in support of the American air campaign in Vietnam, Barnes returned to ECSU in 1974 and graduated three years later.

Barnes attributes much of the universitys trouble in the past decade to a lack of visionary leadership and a distrust that caused the university to lose its moorings in the broader University of North Carolina System.

For a time there the university had poor leadership coupled with under-funding, Barnes said.

The leadership issues were not being addressed by either the ECSU Board of Trustees or the UNC Board of Governors, he said.

Leadership at that time was not visionary enough to implement (the universitys) goals and timetables and action steps, he said.

The solution was a re-evaluation of every aspect of the institution, Barnes said, adding extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Those measures were implemented during a transition that spanned the tenures of Jones and Chancellor Thomas Conway and the beginning of Dixons service as chancellor, he said.

Conway, a longtime UNC System administrator, came in on an emergency basis and was able to step up quickly because he knew the university and its history and was familiar with UNC System processes and resources, Barnes said.

And it was while Conway was chancellor that Dixon began working with ECSU through the Working Group that Barnes chaired for a time. The Working Group left no stone unturned, asking all the hard questions that needed to be asked about the universitys operations and programs, he said.

The group was called together to examine every area of the university and dig deep into all areas, Barnes said.

At that same time then UNC System President Margaret Spellings and then Board of Governors Chairman Harry Smith took a hard look at ECSUs funding, he recalled.

Dixon  then a vice president in the UNC System Office  played a pivotal role both in advocating for more funding for ECSU and in ensuring that the money was spent wisely, according to Barnes. She worked closely with Conway and the Working Group to dig deep into university processes and programs, he said.

(Dixon) was one of the best people on Margarets staff, Barnes said, referring to Spellilngs. That was a direct connection to the resources at the system level.

The ECSU Board of Trustees also developed a closer working relationship with the UNC System Office and the UNC Board of Governors. Barnes noted that he made a commitment to attend Board of Governors meetings and system-level committee meetings.

We had never had that before, he said,

Barnes also spoke regularly with Spellings and Smith, and developed a working relationship with state Sen. Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan, who then was a member of the N.C. House.

Barnes said the disconnect between ECSU and state-level leadership was rooted in a fear in the Black community that the university was going to close and some other entity would take it over, causing Black residents to lose a valuable resource and important part of their history.

Because of that distrust and disconnect, state officials were not on campus to see dilapidated buildings and other pressing needs at ECSU, he said.

Once Smith and other members of the UNC Board of Governors began to visit the campus, and as Steinburg worked to rebuild the relationship between ECSU and the state Legislature, money began to flow to the campus, Barnes said.

Along with the money came an expectation that the local leadership would lead with vision, goals, timetables and action steps  working from a plan with accountability built into it, he said.

We have transformative leadership now, Barnes said. Karrie is an outstanding choice for chancellor of any university, including ECSU.
Elizabeth City, NC (27909)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High around 80F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 67F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
Diane Pineiro-Zucker has been a reporter at the Daily Freeman since April 2013. Pineiro-Zucker worked as a reporter in the Freemans Rhinebeck bureau in the early 1980s, left to become executive editor at Taconic Newspapers in Dutchess County.
The Lower Esopus Creek in the town of Ulster, N.Y., is shown on Friday, March 19, 2021.
The Chief Minister is learnt to have favoured lifting of lockdown in a phased-manner instead of lifting totally at one go, which may result in spread of coronavirus again. (Photo:DC)

HYDERABAD: The state government is planning to begin the unlock process with more relaxations from June 10, according to official sources. At present, a 17-hour lockdown from 1 pm to 6 am with seven-hour relaxation from 6 am to 1 pm is being enforced from May 31 which will end on June 9.

The government is planning to continue only night curfew from 8 pm to 7 am after June 9 for 10 more days as Covid situation came under control. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao who took stock of the Covid situation in the state with officials of medical and health department on Saturday is learnt to have expressed satisfaction over the Covid-19 cases witnessing a sharp decline in the state after the imposition of night curfew in April and lockdown in May.

The Chief Minister is learnt to have favoured lifting of lockdown in a phased-manner instead of lifting totally at one go, which may result in spread of coronavirus again.

The state government had initially imposed a night curfew across the state from 8 pm to 7 am from April 20 after Covid second wave led to a steep increase in Coronavirus positive cases and deaths. The state was recording about 6,000 new cases and about 30 deaths per day during that period. It was followed by a 20-hour lockdown from May 12 to May 30 when the cases had come down to about 4,500 but the number of deaths per day due to Covid-19 was still in the mid-thirties, from 10 am to 6 am.

On May 30, the Cabinet had decided to extend the lockdown until June 9 but reduced the lockdown period to 17 hours from 1 pm to 6 am.
Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, in striped shirt, Kingston Police Department personnel and other officials stand in front of the firearms collected during the gun buyback program at the Andy Murphy III Midtown Neighborood Center in Kingston, N.Y., on Saturday, June 4.
The following items are based on information provided by officials in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
Ashland, KY (41101)

Today

Foggy this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 87F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.
Sunbury, PA (17801)

Today

Cloudy this morning with thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 78F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Addressing a press conference at his Shamirpet residence, Rajendar, however, maintained silence on joining the BJP saying that he would disclose his future course of action very soon. (Photo: Facebook @Eatala Rajendar)

A month after he was dropped from the Cabinet on May 2 over allegations of land encroachments, former health minister Etala Rajendar on Friday resigned from the primary membership of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). He said he would quit his seat in the Legislative Assembly on Saturday, necessitating yet another bypoll in the state within six months.

Addressing a press conference at his Shamirpet residence, Rajendar maintained silence on joining the BJP saying that he would disclose his future course of action very soon. He said he would submit his resignation as MLA to the Speaker in the 'prescribed format' as per regulations on Saturday.

However, after the press meet, speaking informally with media personnel, he said that after the lockdown, he wanted to visit Delhi along with his key followers to join the BJP.

Rajendar, a six-time MLA from Huzurabad, said he had decided to end his 19 year-long association with the TRS and its chief K. Chandrashekar Rao for his self-respect and made it clear that he could not remain as a slave for the sake of a minister post.

"I have resigned as MLA two times earlier during the Telangana agitation on the direction of the party for the states self-respect. I am resigning again today for self-respect because I can't continue as a slave," he said.

He slammed the Chief Minister for sacking him without even seeking his explanation regarding the allegations against him and his family. Stating that the gap between him and Chandrashekar Rao developed five years ago, he asked the Chief Minister whether a minister could be removed from office based on an anonymous petition.

Rajendar alleged that the Chief Minister had humiliated him by denying him an appointment on many occasions and was sent back along with ministers and MLAs from the gates of Pragathi Bhavan and the farmhouse.

He alleged that the TRS chief who used to believe in righteousness and the people during the Telangana movement was now relying on money, conspiracies and was crushing opponents.

"Many leaders were sent out of the party through conspiracies. Is there any minister in the state Cabinet or any officer in the government who is working independently? Even Harish Rao faced several humiliations. All my previous colleagues in the TRS may now condemn my comments but they all know what the truth is," he said.

Rajendar said he won the election whenever the party fielded him as its candidate. He also claimed that he got the ministerial berth due to his hard work. Terming the Pragathi Bhavan as a camp of slaves, he suggested renaming it "Slaves Bhavan ' adding that there was not a single IAS officer in CMO belonging to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Backward Classes communities.

Some followers of Rajendar including former MLA E. Ravinder Reddy and former zilla parishad chairperson of Karimnagar Tula Uma also resigned from the TRS.

Rajendar alleged that Chandrashekar Rao became a 'dictator' after becoming Chief Minister and his decisions on the closure of Dharna Chowk, suppression of trade unions and strikes like the one in the TRSRTC, making Harish Rao and K. Kavitha quit from the TSRTC and Singareni Union activities etc were ample proof of his mindset.

He said the TRS was now functioning like Andharwala bahar, baharwala andhar as several anti-Telangana leaders who had humiliated the Telangana agitation in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh had now entered the party.

Rajendar questioned the need for the Chief Minister to engineer defections in other parties even after the TRS getting a majority of 90 seats in Assembly out of 119. He alleged that the TRS spent Rs 50 crore in Huzurabad since he was dropped from the Cabinet last month to lure his supporters.
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Michael P. Rellahan has been a staff reporter and editor at the Daily Local News since 1982. He has covered all kinds of news over the years but is now assigned to report on court and legal news, as well as Chester County government news and politics.
Compare and contrast. A British family, who have saved all year for a holiday after long months of house arrest and general dreariness, have to interrupt their break in Portugal to go home, on the stern orders of the Government in London.

Before them lie hours of bureaucracy, unpleasant and ruinously expensive nasal swabs, long forms to fill in, shuffling queues, more nasal swabs, more queues, and then days of being snooped on at home.

You'll know that I think this is ridiculous and useless. But even if you disagree with me, you must see that it is profoundly unfair, and a pretence of security.

It reminds me of the water companies which sternly tell us not to waste water in our homes while leaving a thousand ruptured mains gushing millions of gallons of the precious fluid back into the earth.

Into the boats they climb, until they are 'rescued' from their self-imposed plight by an expensive cutter paid for by your taxes and mine, and ferried to a British port where, after a few weeks of processing, they are almost invariably allowed to remain and can vanish. A Border Force boat is seen taking migrants into Kent on June 3rd

For here come the illegal migrants, in ever-growing numbers, who have chucked away their passports and paid a gangster to get them across the Channel.

Into the boats they climb, until they are 'rescued' from their self-imposed plight by an expensive cutter paid for by your taxes and mine, and ferried to a British port where, after a few weeks of processing, they are almost invariably allowed to remain and can vanish. In most cases, we will have very little idea of who they really are.

Someone will say at this point 'What about the plight of the poor refugee?' or alternatively that it is selfish of us British even to take holidays on sunny beaches while millions endure poverty in the Third World.

Well, a refugee would be just as able to escape his persecutors, if he really has any, in France as in Britain, so that one doesn't work.

The illegal Channel-crossers are immigrants seeking a better life than the one they had before. I don't blame them. I rather admire their enterprise.

But if they want to come here, they should join the legal queue to get in, as you and I would have to do if we wanted to live in any of the world's advanced nations. Or what is the point of laws and borders and passports at all?

As for the holidays and poverty argument, most British holidaymakers have paid a fortune in taxes to finance this country's gargantuan foreign aid budget, some of which (I am reliably informed) actually does help the poor of the Third World rather than, say, helping India maintain nuclear bombs, or aiding China with its space programme. If they want to give up their holidays to pay more, I am sure they are free to do so, and so are the self-righteous people who make this point.

Anyway, my case is different. The British state pretends very hard that it can protect us from Covid by taking away our ancient liberties to live and move and make an honest wage. Evidence that this claim is true is, to put it mildly, sketchy.

One day, historians, possibly from another planet, will slice through the guff and propaganda of the past 15 months and tell us what really happened rather than what the BBC said happened. For now, everyone is too over-wrought to think about it, and I have given up trying.

But, thanks to fetters it has loaded on to itself with more than 50 years of bad diplomacy and utopian human rights laws, the same Government is quite unable to do one of the most basic duties of any state  the guarding of our coasts. We, not sordid people-smugglers, should decide who comes into this country.

A British family, who have saved all year for a holiday after long months of house arrest and general dreariness, have to interrupt their break in Portugal to go home, on the stern orders of the Government in London. Before them lie hours of bureaucracy, unpleasant and ruinously expensive nasal swabs, long forms to fill in, shuffling queues, more nasal swabs, more queues, and then days of being snooped on at home. People are seen lining up at Faro airport to return to England

But since the people-smugglers realised that the Channel is in fact very easy to cross for much of the year, we have lost that control and show no signs of getting it back.

And before too long, the numbers of undocumented migrants in this country will be so great that a call for compulsory national identity cards and greatly increased surveillance will be pretty much irresistible.

You want a new job, to take a driving test, to move house, to hook up with a new electricity company, buy a phone, even to sign up with a gym? State-issued ID, please.

So life in general will become more like life under the Covid panic. More checks, more documents, more apps, more queues, more mistrust, more 'computer says no', more stupid bureaucratic mistakes. And if you lose the awful thing, you become an unperson.

And all because we have for years had governments which are tough on the law-abiding and feeble with those who break the rules.

Let me be clear here that, despite my political disdain for him, I wish Al Johnson and Carrie happiness and contentment, and long life in which to enjoy them. Goodness knows, many second and third marriages work out well.

Plenty of people no longer wish to live by the old rules, and that is their choice. My worry is about the Roman Catholic Church. Just as I have long wondered what the point of the Labour Party is if it will not renationalise the railways, what is the point of the Catholic Church if it does not stand for lifelong marriage?

The Vatican is supposed to be tough, for heaven's sake. I'm CofE and the leaders of my Church are softer than sponge cakes on such great questions.

But actually, Christianity teaches: 'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.' In my view this is the foundation of private life, of strong, stable independent families and so of a free society. But if it does not apply in Westminster Cathedral, where does it apply?

It's a crime The Pact is over

In the desert of modern TV, crass, politically correct and shallow, the crime series The Pact, right, was an interesting and rather clever relief.

I cared about several of the characters. Most of the dialogue was believable, the glimpses of the lives of others were fascinating.

The beautiful Welsh settings and the music were good, too. It even managed not to be (mainly) about child abuse. There was no gratuitous sex.

But it was just six episodes. How we need a new Inspector Morse, a thoughtful, likeable detective in a beautiful place, pursuing clever killers through a labyrinth of clues.

In the desert of modern TV, crass, politically correct and shallow, the crime series The Pact, right, was an interesting and rather clever relief

Syria whistleblowers deserve an apology

Ages ago I decided to fight and write on behalf of two brave men who spoke about something which several governments would rather was hushed up.

Both were inspectors at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). They said that a key OPCW report on an alleged poison gas attack in Syria had been doctored. If true, as I believe it to be, this shocking behaviour made the report look as if it justified air raids on Syria, which would otherwise have been breaches of international law.

Not all that long ago, much of the media would have backed these courageous whistleblowers. But Left-wingers, who used to loathe war, have now become strangely keen on it.

A recent BBC programme insinuated that one of these whistleblowers might have acted in hope of getting a financial reward from WikiLeaks. I now have this statement from WikiLeaks: 'WikiLeaks has never paid, either in kind or in cash, the OPCW whistleblowers. Neither has an OPCW whistleblower ever sought to claim any reward. Any claim made to this effect is false and any insinuation or suggestion to that end is outright propaganda.'

I urge the BBC to put it right.

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Boris Johnson is heading for defeat on overseas aid. 'We're quietly confident,' says one of the leaders of the Commons rebellion aimed at reversing the 4 billion cut. 'If these cuts are sustained, they'll have a devastating impact on some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. But the amount the Treasury will save from this is minuscule. It's less than one per cent of the overall budget. It's basically a rounding error.'

Perhaps it is. But while the rebels may win the debate in the Commons this week, they won't win it in the country.

The most recent poll on the issue is clear: 66 per cent of those who were asked believed that in the wake of the Covid crisis, the cut was justified. Only 18 per cent opposed it.

As one angry Conservative MP told me: 'There are about 100 people in my constituency who back retaining aid at this level. Everyone else has seen what's happened with Covid, seen the huge amounts of money we've been spending and thinks it's absolutely right that the Government looks to make a saving in an area like this. Everyone I've spoken to is absolutely furious about what the rebels are doing.'

Labour couldn't contain themselves. 'A disgrace  you should be ashamed of yourselves, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and the rest of you,' raged Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner

The rebels don't care. They have the numbers. And, they feel, the moral high ground.

'We're not actually rebels,' one tells me. 'It's the Government that are the rebels. We're just making sure they stick to the manifesto commitment.'

But they should care. Everyone should. Because the divide between the country and the Commons that will be exposed this week is dangerous for us all.

First, it will explode the myth peddled by many on the Left that the nation would emerge from its Covid trial, slip on its sandals, thread daisies through its hair and embrace a new liberal  or even socialist  utopia.

Yes, we gathered on our doorsteps to collectively applaud our doctors and nurses. There has been widespread support for the de facto emergency nationalisation of the UK economy. But that doesn't mean people now believe the Government has limitless amounts of cash to throw around.

And crucially, after a year of dealing with the ravages of a global pandemic, many think it's time to focus on priorities at home.

Which is why the PM appears wholly unconcerned about any political backlash from his impending defeat. As one No 10 insider told me: 'We're still spending 10 billion on overseas aid, which is a huge amount. We'll return to the 0.7 per cent [the proportion of GDP pledged to overseas aid in the Tory manifesto] at the appropriate time. But, at the moment, people recognise we are going to have to take some difficult decisions.'

If the voted goes as expected, the Commons chamber will fill with the cheers of the Government's opponents. But those opponents would do better to reflect. Specifically, on how Ministers  rightly  feel they can announce a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia alongside cuts to aid for hungry Syrian children without sparking any significant public outcry. If they did that, perhaps they would also begin to recognise their own part in devaluing Britain's overseas aid efforts.

Last December, the international children's charity Unicef announced that for the first time in its 70-year history it was going to begin delivering food parcels to families in the UK. Government Ministers correctly denounced the move as a 'political stunt'.

But Labour couldn't contain themselves. 'A disgrace  you should be ashamed of yourselves, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and the rest of you,' raged Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner.

Boris Johnson is heading for defeat on overseas aid. 'We're quietly confident,' says one of the leaders of the Commons rebellion aimed at reversing the 4 billion cut

Her colleague Richard Burgon stormed: 'Poverty is a political choice. The Government could end UK child poverty by making the super-rich pay fair taxes. It refuses to.'

And so the damage was done.

Unicef  with the help of its gullible allies  had managed to spread the message that 'British children are starving'.

Which meant that when the focus shifted to Britain's overseas aid contribution, millions of voters drew the obvious conclusion. If our own are going hungry, the rest of the world will have to wait. Labour had shot itself, and the world's poorest, in the foot.

This is the reality the Government's enemies cannot grasp. Every day brings a new effort on their part to portray Britain as a ghetto nation. They lecture on how our children are living off food banks, our streets are riddled with crime, schools are failing, health services are crumbling, our transport system is geriatric, our housing is squalid and the economy imploding.

And then they act with shock and horror when citizens of this nightmarish hellscape have the effrontery to say: '10 billion on overseas aid? That seems plenty to me.'

So rather than take the British people with them, this week our politicians will, I fear, do what they see as the next best thing. They'll simply ignore them.

'One Minister I spoke to told me they had polling which shows 81 per cent of people in Red Wall seats support the cut,' said a leading rebel. 'But that's just the old, patronising rubbish. Whenever there's a humanitarian crisis, it's people in those same Red Wall seats who are first to respond with charity events and donations.'

This may be true. But there's no avoiding the fact the vast majority of people do, indeed, back the cut to the aid budget. And any Commons vote to reverse it will be cast in defiance of their wishes.

Yes, Britain is one of the world's richest countries. We should be able to sustain our global obligations, even in the face of the Covid crisis. And if we cut our aid budget, even temporarily, then a heavy price will be paid by some of those who can least afford it.

But we will still pay a price for this week's expected vote. Because it will mark the return of so-called 'missionary politics'.

For years this was the basic principle that underpinned Western governance. It held that the public didn't always understand what was really good for them. But that to implement lasting change, there were times when the popular will would have to be circumvented.

And then, by Election time, voters would come to recognise what was done had been in their best interest. Or, perhaps, they might just have forgotten.

We know how that turned out.

Here, people took back control via the relatively benign Boris Revolution. In the United States, it came in the form of Donald Trump. In France, it was Emmanuel Macron, who, in turn, now has the populist Right-winger Marine Le Pen snapping at his heels.

This week's Commons vote won't spark a revolution. The country's focus is fixed firmly on the now tantalisingly close June 21 'freedom day'.

But the country will notice. The cheers of those celebrating the Government's defeat will echo as far as Bolsover and Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool.

And when it does, the divide between the people and their politicians that narrowed after Boris successfully delivered on his pledge to get Brexit done will begin to widen again.

On Friday, former Prime Minister Sir John Major joined the rebels in urging a reversal of the overseas aid cut.

By doing so, he said that the UK could 're-establish ourselves as a nation that keeps its word' on the international stage.

Sir John is right. Our politicians do need to keep their word to the world.

But they need to keep their word to their own people as well.
It is now almost five years since the Brexit referendum changed the country and shocked its complacent elite. It is useful to remember some of the arguments deployed by the more fervent and alarmist Remainers, to try to frighten people out of voting to recover national independence.

Let us take, for example, The Guardian newspaper, the beating heart of the hardline Remainer cause.

On June 15, 2016, it rudely dismissed Brexiteers as 'Europhobes', in the usual Left-wing way of assuming that anyone who disagrees with Islington liberals must have something wrong with them.

And it urged us all to vote 'to remain in the club that represents the most advanced form of cross-border co-operation that the world has ever seen'.

It prophesied 'the only argument about the immediate economic effects of Brexit is the depth of the hit that the economy would take'.

It warned against government by 'ruthless plutocrats' uninterested in higher spending on the NHS.

Well, it is very hard now for anyone to argue that the welfare of the Health Service, which memorably brought the Prime Minister through a serious bout with Covid, is not one of the main aims of Boris Johnson's Government.

It is very hard now for anyone to argue that the welfare of the Health Service, which memorably brought the Prime Minister through a serious bout with Covid, is not one of the main aims of Boris Johnson's Government

As for 'the most advanced form of cross-border co-operation that the world has ever seen', it turned out to be the 'advanced' EU that utterly messed up the development, purchase and distribution of vaccines against Covid-19, while an agile, independent Britain used its new freedom to show how it should be done. Brussels  far from co-operating  responded to the UK's success and the EU's failure with petulance and threats.

And our new national agility is not only demonstrated in our ability to conduct our own successful national projects, free from the slowdowns of EU-wide bureaucracy. We also see it in the economy, which some claimed that Brexit would instantly devastate. In fact, reports from all directions show a powerful rebound from the Covid closedown, of a sort that would surely not happen if these warnings had proved to be true. New orders are surging. A record 9.4 billion has been raised so far this year by firms on the London Stock Exchange.

The key Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the service sector is higher than at any time since 1997, retail sales are likewise on a sharp upward curve. One expert report predicts an 'eye-popping' rate of growth when the results are in for the second quarter of 2021.

Our new national agility is not only demonstrated in our ability to conduct our own successful national projects, free from the slowdowns of EU-wide bureaucracy. We also see it in the economy, which some claimed that Brexit would instantly devastate (file photo)

Other indicators are equally good, from booming house prices, feeding a swelling demand for bricks (always a good sign), a three-year high for the pound and rapid growth in manufacturing. The advertising market, the indispensable lubricant of business, is doing better than at any time in 45 years. The outlines of a new trading relationship with the rest of the world are already taking shape.

Our departure from the EU has not been problem-free. Nobody said it would be. But predictions of an economic Armageddon have not been borne out.

So let us not mess up all this success by over-reaction to a new set of prophets of doom, who are constantly trying to keep society and travel closed. We are all for caution, and above all for measures which will prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.

But in the new conditions created by the success of the vaccine, too much caution, and an unwillingness to reopen, could all too easily do more harm than good.
An artist has created a selection of very bold fashion statements by making accessories out of everyday items - including a bag made from a face mask and a co-ord ensemble from cheese slices.

Fine Arts student Gab Bois, from Montreal, uses mundane items from around the home to create surreal pieces of clothing.

Among the creations, which have been collated in an online gallery by Bored Panda, are bags and bras made from pieces of fruit and bracelets made from asparagus and Brussels sprouts.

In one snap, Gab can be seen covering her body in crisps to give the appearance of a long-sleeved top' while in another she re-purposes a set of earphones to give the illusion of bra straps.

Gab Bois, from Montreal, has created a selection of very bold fashion statements by making accessories out of everyday items - including a bag made of a face mask (pictured)

The savvy designer uses mundane items from around the home to create surreal pieces of clothing - including a checked co-ord made from cheese slices

Among the list, created by Bored Panda, includes a long-sleeved top created entirely from crisps

Jewellery takes on many forms in Gab's creations, and in one snap bracelets can be seen made from asparagus and Brussels sprouts

Gabs, who takes inspiration from things around her, has also made a bag from a piece of fruit (pictured)

The Fine Arts student said that sometimes her images take different shapes than what she had first imagined, which pushes her to retry them. Pictured, a bra using orange peel

Another of Gab's creative ideas includes sunglasses made from camera film (pictured)

In another image, she repurposes a set of earphones to give the impression they're bra straps - and even ties them into a neat bow
Princess Charlene of Monaco has put on a united front with her husband amid his high profile paternity suit, sharing a sweet photograph of her family on safari in South Africa, just hours after they were pictured celebrating her niece Avia's fifth birthday.

The royal, 43, share a snap of her husband Albert, six-year-old twins Princess Gabriella and Hereditary Prince Jacques as they were joined in an open top car by her brother Sean Wittstock, 37, and his children. She captioned it with a simple heart emoji.

It appears Albert and the children have flown to South Africa to visit Charlene, who is believed to be unable to travel home to Monaco due to an ear infection.

In earlier snaps, the family gathered around a birthday cake with Charlene's brother Sean, his wife Chantell, 34, their eldest son Raigen, 7, and the birthday girl.

'Happy 5th Birthday, Aiva! Love, Auntie Charlene,' she wrote.

It comes as the Princess debuted a dramatic new shaved hairstyle on her recent conservation trip to her native South Africa, where her brother lives.

Princess Charlene of Monaco, who hasn't been spotted in the principality since the turn of the year, took to Instagram to share a sweet picture of her and the family

The royal, 43, put on a united front with her six-year-old twins and husband Albert, 63, as the family gathered around a birthday cake with Charlene's brother Sean Wittstock, 37, his wife Chantell, 34, their eldest son Raigen, 7, and the birthday girl

The wife of Prince Albert showcased the 'French crop' hairdo - featuring a longer strip on top of the head and dramatically shaved back and sides - in snaps shared on her charity's Instagram page earlier this week.

She has not been pictured in Monaco with her husband since late January and she's believed to have travelled to South Africa in mid-March.

However, she did post a snap of the family together at Easter on 2nd April. It's unknown whether they joined her in South Africa or whether she returned to Monaco and flew back out again in May for her rhino conservation trip.

The royal, who is mother to six-year-old twins Jacques and Gabriella, first stepped out with a dramatic half-shaved head in December 2020 but has since gone even shorter and bolder with the cut.

Bold: Princess Charlene of Monaco debuted a dramatic new shaved hairstyle on her recent conservation trip to South Africa. The photos were shared on her charity's Instagram account

When did Princess Charlene travel to South Africa and when was she last seen with her husband? January 27 - Charlene is pictured with Albert for the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. March 18 - Charlene is pictured at the memorial for the late Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini at the KwaKhethomthandayo Royal Palace in Nongoma, South Africa April 2 - Charlene posts an Instagram picture of herself, Albert and their twins Jacques and Gabriella for Easter. It is unknown where the image was taken. May 8 - Albert, Jacques and Gabriella attend a Grand Prix event in Monaco May 10 - Albert attends Monaco Gala Awards in Monaco May 18 - Charlene shares her first picture from her conservation trip in South Africa June 1 - Prince Albert II, Jacques and Gabriella attend event at Oceanic Museum in Monaco June 3 - New photos emerge of Charlene on her conservation trip June 5- Charlene puts on a united front as she shares a photo with her family to mark her niece's fifth birthday with her brother's family and Albert and the twins. It is not known where the pictured was taken Advertisement

Charlene remained in South Africa after being struck down with an ENT (Ear, nose and throat) infection 'that does not allow her to travel'.

It's been a tumultuous start to the year for the royal, after news emerged that her husband is facing a paternity suit over a love child born in the early years of their relationship.

The palace were forced to comment on the princess's whereabouts ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, which she had been due to attend with Albert.

Instead the prince attended alone with their children.

It appears Charlene has still yet to return from South Africa as Albert stepped out without his wife on Monday for a visit to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco with their twins.

The 63-year-old prince, who already supports two illegitimate children, is alleged to have had a relationship with a Brazilian woman which resulted in a daughter in 2005.

The claim, which his lawyers dismissed as a 'hoax', is particularly painful as he was dating Charlene at the time, having met the former Olympic swimmer in 2000.

The 34-year-old claimant  who cannot be named for legal reasons  says she had a passionate affair with Albert, leading to the birth of their daughter  whose name is also classified  on July 4, 2005.

Albert received a handwritten letter from the child, who is now 15, in September last year reading: I don't understand why I grew up without a father, and now that I have found you, you don't want to see me.

Legal papers were also filed, as lawyers for the claimant called on Albert to undergo a DNA test  just as he did before finally being identified as the father of two illegitimate children born in the 1990s and early 2000s.

In January, Charlene spoke publicly for the first time since the allegations, telling Point de Vue: 'When my husband has problems, he tells me about it. I often tell him, "No matter what, no matter what, I'm a thousand percent behind you. I'll stand by you whatever you do, in good times or in bad."

Passionate: Charlene, who was raised in South Africa and represented the country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, travelled to Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal to learn more about being done by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa to help save rhinos

Flying solo! Her husband Prince Albert has continued with public duties with their children, taking them to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco on Monday (pictured)

The mother-of-two went on to say she also often tells her husband she will 'protect him' and will 'always be by his side.'

Charlene, who was raised in South Africa and represented the country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, travelled to Thanda Safari in KwaZulu-Natal to learn more about being done by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa to help save rhinos from poachers.

The princess took part in conservation operations including rhino monitoring and tracking, deployment with the Anti-Poaching Unit, educational wildlife photography sessions, and a White Rhino dart and dehorning exercise.

Last public outing together: Charlene and Albert were last pictured together in public in January at the Sainte Devote Ceremony in Monaco. On April 2, she shared a photograph alongside her husband Prince Albert and their children Jacques and Gabriella to mark Easter, although it is not clear where it was taken

Prince Albert stepped out at the Monaco Gran Prix on 22 May in Monte Carlo without his wife, Charlene, after an 'infection' prevented her from returning from South Africa

Photos of Princess Charlene with the animals and rangers were shared on Instagram.

'This entire experience moved me,' Charlene said.

'I connected with amazing people and spoke to the local trackers and anti-poaching units who all have an incredible passion for protecting our rhinos and environment.'

She continued: 'It filled me with immense joy to reconnect with the African people and spirit again. I was fascinated to learn more about the areas history and culture.

'How fitting to rediscover my love for Africa at a place aptly named Thanda, meaning "love" in the Zulu language!'

Aiva-Grace is the daughter of Charlene's brother Sean Wittstock and his wife Chantell, who was born in Johannesburg in 2016.

Her name was inspired by Charlene's mother-in-law Grace Kelly,
Queen Letizia of Spain stunned in a deep blue dress as she met with the president of Portugal in Madrid yesterday.

The royal, 48, showed off her sartorial prowess in an V-neck, A-line dress as she attended the annual meeting with members of the Princess of Asturias Foundation at the Royal Palace in Madrid.

She joined her husband King Felipe, 53, to have a private meeting with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Queen Letizia of Spain stunned in a deep blue dress as she met with the president of Portugal in Madrid yesterday

She joined her husband King Felipe, 53, to have a private meeting with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

After their meeting the King invited him to have lunch in private on a terrace in the Plaza de Oriente in Madrid.

Cementing her style credentials, Letizia donned a pretty blue number with a drop waist and A-line skirt and black embroided butterfly pattern.

Opting for safety first, the mother-of-two kept Covid safe by wearing a white face mask.

Adding a touch of glam to the look, Letizia sported sparkling diamond earrings and and a held onto a black clutch bag.

Royal, 48, showed off her sartorial prowess in an V-neck, A-line dress as she attended the annual meeting with members of the Princess of Asturias Foundation at the Royal Palace in Madrid

Cementing her style credentials, Letizia donned a pretty blue number with a drop waist and A-line skirt and black embroided butterfly pattern

Keeping her blue her brunette locks long and loose Letizia opted for a natural make-up look with a lick of black mascara and faded pink eyeliner.

The Princess of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation - previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation - to individuals, entities or organisations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities and public affairs.

Each recipient present at the ceremony receives a diploma, a sculpture expressly created for the awards by Spanish sculptor Joan Miro, and a pin with the emblem of the Foundation.

Keeping her blue her brunette locks long and loose Letizia opted for a natural make-up look with a lick of black mascara and faded pink eyeliner

Letizia enjoyed a long career in TV and newspaper reporting before marrying her husband King Felipe in 2004.

She worked for the La Nueva Espana before moving on to the ABC, a popular national newspaper.

She then worked for the EFE news agency, a Mexican local paper Siglo 21, the Spanish version of Bloomberg, before moving to CNN+.

When she met her husband-to-be, Letizia was working for the popular TV channel 24Horas as both a breaking news reporter and anchor for their popular Telediaro 2 evening news bulletin.

She met Felipe VI at a dinner party in 2002, and the pair enjoyed an instant connection, leading to their royal wedding in May 2004.

The former newsreader is the granddaughter of a taxi driver and the eldest daughter of Jesus Jose Ortiz Alvarez, a journalist, and first wife Maria de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez, a nurse and hospital union representative.

She attended public high school and did a degree at the Complutense University of Madrid. She later gained an MA in Audiovisual Journalism at the Institute for Studies in Audiovisual Journalism.

King Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son, now King Felipe VI.
If I eat anything sugary, I feel nauseous. I cant think why, but Im keeping off all sugar in all foods  even a teaspoon in a cup of tea. Could it be diabetes?

Diabetes does not usually cause symptoms of nausea in reaction to sugar, but regular nausea or indigestion are definitely symptoms to talk to a doctor about. Nausea is something we all feel from time to time with infections, from medications or after too much alcohol.

Indigestion is very common and often related to certain foods. It may not be the sugar content that causes the problem but the quantity eaten, or other aspects such as fat, acidity or spices which tend to irritate the stomach.

It may not be the sugar content that causes the problem but the quantity eaten, writes Dr Ellie Cannon (file photo)

Gallstones can be another cause. These are stones that form in the gall bladder, a tiny organ in the liver. If they become irritated, they can cause people to feel very queasy and sick after heavy and fatty meals.

Regular symptoms such as nausea or indigestion, alongside weight loss or fatigue, are usually nothing serious. But the difficulty is that they can be insidious signs of underlying silent cancers.

This is why I would always recommend a chat with a doctor about this. Checking weight, blood pressure, taking bloods and having an abdominal examination and a stool test could alleviate concerns and rule out anything sinister.

As for diabetes, type 2 is very common and testing is quick and simple via a blood test or urine test at the GP surgery. GPs should offer this as standard, particularly for someone at higher risk such as those over 40, or over a certain weight. This can usually be arranged with a nurse or healthcare assistant.

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure five years ago and take pills daily. Recently, I did an at-home test and noticed my blood pressure is higher than usual. I cant get through to my GP  shall I up my dose?

Don't change doses of tablets without a discussion with your own doctor. If you cant get through on the phone, try to access using an electronic consultation or by phoning later in the day and making a routine appointment.

High blood pressure is a really important issue: it puts people at long-term risk of heart disease, strokes and heart failure. Even if youve been diagnosed, it is important to take blood pressure readings regularly, as in most cases changes in blood pressure wouldnt cause noticeable symptoms.

The best way to keep a check on blood pressure is with an at-home monitor. We advise patients to take their blood pressure twice a day for a week or two using a monitor approved by the British and Irish Hypertension Society. Ask your pharmacist to recommend one. Theyre also available from the British Heart Foundation online shop (giftshop.bhf.org.uk).

A basic model costs 19.99, which is good value considering what a life-saver they can be. But it is important to take your reading properly as it is easy to get wrong. You need to sit down, with both feet on the floor, not be talking to anyone, and put the cuff in the right place  there are excellent guides on the British Heart Foundation website.

Readings can then be submitted to the GP to decide on further medication or if a change is necessary at all. Many nurses in GP surgeries monitor blood pressure and may be able to advise, too. If blood pressure is too high, losing weight, increasing exercise and reducing salt intake will all help, even for someone already on medication.

High blood pressure is a really important issue: it puts people at long-term risk of heart disease, strokes and heart failure, says Dr Ellie (file photo)

My right hand feels very sore and itchy, and this only dissipates when I run it under hot water. Is this normal? I dont feel it in my left hand.

Heat is a form of pain relief. This is why people have always used hot water bottles and heat rubs to quell pain, so it is not surprising for hot water to have that effect on your pain. Heat is particularly useful for what is known as neuropathic pain  pain that occurs from nerve damage. This is the type of pain we see in long-term diabetes or after shingles: it is a particularly burning and hot type of pain (so it does seem paradoxical that heat reduces it).

WRITE TO DR ELLIE Do you have a question for Dr Ellie Cannon? Email DrEllie@mailonsunday.co.uk Advertisement

A sore hand may be the result of neuropathic pain. Most commonly, this would be a problem called peripheral neuropathy  damage to the tiny nerves at the end of the limbs caused by diabetes, B12 deficiency or an old arm injury.

If it responds well to hot water, it may be worth trying a warming cream. Capsaicin cream, which contains chemicals similar to the ones that make chillis hot, are available from a pharmacist for this. A GP can explore blood tests and investigations to diagnose the cause of peripheral neuropathy.

I have seen a lot of sore and itchy hands during the pandemic thanks to the sensible advice to wash hands thoroughly and use alcohol gel. This has resulted in a number of people experiencing hand dermatitis, which is like eczema but is a response to the irritants in soap and alcohol.

If this is the cause of soreness and itchiness, it should respond to a nightly steroid cream. Speak to your pharmacist about this.

Another good idea is washing the hands with an emollient rather than soap: aqueous cream can be a good soap substitute.

Davinia's great for HRT help, but GPs are better

There's been a lot of talk about the menopause recently, which I welcome. Its partly thanks to TV presenter Davina McCall, who appeared in a documentary sharing frank details of her own struggles. It apparently led to a spike in women enquiring about treatment.

However, in the wake of Davinas revelations, GPs came under fire, which I found disappointing. Campaigners claimed we dont offer the latest treatments because were not menopause trained. This isnt really true: we look at every aspect of our patients health, and then come up with a plan for how best to tackle these things.

In truth, HRT might not be the answer to every health problem a menopausal woman faces.

Media-savvy menopause campaigners do a great job in getting attention, and write terrific books. But please, when it comes to medical matters, speak to a doctor.

TV presenter Davina McCall, pictured above, who appeared in a documentary sharing frank details of her own struggles with the menopause

The other jab kids must have...

Last month I wrote that I was worried that thousands of teenagers had missed out on vital vaccines they are supposed to have at school, having spent so much time out of the classroom.

Official figures showed that uptake of the HPV jab  given to year eight students to protect against human papillomavirus  were down on the year before.

I am pleased to report that, from what Im hearing, most pupils have been jabbed by now as part of catch-up programmes for both HPV and meningitis. My teenage son received his last week  I do reflect on how incredible it is that we are vaccinating a generation against some of the most horrible cancers that HPV causes.

If you think your child or grandchild has slipped through the net, and still hasnt had a jab, get in touch with your GP and ask whats going on.
Mustard gas is infamous for its use on the battlefield but its key chemical  mustard nitrogen  formed the basis of the earliest forms of cancer-fighting chemotherapy, in the 1940s.

Those first chemotherapy drugs, while crude, worked by the same principle that chemotherapy does today: as toxins that turn the body into a hostile environment, in which cancer cant survive.

Thanks to that advance and those that followed many once-fatal cancers are now almost completely curable. Last week, at the American Society for Clinical Oncologys annual meeting, a further wave of exciting cancer discoveries were unveiled.

There was good news for patients with some of the hardest-to-treat cancers, thanks to immune-system-enhancing medicines that help the body fight cancer, and even hope of a vaccine for ovarian cancer. Whats more, these drugs often have far fewer side effects than traditional treatments, such as chemo.

Here, we outline a handful of the most remarkable discoveries, and explain exactly what it will mean for patients today.

Last week, at the American Society for Clinical Oncologys annual meeting, a further wave of exciting cancer discoveries were unveiled

Medicine boost for incurable patients

An immune-boosting drug can reduce disease recurrence and deaths in kidney-cancer patients by up to a third. Experts also say the medicine  pembrolizumab  could provide life-long protection in patients once considered incurable.

Kidney cancer hits more than 13,000 Britons a year  and with standard treatments including chemotherapy, half of patients survive more than ten years. However, in the other 50 per cent of cases, the cancer returns, and for these patients the outlook can be bleak. The disease causes more than 5,000 deaths in the UK each year.

The result of a landmark trial, announced last week, could soon see this number dramatically reduced. In the study, 994 patients with the most common form of kidney cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, were prescribed pembrolizumab immediately after surgery. After two years, patients receiving the drug were a third less likely to see their cancer return or die compared to patients not on the drug.

Pembrolizumab, also known under the brand name Keytruda, is one of a new class of drugs called checkpoint inhibitors, which help the immune system to recognise tumour cells and destroy them. Given by injection once every three weeks, it has already proved to be a remarkably successful treatment in some patients with melanoma skin cancer, bladder and lung cancer and lymphoma.

Previously, it was given to kidney cancer patients when tumours had returned, and all else had failed. But this trial was the first time its been shown to benefit patients at an earlier stage, stopping the cancer coming back in the first place. As with all immunotherapy drugs, not all patients can benefit  in this case, their tumours must have a genetic hallmark known as PDL-1.

Experts also say the medicine  pembrolizumab  could provide life-long protection in patients once considered incurable (computer model showing structure of a pembrolizumab antibody)

Long-term survival data is still needed to give a full picture of how effective the treatment is, but scientists involved in the study believe that in many cases the cancer may be gone for ever. Doctors are confident NHS spending watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will approve its use very soon.

Colin Ruggles, 50, from Essex, was diagnosed with kidney cancer in September 2018 after noticing blood in his urine. He underwent surgery to remove his kidney and was immediately started on pembrolizumab after doctors told him there was a very high risk of his cancer returning. Colin, a plastics engineer who is married with two children, said: Every scan Ive had since has come back clear. I stopped the treatment in 2019 and theres been no sign of the cancer.

Professor Thomas Powles, oncologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London and lead researcher, said: Once your immune system learns to spot the cancer, it will remember what it looks like. That means it will continue to fight off cancer cells whenever they reappear in the body. There is a very real possibility we are curing patients for life.

Lifeline for those with gullet cancer

There has been good news for patients with deadly oesophageal cancer, with an immune-enhancing drug shown to almost double survival when compared to chemotherapy alone. The prognosis for the disease, which affects the food pipe  or gullet  is often poor: symptoms, such as a persistent cough and difficulty swallowing, appear late, once it has spread.

On average, patients with one of the most common types, oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, live for just ten months or less after diagnosis. Traditionally, first-line treatment is chemotherapy, and then immunotherapy, when chemo stops working.

The new treatment protocol, pioneered by British doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, has been described as revolutionary. Patients on the trial were given the drug nivolumab  which works in a similar way to pembrolizumab, helping the immune system seek out and destroy tumours  alongside chemotherapy, or in combination with another immunotherapy drug called ipilimumab.

Those given nivolumab and chemo had an average survival rate of more than 15 months, those on the immunotherapy combination 14 months. This is significantly longer than the rates seen in patients given just chemo, who, on average, lived for another nine months.

The new treatment protocol, pioneered by British doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital (file photo, above) in London, has been described as revolutionary

As with pembrolizumab, the immunotherapy drugs work best on patients with PDL-1 tumours. However, non-PDL-1 patients on the trial who received immunotherapy lived longer than would be expected had they just received chemo.

Dr Ian Chau, consultant oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, says the findings are likely to completely change how oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma is treated. He said: The option to begin immunotherapy immediately after diagnosis will help improve the chances for all patients with this cancer.

But it is especially significant to older patients who, due to their health, are unable to have chemotherapy because it would be too harmful to their body.

Both nivolumab and ipilimumab have been approved for prior use on the NHS. Dr Hendrik-Tobias Arkenau, medical director of Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK, said the strength of the Royal Marsden data means that it is likely UK hospitals will now be allowed to prescribe these drugs to oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients as an initial treatment.

He added: I think doctors will choose to continue chemotherapy but add nivolumab to the treatment, because it appears as though this leads to the strongest response.

Roy Norwood, 76, a former policeman from Teddington, South-West London, was diagnosed with the aggressive cancer in 2019.

I had two tumours on my oesophagus. The doctors told me it would be too difficult to have surgery, so my only option was chemo.

Roy was offered the chance to go on the trial, combining his chemotherapy with nivolumab. In July last year, they told me they couldnt find any trace of the cancer in my body. Unfortunately, it came back, but its small and isnt growing.

Vaccine that trains body to fight disease

Vaccines are already widely used to prevent infections  notably Covid. Could they also be created to treat cancer? The answer may be yes, if the promising results of an early-stage ovarian cancer trial are to be believed. All vaccines work by training the bodys immune system to recognise and fight invading pathogens. This is usually done by introducing a harmless fragment of the pathogen, which the immune system reacts to but which doesnt cause illness.

A newly developed ovarian cancer vaccine works in the same way  it contains DNA fragments found in ovarian tumour cells. By injecting these, the immune system switches on and attacks real tumour cells. In the trial, the jabs were given once a month for a year after standard surgery or chemotherapy. The results show that in 45 patients, the vaccine halted progression of their cancer for up to ten months.

Dr Arkenau said: Vaccines will be the next big development in fighting cancer and will eventually make the immunotherapies were talking about now irrelevant. It appears as though this particular vaccine works very well in patients without the BRCA mutation. The next step for the scientists involved will be a larger trial with more participants.

All vaccines work by training the bodys immune system to recognise and fight invading pathogens (file photo)

Could women now be spared mastectomy?

A tablet proven to fight ovarian cancer may also offer a cure to women with genetic breast cancer, a new study has shown. About one in 20 breast cancers  particularly those in younger women  is thought to be caused by genetic faults known as BRCA mutations.

Women who discover they carry faulty BRCA genes often choose to have preventative mastectomies, to make sure they never develop the disease.

For women who do develop BRCA-related cancer, chemotherapy treatment can be highly effective, but the new drug, olaparib, offers further options. Previously, it has been shown to be successful with ovarian cancer also caused by faulty BRCA genes, and in BRCA breast cancer patients with late-stage disease that has already spread throughout the body.

A new study, presented this weekend, shows it works well in patients with early-stage disease too. Olaparib taken daily after completion of standard treatment, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, reduced the risk of the cancer returning by up to 42 per cent. Three years after beginning the treatment, 86 per cent of women taking the drug were free of invasive breast cancer, compared with 77 per cent who were given placebo pills.

Olaparib, also known under the brand name Lynparza, stops cancer cells from repairing by inhibiting a molecule called PARP.

Since cancer cells with BRCA genes already have a poor repair system, it appears the drug is especially effective against them.

Study leader Professor Andrew Tutt, oncologist from the Institute of Cancer Research, said: Olaparib has the potential to be used as a follow-on to all the standard initial breast cancer treatments to reduce the rate of life-threatening recurrence and cancer spread for many patients.

Dr Arkenau cautioned: We still need to see the long-term survival figures before NICE is likely to approve its use, which could take 24 months.
Dream Horse Cert: PG, 1hr 53mins

Rating:

A Quiet Place Part II Cert: 12, 1hr 37mins

Rating:

Land Cert: 12A, 1hr 29mins

Rating:

Remember Pride, the heart-warming, Bafta-winning drama about Londons gay and lesbian community coming to the aid of striking Welsh miners in the early 1980s? Well, Dream Horse is a lot like that, only with racehorses instead of miners and no sweet Welsh grannies bustling outside to greet visitors with the words: Now, where are my lesbians?

The new film, although firmly rooted in the same South Wales valleys as Pride and similarly based on a true story, is set some 20 years later in a community still bearing the economic scars of the loss of King Coal.

Now women like Jan Vokes (Toni Collette) scrape a living from a variety of minimum-wage jobs  bit of cleaning here, some bar work there, some time behind a till in between.

How fortunate that a garrulous accountant with first-hand experience (Damian Lewis, above with Toni Collette) drinks in her bar and can help her assemble a chaotic syndicate

Her husband (Owen Teale) may be content to stay at home watching TV but Jan still has some get-up-and-go, still has her dreams, and this is a film all about dreams. Having successfully bred whippets and racing pigeons in her youth, she tries her luck with racehorses.

Shes done her research and knows its just about affordable, but with only 318 in her savings account shes definitely going to need some help. So how fortunate that a garrulous accountant with first-hand experience (Damian Lewis) drinks in her bar and can help her assemble a chaotic syndicate of assorted locals to chip in 10 a week each  from the teacake-addicted Maureen (Sian Phillips, no less) to the force of drunken nature that is Kerby (Karl Johnson).

Suddenly Jans little horse, born in an allotment stable, is carrying an awful lot of dreams

Theres no doubt Dream Horse gets off to a sticky start, as director Euros Lyn struggles to balance drama and comedy and we get used to the idea that the stars of this very Welsh film (and, yes, Land Of My Fathers, Bread Of Heaven and Delilah all feature) are an Australian (Collette) and an old Etonian (Lewis).

But fairs fair  theyre both pretty good, Lewis is half-Welsh anyway and they get energetic help from a fine supporting cast of authentically Welsh-born actors familiar from the likes of TVs Stella, Gavin & Stacey and Keeping Faith.

This is lightweight, crowd-pleasing stuff but the final few furlongs are a rousing delight as the finish line at the Welsh Grand National approaches. The vital race scenes are well staged, Lyn ratchets up both tension and Welshness to good effect and if you dont come out singing Why, why, why? Ill be very surprised.

After a brief, and alarming, flashback to Day One, A Quiet Place Part II picks up where the first film left off  theres still a rusty nail on the stairs and Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is still trying to keep her family  new baby and all  out of the jaws of those pesky aliens that hunt by sound.

Theres still a rusty nail on the stairs and Evelyn (Emily Blunt, above) is still trying to keep her family  new baby and all  out of the jaws of those pesky aliens that hunt by sound

The only bit of good news is that her deaf teenage daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) might just have found a way to stop them. If only she can reach the one radio station still broadcasting.

Director and co-writer John Krasinski certainly keeps tension levels and visual-effects standards high, but one plot revelation is borderline laughable.

Fourteen years ago, Sean Penn made Into The Wild, about an idealistic young man escaping into the Alaskan wilderness. And for a good half-hour it looks as if his ex-wife, Robin Wright, has done something similar with her feature film debut, Land, as we watch Edee (Wright herself), a city woman clearly dealing with some sort of emotional crisis, head for the Wyoming hills, buy a remote farm and embark on a new life of self-sufficiency.

The problem is shes hopeless at it and disaster looms but, just when all seems lost, nice Miguel (Demian Bichir) happens to pass by. This isnt heading where you are thinking but its well acted, features stunning landscapes and has a powerful last lap.
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leadership sprang into action soon after former minister Etala Rajender announced his decision to resign from the party and the Assembly, to brace party leaders and cadre for the imminent bypoll to the Huzurabad Assembly seat that has to be held within six months.

The party leadership expects the Election Commission to hold the bypoll sometime in September.

According to sources in the TRS, party president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao discussed the party's strategy with senior leaders after Rajendar's announcement.

It was decided to go all out to retain the Huzurabad seat with a big majority and to adopt the aggressive strategy of the recent Legislative Council polls and the Nagarjunasagar Assembly bypoll in which the TRS emerged victorious.

Ministers will camp in the constituency for three months as election in charges, while TRS MLAs, MLCs, ZPTCs, MPTCs and sarpanchs of erstwhile Karimnagar district will be given the task of micro-level booth management to reach out to every voter.

It was also decided to launch a slew of development activities and address long-pending issues in Huzurabad until the election code comes into force. Chandrashekar Rao will campaign in Huzurabad as he did in Nagarjunasagar, where he addressed two public meetings, the first time he campaigned in a bypoll.

The party leadership reportedly attaches much significance to the Huzurabad bypoll than the ones at Dubbak and Nagarjunasagar as it feels that earlier bypolls were necessitated due to untimely demises of respective sitting MLAs but the Huzurabad bypoll is coming as per the wishes of the party following sacking of Rajendar from the Cabinet and his subsequent resignation from the Assembly.

The party leadership views this bypoll as a 'do-or-die battle' as any upset in this election would have huge political implications on the TRS as well as the state government and may become a rallying point for anti-TRS and anti-Chandrashekar Rao forces to realign and unite before crucial 2023 December Assembly polls. A victory with a decent majority in Huzurabad will make voices of dissent in the party, if any, completely silent and dash plans of party leaders to quit the party to join other parties.

By defeating Rajendar, the TRS leadership wants to send a loud and clear message that the TRS remains unbeatable in Telangana political landscape and for the party, individuals, however big they are, do not matter much.
Checkmate In Berlin

Giles Milton John Murray 25

Rating:

Three months before the end of the Second World War in Europe, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met for an eight-day conference at Yalta in the Crimea. An Allied victory was in sight.

The immense task of the organisation of the world, was how Churchill described their purpose. He was barely exaggerating. Apart from agreeing on an unconditional surrender from the Nazis, each of the three leaders had his own agenda: Churchill wanted to keep the British Empire intact; Stalin wanted to retain Poland; and Roosevelt wanted both to persuade Stalin to join the war against Japan and accept his proposals for a new organisation, the United Nations.

Surprisingly, perhaps, it was Stalin who shone at Yalta. By all accounts (not least his own teams), Churchill was under-prepared and over-talkative. Silly old man, complained a senior aide, without a word of warning he plunged into a long harangue about [the] World Organisation, knowing nothing whatever of what he was talking about and making complete nonsense of the whole thing.

Surprisingly, perhaps, it was Stalin (above) who shone at Yalta. By all accounts (not least his own teams), Churchill was under-prepared and over-talkative

President Roosevelt was terminally ill: on one day, he was obliged to conduct discussions with Stalin from his sickbed. But Stalin was completely on the ball  listening hard to what everyone had to say, and then, when it came to his turn, keeping to the point.

Of course the man was ruthless and of course he knew his purpose, observed the British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, adding: He never wasted a word. He never stormed, he was seldom even irritated.

Churchill, too, was impressed. It is no exaggeration when I say that we regard Marshal Stalins life as most precious to the hopes and hearts of us all, he said, toasting him at a banquet on the fifth day.

Two days later, he went even further. The fire of war has burnt up the misunderstandings of the past. We feel we have a friend whom we can trust, and I hope he will continue to feel the same about us.

Checkmate In Berlin offers a wonderfully clear and digestible account of what happened next. By the time of the second Allied conference, at Potsdam in July 1945, Germany had surrendered, Roosevelt had died, and Churchill had lost his famous bulldog resolve.

Checkmate In Berlin offers a wonderfully clear and digestible account of what happened next (Above, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet at Yalta in the Crimea in February 1945)

Anthony Eden couldnt believe it when he heard Churchill surrendering the captured German naval fleet. [I] urged him not to give up our few cards without return, but he is again under Stalins spell. He kept repeating, I like that man. 

Churchills mood wouldnt have been helped by the fact that he was awaiting the result of the first post-war General Election: halfway through the conference he flew back to Britain, only to hear that he had lost.

Stalin, on the other hand, was cock of the walk. He arrived at Potsdam in a blaze of glory, dressed in a cream jacket with gold braid on its collar, and with a red stripe on his blue trousers, like the Emperor of Austria in a bad musical comedy, according to one member of the British delegation.

He could afford to parade his power. The Russians had arrived in Berlin two months before their allies, and had proceeded to secure their position with utter ruthlessness.

Though it had been agreed that the city would be divided between the Allies, Stalin secretly planned to secure it for the Soviet Union, regardless of any pledges or agreements.

The British and Americans were slow to realise that the Soviets had no intention of playing by the rules.

They will promise anything, sign anything, provided it benefits them, and will scrap the pledge the moment it doesnt, declared the less easily deceived Colonel Frank Howlin Mad Howley, who led the American contingent of the joint British-American Military Government of Berlin.

He had arrived in the German capital on his guard against the Germans. But it was becoming more evident by the day, he recalled, that it was the Russians who really were our enemies.

By and large, the Russians covertly agreed with this analysis. America is now the primary enemy, one of Stalins generals had announced after the fall of Germany. We have destroyed the base of Fascism. Now we must destroy the base of Capitalism.

When they took Berlin, the Soviet high command had tolerated any atrocities committed by their troops. Ninety thousand women sought medical assistance for rape: many thousands more would have been too ashamed to report it.

Soviet general Marshal Zhukovs only fear was that his soldiers might contract venereal disease.

The devastation wrought on Berlin by the Russians is vividly described by the British historian Giles Milton in a series of sharp vignettes. Those Berliners who had survived now faced starvation.

There were no dogs, cats or birds left in the city  they had all been eaten. In Berlin zoo, people chanced upon one of the few animals still alive  an ox  and killed it. Someone wrenched out the liver, others snatched at the dripping tongue, reported an eyewitness.

The tongue is mine the tongue the tongue! Five blood-covered fists angrily pull the tongue out of the oxs throat. At the rear of the beast, a shrill-voiced woman hacked off the tail and fled the scene in greedy triumph.

IT'S A FACT Churchill was bored by the classical music at a dinner given by Stalin in Potsdam, and to 'get even' had the RAF band blast its brass at a banquet he hosted. Advertisement

Meanwhile, the Soviets were systematically stripping the Western sector of Berlin. Take everything! ordered one senior official. Do you understand? Everything! If you cant take it, destroy it!

Hospitals were raided for anaesthetics and antibiotics. Objects great and small  watches, rings, bathroom taps, washing machines  were confiscated or wrecked. Notices were placed on public buildings declaring that all typewriters and telephones should be handed in.

Those who wont give them up will be shot.

Museums were looted, and their contents sent to Moscow under the direction of a leading Russian art historian. Milton calls it the greatest looting spree in history. One Moscow museum alone received 12,500 stolen works of art.

Many bits and pieces found their way into the homes of Marshal Zhukov, among them 85 crates of furniture, a suitcase full of diamonds and emeralds, priceless tapestries and nearly 240 lb of gold and silver.

Stalins mendacity extended to the corpse of Adolf Hitler.

Early on, the Russians discovered his burnt remains outside his bunker; Hitlers former dental assistant had identified his skull from dental records. But it suited Stalin to fuel rumours that Hitler had escaped to the West.

Lest she spill the beans, the dental assistant was placed in solitary confinement in Moscow for the next six years, before being condemned to ten years in a Soviet gulag.

At the Potsdam conference, when President Truman asked Stalin how he thought Hitler had died, Stalin replied that he was probably alive and well and living in Spain or Argentina.

The official Soviet newspaper Izvestia went a step further, claiming that Hitler and Eva Braun were living together in a castle in Westphalia, the British zone of Germany.

Checkmate In Berlin charts the growing tension between the Soviet Union and its former allies in the post-war years. After repeatedly being outwitted by America and Britain, Stalin cut off all food and fuel in 1947, leaving Berlin effectively under siege for the next 323 days.

Miltons account of the breaking of the siege is as gripping as any thriller.

Until quite recently, historians liked to take an on-the-one-hand/but-on-the-other view of the relationship between the Soviet Union and its former allies. But Milton refuses to be mealy-mouthed in his defence of the West.

He champions those who identified Stalin as the enemy, and stood their ground, most notably Labours Ernest Bevin and our old friend Colonel Frank Howlin Mad Howley.

He was the first to recognise that the Soviets were no longer an ally; that Stalin was plotting the seizure of both Berlin and western Germany, he writes.

Howley saw Soviet duplicity in razor-sharp focus, with kidnappings, looting, murder and espionage being a daily reality in Berlin, along with lurid propaganda and the rigging of elections.
The Fortune Men

Nadifa Mohamed Viking 14.99

In 1952, Cardiffs Tiger Bay area is a last-chance saloon for seamen and refugees from across the world. When a Polish shopkeeper is savagely murdered, suspicion falls on Mahmood Mattan, a Somali gambler married to a Welsh woman.

The evidence is thin, but it may be enough to hang him. Based on real events, Mohameds novel is panoramic in its scope and rich in period atmosphere, vividly tracing the desperate lives of the victim and the accused.

Anthony Gardner

Still Life

Sarah Winman Fourth Estate 16.99

In Second World War Italy, two chance encounters shape the fate of cockney soldier Ulysses Temper, eventually taking him to 1950s Florence where he builds a life for himself.

Along for the ride are an old man who talks to trees, a child they call the Kid, and an Amazonian parrot named Claude. Teeming with unforgettable characters and oozing atmosphere, its a joyous, summery ode to love, art and poetry, to wild bets, E. M. Forster and sharp dressing.

Hephzibah Anderson

The Startup Wife

Tahmima Anam Canongate 14.99

Newlyweds Asha and Cyrus create an app  We Are Infinite  that provides an internet platform for creating non-religious rituals. Its a resounding success but raises interesting moral dilemmas, while the elevation of charismatic Cyrus to messiah status creates trouble in their marriage.

Anams fourth novel is a smart, savvy satire on social media and the tech scene that scores some palpable hits but fails to convince in its depiction of human relationships.

Simon Humphreys

One Way Street

Trevor Wood Quercus 18.99

Woods much-admired debut, The Man On The Street, introduced Jimmy Mullen, a homeless, traumatised veteran turned unofficial detective. This powerful sequel begins months later with Jimmy now living in a Newcastle hostel, trying to keep his nose clean.

But when a string of drug-using kids start dying in mysterious ways, he feels compelled to investigate. Wood brings humanity and a vital dash of humour to his portrait of life on the mean streets of Tyneside.

John Williams
A crime of deluded passion was caught on camera when a man walked up to a former nursing school classmate and stabbed her dead at a mall in Brazil.

Vitorya Mota, 22, was having lunch at a food court table at Plaza Shopping in downtown Neteroi when Matheus dos Santos, 21, flew into a rage and repeatedly plunged a knife into her chest.

Surveillance footage showed Mota and dos Santos holding a conversation for nearly two minutes when the suspect dug into bag and pulled out a kitchen knife.

Dos Santos then pounced on top of Mota and continued to stab her before mall security officers pulled him off the woman and pinned him to the floor until the police arrived.

Brazilian online news portal G1 reported that Mota and dos Santos previously attended the same class at a local nursing school, and that dos Santos had fallen in love with Mota, who rebuffed his advances.

Vitorya Mota was having lunch at a shopping mall in Neteroi, Brazil, on Wednesday afternoon when she was stabbed dead by Matheus dos Santos, a former nursing school classmate. Brazilian online news portal G1 reported that Mota and dos Santos previously attended the same class at a local nursing school, and that dos Santos had fallen in love with Mota, who rebuffed his advances

Matheus dos Santos was restrained by security guards at the mall and then turned over to the police. He has been charged with femicide

Matheus dos Santos aims his knife at former nursing school classmate Vitorya Mota before he stabbed her dead at a mall in Brazil on Wednesday

Paramedics attempted to save Mota's life. She died while she was being rushed in an ambulance to Azevedo Lima State Hospital.

Dos Santos was charged with femicide and remained in custody at the 76th Civil Police Station.

Investigators learned that dos Santos had visited a store at the mall to purchase the knife that he used to murder Mota.

Matheus dos Santos is led into a police precinct in Niteroi, Brazil, on Wednesday moments after he plunged a knife into Vitorya Mota and killed his former nursing school classmate

Vitorya Mota (pictured in the yellow t-shirt) was having lunch when Matheus dos Santos approached her at the mall food court in Brazil and engaged her in a conversation and later attacked her with a knife. She died while she was being rushed in an ambulance to a local hospital

Brazilian authorities found that Matheus dos Santos purchased the knife (pictured) moment before he used to kill Vitorya Mota

Mota spent the last three years working at Coffee Town, an eatery at the mall.

'What to write???? How do you take the life of someone like that? Almost 3 years ago Vic (started to) work with us. Always smiling (she had countless reasons not to smile) Always kind, polite, studious, thoughtful, intelligent, captivating .....,' the shop wrote on its Instagram account Wednesday.

'The @coffeetown_plazashopping team is heartbroken, desperate, traumatized with so much cruelty ,,, Fly Vic. Heaven sure needed your sweetness. Here we continue with a missing piece of us.'
Uyghur Muslims have been shackled with 'tiger chains', tortured and sterilised in brutal camps in China, witnesses shockingly told a UK tribunal today.

Witnesses gave their testimony of torture and gang rapes to an independent London panel investigating the plight of Uyghurs in China on Friday, a process slammed by Beijing as a mendacious smear.

They described the squalid conditions and brutality in camps in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, with one man claiming he was in tortured and held in chains for more than seven months.

The evidence includes claims that more than 5,500 Uyghur Muslims are currently missing in China, while one witness alleged that a woman died after undergoing forced sterilisation at a camp.

The panel is seeking to investigate claims that Beijing is committing genocide in Xinjiang, where internment camps are estimated to house three million Kazakhs and Uyghurs.

Uyghur Muslims have been shackled with 'tiger chains', tortured and sterilised in brutal camps in China, a UK tribunal was told today. Pictured: Witness Kazakh-Uyghur Omir Bekali showing how he was kept in chains at a camp

Speaking to the 'Uyghur Tribunal' on Friday, witness Kazakh-Uyghur Omir Bekali demonstrated how he says he was shackled in chains at a Uyghur 're-education' camp in region of Xinjiang

The nine UK-based jurors of the 'Uyghur Tribunal', including lawyers and human rights experts, convened the first of two evidence sessions on Friday, ahead of an intended report in December on whether China is guilty of genocide.

The tribunal is set to hear dozens of testimonies over four days in what campaigners are hoping will be the most in-depth public investigation since the abuse allegations came to light more than three years ago.

International observers believe China is trying to exterminate ethnic minorities, while China claims the camps are 'vocational training centres' and residents are there of their own free will.

Today, the tribunal heard shocking testimonies from witnesses including Omir Bekali, a Kazakh national with Uyghur heritage, who was arrested when visiting family in Xinjiang on a visit from Kazakhstan.

At one point in his testimony he put on chains, shackled to both of his hands and feet, to show the panel how he claimed he had been held in a 're-education' camp for over seven months.

When he arrived at the camp, he claimed that a hood was placed over his head and a policeman took him to a place 'like a hospital', where he had a full body examination with the hood still on, The Telegraph reported.

'For the first four days and nights, I was tortured intensely,' he said.

'I was hung from the ceiling,' Bekali explained, adding that he was beaten all over his body and on the soles of his feet.

Meanwhile, teacher Qelbinur Sidik (pictured) told the hearing that she been forced to teach Chinese to so-called students who were forced to wear shackles for hours

The tribunal heard from witnesses including Omir Bekali, a Kazakh national with Uyghur heritage, who was arrested when visiting family in Xinjiang on a visit from Kazakhstan

He went on to claim that he was forced to 'accept' the crimes of instigating terrorism, organising terror activities, and covering up for terrorists, but he said that denied everything.

Bekali also shockingly told the panel how his father had been killed and his brother left disabled following torture at the camp.

'My father died and my sister and brother were branded terrorists,' he added.

Meanwhile, Qelbinur Sidik, an ethnic-Uzbek teacher from Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, told the panel how she was forced to teach in two 're-education' camps.

She claimed that she was ordered by Communist Party bosses to teach Chinese in two fetid and crowded camps - one male and one female - for Uyghurs.

The so-called students were made to wear shackles during hours-long classes, she told the tribunal.

'The police, the guards in the camp, they didn't see the male prisoners as human beings,' Sidik said.

'They enjoyed watching them being humiliated and their suffering was for them their joy.'

Female prisoners were allegedly abused and gang-raped when they were taken for interrogation.

'They were not only tortured but also raped, sometimes gang-raped,' Sidik said.

She also claimed that the forced sterilisation of Ughur women was common in the camps and in one case, a female prisoner died from the process.

Sidik said she was also subjected to forced sterilisation before she was given a visa to visit her daughter in the Netherlands and fled China.

Another witness, Patigul Talip (pictured) broke down in tears in front of the tribunal as she held up a photo of her family, claiming she doesn't know if her son and daughter are alive or dead

A facility believed to be a reeducation camp north of Akto in China's northwestern Xinjiang region is shown in this photo taken in June 2019

'The things that I have witnessed and I experienced, I cannot forget even for a day,' she said. 'I am a woman myself, I have a daughter. I don't wish anyone to suffer like that.'

Another witness, Patigul Talip broke down in tears in front of the tribunal as she held up a photo of her family, claiming she doesn't know if her son and daughter are alive or dead.

She told the jurors that she and her husband fled China after he was allegedly imprisoned and beaten for teaching the Quaran and the Arabic alphabet.

The mother claimed their children were hauled off a plane, which was set to take them to Sweden, as it was about to leave Beijing.

She said that she last had contact with them in 2015, adding: 'Only mothers who have children can understand the pain, how a mother would suffer.'

Dolkun Isa, the president of the Congress who was granted asylum in Germany, also addressed the panel.

'Because of my activities abroad my whole family have faced monitoring and harassment,' he said.

'I have no idea how many of my family members are in concentration camps or detention and how many are alive.'

The London tribunal is not affiliated with any government, and China has refused to participate, branding it a 'machine producing lies'. Beijing has slapped sanctions on Nice, a former UN war crimes prosecutor, and others involved.

But lawyers for the tribunal said the US and Australian governments offered to provide relevant material, complementing thousands of pages of documentary evidence already compiled.

It was set up at the request of the World Uyghur Congress, the largest group representing exiled Uyghurs, which lobbies the international community to take action against China over alleged abuses in Xinjiang.

Rights groups say up to one million Uyghurs and people from other ethnic-Turkic minorities are detained in camps in Xinjiang. Pictured: Witness Kazakh-Uyghur Omir Bekali at tribunal

According to the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database (UTJD), there are 232 concentration camps, 257 prisons and 5,567 missing people in Xinjiang. Pictured: A camp in Xinjiang

But Nice and his colleagues have vowed that the panel's work will be 'impartial' and led by evidence.

'Allegations made against the PRC (People's Republic of China) are grave,' tribunal chair Geoffrey Nice said at the opening of the first four-day session, adding that they included numerous breaches of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Rights groups say up to one million Uyghurs and people from other ethnic-Turkic minorities are detained in internment camps in Xinjiang.

According to the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database (UTJD), there are 232 concentration camps, 257 prisons and 5,567 missing people in Xinjiang, the tribunal heard.

The allegations heard at the tribunal are consistent with many other accounts emanating from the camps, leading the US government to declare that a genocide is underway.

But China insists they are for the educational improvement of Xinjiang residents, to deter extremism and boost incomes.

'This pseudo tribunal has nothing to do with the law. It is embezzling the name of a 'tribunal' to engage in anti-China politics,' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Thursday.

'This so-called tribunal has also entangled a group of people whose opposition to China is their profession and livelihood,' he added, noting the backing of the World Uyghur Congress.
Matt Gaetz insists he isn't worried that his former 'wingman' could turn on him after striking a plea deal amid claims the Republican representative had sex with an underage girl.

When asked by reporters on Friday if he was worried he would be indicted the Florida congressman replied: 'No.'

The scandal-hit congressman also refused to deny he'd been approached by investigators probing under age sex claims made against him.

Asked if he or his lawyers had been approached by investigators in his home state, Gaetz swerved and said: 'Well, I think there's a lot going on in Florida, my focus is on what's going on here in Washington.'

Reporters also asked the congressman if he has spoken to his ex-girlfriend about the investigation in Florida, but Gaetz said he wouldn't divulge personal information to reporters.

Gaetz, (pictured on Thursday) is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl. He denies the allegations

'I would love to be able to share all the people in my life that I talk to and don't talk to, but unfortunately the people in your profession have doxxed, harassed, threatened people that have been in my life, and so I don't get into who I talk to and don't talk to, because I don't want to put people in jeopardy.'

Gaetz's ex, who has not been named, is said to have been with him in 2017 - the period investigators are keen to probe. She is said to be keen to cooperate with prosecutors.

He spoke after his pal Joel Greenberg, 36, pleaded guilty last month to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced.

Greenberg admitted sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted that he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men, the Associated Press reported.

A federal judge accepted his guilty pleas on Thursday, on the proviso that Greenberg cooperate with prosecutors.

Gaetz, a friend of Greenberg, is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl.

The age of consent in Florida - where the encounter is said to have taken place - is 18. He denies the allegations.

NBC News reported that federal prosecutors are also looking into whether Gaetz obstructed justice during a phone call with a witness in a potential sex crimes investigation.

Joel Greenberg, 36, (pictured) pleaded guilty last month to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted that he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men

Rep. Matt Gaetz (center) and close associate Joel Greenberg (right) take a selfie with political consultant Roger Stone (left)

As part of the plea, Greenberg has agreed to give 'substantial assistance' to prosecutors as part of their investigation, including by testifying at trials or in federal grand juries if needed and in turning over all documents he might have that could help the federal inquiry, CNN reported.

Details of the evidence he intends to offer up have yet to be shared.

The former Seminole County tax collector, is a key figure in the Justice Department's sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz, a controversial Republican congressman representing Florida, has made a name for himself as a strong defender of former president Donald Trump.

The Florida representative, who was not mentioned in the plea agreement, has denied the allegations and any accusation of wrongdoing and has said repeatedly he will not resign from Congress.

Greenberg is set to be sentenced in Orlando on Aug. 19.
Justin Trudeau has demanded an apology from the Catholic church after 215 children's bodies were found at a school for indigenous children it ran.

The Canadian prime minister suggested Friday that Pope Francis himself should say sorry following last month's discovery of the mass grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia in Canada.

Trudeau said: 'As a Catholic, I am deeply disappointed by the position that the Catholic Church has taken now and over the past many years.

'When I went to the Vatican a number of years ago I directly asked His Holiness, Pope Francis, to move forward on apologizing, on asking for forgiveness, on restitution, on making these records available, and were still seeing resistance from the church, possibly from the church in Canada.

'Its not showing the leadership that quite frankly is supposed to be at the core of our faith, of forgiveness, of responsibility, of acknowledging truth,' Trudeau said.

Justin Trudeau called on the Catholic church to apologize for the Indian Reservation School scandal, with 215 children found buried under one shuttered school last week

Trudeau added that the Canadian government has 'tools' it can deploy if the church does not release documents detailing what it knew about abuse at the schools and when, but did not comment further.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools as an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society.

They were separated from their parents to do so, and suffered horrendous abuse.

The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant in the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages.

Trudeau said Catholics across the country should reach out to bishops and cardinals on this issue.

'We expect the church to step up and take responsibility for its role in this and be there to help with the grieving and healing including with records.

'Its something the United Church and others have done. Its something we are still waiting for the Catholic Church to do.'

The Vatican spokesman did not respond to requests for comment this week about demands for a formal apology from the pope.

The children whose remains were found were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia (pictured) that closed in 1978

215 pairs of children's shoes are seen on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery as a memorial to the 215 children whose remains have been found

Former Pope Benedict met with a group of former students and victims in 2009 and told them of his 'personal anguish' over their suffering, a meeting that was termed an expression of sadness and solidarity.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops announced in 2018 that the pope could not personally apologize for residential schools, though he has not shied away from recognizing injustices faced by Indigenous people around the world.

The archbishop of Vancouver, however, apologized on Wednesday.

The United, Presbyterian and Anglican churches already have apologized for their roles in the abuse, as has the Canadian government, which has offered compensation.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tkemlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia has said the remains of 215 children were confirmed last month at the school in Kamloops, British Columbia, with the help of ground-penetrating radar. So far none has been excavated.

Casimir said her nation wants a public apology from the Catholic Church. She adds that the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which ran almost half of Canadas residential schools, has yet to release any records about the school.

Casimir said the nations findings are so far preliminary and she expects a final report, including technical details, will be ready by the end of the month.

'This is not a mass grave site but rather unmarked burial sites that are to our knowledge also undocumented,' she said.

In 1920, the Canadian Government passed a law making it compulsory for children between 7 and 15 to attend the residential schools. Many children died of abuse and neglect, and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was Canadas largest such facility and was operated by the Roman Catholic Church between 1890 and 1969. The federal government then ran it as a day school until 1978, when it was closed. Nearly three-quarters of the 130 schools were run by Catholic missionary congregations.

A papal apology was one of the 94 recommendations made by a government-established Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Trudeau asked the pope to consider such a gesture during his visit to the Vatican in 2017.

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said that in his rebuke, Trudeau didn't point out that residential schools were created and funded by the government. 'The Catholic Church ran most of the schools but devoted few of its own resources to them beyond personnel paid for by the government,' Wiseman said.

The Kamloops school was established in 1890 and operated until 1969, its roll peaking at 500 during the 1950s when it was the largest in the country. Children were banned from speaking their own language or practicing any of their customs. This undated archival photo shows a group of young girls at the school

None of the bodies have been identified, and it remains unclear how they died. Survivors fear more bodies will be found at the same site - as well as at the 80 other former residential school sites across Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his horror at the discovery last week. He said: 'The news that remains were found at the former Kamloops residential school breaks my heart - it is a painful reminder of that dark and shameful chapter of our countrys history.

'I am thinking about everyone affected by this distressing news. We are here for you.'

'It's a harsh reality and it's our truth, it's our history,' Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Chief Rosanne Casimir told a media conference Friday.

'And it's something that we've always had to fight to prove. To me, it's always been a horrible, horrible history.'

Casimir said they had begun searching for the remains of missing children at the school grounds in the early 2000s, as they had long suspected official explanations of runaway children were part of a cover-up by the state.
Shocking footage showing a women spitting in the face of a Harrods security guard before being wrestled to the ground has been obtained by the MailOnline.

Two women are said to have been removed from the store for not wearing protective face masks - as is currently required by UK law due to the coronavirus pandemic - along with a third women shown n the video.

The video shows a scuffle breaking out between the women and twelve security guards blocking them from getting back into the store.

Amid the scuffle, one of three women is seen spitting in the face of one of the guards, before being chased down and dragged to the ground by the men.

A fight broke out between a group of women and security guards in front of high-end London department store Harrods on Friday. Three women were shown in a video of the incident being removed from the store by a group of 12 guards

The video - filmed by someone standing on the Knightsbridge street outside - begins with the guards bundling the group of women out of the store and onto the street outside, as one of the women is shown kicking one of the men.

Another of the women is seen trying to push the guards back, the number of which outside the store quickly increases as they block the entrance.

One of the guards is seen holding on to one of the women, who screams 'What the f*** are you doing?' repeatedly as he pulls her to one side of the entrance.

Pointing to her friend being pushed by the guard, another of the women asks other people standing outside to 'record it'.

The video - filmed by someone standing on the Knightsbridge street outside - begins with the guards bundling the group of women out of the store and onto the street outside, as one of the women is shown kicking one of the men. The scuffle continued in front of the building and onto the street, as one of the women was shown being dragged by one of the guards

Meanwhile, the third women who was pushed out of the shop is shown trying to drag her friend away from the guards, who begin to get more aggressive.

By this point, a number of people outside the shop are shown filming the incident unfold, one of the women can be heard screaming, and a bystander has been able to get himself between the women and the guards.

Just when it appears the two groups have been pulled apart, one of the tree women leans over the top of the bystander and spits in the face of one of the guards.

After spitting at one of the guards, the women who spat is shown in the video running away from them down the street. She is chased across the road, before a large group of the guards catches up with her

After being caught by the security guards, the woman who spat is shown in the video being dragged to the floor and detained

This results in the women running off down the street and into the road, with the guards chasing her while trying to push her friends away.

The guards quickly catch up with the women who spat at them, and she is dragged to the floor in the middle of the road between two lanes of traffic.

She starts to repeatedly scream 'What the f***' as she is surrounded by the security guards on the street, at which point the video cuts off.

A spokesperson for Harrods said: 'Harrods security was called following complaints of a group behaving aggressively within the store.

'Our security team is trained to protect those inside the store against any behaviour that may put our customers and employees at risk.

'When security attempted to remove the individuals, they resisted with force and reacted with extremely aggressive behaviour, which included spitting at a security officer.

'One of the individuals was later arrested and detained at the scene.'

London's Metropolitan Police has been contacted by the MailOnline for comment on the incident.

The identities of the women and security guards involved is currently unknown.

According to UK law, security guards have no more legal powers when it comes to detaining civilians than any other member of the public.

However, like anyone else, security guards are entitled to make a citizens arrest under certain conditions, outlined in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984.
Top officials in the State Department accused each other of 'playing games', behaving recklessly, and risking embarrassing the United States during a heated debate over how aggressively to pursue the 'lab leak' theory to explain the pandemic.

A series of emails from January this year show a civil war within the State Department, as Donald Trump insisted he had seen evidence that COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and the scientific community remained adamant that Trump's theory was unlikely. They have now reversed course, and the 'lab leak' idea is gaining more legitimacy.

Amid the highly-charged political atmosphere, Chris Ford, a former Navy intelligence officer who since 2018 was acting undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, accused his colleague of being too quick to back the 'lab leak' idea.

Ford told Thomas DiNanno, former acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, that his team risked embarrassing the United States by aggressively pushing unverified information about Chinese culpability.

Chris Ford, of the Arms Control and International Security division of the State Department (left), had a heated email exchange with his colleague Thomas DiNanno (right), from the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification. Ford pressed DiNanno for outside verification of his team's findings - DiNanno pushed back, asking Ford to be specific about his doubts

Ford and DiNanno were part of a team investigating whether COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan laboratory (above), rather than evolved naturally and passed from animals to humans

'We need to make sure what we say is solid and passes muster from real experts before we risk embarrassing and discrediting ourselves in public,' Ford said.

He said a presentation made to him in early January contained 'not-exactly-confidence-inspiring arguments', which he said would not stand up to scrutiny.

Ford accused DiNanno of being obstructive and unprofessional, telling him that he did not have the scientific background necessary to evaluate the claims.

'I do not have the scientific expertise necessary to critique the claims,' he wrote, in a January 6 email obtained by Fox News. 'And nor do you.'

Ford pressed DiNanno repeatedly to assemble a panel of outside experts to evaluate the findings before they were presented to the world, even accusing DiNanno's team of spreading the unverified information.

'Why are you guys briefing folks around the interagency on your claims in advance of any such vetting?' Ford asked.

Ford accused DiNanno of being reluctant to seek independent verification of their claims, telling him that the 'burden of proof' lay with his department.

'Your bureau needs to shoulder that burden, or stand down,' Ford said.

'Please stop playing games and ducking responsibility. It is discreditable.'

The Wuhan lab is increasingly seen as a possible source for the COVID-19 outbreak. Initially scientists dismissed the idea as a wild conspiracy theory promoted by Donald Trump

Scientists are seen working inside the Wuhan lab. The site is one of only three in the world - the others are in North Carolina and Texas - where 'gain of function' research is carried out on viruses, to make them more transmissible or deadly

Ford emphasized that he was keen to find out more, and was personally suspicious of China. He commended efforts to understand the pandemic's origins, and said he was in favor of 'pressing their feet to the fire'.

But he said wanted to be certain.

DiNanno hit back, wanting to know more detail of Ford's concerns.

'I'd like to know what in those slides they find objectionable or where clarification is required and we'll happily clarify, source and amend as necessary,' DiNanno wrote.

DiNanno was evidently put out by what he saw as Ford's reluctance to accept the 'lab leak' possibility.

He told Vanity Fair that his team was 'warned' that an investigation into a possible COVID-19 leak from the Wuhan lab would 'open Pandora's Box;' and reveal that the U.S. funded gain-of-function research there.

Ford was also accused of obstructing a lab leak probe in that explosive Vanity Fair investigation, although he told the magazine he wanted to ensure the theory had been properly stood-up.

Vanity Fair also highlighted Ford's hawkish stance on China.

It 'smelled like a cover-up,' DiNanno said.

Things had come to a head before Christmas, at a meeting on December 9, when State Department staff met to discuss what the department could or should say publicly about the Wuhan lab.

The State Department has rejected the claim that the investigation was stonewalled, saying 'no-one prevented the disclosure of accurate, properly contextualized information.'

'No effort was made at any time to suppress or withhold information from senior policymakers or the public,' a spokesperson told Fox News.

'Internal disagreements were about the quality of analysis and the importance of not overstating, or bending, evidence to fit preconceived narratives.'
The child victim of a MasterChef contestant who assaulted her last year has opened up about how she is still affected by the horror encounter.

The young woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said since Ben Ungermann touched her breast and pulled her onto his hotel bed, she has had trouble sleeping and been unable to enjoy life.

She was 16 when the incident took place on February 23, 2020. Ungermann was 35.

Ben Ungermann (left) at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court with friend and former MasterChef contestant Ben Bullock, who has previously represented Ungermann in court. Sexual assault charges were dropped but Ungermannaccepted responsibility for assaulting the 16-year-old girl

Sexual assault charges against Ungermann, now 37, were dropped as part of a plea deal in which he accepted responsibility for assaulting her.

The girl said she was still affected on a daily basis and 'will never forgive him'.

'In doing what he did my mental health has deteriorated so much and I'm still not OK,' she told Newswire.

She said Ungermann's actions 'not only hurt me' but also put pressure on her family and affected her final year at school.

'I had to read over and over in the news him denying these actions but never once showing any care for me.'

Ungermann was the runner-up in series nine of MasterChef in 2017 and went on to begin an international career as a celebrity chef.

But he was dropped from the line-up of a special MasterChef: Back to Win series without explanation in 2020.

He was involved in filming for the series when the assault took place and was staying in the hotel with other contestants.

Melbourne Magistrates Court heard that on the night of the assault Ungermann was staying at Quay West apartments in the Docklands with his then fiance Leigh-Anne Williams with other contestants when he had an argument with her.

Ben Ungermann appeared in a Melbourne court via video link in Queensland, from which he walked free. He appeared in series nine of MasterChef and has gone on to become a celebrity chef

The court heard Ungermann declared he was going to get 's*** faced' and proceeded to get drunk

So heated was the argument the pair split on the spot and she returned immediately to South Africa.

The court heard Ungermann declared he was going to get 's*** faced' and proceeded to get drunk.

Ungermann accepted responsibility for assaulting the young woman and on May 21 in Melbourne Magistrates Court he was ordered to complete a diversion program.

Three charges of sexual assault - which Ungermann denied - were dropped as part of a plea deal.

Under the diversion plan, he was placed on an undertaking of good behaviour and must make a $1000 donation to White Ribbon Australia.

Ungermann also had to provide a letter of apology to his young victim and see a doctor to treat a mental health condition.

Under Victorian law diversion plans are often handed down to first-time offenders and are designed not to impact on a person's life going forward.
Victoria has recorded five new cases of coronavirus including two 'unlinked' mystery infections from the same household.

Saturday's new cases mean the outbreak in the state has jumped to 69 local infections.

There was also one case recorded in hotel quarantine meaning Victoria is juggling 78 active infections overall as health officials race to find the source of the new Indian 'Delta' variant.

Three of the five new cases are close contacts of existing cases.

These include a positive case in the second child from a Melbourne family-of-four, from the city's west, who travelled to parts of southern NSW, and were confirmed carriers of the 'Delta' strain.

The second infection is in a household contact of a positive worker from the Maidstone aged care centre.

The third case recorded on Saturday is in a primary close contact who works with one of the family members that had travelled to NSW.

The India 'Kappa' variant has been the dominant strain in Melbourne's most recent outbreak, meaning the source of the family's infection is unknown.

Victoria has recorded five new cases of coronavirus as health authorities scramble to determine how three children and four adults became infected with the Indian 'Delta' variant

The Melbourne family-of-four, from the city's west, who travelled to parts of southern NSW , were confirmed carriers of the 'Delta' strain, which has ravaged India

The family spread the Indian variant to two adults and a student of another household, whose children all attend North Melbourne Primary School.

Victoria's Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said the cluster related to the 'Delta' variant was now at nine cases.

One of the new mystery cases recorded is in a man that had visited the Craigieburn Shopping Centre but investigations into how he caught the virus is ongoing.

'We have now a total of seven positive cases, on a number of different days, who have been in and out of Craigieburn shopping centre and individual stores within there,' Mr Weimar said.

'That is a leading line of our investigation at the moment. We're working closely to get his exact movements and exactly overlaps with other positive cases, but that is the lead hypothesis at this point in time.'

The other unlinked case is in the man's partner who works at a construction site in Melbourne's CBD.

Mr Weimar said the first case had been to the shopping centre daily and had visited several of the exposure sites.

'In addition, their partner, who is an employee of one of the larger construction sites in the city, it does mean we have 170 further workplace contacts with a partner who are now in lockdown,' he said.

The man's partner has been linked to the Epping Plaza Shopping Centre which is an existing exposure site.

Mr Weimar confirmed that from the 339 primary close contacts at the North Melbourne Primary School, 82 per cent have returned negative test results.

Sharon Lewin, an infectious disease expert from the Doherty Institute, said it was 'highly likely' the Indian 'Delta' variant came from hotel quarantine.

Victoria's Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said the cluster related to the 'Delta' variant was now at nine cases

'My strong hypothesis is that it is coming through and importation from overseas, through our quarantine hotel system,' she said.

'It would be most unlikely to have mutated in Australia. These two variants, Kappa and Delta, are related, they were both originally described in India, but they are very different.

'We have virtually no transmission here, we have tiny numbers, so would not have mutated in Australia, it would be a separate importation.'

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton earlier said officials are investigating if the strain started in NSW or regional Victoria, where the family-of-four briefly passed through.

'We have to explore all avenues. The average incubation time is about six days, and that puts it in NSW, Jervis Bay territory, or indeed earlier,' Professor Sutton said.

'We have to be clear who the likely first case in this cluster is and then go through a really forensic process of understanding everywhere they have been, and obviously testing people they may have been in contact with, including blood tests of people who have recovered from illness.'

But NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard hit back at speculation the concerning Covid strain originated in his state.

'I'll just say it's a bit unhelpful to go making any statements that could be either interpreted or could be mistakenly interpreted (in that way),' Mr Hazzard told 2GB.

'There is no evidence whatsoever that this family picked up the variant in NSW.'

While the Indian 'Delta' variant has been found previously in Australian hotel quarantine, this is the first time it has emerged in community cases.

Melbourne University epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely said the 'chase will be on' to find the missing link.

'It means that we now have, not only the Kappa variant, but that Delta - the most infectious version of the coronavirus is here,' he told news.com.au.

Professor Blakely said that so far, genomic testing hasn't been able to identify any returned travellers in hotel quarantine with the exact same strain.

Saturday's new cases mean the outbreak in Victoria has jumped to 69 infections

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said officials are investigating if the strain started in NSW or regional Victoria, where the family briefly passed through

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard hit back at speculation the concerning Covid strain originated in his state

The Covid-positive family was in Jervis Bay, Goulburn, Hyams Beach and Vincentia while potentially infectious on May 23 and 24

'There is a possibility that retesting will find a link to somebody in quarantine but if that doesn't happen we will be in the same situation as the Wollert man again - we have to find out where the family picked up the infection from,' he said.

Professor Sutton said that while the strain was 'disturbing news,' the government has spent the past 48 hours identifying close contacts, including 300 staff and students from North Melbourne Primary School - 70 per cent of which have tested negative so far.

'The fact that it's a variant that is different to all of our other cases means that it is not related in terms of transmission (to the previous outbreak),' he said.

What is the Indian 'Delta' variant? The Delta variant is the main variant of Covid-19 that is wreaking havoc across India Health officials believe the variant has very high transmission rates Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there's been reports of children becoming severely sick with the variant The Delta strain is also believed to be more easily transmitted among children Nepal, the UK, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have also seen a rise in cases related to the variant Advertisement

'It has not been linked to any sequenced cases across Australia from hotel quarantine or anywhere else.

'We are examining who is the likely index case in this family and therefore trying to trace back where this variant has been picked up.'

NSW on Thursday extended by a week the stay-at-home order for people who have arrived from Victoria after the southern state lengthened its lockdown.

Anyone in NSW who has been in Victoria since 4pm on Thursday May 27 will now be required to stay at home until at least June 10.

Prof Sutton added the family may have acquired the virus in Jervis Bay given the approximate six-day incubation period of their virus strain.

But this was not confirmed and Victorian authorities are still investigating.

NSW Health said in a statement that anyone who has been in the listed southern NSW towns should be vigilant for respiratory illness.

Some 130 people in NSW are currently deemed close contacts of the family, and none of those contacts have tested COVID-positive to date.

Venues of concern include Trapper's Bakery in Goulburn on the morning of May 24, 5 Little Pigs at Huskisson on the morning of May 21 and the Green Patch campground in Jervis Bay over an extended period.

Anyone who visited those venues at those times must get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.

The infected man - and his family - visited popular tourist destination Jervis Bay (pictured) on the NSW south coast
The apex court had in 2006 directed all state governments to constitute the panels in a landmark judgment in the Prakash Singh case.  PTI

HYDERABAD: The High Court has given one final opportunity to Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh to comply with the orders passed earlier by it and the Supreme Court regarding constitution of a State Security Commission (SSC) and a Police Complaints Authority (PCA). The panels are meant for redressal of public grievances with respect to abuse of power by police personnel.

SSC is state-level panel which will look into grievances against higher-rank police officials with a retired judge of either the Supreme Court or High Court as the chair whereas PCA is a district-level panel, which will look into complaints againt SIs, CIs, DSPs and ranks below the SP cadre. The apex court had in 2006 directed all state governments to constitute the panels in a landmark judgment in the Prakash Singh case that also resulted in the Supreme Court coming up with guidelines to bring in police reforms.

In one of the petitions on non-implementation of the Supreme Court orders, the then Hyderabad High Court had in 2016 directed the constitution of SSC and PCA within two months. When the States failed to adhere to the directions, the High Court initiated a suo-motu contempt case against both States in 2017.

On January 21 of this year, the High Court gave four weeks to the governments to comply with the orders. However, both sought another two months.

Telangana state Advocate-General B.S. Prasad informed the court that the constitution of SSC had been completed and a chairperson was to be appointed from the lists of retired judges suggested by the High Court.

Andhra Pradesh special counsel Govinda Reddy informed that guidelines and rules had been framed but sought more time to appoint heads of the panels.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction at the attitude of the governments and directed that the last opportunity of four weeks be given to complete the process, failing which it call for the appearance of secretaries of Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh home departments to explain reasons for the delay.
Prince Edward and his wife the Countess of Wessex shared a laugh over Harry and Meghan's controversial Oprah interview, as they insisted the royals remain a family 'no matter what happens'.

Speaking in their first major interview together since they married in 1999, the royal couple jokingly asked 'Oprah who?' and 'what interview?' when quizzed on whether they watched Harry and Meghan's bombshell sit down with the US chat show host.

They also reflected on Prince Philip a little over a month since his funeral - with Prince Edward describing how coronavirus restrictions created an 'extremely odd' ceremony, and the particularly poignant moment 'when everything stopped'.

In the Wessexes' first public comments since that momentous day, Sophie explained: 'We are still a family no matter what happens, we always will be.'

The Countess of Wessex also admitted to having a 'lengthy chat' with Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, 56, and Prince Edward, 57, spoke in their first major interview together on Harry and Meghan, the Royal Family and reflected on Prince Philip's funeral

'Oprah who?': The Wessexes joked about Harry and Meghan's controversial Oprah interview (above)

They also reflected on Prince Philip a little over a month since his funeral - with Prince Edward describing how coronavirus restrictions created an 'extremely odd' ceremony (pictured)

The couple's comments follow the tensions earlier this year in the aftermath of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's bombshell interview.

And despite a tumultuous year for the Royals, the Countess of Wessex, 56, insisted the royals are 'still a family no matter what happens'.

Sophie and her husband the Earl of Wessex, who married at Windsor Castle 22 years ago, said they were 'flattered' to be taking on a more prominent role in a slimmed-down monarchy since Harry and Meghan's move to California.

In an interview with The Telegraph Magazine, Sophie said she had a 'lengthy chat' with Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April.

It was the first time Harry had been in the UK since stepping down as a senior working royal for a new life of personal and financial freedom in the US with Meghan and their son Archie.

His trip in honour of Philip also came just weeks after the Sussexes explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they accused the royal family of racism and the institution of failing to support the suicidal duchess.

Speaking on the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April, Prince Edward, 57, said: 'It was extraordinarily odd walking into St George's Chapel and finding the nave completely empty.

'It's always difficult with these kinds of things because you're in the middle of it, so you've got no idea what it necessarily looks like from the outside.

'It became really poignant to be there because it was suddenly so very intimate.'

The couple also reflected on their more prominent role within the monarchy, since the Sussexes and Prince Andrew, Duke of York stepped back from royal duties

The couple particularly highlighted the moment when soldiers at Windsor Castle's Quadrangle bowed their heads and reversed their rifles before the customised Land Rover hearse arrived.

'It was when the order was given to the soldiers to invert their weaponry,' Sophie said.

'Everything went still...a real 'oh my goodness' moment.'

She added that she too was affected by the powerful image of the grieving Queen sat isolated in the chapel due to the restrictions.

'To see Her Majesty on her own; it was very poignant.'

The couple added that it was only when watching back the ceremony on TV that they fully realised how many other families, who have had to bury loved in similar circumstances over the last year, would have felt a connection with the Royals' woe.

'I really felt for friends and family, as well as people from the Duke's organisations who were devastated that they couldn't pay their respects,' Sophie said.

'But it would have been the same for every other family everywhere else.'

Between the two of them, the Wessexes combine for more than 500 royal engagements every year, and have stepped up since the high-profile departure of Harry and Meghan and Prince Andrew stepping back from public duties in 2019.

Reflecting on their more prominent role in the monarchy, the Earl said: 'Well, we're flattered is probably the best way of putting it.'

His wife added: 'Inevitably the spotlight and the focus falls on younger members as time goes on.

Prince Edward (left, with his daughter Lady Louise and wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex) is the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen's youngest child (Pictured: The family view flowers outside St George's Chapel following Prince Philip's death)

'We've plodded along doing what we're doing, hopefully doing it well.

'And then all of a sudden there's a bit of a hiatus and things have changed a bit.

'Naturally, the media are looking for people to fill the so-called void.'

She added: 'If people want to pay more attention to what we're doing, then great.'

She said her children Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn, 'still keep expecting to see grandpa arrive in his green Land Rover' as the couple pledged to continue Philip's work through the Duke of Edinburgh award.

Louise in particular has inherited her grandfather's love of carriage driving, and is still the reigning young driver national champion.

'Louise went out training the other day and I was standing there, expecting the Duke to turn up and give her a few tips or just ask her how things were going,' Sophie said.

The couple have also spent time recently reflecting on Philip's early life, describing how he first came to the UK 'almost as a refugee'.

It was at his Scottish boarding school, Gordonstoun, where he seemed to find peace, and was responsible for the Duke's strong connection to those north of the border.

Edward said: 'I think that's where people look at Gordonstoun and his military career and suddenly go, 'Oh, now that makes sense.'

'People didn't know the tragedy that had happened in those early days. So much of what happens later and the values that he demonstrated suddenly begin to slot into place.'
A private family-only funeral will be held to farewell a successful Australian fashion designer who died at the age of 36 after battling an eating disorder and loneliness.

Edwina Horseman was found dead inside her $15million Bellevue Hill home in Sydney's eastern suburbs last week.

The designer and socialite, who entered Sydney's social scene in 2011 with the launch of her luxury cashmere and fur label, H Brand, had reportedly been struggling for years before her death.

A funeral service will be held next week with a small wake with close friends and family only to follow, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Edwina Horseman (pictured left) has died at the age of 36. She was the designer behind fur and cashmere label H Brand and good friends with Roxy Jacenko (right)

Friends claimed she felt abandoned by the A-Listers who once showered her in affection and struggled after the disintegration of her relationship with uniform manufacturer, Joe Dahdah (pictured together)

Ms Horseman has three children aged ten, eight and six who she shares with her former partner and uniform manufacturer Joe Dahdah.

She and Mr Dahdah had separated a year ago.

The 36-year-old launched the label back in 2011 with her sister before going on to unveil two other brands with business partner Tara Cunniffe - Theron and H Brand Faux.

Friends previously told the publication Ms Horseman was abandoned by those around her and struggled following the breakdown of her relationship.

It's understood she died on May 23 or 24.

'Before she died, she was abandoned by pretty much everyone who wasn't family,' an anonymous source reportedly said.

Following the success of H Brand, Ms Horseman (left) went on to unveil two further labels with her business partner Tara Cunniffe - Theron and H Brand Faux

'That's the tragic truth about her decline. When her life got really tough, most of her so-called society friends were nowhere to be seen. They'd moved on to the next overnight sensation.'

Ms Horseman had reportedly been battling an eating disorder for years prior to her death.

Friends previously claimed she had a heart condition, and in 2007 aged just 22, she suffered a heart attack.

But in the last 12 months amid lockdowns and restrictions on socialising, Ms Horseman had become overwhelmed by loneliness, the publication reported.

In the weeks before her death Ms Horseman had reportedly also been admitted into hospital for respiratory-related issues.

Her last major public appearance was in 2017 for a charity fundraiser.

Ms Horseman was a mother to three children aged ten, eight and six who she shares with her former partner Joe Dahdah (Ms Horseman is pictured centre right with other socialites such as Roxy Jacenko, left)

A coroner will determine the cause of Ms Horseman's death.

Ms Horseman was close with a lot of Sydney's most esteemed socialites and has been pictured with PR powerhouse Roxy Jacenko and billionaire heiress Francesca Packer at several exclusive events.

She'd affectionately been crowned the 'cashmere queen' during her fashion career.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was accused of wanting to turn NYC into dystopian horror film The Purge after claiming crime could be reduced by axing prisons.

The Democrat Representative - whose district covers part of the Bronx and Queens - claims says more hospital and counseling services to criminals to treat mentally ill criminals could cut violent crime.

But her suggestion horrified one other NYC representative.

'If AOC had her way . . . there'd be no jails, no arrests, no police (except her private security). New York City would be turned into a 24/7 movie set for "The Purge,"' Staten Island Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said in a tweet.

'It's ludicrous to say this at a time when almost every category of major crime is up in our city and criminals are back onto our streets immediately after being arrested to strike again. She has no regard for public safety, no respect for law enforcement and is a hypocrite because she walks around with private security.'

In the fictional movie, The Purge, an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government sanctions an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal and the police cannot be called.

It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been slammed after she claimed the the answer to solving the problem of violent crime was not through building prisons but through more hospital and counseling services to criminals who are mentally ill

'If AOC had her way . . . there'd be no jails, no arrests, no police (except her private security). New York City would be turned into a 24/7 movie set for 'The Purge,'' Staten Island Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said in a tweet

There has been a jump in the number of crimes year-on-year according to NYPD crime stats

Figures released by compstat reveal there have been 1,754 major crimes across the city last week alone

The Purge sees an America in which any and all crime is legal

In the fictional movie, The Purge, an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government sanctions an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal and the police cannot be called

Malliotakis' comments were in response to remarks Ocasio-Cortez made earlier in the week.

'If we want to reduce violent crime, if we want to reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is to stop building more of them,'' Ocasio-Cortez said during an event in the Bronx.

'The answer is to make sure that we actually build more hospitals, we pay organizers, we get people mental health care and overall health care, employment, etc. It's to support communities, not throw them away.'

The politician, whose district includes the Bronx, described jails as 'garbage bins' for people who are really suffering from mental health issues.

'When you actually open a door to a jail and look at who is inside an enormous amount of people are dealing with untreated mental health issues,' she said.

'It is not acceptable for us to use jails as garbage bins for human beings. We need to treat people and so it is not a place for us to throw people for whom we do not want to invest in the actual holistic issues of their lives.'

AOC pointed to hate crimes in particular as being committed by people in need of mental health support.

The Democratic congresswoman held a press conference Thursday alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jamaal Bowman where she spoke about a program introduced in her constituency in the Bronx reducing crime through community outreach

'An extraordinarily high number of people who are responsible for hate crimes are suffering from severe mental health issues. Our complete gutting of support in our mental health system, both in the city and across the country, is absolutely correlated with both homelessness and incidents of violent crime,' she said.

Her comments come comments come as crime in the city appears to be spiking with random attacks on the subway becoming a more common occurrence, violent crimes up 30 percent so far in 2021 and 13 people shot over Memorial Day weekend.

Police are struggling to tackle the issue and fears are growing that the city is harking back to the dark days of the 70s and 80s when it earned the nickname 'Fear City.'

Shooting incidents were up 64 percent in May compared to a year, according statistics released by the NYPD.

This map shows the crimes reported to the NYPD in a single week at the end of May and where they took place

ASSAULT - Misdemeanor assaults are up by 15 percent. There were 700 last week

SEX CRIMES - Sex crimes are up by 120 percent across the city over the last seven days

THEFT - Theft is up by 40 percent this week compared to the same week last year

Ocasio-Cortez said an 'extraordinarily high number of people who are responsible for hate crimes are suffering from severe mental health issues' and claimed the 'gutting' of support for mental health services was directly linked to homelessness and violent crime.

Ocasio-Cortez, who is perceived as a leader of the Democratic Party's progressive left wing, made the comments during press conference at Jacobi hospital in The Bronx. It discussed a program about preventing and reducing crime through a community outreach program called Stand Up To Violence.

The program looks at community outreach and counseling to focus on violence prevention and tackle gun violence in the Bronx.

It is based out of Jacobi Hospital and falls within AOC's district.

The program is based out of Jacobi Hospital (above). AOC credited the program's rollout in the Bronx for reducing the 'recurrence of violence by more than 50 percent' in the area

AOC credited the program's rollout in the Bronx for reducing the 'recurrence of violence by more than 50 percent' in the area.

'When we find something that is evidence-based that works to improve people's lives, our job is to fund it,' she said.

She tweeted that the program is 'hands down one of the most effective treatments we've seen to reduce incidents of violence like shootings and stabbings.'

Khayan Reed, who lived on the streets but is now working as an outreach worker for the program, said it is about 'building up our communities.'

'Our kids are dying at a rapid rate, we need your help,' said Reed, according to ABC17.

'We turned our lives around, we are no longer tearing down our communities, but we are building up our communities.'

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured at a press conference Thursday) has been slammed for saying the 'answer' to tackling New York City's violent crime epidemic is to stop building jails and using them 'as garbage bins for human beings'

But AOC's pleas to stop building prisons sparked pushback from others on social media.

Conservative commentator Liz Wheeler accused AOC of trying to 'tear down the institution' and 'practicing Critical Theory'.

'AOC is practicing Critical Theory here (the grandfather of Critical Race Theory). Intentionally or as a stooge, who knows. She's painting institutions as inherently unjust (altho it's not unjust to jail criminals who commit violent crimes),' she tweeted.

'Her goal is to tear down the institution itself (first jails, then entire criminal justice system) thru relentless criticism based on the false notion that everyone is either oppressed or an oppressor.

'Then what will replace the system? Marxism. This is textbook Critical Theory.'

Fox News host Sean Hannity also hit out at AOC over her comments tweeting: 'THIS IS REAL: AOC Says Solution to Spike in Violent Crime is 'Build More Hospitals' and 'Pay Organizers'.'

Others chimed in on social media questioning her approach.

'If jails cause violent crime, then doesn't it follow that hospitals cause sickness?' one person asked.

'They could also stop committing crimes. That would also stop the need for more jails,' added another.

New York City has found itself once again in the grips of a surge in violent crime, which escalated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has continued into this year.

Some took to social media to blast AOC over her comments about not needing jails

Across the board, violent crimes are up 30 percent so far in 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Last week alone, there were 1,754 major crimes across the city last week alone, according to NYPD data.

There have been 35 shootings, 39 rapes, 105 other sex crimes, 1,600 incidents of theft, 708 misdemeanor assaults and 14 hate crimes. In almost every single category, crime is up.

Gun violence has become a particular concern, with shooting incidents up 75 per cent in May, and almost 80 per cent year-on-year.

Memorial Day weekend marked a bloody affair with at least 13 shootings including a 15-year-old boy who was killed in the Bronx.

Governor Andrew Cuomo admitted last week that New York City is now in the throes of a 'major crime problem' which - if not tackled soon - could cause irreparable damage to the Big Apple.

'We have a major crime problem in New York City. Everything we just talked about, with the economy coming back, you know what the first step is? People have to feel safe.

Governor Andrew Cuomo admitted last week that New York City is now in the throes of a 'major crime problem' as he said some of the blame lies with budget cuts to the NYPD

'We're building new projects, stimulating new business - what comes before that is public safety, otherwise none of it works.

'New Yorkers don't feel safe and they don't feel safe because the crime rate is up. It's not that they are being neurotic or overly sensitive - they are right.

Cuomo said some of the blame lies with budget cuts made to the NYPD last summer.

Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed to slash $1 billion from the NYPD budget in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, which sparked racial justice protests and calls to defund the police.

He has since reversed course and promised $92 million for a new precinct admitting the cuts was him responding to the 'environment at that moment.'

Cuomo said the key to tackling the issue is to rebuild the relationship between law enforcement and the community.

'Until you restore the trust and make the reforms necessary, we're going to have this problem defund the police is not the answer. It basically means abolish the police,' he said.

'That's going to help? Gun violence is going up, all crimes going up and that's going to help? No. It's reform so that the community says - I now trust the relationship.'

New York City's iconic Soho neighborhood has been left almost unrecognizable due to a surge in graffiti and vandalism

Tags and scrawlings cover the walls and wood panels boarding up a building in Manhattan's affluent Soho neighborhood .

The crime wave has become a focal point of the mayoral campaign with candidates vowing to stamp out the trend as many fear a return to the dark days of the 70s and 80s.

In the 1970s, the city faced $10 billion in debt, funds were cut the police, fire and sanitation departments, graffiti was everywhere, the subway was a dangerous place to be and all types of crime were up.

The dark days continued into the 1980s when the crack epidemic ravaged the city.

At its peak, someone was murdered every 63 hours in the worst-hit parts including East New York and Cypress Hill.

Parallels are now being made between this dark era and the last year as the city struggles to recover from the pandemic.

Homelessness is rife, graffiti is ravaging the city's most affluent areas and longstanding businesses failed to survive the last year.

The affluent Soho neighborhood has found itself a symbol of the toll the last year has taken on the city.

New Yorkers walk past defaced walls in what was once the hottest shopping destination in the city for residents and tourists

1980S: Lower East Side of Manhattan in May 1987 when the Big Apple was known as 'Fear City' due to its crime epidemic

Graffiti and vandalism is rife leaving the avenues of luxury stores, restaurants and apartment buildings almost unrecognizable.

Soho occupants say the say the vandalism is yet another 'sign of neglect' to the city, while city officials are desperately throwing millions of dollars into initiatives to try to claw back the city's heyday.

In recent months, the NYPD has launched the Graffiti Clean-up Campaign and Mayor Bill de Blasio the City Cleanup Corps to try and tackle the blight.

The latter is costing $234 million of the struggling city's budget - a staggering 78 times more than the long-running $3 million popular graffiti-removal program axed last year due to budget cuts, despite warnings of business owners.
Caitlyn Jenner has revealed how it was easier to come out as transgender to her family than it was for her to declare that she is a Republican.

Jenner, 71, told Elex Michaelson, host of FOX 11's 'The Issue Is' that it was harder to tell her famous family she was running as a Republican candidate for Governor of California than it was to disclose her gender dysphoria.

Michaelson asked Jenner if her former stepdaughter Kim Kardashian, who advised former president Donald Trump on criminal justice reform, was going to be an adviser to her on the important issue.

Jenner laughed and said 'One thing, and I've talked to all my family about running for governor and to be honest with you, it was easier to come out as trans than as a Republican candidate for governor, it was a lot tougher to sell.'

Jenner, 71, (pictured) said that it was harder to tell her famous family she was running as a Republican candidate for Governor of California than it was to tell them she was transgender

Jenner said the Kardashian clan (pictured) was not thrilled when she advised them of her run for governor of California as a Republican candidate

Jenner, famed for being an Olympic gold decathlete runner called Bruce before transitioning, announced her candidacy for the election via Twitter in April.

In a statement, Jenner said she was focused on issues such as boosting the economy, tax breaks and a position against the state's left-leaning policies, touting herself as 'the only potential candidate 'who can put an end to Gavin Newsoms disastrous time as governor.'

Jenners' most high profile offspring - daughters Kendall and Kylie - have yet to comment on her run for governor, although her three sons are said to be 'embarrassed,' and consider her unqualified for the role.

The recall movement against the current Democratic Governor has mostly centered around Newsom's handling of the pandemic.

Critics have panned his restrictive lockdown measures on schools and businesses during the pandemic.

They claim California did no better with COVID cases, hospitalization and deaths than Republican states including Texas and California which had far less restrictive measures.

Newsom was also publicly slammed after he was seen dining at the luxurious French Laundry restaurant in November 2020, where he and a party of 10 or more people were seen without face masks and none were practicing social distancing.

At the time, the state had a ban on indoor dining, with the governor himself urging Californians to stay at home.

The poll on whether to recall Newsom is set to take place sometime this year after the required number of signatures were collected.

Voters will be asked whether they want to recall Newsom. If a majority say yes, he'll be ousted from office. They'll also be asked to choose a replacement governor on the same ballot, with the candidate who gets the most votes winning.

The recall movement against Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured) has mostly centered around his handling of the pandemic

If a Republican wins, it will be the first time they have held the state since 2003, when Arnold Schwarzenegger won.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm from family members Jenner told Michaelson if she won she believes Kardashian would not hesitate to advise her and praised her work.

'I think Kimberly has done an amazing job with criminal justice reform,' Jenner said. 'I think she's spot on. I have not asked her to be involved in my campaign but I guarantee you, as time goes on and I become governor I'm sure she'll have my ear'

Jenner faces competition within the Republican party, including San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, businessman John Cox and former Rep. Doug Ose, all three of whom polled better than Jenner in a recent survey of California voters from UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times.

Faulconer and Cox got 22 percent of those polled, Ose got 14 percent and Jenner got six percent.
A North Carolina county has axed Coca-Cola vending machines from its office buildings in protest over the company's 'woke' stance on a Georgia voting law.

Van Tucker, a Surry County commissioner, told Fox News on Friday that he decided to remove the county's 12 vending machines after Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey criticized a Georgia voting bill signed into law in April.

Tucker described the controversial Georgia voting law as a way for the Peach State to ensure a 'fair and free' election - though critics have called the law an attempt at voter suppression and claim it unfairly restricts minorities from voting.

The county's Board of Commissioners, its legislative body, passed the ban with a 3-2 vote at a meeting on May 17. Surry County was won by former President Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

'I didn't want that to be contagious across other state. And you know I felt so strongly about it and our board did - we decided to just step up and say something and do something about it,' Tucker told Fox News.

Van Tucker, a Surry County commissioner, told Fox News on Friday that he decided to remove the county's 12 vending machines

Tucker described the controversial Georgia voting law as a way for the Peach State to ensure a 'fair and free' election

The move comes after Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey criticized a Georgia voting bill signed into law in April

Tucker received an email from a subsidiary of Coca-Cola asking the county to change its mind about removing the vending machines

Tucker said it was important to 'stand up' against Coca-Cola as the county would not be able to reach out to every major corporation he claims are 'interfering' with the integrity of elections.

'This woke culture that seems to be trying to reform America as we've known it is enough,' he said.

He added: 'There is power in numbers and courage can sometimes be courageous.'

Coca-Cola said in a statement to The Washington Examiner that representatives from the company's local bottler have reached out to the county commissioners and 'look forward to continuing their productive conversations with those officials.'

Tucker received an email from a subsidiary of Coca-Cola asking the county to change its mind about removing the vending machines, he told Fox News.

Ed Harris, another county commissioner, wrote a letter to Quincey obtained by NBC News in which he slammed the CEO for 'corporate political commentary favoring the Democratic party.'

'Our Board felt that was the best way to take a stand and express our disappointment in Coca-Cola's actions, which are not representative of most views of our citizens,' Harris wrote to Quincey.

'Our Board hopes that other organizations across the country are taking similar stances against Coca-Cola and sincerely wishes that future marketing efforts and comments emanating from your company are more considerate of all your customers' viewpoints.'

The vending machine spat comes after Quincey wrote in a blog post for Coca-Cola, which is headquartered in Atlanta, that he was 'disappointed' that the voting law had passed in Georgia.

'Voting is a foundational right in America, and we have long championed efforts to make it easier to vote,' Quincey wrote.

'We want to be crystal clear and state unambiguously that we are disappointed in the outcome of the Georgia voting legislation. Throughout Georgia's legislative session we provided feedback to members of both legislative chambers and political parties, opposing measures in the bills that would diminish or deter access to voting.'

He added: 'Our approach has always been to work with stakeholders to advocate for positive change, and we will continue to engage with legislators, advocacy groups, business leaders and others to work towards ensuring broad access to voting is available to every eligible voter in our home state.'

'Additionally, our focus is now on supporting federal legislation that protects voting access and addresses voter suppression across the country,' he said.

'We all have a duty to protect everyone's right to vote, and we will continue to stand up for what is right in Georgia and across the U.S.'

After the bill passed, President Joe Biden blasted it in a statement from the White House as 'Jim Crow in the 21st Century' while urging Congress to pass national voting acts favored by Democrats.

Joe Biden had blasted a new Georgia voting law as 'Jim Crow in the 21st Century' while urging Congress to pass national voting acts favored by Democrats

Gov. Brian Kemp said that there's 'nothing Jim Crow' about Georgia's new voting law

The sweeping rewrite of Georgia's election rules was the first big set of changes since former President Donald Trump's repeated, baseless claims of fraud following his presidential loss to Biden.

People who submit absentee ballots must show a driver's license or state ID, and barring that, must submit additional proof of their identity.

The law also expanded weekend early voting in the general election, but shortens the time for runoffs from nine weeks to four. And early voting drop boxes can now only be placed in early voting locations instead of in additional spots like libraries and other government buildings that might be more convenient for some voters.

Much of the work administering elections in Georgia is handled by the state's 159 counties. The law gives the State Election Board new powers to intervene in county election offices and to remove and replace local election officials.

That has led to concerns that the Republican-controlled state board could exert more influence over the administration of elections, including the certification of county results.

Protesters gather to voice their opposition to a far-reaching overhaul of the Georgia's election laws. Voting rights groups say the new law will target black residents who make up roughly a third of the state's population

The bill was signed into law by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and has restrictive measures, including elimination of mobile voting vans that reduced long lines on Election Day, and criminalized distribution of food or water to anyone waiting in lines to vote

Volunteers with Democracy Delicious handing out food and refreshments to voters lining up outside a voting center in Austell, Georgia. The state's new law has criminalized the distribution of food or water to people waiting to vote

The new law makes it a misdemeanor to hand out 'any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink' to anyone standing in line to vote. The prohibition extends 150 feet from a polling place and 25 feet from any person standing in line.

Advocates of the law say they are attempting to crack down on political organizations or advocacy groups trying to influence voters just before they cast a ballot.

Critics say it's cruel and would penalize even nonpartisan groups or individuals for something as simple as giving water to someone waiting in a long line.

Coca-Cola's Georgia voting law stance came under fire as the latest example of 'woke capitalism,' the term used to describe huge corporations getting involved in progressive issues.

The term was coined by conservative blogger Ross Douthat in 2015 in an article her wrote for The New York Times, according to The Heritage Foundation.

Twitter user Chrys O'Theras pointed to a recent example of 'woke capitalism' noting major brands that have included Pride colors in the logos for their flagship corporate accounts - though not including Pride colors in the company's accounts targeting the Middle East, which have strict laws completely banning homosexuality.
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When Noah launched his ark he had many urgent problems. But at least he didn't have to show the authorities that he had the correct paperwork.

That problem, however, has hit the owner of a giant replica of Noah's Ark.

Aad Peters's vessel has been impounded by coastguards and cannot be moved because it does not have paperwork proving it is seaworthy.

Aad Peters's vessel has been impounded by coastguards and cannot be moved because it does not have paperwork proving it is seaworthy

The 230ft-long floating museum full of sculptures of biblical characters was detained after being towed across the North Sea from the Netherlands. Pictured: Aad Peters, former Ipswich mayor Jan Peters (centre) and councillor Liz Harsant (left)

Mr Peters, a Dutch TV and theatre producer, is keen to return it to the Netherlands, but has been unable to get a licence to move it

The 230ft-long floating museum full of sculptures of biblical characters was detained after being towed across the North Sea from the Netherlands.

Mr Peters, a Dutch TV and theatre producer, is keen to return it to the Netherlands, but has been unable to get a licence to move it.

His negotiations with coastguard officials have reached a stalemate, meaning the 2.6million wooden vessel has been stuck for nearly 18 months on the waterfront of the docks in Ipswich.

His negotiations with coastguard officials have reached a stalemate, meaning the 2.6million wooden vessel has been stuck for nearly 18 months on the waterfront of the docks in Ipswich. Pictured: A biblical display in the giant replica

Local residents have condemned it as a floating eyesore which blocks out sunlight and spoils the view from local homes

The vessel is just under half the size of the ark in the Bible which measured 300 cubits, the equivalent of 510ft, and was used by Noah to save pairs of every animal when the world flooded. Pictured: It being towed across the North Sea

Local residents have condemned it as a floating eyesore which blocks out sunlight and spoils the view from local homes.

The vessel is just under half the size of the ark in the Bible which measured 300 cubits, the equivalent of 510ft, and was used by Noah to save pairs of every animal when the world flooded.

It is reported to have been racking up fines of 500 a day since April 1 when a deadline to move it was missed.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency says it cannot release the ark until it has a load line certificate, which states how low it can safely sink in the water when fully loaded, and papers to show its hull has not been treated with anti-fouling paint, which contains chemicals harmful to wildlife.

It is reported to have been racking up fines of 500 a day since April 1 when a deadline to move it was missed
Dr Anthony Fauci faces fresh pressure after it emerged $200,000 more of taxpayers money was given to the Wuhan Institute of Virology than the amount he said had been donated during Senate questioning.

America's most senior infectious diseases expert has been accused of misleading Congress after he claimed that $600,000 of taxpayers' money was sent to the Wuhan lab - when the actual figure is now known to be $826,000.

'These new documents show that funding for the Wuhan Institute was greater than the public has been told,' said Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, which uncovered the discrepancy by using a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

'That it has taken a year and a federal lawsuit to get this first disclosure on COVID and Wuhan is evidence of cover-up by Fauci's agency.'

Fauci, the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, told a Senate hearing on May 25 that the U.S. funded the lab at the center of speculation about the origins of the pandemic, and justified the expenditure.

Fauci is pictured on May 25 appearing before a Congressional committee - the House Appropriations Committee - and stating that his organization funded the Wuhan lab to the tune of $600,000. It now emerges the figure was actually $826,000

'We had a modest collaboration with very respectable Chinese scientists who were world experts on coronavirus, and we did that through a sub-grant from a larger grant to EcoHealth,' Fauci said, referencing a New York-based non-profit that supported research into coronaviruses.

'The larger grant was about $600,000 over a period of five years. So it was a modest amount. The purpose of it was to study the animal-human interface, to do surveillance and to determine if these bat viruses were even capable of' infecting humans.

On Friday, however, Judicial Watch obtained via a Freedom of Information Act confirmation that the funding was significantly higher.

Internal emails within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which Fauci leads, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) showed the true scale of funding.

On April 21, 2020, six years of funding to the Wuhan lab, from NIAID via EcoHealth, was detailed.

The grants were under the headline: 'Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence', and totaled $826,277.

Funding for the Wuhan lab has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, and has become exceptionally controversial.

Fauci has twice defended the spending, insisting that it would be a dereliction of duty not to help understand coronaviruses, and seek to study them.

After his May 25 appearance before the Senate, the following day he was questioned again and admitted that there is no way to know if Chinese scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lied and conducted what are called 'gain of function' experiments on bat coronaviruses using U.S. tax dollars.

'There's no way of guaranteeing that,' Fauci said at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, responding to a question from Republican Senator John Kennedy.

'But in our experience with grantees, including Chinese grantees, which we have had interactions with for a very long period of time - they are very competent, trustworthy scientists.'

'Gain of function' experiments are conducted to make viruses more contagious or deadly.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said there's no way to know if Chinese scientists lied about conducting 'gain of function' experiments in the Wuhan lab during Senate testimony on May 26

How Fauci flip-flopped on the origins of COVID April 2020: Fauci repeatedly made public statements suggesting that that COVID was the result of an 'unusual human-animal interface' in a Chinese 'wet market' and that 'the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.' May 2020: Still adamant that he didn't believe the coronavirus was man-made. 'If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated,' he told National Geographic in an exclusive interview published May 4, 2020. 'Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species.' Late May 2021 to early June 2021: During an event called 'United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking,' Fauci was asked if was 'still confident' that the virus evolved naturally. 'No, actually  I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened,' Fauci said. 'Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out.' He added: 'So, you know, that's the reason why I said I'm perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus.' Advertisement

There continues to be speculation that COVID-19 could have escaped from a lab, with the White House releasing a statement Wednesday saying U.S. intelligence agencies couldn't state for certain the origin of that coronavirus.

The White House is asking the intelligence agencies to dig in, while pressuring the World Health Organization to get the underlying data from China.

Biden on May 26 defended his administration's approach and said the intelligence agents were divided on the two possible scenarios: laboratory leak or natural transfer in the wild.

Supporters of the lab leak theory are also arguing over whether COVID is a naturally-occurring virus, or one that had been genetically modified, and whether it leaked by accident - or intentionally.

'I have now asked the intelligence community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,' said Biden.

'As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.'

President Biden said the inability of CDC inspectors to access key sites in China hampered early investigations as he asked the intelligence community to redouble efforts in investigating how COVID-19 emerged

He also directed national laboratories to assist with the investigation.

'The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,' he said.

But he also said a final answer may never be found given the way that China refused to cooperate in the early days of an outbreak which has gone on to kill more than five million people around the world.

On Friday it emerged that Fauci's organization was not the only government authority funding the Wuhan lab.

The Pentagon gave $39 million to EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) - a charity that has come under intense scrutiny after it emerged that it had been using federal grants to fund research into coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

The U.S. nonprofit, set up to research new diseases, has also partly funded deeply controversial 'gain of function' experiments, where dangerous viruses are made more infectious to study their effect on human cells.

A political storm broke when former president Donald Trump canceled a $3.7 million grant to the charity last year amid claims that COVID-19 was created in, or leaked from, the Wuhan lab funded by EHA.

But federal grant data assembled by independent researchers shows that the charity has received more than $123 million from the government  from 2017 to 2020 - and that one of its biggest funders is the Department of Defense, funneling almost $39 million to the organization since 2013.

Exactly how much of that money went toward research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology is unknown.

Federal data seen by DailyMail.com reveals The Pentagon gave $39million to charity EcoHealth Alliance (EHA), which funded a lab in Wuhan, China

FEDERAL GRANTS TO ECOHEALTH ALLIANCE

Federal grant data assembled by independent researchers shows that the charity has received more than $123 million from the government  and that one of its biggest funders is the Department of Defense, funneling almost $39million to the organization since 2013

Grants from the Pentagon included $6,491,025 from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) from 2017 to 2020 with the description: 'Understanding the risk of bat-borne zoonotic disease emergence in Western Asia.'

The grant was categorized as 'scientific research - combating weapons of mass destruction.'

The news comes as the charity's chief, British-born scientist Dr. Peter Daszak, was exposed in an alleged conflict of interest and back-room campaign to discredit lab leak theories

The majority of the DoD funding came from the DTRA, a military branch with a mission to 'counter and deter weapons of mass destruction and improvised threat networks.'

EHA also received $64.7 million from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), $13 million from Health and Human Services, which includes the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control, $2.3 million from the Department of Homeland Security, and $2.6 million from the National Science Foundation.

A government funding figure of $3.4 million was widely reported, after Fauci was questioned in a Senate hearing on how much money the National Institutes of Health sent to the Wuhan lab via its grants to EcoHealth Alliance in 2019.

But the total grant figures including Pentagon funding dwarf that number.

Researchers James Baratta and Mariamne Everett assembled grant filings from US government agencies to EHA, which were published on popular science site Independent Science News in December.

The site found EHA's declaration of its vast military funding is nestled deep in the 'Privacy Policy' section of its website, under the title 'EcoHealth Alliance Policy Regarding Conflict of Interest in Research'.

In the disclosure EHA says it is 'the recipient of various grant awards from federal agencies including the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense.'

It does not disclose the size of its DoD funding.

In 2014 the Obama administration outlawed gain of function research, such as the experiments funded by EHA, after concerns were raised among scientists that it could lead to a global pandemic from a genetically enhanced virus escaping a lab.

But EHA reportedly continued to legally fund the practice, using a loophole that allowed for the research in cases 'urgently necessary to protect the public health or national security.'

Researchers at a number of top universities have recently penned a letter claiming that theories that COVID-19 escaped from a Wuhan lab 'remain viable'
Shamima Begum has claimed she only left the UK to join ISIS in Syria because she 'didn't want to be left behind' as her other friends decided to travel.

The former Isis child bride, 21, said she joined her Bethnal Green classmates, Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana, in fleeing the UK because she was 'young and naive' and wanted to help people in war-torn Syria.

Ms Begym, who left the UK aged 15 in 2015, claimed in an emotional interview she joined the Islamic State because she didn't want to be the 'friend that was left behind' in a documentary about her life in a Syrian refugee camp.

Ms Begum, from Bethnal Green in East London, said she and her friends were recruited online by Isis supporters to be a 'part of something', adding that recruiters preyed on the guilt they felt at seeing Muslims suffer in the Syrian conflict

Shamima Begum (pictured) claimed she joined the Islamic State because she didn't want to be the 'friend that was left behind' in a documentary about her life in a Syrian refugee camp

Speaking on the documentary The Return: Life After Isis, Ms Begum revealed how she made the decision to travel to Syria. She said: 'I knew it was a big decision, but I just felt compelled to do it quickly.

'I didn't want to be the friend that was left behind.'

In the documentary she cried when talking about losing her three children during the Syrian war and says that she wanted to kill herself because of the grief.

Speaking about the death of her daughter, Begum said: 'When she died it was so hard because I just felt so alone and I felt like my entire world was falling apart in front of me and I couldn't do anything.

'When she [her daughter] died at that moment I just wanted to kill myself. I felt like I couldn't even get up to run any more when there were bombings.

'The only thing keeping me alive was my baby I was pregnant with. I felt like I had to do him right by getting him out and giving him a normal life.'

She said she did not understand why her babies died, adding: 'I felt like it was my fault for not getting them out sooner even though I didnt know why they died.'

She previously told reporters her children died of malnutrition and disease.

Her third child, a boy, died in March 2019 just a month after he was born, because of pneumonia.

Ms Begum is currently being held at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria, after she had her British citizenship stripped by the Government, which in turn sparked an ongoing legal battle.

Some of the other women in the camp were pictured with Begum inside the camp

Around 800 families live in the al-Roj camp, close to the borders with Turkey and Iran and much-preferred to the infamous al-Hol centre 80 miles away and home to 15,000 families.

In the 90-minute film, Ms Begum accused the Government of fabricating stories about her commitment to radical Islam when her citizenship was removed, claiming she was too scared to condemn Isis out of fears for her safety in the camp.

She also revealed the heartbreak of having to tell the parents of her friends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana that the two girls had been killed in the city of Baghuz.

Tearfully recounting her story, she said: 'Now I feel like I have no friends anymore, they were everything I had.'

It comes after Ms Begum revealed the wanted to kill herself when her three children died in Syria and begged Britain to give her a 'second chance'.

Ms Begum, from East London, said Isis recruiters preyed on the guilt they felt at seeing Muslims suffer in the Syrian conflict. Pictured: Camp Roj in Syria where Ms Begum is held

Begum was 15 when she ran away with two other schoolgirls - Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15 - (all pictured at Gatwick airport) to Syria to marry a Dutch jihadi in 2015

Ms Begum is currently being held at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria (pictured), after she had her British citizenship stripped by the Government, which sparked an ongoing legal battle

Begum said that she hoped British people would have an 'open mind about why I left and who I am now as a person' and urged the government to allow her to return home.

Begum says people wrongly 'feel like I'm responsible' for the crimes of ISIS but she now realises she was 'naive' and rejects its beliefs.

She said: 'They just think I knew about these crimes and I supported these crimes but that's not true.

'I would never support something like this, like the things they did.'

When Begum was tracked down for the first time in 2019 after fleeing the UK, she was pregnant, widowed and had lost two children.

Her third died shortly after birth and in the film Begum cried as she spoke about losing all of her babies.

She is one of several British women stranded in Roj camp after having their citizenship revoked.

Begum was 15 when she ran away with two other schoolgirls to Syria to marry a Dutch jihadi in 2015.

In February, the UK's Supreme Court ruled that she cannot return to the UK to pursue an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship.
Microsoft's Bing search engine was condemned for censoring images of the famous Tiananmen Square 'tank man' on the 32nd anniversary of the massacre.

Users in the US, Germany Singapore, France and Switzerland were stopped from viewing the iconic photos and video, showing along man in a white shirt standing in front of four People's Liberation Army tanks in the Beijing square on June 5 1989.

Anyone who tried searching for the phrase was shown a message saying: 'There are no results for tank man,' with many sharing images of blank search results online.

David Greene, civil liberties director at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Reuters that content moderation was impossible to do perfectly and 'egregious mistakes are made all the time.'

But he said it could be more sinister: 'At worst, this was purposeful suppression at the request of a powerful state.'

Twitter users were quick to condemn the apparent censorship, with New York Times journalist Thomas Chatterton Williams tweeting: 'This is despicable.'

Scientists Seamus Blackley wrote: 'This is very awful. You literally exist because of freedom of thought. Aiding in this repression is literally against all you claim to stand for. I'm exceptionally disappointed.

Bing users who searched for 'tank man' on Friday were greeted with this message

Microsoft was accused of censorship for blocking the iconic image, pictured. A spokesman claimed the issue was an 'accidental human error,' but offered no further information

Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said: 'Outrageous: on the anniversary of the murderous Tiananmen Square crackdown, Microsoft's Bing search engine suddenly won't return any images if you search for 'tank man,' the iconic photo. I just tried. Hard to believe this is an inadvertent error.'

Author Joseph Menn tweeted: 'If you are curious about what influence China has on tech companies based elsewhere and operating worldwide, search for images of 'tank man' on Microsoft's Bing.'

Responding to the outcry, Microsoft blamed 'accidental human error,' but offered no further detail on how the mistake had been made.

Hours after Microsoft acknowledged the issue, the 'tank man' search returned only pictures of tanks elsewhere in the world.

The tech giant was humiliated as events marking the 32nd anniversary of the protests and subsequent massacre took place worldwide.

'Tank man' is often used to describe an unidentified person famously pictured standing before tanks in China's Tiananmen Square during pro-democracy demonstrations in June 1989.

The protests ended when China's People's Liberation Army opened fire on protesters.

No definitive death toll has ever been shared, but most estimates claim that between several hundred and several thousand died as a result.

Tank Man's identity has never been confirmed, and it is unclear what happened to him. Multiple sources claim he was put to death, while others - including Chinese government officials - claim he was allowed to walk away unharmed.

Microsoft said the issue was 'due to an accidental human error and we are actively working to resolve this.'

Smaller search engines such as DuckDuckGo that license results from Microsoft faced similar issues around 'tank man' searches and said they expected a fix soon.

Protesters commemorated the 32nd anniversary of the massacre in Hong Kong on Thursday

Hong Kong - a British territory until 1997 - now finds its democracy under threat from China. Tiananmen anniversary protesters waved their phones to commemorate the massacre

The city's Victoria Park was blocked off by cops in anticipation of protests to commemorate the anniversary

Rival Google showed many results for the famous image when the 'tank man' search was performed on Friday.

A significant percentage of the Microsoft employees who work on Bing are based in China, including some who work on image-recognition software, according to a former employee.

China is known to require search engines operating in its jurisdiction to censor results, but those restrictions are rarely applied elsewhere.

Bing is one of the few western search engines able to operate in China, but the Chinese version of the website operates in line with the communist government's strict censorship rules.

Tensions between the US and China have been rising in recent weeks amid fresh claims that COVID-19 leaked from a virology lab in Wuhan.

Last month, actor John Cena was condemned after saying he was 'very sorry' for describing Taiwan as a country.

China maintains the island is part of its territory, and that the two nations should be reunited - by force if necessary.

But Taiwan proudly declares itself an independent democracy.

Cena's groveling apology comes amid allegations of Hollywood hypocrisy.

Producers are desperate not to offend China for fear of having their movies banned from a potentially huge audience, while regularly lecturing Americans about injustices at home.
The Queen has decided to skip her trip to the Epsom Derby because she fears it won't be the same with Covid restrictions in place, reports suggest.

Her Majesty - an avid horse racing fan - believes it will not be a 'traditional Derby day' this year due to restrictions, royal sources have reportedly said.

Instead, the monarch, 95, will watch the famous race on television from the comfort of Windsor Castle, according to the Telegraph.

One source told the paper: 'It's a Derby, but it's not a traditional Derby day.

'It's not going to be what it normally is so the Queen has decided she would rather watch it at home.'

The Queen is also likely to miss Royal Ascot later this month, the paper adds, though it is believed she may attend on specific days if one of her own horses is running.

Her Majesty - an avid horse racing fan - believes it will not be a 'traditional Derby day' this year due to restrictions, royal sourced reportedly say. Pictured: The Queen with racing manager John Warren and Princess Michael of Kent at Epsom in 2015

Instead, the monarch, 95, will watch the famous race on television from the comfort of Windsor Castle, according to the Telegraph. Pictured: Yesterday's Cazoo Derby Festival Handicap at Epsom

The event was held behind closed doors last year, meaning it was the first time in the Queen's reign she had not attended the event.

Meanwhile, if she does miss the Derby at Epsom, it will be for just the fourth time in 75 years.

Though an avid watcher of the Derby, it remains the only major classic British race not won by one of the Queen's horses.

The closest she came to having a winning horse in the famous race was in 1953 - the year of her coronation - when her horse Aureole finished second.

She has only missed three Derby events in person in the last 75 years - one of which was last year due to Covid.

The monarch also missed the 1984 Derby, when she was in France for a D-Day anniversary and in 1956, when she made a state visit to Sweden.

Held at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey, the Derby was first run in 1780.

It is Britain's richest flat horse race, and the most prestigious of the five Classics - the other four of which are the 2,000 Guineas Stakes, the 1,000 Guineas Stakes, the Epsom Oaks, and the St Leger Stakes.

This year's event will be restricted due to Covid. The famous hill, where up to 100,000 people normally stand to watch the race, will be closed.

And the ticketed area will be limited to just a quarter of its usual size.

But that - and a deluge of rain - did little to puit of thousands of glamorous racegoers who flocked to Epsom Downs for Ladies' Day yesterday.

Racegoers cheered during a 'Beaten by a Length' race during the Oaks day of the Derby Festival at the Epsom Downs Racecourse (pictured)

Some braved the downpour in bare legs and open toe heels while trying desperately to keep their hair dry by taking cover underneath an umbrella

Prince Charles to host the first major investiture ceremony since the pandemic began at St Jamess  NOT Buckingham Palace Knighthoods and MBEs will be given out in person at the first major investiture ceremony since the start of the Covid pandemic, it has today been announced. But the event, in which Prince Charles will hand out the honours, will not take place at Buckingham Palace. Instead, the event, due to take place on June 23, will be staged a short distance away at St James's Palace. Buckingham Palace - the Queen's official London residence - is normally the venue for many of the ceremonies. But the first is being held at St James's Palace because of on-going work to update the services at the royal residence. Around 100 recipients are usually awarded their honours, from knighthoods to MBEs, at investitures. But it is understood the groups will be smaller to comply with Covid guidelines. Windsor Castle, where the Queen has spent much of the pandemic, will also be the venue for a number of ceremonies. Letters have been sent to recipients of honours informing them investitures will be resuming. Advertisement

With umbrellas in hand, many refused to let the rain dampen their spirits and were seen getting into the party spirit early, with glasses of Pimms and mini bottles of Moet Champage flowing.

Yesterday was the first of two days of racing at Epsom Downs. Derby Day, one of the biggest occasions of the summer calendar, will take place today.

The news of the Queen's decision to stay at home for Derby Day came as Buckingham Palace last night revealed that Knighthoods and MBEs will be given out in person next month, at the first major investiture ceremony since the start of the Covid pandemic.

But the event, in which Prince Charles will hand out the honours, will not take place at Buckingham Palace.

Instead, the event, due to take place on June 23, will be staged a short distance away at St James's Palace.

Buckingham Palace - the Queen's official London residence - is normally the venue for many of the ceremonies.

But the first is being held at St James's Palace because of on-going work to update the services at the royal residence.

Around 100 recipients are usually awarded their honours, from knighthoods to MBEs, at investitures.

But it is understood the groups will be smaller to comply with Covid guidelines.

Windsor Castle, where the Queen has spent much of the pandemic, will also be the venue for a number of ceremonies.

Letters have been sent to recipients of honours informing them investitures will be resuming.

The announcement comes after it was revealed yesterday that The Queen will meet US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill on June 13.

In a statement released yesterday it was confirmed that Her Majesty will host the president and First Lady at Windsor Castle next Sunday.

Mr Biden, 78, will meet the Queen, 95, after his stay in Cornwall for the G7 summit, which runs from June 11 to June 13.

He will be the 13th American president the Queen has met since ascending to the throne in 1953.

There is speculation that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will also meet the American couple at some point during their visit to the UK.

The meeting comes just months after Mr Biden was sworn-in as president - a stark contrast to his predecessor Donald Trump who didn't meet the Queen for two years.

Trump eventually visited in July 2018 - with his now-infamous meeting with Her Majesty seeing him break royal protocol on several occasions.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Britons will enjoy a four-day bank holiday next summer to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee as the nation marks her 70 years on the throne.

Buckingham Palace said 2022's extended break will run from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5 after the May bank holiday - which would have been on Monday, May 30 - was pushed back.

The celebration will be marked with national events including a live concert featuring some of the world's biggest stars to a service of thanksgiving - and a day at the races.
Elk Grove, CA (95624)

Today

Plenty of sunshine. High 87F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low around 60F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
A technology partnership between Britain and China is to be shut down amid national security fears about sharing nuclear secrets.

Former chancellor George Osborne announced with great fanfare in 2015 that the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory would work with the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in the development of technology.

The Joint Innovation and Research Centre was unveiled in Manchester with an initial pledge of 25million in Government cash. Another 25million was stumped up by the Chinese government to fund the laboratory.

But the Mail has learnt that the 50million research hub is due to be scrapped in the coming weeks after Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng became concerned about risks to national security.

Former chancellor George Osborne announced with great fanfare in 2015 that the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory would work with the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) in the development of technology

It comes after MI5 voiced increasing concerns about such partnerships with China. It was announced by Mr Osborne during his notorious trade mission to Beijing in September 2015 when he said Britain should 'run towards China', in what he predicted would be 'a golden decade for both our countries'.

Six years on, the notion of sharing technology in such a sensitive area with a hostile state has been described as a 'colossal mistake'.

The hub was designed for the 'development of joint technology in areas such as advanced reactors, fuel, manufacturing, decommissioning, waste treatment and digital reactor technology'.

The National Nuclear Laboratory had said it would 'incorporate projects on a number of different areas of work across the whole nuclear fuel cycle' and establish relationships with 'key UK universities working in the nuclear sector'.

It was announced by Mr Osborne during his notorious trade mission to Beijing in September 2015 when he said Britain should 'run towards China', in what he predicted would be 'a golden decade for both our countries'

The research deal, signed off in 2016 by then energy secretary Amber Rudd, was initially agreed for a five-year term and the centre was unveiled that year.

The deal made during David Cameron's government was one of a raft of partnerships between the two nations. But a rise in concerns over China's domestic and foreign policies has forced ministers to reassess a number of deals with Chinese state-backed companies.

Last year the Government banned Chinese firm Huawei's involvement in the 5G wireless network, with its kit to be removed by 2027, due to security concerns. And the US put the CNNC on a blacklist over alleged links to China's People's Liberation Army.

Yesterday an intelligence source said: 'The partnership was a red flag security risk and exactly the type of project we should be bringing to an end.

'It's baffling as to how this got through at the time but in the current climate it's a national security issue.'

An announcement about the closure is due to be made in the coming weeks but the Mail has learnt that all joint work has already been suspended, partly due to the pandemic.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: 'George Osborne has become a chief apologist for the mistakes of what was naively described as the golden era of relations that allowed the Chinese government into British technology, making us more dependent on an autocratic government which practices genocide on its own people.

'When did it dawn on them that this was a colossal mistake? What worries me is that we now have a dependence on the Chinese in our nuclear industry.'

Research by the Henry Jackson Society think-tank last year found that in 57 areas of critical national infrastructure, the UK is dependent on goods from China. Yesterday a Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesman refused to comment.
South-eastern Australia is bracing for a brutal cold front that is likely to cause flooding, thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail and chilly temperatures - and may even bring snow to Queensland.

The unusual weather system, which is drawing in freezing winds from Antarctica, is considered unpredictable and is forecast to cross the mainland on Monday and continue until Thursday.

Adelaide and Melbourne will be first to cop the cold blast with daytime temperatures not expected to rise above 13 on Tuesday.

Thunderstorms are predicted across south eastern Australia as part of a wild weather system that includes icy winds literally drawn to mainland Australia from Antarctica. Hail, now, damaging winds, heavy rain and flooding is also expected. Melbourne (pictured) will be one of the first cities to feel the chill with daytime temperatures dropping to 13

Sydney is set to cop a pasting with up to 40mm of rain next Wednesday and Thursday

The Bureau of Meteorology is preparing to issue a series of severe weather warnings as the cold front meets a low pressure system as it heads north-east.

There is particular concern for farmers.

'We are expecting to issue sheep grazier warnings for farmers indicating very wet and windy conditions that may impact livestock,' said Sarah Scully, one of BOM's senior meteorologists, told Daily Mail Australia.

'There are likely to be flood warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings across south-eastern Australia.'

Eastern Victoria across to southern NSW is expected to see the heaviest rainfall, with up to 100mm on Wednesday and Thursday

Parts of south eastern Queensland are expected to see snow next week

Ms Scully said areas that flooded recently will be particularly vulnerable to flooding again because the soil has not fully dried out since the March floods.

'We are confident this will be a significant weather event with heavy rain, small hail damaging winds and snow to low levels.'

The worst-affected areas are expected to be from eastern Victoria across to coastal and inland southern New South Wales, which could receive at least one month's worth of annual rainfall in just two days.

'The heaviest rainfall appears to be centred over eastern Victoria and coastal parts of southern NSW and adjacent inland areas,' said Ms Scully.

That is likely to mean all of eastern Victoria across to the south of Canberra and the NSW south coast around Batemans Bay will be hardest hit.

'Potential rainfall totals could be in excess of 100mm, with Wednesday and Thursday the wettest days,' Ms Scully said.

Get set for a cold, wet and miserable week across south-eastern Australia

The areas are forecast to experience damaging winds, hail, heavy rain and 'snow to low levels'.

Sydney and Melbourne will also both cop a pasting.

The Victorian capital is facing between 10mm and 30mm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sydney could be even wetter, with possible rainfall of up to 40mm likely on Wednesday and Thursday.

Sydney temperatures will struggle to get above 15 on Thursday.

While Melbourne faces heavy rain, the totals are expected to be between 10mm and 30mm.

The bureau said the developing system will initially bring snow to low levels in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania but would gather strength on Tuesday.

Ms Scully said the weather system will develop into a 'low cut low pressure system' from Tuesday and could bring snow to the NSW northern tablelands and south-eastern Queensland through the Granite Belt.

Across the country in Western Australia, even Perth will see some increasing rain from Wednesday onwards, with up to 20mm rainfall by next Friday.

The Northern Territory will continue to see sunny, dry weather with temperatures in the low 30s, with humidity dropping on Wednesday.
A former Oxford University Classics professor arrested for allegedly stealing ancient bible fragments is facing a 5million lawsuit.

Dr Dirk Obbink, 63, was arrested by police in May on suspicion of theft and fraud after 13 priceless biblical papyrus fragments were sold to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.

It was then reported that he was awarded 434,000 by his college a year after concerns were first raised about his integrity.

The American-born professor, who denies the allegations, was handed a six-figure loan 12 months after a UK charity that archives and translates Greek manuscripts discovered in Egypt expressed concern about his behaviour, reported The Times.

The associate professor in papyrology and Greek literature has been released while police continue their investigation. He left his role at the University of Oxford on February 6 this year.

But now the Times reports that Obbink is now being sued in the United States by a company behind a planned Museum of the Bible in Washington.

Dr Dirk Obbink, 63, (pictured) was arrested by police last month on suspicion of theft and fraud after 13 ancient biblical papyrus fragments were sold to the Museum of the Bible, Washington DC. He denied allegations of wrongdoing

The 13 papyrus bible fragments were stolen from Oxford University's Sackler Library where the Oxyrhynchus collection was kept (stock image)

The company, which is run by an American evangelical Christian family called the Green family, claim papyrus fragments were sold by Obbink between 2010 and 2013.

Their company, Hobby Lobby, a chain of arts and crafts stores, have filed a claim in New York, reports the Times.

They claim in court papers that he made seven private sales, netting around 7million in the process.

According to the papers, some of the fragments were stolen by Obbink from the Egyptian Exploration Society - which looks after the biggest collection of papyrus in the world.

It comes as financial reports, seen by The Times and dated between July 2017 and July 2018, show Dr Obbink entered into the substantial equity-share with Christ Church college in 2018.

The loan is usually put towards helping professors buy homes in the city, but Dr Obbink already had rooms in the college's Tom Quad, as well as a house with a pool in the city's suburbs.

Last year Dr Obbink sold his business group that in 2014 bought a castle in Texas.

On November 12 Thames Valley police received a report that 13 priceless ancient papyrus biblical fragments had been stolen from from the Oxyrhynchus collection at Oxford University.

The Egypt Exploration Society (EES), who own the papyrus fragments, claim they were stolen from the Sackler Library at Oxford University.

Dr Obbink has denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations are a 'malicious attempt' to harm his reputation and damage his career.

The ancient papyrus was originally found during the early 20th Century in the Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus.

EES director Dr Carl Graves said: 'These are early fragments of the gospels or biblical fragments.

The ancient papyrus fragments were sold to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC (pictured). They have cooperated and returned all 13 pieces to the Egypt Exploration Society

What is papyrus? Papyrus is a plant, rather like a reed, which used to grow in Egypt. In ancient times, the Egyptians used it to make small, light-weight boats, sandals, mats and baskets, as well as a paper-like material for writing on. This writing material is also known as papyrus. Sheets of papyrus were often stuck together to form long rolls (scrolls) for lengthy documents like Books of the Dead. Documents written on papyrus are known as papyri. The oldest example of a roll of papyrus (without writing) dates to about 2985 BC, and the oldest written papyrus document comes from about 2495 BC. Source: The Fitzwilliam Museum Advertisement

'They are testament to Egypt's early Christian heritage and are early evidence of biblical scripture. We don't value them monetarily but they are priceless and irreplaceable.'

In a statement on its website in 2019 the EES said: 'The MOTB [Museum of the Bible] has informed the EES that 11 of these pieces came into its care after being sold to Hobby Lobby stores by Prof Obbink, most of them in two batches in 2010.'

He also said that the Museum of the Bible had been cooperative and that all 13 biblical fragments had been returned.

The museum was established by the billionaire Green family who own the Hobby Lobby chain of crafting stores.

Dr Obbink was suspended from Oxford in October, a month before the theft was reported, after an investigation was held into the disappearance of the papyrus fragments.

The fragments, which come from Genesis, Exodus and Deuteronomy, are different sizes, contain different numbers of words and took decades to put together.

Dr Obbink had previously told the Guardian: 'The allegations made against me that I have stolen, removed or sold items owned by the Egypt Exploration Society collection at the University of Oxford are entirely false.

'I would never betray the trust of my colleagues and the values which I have sought to protect and uphold throughout my academic career in the way that has been alleged.

'I am aware that there are documents being used against me which I believe have been fabricated in a malicious attempt to harm my reputation and career.'


A second woman has accused NYC mayoral candidate Scott Stringer of being a sex pest after claiming he groped and kissed her against her will.

Teresa Logan, now 47, claims that Stringer, 61, 'patted' and 'squeezed' her butt in 1992 as she worked as a waitress at a bar he co-founded called Uptown Local in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, The New York Times reported.

Her allegations come after lobbyist Jean Kim in April claimed that Stringer, the outgoing city comptroller, had repeatedly groped her while she was an unpaid intern on his campaign for public advocate in 2001.

Logan told The New York Times that Stringer, then 32, allegedly first groped her when she was 18 as she carried trays past him at the bar, which has since closed.

'He just, like, totally pats me on the butt, and like, squeezes it,' she said. 'I had no way of reacting. My hands weren't free to even protect myself.'

Logan said that the incident 'freaked me out' but that she tried to move on because attitudes around sexual harassment in the workplace were different at the time.

'I sort of glossed it over for myself saying, 'But I'm getting paid in cash, free drinks, my friends and I are getting free drinks every night,' she said. 'This dude's a creep, so are a lot of guys at bars probably.'

Teresa Logan, left, claims that Scott Stringer, right, 'patted' and 'squeezed' her butt in 1992 as she worked as a waitress at a bar he co-founded called Uptown Local

She said she continued to work at the bar and even celebrated her 19th birthday at Uptown Local.

She then recounted another time when she agreed to go with Stringer to another bar. She told The New York Times she expected the bar to be in walking distance and was surprised when he hailed a cab.

She said: 'I just have a memory of him in the car, putting his hand on my inner thigh.'

Logan then claimed Stringer 'made out' with her as she repeatedly told him 'no.'

'I was like, 'No, no, no,' and then when I was so strong about the 'no' in that situation, it stopped and he kind of laughed it off, like, 'Oh, I'm drunk, I'm sorry',' she said.

In a third alleged incident, Logan said she was drinking with Stringer after work when he again suggested going to another bar - but instead led her to the outside of an apartment building and invited her inside.

She suggested the two share a cigarette but told him there was 'no way' she was going with him into the building, she recounted.

Logan alleged that Stringer again began groping her chest and up her skirt while kissing her in a situation she described as an 'out-of-body experience.'

'I was like 'No, no, no, I'm going home,' And I like, turned my back, walked away. Got a cab,' she told The New York Times.

Logan, who now works in the fashion industry, said that the Uptown Local gig was her 'first job ever in New York' and affected how she felt about working with men the rest of her career.

In a statement to The New York Times, Stringer indicated he did not recall meeting Logan but apologized if he 'ever did anything to make her uncomfortable.'

'While I do not remember Ms. Logan, if I ever did anything to make her uncomfortable, I am sorry,' he said.

'Uptown Local was a long-ago chapter in my life from the early 1990s and it was all a bit of a mess.'

Her allegations come after Jean Kim in April claimed that Stringer, the outgoing city comptroller, had repeatedly groped her while she was an unpaid intern

Stringer previously claimed his relationship with first accuser Kim was entirely consensual, and he has denied sexually assaulting her.

He remains among the large field of candidates vying to become the city's next mayor; the Democratic primary is June 22, with early voting starting June 12.

Stringer had long been thought a possible contender for the mayoral race for often sparring with current mayor Bill de Blasio.

However, his campaign struggled to get off the ground and any momentum his campaign had built was snuffed out when Kim came forward with her allegations.

Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, explained to the New York Post that 'It's going to be impossible to get out of this' and that the Stringer scandals will cause the left to 'splinter.'

'The beneficiary of this is probably Maya Wiley,' he added.
Former President Donald Trump is set to return to the stage and take part in what for all intents and purposes will look like a campaign rally later on Saturday where he will make Dr. Anthony Fauci his latest punching bag.

Trump will be making his first public speech in months at North Carolina Republican Party's annual convention where he is set to recall his 2020 election loss and take aim at the nation's top infectious disease expert.

The plan to target the doctor, who has become entwined with the coronavirus pandemic could becoming something of a fixation for the ex-president. Trump is famed for continuing to obsess over 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for years after he defeated her.

Former President Donald Trump is returning to the rally circuit this weekend. He is set to air a set of grievances with a planned attack on Dr. Fauci together with a repeat of conspiracies about his 2020 election loss

Fauci has been a target for some Republicans dating back to last year, when he evolved his guidance on masking and distancing as more information about the pandemic emerged

'People see Anthony Fauci and they think of shuttered businesses, lost school,' Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told Axios.

Fauci has been a target for some Republicans dating back to last year, when he flip-flopped his guidance on masking and distancing as more information about the pandemic emerged.

Republicans including Trump tried to ridicule the doctor saying his overcautious approach ended up shutting down the economy.

Fauci and his family eventually needed private security as he and his family faced threats.

Trump, along with a host of prominent conservatives both within the GOP and within the media, have continued to criticize decisions made by Fauci.

They include his changing advice on masks, and apparently conflicting views over whether COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, to which Fauci has ties.

'The correspondence between Dr. Fauci and China speaks too loudly for anyone to ignore. China should pay Ten Trillion Dollars to America, and the World, for the death and destruction they have caused!' Trump said in a statement earlier this week.

'People see Anthony Fauci and they think of shuttered businesses, lost school,' Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said

The idea the coronavirus escaped from a Wuhan lab was at best a 'fringe theory' until recently, when the Biden administration ordered a review

Although most experts still believe the virus was transmitted from a bat to some other species of animal, then to humans, its origins remain unproven.

The Wuhan lab was famed for conducting tests on bat coronaviruses, with experts who support the leak theory saying the same city being ground zero for the outbreak is too great a coincidence to ignore.

Fauci is now facing accusations that accuse him of mishandling and downplaying the theory the virus leaked from a lab in Wuhan suggesting he was not forthcoming about the evidence for the theory.

The Biden administration has ordered the intelligence community to produce a report on COVID-19's origins by the end of the summer with particular attention focused on the lab-leak theory with the possibility the virus infected workers studying it at a Wuhan lab, who then infected others.

Fauci told the Financial Times China should release the medical records of nine people whose illnesses could provide vital clues into whether COVID resulted from a lab leak.

Republicans including Trump tried to ridicule the doctor saying his overcautious approach ended up shutting down the economy. Fauci is pictured in March 2020

'I have always felt that the overwhelming likelihood  given the experience we have had with SARS, MERS, Ebola, HIV, bird flu, the swine flu pandemic of 2009  was that the virus jumped species, but we need to keep on investigating until a possibility is proven,' Fauci said.

Meanwhile, allies of Donald Trump have begged him not to mention a conspiracy theory claiming he'll be reinstated as president by August over fears it'll damage his re-election chances.

Aides are advising him to keep quiet on an outlandish claim he is said to have made earlier this week mooting a return to the presidency in the next two months.

New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman first reported Tuesday that the former president 'has been telling a number of people he's in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August.'

How Fauci flip-flopped on the origins of COVID April 2020: Fauci repeatedly made public statements suggesting that that COVID was the result of an 'unusual human-animal interface' in a Chinese 'wet market' and that 'the mutations that it took to get to the point where it is now is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.' May 2020: Still adamant that he didn't believe the coronavirus was man-made. 'If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what's out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated,' he told National Geographic in an exclusive interview published May 4, 2020. 'Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species.' Late May 2021 to early June 2021: During an event called 'United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking,' Fauci was asked if was 'still confident' that the virus evolved naturally. 'No, actually  I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened,' Fauci said. 'Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out.' He added: 'So, you know, that's the reason why I said I'm perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus.' Advertisement

Former President Donald Trump is being advised not to say anything during a rally this weekend in North Carolina where he might suggest he could be back in the White House by August

Trump released a statement on his blog on Friday evening promoting his North Carolina rally

The comments from Times reporter Maggie Haberman came after Trump's original National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said a Myanmar-style coup 'should happen.'

Haberman also pointed out that Trump supporters have expressed support for the coup idea.

But one confidant told The Daily Beast they are praying that Trump does not bend to the will of his supporters when he takes the podium on Saturday.

'I conveyed something [to Trump] to the effect of, 'It would be a terrible idea to even say the word, "August" [at Saturday's event],' one source is said to have told the former president.

Former Trump adviser Robert Jeffress, a Dallas megachurch pastor, went on-the-record to urge his friend to avoid mentioning the word 'August' at his rally.

He said: 'I have and continue to be a strong supporter of President Trumps.

'I would love to see him back in the White House in 2024, but I believe there is no benefit to relitigating the last election. We need to be concentrated on winning the next election.

The former president has been telling people he expects to be reinstated as president by August, according to The New York Times' Maggie Haberman

'People need to engage and deal with reality, not fantasy. I know the president to be an extremely intelligent person, one of the smartest people Ive ever known, and I would doubt seriously the reports that he believes hes going to be reinstated in August.'

According to the Beast, several other sources have also got in touch with Trump to deliver a simple message: 'Whoever is trying to get in your ear to tell you that you could be "reinstated" in the White House by August, or at any time during President Joe Biden's term in office, doesn't know what they're talking about, and repeating their deranged theories in public could be used against you by your enemies. It would be better to focus on the 2022 midterm elections and, subsequently, the 2024 presidential race.'

The sources have also revealed that they have tried to make their case to Trump as gently as possible, fearing that if they push him too hard he will talk about it to spite them.

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman tweeted Tuesday morning that former President Donald Trump has been telling people he expects to be reinstated as president by August

The former president lost legal protections once he left office in January, with Haberman reporting that Trump is pushing the idea of reinstatement as he faces potential indictment over his business dealings

Haberman also reported that Trump has been 'laser focused' on audits happening in Arizona with another expected in Georgia, as the former president continues to push the 'big lie'

Trump has made sporadic statements since leaving the White House, the most recent of which saw him claim his theory that COVID came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology had finally been vindicated.

But he has not said anything about the August reinstatement claim, worrying Trump supporters opposed to any such reinstatement.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump ally, said he likely inspired the former president.

'If Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it publicly,' Lindell told The Daily Beast on Wednesday.

'The month of August, for this, is subjectivebut I don't know if it'll be that month, specificallyI spoke about it with my lawyers who said that they should have something ready for us to bring before the U.S. Supreme Court by July. So, in my mind, I hope that means that we could have Donald Trump back in the White House by August. That's how I landed on August, and I'm hopeful that that is correct.'

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump ally, said he likely inspired him. 'If Trump is saying August, that is probably because he heard me say it publicly.' The two are pictured together at the White House on March 30, 2020

Lindell was referring to evidence that President Joe Biden won the November 2020 election fraudulently. No such proof of any such fraud has ever been uncovered, despite multiple claims by Trump suggesting he'd been kicked out of office unfairly.

On Thursday, Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump said that people are getting 'worked up' over nothing and her father-in-law does not actually expect to be reinstated as president.

'As far as I know, there are no plans for Donald Trump to be in the White House in August. Maybe there's something I don't know,' Lara told the Fox & Friends panel Thursday morning.

'But no, I think that that is a lot of folks getting a little worked up about something just because maybe there wasn't enough pushback, you know, from the Republican side,' she added.

'So no, I have not heard any plans for Donald Trump to be installed in the White House in August.'

Lara, who is married to Trump's second-eldest son, Eric, appears to be the most high-profile member of the former president's orbit to weigh in on the report and deny its validity.

Donald Trump's daughter-in-law Lara pushed back against reports Thursday, insisting to 'Fox & Friends' that the former president does not expect to be reinstalled at the White House in August

Trump shut down his desk blog this week where he posted statements as a way to get around his social media ban.

The webpage was shuttered just 29 days after it launched because Trump didnt like that it had such low readership and was getting mocked, according to The Washington Post.

Much of the former presidents musing through those statements were focused on his claims of widespread voter fraud. He also would complain of Democrats in Washington and issue endorsements for Republicans loyal to him.

Haberman said Trump has been 'laser focused' on election audits - including the state Senate Republican-led one in Maricopa County, Arizona, as well as another audit expected in Georgia's Fulton County - as the Manhattan district attorney has convened a grand jury that is expected to decide whether to indict the former president.

Trump's daughter-in-law, who shared two children with Eric, is largely rumored to be considering a Senate run in her home state of North Carolina for retiring Senator Richard Burr's seat.

During the Thursday interview, Lara mocked the outlet that first claimed Trump thinks he will be reinstated in late summer 2021.

'I think you should take a look at who those networks are and who is pushing that story out,' she said of the report that came from the Times and soon thereafter was pushed by some of Trump's biggest enemy outlets  CNN, MSNBC and The Washington Post.

MAGA fans took to the water in Jupiter, Florida , for a boat parade earlier this week

The huge flotilla of boats with a sea of Trump flags takes part of the parade in Jupiter, Florida

Trump has continued to falsely push that he didn't lose the 2020 race to President Joe Biden.

Supporters have glommed on to that message, with a number of Trump fans sporting 'Trump won' flags at a large boat parade in Florida over Memorial Day weekend.

And some of his allies have given Trump's most vehement supporters false hope that he could be reinstated.

Over the weekend, lawyer Sidney Powell told an audience in Dallas that Trump could be back.

'It should be that he can simply be reinstated, that a new inauguration day is set,' she said to cheers. 'And Biden is told to move out of the White House. And President Trump should be moved back in.'

Powell is known for spreading a number of conspiracy theories to Trump supporters about the 2020 race.
A California toddler died after her mom left her alone in a car for hours in 100 degree weather to tend to her marijuana farm, police say.

The Visalia Police Department said they found three-year-old Jessica Campos not breathing after being left alone in a car for three hours, with the vehicle's interior temperature rocketing to 100f.

Her mom Eustajia Mojica Dominguez, 28, has since been arrested over the killing, and is said to have been tending to her huge cannabis farm while her daughter suffocated in the searing heat.

Police say the car interior was have been so scorching that Jessica would not have been able to breathe.

An officer on an unrelated call across the street responded to the scene immediately after being called, and took over from family members and attempted to revive the girl using CPR, police said in a statement.

Jessica was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Jessica's mother, 28-year-old Eustajia Mojica Dominguez, (pictured) was tending to a marijuana grow and processing pot while the toddler was in the scorching car, it is alleged

Police uncovered 70 mature marijuana plants, 80 immature marijuana plants at the residence

Police found three-year-old Jessica Campos not breathing alone in a car in up to 100 degree weather before she was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead

Police said the toddler was left alone in the parked car anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3 hours during which temperatures reached at least 100 degrees.

Cops believe that Mojica Dominguez was tending to a marijuana grow and processing pot while the toddler was in the scorching car.

The department's Narcotics and Special Enforcement Unit uncovered 70 mature marijuana plants, 80 immature marijuana plants, and approximately 475 pounds of processed marijuana at the residence.

Police uncovered approximately 475 pounds of processed marijuana at the residence

Police say the four adults who were arrested at the residence face possible drug charges related to marijuana, including Valentin Aguilar Ortiz, left, and Emmanuel Ortiz-Aguilar, right

Also arrested over the cannabis farm were Araceli Mojica, left, and Victor Flores Corona, right

Authorities also discovered four other children in the residence, including two nine-month-old children and an 11 and 15-year-old.

The four children were all turned over to Child Welfare Services. Their relationship to Mojica Martinez has not been shared.

Four other adults who were in the residence at the time of the incident were arrested as well.

Police identified the four adults as Araceli Mojica, 33, Emmanuel Ortiz-Aguilar, 34, Valentin Aguilar Ortiz, 27, and Victor Flores Corona, 41.

Police say they face possible drug charges related to marijuana, while Mojica Dominguez was booked for involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.

California law states that recreational marijuana is legal, but unlicensed growers can only harvest up to six cannabis plants, the New York Post reported.
There was a heavy police presence in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon as a number of anti-vaxxers and anti-lockdown protesters descended on the city.

It didn't take long for tensions to escalate, with reports of multiple arrests just after midday in the CBD on Flinders St.

Dozens of police officers were also based at vaccination hubs at the Royal Exhibition Building, Sandown Racecourse and the Melbourne Showgrounds.

Ominously, some protestors declared they will cause 'widespread chaos.'

Police seen talking to a man (pictured) during the snap protest on Saturday in Melbourne's CBD

One of the fed up protest speakers (pictured) talking to police in Melbourne's CBD on Saturday

Moments before her arrest, a woman (pictured) was seen arguing with police in Melbourne's CBD

The woman (pictured) who was arrested during the snap protest on Saturday in the heart of Melbourne

Police (pictured) were quick to move on a number of protestors who are unhappy Melbourne's lockdown was increased this week

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent confirmed officers will be out in force.

'People will be issued fines or arrested depending on the behaviour. All I ask is please don't bother, don't turn up, you're going to be arrested,' he said.

'Police will respond to all breaches of imposed directives, as we have been doing all the way.'

Carly Soderstrom, who spoke at the protest, said she wanted to represent struggling small businesses in a peaceful fashion.

'We are not being heard on social media or by our local members so (today) we wanted to have our voices heard,' she said.

Last week, police made 14 arrests during protests, with a further 55 attendees issued fines of $1652 each in Melbourne.

Two police officers were also injured in violent scenes.

Today's development come as Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton called out anti-vaxxers planning to protest at vaccination hubs, warning them to not disrupt people trying to get the jab.

'I understand there might be some anti-vaccination protests plan today which is usually an fortunate that there is that sentiment in anyone,' he said at Saturday's press conference.

'I recognise they represent a small minority, and a vaccine is not mandated.

'As an individual, you are freed not to get it if you don't want to get it for yourself.

'I still find some discomfort with that because we all need to be protected with a height vaccination coverage, but it is your choice.

'But do not get in the way of all of those Victorians who are trying to come and get vaccinated today and every other day.'

Update: A series of protests planned in Melbourne's CBD on Saturday didn't gather significant momentum from 12pm onwards.

Organisers protesting the forced lockdown - now in its ninth day - at venues such as the Royal Exhibition Building left quietly due to a lack of numbers and an overwhelming police presence.

Victoria Police (pictured) talking to a protester during a 'Free Melbourne' anti-lockdown protest outside the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on June 5

Police (pictured) after a snap protest was called on Friday night by a group of business owners, who are unhappy with the governments management of the current outbreak in Melbourne

The protest planned for the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne didn't eventuate due to poor protest numbers and a large police presence

Mounted police (pictured) were seen monitoring protestors at Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building - the protest was later cancelled
Passengers on a Delta flight last night tackled a passenger who tried to break into the cockpit in mid-air while screaming 'Stop this plane!'

The unidentified man flew into a rage on Friday's flight from Los Angeles to Nashville when flight attendant Christopher Williams and passengers restrained him with zip ties.

Cellphone footage posted to Twitter shows Williams wrestling with the man, who is hidden behind a row of seats and out of view of the camera. Another video shows Williams successfully putting his hands behind his back and into zip-ties.

In another video, the unruly man can be heard repeatedly screaming 'stop this plane' as Williams and two other men near the cockpit hold him down on the floor.

A photo posted after the encounter shows Williams sweating with his face buried in his folded hands.

Another photo shows the Delta employee seated with his hands together and his head lowered. Williams' identity was revealed by a woman named Jessica Robertson, who was on the flight.

Delta Flight 386 from Los Angeles to Nashville was diverted to Albuquerque after an unruly passenger tried to breach the cockpit

'This man needs an award. Just saved the plane,' @NoKapRich captioned the photo.

Video taken by another passenger Jessica Robertson, who was seated in the third row, shows people dragging the man to the back of the plane and away from the cockpit.

'Flight attendant Christopher Williams acted quickly. So did several passengers around me,' Robertson wrote.

Delta Flight 386 from Nashville to LA was diverted to Albuquerque, where it landed at around 2:20 p.m. and the man was arrested by airport police, KOAT-TV reported. Nobody was injured in the incident.

The remaining passengers spent five hours in Albuquerque International Sunport before a new flight arrived to take them on to Nashville.

'The passenger was not successful. The plane landed safely and the passenger was removed by police and the FBI. He is in custody now,' Delta said in a statement to KOAT-TV.

Flight attendant Christopher Williams, pictured in purple, has been for his heroic actions in detaining the man, whose identity has not been revealed

Another member of the flight crew is pictured handing the yellow zip ties off to someone else on the flight as Williams and two other passengers detain him on the ground

Williams and two men are pictured working to restrain the man who had tried to breach the cockpit

The man was successfully placed in zip ties and carried to the back of the plane and away from the cockpit

The FBI field office in Albuquerque tweeted that the agency responded to the airport in New Mexico and there was no threat to the public.

The incident came as the Federal Aviation Administration has worked to crack down on recent bouts of unruly passengers.

Last month, the FAA fined an 'abusive' JetBlue passenger $10,500 after he refused to wear mask and 'coughed and blew his nose into a blanket.'

The man, whose name was not revealed, had boarded a JetBlue flight from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on December 27 when he began to act unruly, according to a press release from the FAA.

The FAA also fined another JetBlue passenger $9,000 for being 'disruptive' on a March 16 flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport.

While boarding the flight, the man 'yelled, slammed overhead bins, and shouted profanities at the cabin crew, including threatening to harass a flight attendant during the entire flight,' the FAA alleged.

The FAA also fined another JetBlue passenger $9,000 for being 'disruptive' on a March 16 flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport.

While boarding the flight, the man 'yelled, slammed overhead bins, and shouted profanities at the cabin crew, including threatening to harass a flight attendant during the entire flight,' the FAA alleged.

In a press release last month, the FAA said that the agency has received approximately 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers since January.

Williams and other passengers are seen putting the man in zip ties

The man was successfully placed in zip ties and carried to the back of the plane and away from the cockpit

The man was heard screaming 'stop the plane' while trying to get into the cockpit

People have since praised the flight attendant for his heroism and quick thinking
A federal judge has overturned Californias three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, ruling that it violates the constitutional right to bear arms.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled Friday that the states definition of illegal military-style rifles unlawfully deprives law-abiding Californians of weapons commonly allowed in most other states.

He handed down the two page ruling in response to a lawsuit filed against the State of California by James Miller, Patrick Russ, Ryan Peterson and the the San Diego County Gun Owners Political Action Committee.

The plaintiffs successfully argued that California's use of the term 'assault weapons' was 'a politically-concocted pejorative term designed to suggest that there is an inherently unlawful or illegitimate basis for owning otherwise common firearms protected by the Second Amendment.'

They added that California banned guns which should have been lawful to own by designating them assault weapons using faulty rationales, such as a rifle's ammunition capacity.

Arguing the case before Friday's ruling, the plaintiffs' ruler George M Lee said: 'The government cannot ban the constitutionally-protected firearms at issue in this case.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, pictured, has overturned California's 32 year-old ban on assault rifles after branding it unconstitutional

'We look forward to proving that the states statutes, policies, and practices at issue in this case are both unconstitutional and irrational.'

The lawsuit went on reference Judge Benitezs earlier ruling that Californias ban on high-capacity magazines was unconstitutional. Benitez later stayed his own order.

John Dillon, who also served as attorney for the plaintiffs', added: 'This is a straightforward case to protect our clients constitutional rights and property.

'The state of Californias ban on these firearms will fail constitutional scrutiny for the same reasons that its ban on firearm magazines did.'

California first restricted assault weapons in 1989, with multiple updates to the law since then.

California has ended its ban on assault rifles after 32 years. Pictured are three variations of an AR-15 assault rifle handed in as part of a Californian amnesty in 2012

Californias attorney general Rob Bonta argued that assault weapons as defined by the law are more dangerous than other firearms and are disproportionately used in crimes and mass shootings. But Benitez said the guns are overwhelmingly owned for legal purposes.

The Golden State could see gun laws relaxed even more from next month, with Dillon also representing Matthew Jones and Thomas Furrh.

They say California's ban on anyone under the age of 21 owning guns is age-discrminiation, and infringes on the rights of law-abiding young adults.

That suit wants the law changed so that people aged 18 and over can buy a gun.
Victoria is yet to see any fatalities from coronavirus this year and only a handful of cases have been detected during the state's most recent outbreak yet millions of Melburnians remain stuck in lockdown - and the effects on struggling families, school-aged children and business owners won't quickly be forgotten.

The entire state was first locked down at the end of May for seven days - due to end at the start of winter on June 3 - but just one day before residents planned to return to their semi-normal lives, the government announced Greater Melbourne would be forced to stay locked inside their houses for an additional seven days.

With the new Indian 'Delta' variant that has wreaked havoc amongst a billion-strong population overseas being detected in the state, residents fear the leading health officers may extend the dreaded lockdown again.

This is despite the highest number of infections on a single day in the latest outbreak, which started on May 4, being 12 - with every other day reporting total community transmission of between three to six cases despite tens of thousands of tests.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton called an emergency video meeting where it was decided in an hour the state would go into lockdown

During Victoria's emergency lockdown meeting almost two weeks ago Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews - the North Face-wearing voice of reason throughout the state's most gruelling 2020 lockdown - was nowhere to be seen, either in person or on Zoom, when it was decided that drastic measures would need to be taken.

As he is still recovering from a spinal injury, Mr Andrews had spoken to Acting Premier James Merlino earlier that day and was waiting for more updates after the meeting concluded.

Instead it was Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton who led the fast-paced one hour discussion before it was decided the state would be locked down the following day when cases were linked to the infectious Indian Kappa variant.

The news was understandably a disappointment for the business sector, who were never consulted.

'If they engaged with us at any point before these announcements, it would make some significant differences around the edges where we could suggest where they might've gone a step too far and why,' Tim Piper, Victorian head of the Australian Industry Group, told The Age.

To make matters worse the publication revealed that on May 21, six days before the lockdown was enforced, traces of Covid-19 were detected in the wastewater in the Wollert and Epping suburbs of North Melbourne.

With the new Indian 'Delta' variant that has wreaked havoc amongst a billion-strong population overseas being detected in the state, residents fear the leading health officers may extend the dreaded lockdown again (pictured in Melbourne)

Premier Daniel Andrews wasn't even present in the emergency video meeting for the recent lockdown but received the update from acting premier James Merlino (pictured)

It was the same area a man who returned to Australia from India quarantined at a hotel in Adelaide and tested positive to the virus when he flew to Melbourne on May 4.

On May 11 a Woolworths supermarket in Epping, in Melbourne's north-west, was notified the infected person who had left SA quarantine had visited the store three days earlier.

The Victorian Government was forced to admit its contact tracing team 'fell down' by taking almost two weeks to realise they had identified the wrong Woolworths store as a Covid hotspot - and it should have been Woolworths Epping North.

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It was a mistake blithely deflected by Professor Sutton because they found no evidence anyone else had been infected by the error.

And Victorians were again left unimpressed by the leadership of Professor Sutton when he used the term 'absolute beast' when describing the new variant of the virus.

He later defended the language and denied the health advisors were fearmongering.

'I do like to warn against complacency but all of the statements that I made about the Kappa variant, the primary one that we're dealing with in Melbourne, were factual, they relate to the fact that we absolutely have to chase every single case down, we need to get back to Covid zero, that's a significant challenge,' he said at a press conference on Friday.

'So when I use the term beast  I'm trying to warn against complacency and motivate everyone to get tested to isolate, to follow the rules.'

Victoria currently has 78 active cases in the state including five new infections recorded on Saturday.

Businesses are outraged that politicians have taken a back seat to health officers, who are declaring what should and shouldn't happen within the state.

Greater Melbourne remains in lockdown with residents and businesses unhappy politicians are sitting back and letting health officers decide what will be done

Victoria only implemented a single, state-wide QR code system last Friday - after lockdown

Business owner Colin Moxey, who owns a self-named hair salon in South Yarra, has been forced to reschedule 125 clients, backloading his appointments each day the lockdown continues.

While the majority of his workers are full-time, Mr Moxey estimates he is losing $30,000 a week in earnings.

'Each session is around $100 average, so it is a big whack,' Mr Moxey earlier told Daily Mail Australia.

'It has been a tough year for us. We had a flood, so we had to move salons for two months. We have only been back four weeks, then this happened.

'So now I am thinking, 'what is next?'

'I am almost used to it. You get numb to it. It is sad.'

Restaurateur Liam Ganley who owns three businesses across Melbourne has estimated he's losing up to $100,000 a week.

Across the three venues, he has around 70 staff members - of which around half are casual employees who live off their pay week to week.

'I am angry. How Covid has been handled in Victoria is a disgrace,' Mr Ganley told Daily Mail Australia.

'As a business owner, I have lost all faith in the state government. They are clearly inept at contract tracing or managing this virus. Other states have shown they can handle it, why can't Victoria?

'We have had no support since the federal government subsidies stopped. To leave people in limbo, unsure where they are going to get their next pay check is an absolute disgrace.'

Meanwhile the effects of the lockdown on children and teenagers are equally as disturbing.

More children and teenagers turning towards self-harm and suicidal thoughts as they're kept indoors and forced to complete their schoolwork from home

More are turning towards self-harm and suicidal thoughts as they're kept indoors and forced to complete their schoolwork from home, The Australian reported.

A confidential report from the state government revealed that the average weekly mental health emergencies for youths up to the age of 17 reached 319 over February and March.

This is compared to 251 during this same time period in 2020.

Even as the government announced it would allow VCE students back into the classroom next week, it had initially planned to keep children with special needs trapped at home before an eleventh-hour backflip.

One Melbourne mum, who did not wish to be named, told Daily Mail Australia her autistic child had been chewing his arm due to the stress of being kept at home.

'Children who have differing abilities and attend special schools often don't have the capacity to understand why they can't go to school which can cause extreme behaviours such as self harm and meltdowns,' she said.

Six days before the lockdown was enforced, traces of Covid-19 were detected in the wastewater in the Wollert and Epping suburbs of North Melbourne

The deteriorating mental health of ordinary Victorians, who have either lost their businesses or are unable to provide for their families, is once again expected to cause a surge in domestic violence incidents and suicides.

National Homeless Collective founder Donna Stolzenberg told Daily Mail Australia the latest lockdown was having a devastating effect in the community.

'We still have families who are forced to isolate and are desperate for nappies and formula for their children. We have families who haven't been able to access basic hygiene items such as soap and toothpaste,' she said.

'The mental health and anguish experienced by individuals who feel they have failed their family yet again can be insurmountable. The guilt and shame at not being able to provide for their children causes ongoing psychological effects and feelings of shame and failure.'

Victoria's Health Minister Martin Foley on Saturday was unable to give any hints to whether or not the lockdown would be extended from Thursday.

'Clearly, as we approach next Thursday, the kind of facts we have been going through here, the evidence, what cases (we are) aware (of), either linked or unlinked, have we got the support around them,' he said.

'Have we seen any upstream outbreaks however close to the downstream... these all go into the mix and rest assured, the people of Victoria, we don't want to keep the system in place for a moment longer than the public health advice says we need it in place.

'We will have more to say about that in the coming days.'
Americans have had their eyes opened during the pandemic to the real power brokers in the United States, according to Fox News host Ben Domenech - who urged his countrymen to reject those seeking to control them.

Domenech, co-founder of The Federalist online magazine and husband of Meghan McCain, said on Friday that the pandemic should serve as a wake-up call.

'The ruling class used the threat of disease to consolidate its power, and it has used lies, violent riots, re-education, corporate media propaganda and tech censorship to achieve this.

'But it is a house that cannot stand because it is built on nothing but threats and the kind of shameless hubris we've had to see to believe,' said Domenech, 39.

Ben Domenech, 39, told his Fox News audience on Friday night that they should be alert to who the real power brokers are in the United States - big tech, the media and 'woke' institutions like Harvard

He said that the true power lay not with 'our feckless octogenarian government,' which he described as a distraction, but rather with big tech companies, the media and 'woke' institutions like Harvard.

He pointed out that Facebook had decided on Friday to ban Donald Trump from their platform for two years, 'following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6,' they said.

Domenech said: 'The real threat to American liberty is in the halls of Harvard and the boardrooms of Google and the cubicles of The New York Times.

'Our unelected rules are more dangerous to our freedoms than the elected.

'We see it again today. Facebook doing what the government could not. Unilaterally shutting down for the voice of a former president of the United States.'

Facebook on Friday announced that Donald Trump, seen on January 6, would be banned from their platform for two years as punishment, 'following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6'. Domenech said that the social media platform showed they had even more power than a government agency

Domenech said that politicians such as Democrats Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, and California's governor Gavin Newsom exemplified the shifting power dynamic.

He said they had loved being in the spotlight when they could usher in restrictions, but found their influence ebbing as the lockdowns were lifted and normality resumed.

He said that Newsom was trying to 'cling to power like a broken despot' and refuse to lift pandemic restrictions in California, even as the rest of the country is returning to normal.

Newsom was mocked by Domenech as a 'broken despot' trying to cling to his pandemic powers

Harvard and The New York Times were described by Domenech as the real power centers

He praised the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, for declaring on Thursday that he 'choose freedom over Fauciism.'

Domenech said Google was one of the main power brokers in the United States

Domenech said: 'I've been exhorting you to wake up to what's going on at the country. It's happening right in front of us and it's troubling and demands a response from all of us who recognize the need to restore self-government.'

He concluded: 'Taking it on in small ways and confronting hypocrisy, and returning power back to where it belongs - the people - is our mission now.

'All you have to do is stand up, open your front door and look out.

'If there is a red, white and blue flag waving there, it owes you protection of God-given rights.

'It means you are a citizen, not a subject.'
Lee McIntosh will never forget the night a woman knocked at her door and said 'my son's done something to your daughter.'

It was 1994 and her daughter Taryn, 13, had gone to stay the night with a school friend in suburban Melbourne.

But the eighth-grader returned home early and had to be physically supported by her friend's mum.

Slumped in a way that made her look like a 'floppy doll', Taryn Claut claimed she had been raped by her friend's brother, who was 20.

'It was the most horrifying thing for a mother to go through,' Ms McIntosh said.

'To think that someone's done that to your little girl and that you've put or allowed them to be in an unsafe environment.

'I've carried that guilt with me all this time... who are you if you can't protect your children?'

Taryn McIntosh (pictured) was just 13 when she was raped by a friend's older brother in Melbourne back in 1994

Her mother trusted their parents. But they were out at the time.

Ms Claut said she got 'ridiculously drunk' with her friend and her friend's two older brothers before one of them put her to bed.

She says she woke to being raped and recalled there was blood on her skirt.

'I can only describe (it) as being terrifying and shocking,' she told police.

Now aged 40, she says her friend saw what was happening but was too scared to intervene.

Ms Claut also says her attacker put his hands up her skirt while she threw up in a toilet.

That attacker was tried four times before being found guilty in April this year of attempted rape.

The jury couldn't reach a verdict on an additional charge of rape, after which it was discontinued.

The man received a two-year suspended jail term in Victoria's County Court. This allowed him to serve his sentence in the community.

'Trying to violate anyone, let alone such a vulnerable 13-year-old girl, is reprehensible,' Judge Scott Johns said.

'She was, and continues to be, deeply traumatised by your offending.'

Ms Claut stayed silent until October 2016 when, racked by night terrors, she reported what happened to police.

She had for 22 years suffered from depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

'There's not really a part of my life that hasn't been touched by the assault,' Ms Claut said. 'I don't know what happened that night but I woke up and just thought, 'f*** it, I can't do this anymore'.'

The police acted quickly. They instructed Ms Claut to make a 'pretext call'.

She contacted the man and told him her name was Taryn and that she used to be friends with his sister. She then detailed the allegations.

'And then he just says, 'oh well if you say I did, then I did, and I'm sorry about that',' Ms Claut said.

'He was so nonchalant about such a massive accusation and it made me think - how many people has this happened to? Am I just a number?

'It just blew me away that someone could be so casual about it.'

About this time her mum revealed that the man had in the mid-1990s written to her, apologising for 'what he did to Taryn'.

Ms McIntosh had never mentioned the letter to her daughter, opting instead to stash it in her car boot as Taryn appeared to have moved on.

Ms Claut (pictured) stayed silent until October 2016 when she reported the rape to police. For 22 years she suffered from depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia and post-traumatic stress disorder

She left it there for about six years, thinking the matter would never be investigated.

'I didn't want to keep the letter in my possession, it was like poison. So I threw it out and I really regret doing that,' Ms McIntosh said.

Ms Clout also dug up a year 10 personal reflection piece in which she detailed what happened.

Victoria Police found the teacher who marked the essay and were prepared to put them forward as a witness.

All three pieces of evidence were approved at Ms Claut's committal 2018 hearing, at which the man was charged with rape and sexual penetration of a minor.

But none were permitted as evidence before a trial jury.

It was simply her word against his.

She sat through three jury trials from 2019 to 2021.

During one trial, the defence barrister asked her if it was possible his client 'fell onto her'.

After the third trial returned a hung verdict, prosecutors filed amended charges and the man was convicted of attempted rape.

'When I heard the sentence I just burst into tears,' Ms Clout said.

'I was so happy because it's real - there are consequences for him.'

She believes historical rape and sexual assault cases need to be heard in judge-alone trials, rather than before a jury.

But she encourages other survivors - both men and women - to come forward.

'Just make sure you have the right support systems in place because it's a long, harrowing journey and the system can be stacked against you,' Ms Claut said.

'You might not get this grand outcome like you see on Netflix but if you hang in there it can be done.'

The Victorian Law Reform Commission is currently considering restorative and alternative justice models for sexual offences.

The inquiry is due to report on August 31.
In one of the most peculiar lockdown sightings Australia has been privy to this year a deer was spotted by concerned members of the public galloping around the deserted city streets of Melbourne.

The large deer, which weaved in and out of traffic on Smith and Johnston Street in Collingwood, was lucky not to be hit by passing cars as walkers stopped to take photos of the runaway mammal on Saturday.

Shortly after 10am Wildlife Victoria confirmed they had received a number of calls in relation to the animal and were tracking its movements.

In one of the most peculiar lockdown sightings Australia has been privy to this year a deer was spotted by concerned members of the public galloping around the deserted city streets of Melbourne

But sadly Vets for Compassion were called in to assist with the rescue and had to euthanise the deer

Deer on the loose if Fitzroy @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/A4MBwAXdOZ  Charlie Cross (@charliecross24) June 5, 2021

But sadly Vets for Compassion were called in to assist with the rescue and had to euthanise the deer.

On the same day Victoria has recorded five new cases of coronavirus including two 'unlinked' mystery infections from the same household.

Saturday's new cases mean the outbreak in the state has jumped to 69 local infections.

There was also one case recorded in hotel quarantine meaning Victoria is juggling 78 active infections overall as health officials race to find the source of the new Indian 'Delta' variant.

Three of the five new cases are close contacts of existing cases.
The Justice Department under both Donald Trump and Joe Biden went to court to try and seize the emails of four New York Times reporters.

They did so over heavy coverage of former FBI director James Comey and his actions in the run-up to the 2016 election, and even obtained a gag order to try and hide their efforts from the public.

Donald Trump's administration started the ball rolling - although attempts to obtain the emails continued for three months of the Biden presidency, with the Biden team even putting a gag order on the paper, preventing it from disclosing the request.

That was lifted on Friday, allowing the paper to reveal what had happened.

The department tried to obtain records from the four reporters - Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt - who had all worked on an April 2017 investigation into Comey and the election.

The request for the emails was made to Google, which operates The Times's email system. Google then informed the paper.

The request to Google was made on January 5 this year, with only 15 days left of the Trump presidency.

The New York Times revealed on Friday that four of their reporters were targeted by the Justice Department, which went to court to try and force Google to hand over their email records. Google pushed back, and ultimately the emails were never handed over, but the move has been described as an assault on the First Amendment

Michael Schmidt (left) and Adam Goldman (right) were targeted by the Justice Department

Matt Apuzzo (left) and Eric Lichtblau were also identified by the Justice Department

Prosecutors in the office of the United States attorney in Washington had obtained a sealed court order from a magistrate judge, demanding that Google hand over the records in secret. Google refused, and the emails were never obtained.

On March 3, by now under the Biden administration, the Justice Department placed a gag order on the paper.

The gag order was lifted on Friday.

'Clearly, Google did the right thing, but it should never have come to this,' said Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times.

'The Justice Department relentlessly pursued the identity of sources for coverage that was clearly in the public interest in the final 15 days of the Trump administration.

'And the Biden administration continued to pursue it.'

Baquet said that the move 'profoundly undermines press freedom.'

The Justice Department under both Trump and Biden pursued the emails of the four reporters

News of the Justice Department's efforts to obtain journalists' sources on email came two days after the Justice Department informed the four reporters that the Trump administration, hunting for their sources, had in 2020 secretly seized months of their phone records from early 2017.

That notification followed similar disclosures in recent weeks about seizing communications records of reporters at CNN and The Washington Post.

They did so in an earlier attempt to try and uncover where leaks about the Trump administration were coming from.

A spokesman for the Justice Department insisted that the effort was a legacy of the Trump era, never seriously pursued under Biden.

Anthony Coley, a Justice Department spokesman, noted that 'on multiple occasions in recent months,' the Biden-era department had moved to delay enforcement of the order.

They said the Justice Department then 'voluntarily moved to withdraw the order before any records were produced.'

He added: 'The department strongly values a free and independent press, and is committed to upholding the First Amendment.'

However, the fact remained that the Biden Justice Department maintained their push for three months - and even brought in the gag order.

Last month, Biden said he would not permit the Justice Department during his administration to seize communications logs that could reveal reporters' sources.

He called the practice 'simply, simply wrong.'
A top adviser to one of Australia's most controversial MPs has been arrested by police after an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.

Frank Zumbo, 53, adviser and officer manager for MP Craig Kelly, was arrested and faces 18 charges stemming from a police investigation into alleged sexual misconduct, the Daily Telegraph reported.

He appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Saturday, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges, and was released on bail.

Frank Zumbo (left) was released on bail on Saturday after appearing in court in relation to 18 charges following a NSW police investigation into him regarding alleged sexual misconduct. Zumbo pleaded not guilty to all charges

It is understood New South Police have been investigating Zumbo since a 16-year-old girl came to them with allegations regarding a man known to her

It is understood Zumbo was granted bail on Friday, but refused to comply with bail conditions that banned him from speaking to three witnesses.

His lawyer Michael Moussa successfully argued for that condition to be amended after reading witness statements to the court that supported Zumbo.

NSW police said in a statement that they would allege Zumbo 'sexually touched' and 'indecently assaulted' three women, aged 23, 26, 27, and the 16-year-old girl, on multiple occasions in the workplace between 2014 and 2020.

The court also heard that NSW police applied for an apprehended violence order against Zumbo relating to the 16-year-old girl in April 2020.

On Saturday allegations of hugging and kissing on the cheek were heard.

The allegations were first reported in July 2020 by the St George Shire Standard.

The charges Zumbo will face include two counts of aggravated sexual touching and nine counts of common assault.

Zumbo is one of Independent MP Craig Kelly's most trusted advisers

He will also face an additional seven other charges.

'Following extensive inquiries, about 5.40pm yesterday (Friday 4 June 2021) a 53-year-old man was arrested at Sutherland Police Station,' a statement from the NSW police said.

'He was charged with two counts of aggravated - sexually touch another person, seven counts of aggravated indecent assault- victim under authority of offender, and nine counts of common assault.'
A Frontier Airlines plane slid off the end of the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday evening.

The aircraft came off the tarmac with its front wheels embedded into the grass.

Emergency vehicles were quickly on the scene but word later emerged that there were no injuries on board.

'Descended really fast, didn't touch wheels to the runway until halfway down, two jarring sounds/bumps, a swerve into the grass where we dropped and stopped,' one passenger on board tweeted.

A Frontier Airlines plane slid off the end of the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday evening.

One of the 151 passengers onboard described what happened as the plane landed

'Went off the end of the runway and into the grass! Just a couple nervous chuckles short of a crash here at Reagan National,' added another passenger.

'While decelerating we hit a scary couple bumps. Noticeably wrong. Then a swerve, and a big drop into the grass and a lot of 'Are you ok?' to all the people around us. Been in the grass for 50 minutes now, waiting for basically any movement at all,' they added.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority later released a statement following the incident.

'At approximately 10:30pm Friday, Frontier Airlines flight 538, arriving at Reagan National Airport (DCA) from Denver (DEN) and operated on an Airbus A320, landed safely before coming to a stop in a grassy area off the end of Runway 1.

'There are no reported injuries, and passengers will be deplaned from the aircraft via stairs and bused to the terminal. Runway 1/19 has been temporarily closed to air traffic while airport crews assess the situation, and Runway 15/33 is open.'

By 11:30pm buses were on scene and able to get passengers off the plane.

Passengers were allowed off the bus around one hour after landing

'Finally got off #Frontier at DCA so we legit were completely in the grass,' Dasha Afanaseva tweeted an hour after the landing. 'This is the craziest thing!'

Frontier later released a statement confirming the details.

'Earlier this evening, Frontier Flight 538, operated on an A320 Airbus aircraft, from Denver to Washington-Reagan with 151 passengers and six crew members on board, came to a stop slightly beyond the runway upon landing. No injuries among passengers or crew have been reported.

'Passengers will be transported via bus to the terminal and will be provided further assistance. Safety is our foremost priority and an investigation into the cause of the incident is underway.'

Aaaand we are now on the bus which will apparently take 2746382 hours to drive us to the terminal  #Frontier #DCA pic.twitter.com/gZJEy3P5W0  Dasha Afanaseva (@Dasha_Afa) June 5, 2021
New global tax: How it will work G7 finance ministers today agreed on a universal approach to taxing global companies. It will see huge multi-nationals - such as Google, Amazon and Facebook - forced to pay a levy on sales in the country in which they are earned, as well as where they have headquarters. Only large companies with profit margins of at least 10 per cent will be affected by the change. A total of 20 per cent of any profit above the 10 per cent margin will be reallocated. It will then be subjected to corporation tax in the countries where the companies make sales. The G7 also agreed to set a global standard of corporation tax - set at 15 per cent minimum. Nations can opt to make that figure higher with the tax 'operated on a country-by-country basis'. Ministers hope this will create 'a more level playing field for UK firms and cracking down on tax avoidance'. The G7 will provide the coordination necessary to put the new international rules in place. Advertisement

G7 finance ministers today agreed to a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15% to make tech giants pay their fair share.

The 'historic' agreement, reached between the world's most advanced economies, was dubbed 'bad news for tax havens' by Germany and will go to nations in the G20 next month for further approval.

It will see huge multi-nationals - such as Google, Amazon and Facebook - forced to pay a levy on the sales in the country in which they are earned, as well as where they have headquarters.

Currently, major companies can simply set up a branch in nations with lower tax rates and declare profits there, meaning they only pay that local rate, rather than those in the countries where its products and services are mostly sold.

The G7 deal also aims to eliminate the 'race to the bottom', which has seen countries undercut each other with low tax rates in a bid to attract some of the world's biggest names.

It will do this by introducing a flat minimum rate, meaning finance ministers across the globe would have to charge firms at least 15%.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak hailed the deal as a 'huge prize for British taxpayers' and 'proud moment' for the world's most-powerful finance ministers.

Meanwhile, Germany's Olaf Scholz said the agreement will 'change the world' as governments have desperately looked to raise extra revenue post-Covid after a drop in tax receipts and massive borrowing.

In a video address shared after the agreement was made, Mr Sunak said: 'I am delighted to announced that G7 finance ministers today, after years of discussions, have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and, crucially, to make sure that it's fair so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places.

'And that's a huge prize for British taxpayers.

'This is a very proud moment and I want to thank my G7 finance minister colleagues for their collective leadership and for their willingness to work together to seize this moment to strike a deal of historic significance that finally brings our global tax system into the 21st century.'

Facebook's Vice President for Global Affairs, former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, also welcomed the deal today.

He said: 'Facebook has long called for reform of the global tax rules and we welcome the important progress made at the G7.

'Today's agreement is a significant first step towards certainty for businesses and strengthening public confidence in the global tax system.

'We want the international tax reform process to succeed and recognize this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places.'

Agreement on a 15 per cent baseline is likely to cause tensions with Dublin, with Ireland so far resistant to raising its corporation tax rate above 12.5 per cent.

G7 finance ministers have made a 'historic' agreement to commit to a global minimum tax of at least 15 per cent on a country by country basis. Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) hailed the deal as a 'huge prize for British taxpayers'

Mr Sunak also said the agreement was a 'proud moment' for the world's most-powerful finance ministers (pictured together)

The G7 discussions over corporation tax explained WHY A GLOBAL MINIMUM TAX? Major economies are aiming to discourage multinationals from shifting profits - and tax revenues - to low-tax countries regardless of where their sales are made. Increasingly, income from intangible sources such as drug patents, software and royalties on intellectual property has migrated to these jurisdictions, allowing companies to avoid paying higher taxes in their traditional home countries. With its proposal for a minimum 15% tax rate, the Biden administration hopes to reduce such tax base erosion without putting American firms at a financial disadvantage, allowing competition on innovation, infrastructure and other attributes. The Trump administration took a first stab with a U.S. corporate offshore minimum tax in 2017. The 'Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income,' or GILTI, tax rate was only 10.5% - half the domestic corporate tax rate. WHERE ARE THE TALKS AT? The G7 talks feed in to a much broader, existing effort. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been coordinating tax negotiations among 140 countries for years on rules for taxing cross-border digital services and curbing tax base erosion, including a global corporate minimum tax. The OECD and G20 countries aim to reach consensus on both by mid-year, but the talks on a global corporate minimum are technically simpler and less contentious. If a broad consensus is reached, it will be extremely hard for any low-tax country to try and block an agreement. The minimum is expected to make up the bulk of the $50 billion-$80 billion in extra tax that the OECD estimates firms will end up paying globally under deals on both fronts. HOW WOULD A GLOBAL MINIMUM WORK? The global minimum tax rate would apply to overseas profits. Governments could still set whatever local corporate tax rate they want, but if companies pay lower rates in a particular country, their home governments could 'top-up' their taxes to the minimum rate, eliminating the advantage of shifting profits. The OECD said last month that governments broadly agreed on the basic design of the minimum tax but not the rate. Tax experts say that is the thorniest issue. Other items still to be negotiated include whether investment funds and real estate investment trusts should be covered, when to apply the new rate and ensuring it is compatible with U.S. tax reforms aimed at deterring erosion. WHAT ABOUT THAT MINIMUM RATE? Talks are focusing around the U.S. proposal of a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15% - above the level in countries such as Ireland but below the lowest G7 level. That rate is, however, somewhat lower than the 21% in discussion leading up to the G7 meeting and countries including France argue it should be viewed as a floor for setting a higher, more ambitious level. Any final agreement could have major repercussions for low-tax countries and tax havens. The Irish economy has boomed with the influx of billions of dollars in investment from multinationals. Dublin, which has resisted European Union attempts to harmonize its tax rules, is unlikely to accept a higher minimum rate without a fight. However, the battle for low-tax countries is less likely to be about scuppering the overall talks and more about building support for a minimum rate as close as possible to its 12.5% or seeking certain exemptions. Advertisement

The deal, which was years in the making, also promises to end national digital services taxes levied by Britain and other European countries which the United States said unfairly targeted American technology giants.

However, the measures will first need to find broader agreement at a meeting of the G20 - which includes a number of emerging economies such as India and China - due to take place next month in Venice.

HM Treasury's official Twitter account shared the video of Mr Sunak, along with an explanation on how the new taxation system will work.

Only large companies with profit margins of at least 10% will be affected.

A total of 20% of any profit above the 10% margin will be reallocated.

It will then be subjected to corporation tax in the countries where the companies have make sales.

The G7 also agreed to set a global standard of corporation tax - set at 15%.

Nations can opt to make that figure higher with the tax 'operated on a country-by-country basis'.

Ministers hope this will create 'a more level playing field for UK firms and cracking down on tax avoidance'.

A communique from G7 finance ministers read: 'We commit to reaching an equitable solution on the allocation of taxing rights, with market countries awarded taxing rights on at least 20 per cent of profit exceeding a 10 per cent margin for the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises.

'We will provide for appropriate coordination between the application of the new international tax rules and the removal of all Digital Services Taxes, and other relevant similar measures, on all companies.'

US President Joe Biden's administration gave the stalled talks fresh impetus by proposing a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15%, above the level in countries such as Ireland but below the lowest level in the G7.

Germany and France also welcomed the agreement, although French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would fight for a higher global minimum corporate tax rate than 15%, which he described as a 'starting point'.

German finance minister Mr Scholz said the deal was 'bad news for tax havens around the world'.

'Companies will no longer be in a position to dodge their tax obligations by booking their profits in the lowest-tax countries,' he added.

Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe, whose country is potentially a big loser with its 12.5% tax rate, said any global deal also needed to take account of smaller nations.

But Mr Sunak today defended the decision not to push for a higher global corporation tax rate after President Biden had initially argued it should be 21 per cent.

The Chancellor told broadcasters in London: 'I would say a couple of things. First of all, the agreement reached here today says at least 15 per cent and secondly, it is worth taking a step back.

'This is something that has been talked about for almost a decade.

'And here for the first time today we actually have agreement on the tangible principles of what these reforms should look like and that is huge progress.'

Asked whether he was tying his own hands by having a minimum rate, Mr Sunak replied: 'I think what the British public want to know is that the tax system is fair, they want to know that there is a level-playing field - whether people are operating in tax havens or whether large, particularly online businesses, are able to not pay tax in the right places, they want that tackled.

'And that's what this agreement gives us the ability to do and it has been agreed among G7 colleagues and once we broaden it out and implement it globally, it is a huge prize for British taxpayers.'

Labour lamented that the G7 did not push for a higher base rate.

The party claimed President Biden's 21 per cent minimum would have raised an additional 131million for public services.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'This Government must now show leadership, push for a 21 per cent rate in negotiations, and use the money to fund our schools and our NHS.'

Pro-free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute said Mr Sunak had effectively tied his own hands while handing 'power over our taxes to Washington's demands'.

Deputy director Matt Kilcoyne said: 'These proposals are not in the UK's interest and Rishi has sold Britain short.

'Rishi Sunak's flagship policies of super deductions and free ports are dead in the water. The Chancellor's own policies, scuppered by his own hubris.'

Explaining the agreed tax reforms, a Treasury spokeswoman said: 'Under pillar one of this historic agreement, the largest and most profitable multinationals will be required to pay tax in the countries where they operate - and not just where they have their headquarters.

'The rules would apply to global firms with at least a 10 per cent profit margin - and would see 20 per cent of any profit above the 10 per cent margin reallocated and then subjected to tax in the countries they operate.

'The fairer system will mean the UK will raise more tax revenue from large multinationals and help pay for public services here in the UK.'

Mr Sunak earlier said the world had 'high expectations' for what could be agreed over the two-day summit, telling finance leaders the countries around the globe cannot 'continue to rely on a tax system that was largely designed in the 1920s'.

And he said it was clear that taxation had to change in a 'complex global digital economy'.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Sunak said he was aiming to secure a 'fair deal' on digital taxation during the talks with ministers from the US, Japan, France, Canada, Germany and Italy at Lancaster House.

In a briefing after Friday's meeting, a Treasury spokesman said: '(Rishi) Sunak was clear that large digital firms should pay an appropriate level of tax where they operate so countries can raise revenue and invest in their public services - a priority for the Government - and highlighted that 'opportunities to make truly lasting reforms like this do not come along very often'.'

Opening the session, Mr Sunak had said: 'The G7 is a hugely important grouping and it's an honour to be welcoming my counterparts to London with a renewed spirit of multilateral co-operation.

'Even before holding the G7 presidency we've been clear on our priorities - protecting jobs, ensuring a green and global recovery and supporting the world's most vulnerable countries.

'Securing a global agreement on digital taxation has also been a key priority this year - we want companies to pay the right amount of tax in the right place, and I hope we can reach a fair deal with our partners.

Rishi Sunak has told world finance leaders that the world cannot 'continue to rely on a tax system that was largely designed in the 1920s'

US President Joe Biden has called for a unified minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent in negotiations with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20

'I'm determined we work together and unite to tackle the world's most pressing economic challenges - and I'm hugely optimistic that we will deliver some concrete outcomes this weekend.

'Together we can make a real change and help steer the international community through the next stage of our recovery.'

Meanwhile, activists from climate action group Ocean Rebellion set a boat on fire this morning during a demonstration at sunrise at Marazion Beach, Cornwall, ahead of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay next week.

Corporate tax is one of two pillars in efforts for global fiscal reform, the other being a 'digital tax' to allow countries to tax the profits of multinationals headquartered overseas.
Leading universities have been accused of stifling free speech by using computer software for students to report 'microaggressions' anonymously.

More than 60 universities - including Manchester and Edinburgh - are licensed to use the Report + Support tool, which allows those studying there to flag 'inappropriate behaviour' from both students and staff.

Some examples of reportable 'microaggressions' given by universities include raising an eyebrow, turning your back or telling someone to 'cheer up and not look so depressed'.

Critics have claimed the tool is a 'threat to traditions of free speech and fearless discussion of ideas' - with its founders blasted for 'woke capitalism'.

At Report + Support-user Edinburgh University, social anthropology Professor Neil Thin was placed under investigation after he was reported for speaking out against political correctness. He was acquitted this week.

Meanwhile at Cambridge University, dons blasted the controversial system as a 'threat to traditions of free speech and fearless discussion of ideas'.

The vice-chancellor was forced to perform an embarrassing u-turn and bring the site down after admitting that publishing a list of 'micro-aggressions' was a mistake.

Those listed included apparent offences such as giving backhanded compliments or referring to a woman as a girl.

More than 60 universities - including Manchester and Edinburgh - are licensed to use the Report + Support tool, which allows those studying there to flag 'inappropriate behaviour' from both students and staff. In May, Cambridge (pictured) dons blasted the controversial system a 'threat to traditions of free speech and fearless discussion of ideas' at the world-leading university

At Report + Support-user Edinburgh University (pictured), social anthropology Professor Neil Thin was placed under investigation after he was reported for speaking out against political correctness. He was acquitted this week

Culture Shift, the firm behind the tool, was founded by Gemma McCall, Stuart Bradley and Carl Sadd in 2018 in a bid to make software to tackle bullying at Manchester University.

The firm partnered with Universities UK - a representative organisation - and secured 1.35 million in venture capital funding in 2020.

Since then, it has more than doubled its revenues, Culture shift revealed in February.

Founder of advice service Counterweight, Helen Pluckrose, told The Times: 'We're seeing a huge rise in woke capitalism.

'The people who run these services are normally white middle-class people who are earning thousands of pounds telling other white people that they are racist and need them to advise them how to think and behave.'

Culture Shift CEO Ms McCall said the firm never intended to 'infringe anybody's right to freedom of speech' and wants to make it easier to report harassment and abuse.

Culture Shift offers the Report + Support system in various packages, claiming they provide 'vital short-term measures to be used to address patterns of negative behaviour before they could escalate'.

More than 60 universities - including Manchester and Edinburgh - are licensed to use the Report + Support tool, which allows those studying there to flag 'inappropriate behaviour' from both students and staff. Culture Shift, the firm behind the tool, was founded by Gemma McCall, Stuart Bradley and Carl Sadd (pictured) in 2018 in a bid to make software to tackle bullying at Manchester University

An archived image of the University of Cambridge's Report and Support website (above) where students could anonymously report their peers and staff members

The anonymous reporting tool (pictured) would have allowed reports to be filed on 'micro-aggressions' that could include raising an eyebrow, or referring to a woman as a girl

In May, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge admitted that publishing a list of 'micro-aggressions' was a mistake.

The Report and Support site would have allowed anonymous reports to be filed on 'micro-aggressions' - including apparent offences such as raising an eyebrow, turning your back, giving backhanded compliments or referring to a woman as a girl.

But writing to all members of staff, vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Toope explained that some guidance that was published on the website was 'a mistake'.

He wrote: 'Unfortunately, the supporting website contained material that was published in error.

The now-deleted page was set-up by the 800-year-old academic institution to create and maintain a 'safe, welcoming and inclusive community, which nurtures a culture of mutual respect and consideration for all'

'That material should not have been there, and its publication was a mistake.'

He added: 'The erroneously published content included definitions and examples of behaviours that might be reportable.'

Prof Toope explained that 'some of those definitions and examples went beyond the policies discussed and agreed by colleagues' before the site's launch.

In a letter addressed to Cambridge chiefs (pictured), Toby Young of Free Speech Union slammed the list of perceived 'micro-aggressions'

Prof Toope said that the university is 'rightly known' for offering a space to 'challenge conventions', and he 'unambiguously' wanted to bolster Cambridge's 'reputation for enquiry and vigorous debate'.

One academic at the university said it was 'unusual' to have such a long email that 'concedes the c***-up'.

Another said the incident raises questions of how 'anything like this' could have 'come within a mile of being approved', adding that it was 'hard to believe' it was published in error, seeing how there was so much work put into it.

A list of 'micro-aggressions' as defined by The University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge has faced criticism over its controversial new anonymous reporting tool. Their Report and Support website stated: 'We are committed to creating and maintaining a safe, welcoming and inclusive community, which nurtures a culture of mutual respect and consideration for all.' According to the now-deleted web page, 'micro-aggressions' include 'slights, indignities, put-downs and insults' that target minority groups. These would include: 'Behaviours such as a change in body language when responding to those of a particular characteristic'.

Such as: 'Raising eyebrows when a Black member of staff or student is speaking, dismissing staff or student who brings up race and or racism in teaching'.

'Backhanded compliments'.

'Avoiding or turning one's back on certain people'.

'Being mis-gendered (especially after sharing one's pronouns)'

Referring to a woman as 'a girl'. Advertisement

The now-deleted page had been set-up by the 800-year-old academic institution to ostensibly create and maintain a 'safe, welcoming and inclusive community, which nurtures a culture of mutual respect and consideration for all', according to archived screenshots.

Top professors had revolted against the implementation of the website, saying they feared for the future of 'free and fearless discussion of ideas' at the world-leading university.

The link to the University's Report and Support website is 'temporarily unavailable'. It is not clear when or if it will return, and students and staff have been directed to other online resources in the meantime.

A list published on the Report and Support website defined 'micro-aggressions' as 'slights, indignities, put-downs and insults' against minority groups.

Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, wrote to Cambridge University chiefs, claiming the website 'proposed a system of policing speech and everyday interaction'.

Slamming the list of 'micro-aggressions', Mr Young of FSU said the slights make no 'allowance for the fact that, in many cases, taking offence as such behaviour would be unreasonable'.

He continued: 'These are all situations which may arise wholly innocently, through misunderstanding, a breakdown in communication, or a simple error.'

CEO and co-founder of Culture Shift McCall said: 'We're aware of the negative press attention surrounding the Report + Support platform recently launched at University of Cambridge, which has come about specifically as a result of a small number of Academic staff disagreeing with the micro-aggression support article content on the platform.

'This criticism has also turned to Culture Shift and questioned whether our platform exists to stifle free speech.

'The Report + Support software is first and foremost a reporting system, allowing users to report any instance of bullying or harassment, and access further support to help them continue their education.'

She added: 'Our mission is to break down barriers to reporting bullying and harassment within institutions, not to infringe anybody's right to freedom of speech.

'Report + Support's primary objective is to ensure all survivors feel supported, which can help play a pivotal role in reducing the impact of such instances on the rest of their lives.

'It is unfortunate that it has been covered in this way, when the University of Cambridge have taken what we believe is the wholly positive step of partnering with us to provide anonymous reporting across it's campuses and further enhance the speak up culture at the institution.

'Anonymous reporting is a vitally important step for the many survivors who don't feel confident enough to attach their name to a report through fear of repercussions or not being believed.

'Almost 60 per cent of female students say they have been sexually assaulted at university and one in 20 students admit they have left their course because of racism, while two thirds who said they had experienced racial harassment did not report it to their university.'
An influencer who claims she was tricked into auditioning for the controversial reality series Byron Baes has threatened legal action if her tape gets leaked.

Sally Mustang, who has amassed 500,000 combined followers with her artist husband Mitch Gobel, said she was approached by Netflix producers to appear on the upcoming show.

Byron Baes - which is currently under production - has drummed up significant backlash and fury from locals of the northern NSW tourist paradise that was once a sleepy coastal town.

Mustang, 31, and fellow Instagram star Montana Lower auditioned for the show after the producers initially 'made it sound amazing'.

Sally Mustang, who has amassed 500,000 combined followers with her artist husband Mitch Gobel, said she was approached by Netflix producers to appear on the upcoming show

Mustang, 31, and fellow Instagram star Montana Lower auditioned for the show after the producers initially 'made it sound amazing'

Montana Lower also audition for the reality TV series and was later accepted to take part

'They said it was going to be this amazing documentary about new age Byron Bay, how it's changing and why everyone wants to be here and blah blah blah, so Sal agreed to do an audition,' Gobel told News Corp.

'Montana was accepted to be part of the show. This is when they sent through a full brief describing what was going to be created and after reading it she (politely) told them to f**k off.

'I've threatened legal action on behalf of Sal if they publish a single second of what was captured in the audition she did.'

Gobel, 31, predicted the series will focus on a 'bunch of idiots obsessed with Instagram' and blasted it as 'superficial rubbish' which won't accurately depict the locals of Byron Bay.

Gobel, 31, predicted the series will focus on a 'bunch of idiots obsessed with Instagram' and blasted it as 'superficial rubbish' which won't accurately depict the locals of Byron Bay

Mitch Gobel said he will take legal action if his wife's audition tape appears on the show

It follows the reality TV series' last controversy for not consulting local Indigenous groups or the Byron Council before filming commenced earlier this year.

According to independent newspaper Echo, the Byron Council 'passed an urgency motion' that would require producers to get permission before any further filming.

'We need to stand up for our community,' Independent Councillor Cate Coorey said.

'They haven't sought clearances, they haven't considered the relevant stakeholders, and so far we've seen no consultation, and yet filming has gone ahead.'

Producers may now be forced to seek permission before any further filming can take place, which includes filming on both private property or public spaces.

Not mincing words, Deputy Mayor Sarah Ndiaye said: 'This corporation, Netflix, has basically come in and s**t on us.'

Following weeks of speculation and secrecy from producers, the cast behind Byron Baes was finally revealed last month.

Former reality stars Nathan Favro, who rose to fame on The Bachelorette, and Elias Chigros, who appeared on Love Island, will be among the influencers to have their lives documented.

Co-creative director of local boutique BISQUE Hannah Brauer will also appear, alongside Byron Bay couple Dave Frim and Saskia Wotton.

Others in the cast include investment company employee Elle Watson, influencer Jade Kevin Foster and spiritualistic therapist Simba Ali.

Rounding out the cast is Kyle Sandilands' former assistant-turned-manager Alex Reid, fashion designer Jess Bell and her model sister Lauren.

It comes after a handful of Byron locals paddled out into the ocean to protest the show, while others stood by with placards that read 'give Netflix the flick' and 'consult traditional owners'.

The unveiling of the cast comes after Netflix was recently forced to apologise to the stars of the show for painting them as 'influencers' and 'hot Instagrammers'.

Co-creative director of local boutique BISQUE Hannah Brauer will also appear, alongside Byron Bay couple Dave Frim and Saskia Wotton (pictured)

Elias Chigros, who appeared on Love Island, will be among the influencers to have their lives documented

Netflixs Director of Originals in Australia Que Minh Luu confirmed that the cast 'hated' a recent PR post describing the upcoming series.

'They are artists, musicians, entrepreneurs, business owners, models, on a spiritual journey and more,' Que wrote to her 7k followers.

'Most of them hated the press release too! Did a lot of apologising that week. Fired the PR team (lol joking about firing, we're all learning together).'

She added: 'They understand the power of influence. They are part of Byron. They understand the creative vision of the show that has been developed with them over several months.
Armed police stormed into a hotel after a man in a beret and combat gear was spotted dropping a handgun as he entered the building.

Around 20 officers raced into the Holiday Inn Express, in Stratford, east London, clutching their automatic firearms, following reports of a man with a gun at around 8.35am on June 3.

Staff alerted the police after CCTV footage showed the man stop to pick up a weapon that had slipped out of his pocket as he made his way towards the reception area.

Following the scenes, a 35-year-old man was detained and arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm. He was taken to a north London police station.

Armed officers storm into the Holiday Inn Express, in Stratford, east London, after a man was spotted with a handgun

The man, who was seen wearing a beret and combat gear, drops the pistol as he enters the hotel

A witness at the hotel said the man had been smoking outside before entering the hotel lobby and dropping the gun on the floor.

He then stopped to pick it up before putting it in his pocket and walking away.

The source told The Sun: 'He grabbed it and put it away like it was nothing before walking away.'

They added: 'The gun could have gone off at any point. What an earth was going through the man's head?

The man stops to pick up the weapon that has slipped out of his pocket before walking away

Officers raced to the scene following reports of a man with a gun at the Holiday Inn Express, in Stratford, east London

'Reception checked the footage then called the police. There were so many armed officers. '

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Police were called at approximately 08.35hrs on Thursday, 3 June to reports of a man with a gun in a hotel in north east London. Officers attended.

'A 35-year-old man was detained and arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm. He was taken to a north London police station.'
Education bosses have called for schoolchildren to be vaccinated before the start of the school holidays after UK regulators approved jabs for teenagers.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) yesterday approved the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.

It was approved for over-15s in December last year and it will now be allowed to be given to anyone over the age of 12 because the 'benefits outweigh any risk'.

Ministers have asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) whether to give the jab to teenagers  the current rollout is set to stop at age 18 except for children with serious health conditions.

The JCVI  which normally rules who should get a vaccine  is expected to tell No10 that jabbing children is a 'political' decision and will leave the ball in ministers' court.

Teaching union and school leaders today said starting vaccinating children soon could ensure they have had both jabs by the time they start the school year in September.

But vaccinating children against the virus is a controversial issue because youngsters only have a tiny risk of getting seriously ill and their immunity would likely only protect older adults.

More than 100 cross-party MPs and the World Health Organization have said the priority should be to get vaccine doses abroad to poorer countries where vulnerable people still haven't been jabbed before giving them to low-risk children.

Hamid Patel, chief executive of the Star Academies school trust based in Blackburn  the area of the country with the most cases of the Covid Indian variant  said schoolchildren should be vaccinated as a matter of priority.

He said there would be a much higher uptake if children were given the jab during term time before the school holidays.

Education bosses have called for schoolchildren to be vaccinated before the start of the school holidays after UK regulators approved jabs for teenagers. Pictured left: A 16-year-old girl is given the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of its trial in April. Right: Tilda, 16, receives the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

Hamid Patel, chief executive of the Star Academies school trust based in Blackburn said schoolchildren should be vaccinated as a matter of priority

Mr Patel's trust runs schools across Blackburn, Bolton and Manchester  hotspots for the Indian Covid variant. Pictured: The Eden Boy's School in Bolton

Mr Patel told the Guardian: 'This is very welcome news. We now need to ensure that all teenagers have received at least the first jab before the summer holidays.

'Schools are best placed to accommodate vaccinations and the infrastructure is already in place for delivering inoculations.

'We will get much higher take-up if we ask youngsters to receive the jab in term time rather than when they are enjoying their holidays. This will also enable all of us to have a safer, freer and more normal summer.'

He said ensuring children are vaccinated will stop the Indian variant spreading rapidly in young people in hotspots in the country.

And Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, also urged the JCVI to consider expanding the roll-out to teenagers.

He said offering them the vaccine would 'protect the wider adult population who are at greater risk from Covid'.

There are 'ethical dilemmas' to be considered when it comes to the decision on whether or not to vaccinate children against Covid-19, an expert has said.

Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said while a 'very small minority' of children have been severely affected by the virus, children 'in the main' do not get severe illness.

He told BBC Breakfast: 'I think the vast majority of benefit won't be to children, it will be an indirect benefit to adults in terms of preventing transmission and protecting adults who haven't been immunised, for whatever reason haven't responded to the vaccine and therefore that presents quite a lot of ethical dilemmas as to whether you should vaccinate children to protect adults.'

He added: 'We need to be absolutely sure that the benefits to them (children) and potentially to society far outweigh any risks.'

He said the JCVI will likely present a range of options to Government and referenced the question as to whether vaccines should be shared around the world rather than being given to children in the UK.

DECISION ON CHILDREN'S JABS COULD FALL TO BORIS JOHNSON The decision on whether to vaccinate children could fall to Boris Johnson and his government ministers, instead of health chiefs and scientists, because it is ethically complicated. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is expected to 'come up with a menu of options' for the Prime Minister but not to offer a definitive recommendation on jabs for those under the age of 18. Children aren't yet given vaccines because their risk of getting serious Covid is so tiny and their immunity would likely only protect older adults, making it a complex issue - vaccinating against measles, for example, directly protects the child so is more clear-cut. Ministers will be forced to decide whether the tiny risk of side effects in children is worth the benefit of protecting more adults and stifling the virus. JCVI deputy chair Professor Anthony Harnden said on BBC Breakfast in May: 'We do know that the majority of children do not have huge risk of complications, whether we vaccinate for educational purposes, whether we vaccinate to protect others in the population, these are the ethical issues, there are a lot of issues to think about. 'It's a complicated position to decide on the immunisation of children, of course, then there's the wider global ethical argument about the use of vaccine in children when there are other people in the world that are at risk of not being vaccinated. 'So we need to think about all these issues, we probably will give the Government a range of options.' Advertisement

He said: 'There is the other wider ethical issue of whether you vaccinate children in this country or whether you donate that vaccine internationally to low and middle income countries where they still have an at-risk adult population that haven't been vaccinated.'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the UK has 'enough supply' to offer the vaccine to children aged 12 and over if recommended to do so by the JCVI.

He also signalled it would be his 'first duty' to see children in the UK vaccinated rather than donate doses to developing countries.

He told reporters: 'My first role, my first duty as Health Secretary for the UK is to make sure that the UK is protected and safe.

'And while thankfully, children are very rarely badly affected by Covid themselves, they can still pass on the disease - and so that is my first duty.'

Last month the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group said it is 'morally wrong' to offer Covid-19 jabs to children in wealthy countries when high-risk groups in poorer nations remain unvaccinated.

Professor Andrew Pollard, who helped develop the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, told the All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus that children had a 'near-to-zero' risk of severe disease or death from Covid-19 and that global vaccine inequity was 'plain to see'.

More than 6million under-17s have already been vaccinated in the US after it became the first country to approve the jab for children last month.

While Pfizer's trials have not seen any new side effects and very few serious ones, seven American teenage boys developed heart inflammation after second dose of and were taken to hospital.

None were critically ill, and all were healthy enough to be sent home after two to six days in the hospital. Similar reports of young men suffering inflamed hearts have emerged in Israel, too.

But pressure to vaccinate children in the UK could build up in the coming months as it emerges the now-dominant Indian variant is spreading quickly among them and may be more likely to make them sick.

Ministers might be forced to give youngsters a jab if they want to keep the super-infectious strain under control.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'Following a robust review of the evidence, the MHRA has concluded the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine meets its high standards, authorising use for those aged 12-15.

'The government has asked the JCVI to advise whether routine vaccination should be offered to those aged 12-17. '

Dr June Raine, chief of the the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said: 'We have carefully reviewed clinical trial data in children aged 12 to 15 years and have concluded that the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective in this age group and that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any risk.'

She added: 'No extension to an authorisation would be approved unless the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness have been met.'

Pfizer's clinical trial of around 2,000 teenagers found nobody given two doses tested positive for coronavirus, compared to 16 who were unvaccinated. The jab appears to work just as well as it does in adults, health chiefs said.

The decision comes at a pivotal time in Britain's outbreak as cases are back on the rise and there are fears the new Indian 'Delta' variant is going to spark a third wave.

Children's role in fuelling the next surge is unlikely but they will have some of the highest infection rates because they aren't vaccinated, which will allow the virus to keep circulating and increase the risk of spillover into high-risk older people.
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Protests in Minneapolis over the shooting of an armed 32-year-old man by law enforcement descended into violence and looting again Friday night and early into Saturday morning.

People had gathered at rallies and vigils around the city throughout the day, but by nightfall, the protests turned into chaos, with rioters blocking traffic in the city's Uptown area and setting dumpsters on fire as they clashed with police, reported the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

It was the second night of violence and chaos after the U.S. Marshals Service task force fatally shot 32-year-old Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a black man, on Thursday when trying to execute an arrest warrant, authorities said.

Investigators said Smith fired a gun from inside his vehicle toward law enforcement before law enforcement shot him. He had been wanted on a warrant and already had an extensive criminal record - with a previous felony conviction of aggravated robbery.

Still, his shooting came in a city already inflamed by recent police-involved shootings: George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 and 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed by police earlier this year.

The fatal shooting, coupled with the dismantling of George Floyd Square during the week, sparked earlier bouts of civil unrest, vandalism and looting of businesses overnight Thursday, leading to multiple arrests then. On Friday, no arrests were reported by the Star-Tribune by 11 pm local time - though videos and photos of dramatic confrontations with police can be seen.

Police stand guard after protesters set fire to dumpsters after a vigil was held for Winston Boogie Smith Jr.

Protesters were arrested by police after the vigil was held following Smith's death on Thursday

Police stand guard after protesters set fire to dumpsters on the street at the vigil for Smith in the early hours of Saturday

Firefighters were also called to the scene after some protesters began setting bins on fire and damaging property in the area

The US Marshals task force had moved in on Smith who was wanted for being a felon in possession of a firearm after he posted a picture of what appeared to be himself sitting in a car with a gun and a box of bullets - a probation violation.

Smith, who was in a parked SUV, 'produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject,' Hennepin County Sheriff's Department said. Officers attempted to revive the suspect but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

At a vigil for Smith overnight Thursday, buildings were vandalized and looted, and nine people were arrested on charges including suspicion of riot, assault, arson and damage to property.

Pictures from the scene show fires in the streets and lines of armed officers standing guard in the city.

On Friday, protests kicked off into riot-like conditions again.

The spot where Smith was fatally shot has been marked with graffiti reading 'no trail for them' and 'Mpls still hates cops.'

Winston Boogie Smith, pictured in a mugshot from December 2019, when he was arrested on warrant charging him with possession of firearms or ammunition as a felon, was shot dead by police Thursday

Tensions were already high in the city after crews began to remove the concreate barricades that have sealed off the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago - the infamous location of Floyd's death and a so-called 'autonomous zone' over the past year.

Friends and family on Friday named the deceased suspect as 32-year-old Smith, a father-of-two from Minneapolis. His identity has not been officially confirmed by the authorities.

Marshals had approached him outside a parking garage at around 2pm on Thursday in the Uptown neighborhood, just three miles away from George Floyd Square.

According to court records, Smith had racked up at least 20 arrests since 2007 on charges ranging from minor traffic violations to drug and marijuana possession.

In 2017, he was convicted of felony aggravated robbery, was handed a three-year stayed sentence and was put on probation.

Under the conditions of his probation, Smith was required to stay in regular contact with his probation officer, submit to random drug testing, find a job and possess no firearms.

After posting an image of a gun and bullets on Instagram, a probation violation hearing was called on May 5. WCCO reported that when Smith failed to show up at the hearing, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Meanwhile, the incident comes as gun violence has been increasing in the city, and the victims of the violence are even young children.

Trinity Ottoson-Smith, 9, died after being struck by a bullet when caught in the crossfire of a shoot out on May 15.

The warrant for Smith's arrest was issued less than two weeks after he posted this photo on his public Instagram page

Winston Boogie Smith, 32, was shot and killed by members of a US Marshals task force in Minneapolis on Thursday. Smith, who was wanted for a probation violation, allegedly pulled a gun on officers

She was the second child to be shot in Minneapolis in just three weeks. LaDavionne Garrett Jr, 10, was shot while sitting in his parents car. He remains in hospital.

Just two days after Trinity died, six-year-old Aniya Allen was killed after being shot while sat in the car with her mother on May 17.

There have been 36 homicides in the city so far this year, which is more than double the number at this point last year and more than four times that seen in 2019.

Car-jackings are up 222 per cent and shootings have risen 153 per cent. 80 per cent of the victims are black.

Gun theft from vehicles is up more than 100 per cent and the police department has seized 100 fewer guns this year than they had at the same point in 2020.

Late Friday into early Saturday morning, police armed with batons were guarding the streets and protecting stores from looting as protests descended into violence

The spot where Smith was fatally shot has been marked with graffiti reading 'no trail for them' and 'Mpls still hates cops.'

Police stood guard of bins which had been set on fire by protestors amid damage in the city that had been kicked off after vigils around town for Smith

On Thursday, nine people were arrested on charges including suspicion of riot, assault, arson and damage to property; on Friday, no arrests had been reported by local media by 11 pm local time

Minneapolis Police Department has lost more than 200 police officers, who have either permanently left the department or been signed off of service due to disability.

Local activist Marcus X, said, 'There's shootings every single day and the summer hasn't even started. All the police have PTSD, they've left, you don't see police patrolling here. I know it and the gangs know it.

'I could shoot someone right now and walk five blocks home before the police would even come.'

'The police have left and it's unleashed the gangs.'

According to authorities, members of the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force were trying to arrest Smith on Thursday on a warrant for allegedly being a felon in possession of a gun.

The Marshals Service said in a statement that the father of three did not comply with law enforcement and 'produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject.'

State investigators have said that there was evidence within the vehicle that Smith was in that he had fired his gun, with empty cartridges found inside the car.

He died at the scene and his passenger, a 27-year-old woman, was treated for injuries from glass debris.

Tommy McBrayer (R) speaks during a vigil for Winston Boogie Smith on June 4, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Candles and flowers are arranged at a vigil for Winston Boogie Smith Jr. early on Saturday

Flowers were arranged and graffiti with Smith's name was put up at a vigil held in his memory on Friday and Saturday

According to court records, Smith had a felony conviction from a 2017 assault and robbery of his ex-partner. He pleaded guilty one count of aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery for attacking his ex-girlfriend while another woman took her purse.

He was sentenced to two years in prison, but the prison sentence was stayed for three years, provided he didn't break the law.

He was charged in December 2019 with two counts of illegally possessing a firearm, and was also charged with fleeing police in Hennepin County, Minneapolis last year.

Family and friends of Smith, told the Associate Press that despite his mistakes, he did not deserve to be killed.

His partner, Shelly Hopkins, said he 'had the best heart out of anybody [she had] ever met in [her] life.'

'I wasn't there,' she said. 'I don't know exactly what happened. But I know him. And he didn't deserve that.'

'The two biggest things he cared about in this world was making people happy and being there for his kids.'

A protester is arrested by police after a vigil was held for Winston Boogie Smith Jr. early in Minneapolis on Saturday

A police car pulls up to the scene of the vigil where authorities and protestors clashed over Smith's death

Protestors at the vigil were said to be demanding justice for the 32-year-old father of three who died on Thursday

It is the second night of protests in response to Smith's death in Minneapolis' Uptown area earlier this week

She also alleged that police had 'tried to make a case against him that didn't exist' and that he had been harassed by police for some time.

She also said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his interactions with the police.

Smith's brother, Kidale Smith added: 'This man had a family, and he's just like anybody else. [People] always try to pin something on a man and try to identify him as a criminal, especially if he's black.'

He also questioned the police account of what happened.

'You've got seven unmarked cars and you shoot a man in his car,' he said. 'You don't even give him a chance to get out. You're the U.S. Marshals. You're supposed to be highly trained men, and you can't handle a simple situation?'

Family and friends have now called for the release of all footage from security and surveillance cameras in the area.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the US Marshals Service does not allow officers on the North Star Fugitive Task Force to use body cameras, and that there is no footage of the shooting.

But, the Department of Justice allows state, local and tribal task officers to use body cameras.

Authorities are said to be investigating, but no surveillance video has been identified yet.

It was not clear how many law enforcement officers fired their weapons during the incident on Thursday.

A spokeswoman with the US Marshals said the US Marshals leads the task force that attempted the arrest, which is comprised of several agencies.

Other agencies with personnel on the scene at the time of the shooting include sheriffs offices from Hennepin, Anoka and Ramsey counties, the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Department of Homeland Security. Minneapolis police played no role in the incident.

Officers who were involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.

The gunfire erupted on the fifth floor of a parking ramp at West Lake Street and South Fremont Avenue.

A bartender from a nearby business told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that several of his patrons hear eight to 12 shots, and then saw officers grab the female passenger from the suspect's vehicle.

A neighbor who lives across from the parking ramp told the paper she heard more than a dozen shots, followed by a pause, and then even more shots.

Smith was a local hip hop artist who performed under the stage name 'Wince Me Boi' and also appeared in comedy videos.

In January 2020, he released a single dedicated to his children titled Goodbye.

Friends and relatives took to Facebook and Twitter to pay tribute to Smith as news of his killing spread.
The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Trent left the Black Sea and made its way along the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey today - weeks after setting sail to the region amid rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

The 100million vessel was spotted leaving the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul earlier this morning.

It comes just weeks after HMS Trent passed through the Dardanelles Strait and Bosphorus following its deployment to Ukraine's port in Odessa amid tensions over the Kremlin's intentions in eastern Ukraine.

In May, the ship sailed to the port city of Odessa to carry out a training operation in solidarity with Ukraine and to work with NATO and regional partners as part of the Royal Navy's Forward Presence.

The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Trent made its way along the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey earlier this morning

HMS Trent was spotted leaving the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul - weeks after setting sail to the region amid rising tensions between Ukraine and Russia

The vessel was deployed to Ukraine's port of Odessa to carry out a training operation in solidarity with the nation

Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Trent Armament: 1  30 mm DS30B gun 2  General purpose machine guns 2  Miniguns Range: 5,500 nmi (10,200 km) Speed: 25 knots Size: 90.5 metres Advertisement

Following the move, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, a former Black Sea Fleet commander, said the UK's ship would 'not tickle their nerves'.

He said: 'I would not even say that the British [navy] would be able to tickle our nerves.

'If a serious ship enters the Black Sea and there is an immediate threat then you can track it with weapons, as target designations are issued to coastal missile systems and aircraft, which are on duty.'

Admiral Viktor Kravchenko said the Trent would be 'met' near the Bosporus Strait and monitored using 'radio equipment', according to Interfax.

He added: 'Ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet are constantly nearby until foreign naval ships leave the area.

'Of course, this is unpleasant. You will have to be distracted, keep an eye on them; what are they going to do in the Black Sea.'

The Russian National Defence Control Centre also confirmed it was tracking the Royal Navy vessel.

'The forces of the Black Sea Fleet have started tracking the movements of the British Navy patrol ship HMS Trent, which entered the Black Sea on 16 May 2021,' it said in a statement.

In April, Vladimir Putin escalated fears of a possible Russian invasion by ordering the blockade of the strategically important Kerch Strait.

Russian warships moved into position to control the strait, cutting off sea access to Ukraine's south-eastern coastline and eastern Crimea.

The Kremlin confirmed all foreign and Ukrainian military vessels would be forbidden to sail from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov for the next six months, although commercial vessels would not be affected.

The ship set sail through the Bosphorus Strait after carrying out a training operation in solidarity with Ukraine

The ship sailed through the Dardanelles and Bosporus last month amid high tensions over the Kremlin's intentions over eastern Ukraine

HMS Trent left the Black Sea earlier this morning after it was deployed to Ukraine's port city of Odessa

The blockade was announced a day after President Joe Biden cancelled plans to send two American destroyers to the Black Sea for fear of increasing tensions.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet Russia's Black Sea Fleet comprises 25,000 personnel, up to 43 surface warships and a further 7 support and auxiliary submarines. The fleet includes one guided missile carrier and three guided missile frigates. It also comprises seven diesel attack submarines, one torpedo retriever, and seven large landing ships. Two more Russian warships and 15 smaller vessels were transited to the Black Sea in mid-April amid rising tensions with Ukraine. The pair are capable of carrying tanks, and of delivering armour and troops during coastal assaults. The fleet is headquartered in Svestapol, the Crimean Peninsula, and has bases in Rostov Oblast and Krasnodar Krai. Advertisement

Just a month later, Russia amassed troops on the Ukrainian border and carried out huge military drills in Crimea involving 10,000 soldiers, 40 warships and 200 planes. Russia has since pulled back some troops.

As tensions continued, security experts were left fearing that Russia was planning to reoccupy eastern Ukraine on the pretence of protecting native Russian speakers who live there.

Nato expressed serious concern over the build-up of forces on the border, while Pope Francis called for a lowering of tensions in eastern Ukraine.

He said: 'Please! I strongly hope that an increase in tension can be avoided.

'On the contrary, there is a need for gestures that can promote reciprocal trust and foster reconciliation and peace, both so necessary and so desired.'

Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel showed their support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and called on Russia to withdraw troops from the border region.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, warned of 'very painful consequences' if Putin invaded and said 'words are not enough' and allies would need to provide practical support.

He spoke following a meeting with the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - NATO allies in the region - saying 'the four of us condemn the exacerbation of the situation by Russia.'

'The world is on the side of Ukraine and international law, and this is one of the elements of restraining Russia from reckless actions,' he added.

His comments came after it was revealed that Washington had U-turned on a decision to send two warships into the Black Sea, a day after Russia warned them to stay away 'for their own good'.

Instead, President Joe Biden slapped sanctions on Russia for attempts to interfere in the US election and a large hack of US government data that American intelligence services blame on Moscow.

Biden expelled 10 Russian diplomats, some of them alleged spies, hit 32 entities tied to Russian election interference including a notorious 'troll farm', and sanctioned eight people and entities linked to the occupation of Crimea.

He also restricted US companies trading Russian state debt, hurting Moscow's ability to raise cash.
Bunnings Warehouse is facing a worsening crisis after the 2019/20 bushfires and the Covid pandemic led to a nation-wide shortage of timber.

The hardware giant's customers have turned their frustration to staff over the issue which could last up to six months and has caused lengthy delays in construction times on new homes.

Startling photos of bare shelves in the timber aisles of Bunnings stores in the Melbourne suburbs of Maribyrnong and Croydon have laid bare the dire effects of the shortage.

The timber scarcity has left desperate tradies and families building their dream home without any vital materials.

Bunnings is facing a timber crisis after the 2019/20 bushfires and global pandemic led to a shortage (pictured - empty shelves at the Maribyrnong Bunnings in Melbourne)

Startling photos of bare shelves in the timber aisles of Bunnings stores in the Melbourne suburbs of Maribyrnong and Croydon (pictured) have laid bare the dire effects of the shortage

Since the pandemic began in March last year, an 'unprecedented demand' for timber products has wreaked havoc on Bunnings' rapidly dwindling inventory.

Bunnings claims the increased need for timber is partly due to people spending more time at home fixing up their homes, as well as government building grants incentivising land buyers to build from scratch.

'We know constraints are causing some frustrations for people across the industry,' Bunnings' merchandise general manager Toby Watson told the Herald Sun.

'The vast majority of our customers have been understanding and we support our team if they face any challenging conversations and take a zero-tolerance approach to inappropriate behaviour.'

Mr Watson said the hardware chain is working with its Suppliers and Trade customers to predict demand and 'plan earlier in the build process so we have additional time to manage orders'.

Housing Industry of Australia chief economist Tim Reardon said the shortage, which could last until the end of 2021, was caused in part by the federal government's HomeBuilder scheme coupled with an increased overseas demand for timber.

Mr Reardon said shipping container prices doubling the past year only added to the already-dire situation.

The hardware giant's customers have come to blows with staff over the issue which could last up to six months and has caused lengthy delays in construction times on new homes

Since the pandemic began in March last year, an 'unprecedented demand' for timber products has wreaked havoc on Bunnings' rapidly dwindling inventory

It could leave Australians building a new home waiting an extra six to eight weeks for completion, while delaying those undergoing renovations.

Australia's devastating 2019/20 bushfire season has also played a role in the shortage, after infernos destroyed a fifth of the nation's forests.

The bushfires raged for months and set vast swathes of land ablaze, destroying homes, killing around half a billion animals and taking the lives of 33 people.

The 5.8 million hectares of charred land accounts for roughly 21 percent of Australia's forested area.

Average annual forest loss in Australia due to fire is around two percent.
A teenage arsonist who torched two buildings when dared by a friend has avoided jail after a judge said a custodial sentence would harm his mental health.

Luke Edwards-Meredith burned down a vacant barber's shop next to the landmark old Central Hotel building in Birkenhead.

Just an hour later, the then 17-year-old boy set fire to the former Hotel California and Revolver pub next to Birkenhead Tunnel.

Half of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service's entire resources had to be called upon to tackle the two blazes, Liverpool Crown Court was told.

But a judge accepted his ADHD played a key part in the arsons and locking him up would harm his mental health.

Edwards-Meredith was instead handed eight months' detention, suspended for two years, with a 25-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work.

Luke Edwards-Meredith (pictured) torched two buildings when dared by a friend, but has avoided jail after a judge said a custodial sentence would harm his mental health

Firefighters, police and ambulance were called to the barber's shop, in Clifton Crescent, just after 5pm, on Saturday, August 24, 2019.

Kate Morley, prosecuting, said police had received information about a 'suicidal male' who planned on going into the building.

The fire raged from the first floor of the two-storey building to the roof, causing 'severe damage', and 29 members of the public rang 999.

The area was cordoned off and roads closed as crews with four fire engines and an aerial appliance established no one was inside.

Firefighters tackled the blaze for more than five hours and it caused 35,000 of damage to the building, which was left structurally unsafe.

Damage was also caused to two adjoining flats to prevent the fire spreading and there were major traffic problems in the area.

While that fire raged, reports came in just after 6pm of another blaze at the old Royal Castle bar, about half a mile away.

That fire spread from the first floor to the roof of the four-storey building and police had to close major roads near the tunnel.

It took more than seven hours, eight fire engines and an aerial appliance to put out the fire.

The court heard that building was set for demolition and the value of the damage was 'unquantified'.

Ms Morley said 12 fire engines, two aerial appliances and more than 50 firefighters attended the two fires.

She said: 'That equates to half of all Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service's fire appliances immediately available for response and caused significant strain on resources available to attend other incidents.'

Edwards-Meredith burned down a vacant barber's shop next to the landmark old Central Hotel building in Birkenhead

A member of staff at The Hive Youth Zone in Wirral contacted police to say children said Edwards-Meredith and perhaps another boy were responsible.

Officers arrested Edwards-Meredith who replied 'I was near the place but I didn't do anything' and was carrying a lighter.

Ms Morley said police spoke to his mother, who said she 'felt he was responsible' and 'would have sudden outbursts and cause damage to their home'.

Edwards-Meredith confessed to starting both fires in an interview, but said a friend had 'dared him' to start a fire.

He said he got in the barber's through a window, sat down to calm down, but was angry and couldn't calm down, so went in a kitchen and lit paper.

Ms Morley said he claimed not to intend to burn the building down, but 'when he looked at the fire constantly it did have the effect of calming him down'.

Edwards-Meredith said he went to The Hive and spoke to friends about starting the fire, then went with friends to the old bar and got in via a broken fence.

He said he set fire to wood, wallpaper and a towel, then ran out when it was 'out of control and he couldn't put it out'.

Edwards-Meredith, now 19, of Walker Street, Birkenhead, who has no previous convictions, admitted two counts of arson causing damage to property.

A then 16-year-old boy also arrested over the fires was released without charge.

Ms Morley said Edwards-Meredith wasn't charged until February 3 this year and 'there isn't a satisfactory explanation that the prosecution can put forward'.

She said the first police officer in the case retired; a second officer took over in December 2019; police couldn't contact the owners of the barber's in Saudi Arabia to ask what was in the building; forensic examination of his lighter - which proved inconclusive - took place; there were delays due to the pandemic; and a child witness at The Hive died.

John Weate, defending, said his client admitted what he did immediately that day and the delays were 'intolerable'.

He said the police and CPS could have had Edwards-Meredith charged and before the youth court in 2019, when he would have been given a Youth Referral Order (YRO) and assisted with his 'issues'.

Mr Weate said that would have been spent when his YRO finished, but now his two convictions for arson would follow him throughout adult life.

He said Edwards-Meredith was diagnosed with ADHD early in his childhood, which 'leads to impulsivity and leads to acting without thought'.

Just an hour later, the then 17-year-old boy set fire to the former Hotel California and Revolver pub next to Birkenhead Tunnel

Mr Weate asked the judge to take into account his age, immaturity, 'troubles', the two-year delay and its impact on him and that he had kept out of trouble since, and to spare him jail.

He said Edwards-Meredith had since decided not to socialise and stay at home, which he thought was the 'safest' thing to do, but now had a girlfriend and hoped to get a job.

Judge Brian Cummings, QC, said what the teenager did was 'very serious', but he had to sentence him based on his age at the time and accepted 'that immaturity played a part in what you did'.

He told Edwards-Meredith a central feature of his ADHD was 'impulsivity', there was 'a lack of reflection on the consequences of what you were about to do', and said: 'Impulsivity was a key feature in the commission of these offences.'

Judge Cummings said a psychiatric report found 'there would be significant risks in terms of deterioration of your mental state were you to be sent into custody immediately'.

He said: 'That in turn would potentially have a negative effect in terms of increasing your risk of future offending, so harmful to you and potentially harmful to others were you to be sent to custody.'

The judge handed him eight months' detention, suspended for two years, with a 25-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work.

He said he would have made a compensation order, but Edwards-Meredith had 'no significant means' to pay it.
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Britons basked in glorious sunshine as they descended upon beaches in Bournemouth and Blackpool today as the nation gears up for temperatures to climb to 77F this weekend.

Hundreds of visitors poured onto the iconic beaches to enjoy the warm weather while others were spotted paddle boarding at Cullercoats Bay, in North Tyneside, as they prepared for a sizzling weekend ahead.

In London, sun-seekers lay on the grass in Wimbledon Common as the sun made its comeback to the capital and mercury levels continued to rise.

And in Lyme Regis, beaches were packed as sun-seekers flocked to the seaside resort to take in the sea air.

The scenes, which follow a washout week across the nation, came as tourists in the popular holiday destination of Ibiza were spotted sheltering under their umbrellas as the island was hit with heavy downpours today and temperatures reached 73F (22.7C).

The sizzling weather, which comes after a May that has been the wettest on record for some areas, could see temperatures reach 77F (25C) in London and East Anglia later today.

The UK's previous warmest day had been on March 30, when Kew Gardens in West London hit 76.1F (24.5C).

A Met Office spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Many parts of the UK will be dry, warm and sunny today. We do have showers across parts of Northern Ireland and west Scotland where it is a little more cloudy. Where it is dry, warm and sunny, we expect temperatures to reach 25C today.

BOURNEMOUTH: Hundreds of people pour onto the beach in Bournemouth, Dorset, to enjoy the sizzling temperatures as mercury levels rise across the nation

BLACKPOOL: Britons descend upon Blackpool beach today as the sizzling sun makes a return following a week of heavy downpours across the nation

BLACKPOOL: Lydia Blyth takes a dip in the cool sea as she enjoys the sizzling sun at Blackpool beach today

LYME REGIS: Sun-seekers flock to the seaside resort of Lyme Regis in Dorset as mercury levels rise in the UK today

LONDON: People lie down on the grass at Wimbledon Common, in London, as hot weather once again returns to the capital

IBIZA: Meanwhile in the popular holiday destination of Ibiza, people were spotted sheltering themselves from the rain as the island was hit by heavy downpours

IBIZA: Groups of people cover their heads with their umbrellas as the island of Ibiza was hit with heavy downpours this morning

IBIZA: In Santa Eularia des Riu, Ibiza, people carry umbrellas as the party resort is hit by heavy showers this morning

LONDON: A group of people enjoy a boat ride along Regent's Canal in Little Venice, west London, as the capital enjoys warm weather

'Tomorrow we've got cloudy skies in the South with outbreaks of rain but sunny spells in the south east. Top temperatures tomorrow will be 24C.

'On Monday, we expect sunny spells and scattered showers across England. Some of the showers could be heavy across parts of the south. Overall there will be showers at times but also some warm sunny spells.'

Last month, wet weather dominated forecasts, with Wales recording 200.7mm of rain - double the monthly average - making it the wettest May in records dating back to 1862.

But the positive forecast could now see throngs of holiday makers racing to the coast in an effort to enjoy the balmy weather.

This week parts of Surrey and Kent saw temperatures between 81F (27C) and 82F (28C) while the village of Hawarden in Flintshire reached 79.9F (26.5C) to become Wales' own warmest day of the year.

And Scotland also recorded its hottest days of 2021, with Achnagart reaching 75.9F (25.4C).

Meanwhile the 73.9F (23.3C) in Ballywatticock, Northern Ireland, matched its previous warmest day of the year.

The scenes of Britons flocking to the outdoors comes amid a spike in cases of the Indian 'Delta' Covid variant.

Yesterday, Professor Neil Ferguson warned the Indian 'Delta' variant could be 100 per cent more infectious than the Kent variant as official data showed it's also twice as likely to put unvaccinated patients in hospital.

Professor Ferguson - a senior SAGE modeller dubbed 'Professor Lockdown' for his death predictions that prompted the first shutdown last March - warned the emerging evidence about the Indian 'Delta' variant was not positive 'in any respect'.

BOURNEMOUTH: People lie on the sand (left) and sit on deck chairs (right) as they enjoy the sunny weather on Bournemouth beach in Dorset today

BOURNEMOUTH: Crowds of people sit down on the sand and soak in the sun as they enjoy a balmy weekend

BOURNEMOUTH: A group of friends strike a pose as they enjoy the sizzling heat at Bournemouth beach today

BOURNEMOUTH: Sun-seekers lie on the sand on Bournemouth beach as hundreds across the nation flock to outdoor spaces

BOURNEMOUTH: Fun loving zip liners zoom over the heads of people enjoying a trip to the beach today in Bournemouth

BOURNEMOUTH: This beach comber enjoyed the feel of sand on her toes as she shared a laugh during her day on the beach

BOURNEMOUTH: This man enjoyed a refreshing dip in the sea off the coast of Dorset as he made the most of the weekend weather

NORTH TYNESIDE: In Cullercoats Bay, in North Tyneside, paddle boarders and canoeists enjoy the sunshine and sparkling seas

IBIZA: A beach in Santa Eularia des Riu, Ibiza, appears deserted as the popular holiday destination is hit with heavy showers

NORTH WALES: Paddle boarders splash into the sea in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, as they prepare for a sizzling weekend ahead

IBIZA: A beach appears empty in Santa Eularia des Riu as the popular holiday resort is hit by heavy downpours this morning

LYME REGIS: People take to the beach in Lyme Regis as the nation gears up for mercury levels to reach 77F today

BOURNEMOUTH: A man walks on a tightrope as hundreds flock to Bournemouth beach in Dorset to enjoy the rising mercury levels

LAKE DISTRICT: Several people enjoyed the picturesque views at Derwenwater near Keswick today as some people went paddle boarding

LAKE DISTRICT: Britain's beaches were not the only places to be today to catch the sunshine, as these people enjoyed a day at the lake

LAKE DISTRICT: The sunny conditions made the perfect weather for people to enjoy kayaking or paddle boarding with friends

LEEDS: Members of the Rainbow Carnival Stilt Walkers perform in Roundhay Park, Leeds, ahead of the AJ Bell 2021 World Triathlon Series

DORSET: Two men sit on the rocks as they take in the sea air and enjoy the sun at a beach in Swanage, Dorset

DORSET: People paddle board in the water in Swanage, Dorset, as hundreds across the country flock to the nation's outdoor spaces

LONDON: People enjoy the sun as they sit on the grass of Parliament Square, in London, following a week of showers

DORSET: A man takes a dip in the sea in Swanage, Dorset, as the nation gears up for a warm and sunny weekend

LONDON: People sit on a boat and enjoy a ride along Regent's Canal, Little Venice, London, as temperatures soar to 77F

DORSET: A man runs along the sands in Swanage, Dorset, as temperatures rise across the country today

LONDON: A group of people enjoy a boat ride along Regent's Canal in London as forecasters predict a balmy weekend ahead

POOLE: Hundreds of vehicles fill the car park near Sandbanks beach in Poole, Dorset, as temperatures soar across the country

POOLE: A sign informs visitors that the car park near Sandbanks beach is full as hundreds flock to the tourist destination in the UK

He said the mutant Covid strain was between 30 and 100 per cent more virulent than the previously dominant Kent variant and that 'a good central estimate' would be 60 per cent.

A study published last night also suggested that the Pfizer vaccine worked less well at preventing infections of the Indian version, with people given that jab producing fewer antibodies targeting the virus compared to other strains.

Public Health England for the first time this week confirmed the new variant was dominant in the UK, replacing the Kent version.

Asked about whether the new evidence would put England's June 21 'Freedom Day' in jeopardy, Professor Ferguson said the data 'is pointing in a more negative direction than it was last week.'

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It points towards the direction of being cautious. I think balancing, clearly, people's desire  and there clearly is a built-up desire to get back to normal  against the potential risk is a very difficult judgment call.'
A conservative commentator raised more than $104,000 to help repair the Puerto Rico home of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs grandmother, but the Democratic congresswoman and 'Squad' leader is refusing to accept it.

She had posted images on social media earlier this week showing the severely damaged house - with a falling-in ceiling - which she blamed on former President Trump, who she said had blocked aid to the hurricane-ravaged island and US territory.

Commentator Matt Walsh said it was rich that someone who made $174,000 a year as a congresswoman - and drove a Tesla - would be begging on Twitter for help; he organized the GoFundMe campaign that had raised $104,000 by Saturday morning.

But a spokesperson for the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe told DailyMail.com on Saturday that 'the beneficiary has made clear to our Trust and Safety team they do not wish to accept the donations.'

'I can confirm the donations have been turned off and all donors will be fully refunded,' GoFundMe spokesperson Bobby Whithorne told DailyMail.com.

Walsh, a blogger for Daily Wire who launched the fundraiser, also confirmed on Saturday that 'someone in AOC's abuela's family told GoFundMe that she won't take the money, even though AOC previously claimed that her grandma was in dire straits (and it was Trump's fault).' Abuela is Spanish for grandmother.

Walsh, who posted an email from GoFundMe on his Twitter account, added: 'AOC still hasn't acknowledged this effort or thanked us.'

Critics, including Walsh, were quick to jump on Ocasio-Cortez's initial post on Wednesday showing her grandmother's home in a dilapidated state after it sustained damage due to Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

A conservative commentator raised more than $104,000 to help repair the damaged Puerto Rican home of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs grandmother after the Democratic lawmaker posted images on social media showing the damaged house which she blamed on former President Trump for not helping the hurricane-ravaged island

'One cannot be certain of the cost to repair grandmas house, but surely most of the work could be completed for the price of AOCs shiny Tesla Model 3,' conservative blogger Matt Walsh (left) wrote on GoFundMe. Ocasio-Cortez is seen right

Ocasio-Cortez was slammed on Twitter on Wednesday for posting images of her grandma's falling-down house in Puerto Rico instead of giving her money to help

One image shows a room with just a chair and several plastic buckets to catch water coming rom the ceiling, which is falling down in several spots

Another image of AOC's grandmother's home shows a room where there is a dresser and more ceiling panels falling down

Matt Walsh, a blogger for Daily Wire who launched the fundraiser, confirmed on Saturday that 'someone in AOC's abuela's family told GoFundMe that she won't take the money, even though AOC previously claimed that her grandma was in dire straits (and it was Trump's fault).'

Walsh, who posted an email from GoFundMe on his Twitter account, added: 'AOC still hasn't acknowledged this effort or thanked us.'

The critics questioned why the progressive lawmaker who makes $174,000 and drives a Tesla isn't sending money to help her grandmother.

'On June 2nd, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reported to Twitter that her dear abuela has fallen ill and continues to live in squalid conditions since her home was ravaged by Hurricane Maria,' Walsh wrote on the GoFundMe crowdfunding page on Friday.

'One cannot be certain of the cost to repair grandmas house, but surely most of the work could be completed for the price of AOCs shiny Tesla Model 3.

'As AOC pointed out to us, we "dont even have a concept for the role that [incredibly successful children of two American citizens] play in their families," but clearly caring for their own grandparent isnt part of it.

'Says the congresswoman, "instead of only caring for [my own grandmother] & letting others suffer, Im calling attention to the systemic injustices

'No, seriously. She really said that.

'Sadly, virtue-signaling isnt going to fix abuelas roof. So we are.

'Lets all kick in to help save AOCs abuelas ancestral home. Any amount is appreciated, but the cost of a monthly lease payment on that Tesla is around $499

Walsh announced the crowdfunding effort on his Twitter feed. He has more than 557,000 Twitter followers

Walsh said he would 'kick things off by donating $499, which happens to be the cost of a monthly lease payment for a Tesla'

On Twitter, Walsh was accused of 'turning charity into a racist "f*** you"'

'Abuela is not my enemy,' Walsh tweeted at a Twitter user who criticized him. 'Her wealthy socialist granddaughter declined to help so I stepped into the void. What's the problem here?'

Walsh was also criticized by fellow conservatives. Elijah Schaffer, a reporter for the right-leaning The Blaze, tweeted: Conservatives are raising money for AOCs family & I cant even breathe. Lol. As if we werent taken advantage of and abused by the Dems already, now we paying their family bills. Walsh tweeted in response to Schaffer: Im a philanthropist, Elijah. Just doing what philanthropists do.'

Amanda Milius, a former Trump administration official, said the fundraiser was a stupid [and] not even remotely humored AOC-obsessed GOP stunt and that donors should give money to actual people who need help. Walsh replied to Milius: Of course we do something new and interesting and some people on the right whine about it. Not sure how our fundraiser is preventing anyone from donating to any other fundraiser, but okay Amanda. Sorry youre offended.

Another Twitter user accused Walsh of running a 'fraudulent fundraiser'

The fundraiser on GoFundMe became the most popular crowdfunding effort on Friday

'I don't know why I'm trending,' Walsh tweeted. 'All I wanted to do was help a poor grandmother out.'

When Walsh was told that he was 'sick in the mind,' he responded: 'Why? Can't a guy raise money for an abuela? What's sick about that?'

Gina Bontempo tweeted: As a self-proclaimed 1st-gen, first-born minority daughter, AOC should feel so ashamed that a straight white Christian male like Matt Walsh is doing more to help her poverty-stricken abuela than she is. He's raised over $40,000 already.

'All proceeds will be donated to abuela, if she will accept them.'

As of Saturday morning, the fundraiser raised a total of $104,153, but GoFundMe says that all of the money will be returned to each donor.

The crowdfunding effort took off after Walshs hashtag #HelpAbuela went viral on Twitter.

Nonetheless it generated outrage from both the left and the right.

Amanda Milius, a former Trump administration official, said the fundraiser was a stupid [and] not even remotely humored AOC-obsessed GOP stunt and that donors should give money to actual people who need help.

Walsh replied to Milius: Of course we do something new and interesting and some people on the right whine about it.

Not sure how our fundraiser is preventing anyone from donating to any other fundraiser, but okay Amanda.

Sorry youre offended.

Elijah Schaffer, a reporter for the right-leaning The Blaze, tweeted: Conservatives are raising money for AOCs family & I cant even breathe. Lol.

As if we werent taken advantage of and abused by the Dems already, now we paying their family bills.

Walsh tweeted in response to Schaffer: Im a philanthropist, Elijah. Just doing what philanthropists do.

AOC has her money tied up in Tesla car payments so Im stepping in to solve the problem. Thats all there is to it.

Others like columnist Kurt Schlichter praised Walsh, saying his fundraiser was genius.

Gina Bontempo tweeted: As a self-proclaimed 1st-gen, first-born minority daughter, AOC should feel so ashamed that a straight white Christian male like Matt Walsh is doing more to help her poverty-stricken abuela than she is.

He's raised over $40,000 already.

Others offered harsh criticism, with one Twitter user calling Walsh sick in the mind.

Another Twitter user denounced Walsh as a fascist and urged others to report the fraudulent fundraising activity to GoFundMe.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Walsh and Ocasio-Cortezs office for comment.

Conservative columnist Matt Walsh excoriated AOC for choosing to spend money on a new Tesla instead of sending part of her $174,000 salary to her grandma in Puerto Rico

A Florida congressional candidate also called out Ocasio-Cortez for her Tesla and two apartments

AOC clarified 'for the record' that her grandma 'is doing okay', after she started receiving backlash for not sending help

Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday posted the initial tweet that generated a backlash from conservatives.

'Just over a week ago, my abuela fell ill. I went to Puerto Rico to see her- my 1st time in a year+ bc of COVID,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.

'This is her home,' she continued, posting two pictures of mostly-empty rooms where the ceiling is falling in and plastic buckets on the ground are collecting water. Also in the images are one chair, one dresser and a tarp on the ground.

'Hurricane Maria relief hasn't arrived. Trump blocked relief $ for PR. People are being forced to flee ancestral homes, & developers are taking them,' the New York congresswoman wrote.

Walsh jumped on the post: 'AOC went and bought herself a Tesla while her grandmother lives in a shack with a collapsing ceiling.'

'It never fails with these champagne socialists,' he continued. 'They expect everyone else to make sacrifices while making none themselves.'

'AOC is willing to redistribute everyone's money but her own,' Parkland school shooting survivor Kyle Kashuv agreed in his own post.

GOP candidate for Florida's 24th congressional district Lavern Spicer boiled the situation down to one word  'sad.'

'Honey, you drive a Tesla and have two apartments,' she tweeted on Wednesday. 'If your grandmother is living poor that's because you don't help her out. I'm surprised that a socialist wouldn't redistribute that wealth to their grandma.'

AOC has an apartment in her home district in New York City and a luxury apartment in Washington, D.C. where one bedroom units  at least those where the bedroom actually has a window  starts at $2,500 per month.

Stock photo of an image of the living rooms in the apartment units where Ocasio-Cortez rents in Washington D.C.

The one-bedroom units in luxury apartment building start at $2,500 per month if residents want to have a window to outside from their bedroom

Ocasio-Cortez's Tesla was pictured illegally parked at the Whole Foods near her apartment in Washington D.C. last month

AOC blamed Trump for Puerto Rico not recovering from the Hurricane

Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York's 14th congressional district and is a self-described Democratic socialist, continued to blame Trump in her Twitter thread.

'In the aftermath of Maria, the Trump admin oversaw two key items: handing millions in public $ to unqualified donor pals (ex Whitefish). The other was to impose extremely difficult eligibility rules for Puerto Ricans, which allowed mass rejections of recovery fund applications,' she wrote.

'I want to be clear - while Trump admin had a major role, it wasn't just them,' she said. 'La Junta, local policies, etc were all on the same page: policies that pushed out local families. To turn this around, we need audits & get recovery relief to people ASAP, without the onerous strings.'

She did clarify 'for the record - my abuela is doing okay.'

'It's not about us, but about what's happening to Puerto Rican's across the island. She had a place to go to and be cared for - what about the thousands of people who don't?'

One Twitter user demanded that she 'sell your Tesla!' so she can send money to her grandma

Another blamed AOC for waiting on bailouts from Washington to help rather than stepping up to the plate

Former Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz agreed with AOC that more aid is needed from the U.S. to help recover from the hurricane that hit during Trump's presidency

A Twitter user wrote to AOC: 'Sell your Tesla! You should be ashamed for letting her live like this. We have a responsibility to care for our elders!?'

Another said: 'Are you seriously admitting to the whole internet that you let your grandma sleep on a bare wood platform while you drive around in a tesla? how could you not wire a couple thousand bucks to your own grandma?'

Ocasio-Cortez's white Tesla was spotted illegally parked last month outside the Whole Foods under her apartment building in an upscale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. less than a mile from Capitol Hill.

Former Puerto Rico Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who was in office when Hurricane Maria hit, sympathized with AOC.

'This is how it is,' she wrote. 'The investors and those who believe in privatizing essential services are taking advantage of the tragedy of Puerto Rico and our people.'

Cruz was in office from 2013-2020 and was highly critical of Trump when he was president.
Medics told the parents of a 'beautiful, smiling, adorable' girl she was in a stable condition despite the fact she had vomited several times in her sleep without waking up, an inquest heard.

Two-year-old Cristiana Banciu's mother and father were 'probably not' given the correct clinical picture by a nurse when she updated them on the child's state in hospital.

She was taken to a different hospital shortly afterwards where doctors soon concluded she had little chance of survival.

She was around a month shy of her third birthday when she died at King's College Hospital in Denmark Hill, south London, on January 8 last year.

She had been transferred from the Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington two days earlier on January 6.

According to a post-mortem examination cited in a Serious Incident Investigation Report by King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, she died of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS)  an immune condition similar to sepsis except it can be cause by non-infectious causes including hemorrhages.

Two-year-old Cristiana Banciu's mother and father were 'probably not' given the correct clinical picture by a nurse when she updated them on the child's state in Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington on January 6, 2020, before she died

Cristiana's father Alexandru described his daughter as a 'beautiful, smiling, adorable girl'.

She had been 'perfect' on January 4, but woke in the early hours of January 5 with a temperature, he told the inquest at South London Coroner's Court.

When her fever failed to ease off they took her to the Princess Royal University Hospital, just a five-minute drive from their home in Orpington.

After X-rays of her lungs, the child was sent home with medication, with staff saying she appeared to have the beginning of a chest infection, her mother Georgina Banciu said.

The court heard the two-year-old had previous difficulties with lower respiratory tract infection but Mrs Banciu said her condition that day was 'very different'.

When she failed to improve at home, her parents took her back to the emergency department and she was admitted to a paediatric ward.

Cristiana's father Alexandru described his daughter as a 'beautiful, smiling, adorable girl'

Speaking through an interpreter, Mrs Banciu, who is originally from Romania, said despite her daughter vomiting 'no doctor came to her'.

Mr Banciu said it was 'very confusing for us as parents because she didn't wake up' when she vomited, but added they were not immediately concerned because 'nobody put us in the alert situation'.

He said they 'didn't know that that is not normal' and put her lack of reaction down to medication she had been given.

He said they alerted a staff member and that the sheets were changed but no other action was taken.

WHAT IS SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE SYNDROME (SIRS)? Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) is a condition when the body overreacts to a range of infectious or non-infectious causes. Its causes include: Bacterial infections

Severe malaria

Trauma

Burns

Pancreatitis

Ischemia

Hemorrhage The body produces too much of an immune response to the illness, which can lead to organ failure. It is similar to sepsis but it can be caused by non-infectious causes, not just infectious ones. The complications of SIRS include: Acute kidney injury

Shock

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome Advertisement

When the child vomited again, Mrs Banciu said a nurse told her the doctor could not come because he was attending an emergency.

When her daughter was sick a third time and had traces of blood, her mother said: 'That's when I got angry and I said 'this is not vomiting, this is blood'.'

Staff nurse Radmila Bartule told the inquest she had raised concerns with other staff about the child vomiting while appearing to be asleep.

She also insisted she had called a doctor when she did a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) check and that they 'didn't seem to be concerned so it put me at ease that nothing wrong is happening'.

The inquest heard Cristiana had a 'dangerously low' GCS of 8 when she arrived on the ward.

Just before the child was to be transferred to King's College Hospital, Ms Bartule said she told them their daughter was 'tubed and stable'.

Assistant coroner Jacqueline Devonish said: 'So you're speaking to the parents who have brought a child in who earlier in the day was alive, and the previous day had been lively, chatty.

'So they've brought this child in, who's been asleep or unconscious for hours. They've sat by the bedside, haven't been told anything at all. The first thing they are told is that she is stable, ready for transfer. Was that actually the clinical picture?'

Tearfully, the nurse replied: 'Probably not.'

At the end of her evidence Ms Bartule said: 'Can I just say that I am so sorry for their loss. I am honestly so sorry if I have done something that I could have done better.'

The parents travelled with their daughter in the ambulance to King's College and Mr Banciu said that was the first time he had been told of the 'real situation' she was in.

He said a medic told them: 'I'm doing my best for your daughter to make sure at least she arrives in Denmark Hill.'

Finishing his evidence to the inquest, he added: 'Anything I can do to make sure this is not going to happen again to no other parent because nobody deserves it.'

Mrs Banciu said that on arrival at King's College Hospital the staff 'did all they could' but that they were told their daughter had a less than a 0.1 per cent chance of survival.

The assistant coroner described it as a 'devastating' and 'very, very sad' case.

The inquest was adjourned to hear further evidence on a date to be set.

Jodi Newton, solicitor at Osbornes Law which is representing the family, said: 'The family are heartbroken and are determined to find long-awaited answers, which we hope the inquest will achieve.

'Nothing will bring back their beautiful daughter but they hope that with a thorough investigation, answers, and a meaningful plan for change, that other parents may avoid the tragedy they have experienced.'
One dog walker has learnt the importance of keeping your pet on a leash as footage captured in Bushy Park shows.

The video, taken in one of London's eight Royal Parks and shared on Twitter, shows a dog walker fleeing with his unleashed pet as a some deer chase after them.

Several people took to Twitter to slam the dog walker for his behaviour.

One wrote: 'Off leash dogs are a big problem for the wildlife of London. We need real consequences for irresponsible dog owners.'

Another said: 'Those hooves are razor sharp let alone the weight of the beast. I have plenty of photos of people feeding deer and patting them and dogs being attacked. This video is a good illustration of what can happen.'

Pet owners are allowed to bring their dogs into Bushy Park, but they should be kept on leads throughout the park during the deer birthing season, which runs from May to July.

The same rules apply in Richmond Park and will be lifted on August 2.

It is expected that around 300 deer will be born in the parks during the birthing season, and hidden in bracken and long grass by female deer to conceal them from dogs.

Simon Richards, Park Manager for Richmond Park, said: 'During the deer birthing season, we strongly advise that dogs are not walked in either Richmond or Bushy Parks but, if this is not possible, dogs must be on leads in all areas of the parks.

'Female deer are afraid of dogs harming their young. Concern for their newborn means they may act defensively towards dogs - they have been known to give chase and attack, even if the dog is at a distance and not acting provocatively.

'Dog walkers must remain vigilant, avoid areas of dense vegetation and stick to the perimeter of the park.'

Visitors are also being urged to give female deer space and not to seek out young deer or pick them up if they see them on their own in Bushy Park

Since August 2020, there have been 55 reported incidents of dogs chasing deer, but it is believed that many incidents go unreported.

At least five deer have died as a result of these chases in the past year, and a number of dog owners have appeared in court and been convicted for failing to keep their pet under control.

Dog walkers have been advised to avoid areas of the park shaded in orange on maps and plan their routes in advance.

Visitors are also being urged to give female deer space and not to seek out young deer or pick them up if they see them on their own.

'Every year, we receive calls about 'abandoned' baby deer,' Mr Richards added. 'But female deer are excellent mothers, and they are not shirking their responsibility.

Visitors are urged to avoid the orange areas on the map with dogs during the birthing season

'Instead, they are hiding their young whilst they forage for food to create the milk that they need to nourish their young.

'Throughout the course of the day, the mother will periodically return to suckle her newborn, but she may reject it if she picks up a human scent, so please do not touch a newborn deer under any circumstances.

'Even though you may think you're doing the right thing, you will actually only cause the newborn deer severe stress and, sadly, you may cause it to be abandoned by its mother.'
A controversial facial recognition app is being used to try to clear a backlog of tens of thousands of immigration cases at the US-Mexico border.

Asylum seekers are being encouraged to submit their biographic and biometric information through the app to Customs and Border Protection, allowing it to use facial recognition software to verify their information and determine whether asylum seekers will be allowed to enter the United States.

Officials with the US Customs and Border Protection have begun processing asylum seekers' with the CBP One app, which uses facial recognition, geolocation and cloud technology to speed up cases, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The administration claims its 'smart border' strategy will be more effective than the Trump administration's border walls and immigration restrictions. It's part of the administration's $1.2 billion plan to 'modernize' border control.

It comes as the crisis at the border is unrelenting, with 110,000 single adults trying to cross in April alone - the highest number in a decade.

Some privacy advocates say the app raises concerns about privacy and data collection by the government on vulnerable migrants.

Migrants with children cross Rio Bravo from Mexico to the US on May 21, 2021 in Ciudad Juarez Mexico. According to unofficial estimates approximately 200,000 migrants have crossed into the United States along the southern border since February 2021

Migrants with children cross Rio Bravo from Mexico to the US on May 21, 2021 in Ciudad Juarez Mexico

Ashley Gorski, senior attorney at the ACLU National Security Project, told The Times use of the CBP One app poses 'enormous risks to privacy and is another step down a dangerous path'.

'Whenever the government acquires a person's faceprint, it creates a risk of persistent surveillance, where the government could identify and track people's movements without their knowledge.'

Another border expert told the Times the app was a sensible step to improve the backlog at the border.

Andrew Farrelly, a former Customs and Border Protection official, said there was an 'incredible amount of pressure' on the border and the Department of Homeland Security to deal with the claims.

'Applying technology is a way to do that.'

The CBP is encouraging migrants stuck in limbo in Mexico to download the CBP One app to speed up their application process

The CBP One app could help to clear the tens of thousands of asylum seekers waiting to

The Department of Homeland Security has been granted emergency approval to use the app to process users' information in advance of their arrival in the United States.

This clearance from the Office of Management and Budget allowed it to bypass the usual public notification process required before it launches a new program.

Last week the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed he was asking lawmakers for $1.2 billion to remake the immigration system with modern ports of entry, greater emphasis on technology at the border, and ensuring the 'safe, orderly, and humane treatment of migrants.'

The White House and Homeland Security declined to comment.

But this week, the Biden administration formally ended a Trump-era immigration policy that forced asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

Biden also asked Congress to pass legislation which would provide a way for an estimated 11 million undocumented people to legally stay in the United States.
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A punter was lured into Crown Melbourne with free tickets to a Phil Collins concert before he gambled away $30,000, a royal commission has been told.

The royal commission was set up by the Dan Andrews Labor government after a NSW inquiry found Crown unsuitable to run its newly built casino in Sydney's Barangaroo.

Counsel assisting Geoffrey Kozminsky on Friday said the Southbank casino offered its customers a range of prizes and giveaways, all with a mind to increasing how often and how long they spent gambling.

'Nothing is for free,' the problem gambler told the inquiry into whether Crown can keep a licence for its Melbourne operations.

'It's all calculated, it's pretty smart. They know how to play you and they play you quite well.'

A punter was lured into Crown Melbourne with free tickets to a Phil Collins concert before he gambled away $30,000, a royal commission has been told

Crown's marketing chief admitted it was a 'successful outcome' the man ended up blowing $30k in the casino after collecting his free Phil Collins tickets

Mr Kozminsky asked Crown's marketing chief Nicolas Emery whether having the man gamble away $30,000 after entering the casino to pick up his tickets was a 'successful outcome' for the casino.

Mr Emery said yes.

Crown spends about $500 million on promotions each year, Mr Kozminsky told the inquiry, with the 'primary objective' simply getting people inside the building.

He added that people who gamble at Crown Melbourne are three times more likely to experience problem gambling than those who use other venues in Victoria.

But Mr Kozminsky said Crown only spent $1.9 million on tackling problem gambling in 2019, a figure he dismissed as a 'rounding error' compared to their marketing expenditure.

He also said only 616 of the casino's estimated 23 million visitors were blocked from its promotions in 2019, after either excluding themselves or being identified as problem gamblers.

The royal commission was set up by the Dan Andrews Labor government after a NSW inquiry found Crown unsuitable to run its newly built casino in Sydney's Barangaroo (pictured)

Mr Emery said Crown does not consider whether its customers can actually afford to gamble at the levels needed to qualify for its perks and giveaways when the casino sends out promotional materials.

The marketing chief also revealed he had not re-read Crown's Responsible Gaming Code Of Conduct since a brief training session when he joined the group in January 2018.

Meanwhile, Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation chief Shane Lucas said Crown Melbourne enjoyed a set of gaming restrictions that were unique in the state.

He said the Southbank casino's poker machines could be used 24 hours a day, with many of them spinning faster and accepting of larger bets than those in pubs and clubs.

'The casino has one particular operating environment; industry has another,' Mr Lucas told the inquiry.

'We need consistency between what occurs in the casino and what occurs in pubs and clubs. That would be a good starting place for preventing and reducing gambling harm.

Crown Melbourne allowed a patron to gamble for 34 hours straight before making the VIP take a break, the inquiry was told earlier this week.

It was also revealed that staff currently encourage gamblers to take a break only after 12 hours of continuous play.

And while no ATMs are permitted on the gaming floor, Crown Melbourne customers can withdraw up to $200 in cash with every drinks purchase at the bar.

The Victorian inquiry continues on Monday.
New global tax: How it will work G7 finance ministers today agreed on a universal approach to taxing global companies. It will see huge multi-nationals - such as Google, Amazon and Facebook - forced to pay a levy on sales in the country in which they are earned, as well as where they have headquarters. Only large companies with profit margins of at least 10 per cent will be affected by the change. A total of 20 per cent of any profit above the 10 per cent margin will be reallocated. It will then be subjected to corporation tax in the countries where the companies have make sales. The G7 also agreed to set a global standard of corporation tax - set at 15 per cent minimum. Nations can opt to make that figure higher with the tax 'operated on a country-by-country basis'. Ministers hope this will create 'a more level playing field for UK firms and cracking down on tax avoidance'. The G7 will provide the coordination necessary to put the new international rules in place. Advertisement

G7 finance ministers unveiled what they called a 'historic' agreement to commit their countries to a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15 percent, delivering a win for President Joe Biden who wanted international agreement before hiking the U.S. rate from 21 percent to 28 percent.

Rich nations have struggled for years to agree how best to raise more cash from tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.

The Biden administration feared that raising corporate taxes to fund its huge program of public spending would drive them overseas.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen welcomed what she said was an 'unprecedented' international deal.

'That global minimum tax would end the race to the bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world, she said.

'The global minimum tax would also help the global economy thrive, by leveling the playing field for businesses and encouraging countries to compete on positive bases, such as educating and training our work forces and investing in research and development and infrastructure.'

The U.S. stepped up pressure for a deal this week by threatening sanctions on six nations who imposed a digital tax on internet giants.

The likes of India, Spain and the United Kingdom introduced the tax while negotiations on a global minimum were stalled.

The newly-agreed universal approach to taxing global companies will see huge multi-nationals - such as Google, Amazon and Facebook - forced to pay a levy on sales in the country in which they are earned, as well as where they have headquarters.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak with US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, who said the agreement on a corporate tax rate minimum would 'end the race to the bottom in corporate taxation' and encourage 'countries to compete on positive bases, such as educating and training our work forces and investing in research and development and infrastructure'

US President Joe Biden has called for a unified minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent in negotiations with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20

As it stands, these companies often book profits in jurisdictions where they pay little or no tax.

The sums involved are colossal.

A report by the E.U. Tax Observatory forecast that a 15 percent minimum would bring in $58 billion a year. And the Biden administration predicts that it would yield $500 billion in tax revenue over the next decade.

Biden's plans still face opposition at home. The G7 agreement must make its way through a bitterly divided Congress.

And he has suggested ditching his 28 percent tax rate in order to get his infrastructure plans passed with the help of Republicans, although officials say the number remains his overall target.

In a video address, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: 'I am delighted to announced that G7 finance ministers today, after years of discussions, have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and, crucially, to make sure that it's fair so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places.

'And that's a huge prize for British taxpayers.

'This is a very proud moment and I want to thank my G7 finance minister colleagues for their collective leadership and for their willingness to work together to seize this moment to strike a deal of historic significance that finally brings our global tax system into the 21st century.'

The agreement is likely to find opposition among countries who have made themselves low-tax destination. Ireland has made clear it is unwilling to raise its corporate tax rate above 12.5 percent.

Mr Sunak also said the agreement was a 'proud moment' for the world's most-powerful finance ministers (pictured together)

The G7 discussions over corporation tax explained WHY A GLOBAL MINIMUM TAX? Major economies are aiming to discourage multinationals from shifting profits - and tax revenues - to low-tax countries regardless of where their sales are made. Increasingly, income from intangible sources such as drug patents, software and royalties on intellectual property has migrated to these jurisdictions, allowing companies to avoid paying higher taxes in their traditional home countries. With its proposal for a minimum 15% tax rate, the Biden administration hopes to reduce such tax base erosion without putting American firms at a financial disadvantage, allowing competition on innovation, infrastructure and other attributes. The Trump administration took a first stab with a U.S. corporate offshore minimum tax in 2017. The 'Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income,' or GILTI, tax rate was only 10.5% - half the domestic corporate tax rate. WHERE ARE THE TALKS AT? The G7 talks feed in to a much broader, existing effort. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been coordinating tax negotiations among 140 countries for years on rules for taxing cross-border digital services and curbing tax base erosion, including a global corporate minimum tax. The OECD and G20 countries aim to reach consensus on both by mid-year, but the talks on a global corporate minimum are technically simpler and less contentious. If a broad consensus is reached, it will be extremely hard for any low-tax country to try and block an agreement. The minimum is expected to make up the bulk of the $50 billion-$80 billion in extra tax that the OECD estimates firms will end up paying globally under deals on both fronts. HOW WOULD A GLOBAL MINIMUM WORK? The global minimum tax rate would apply to overseas profits. Governments could still set whatever local corporate tax rate they want, but if companies pay lower rates in a particular country, their home governments could 'top-up' their taxes to the minimum rate, eliminating the advantage of shifting profits. The OECD said last month that governments broadly agreed on the basic design of the minimum tax but not the rate. Tax experts say that is the thorniest issue. Other items still to be negotiated include whether investment funds and real estate investment trusts should be covered, when to apply the new rate and ensuring it is compatible with U.S. tax reforms aimed at deterring erosion. WHAT ABOUT THAT MINIMUM RATE? Talks are focusing around the U.S. proposal of a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15% - above the level in countries such as Ireland but below the lowest G7 level. That rate is, however, somewhat lower than the 21% in discussion leading up to the G7 meeting and countries including France argue it should be viewed as a floor for setting a higher, more ambitious level. Any final agreement could have major repercussions for low-tax countries and tax havens. The Irish economy has boomed with the influx of billions of dollars in investment from multinationals. Dublin, which has resisted European Union attempts to harmonize its tax rules, is unlikely to accept a higher minimum rate without a fight. However, the battle for low-tax countries is less likely to be about scuppering the overall talks and more about building support for a minimum rate as close as possible to its 12.5% or seeking certain exemptions. Advertisement

Only large companies with profit margins of at least 10 percent will be affected.

A total of 20 percent of any profit above the 10 per cent margin will be reallocated.

It will then be subjected to corporation tax in the countries where the companies have make sales.

The G7 also agreed to set a global standard of corporation tax - set at 15 percent minimum.

Nations can opt to make that figure higher with the tax 'operated on a country-by-country basis'.

Ministers hope this will create 'a more level playing field for UK firms and cracking down on tax avoidance'.

A communique from G7 finance ministers read: 'We commit to reaching an equitable solution on the allocation of taxing rights, with market countries awarded taxing rights on at least 20 per cent of profit exceeding a 10 per cent margin for the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises.

'We will provide for appropriate coordination between the application of the new international tax rules and the removal of all Digital Services Taxes, and other relevant similar measures, on all companies.'

Sunak today defended the decision not to push for a higher global corporation tax rate after the president had initially argued it should be 21 per cent.

Sunak told broadcasters in London: 'I would say a couple of things. First of all, the agreement reached here today says at least 15 per cent and secondly, it is worth taking a step back.

'This is something that has been talked about for almost a decade.

'And here for the first time today we actually have agreement on the tangible principles of what these reforms should look like and that is huge progress.'

Asked whether he was tying his own hands by having a minimum rate, Sunak replied: 'I think what the British public want to know is that the tax system is fair, they want to know that there is a level-playing field - whether people are operating in tax havens or whether large, particularly online businesses, are able to not pay tax in the right places, they want that tackled.

'And that's what this agreement gives us the ability to do and it has been agreed among G7 colleagues and once we broaden it out and implement it globally, it is a huge prize for British taxpayers.'

Labour lamented that the G7 did not push for a higher base rate.

The party claimed President Biden's 21 percent minimum would have raised an additional 131million for public services.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'This Government must now show leadership, push for a 21 percent rate in negotiations, and use the money to fund our schools and our NHS.'

Pro-free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute said Sunak had effectively tied his own hands while handing 'power over our taxes to Washington's demands'.

Deputy director Matt Kilcoyne said: 'These proposals are not in the UK's interest and Rishi has sold Britain short.

'Rishi Sunak's flagship policies of super deductions and free ports are dead in the water. The Chancellor's own policies, scuppered by his own hubris.' Sunak, while expressing support for the principle, was reportedly sceptical about setting the minimum rate too high - amid concerns it could see the UK's economic activity being taxed elsewhere.

The UK had the G7's lowest corporate tax rate at 19 per cent, while at 12.5 per cent, Ireland has one of the lowest anywhere in the world, making it hugely popular with the likes of Facebook and Google.

Explaining the agreed tax reforms, a Treasury spokeswoman said: 'Under pillar one of this historic agreement, the largest and most profitable multinationals will be required to pay tax in the countries where they operate - and not just where they have their headquarters.

'The rules would apply to global firms with at least a 10 per cent profit margin - and would see 20 per cent of any profit above the 10 per cent margin reallocated and then subjected to tax in the countries they operate.

'The fairer system will mean the UK will raise more tax revenue from large multinationals and help pay for public services here in the UK.'

Mr Sunak earlier said the world had 'high expectations' for what could be agreed over the two-day summit, telling finance leaders the countries around the globe cannot 'continue to rely on a tax system that was largely designed in the 1920s'.

And he said it was clear that taxation had to change in a 'complex global digital economy'.

Ahead of the meeting Sunak said he was aiming to secure a 'fair deal' on digital taxation during the talks with ministers from the US, Japan, France, Canada, Germany and Italy at Lancaster House.

In a briefing after Friday's meeting, a Treasury spokesman said: '(Rishi) Sunak was clear that large digital firms should pay an appropriate level of tax where they operate so countries can raise revenue and invest in their public services - a priority for the Government - and highlighted that 'opportunities to make truly lasting reforms like this do not come along very often'.'

Opening the session, Sunak had said: 'The G7 is a hugely important grouping and it's an honour to be welcoming my counterparts to London with a renewed spirit of multilateral co-operation.

'Even before holding the G7 presidency we've been clear on our priorities - protecting jobs, ensuring a green and global recovery and supporting the world's most vulnerable countries.

'Securing a global agreement on digital taxation has also been a key priority this year - we want companies to pay the right amount of tax in the right place, and I hope we can reach a fair deal with our partners.

Rishi Sunak has told world finance leaders that the world cannot 'continue to rely on a tax system that was largely designed in the 1920s'

'I'm determined we work together and unite to tackle the world's most pressing economic challenges - and I'm hugely optimistic that we will deliver some concrete outcomes this weekend.

'Together we can make a real change and help steer the international community through the next stage of our recovery.'

Meanwhile, activists from climate action group Ocean Rebellion set a boat on fire this morning during a demonstration at sunrise at Marazion Beach, Cornwall, ahead of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay next week.

Corporate tax is one of two pillars in efforts for global fiscal reform, the other being a 'digital tax' to allow countries to tax the profits of multinationals headquartered overseas.

Activists from climate action group Ocean Rebellion set a boat on fire during a demonstration at sunrise at Marazion Beach, Cornwall, ahead of the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall

The boat was seen ablaze as the sun started to rise over Marazion Beach, Cornwall, today

The stunt featured a caricature of Boris Johnson and an Oilhead, pouring fuel on the fire

The demonstration comes ahead of the arrival of world leaders in Cornwall next weekend

The group behind the demonstration insists 'the oil industry still exerts excessive influence over our politicians'
Facebook's 'independent fact checkers' relied on a letter spearheaded by a major financial backer of the Wuhan Institute of Virology to 'debunk' articles exploring the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in a leak from the lab, it has emerged.

For nearly a year, Facebook censored articles exploring the lab leak theory, labeling them 'false information' and punishing news publishers by limiting their reach on the platform, before the social media giant sheepishly reversed course last month.

Facebook relies on third-party fact-checkers to 'debunk' false claims, and in the case of the lab leak theory, a February article from Facebook partner Science Feedback played a key role in the social media site's censorship.

The article, which purported to 'debunk' a New York Post opinion column questioning China's denials of a lab leak scenario, prominently cited a letter to The Lancet, a leading medical journal, signed by '27 eminent public health experts'.

It has now emerged that the Lancet letter, which played a key role in suppressing early debate on the pandemic's origins, was not only signed but organized by Peter Daszak, whose group funneled U.S. taxpayer dollars to controversial gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The article used by Facebook to 'debunk' lab leak theory cited Peter Daszak's Lancet letter. He is seen above at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2020

Relying on the Science Feedback article citing the Lancet letter, Facebook swiftly cracked down on articles exploring the lab leak theory, including this February 2020 opinion piece

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen above. His company faces criticism after reversing its nearly year-long ban on posts proposing that COVID originated from a lab

Though no definitive proof has emerged yet to show whether COVID-19 leaked from a lab or crossed over to humans directly from an animal, mounting evidence in support of the lab leak theory has emerged in recent weeks -- after academics dismissed it as impossible for more than a year.

It is now clear that many of the leading experts in emerging coronavirus threats, who rushed to dismiss the lab leak theory early in the pandemic, were potentially conflicted, fearing that confirmation of a leak would shut down virology labs around the world and cut off their precious flow of funding.

However, few played as key a role in suppressing debate as Daszak, the British-born founder of non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, which takes in millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars and parcels them out to facilities conducting gain-of-function research, including WIV.

Gain-of-function research is a controversial field that involves collecting dangerous viruses and genetically modifying them to be more deadly, in order to study the risks of future outbreaks.

Emails since released through public records requests show that Daszak secretly organized the February 19, 2020 Lancet letter, which established a veneer of 'scientific consensus' and quashed debate.

The Science Feedback article (excerpted above) prominently quoted the Lancet letter that Daszak secretly organized to quash theories that COVID-19 escaped from a lab

For news publishers, being labeled false information by Facebook can have serious consequences

Controversial gain-of-function research boosts the infectivity of pathogens and makes them more LETHAL Gain of function is controversial research that involves boosting the infectivity and lethality of a pathogen. PROPONENTS SAY: It helps researchers spot potential threats to human health and allows them to figure out ways to tackle a new virus. Dr. Fauci has advocated for gain-of-function research in the past, including a 2011 op-ed he co-wrote that promoted it as a means to study influenza viruses. CRITICS SAY: It's a risky endeavor that puts human lives at stake. In 2014, the US government paused new funding of gain-of-function research on influenza, MERS and SARS to address concerns about risks and benefits. The pause was backed by over 300 scientists called the Cambridge Working Group. In December 2017, the US government lifted the pause and announced a new framework called 'Potential Pandemic Pathogen Care and Oversight' for evaluating whether funding should be granted. Research for 'enhanced potential pandemic pathogens' would be allowed if it was 'essential to protecting global health and security.' The review process is highly classified, and names of reviewers or details of the experiments are not released. Advertisement

Daszak urged colleagues involved in gain-of-function research not to sign the letter, in order to obscure the connection, telling one: 'We'll then put it out in a way that doesn't link it back to our collaboration so we maximize an independent voice.'

Relying on the Science Feedback article citing the Lancet letter, Facebook swiftly cracked down on articles exploring the lab leak theory, including a February 23, 2020 opinion piece for the New York Post by Steven Mosher.

The article was titled: 'Dont buy Chinas story: The coronavirus may have leaked from a lab.'

'The piece was widely read online  until Facebook stepped in,' the Post's editorial board wrote of the incident.

Facebook quickly reduced the spread of the article and slapped a 'false information' label on top of it, along with a link to the Science Feedback post 'debunking' the lab leak theory.

For news publishers, being labeled false information by Facebook can have serious consequences.

Facebook severely limits the spread of articles it deems debunked, pushing them far down in the News Feed, if they appear at all.

Anyone who tries to share a 'debunked' article on the social media site is met with blaring warnings that they are spreading 'false information'.

Though Facebook's system of 'strikes' against a publisher is opaque, a news organization that repeatedly publishes articles deemed false information can see the reach of all their articles reduced.

Publishers could also see warning labels blazed across their Facebook Pages if the company repeatedly labels their posts false information.

Facebook did not immediately respond to questions from DailyMail.com on Saturday morning about its fact-checking procedures and Daszak's role in its early determinations on how to assess theories on the pandemic origins.

Daszak declined to answer questions from DailyMail.com reporters who visited his home on Friday, instead warning them to 'leave the area and never come back' and calling police.

Daszak has also not yet responded to a list of 34 questions about his involvement with the Wuhan lab that the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent him in April, despite a May 17 deadline to respond.

Publishers can see warning labels blazed across their Facebook Pages if the company repeatedly labels their posts false information

Daszak declined to answer questions from DailyMail.com reporters who visited his home on Friday, instead warning them to 'leave the area and never come back' and calling police

In its April 16 letter, the congressional committee asked Daszak to provide details of what federal funds were passed on to the WIV, what information they have on bat viruses worked on at the lab that are closely related to Covid-19, and what his charity knows about a mysterious database of virus genomes held by the lab taken offline in 2019.

The letter asked a total 34 questions and gave a deadline of May 17, 2021  but has still received no response, a source close to the committee told DailyMail.com.

'Total silence. They seem to be refusing to acknowledge anything from us,' the source said.

After more than a year of censoring debate over the lab-leak theory, Facebook reversed course in late May, as President Joe Biden revealed that elements of the intelligence community consider the lab leak origin a likely scenario.

'In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured from our apps,' Facebook said in a statement.

'Were continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge.'

Now one of the original lab leak deniers calls for a 'thorough investigation' into Covid's origin as he admits 'a lot of disturbing information' has surfaced since he signed Lancet letter denouncing theory

By Joe Davies For Mailonline

Dr Peter Palese, a professor of microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, has U-turned after previously supporting a letter denying that COVID-19 could've leaked from a Wuhan lab

One of the 27 Covid lab leak deniers who signed a letter denouncing the theory that the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan has now called for a 'thorough investigation' into Covid's origins, MailOnline can reveal.

Dr Peter Palese, a microbiologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, signed the letter in the Lancet in February last year claiming the virus could only have been natural in origin and to suggest otherwise would create 'fear, rumors, and prejudice'.

The 'bullying' letter, orchestrated by Dr Peter Daszak, the head of a non-profit that funnelled U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was criticized by experts for ostracizing anyone offering different opinions on the virus' origins, dismissing them as conspiracy theorists.

It is only now, nearly 16 months after that letter was published in the world-renowned medical journal, that the theory Covid was accidentally leaked from a lab in Wuhan is being looked at seriously.

US President Joe Biden last week ordered intelligence agencies to launch a probe into whether Covid was man-made after all. But China immediately hit back and called the suggestion a 'conspiracy'.

And now Professor Palese, 77, has made a significant U-turn, admitting all theories on how Covid came about now need proper investigating.

He told MailOnline: 'I believe a thorough investigation about the origin of the Covid-19 virus is needed.

'A lot of disturbing information has surfaced since the Lancet letter I signed, so I want to see answers covering all questions.'

Asked how he was originally approached to sign the letter and what new information had come to light specifically, Professor Palese declined to comment.

Pictured: Security personnel keep watch outside Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team in February

Who signed the letter in The Lancet? Peter Daszak, EcoHealth Alliance, New York Charles Calisher, Colorado State University Dennis Carroll, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Texas Rita Colwell, University of Maryland Ronald Corley, NEIDL Institute, Boston Christian Drosten, Charite  Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Germany Luis Enjuanes, National Center of Biotechnology, Madrid Jeremy Farrar, The Wellcome Trust, London Hume Field, EcoHealth Alliance, New York Josie Golding, The Wellcome Trust, London Alexander Gorbalenya, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands Bart Haagmans, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands James Hughes, Emory University, Atlanta William Karesh, EcoHealth Alliance, New York Gerald Keusch, Boston University Sai Kit Lam, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Juan Lubroth, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy John Mackenzie, Curtin University, Perth, Australia Larry Madoff, Massachusetts Medical School Jonna Mazet, University of California at Davis Peter Palese, Icahn School of Medicine, New York Stanley Perlman, University of Iowa Leo Poon, The University of Hong Kong Bernard Roizman, University of Chicago Linda Saif, The Ohio State University Kanta Subbarao, The University of Melbourne, Australia Mike Turner, The Wellcome Trust, London Advertisement

Palese spoke out as America's leading pandemic expert Dr Anthony Fauci continues to face fevered calls to resign after emails revealed that leading virus experts warned Covid could be man-made even as he downplayed the possibility.

The emails also showed he communicated with Dr Daszak, the head of the non-profit that funnelled U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan lab.

Biden threw his support behind the embattled expert on Friday, saying: 'Yes I'm very confident in Dr Fauci.'

Another scientist who signed the letter, Dr Jeremy Farrar - director of the Wellcome Trust in London - declined to comment on the Fauci allegations but said it remains 'most likely' the virus came from an animal but 'there are other possibilities which cannot be completely ruled out and retaining an open mind is critical'.

Dr. Daszak - a key architect of the Lancet letter - runs the New York-based, tax payer-funded non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, which has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

He worked with the lab's so-called 'bat woman' Shi Zhengli as they investigated and modified coronaviruses.

Shi, 57, proved that horseshoe bats were behind a SARS virus that killed nearly 800 people in 2002 and has collected thousands of samples from bat caves.

Dr Daszak was one four Brits to sign the letter, including SAGE advisor Sir Jeremy Farrar and two other experts working for the Welcome Trust at the time. The letters' signatories included four others who worked for EcoHealth.

Jamie Metzl, who sits on the World Health Organization's advisory committee on human genome editing and is a form Bill Clinton administration staffer, said Dr Daszak's letter was a 'form of thuggery'.

He said: The Lancet letter was scientific propaganda and a form of thuggery and intimidation.

By labeling anyone with different views a conspiracy theorist, the Lancet letter was the worst form of bullying in full contravention of the scientific method.

MailOnline has approached the letters' other signatories for comment.

One of them, Dr Jeremy Farrar - who sits on the UK Government's SAGE scientific advisory panel and who spoke with Fauci and others in early 2020 - said in a statement: 'The origins of Sars-Cov-2 are not yet certain  it is possible the origin will never be fully established  but nature is a powerful force and, in my view, the most likely scenario is that the virus crossed from animals to humans and then evolved in humans.

'The best scientific evidence available to date points to this. It is most likely it crossed the species barrier to infect and then adapt to humans at some point in 2019, but there are other possibilities which cannot be completely ruled out and retaining an open mind is critical. There is no place for unsubstantiated rumour, or conspiracy theories often fuelled for political purposes.

'Understanding the origins of this disease, and any zoonotic infection, is absolutely critical to successfully preventing future outbreaks and protecting lives globally. The answers can only be found in robust scientific evidence, with full transparency from all involved. There has been too much conjecture and theory without data or evidence, although still there is not enough transparency.'

A Freedom of Information Act request revealed Dr Daszak told his fellow signatories in an email that the letter would not be sent under the EcoHealth logo 'and will not be identifiable as coming from any one organization of person'.

The emails show he even considered not signing the letter himself, although in the end he did.

The idea, he said was for it to be coming from 'a community supporting our colleagues'.

The letter  titled 'Statement in support of the scientists, public health professionals, and medical professionals of China combatting Covid-19'  praised the Chinese 'who continue to save lives and protect global health during the challenge of the Covid-19 outbreak'.

It went on to add: 'We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid-19 does not have a natural origin.

'Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumors and prejudices that jeopardize our global collaboration in the fight against the virus.'

It ended with the words: 'We declare no competing interests.'

Dr Peter Daszak, 55, from Manchester, orchestrated a behind-the-scenes bullying campaign to ensure blame for Covid was directed away from a Chinese lab with which he had worked closely.

Dr Daszack worked with the lab's so-called 'bat woman' Shi Zhengli (pictured left) as they investigated and modified coronaviruses. Shi, 57, proved that horseshoe bats were behind a SARS virus that killed nearly 800 people in 2002 and has collected thousands of samples from bat caves

The letter proved so influential that it virtually ended debate on the origin of Covid for more than a year.

Anyone who suggested it could have been man-made was shot down amid accusations of anti-Chinese xenophobia.

Robert Redfield, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control told Vanity Fair he received death threats after floating the theory that the virus could have been man-made.

He said: 'I was threatened and ostracized because I proposed another hypothesis. I expected it from politicians. I didnt expect it from science.'

The theory the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology was originally dismissed by left-leaning media outlets last year as a conspiracy theory after it was mentioned by then-President Donald Trump.

But they have now changed course with the launch of the US investigation.

Liberal US outlets, who slammed Mr Trump when he said a year ago said he had 'a high degree of confidence' that the virus escaped from a lab, have finally conceded that he may have been right  after a year ridiculing the suggestion.

The lab-leak theory was bolstered last week after it was revealed three workers at the Wuhan lab were hospitalized in November, 2019, months before Covid was first discovered in China.

China claims the virus was transmitted to humans from an animal host, with bats and pangolins both named as potential sources. Many scientists agree that is the most likely theory.

Professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge Ravi Gupta, a member of Nervtag, said the theory has not yet been investigated with 'scientific rigor'.

He told The Telegraph: 'The possibility was not adequately explored due to lack of access to primary records by the WHO group. Lab leak has not been scientifically rejected as a cause using [the] scientific rigor that one would expect.'

A soon to be published report by a team of British and Norwegian experts suggests it is possible to trace the creation of the virus to research in China that began in 2008.

Professor David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University, said the theory needs to be investigated by an international consortium of scientists in collaboration with the UN.

He said: 'Ideally, an investigation would rely on an international consortium of scientists under the auspices of many national academies of science working in partnership, in collaboration with an international governance entity, the UN Secretary Generals Office, or something of that sort.'

And Harvard epidemiologist Professor Marc Lipsitch said a lab escape scenario 'remains plausible enough that it should be looked into rigorously'.

He told the paper: 'This is not a fringe position, given that multiple European governments and Dr Tedros have said the same.'

He said that while scientists are not saying a lab origin is more likely than a natural one, a thorough investigation is needed to reveal the cause of the pandemic.

As Dr Daszak's links to the Wuhan lab become clearer, more questions are being asked about his influence over the WHO team that went to China in January and stayed for four weeks searching for answers.

The team was met with resistance in China. Authorities there made them quarantine for two weeks in Wuhan and barred two members completely after they tested positive for coronavirus antibodies.

But critics say the WHO researchers were too cozy with Chinese authorities, who are desperate not to shoulder the blame for a worldwide death toll now approaching 3.6 million.

They claim its members may have been influenced by a tour they took round a propaganda museum which described Wuhans fight against the virus and the leading role taken by President Xi Jinping.
A devastated mother has opened up about the seemingly innocent signals that led to her child being diagnosed with cancer.

Nadia Cali and Anthony Nesci's 3-year-old daughter Amelia Nesci was a normal, happy, healthy and fun-loving child but subtle changes in her behaviour started appearing earlier this year.

Amelia began being a picky eater and was less interested in going outside to play prompting the couple to take her to a number of medical professionals who could find nothing wrong.

Then on May 25 she developed a nosebleed that would not stop - lasting for two hours by the time they reached Royal Children's Hospital in their home city of Melbourne.

Amelia has jus started her chemotherapy treatment (pictured in hospital)

The three-year-old was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia which has a good chance of remission with current treatments

'It didn't look right, the blood was very pale and coming out like tap water,' Nadia told 7NEWS.com.au.

Amelia was weak and near-fainting when she arrived with a blood test revealing she had a shockingly low white blood cell count.

She underwent multiple tests including a spinal tap a couple of days later and on Thursday night her parent's fears were realised after doctors diagnosed her with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

This is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow - the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.

'A lot of that day is a big blur. I remember the doctor telling me those words [that she had cancer] but after that I don't remember anything,' Ms Cali said.

The cancer is the most common type in children with Amelia's mother saying she showed subtle signs such as not wanting to play outside and being picky with her food

According to the Mayo Clinic the cancer is the most commonly found in children.

The medical institution also lists other symptoms of the cancer - along with severe nosebleeds - as lethargy, bleeding from the gums, pale skin, frequent infections, and bone pain.

There is a good chance for a cure with current treatments - but they are lengthy and expensive.

A family friend has setup a GoFundMe page for the the family to help with Amelia's medical bills.

A friend has setup a GoFundMe page for the family to help with Amelia's lengthy and expensive treatment

She started chemotherapy on Friday - along with regular tests, medications and antibiotics - and doctors are hoping for a good outcome by February.

Ms Cali has three other children to care for, with the entire family's world turned upside down by the diagnosis, with her and her partner traveling from Sunshine in the outer suburbs to Parkville each day to be by Amelia's side.

After just recently returning to work as a teachers' aide she has had to stop to look after Amelia full-time.

Ms Cali hopes by speaking about her daughter's situation, other parents will be more aware of the signs to watch out for.
After health authorities in Victoria quietly extended the state of emergency for the 17th time since the pandemic began, Melburnians once again have no idea what the immediate future holds.

On Tuesday, Victoria's under fire Labor government signed off to extend its powers for another four weeks - meaning the Andrews regime can hold almost seven million Australians in lockdown until July 1.

The extension of the state of emergency powers does not mean lockdown will remain in place until July 1, but it does give the government the power to do so.

On Thursday, when the lockdown is due to end, the government could either decide to extend it - or to ease restrictions as it did for regional Victoria.

The extension of the state of emergency powers doesn't necessarily mean lockdown will remain in place until July 1, but gives the government the power to do so

Health Minister Martin Foley made the decision after holding talks with Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton (pictured), who has been described by senior figures in the Victorian government as a 'catastrophist'

The Andrews Government first brought in the state of emergency on March 16, 2020

Greater Melbourne remains in lockdown with residents and businesses unhappy politicians are sitting back and letting health officers decide what will be done

Victoria recorded five new local infections on Saturday, bringing the state's outbreak to 70 cases and sparking fears Melbourne's Stage 3 lockdown will be extended for a second consecutive time.

Health Minister Martin Foley made the decision to extend the state of emergency after holding talks with Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, who has been described by senior figures in the Victorian government as a 'catastrophist'.

The Andrews Government, currently helmed by Acting Premier James Merlino, first brought in the state of emergency on March 16, 2020.

It was initially set to remain in place for four weeks, but has since been extended 17 times.

The state emergency was signed off to 'assist with measures designed to 'flatten the curve' of Covid-19 and give our health system the best chance of managing the virus', Mr Andrews - who is currently on medical leave - said last year.

The powers of the order include 'detaining people, restricting movement and preventing entry to premises', through lockdowns, mandatory mask wearing and hotel quarantine.

Mr Foley remained tight lipped about when a decision will be made on extending the state's lockdown.

'There is no simple answer,' he said, when asked about a potential date.

'Clearly, as we approach next Thursday, the kind of facts we have been going through here, the evidence, what cases (we are) aware (of), either linked or unlinked, have we got the support around them.

'How we got the evidence that Professor Lewin was talking about, as to knowing where they've come from.'

Melbourne is now in its second week of strict lockdown, with Mr Foley non-committal about planned easing of restrictions on June 10.

Three of the five are direct primary close contacts of existing cases and have been in quarantine for their entire infectious period.

The remaining two are 'unlinked' to any known cases and were infectious in the community.

Melbourne is now in its second week of strict lockdown, with Mr Foley non-committal about planned easing of restrictions on June 10

Victoria recorded five new local infections on Saturday, bringing the state's outbreak to 70 cases

One of the mystery cases had been a regular visitor to Craigieburn Central shopping centre and came forward as a result of efforts to test heavily in the area.

Three of the five new cases linked to primary close contacts include two connected to the families with the Delta virus strain, bringing that cluster to nine.

A child of one of the families has tested positive, as well as an adult family friend.

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The presence of this strain, which has caused devastation in the UK and India, is of concern to authorities because it is unknown how the family contracted it.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Victorians continued to protest the government's lockdown measures in the CBD.

Police arrested two people and handed out 16 fines for failing to provide names and addresses and travelling outside 10km limits. Three people were fined for not wearing a mask.

The entire state was first locked down at the end of May for seven days - due to end at the start of winter on June 3 - but just one day before residents planned to return to their semi-normal lives, the government announced Greater Melbourne would be forced to stay locked inside their houses for an additional seven days.

The extension of the state of emergency powers doesn't mean lockdown will remain in place until July 1, but gives the government the power to do so

With the new Indian 'Delta' variant that has wreaked havoc amongst a billion-strong population overseas being detected in the state, residents fear the leading health officers may extend the dreaded lockdown again (pictured in Melbourne)

With the new Indian 'Delta' variant that has wreaked havoc amongst a billion-strong population overseas being detected in the state, residents fear the leading health officers may extend the dreaded lockdown again.

This is despite the highest number of infections on a single day in the latest outbreak, which started on May 4, being 12 - with every other day reporting total community transmission of between three to six cases despite tens of thousands of tests.

During Victoria's emergency lockdown meeting almost two weeks ago Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews - the North Face-wearing voice of reason throughout the state's most gruelling 2020 lockdown - was nowhere to be seen, either in person or on Zoom, when it was decided that drastic measures would need to be taken.

As he is still recovering from a spinal injury, Mr Andrews had spoken to Acting Premier James Merlino earlier that day and was waiting for more updates after the meeting concluded.

Instead it was Prof Sutton who led the fast-paced one hour discussion before it was decided the state would be locked down the following day when cases were linked to the infectious Indian Kappa variant.

The news was understandably a disappointment for the business sector, who were never consulted.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been demoted on the official Royal Family website since they left their senior roles and moved to the US.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now listed below Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, as well as the Princess Royal and the Duke of York on the official site.

The Prince of Wales' growing role as an active heir preparing to ascend to the throne is reflected in his own promotion to the top of the Royal Family' section on www.royal.uk.

The Queen has been removed and is instead featured higher on the page.

Despite the reshuffle, the website still claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be 'balancing their time' between the UK and the US.

It comes as Prince Edward and his wife the Countess of Wessex took part in their first major interview since their marriage in 1999.

The couple shared a laugh over Harry and Meghan's controversial Oprah interview as they insisted the royals remain a family 'no matter what happens'.

It was recently revealed Sophie is one of four loyal, discreet and utterly trustworthy women of the Queens inner circle who are offering crucial support as she faces life without her beloved Prince Philip, who died on April 9, aged 99.

 Slide me  How the website looks now, left, and how it used to look on April 22, right. Of the website change, Buckingham Palace told MailOnline it had no comment 'other than that we refresh the website regularly'

Of the website change, Buckingham Palace told MailOnline it had no comment 'other than that we refresh the website regularly'.

Elsewhere, the Princess Royal was moved up five places to sit below the Duchess of Cambridge on the website page. And the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent were added to the bottom, just beneath the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Under the Duke and Duchess of Sussex the website reads: 'They are continuing to honour their duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and their patronages.

'Frogmore Cottage in the UK remains their family home.

'The Duchess will continue to support a number of charitable causes and organisations which reflect the issues with which she has long been associated including the arts, access to education, support for women and animal welfare.'

Royal fans were confused when the official website went down briefly, and quickly spotted the changes once it was set live again.

One tweeted: '@KensingtonRoyal @RoyalFamily still have #meghanmarkle #princeharry in the royal website? Why?

'They are not working royals and they aren't "dividing their time between the UK and North America" why are they being promoted on the website?'

The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral was the first time Prince Harry returned to the UK since he and his wife Meghan stepped down from their senior royal positions.

It comes as another blow following revelations the Earl and Countess of Wessex will join Prince Charles in a slimmed down monarchy.

Yesterday, speaking in their first major interview together since they married in 1999, the Earl and Countess of Wessex jokingly asked 'Oprah who?' and 'what interview?' when quizzed on whether they watched Harry and Meghan's bombshell sit down with the US chat show host

Harry and Meghan previously complained they felt 'pushed out' by the Firm following their decision to step down from their senior rank.

Yesterday, speaking in their first major interview together since they married in 1999, the Earl and Countess of Wessex jokingly asked 'Oprah who?' and 'what interview?' when quizzed on whether they watched Harry and Meghan's bombshell sit down with the US chat show host.

They also reflected on Prince Philip a little over a month since his funeral - with Prince Edward describing how coronavirus restrictions created an 'extremely odd' ceremony, and the particularly poignant moment 'when everything stopped'.

In the Wessexes' first public comments since that momentous day, Sophie explained: 'We are still a family no matter what happens, we always will be.'

The Countess of Wessex also admitted to having a 'lengthy chat' with Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April.

A royal source previously commented on the Countess of Wessex' close relationship with the Queen. Sophie is like another daughter to the Queen, they are that close, they said. She is trusted and relied on like few others

Sophie and her husband the Earl of Wessex, who married at Windsor Castle 22 years ago, said they were 'flattered' to be taking on a more prominent role in a slimmed-down monarchy since Harry and Meghan's move to California.

In an interview with The Telegraph Magazine, Sophie said she had a 'lengthy chat' with Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April.

Speaking on the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April, Prince Edward, 57, said: 'It was extraordinarily odd walking into St George's Chapel and finding the nave completely empty.

'It's always difficult with these kinds of things because you're in the middle of it, so you've got no idea what it necessarily looks like from the outside.

Prince Andrew sported a striped rugby shirt with royal insignia today as he went for an early morning horse ride in Windsor with a female groom

Donning dark sunglasses, a helmet, and riding slacks the Prince of York, 61, who lives at the nearby royal lodge, looked at ease as he enjoyed the June sunshine

'It became really poignant to be there because it was suddenly so very intimate.'

A royal source previously commented on the Countess of Wessex' close relationship with the Queen.

Sophie is like another daughter to the Queen, they are that close, they said. She is trusted and relied on like few others.

The pair are said to speak at least once a day and enjoy regular Saturday movie afternoons when they watch old films together.

Prince Andrew was snapped sported a striped rugby shirt with royal insignia this morning as he went for an early morning horse ride in Windsor with a female groom.

The Duke of York, 61, appeared in high spirits for the day out as he waved from atop the horse.

The Queen's second son, pictured today, recently became a grandfather for the first time when Princess Eugenie welcomed son August Brooksbank in February.

The reports come as royal experts predicted the Duke of York was 'trying to rehabilitate himself' and get back into the royal fold - despite his brother Prince Charles pushing plans for a slimmed-down monarchy.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that Andrew would 'obviously like to be rehabilitated', but must first answer FBI questions on his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
A father of four has an entire tower block in Birmingham to himself after he refused to leave his home which is set to be torn down.

Ezekiel Hermon, 46, has lived in his 11th floor flat in Saxelby House, in Druids Heath for 25 years, but has been the sole resident of the block of flats since last September.

Around 100 residents have moved out of the 12 storey high building to new accommodation amid plans to tear the flat down in favour of affordable housing as part of a 43million regeneration scheme.

Ezekiel Hermon, 46, has sayed in the two-bedroom apartment on the 11th floor of the now empty block and sleeps on the sofa when his children come to visit him

But, Mr Hermon said Birmingham City Council failed to provide any offers of suitable alternative accommodation which could allow for his four children he shares with his ex-partner to stay.

He has stayed in the two-bedroom apartment on the 11th floor and sleeps on the sofa when his children, two girls aged seven and eight, and two boys, aged 12 and 14, come to visit.

Earlier this week, the council put forward another offer for a two=bed flat inside a retirement tower block.

Mr Hermon previously rejected the council's offer for a two bedroom flat, telling the Hull Daily Mail: 'They have offered me two-bed flats in retirement homes, but I'm not retired, I'm 46 and have four children.'

He said that he intends to turn the offer down again.

Ezekiel Hermon, 46, has lived in his 11th floor flat in Saxelby House, in Druids Heath for 25 years, but has been the sole resident of the block of flats since last September

'I just feel sick because they said they will not do it [offer the same accommodation] again and now they have. The council has offered me a retirement block again,' he told Birmingham Live.

An online petition to find a 'decent home for Ezekiel and all of Druids Heath' has gathered more than 200 signatures.

The petition states: 'Ezekiel's neighbours have all been cleared from the block as part of the regeneration the council has imposed upon the area.

'Ezekiel has been on his own in the block for seven months and desperately wants to leave too - the block is unsafe, cold and scary now it's empty.

'Some residents were lucky to find a property they were happy with. But more are unhappy: they have been made to move far away from schools, jobs and their families, or accept properties in poor condition.

A petition to find a 'decent home for Ezekiel' has gathered more than 200 signatures.

'Ezekiel and all his neighbours must be treated fairly.'

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: 'Although we are in the unfortunate position of having to seek possession of his tenancy as we have made reasonable offers of accommodation, in the interest of coming to an amicable solution, we are continuing to look for suitable alternative properties in line with Mr Hermon's property size eligibility in the hope that he accepts one.'
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England's 'Freedom Day' on June 21 may be delayed for two weeks by Boris Johnson, it was reported on Saturday.

According to ITV News, government sources have said that plans are being made to push the lifting of coronavirus measures back to July 5 to allow more people to get the second dose of Covid vaccinations.

'Government sources have again stressed that no decision has been made but I understand that in private other plans are being drawn up,' ITV's correspondent Richard Pallot said on Saturday evening.

'If there was a two-week delay then in theory all over 50s would get a chance of a second vaccine,' he added.

It was reported on Friday that secret plans were being worked on to delay the lifting of measures by two weeks in addition to retaining social distancing and limits of crowds past Freedom Day.

Saturday's report comes after a government scientist warned that pushing ahead with a full reopening later this month in England would be 'foolish' and a 'major risk', which followed Covid cases jumping by 70 per cent in a week on Saturday, reaching 5,765. However, health chief insisted vaccines do 'break the chain'.

There is currently enough evidence to say that due to the spread of the Indian variant, one of the Government's four key tests for its road map out of lockdown has not been met, Professor Stephen Reicher said.

Multiple reports have suggested plans to lift all restrictions on June 21 could be scaled down, with social distancing and the wearing of face coverings set to continue amid concerns that the variant that originated in India, now known as Delta, is fuelling a surge in cases.

On Friday the UK recorded its highest number of new confirmed coronavirus cases - 6,238 - since late March, according to official figures. Saturday's figure was down slightly at 5,765 lab-confirmed cases.

Meanwhile figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested the number of people who had the virus in England has increased by around three-quarters in a week, taking it to its highest tally since mid-April, with the R value between 1 and 1.2.

Prof Reicher, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B) which advises the Government, said the criteria about the current assessment of the risks not being fundamentally changed by new variants of concern is 'not upheld'.

'I think by the Government's own criteria it's quite clear that it would be foolish to proceed on the data that we've got at the moment. The risk would be very great indeed,' the professor told the PA news agency.

'And of course it's a balance of risks but I think it would be a major risk to go further in opening up.'

He added: 'Again, I make the point that it is about data not dates, and if you make it too much about the dates then you box yourself into a corner and I think that's what the Government has done.'

A UK Government spokeswoman said 'no decision' had been made on whether to ease all coronavirus restrictions on June 21, amid reports Boris Johnson could delay the move by at least a fortnight.

'As the Prime Minister has set out, we can see nothing in the data at the moment to suggest that we need to deviate from the roadmap,' said the spokeswoman.

'We continue to look at the data and the latest scientific evidence and no decision on Step 4 has yet been made.'

Professor Reicher's comments come as more surge testing is to be rolled out in another part of the country amid community spread of the Delta variant, with everyone aged 12 and above in some postcodes in Reading and Wokingham offered PCR testing from Monday.

England's 'Freedom Day' on June 21 may be delayed for two weeks by Boris Johnson, it was reported on Saturday. According to ITV News, government sources have said that plans are being made to push the lifting of coronavirus measures back to July 5 to allow more people to get the second dose of Covid vaccinations

Hundreds of young people queued outside the Hunter Street Health Centre in London this afternoon despite the glorious weather so they could receive a Covid-19 jab

Many of the young people queuing up for their jabs were students attending universities across London

The government is now urging young people to come forward and get vaccinated as they are now at the highest risk of infection due to the high levels of compliance among older generations

Saturday is the third day in a row cases have exceeded 5,000. But last weekend was a bank holiday, which may have reduced the number of cases and deaths being recorded, boosting week-on-week growth rates.

Thirteen more Covid deaths were also reported today  rising 85.7 per cent on last Saturday's figure  though numbers are still so low fluctuations are expected week-on-week.

Meanwhile, Britain's vaccine roll-out has continued at pace, with 174,535 first doses dished out across the UK yesterday, taking the country's total to 40.1million.

Some 360,691 second doses were also given out, meaning nearly 27.2million people are fully vaccinated in the country (51.6 per cent).

Covid jabs do 'break the chain' between catching coronavirus and becoming seriously ill, an NHS boss said today  giving hope that lockdown restrictions could still be lifted on 'Freedom Day' this month despite the uptick in cases.

Chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson said the number of people in hospital with the Indian 'Delta' variant was not increasing 'very significantly'.

And many of those in hospital in Bolton  which has the highest number of cases of the Indian variant in England  were younger than in previous waves of the pandemic therefore less at risk of serious complications, he added.

It was today announced that all over-12s in areas of Berkshire will be subject to surge Covid testing in a bid to tackle a community outbreak of the Indian strain.

Director of public health for Berkshire West, Meradin Peachey, said the surge in cases is mainly among young people, with 'virtually nobody over 60 or anyone who has been vaccinated' affected.

And in London today, pictures showed long lines of over-18s queuing to get their first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at Belmont Health Centre in Harrow.

A similar drive took place at the Hunter Street Health Centre in Camden where huge crowds of young people gathered for the sought-after jab.

It follows a one-off event at Twickenham Stadium last weekend which saw officials attempt to shift 15,000 Pfizer doses to anyone aged over 18 - with huge queues snaking along the tarmac for miles.

Mr Hopson's assessment echoes that of Matt Hancock who yesterday cautioned that the link between Covid cases and deaths has been 'broken but not completely severed' by vaccines - as the number of positive tests spiked again to 6,238 and 11 more deaths were recorded.

The Health Secretary was speaking at a meeting of G7 health ministers in Oxford on Friday when he said: 'We always expected cases to rise as the as the country was opened up, the critical thing is the impact on the number of people who end up in hospital for any given number of cases. That link has been broken by the vaccine, but it hasn't been completely severed yet.'

Today, pictures showed long lines of over-18s queuing to get their first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at Belmont Health Centre in Harrow

A similar drive took place at the Hunter Street Health Centre in Camden where huge crowds of young people gathered for the sought-after jab

At the Hunter Street Health Centre in Camden, huge groups rushed to get the vaccine on Saturday

The long queues in Harrow (pictured) follow a one-off event at Twickenham Stadium last weekend which saw officials attempt to shift 15,000 Pfizer doses to anyone aged over 18 - with huge queues snaking along the tarmac for miles

People queuing to go into Belmont Health Centre in Harrow which is offering a first dose of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to anyone aged over 18 on Saturday and Sunday

Queues snaked along the pavement in Harrow today where huge groups of over-18s queued to get their vaccines

Chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson said the number of people in hospital with the Indian 'Delta' variant was not increasing 'very significantly'

Public Health England data show that just 0.07 per cent of confirmed Indian variant cases were admitted to hospital despite having had two doses of a vaccine, compared to 0.95 per cent of unvaccinated people. Significantly more unvaccinated people also went to A&E or died after catching the virus. Having had a single dose of a jab offered middling protection but experts say that now the Indian strain is dominant it is crucial that people get both jabs

Figures published on Thursday night showed that just seven out of 9,427 people to have been infected with the new strain by the end of May were admitted to hospital - even though they had had two doses of a vaccine (0.07 per cent).

By comparison, 90 unvaccinated people were admitted in the same time (0.95 per cent) and PHE warned in a report that the risk of admission to hospital with the new strain may be 2.6 times higher than it was for the Kent variant, meaning that people who haven't had a jab are now at a higher risk than they were with previous strains.

The Government is scrambling to get jabs to as many people as possible. Last night it was reported that ministers plan to cut wait times between Covid-19 vaccination doses for over 40s from twelve weeks to eight weeks as ministers battle to save 'Freedom Day' on June 21.

Over-25s will be offered their first doses of the vaccine from next week, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Hopson told BBC Breakfast today: 'The people who came in this time round were actually a lot younger and were a lot less at risk of very serious complication, less at risk of death, and what that means is that they were less demand on critical care.

'What we think we can start to say now, based on that experience, is that it does look as though the vaccines have broken the chain between catching Covid-19 and potentially being very, very seriously ill and potentially dying.'

Britons seeking to avoid being forced into self-isolation upon their return to the UK have been queuing up for Covid-19 tests outside Faro Airport in the Algarve today

Transport secretary Grant Shapps announced that from 4am on Tuesday Portugal would be placed on the UK's amber list, wrecking the holiday plans of thousands of Britons

Shapps claimed the move was necessary as the level of Covid-19 infection was growing in Portugal, though the decision was criticised by the travel industry and the government in Lisbon

Mr Hopson said in the most recent phase of the pandemic the number of people in hospital in Bolton with Covid-19 peaked at 50, compared to 170 in November and 150 in January and February.

'Infection rates have been increasing in a number of different places,' Mr Hopson said.

'We know that the hospitalisations are increasing, the rates of people coming into hospital in those areas are rising. But they are not rising very significantly.'

But speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mr Hopson still urged caution. He said: 'There is still risk here. We can't just go into June 21 and say 'hey there's not a problem here'. There are some very important risks to manage.'

Of the 12,431 Indian variant cases so far confirmed in the UK, 10,797 are in England, 1,511 in Scotland, 97 in Wales and 26 in Northern Ireland.

In England, the cases are spread across the country, and the most affected areas include Bolton in Greater Manchester (2,149 cases), Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire (724), Bedford (608), Leicester (349), Manchester (278) and Birmingham (223).

As the Government launches another major vaccine push, officials are reportedly drawing up secret plans to delay the end of the country's restrictions by two weeks until July after the UK's daily coronavirus infections rose again - with the number of people in the country with Covid-19 rising by 75 percent.

Today it was announced that surge testing is to be rolled out in areas of Berkshire in an attempt to tackle the spread of the Indian variant.

Everyone aged 12 and above in specific postcode areas of Reading and Wokingham will be offered PCR testing over the next two weeks from Monday after the strain was found to be spreading in the community.

Ms Peachey, director of public health for Berkshire West, said cases are mainly among young people, with 'virtually nobody over 60 or anyone who has been vaccinated'.

She told BBC Breakfast: 'What's happened in the last couple of weeks, especially in the last week, we've noticed that a lot of cases now coming through we can't link to any travellers, which means we now have community transmission.'

She said a 'big concern' is that continued spread could lead to more mutations.

She added: 'If the variant spreads and becomes even more, it may mutate again and the big concern is that vaccines won't work and that's my big concern.

'We really want to get people tested and isolated if they've got the virus, stop the spread so that we can make sure the vaccination programme works.'

The extra testing and genomic sequencing is being offered in the RG1 3, RG1 5, RG1 6 and RG1 7 postcodes in Reading and in the Bulmershe and Whitegates, Evendons, Norreys, and Wescott areas of Wokingham, the Department of Health said.

Everyone aged 12 and over who lives or works in these areas is strongly encouraged to take a PCR test, whether or not they have Covid symptoms.

It comes after the Department of Health announced the launch of additional testing and genomic sequencing in Bradford, Canterbury and Maidstone after cases of the Delta variant were identified.

Epidemiologist Dr Adam Kucharski today said it could be 'hard to justify' easing further restrictions this month as the UK faced a different battle in the face of the dominance of the Indian variant.

Asked whether the June 21 target for unlocking made him 'nervous', the Government adviser told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think we have to accept the equation has changed here - we are not facing the virus that we were facing two months ago.

'If we were facing the B.117 (Kent) variant as the dominant one, the fact it (the vaccines) is working very well, case numbers are coming down nicely, we could have some more confidence that there could be reopening without seeing those surges.

'But we're not. Everyone is tired of this pandemic, they want this transition back to normality and that will happen, the effectiveness of two doses of the vaccine will eventually get us there.

'But if say in two weeks we're in a situation where hospitalisations have been rising, where local health systems are coming under pressure, I think it will be quite difficult to justify adding more transmission to that kind of situation.'

Dr Kucharski described the current graph of infections as 'U-shaped', with the vaccines having worked to quell infections from the Kent variant, but the Indian variant is now causing a fresh rise in cases.

He disagreed with Mr Hopson's assessment about vaccines quelling hospitalisation figures, instead saying the transmissibility of the Indian variant could see a 'big number' of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

Dr Kucharski - who is a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel - said there were a 'number of concerning signs' following early evidence that first dose vaccines are not as effective against the so-called Delta variant.

He added: 'I think it is particularly this increase in transmission that is potentially going to cause us considerable problems.

'We are getting estimates now firming up that we are looking at something potentially 40 to 60 per cent more transmissible than the B.117, the Kent variant that was dominant.

'And that means that infections are going to really come at us quite fast and we are seeing that in the cases now, and we saw that in the ONS data yesterday.'

Dr Kurcharski said the current picture meant that it was 'hard to be confident' that a 'big number' of people will not end up in hospital due to the spread of the Indian variant and the number of adults still unvaccinated in the UK.

Officials are also reportedly drawing up secret plans to delay the end of the country's coronavirus restrictions by two weeks until July after the UK's daily coronavirus infections rose again, with the number of people in the country with Covid-19 rising by 75 per cent

On Friday, ministers said they were doing 'everything we possible can' to speed up the process of inoculating the public, ahead of a crucial decision over whether ease restrictions on June 21.

The acceleration of second doses for over-50s has already been announced by the government, but the change is now expected to be announced for those over-40 when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) formally recommends the measure.

Speaking to The Telegraph, a government source said ministers 'want to double-dose as soon as possible', and hope that the acceleration with keep 'freedom day' as June 21.

However, the possibility of a two week delay to the lifting of restrictions is also being discussed, according to the newspaper, with a quicker vaccination programme potentially allowing over-40s to receive their second doses by July 5  two weeks after June 21  amid concerns over the Indian 'Delta' variant.

It comes as school leaders called for schoolchildren to be vaccinated before the start of the school holidays after UK regulators approved jabs for teenagers.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) yesterday approved the vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.

Hamid Patel, chief executive of the Star Academies trust based in Blackburn  the area of the country with the most cases of the Indian variant  said schoolchildren should be vaccinated as a matter of priority.

Dr Rosalind Eggo, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel, said with 'very early evidence' showing that the current vaccines on offer 'don't work quite as well against the Delta variant', it was important to increase the rate of second jabs.

'Getting those second doses up, pushing that number up as high as possible is really important,' she told BBC's Newsnight.

In a move already being lambasted by night-time economy chiefs, the i said it would likely see the Government backtrack on encouraging a return to the workplace, continue with the guidance to work from home if possible, and is also likely to continue with the policy of mask wearing and social distancing on public transport.

The newspaper also said social distancing in bars and restaurants is likely to remain, along with limits on audiences in theatres and cinemas.

In Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed he is considering keeping social-distancing restrictions in place for the rest of 2021, calling the two-metre measure 'one of the strongest defences that we have' against the virus.

But Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said keeping social distancing in place would threaten the viability of the sector.

'Sorry but leaving social distancing in place in pubs, restaurants, hotels and attractions means that June 21 is not freedom date at all,' she tweeted.

'It means that those businesses continue to operate at a loss and threatens the long term viability of businesses, jobs and the recovery.'

Sacha Lord, night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said he was 'up for a fight' over the possible shift.

'Hospitality is the fifth biggest industry in the UK - June 21 is make or break for many,' he said on social media.

No 10 sources said suggestions of a delay to the road map was 'speculation', with the Prime Minister telling broadcasters this week there was still 'nothing in the data at the moment that means we cannot go ahead with Step 4'.

The Health Secretary said the Government 'always expected cases to rise' as lockdown was eased, and that ministers were being 'tough' on international travel rules to preserve the route out of lockdown in the UK by preventing new variants from taking hold.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was warned not to 'more the goalposts' over Freedom Day after some MPs became concerned that the government's criteria for lifting measures have changed.

Some Tory ministers see the constant bombardment with data about increasing coronavirus cases in some areas of the country as a way of softening the bad news for the public, and say that while cases are rising, hospitalisations and Covid deaths are staying low.

Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of MPs, told the Daily Telegraph: 'The important data the Government needs to concentrate on is whether the vaccines are effective, and all the evidence shows that they are. The Government's four tests for unlocking on June 21 make no mention of case numbers, and if we're going to start panicking every time there is a new variant it doesn't bode well for the autumn.'

The Health Secretary was speaking at a meeting of G7 health ministers in Oxford yesterday when the case count surged by 1,000 more than yesterday at the end of a week of mounting evidence that Covid is coming back in the UK (Pictured: Matt Hancock bumps elbows with Sam Foster, chief nursing officer at Oxford University Hospital)

Ministers have asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) whether to give the jab to teenagers  the current rollout is set to stop at age 18 except for children with serious health conditions.

The JCVI  which normally rules who should get a vaccine  is expected to tell No10 that jabbing children is a 'political' decision and will leave the ball in ministers' court.

Teaching union and school leaders yesterday said starting vaccinating children soon could ensure they have had both jabs by the time they start the school year in September.

But vaccinating children against the virus is a controversial issue because youngsters only have a tiny risk of getting seriously ill and their immunity would likely only protect older adults.

More than 100 cross-party MPs and the World Health Organization have said the priority should be to get vaccine doses abroad to poorer countries where vulnerable people still haven't been jabbed before giving them to low-risk children.

Mr Patel told the Guardian: 'This is very welcome news. We now need to ensure that all teenagers have received at least the first jab before the summer holidays.

'Schools are best placed to accommodate vaccinations and the infrastructure is already in place for delivering inoculations.

'We will get much higher take-up if we ask youngsters to receive the jab in term time rather than when they are enjoying their holidays. This will also enable all of us to have a safer, freer and more normal summer.'

He said ensuring children are vaccinated will stop the Indian variant spreading rapidly in young people in hotspots in the country.

And Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, also urged the JCVI to consider expanding the roll-out to teenagers.

He said offering them the vaccine would 'protect the wider adult population who are at greater risk from Covid'.

Yesterday was the first time daily infections have risen above 6,000 since March 26, when the country was still under much stricter lockdown rules, and they are up 50 per cent compared to last week.

Government sources earlier in the week said it would give them cause for concern if daily cases were to rise above 5,000, because it would signal that the virus is growing exponentially.

England's 'Freedom Day' appears to be hanging in the balance amid the rapid spread of the highly infectious Indian variant, which is doubling in prevalence every nine days and is now the dominant strain in the country.

An Office for National Statistics report yesterday showed weekly Covid case numbers spiked 75 per cent last week to 86,000, and SAGE estimates the R rate is definitely above one and could be as high as 1.2.

Daily Covid infections have been steadily rising since late May when there were about 2,500 a day on average and the daily seven-day average now sits at 4,147 - a rise of more than 60 per cent.

No10 this week insisted that there was still 'nothing in the data' that suggested the crucial unlocking this month will not go ahead, but scientists are pushing for a slight delay. Proof that jabs work will hopefully give light at the end of the tunnel and mean any extension of social distancing would only be temporary while vaccines are rolled out - earlier lockdowns had been open-ended.

Evidence that vaccines work is coming in droves now as Public Health England data showed vaccines protect well against even the new variant when people have had two doses, slashing the risk of catching the virus and being admitted to hospital by up to 93 per cent.

The Government is scrambling to get jabs to as many people as possible and Department of Health statistics show 39.9million adults have now received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, more than three in four, and 26.7million have received both doses, more than half.
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Holidaymakers today jammed Faro airport in a bid to fly home from Portugal before Tuesday's 4am quarantine deadline.

Anyone arriving back in the UK from the southern European country after that time will have to self-isolate for 10 days following its removal from the green travel list.

As huge crowds of Britons tried to cram their way onto pricey return flights, the boss of industry body Airlines UK slammed the Government's 'broken promises', after minister pledged to give travellers increased warning about a country potentially coming off the safe list.

Tim Alderslade told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning: 'It would be a list of countries that were on the cusp or there was a risk that they would be moving from green to amber so passengers were aware of that, it was fully transparent and they would be taking that risk when they booked.

'It was entirely to stop what happened last summer when countries were moving up and down off the corridor list on a weekly basis and we saw people stranded overseas and then desperate to come home again because they couldn't afford to quarantine.

'It has caused complete pandemonium because we don't have that watchlist that we were promised by the Government and I think with the taskforce, the transparency is not there, we don't know what has to happen for countries to move from green to amber, or amber to green for that matter.'

Asked about the threat of the Nepal variant that ministers have said was behind the decision to move Portugal to the amber list, Mr Alderslade said: 'At the moment there is no consistency.

'It seems they are changing their mind and the criteria on a weekly basis and it is proving impossible for the industry to plan, but more to the point it is proving impossible for consumers, and I think consumer confidence will be shot to pieces because of this.

'It is really difficult now, if they are going to do this on a weekly basis, to see how we are going to have a summer season.'

Shapps claimed the move was necessary as the level of Covid-19 infection was growing in Portugal, though the decision was criticised by the travel industry and the government in Lisbon

Holidaymakers today jammed Faro airport in a bid to fly home from Portugal before Tuesday's 4am quarantine deadline

Anyone arriving back in the UK from the southern European country after that time will have to self-isolate for 10 days following its removal from the green travel list

A huge queue snakes through Faro airport in the Algarve as travellers try and rush back from Portugal over the weekend

British tourists queue at Faro Airport on the Algarve for Covid-19 tests before flying home from Portugal

A number of travellers had to wait patiently in hot temperatures for Covid tests at Faro airport before rushing home

Many tourists are having to shell out huge prices for flights home from Portugal after it was taken off the green list

Meanwhile, Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel, said it was hard to determine whether travel should be ruled out over the summer.

He told Times Radio: 'I think with the travel situation it's really hard because in a sense if you only care about the epidemic then you always impose the strictest controls as possible, but we are at a stage now where we need to think practically as well.

'We need to look to support industries, because of course you know if we shut down travel for the next 12 months for example, then that industry would be in severe trouble.

'So I think there needs to be a little bit of risk management, but also balancing risks with the damage of staying under severe controls for a really long period of time, so I think again that's a difficult position the Government are in at the moment.'

It comes as an NHS boss revealed earlier that Covid jabs do 'break the chain' between catching coronavirus and becoming seriously ill - giving hope that lockdown restrictions could still be lifted on 'Freedom Day' this month.

Chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson said the number of people in hospital with the Indian 'Delta' variant was not increasing 'very significantly'.

Travellers at Manchester Airport today returning from Faro ahead of the quarantine deadline at 4am on Tuesday

Tourists returning to Manchester today said that some passengers couldn't get on board the flight because they had the wrong paperwork

Passengers have had to endure inflated fares in a bid to race back to Manchester (pictured) so they do not have to quarantine next week

Two passengers wearing face coverings carrying their bags through Manchester Airport today after landing from Portugal

Public Health England data show that just 0.07 per cent of confirmed Indian variant cases were admitted to hospital despite having had two doses of a vaccine, compared to 0.95 per cent of unvaccinated people. Significantly more unvaccinated people also went to A&E or died after catching the virus. Having had a single dose of a jab offered middling protection but experts say that now the Indian strain is dominant it is crucial that people get both jabs

And many of those in hospital in Bolton - which has the highest number of cases of the Indian variant in England - were younger than in previous waves of the pandemic therefore less at risk of serious complications, he added.

It was today announced that all over-12s in areas of Berkshire will be subject to surge Covid testing in a bid to tackle a community outbreak of the Indian strain.

Director of public health for Berkshire West, Meradin Peachey, said the surge in cases is mainly among young people, with 'virtually nobody over 60 or anyone who has been vaccinated' affected.

And in London today, pictures showed long lines of over-18s queuing to get their first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at Belmont Health Centre in Harrow.

A similar drive took place at the Hunter Street Health Centre in Camden where huge crowds of young people gathered for the sought-after jab.

It follows a one-off event at Twickenham Stadium last weekend which saw officials attempt to shift 15,000 Pfizer doses to anyone aged over 18 - with huge queues snaking along the tarmac for miles.

Mr Hopson's assessment echoes that of Matt Hancock who yesterday cautioned that the link between Covid cases and deaths has been 'broken but not completely severed' by vaccines - as the number of positive tests spiked again to 6,238 and 11 more deaths were recorded.

The Health Secretary was speaking at a meeting of G7 health ministers in Oxford on Friday when he said: 'We always expected cases to rise as the as the country was opened up, the critical thing is the impact on the number of people who end up in hospital for any given number of cases. That link has been broken by the vaccine, but it hasn't been completely severed yet.'

A person receives a dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, at vaccination centre for young people and students at the Hunter Street Health Centre in London

Today, pictures showed long lines of over-18s queuing to get their first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine at Belmont Health Centre in Harrow

A similar drive took place at the Hunter Street Health Centre in Camden where huge crowds of young people gathered for the sought-after jab

At the Hunter Street Health Centre in Camden, huge groups rushed to get the vaccine on Saturday

The long queues in Harrow (pictured) follow a one-off event at Twickenham Stadium last weekend which saw officials attempt to shift 15,000 Pfizer doses to anyone aged over 18 - with huge queues snaking along the tarmac for miles

People queuing to go into Belmont Health Centre in Harrow which is offering a first dose of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to anyone aged over 18 on Saturday and Sunday

Queues snaked along the pavement in Harrow today where huge groups of over-18s queued to get their vaccines

Chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson said the number of people in hospital with the Indian 'Delta' variant was not increasing 'very significantly'

Figures published on Thursday night showed that just seven out of 9,427 people to have been infected with the new strain by the end of May were admitted to hospital - even though they had had two doses of a vaccine (0.07 per cent).

By comparison, 90 unvaccinated people were admitted in the same time (0.95 per cent) and PHE warned in a report that the risk of admission to hospital with the new strain may be 2.6 times higher than it was for the Kent variant, meaning that people who haven't had a jab are now at a higher risk than they were with previous strains.

The Government is scrambling to get jabs to as many people as possible. Last night it was reported that ministers plan to cut wait times between Covid-19 vaccination doses for over 40s from twelve weeks to eight weeks as ministers battle to save 'Freedom Day' on June 21.

Over-25s will be offered their first doses of the vaccine from next week, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Hopson told BBC Breakfast today: 'The people who came in this time round were actually a lot younger and were a lot less at risk of very serious complication, less at risk of death, and what that means is that they were less demand on critical care.

'What we think we can start to say now, based on that experience, is that it does look as though the vaccines have broken the chain between catching Covid-19 and potentially being very, very seriously ill and potentially dying.'

Mr Hopson said in the most recent phase of the pandemic the number of people in hospital in Bolton with Covid-19 peaked at 50, compared to 170 in November and 150 in January and February.

'Infection rates have been increasing in a number of different places,' Mr Hopson said.

'We know that the hospitalisations are increasing, the rates of people coming into hospital in those areas are rising. But they are not rising very significantly.'

But speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mr Hopson still urged caution. He said: 'There is still risk here. We can't just go into June 21 and say 'hey there's not a problem here'. There are some very important risks to manage.'

Of the 12,431 Indian variant cases so far confirmed in the UK, 10,797 are in England, 1,511 in Scotland, 97 in Wales and 26 in Northern Ireland.

In England, the cases are spread across the country, and the most affected areas include Bolton in Greater Manchester (2,149 cases), Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire (724), Bedford (608), Leicester (349), Manchester (278) and Birmingham (223).

The government is planning to cut wait times between Covid-19 vaccination doses for over 40s from twelve weeks to eight weeks as ministers battle to save 'Freedom Day' on June 21. Pictured: Prime Minister Boris Johnson receives his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine in London

As the Government launches another major vaccine push, officials are reportedly drawing up secret plans to delay the end of the country's restrictions by two weeks until July after the UK's daily coronavirus infections rose again - with the number of people in the country with Covid-19 rising by 75 percent.

Today it was announced that surge testing is to be rolled out in areas of Berkshire in an attempt to tackle the spread of the Indian variant.

Everyone aged 12 and above in specific postcode areas of Reading and Wokingham will be offered PCR testing over the next two weeks from Monday after the strain was found to be spreading in the community.

Ms Peachey, director of public health for Berkshire West, said cases are mainly among young people, with 'virtually nobody over 60 or anyone who has been vaccinated'.

She told BBC Breakfast: 'What's happened in the last couple of weeks, especially in the last week, we've noticed that a lot of cases now coming through we can't link to any travellers, which means we now have community transmission.'

She said a 'big concern' is that continued spread could lead to more mutations.

She added: 'If the variant spreads and becomes even more, it may mutate again and the big concern is that vaccines won't work and that's my big concern.

'We really want to get people tested and isolated if they've got the virus, stop the spread so that we can make sure the vaccination programme works.'

The extra testing and genomic sequencing is being offered in the RG1 3, RG1 5, RG1 6 and RG1 7 postcodes in Reading and in the Bulmershe and Whitegates, Evendons, Norreys, and Wescott areas of Wokingham, the Department of Health said.

Everyone aged 12 and over who lives or works in these areas is strongly encouraged to take a PCR test, whether or not they have Covid symptoms.

It comes after the Department of Health announced the launch of additional testing and genomic sequencing in Bradford, Canterbury and Maidstone after cases of the Delta variant were identified.

Epidemiologist Dr Adam Kucharski today said it could be 'hard to justify' easing further restrictions this month as the UK faced a different battle in the face of the dominance of the Indian variant.

Asked whether the June 21 target for unlocking made him 'nervous', the Government adviser told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think we have to accept the equation has changed here - we are not facing the virus that we were facing two months ago.

'If we were facing the B.117 (Kent) variant as the dominant one, the fact it (the vaccines) is working very well, case numbers are coming down nicely, we could have some more confidence that there could be reopening without seeing those surges.

'But we're not. Everyone is tired of this pandemic, they want this transition back to normality and that will happen, the effectiveness of two doses of the vaccine will eventually get us there.

'But if say in two weeks we're in a situation where hospitalisations have been rising, where local health systems are coming under pressure, I think it will be quite difficult to justify adding more transmission to that kind of situation.'

Dr Kucharski described the current graph of infections as 'U-shaped', with the vaccines having worked to quell infections from the Kent variant, but the Indian variant is now causing a fresh rise in cases.

He disagreed with Mr Hopson's assessment about vaccines quelling hospitalisation figures, instead saying the transmissibility of the Indian variant could see a 'big number' of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

Dr Kucharski - who is a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel - said there were a 'number of concerning signs' following early evidence that first dose vaccines are not as effective against the so-called Delta variant.

He added: 'I think it is particularly this increase in transmission that is potentially going to cause us considerable problems.

'We are getting estimates now firming up that we are looking at something potentially 40 to 60 per cent more transmissible than the B.117, the Kent variant that was dominant.

'And that means that infections are going to really come at us quite fast and we are seeing that in the cases now, and we saw that in the ONS data yesterday.'

Dr Kurcharski said the current picture meant that it was 'hard to be confident' that a 'big number' of people will not end up in hospital due to the spread of the Indian variant and the number of adults still unvaccinated in the UK.

Officials are also reportedly drawing up secret plans to delay the end of the country's coronavirus restrictions by two weeks until July after the UK's daily coronavirus infections rose again, with the number of people in the country with Covid-19 rising by 75 per cent

A person receives a dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, at vaccination centre for young people and students in London

A health worker takes the temperature of a student in a queue to receive a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre at the Hunter Street Health Centre in London

A student waits before leaving after receiving a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in London

On Friday, ministers said they were doing 'everything we possible can' to speed up the process of inoculating the public, ahead of a crucial decision over whether ease restrictions on June 21.

The acceleration of second doses for over-50s has already been announced by the government, but the change is now expected to be announced for those over-40 when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) formally recommends the measure.

Speaking to The Telegraph, a government source said ministers 'want to double-dose as soon as possible', and hope that the acceleration with keep 'freedom day' as June 21.

However, the possibility of a two week delay to the lifting of restrictions is also being discussed, according to the newspaper, with a quicker vaccination programme potentially allowing over-40s to receive their second doses by July 5  two weeks after June 21  amid concerns over the Indian 'Delta' variant.

It comes as school leaders called for schoolchildren to be vaccinated before the start of the school holidays after UK regulators approved jabs for teenagers.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) yesterday approved the vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds.

Hamid Patel, chief executive of the Star Academies trust based in Blackburn  the area of the country with the most cases of the Indian variant  said schoolchildren should be vaccinated as a matter of priority.

Dr Rosalind Eggo, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel, said with 'very early evidence' showing that the current vaccines on offer 'don't work quite as well against the Delta variant', it was important to increase the rate of second jabs.

'Getting those second doses up, pushing that number up as high as possible is really important,' she told BBC's Newsnight.

In a move already being lambasted by night-time economy chiefs, the i said it would likely see the Government backtrack on encouraging a return to the workplace, continue with the guidance to work from home if possible, and is also likely to continue with the policy of mask wearing and social distancing on public transport.

The newspaper also said social distancing in bars and restaurants is likely to remain, along with limits on audiences in theatres and cinemas.

In Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed he is considering keeping social-distancing restrictions in place for the rest of 2021, calling the two-metre measure 'one of the strongest defences that we have' against the virus.

But Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said keeping social distancing in place would threaten the viability of the sector.

'Sorry but leaving social distancing in place in pubs, restaurants, hotels and attractions means that June 21 is not freedom date at all,' she tweeted.

'It means that those businesses continue to operate at a loss and threatens the long term viability of businesses, jobs and the recovery.'

Sacha Lord, night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester, said he was 'up for a fight' over the possible shift.

'Hospitality is the fifth biggest industry in the UK - June 21 is make or break for many,' he said on social media.

No 10 sources said suggestions of a delay to the road map was 'speculation', with the Prime Minister telling broadcasters this week there was still 'nothing in the data at the moment that means we cannot go ahead with Step 4'.

The Health Secretary said the Government 'always expected cases to rise' as lockdown was eased, and that ministers were being 'tough' on international travel rules to preserve the route out of lockdown in the UK by preventing new variants from taking hold.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was warned not to 'more the goalposts' over Freedom Day after some MPs became concerned that the government's criteria for lifting measures have changed.

Some Tory ministers see the constant bombardment with data about increasing coronavirus cases in some areas of the country as a way of softening the bad news for the public, and say that while cases are rising, hospitalisations and Covid deaths are staying low.

Mark Harper, chairman of the Covid Recovery Group of MPs, told the Daily Telegraph: 'The important data the Government needs to concentrate on is whether the vaccines are effective, and all the evidence shows that they are. The Government's four tests for unlocking on June 21 make no mention of case numbers, and if we're going to start panicking every time there is a new variant it doesn't bode well for the autumn.'

According to The Daily Telegraph , over-25s will be offered their first doses of the vaccine from next week as the government races against the clock to beat Covid-19 variants. On Friday, ministers said they were doing 'everything we possible can' to speed up the process of inoculating the public, ahead of a crucial decision over whether ease restrictions on June 21. Pictured: A man receives a coronavirus vaccine dose at Twickenham rugby stadium

The Health Secretary was speaking at a meeting of G7 health ministers in Oxford yesterday when the case count surged by 1,000 more than yesterday at the end of a week of mounting evidence that Covid is coming back in the UK (Pictured: Matt Hancock bumps elbows with Sam Foster, chief nursing officer at Oxford University Hospital)

Ministers have asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) whether to give the jab to teenagers  the current rollout is set to stop at age 18 except for children with serious health conditions.

The JCVI  which normally rules who should get a vaccine  is expected to tell No10 that jabbing children is a 'political' decision and will leave the ball in ministers' court.

Teaching union and school leaders yesterday said starting vaccinating children soon could ensure they have had both jabs by the time they start the school year in September.

But vaccinating children against the virus is a controversial issue because youngsters only have a tiny risk of getting seriously ill and their immunity would likely only protect older adults.

More than 100 cross-party MPs and the World Health Organization have said the priority should be to get vaccine doses abroad to poorer countries where vulnerable people still haven't been jabbed before giving them to low-risk children.

Mr Patel told the Guardian: 'This is very welcome news. We now need to ensure that all teenagers have received at least the first jab before the summer holidays.

DECISION ON CHILDREN'S JABS COULD FALL TO BORIS JOHNSON The decision on whether to vaccinate children could fall to Boris Johnson and his government ministers, instead of health chiefs and scientists, because it is ethically complicated. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is expected to 'come up with a menu of options' for the Prime Minister but not to offer a definitive recommendation on jabs for those under the age of 18. Children aren't yet given vaccines because their risk of getting serious Covid is so tiny and their immunity would likely only protect older adults, making it a complex issue - vaccinating against measles, for example, directly protects the child so is more clear-cut. Ministers will be forced to decide whether the tiny risk of side effects in children is worth the benefit of protecting more adults and stifling the virus. JCVI deputy chair Professor Anthony Harnden said on BBC Breakfast in May: 'We do know that the majority of children do not have huge risk of complications, whether we vaccinate for educational purposes, whether we vaccinate to protect others in the population, these are the ethical issues, there are a lot of issues to think about. 'It's a complicated position to decide on the immunisation of children, of course, then there's the wider global ethical argument about the use of vaccine in children when there are other people in the world that are at risk of not being vaccinated. 'So we need to think about all these issues, we probably will give the Government a range of options.' Advertisement

'Schools are best placed to accommodate vaccinations and the infrastructure is already in place for delivering inoculations.

'We will get much higher take-up if we ask youngsters to receive the jab in term time rather than when they are enjoying their holidays. This will also enable all of us to have a safer, freer and more normal summer.'

He said ensuring children are vaccinated will stop the Indian variant spreading rapidly in young people in hotspots in the country.

And Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, also urged the JCVI to consider expanding the roll-out to teenagers.

He said offering them the vaccine would 'protect the wider adult population who are at greater risk from Covid'.

Yesterday was the first time daily infections have risen above 6,000 since March 26, when the country was still under much stricter lockdown rules, and they are up 50 per cent compared to last week.

Government sources earlier in the week said it would give them cause for concern if daily cases were to rise above 5,000, because it would signal that the virus is growing exponentially.

England's 'Freedom Day' appears to be hanging in the balance amid the rapid spread of the highly infectious Indian variant, which is doubling in prevalence every nine days and is now the dominant strain in the country.

An Office for National Statistics report yesterday showed weekly Covid case numbers spiked 75 per cent last week to 86,000, and SAGE estimates the R rate is definitely above one and could be as high as 1.2.

Daily Covid infections have been steadily rising since late May when there were about 2,500 a day on average and the daily seven-day average now sits at 4,147 - a rise of more than 60 per cent.

No10 this week insisted that there was still 'nothing in the data' that suggested the crucial unlocking this month will not go ahead, but scientists are pushing for a slight delay. Proof that jabs work will hopefully give light at the end of the tunnel and mean any extension of social distancing would only be temporary while vaccines are rolled out - earlier lockdowns had been open-ended.

Evidence that vaccines work is coming in droves now as Public Health England data showed vaccines protect well against even the new variant when people have had two doses, slashing the risk of catching the virus and being admitted to hospital by up to 93 per cent.

The Government is scrambling to get jabs to as many people as possible and Department of Health statistics show 39.9million adults have now received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, more than three in four, and 26.7million have received both doses, more than half.

The number of people with Covid in England spiked 75 per cent in seven days to 86,000 last week, official figures show as SAGE member Professor Neil Ferguson warned the Indian variant could be spreading up to twice as fast

Promising figures in Public Health England's report lay bare the effectiveness of vaccines at protecting people. Of 9,427 recorded cases of the Indian variant between February 1 and May 31, only 267 had had two doses of a jab (2.8 per cent). Just seven people out of the 9,000 confirmed cases spent the night in hospital despite having had two jabs - only 0.07 per cent - compared to 90 who were unvaccinated (0.95 per cent)

Mr Hancock said yesterday, after a meeting of G7 health ministers in Oxford that the Government 'publishes all the information that we have about new variants, including the [Indian variant], and we take this approach of full transparency'.

'The data on the impact on hospitalisations are very early data, so we can't yet conclude with any confidence that there's an impact on your risk of hospitalisation.

'But of course we published the early data, and we watch it very carefully. Now, we always expected cases to rise as the as the country was opened up, the critical thing is the impact on the number of people who end up in hospital for any given number of cases.

'That link has been broken by the vaccine, but it hasn't been completely severed yet, and that's one of the things that we're watching very carefully.'

Health ministers met in Oxford ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall next week to discuss how to vaccinate the world against Covid, and shore up global defences against a future pandemic.

This Public Health England graph shows how the number of cases of the Indian variant (dark green line) has exploded since it was first found, spreading faster than any other strain did over the same time after its discovery

A Warwick University model submitted to SAGE last month warned that a variant 50 per cent more transmissible than the Kent version, hospital admissions could surge to 10,000 per day or even double that (Thick lines indicate the central estimate while the thin lines are possible upper limits known as confidence intervals)

 Slide me  Heat map shows how the percentage of cases being made up by the Indian variant surged between May 8 (left) and May 22 (right). It was the dominant Covid strain in just 23 English local authorities in the first week of May compared to 102 a fortnight later

The ONS weekly report estimated 85,600 people in England were infected with Covid last week, the equivalent of 1 in 640 people.

DOUBLE-JABBING CUTS RISK OF HOSPITAL ADMISSION WITH INDIAN VARIANT BY 93%, PHE DATA SUGGEST Having two doses of a Covid vaccine slashes the risk of being admitted to hospital with the Indian variant by 93 per cent to less than one in a thousand but unvaccinated people are at a higher risk than in earlier waves. Public Health England figures show just seven out of 9,427 people to have been infected with the new strain were admitted to hospital even though they had had two doses of a vaccine. By comparison, 90 unvaccinated people were admitted in the same time and PHE warned in a report last night that the risk of admission to hospital with the new strain may be 2.6 times higher than it was for the Kent variant. The figures show 0.07 per cent of all the variant cases were hospitalised after having had two doses, while 0.95 per cent of the cases were unvaccinated and ended up in hospital, showing a 93 per cent fall in risk. Promising figures show just seven people out of 9,427 confirmed cases spent the night in hospital despite having had two jabs - only 0.07 per cent - compared to 90 who were unvaccinated (0.95 per cent). One dose reduces the risk by about three quarters, to one in 400 from one in 100, but doesn't offer as much protection as being fully vaccinated. Unvaccinated people will be at a higher risk from Covid than they were with the old variant, PHE has confirmed, because it spreads up to twice as fast - so they will be more likely to get infected - and appears to increase the risk of hospital admission by up to 2.6 times. The figures will bolster the case for the June 21 'Freedom Day' unlocking to be pushed back to buy more time to get second doses to more people. So far 26.4million people have had two jabs while 39.8m have had their first. There have been a total of 12,431 confirmed infections with the variant, known to scientists as B1617.2, and 94 people were admitted to hospital with it last week. The report said the risk of being admitted to hospital could increase by as much as 2.6 times over the Kent variant, and people may be 70 per cent more likely to go to A&E. That count of hospital admissions was double the week before, when 201 people went to A&E and 43 were admitted overnight. PHE said: 'The majority of these had not been vaccinated.' Advertisement

The report said: 'The percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus has increased in the week ending 29 May... We have seen an increase in cases in England that are not compatible with the UK variant B.1.1.7; these are likely to be the variant B.1.617.2, first identified in India.'

It added that cases appeared to be rising in Wales and Scotland, too, but the trend was 'uncertain' in Northern Ireland.

The report is based on results from 141,000 people testing themselves for Covid in the last two weeks of May, of whom 170 got a positive result  or 0.1 per cent.

In the previous week there were 111 positive results out of 140,000 tests - 0.08 per cent.

The Indian variant was behind more positives than the Kent strain, the ONS said, with 0.6 per cent testing positive for that compared to 0.5 per cent for the other.

Across the regions of England, positive tests were twice as high in the North West as in any other part of the country, with a positivity rate of 0.4 per cent. It was 0.2 per cent in the East Midlands, Yorkshire & the Humber and London, and 0.1 per cent in the remaining corners of the country.

The statisticians said: 'In the North West, there were a large number of positive results captured by the survey on the latest day of data collection, which may be magnifying the recent increase. This means there is greater uncertainty than usual in the exact size of the increase.

'There were also signs of a possible increase in the percentage of people testing positive in the West Midlands and London in the week ending May 29 2021. The trend is uncertain for all other regions in the same week.'

Professor James Naismith, the director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute at Oxford University, said the ONS figures 'confirm what we had suspected to be true, the number of cases of Covid is rising'.

'There are two factors at play here, once is the easing of the lockdown measures in May and the second is the delta variant (which has now become dominant).

'The trajectory of the case numbers in the North West are particularly worrying. East Midlands appears on a similar track. Other areas currently look better.

'In the absence of vaccines, we would expect cases to rise across the country with a delay, that is we should see the North West as the future.

'Localised control measures and track trace are not working, as expected from previous experience.

'We are seeing some evidence for an increase in hospitalisation where the case numbers are highest.

'Without vaccines, we would seem to be a the start of a third wave and given the nature of the delta, such a third wave could have been particularly disastrous.'

It comes as a Public Health England study found having two doses of a Covid vaccine slashes the risk of being admitted to hospital with the Indian variant by 93 per cent to less than one in a thousand, but unvaccinated people are at a higher risk than in earlier waves.

Their figures showed just seven out of 9,427 people to have been infected with the new strain were admitted to hospital even though they had two doses of a vaccine.

By comparison, 90 unvaccinated people were admitted in the same time and PHE warned in a report last night that the risk of admission to hospital with the new strain may be 2.6 times higher than it was for the Kent variant.

The figures show 0.07 per cent of all the variant cases were hospitalised after having had two doses, while 0.95 per cent of the cases were unvaccinated and ended up in hospital, showing a 93 per cent fall in risk.

Despite rising cases, these figures will bolster the case for the June 21 unlocking to be pushed back to buy more time to get second doses to more people.

HOVER OVER YOUR LOCAL AREA TO FIND OUT HOW PREVALENT THE INDIAN VARIANT WAS BY MAY 22

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Similar but less grim SAGE modelling by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suggested that a 50 per cent increase in transmissibility could trigger a peak of 4,000 admissions per day in July or August, possibly extending to 6,000 per day

The LSHTM model suggested hospitals could have another 30,000 inpatients by the end of July - up to around 45,000 - compared to the current 845

The LSHTM team suggested that there will be 1,000 deaths per day in August if the variant is 50 per cent more transmissible - which would be less than the 1,900 seen at the peak this January

 Slide me  Public Health England figures show that in the last week of May more areas of the country were seeing increases in coronavirus cases. A total of 112 areas saw a rise in their infection rates while only 37 had declining rates of positive tests

'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson yesterday warned the Indian variant is between 30 and 100 per cent more transmissible than the previously dominant Kent variant

Professor Ferguson, from Imperial College London, said the Indian variant is anywhere between 30 and 100 per cent more transmissible than the previously dominant Kent variant, which has been dubbed 'Alpha' under the World Health Organization's new variant naming system.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: 'We're certainly getting more data. Unfortunately, I mean, the news is not as positive as I would like on any respect about the Delta variant.

'The best estimate at the moment is this variant may be 60 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant.

There's some uncertainty around that depending on assumptions and how you analyse the data, between about 30 per cent and maybe even up to 100 per cent more transmissible'. Professor Ferguson said 60 per cent is 'a good central estimate' at the moment.

England's R rate crept up again yesterday, official estimates showed.

No10's top scientists said the reproduction number  which tracks the spread of the virus in the country  was between 1.0 and 1.2, suggesting the outbreak is no longer shrinking. Last week it was between 1.0 and 1.1.

The North West  which is battling an outbreak of the Indian variant  had the highest rate (1.0 to 1.3). Only the North East and Yorkshire (0.9 to 1.1) and the South West (0.8 to 1.1) may still be seeing their outbreaks shrink.

SAGE scientists calculate the R rate using data from recorded Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths to track the spread of the virus. If the figure is the same as one or above it suggests Covid cases are increasing.

But they caution it is a delayed measure, and only able to capture the situation on the ground up to three weeks ago because of the delay in collecting figures for hospitalisations and deaths. They add it becomes less accurate when there are a small number of deaths and hospitalisations.

'Absolutely devastated' Britons in Portugal fume after country is demoted to amber list sparking diplomatic storm and race for families to get home in the next four days or face quarantine and 1,000 of PCR tests Holidays to Portugal have been thrown into chaos as ministers removed the European country from the travel green list amid concerns over the new Nepal coronavirus variant. The move triggered a furious diplomatic row, with Portugal's president accusing UK ministers of 'health fundamentalism' and of being 'obsessed' with infection rates. It also sparked a race among thousands of British holidaymakers in Portugal to get back before quarantine-on-return rules kick in on Tuesday, when the country is formally placed on the amber list. Those booked to go to Portugal in coming weeks were left in limbo over whether to go ahead with their holiday under the tougher quarantine rules or to rebook for later in the summer and hope the country goes green again. The decision to make Portugal amber was apparently triggered by concerns over the Nepal variant, a mutated version of the Indian strain. But Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal's president, accused UK ministers of 'not recognising that we live in a different situation than we lived before vaccination'. Advertisement

The North West had the highest R rate, followed by the East of England, London, Midlands and South East (all 1.0 to 1.2). Only the North East and Yorkshire and the South West may still be seeing their outbreaks shrink.

Last week the North West and London had the highest R rates (1.0 to 1.2). They were followed by the East of England and the South West (0.9 to 1.1), and the Midlands (0.9 to 1.1), the North East and the South East (0.8 to 1.0).

Professor James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute for medical research at Oxford University said figures from the ONS confirmed that Covid cases are now rising in the country.

'There are two factors at play here, one is the easing of lockdown measures in May and the second is the delta variant (which has now become dominant),' he warned.

'The trajectory of the case numbers in the North West is particularly worrying. The East Midlands appears to be on a similar track, but other areas look better.'

But he said without the vaccine drive, the country would now be seeing 'the start of a third wave' which could have 'potentially been disastrous'. Studies show the jabs protect against the Indian variant.

'In the absence of vaccines, we would expect cases to rise across the country with a delay, that is we should see the North West as the future,' he said.

'Localised control measures and track and trace are not working, as expected form previous experience. We are seeing some evidence for an increase in hospitalisation where the case numbers are highest. Without vaccines, we would seem to be a the start of a third wave and given the nature of the delta, such a third wave could have been particularly disastrous.'

PHE confirmed last night that the strain is now dominant in the UK and makes up around 73 per cent of cases, displacing the Kent variant which sparked the second wave in January.

The agency said that it also appeared to be twice as likely to lead to hospitalisations, based on analysis on the small number of people who have been admitted with the strain.

The report said the risk of being admitted to hospital could increase by as much as 2.6 times over the Kent variant, and people may be 70 per cent more likely to go to A&E.

There have been a total of 12,431 confirmed infections with the variant, known to scientists as B.1.617.2, and 94 people were admitted to hospital with it last week. That count of hospital admissions was double the week before, when 201 people went to A&E and 43 were admitted overnight.

Professor Ferguson said that most people in hospital with the mutant virus have not had a vaccine. He told the Today programme: 'It's important to say that most people being hospitalised at the moment with this variant, and with any Covid variant, are unvaccinated.

'So, it's clear that the vaccines are still having a substantial effect, though it may be slightly compromised.'

He said they are still waiting for data on how much the Indian variant can evade the immunity which protects people against being admitted to hospital.

'The data being reported relates to unvaccinated people, so if you haven't been vaccinated there appears to be, both from Public Health England data and from Public Health Scotland data independently, about a two-fold increased risk of hospitalisation,' he said.

Matt Hancock said yesterday it was a 'good sign' that vaccinated people were making up only a minority of hospital admissions. The Health Secretary added the government is keeping a close eye on daily case levels but stressed what 'really matters' is how many people end up in hospital and die from the disease and how well the jabs keep numbers down.

Covid hospital rates have started to rise in some regions in some regions in England, with patient numbers in the North West, where most Indian variant hotspots are concentrated, rising a quarter in the past fortnight.

But the number of patients in hospital in the region are still a far cry from the levels seen at the peak of the second wave - there are currently about 180 Covid sufferers in North West hospitals compared to 5,500 in January.

The PHE report showed that the proportion of cases being caused by the Indian variant has rocketed in all regions of the country. It is highest in the North West where nearly 100 per cent of cases are being caused by the strain

PHE confirmed the strain is now dominant in the UK and makes up around 73 per cent of cases, displacing the Kent variant which sparked the second wave in January

Another concerning study published last night by the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Biomedical Research Centre found people who have had the Pfizer vaccine have lower antibody levels targeting the Indian coronavirus variant than other strains.

It found the levels of these antibodies are lower with increasing age and that levels decline over time.

Sage expert warns that 'awful' lockdown curbs cannot last for ever Sir Jeremy Farrar (pictured) said lockdowns are 'awful' Lockdowns are 'awful' and Britain must learn to live with Covid without restrictions, one of the country's most senior scientists has warned. Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the measures had had 'very profound consequences' on the nation's mental health, education and jobs. But he was hopeful that the Government would be able to open up on June 21 based on the data so far  but stressed the next few weeks would be 'crucial.' He pointed out that more than eight in ten adults would be vaccinated by then, adding that he was 'very confident' the jabs were working. 'There is a danger of not opening up and this infection is now a human endemic infection. It's not going away,' he said. 'Humanity will live with this virus now for ever. And there will be new variants. This year, next year, the year after, there will be new variants  and we will have to learn to cope with that. 'Lockdowns are awful. They are a mark that you haven't been able to control the virus in other ways. They have very profound consequences on mental health, on education, on job opportunities particularly affecting people on lower incomes. 'Societies can't stay in that mode for ever.' Earlier this week Boris Johnson said that while there was nothing in the data to suggest the June 21 ending of lockdown could not go ahead, the numbers were 'still ambiguous'. But Sir Jeremy said he was hopeful the jabs had 'separated' the inevitable rise of infections which comes with easing restrictions and the subsequent increase in hospitalisations. Asked whether he thought the country would be able to open up on June 21, he added: 'If you really push me today, I would say I'm more optimistic because I think that the vaccines have been so incredibly successful.' Advertisement

Antibodies are just one part of the immune system and they are known to fade over time. A reduction suggests people may be more likely to test positive for the Indian variant but not necessarily fall ill with it.

Researchers say this provides additional evidence in support of plans to deliver a vaccine boost to vulnerable people in the autumn.

But it could spark fears in some corners that the Pfizer jab is less effective in preventing serious illness from the more transmissible variant, known as Covid Delta.

Public Health England said the variant appears to be twice as likely to lead to hospital admissions as the Kent strain which sparked the second wave, and has become dominant in the UK.

Together with the emergence of a so-called Nepalese variant, the data could persuade ministers to pause the final easing of restrictions due to take place on June 21, which is being dubbed 'Freedom Day'.

The new laboratory data also supports current plans to reduce the dose gap between vaccines.

The study found that after just one dose of the Pfizer jab, people are less likely to develop antibody levels against the Indian (B.1.617.2) variant, also known as Delta, as high as those seen against the previously dominant Kent variant (B.1.1.7) also known as Alpha.

However, levels of antibodies alone do not predict vaccine effectiveness and prospective population studies are also needed. Lower neutralising antibody levels may still be associated with protection against Covid-19, the experts say.

Pfizer has been contacted for comment.

The Indian variant is now believed to be dominant in the UK, with early evidence suggesting it may lead to an increased risk of being admitted to hospital compared with the Kent variant.

A total of 12,431 cases of the mutation have been confirmed in the UK up to June 2, according to Public Health England. This up 79 per cent from the previous week's total of 6,959.

Emma Wall, UCLH Infectious Diseases consultant and senior clinical research fellow for the Legacy study, said: 'This virus will likely be around for some time to come, so we need to remain agile and vigilant.

'Our study is designed to be responsive to shifts in the pandemic so that we can quickly provide evidence on changing risk and protection.

'The most important thing is to ensure that vaccine protection remains high enough to keep as many people out of hospital as possible.

'And our results suggest that the best way to do this is to quickly deliver second doses and provide boosters to those whose immunity may not be high enough against these new variants.'

This is the largest study published to date investigating vaccine-induced antibody neutralising capacity against the newest variants of concern in healthy adults.

Researchers have submitted their findings to the Genotype-to-Phenotype National Virology Consortium (G2P-UK), the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The Legacy study is led by the Crick and partners at UCL and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).

Healthcare workers and staff from the institutions have been donating regular blood and swab samples so researchers can track the changing risk of infection and response to vaccination.

Within days of having enough of each variant to study, researchers analysed antibodies in the blood of 250 healthy people who received either one or two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, up to three months after their first dose.

They tested the ability of antibodies to block entry of the virus into cells, so called neutralising antibodies against five different variants - the original strain from China, the dominant strain in Europe during the first wave in April 2020, and the variants first detected in Kent, South Africa and India.

Data from previous studies suggests that higher antibody titres - the greatest dilution level that still blocks 50 per cent of virus infection in the lab - is a good predictor of vaccine efficacy and greater protection against Covid-19.

According to the research, in people who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, levels of neutralising antibodies were more than five times lower against the Indian variant when compared to the original strain, upon which current vaccines are based.

This antibody response was even lower in people who had only received one dose.

After a single dose of the Pfizer jab, 79 per cent of people had a quantifiable neutralising antibody response against the original strain, but this fell to 50 per cent for B.1.1.7, 32 per cent for B.1.617.2 and 25 per cent for B.1.351 (South Africa).

David LV Bauer, group leader of the Crick's RNA Virus Replication Laboratory and member of the G2P-UK National Virology Consortium, said: 'New variants occur naturally and those that have an advantage will spread.

'We now have the ability to quickly adapt our vaccination strategies to maximise protection where we know people are most vulnerable. Keeping track of these evolutionary changes is essential for us to retain control over the pandemic and return to normality.'

The Research Letter published in The Lancet states: 'These data, together with epidemiological data of B.1.617.2 growth, raise the possibility that this VOC (variant of concern) presents a dual challenge of reduced vaccine efficacy akin to the B.1.351 VOC, and increased transmissibility beyond the B.1.1.7 VOC.'

Eleanor Riley, professor of immunology and infectious disease, University of Edinburgh, said: 'These data cannot tell us whether the vaccine will be any less effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalisation and death; we need to wait for the actual data on these outcomes.'

it came as a SAGE expert and one of the country's most senior scientists decried lockdowns as 'awful' and said Britain must learn to live with Covid without restrictions.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, who is also director of the Wellcome Trust, said repeated shutdowns had 'very profound consequences' on the nation's mental health.

But he was hopeful that the Government would be able to open up on June 21 based on the data so far  but stressed the next few weeks would be 'crucial.'

He pointed out that more than eight in ten adults would be vaccinated by then, adding that he was 'very confident' the jabs were working.

'There is a danger of not opening up and this infection is now a human endemic infection. It's not going away,' he said. 'Humanity will live with this virus now for ever. And there will be new variants. This year, next year, the year after, there will be new variants  and we will have to learn to cope with that.

'Lockdowns are awful. They are a mark that you haven't been able to control the virus in other ways. They have very profound consequences on mental health, on education, on job opportunities particularly affecting people on lower incomes.

'Societies can't stay in that mode for ever.'

Earlier this week Boris Johnson said that while there was nothing in the data to suggest the June 21 ending of lockdown could not go ahead, the numbers were 'still ambiguous'.

But Sir Jeremy said he was hopeful the jabs had 'separated' the inevitable rise of infections which comes with easing restrictions and the subsequent increase in hospitalisations.

Asked whether he thought the country would be able to open up on June 21, he added: 'If you really push me today, I would say I'm more optimistic because I think that the vaccines have been so incredibly successful.'

Meanwhile, seats on the last flights back to London from the Algarve before Portugal is removed from the UK's green list in less than four days' time were on sale for up to 711 yesterday as Britons faced a race to get home - with more than 112,000 in the country on holiday.

Air passengers leave Faro Airport on May 17, which was the first day that Britons were allowed to enter Portugal without needing to quarantine and the foreign travel ban was lifted

Empty sunshades wait for customers at Gale beach at Albufeira in Portugal's Algarve on May 18

Britons keen to stay abroad for as long as they can before the new rules come in next Tuesday at 4am face paying at least 258 if they fly back home the night before. That is the cheapest flight next Monday, a WizzAir route leaving Faro at 9.05pm local time and arriving at London Luton at 11.50pm, four hours before the rules change.

Anyone flying back faces paying at least 99, also for a WizzAir flight to Luton; while it is 91 on Saturday or 172 on Sunday, both for easyJet services to Gatwick. The most expensive seats before Tuesday's deadline can be found for 711 on a British Airways service from Faro to London City, leaving next Monday at 11am.

Those returning from an amber list country will be required either to quarantine at home for ten days on their return and take a PCR test on days two and eight, as well as a lateral flow test before the return flight. Or they can pay for an additional third 'Test to Release' on day five to end self-isolation early. They will still need to take the compulsory second test on or after day eight.

British families of four in Portugal now face having to pay 1,500 to buy three sets of PCR tests at 125 each, if they go under the 'Test to Release' scheme. Adding this to the cost of a lateral flow test, which can be bought at Faro Airport for 30 (25), the total cost for a family of four would be about 1,600.

Holidays to Portugal have been thrown into chaos after ministers removed the European country from the travel green list amid concerns over the new Nepal coronavirus variant. The move triggered a furious diplomatic row, with Portugal's president accusing UK ministers of 'health fundamentalism' and of being 'obsessed' with infection rates.

It also sparked a race among thousands of Britons in Portugal to get back before quarantine-on-return rules kick in on Tuesday. Those booked to go in coming weeks were left in limbo over whether to go ahead with their holiday under the tougher quarantine rules or to rebook for later in the summer and hope the country goes green again.

Mr Jenrick defended the decision to move Portugal off the list yesterday, insisting it 'wasn't a last minute decision'.

'When we set up the system, we said that we would be reviewing the countries every three weeks, that's what's happened,' he told Times Radio.

Asked whether people should still visit amber countries, he said: 'I hope people will appreciate that you shouldn't be visiting those countries on the amber list for holidays. 'You wouldn't drive through an amber light at the traffic lights, you shouldn't be going on holiday to those countries either.'
Itzel Ramirez, 21, was arrested on Thursday after she was caught on camera viciously assaulting a 67-year-old woman in Castro Valley, California

A 21-year-old Amazon delivery woman viciously beat another woman, 67, who had called her a bi**ch after the San Francisco-area driver told her to 'check her white privilege' when she'd complained about a delayed package.

Itzel Ramirez, the Amazon driver, was arrested after she was filmed assaulting the woman in Alameda County, the sheriffs office said on Friday.

Video posted to social media shows the unidentified victim from Castro Valley appearing to say something to the driver after she dropped off the packages in front of an entrance to Vista Creek Apartments at around 6pm on Thursday.

Doug Smith, the owner of the apartment complex where the victim lives as a tenant, told KTVU-TV that the victim received an alert that a package she had been waiting for was delivered.

When she went to the lobby of the apartment complex to retrieve the package, it wasnt there. The Amazon driver, Ramirez, was standing nearby.

According to Smith, the woman asked Ramirez where the package was. Ramirez is said to have replied that the package would be arriving soon.

SHOCKING VIDEO shows an Amazon Driver giving a 67 year old Castro Valley woman a beat down after words were exchanged. 21 year old woman arrested by Alco Sherrifwho says suspect claims self defense. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/umTVNityDi  Maureen Kelly (@KRON4MKelly) June 4, 2021

Ramirez was identified by authorities as the Amazon delivery driver seen above on the left. The victim, who has not been identified, is seen right at the entrance to her apartment complex at around 6pm on Thursday

Doug Smith, the owner of the apartment complex where the victim lives as a tenant, told KTVU-TV that the victim received an alert that a package she had been waiting for was delivered. When she went to the lobby of the apartment complex to retrieve the package, it wasnt there. The Amazon driver, Ramirez, was standing nearby

According to Smith, the woman asked Ramirez where the package was. Ramirez is said to have replied that the package would be arriving soon.

Smith said that the victim waited for about 15 minutes in the lobby. She then came back outside and once again asked Ramirez about the status of the delivery, according to Smith. I believe the Amazon driver said something about your white privilege, and my tenant said, You dont need to be a b***h about it, turned around and walked away, Smith told KTVU-TV .

Ramirez was so enraged that she began punching the woman in the head and upper body, landing as many as 10 blows. She claims she was acting in self-defense

Ramirez (left) is seen punching the victim several times on Thursday evening

Smith said that the victim waited for about 15 minutes in the lobby. She then came back outside and once again asked Ramirez about the status of the delivery, according to Smith.

I believe the Amazon driver said something about your white privilege, and my tenant said, You dont need to be a b***h about it, turned around and walked away, Smith told KTVU-TV.

Ramirez was so enraged that she began punching the woman in the head and upper body, landing as many as 10 blows.

She claims she was acting in self-defense.

Surveillance footage filmed by cameras positioned both outside and inside the lobby of the building shows Ramirez push the woman up against the front entrance and continue to strike her.

The woman is seen hunched over with her hands covering her head in an attempt to defend herself.

The victim is believed to have suffered a broken nose and other visible injuries.

Ramirez was seen wearing her Amazon vest as she posed for her booking photo with the Alameda County Sheriffs Office.

Surveillance footage from a camera positioned inside the lobby of the building shows the assault from a different angle

The driver is seen pinning the 67-year-old woman to the glass window as she assaults her

Authorities said the unidentified victim suffered what appeared to be a broken nose as well as other visible injuries

The victim is a tenant of the Vista Creek Apartments in Castro Valley, which is located some 15 miles southeast of Oakland

Smith told KRON-TV that the victim is too shaken up to reveal her identity and describe her experiences to the press.

Ramirez was booked into jail. She is being held on $100,000 bail.

She has been charged with two counts of elder abuse and battery involving serious bodily injury. Her arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

Amazon released a statement saying that Ramirez would no longer be employed by the company.

'This does not reflect the high standards we have for drivers who deliver our packages,' the company said.

'We take these matters seriously and this individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages.'

Last week, an Amazon driver was caught having a major meltdown in a viral video that shows him screaming and cursing in his truck while delivering packages.

TikTok user Kristina Danielle Zagwyn (@kristinadaniellez), who is believed to be from the United States, shared the alarming footage over Memorial Day weekend, prompting a mix of concern and amusement from viewers.

'Tell me you had [a] bad day without telling me you had a bad day,' Zagwyn captioned the clip, which shows the man repeatedly yelling 'S**t!' while parked in front of her house.

Freakout: TikTok user Kristina Danielle Zagwyn (@kristinadaniellez) shared a video last week of an Amazon delivery driver having a meltdown in his truck while parked in front of her house

Hard to handle: The clip shows the driver repeatedly yelling 'S**t!' before he reversed the truck

The unnamed man was still screaming in agony as he reversed the truck and pulled away in the opposite direction.

Zagwyn, who appeared to have filmed the video from her front porch, explained in the comments that she was worried about him.

'We tried to help him for half an hour but he wasn't having it,' she wrote.

'He just acted like this then preceded to go through a stop sign and almost hit a minivan. They had to slam on their brakes.'

The TikTok has been viewed more than 577,000 times in two days, and many people shared their sympathy for the driver.

Amazon's treatment of its workers has been called into question during the pandemic, prompting founder Jeff Bezos to defend employees' working conditions in his 2020 letter to shareholders.

'"Going Postal" to be soon replaced with "Going Prime-al,"' one person commented on the video, while another added: 'When being overworked and underpaid finally reaches a boiling point.'

Others admitted they could relate, including fellow delivery drivers.

Accusation: Vitaly, who is known as @talktomeiinstead on Tiktok, shared security footage of an alleged Amazon delivery driver stealing his MacBook in March

Delivery: In the video, she can be seen dropping the package off on his doorstep

Precautions: The courier then stepped back to take a picture as proof that she delivered it

Busted? But instead of turning around and walking to her truck, she grabbed the package and took off with it

In March, a TikTok user shared a shocking video of an alleged Amazon delivery driver seemingly stealing his MacBook after taking a photo of the package as proof that it was dropped off.

Vitaly, who is known as @talktomeiinstead and is believed to be from the US, shared the outdoor security footage of the woman delivering the package wearing what appeared to be an Amazon uniform.

The courier placed the package on his doorstep and stepped back to take a picture.

But instead of turning around and walking to her truck, she grabbed the package and took off with it.

'Did this lady really just take my new MacBook?' Vitaly asked using TikTok's text-to-speech effect.

The shocking video has been viewed more than 1.2 million times, and thousands of people took to the comments to share their thoughts.

Many viewers were outraged while others couldn't believe that she didn't notice the outdoor security camera that was filming her.

'She's going to jail..... was it worth it?!?' one person wrote, while another added: 'She didn't even check for any cameras or if there was anyone around.'
The Justice Department said Saturday that it no longer will secretly obtain reporters' records during leak investigations, a policy shift that abandons a practice decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

The reversal follows a pledge last month by President Joe Biden, who had said it was 'simply, simply wrong' to seize journalists' records and that he would not permit the Justice Department to continue the practice.

The latest revelation came Friday night when the Times reported the existence of a gag order that had barred the newspaper from revealing a secret court fight over efforts to obtain the email records of four reporters.

Donald Trump's administration started the ball rolling - although attempts to obtain the emails continued for three months of the Biden presidency, with the Biden team even putting a gag order on the paper, preventing it from disclosing the request.

The gag order had been in place since March 3 before a federal court lifted it, allowing the newspaper to speak of the DOJ's attempt to get email logs from Google, which runs the NYT's system.

The request to Google was made on January 5 this year, with only 15 days left of the Trump presidency.

Joe Biden previously pledged to stop the seizing of journalists' records by the DOJ

Biden's comments came after CNN reported that the Justice Department secretly obtained the 2017 phone records of one of their correspondents at the behest of the Trump administration.

Those records were obtained to try and track down a journalist's confidential sources in an apparent attempt to plug a White House leak, it is claimed.

Though Biden's comments in an interview were not immediately accompanied by any change in policy, a pair of statements from the White House and Justice Department on Saturday signaled an official turnabout from an investigative tactic that has persisted for years.

Democratic and Republican administrations alike have used subpoenas and court orders to obtain journalists' records in an effort to identify sources who have revealed classified information.

But the practice had received renewed scrutiny over the past month as Justice Department officials had alerted reporters at three news organizations - The Washington Post, CNN and The New York Times - that their phone records had been obtained in the final year of the Trump administration.

Prosecutors in the office of the United States attorney in Washington had obtained a sealed court order from a magistrate judge, demanding that Google hand over the records in relation to the New York Times in secret. Google refused, and the emails were never obtained.

On March 3, now under the Biden administration, the Justice Department placed a gag order on the paper. The gag order was lifted on Friday.

'Clearly, Google did the right thing, but it should never have come to this,' executive editor said Dean Baquet. 'The Justice Department relentlessly pursued the identity of sources for coverage that was clearly in the public interest in the final 15 days of the Trump administration. And the Biden administration continued to pursue it.'

Baquet added, 'As I said before, it profoundly undermines press freedom.'

The court attempt came amidst heavy coverage of former FBI director James Comey and his actions in the run-up to the 2016 election.

The department tried to obtain records from the four reporters - Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt - who all worked on an April 2017 investigation into Comey and the election.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Saturday that no one at the White House was aware of the gag order until Friday night, but that more broadly, 'the issuing of subpoenas for the records of reporters in leak investigations is not consistent with the President's policy direction to the Department.'

The DOJ announced it 'will not seek compulsory legal process in leak investigations to obtain source information from members of the news media doing their jobs'

In a separate statement, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said that 'in a change to its longstanding practice,' the department 'will not seek compulsory legal process in leak investigations to obtain source information from members of the news media doing their jobs.'

He added: 'The department strongly values a free press, protecting First Amendment values, and is committed to taking all appropriate steps to ensure the independence of journalists.'

In ruling out 'compulsory legal process' for reporters in leak investigations, the department also appeared to say that it would not force journalists to reveal in court the identity of their sources.

The statement did not say whether the Justice Department would still conduct aggressive leak investigations without obtaining reporters' records.

It also did not define who exactly would be counted as a member of the media for the purposes of the policy and how broadly the protection would apply.

Even so, it marked a startling reversal concerning a practice that has persisted across multiple presidential administrations.

The Obama Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, alerted The Associated Press in 2013 that it had secretly obtained two months of phone records of reporters and editors in what the news cooperative's top executive called a 'massive and unprecedented intrusion' into newsgathering activities.

There have been several recent disclosures about attempts to secretly seize records under the Trump administration

After blowback, Holder announced a revised set of guidelines for leak investigations, including requiring the authorization of the highest levels of the department before subpoenas for news media records could be issued.

But the department preserved its prerogative to seize journalists' records, and the recent disclosures to the news media organizations show that the practice continued in the Trump-era Justice Department as part of multiple investigations.

The Washington Post disclosed that the Justice Department had last year seized phone records belonging to three of its journalists who covered the investigation into Russian meddling.

Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller, and former Post reporter Adam Entous were subject to the obtaining of phone records over a three-and-a-half month period in 2017.

'We are deeply troubled by this use of government power to seek access to the communications of journalists,' said Cameron Barr, acting executive editor of the newspaper.

'The Department of Justice should immediately make clear its reasons for this intrusion into the activities of reporters doing their jobs, an activity protected under the First Amendment.'

Last month, Psaki suggested that the Justice Department would use the 'Holder model,' a reference to Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder, when asked how the administration viewed the practice of obtaining journalists' records.

Under Holder, the Justice Department announced revised guidelines for obtaining records from the news media during criminal leak investigations, removing language that news organizations said was ambiguous and requiring additional levels of review before a journalist could be subpoenaed, but it did not end the practice.

The latest revelation came Friday night when the New York Times reported the existence of a gag order that had barred the newspaper from revealing a secret court fight over efforts to obtain the email records of four reporters

In May, CNN Pentagon learned that prosecutors obtained the phone and email records of correspondent Barbara Starr.

The records stretched across all of June and July 2017, including Starr's personal email account.

Starr was reporting on military options in North Korea, as well as ongoing conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan during the time spanning the record obtainment.

A Justice Department official claimed that Starr was not the target of an investigation.

'CNN strongly condemns the secret collection of any aspect of a journalist's correspondence, which is clearly protected by the First Amendment,' CNN president Jeff Zucker said.

A reporter who worked for BuzzFeed, Politico and The New York Times was also subject to having their phone records obtained for their reporting on the Russia investigation.

Phone records typically reveal the length and recipient of calls, but not the actual material of the conversation.

They could potentially be used to identify leakers speaking to reporters about perceived wrongdoing within the White House administration, or in a government department.
Joe Francis was arrested on August 13 after allegedly spitting in a woman's face to give her COVID and dragging her by her hair

Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis was arrested in Mexico after allegedly grabbing a woman by her neck and spitting in her face in an attempt to give her COVID, according to a report.

According to Mexican court documents the Sun says it obtained, the 45-year-old Kardashian friend was arrested on August 13, 2020, and was charged with domestic violence and intentional injury following an incident at his Punta Mita home.

He allegedly spat in a woman's face and dragged her across the floor, according to the Sun.

Court documents that were translated to English say Francis told the woman, whom the Sun didn't name, that he had tested positive for COVID the day before the altercation, the publication reports.

Then, on August 1, the court documents allege, he asked her to inject him with vitamins, and when she refused to get too close to him, he began to scream at her that she was an 'evil b****' and a 'w****' who he hoped rotted.

It's unclear what the woman's relationship is to Francis. He didnt comment to the Sun, which says it contacted him. DailyMail.com also contacted Francis by email; he didn't immediately respond.

DailyMail.com has contacted the local police department in the area of Francis' Mexico home and also the Mexican Federal Police for comment; neither immediately responded.

The incident allegedly took place at Francis' Punta Mita home known as Casa Aramara

Francis is the founder of Girls Gone Wild and was previously arrested for bashing another woman's head into the floor in 2011

According to the report, the alleged victim became afraid and hid in the closet, closing the door behind her, but soon, Francis started shaking the door.

She opened it, and ran into another room in fear. He allegedly told her he was kicking her out of his Casa Aramara, and proceeded to grab her right arm, turn her toward him, grabbing her by the neck and spitting in her face, according to the report.

He told the woman that she didn't care about him, but that she'd now care because 'she's infected as well,' according to the report. Francis had tested positive for COVID-19, the report said.

At that point, the court documents say, the woman tried to call the security team for the house, when Francis ran at her, grabbed her by the hair and pushed her to the ground, the report said.

He then allegedly stepped on her head and put all of his weight on her body, wringing her neck and spitting in her face again, before telling her to leave the house.

They both got up, the Sun reported, when Francis grabbed her by the hair again, throwing her to the ground and dragging her down the hallway.

While he was pulling her, he was allegedly 'shaking her hair and making her head hit the floor.'

The victim sustained injuries that took more than two weeks to heal, the Sun reports, and required special medical treatment.

Francis moved to Casa Aramara in Mexico after filing for bankruptcy in 2013

Francis was released from a local jail in Mexico on September 8, according to the report, after the victim allegedly 'issued her forgiveness' and charges were dropped on the condition that he attend psychological therapy, which law enforcement officials told the Sun he had completed.

Francis moved to Mexico following a bankruptcy case in 2013 meant to block Wynn Resorts from seizing the assets of his company, GGW Brands for repayment on his gambling debt.

He was also previously arrested and charged with three counts of false imprisonment, one count of assault causing great bodily injury and one count of dissuading a witness in 2011 when he allegedly attacked another woman and bashed her head into his tile floor. He was sentenced to 270 days in prison.
NASA's new top administrator is directing the agency's scientists to investigate unidentified flying objects, just a month after taking charge of the agency.

Bill Nelson, the former Florida senator who flew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, says there is no evidence yet that extraterrestrials have visited Earth, telling CNN on Thursday: 'I think I would know.'

But, as the Pentagon prepares to release a highly anticipated UFO report that does not rule out an extraterrestrial origin for high-profile military sightings, Nelson agrees that the possibility remains open.

'We don't know if it's extraterrestrial. We don't know if it's an enemy. We don't know if it's an optical phenomenon,' Nelson told CNN of encounters filmed by Navy pilots.

'We don't think [it's an optical phenomenon] because of the characteristics that those Navy jet pilots described ... And so the bottom line is, we want to know,' he said.

NASA's new top administrator Bill Nelson is encouraging the agency's scientists to investigate unidentified flying objects as they see fit

The so-called Gimbal video, from 2015, shows Navy pilot footage of an unexplained object seen at center as it is tracked as it soars high along the clouds at incredible speeds

NASA press secretary Jackie McGuinness told the outlet that Nelson has not established a formal task force to begin investigating UFOs, but did direct researchers to move forward investigating the topic as they see fit.

'This is a really interesting phenomenon and Americans are clearly interested in it [so if] the scientists want to investigate, they should,' said McGuinness.

Meanwhile, Federal Aviation Administration' database of drone-related incident has been revealed to include some unusual incidents.

The majority of the 10,000 incidents from the past 10 years appear to be related to encounters with commercial drones in restricted airspace -- but some suggest advanced capabilities including high-altitude operations.

An analysis of the incident database by The Drive found a curious pattern, with clusters of encounters occurring off the coast of the southeast U.S. and in the southwest.

One report in 2017 cited as many as eight unidentified aircraft operating in sensitive airspace off the East Coast.

It comes as the Pentagon faces a June 25 deadline to release its UFO report to Congress.

A NASA launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida is seen in April. Nelson is asking NASA scientists to investigate UFO sightings as they see fit

Two officials briefed on the report say the U.S. government cannot give a definitive explanation of the 'unidentified aerial phenomena' -- better known as UFOs -- spotted by military pilots.

Investigators have found no evidence the sightings are linked to aliens - but cant deny a link either.

The report also doesnt rule out that what pilots have seen may be new technologies developed by other countries. One of the officials said there is no indication the unexplained phenomena are from secret U.S. programs.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Findings of the report were first published by The New York Times.

The report examines multiple unexplained sightings from recent years that in some cases have been captured on video of pilots exclaiming about objects flying in front of them.

Congress in December required the Director of National Intelligence to summarize and report on the U.S. governments knowledge of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs - better known to the public as unidentified flying objects or UFOs.

The effort has included a Defense Department UAP task force established last year. The expected public release of an unclassified version of the report this month will amount to a status report, not the final word, according to one official.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Sue Gough, declined Friday to comment on news stories about the intelligence report. She said the Pentagon's UAP task force is 'actively working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on the report, and DNI will provide the findings to Congress.'

Video showing an unidentified flying object splashing down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego two years ago has now been corroborated by military radar which shows a ship, the USS Omaha, being swarmed by aerial phenomena in July 2019. The image above shows nine unexplained objects - some of which were traveling at speeds in excess of 160mph

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, when asked about the report, said of the question at first, 'Its always a little wacky on Fridays.' But she added, 'I will say that we take reports of incursions into our airspace by any aircraft - identified or unidentified - very seriously and investigate each one.'

The Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency have for decades looked into reports of aircraft or other objects in the sky flying at inexplicable speeds or trajectories.

The U.S. government takes unidentified aerial phenomena seriously given the potential national security risk of an adversary flying novel technology over a military base or another sensitive site, or the prospect of a Russian or Chinese development exceeding current U.S. capabilities. This also is seen by the U.S. military as a security and safety issue, given that in many cases the pilots who reported seeing unexplained aerial phenomena were conducting combat training flights.

The report's lack of firm conclusions will likely disappoint people anticipating the report, given many Americans' long-standing fascination with UFOs and the prospect of aliens having reached humankind. A recent story on CBS' '60 Minutes' further bolstered interest in the government report.

Luis Elizondo, former head of the Pentagons Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, said the one official's claim that there was no indicated link to secret U.S. programs would be significant. But he called on the government to be fully transparent.

'I think that our tax dollars paid for information and data involving UFOs,' Elizondo said. 'And I think it is the U.S. governments obligation to provide those results to the American people.'

But skeptics caution that the videos and reported sightings have plausible Earth-bound explanations. Mick West, an author, investigator and longtime skeptic of UFO sightings, said he supported the military looking into any possible incursion of U.S. airspace, especially by an adversary.

'People are conflating this issue with the idea that these UFOs demonstrate amazing physics and possibly even aliens,' West said. 'The idea that this is some kind of secret warp drive or its defying physics as we know it, there really isnt any good evidence for that.'

The Pentagon last year announced a task force to investigate the issue, and the Navy in recent years created a protocol for its pilots to report any possible sightings. And lawmakers in recent years have pushed for more public disclosure.

'Theres a stigma on Capitol Hill,' Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, told '60 Minutes' in May.

'I mean, some of my colleagues are very interested in this topic and some kind of, you know, giggle when you bring it up. But I dont think we can allow the stigma to keep us from having an answer to a very fundamental question.'
For a man who has built his fame  or notoriety  on freedom of information, there's an irony to the fact that Julian Assange's computer has no internet access. Its ports, like the keyboard, are filled with epoxy resin.

The near-useless console sits on a tiny desk in a cell on the ground floor of Belmarsh Prison, London, where the Wikileaks publisher has been detained for more than two years.

Soon  perhaps within days  the WikiLeaks publisher will know if the US government can continue to have him held in Britain's toughest jail. A decision on whether or not Washington can appeal against a British court's ruling that he cannot be extradited to America is expected imminently.

But until the legal imbroglio is settled, 49-year-old Assange is being held on remand in a maximum-security jail, raising troubling political questions about the indefinite detention of a man who has not been convicted of anything.

For a man who has built his fame  or notoriety  on freedom of information, there's an irony to the fact that Julian Assange's computer has no internet access. Its ports, like the keyboard, are filled with epoxy resin

Assange's supporters claim it shows the US government believes it can bully the British legal system  and humiliatingly impose its will upon a foreign jurisdiction.

His fiancee, Stella Moris, 38, said: 'Julian won his case against extradition to the USA six months ago yet he remains locked up.

'He is barely hanging on inside Belmarsh. He is still fighting and committed but this feels like an endless punishment. At times he is in such despair he thinks he is a burden, so suicide is a very real fear.'

At one stage, Assange was moved to Belmarsh's medical wing for round-the-clock supervision after a razor blade was found hidden in his cell.

Ms Moris continued: 'Julian is not violent, he is not a danger to society. He is a publisher and this case is about freedom of information. This situation shames the UK's justice system. It is a blight on the UK's global reputation.

'It is unacceptable for a foreign power to be able tell Britain what to do. It's time for President Joe Biden to drop the charges against Julian and Boris Johnson should ask him to do so at the G7 meeting in Cornwall this week. Hopefully then, justice will prevail.'

Assange is wanted in America on 17 charges under the Espionage Act and one of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

All relate to the leak of 700,000 classified documents handed to WikiLeaks by former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning (then Bradley Manning) in 2010.

His fiancee, Stella Moris (pictured with her sons), 38, said: 'Julian won his case against extradition to the USA six months ago yet he remains locked up'

Washington says the leak endangered the lives of American agents and their sources working in the field. If found guilty, Assange could face 175 years in prison.

He took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 while fighting extradition but was forcibly removed two years ago and is now detained in Belmarsh, where conditions are harsh.

Last winter he had to boil the kettle in his room continuously to generate warmth and stuffed his cell window with books to guard against the wind blowing in off the Thames.

He is confined to a cell of ten square yards for about 22 hours a day, and allowed out only to collect food and antidepressant medication, take a shower or go for his allotted exercise in the prison yard.

Key dates in Julian Assange's legal battle since 2012 May 2012: The Supreme Court in the UK rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face questioning over the allegations June 2012: He enters the Ecuadorean embassy in London August 2012: Ecuador grants him asylum, saying there are fears his human rights might be violated if he was to be extradited August 2015: Swedish prosecutors drop their investigation into two allegations December 2017: He is granted Ecuadorean citizenship April 2019: Ecuador withdraws his asylum status and he is arrested at the embassy May 2019: He is sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching his bail conditions. Sweden reopens a sexual assault investigation and the US files 17 new charges against him November 2019: Swedish prosecutors discontinue an investigation into an allegation of rape against him Advertisement

Assange finds it hard to concentrate enough to read but friends have sent him books including the 1930s prison diaries of Italian intellectual Antonio Gramsci, who described the physical and psychological torture of jail.

To keep his spirits up, Assange has a cork board on which he has pinned pictures of his two youngest sons  Gabriel, four, and Max, two, born during his seven years in the embassy. He also feeds a pair of mallards nesting beneath his cell window.

In January at Westminster Magistrates' Court, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled that Assange must stay in the UK under Section 91 of the Extradition Act, which relates to physical and mental health.

She found that, while US prosecutors had met the tests for Assange to be extradited for trial, America would be incapable of preventing him from attempting to take his own life there.

The US immediately lodged an application for an appeal. If it is denied, Assange will be free to start his life with Ms Moris and their sons.

If, as seems likely, the appeal is permitted, he faces an even longer stretch in Belmarsh  inmates there have included Soham murderer Ian Huntley, hate preacher Abu Hamza, black cab rapist Jon Worboys and Britain's worst-ever paedophile, Richard Huckle.

'For Julian, there is no end date in sight and that's inhuman,' said Ms Moris. 'At least convicted prisoners have hope.

'He is there only because the Government wants to keep an eye on him. He is in storage, warehoused, while the UK waits to see what the Americans will do next. In Julian's own words, Belmarsh is a meat processing plant. In no sane world is it where he belongs.'

South African-born Miss Moris met Assange when she joined his legal team in 2011. They began a relationship in 2015.

She said: 'Julian has no agency over his own life. His days are incredibly routine  they melt into each other.

'He needs human interaction and mental stimulation. I have seen him in a terrible state, unable to even string a sentence together.

'It's tough, navigating life inside. The prison has its own criminal justice system and he has been in trouble [with his guards] for the smallest things such as asking for a spoon when he wasn't entitled to one.'

She is clear that the majority of the staff guarding her fiance deal with him kindly and she knows conditions would be much harsher in the US.

'It's completely barbaric in America,' she said. 'Because Julian is considered a national security case and a suicide risk, he would be placed in isolation.

'Their worst isolation is called special administrative measures. It allows one phone call of 15 minutes per month and inmates are taken out once a day to exercise in an area the size of a parking space with a cage around it.

'Prisoners cannot hear anything through prison doors which block out all sound. It is like being buried alive. That is what awaits him in America. It's why we are fighting.

'The Americans are trying to prove their Espionage Act is the same in law as Britain's Official Secrets Act, which has never been used against a publisher or journalist. I don't want to accept this. If you accept it you are lost.'
There cannot be many more idyllic spots for those seeking the quiet life than Boca Chica, which sits on one of the most unspoilt beaches in the United States beside a wildlife refuge, 20 miles from the nearest town.

A hand-printed sign on a black barrel by the road points the way to the little village  a cluster of 35 bungalows amid mesquite and palm trees.

Little wonder Celia Johnson and Cheryl Stevens fell in love with it as children, enjoying days out with their families, then, decades later, choosing it as the perfect spot for a peaceful retirement. They watched bobcats and coyotes stroll down the street, porpoises glide through the Bay of Mexico waters, and numerous bird species nesting by the mudflats.

But things are different now. For billionaire tycoon Elon Musk has picked their remote slice of paradise as the base for launching missions to the Moon and Mars, declaring that he is 'creating the city of Starbase' in this pristine corner of Texas.

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla electric cars who built his first fortune with Paypal, says he is on a mission to save humanity from probable extinction on Earth by creating what he calls 'a space-bearing civilisation and multi-planetary species'

So now there is a giant rocket nose cone sitting at one end of their street, alongside towering cranes, fuel silos and gantries under construction. A silver starship looms over the beach, shimmering in the sun as it reaches into the skies.

The village is sandwiched between two fast-expanding developments  one for the launch-pad for the missions that Musk believes may one day save humanity, and the other for the bustling production facilities filled with his SpaceX staff.

The streets are packed with lorries, on the kerb sits debris from rockets that have exploded, tourists throng to see the site, the beach is sometimes closed off, the road is blocked, sirens wail and residents are routinely evacuated before launches in case another test flight goes wrong.

'It's not just that we did not want this in our back yard  they stopped us using our own back yard,' said Stevens, 60, a store manager.

She ditched her dream, and along with some other residents, accepted SpaceX's persistent offer to buy her home, and moved out in October.

But Johnson is among ten rebel residents in this battle for Boca Chica who are determined to resist the pressure to leave.

The village is sandwiched between two fast-expanding developments  one for the launch-pad for the missions that Musk believes may one day save humanity, and the other for the bustling production facilities filled with his SpaceX staff

'We had no idea it was going to be so humongous,' said the former social worker who is now in her 70s. 'But I still don't want to move from this lovely area when the beach is so close and with all the birds.'

This is the ultimate David and Goliath battle  a handful of mostly retired folk hankering for a simple life who suddenly find themselves confronting the world's richest man (worth 139 billion) who's famous for stopping at nothing to achieve his bold visions.

And few dreams are more ambitious than this South African tycoon's plan for space exploration. He recently won the backing of Nasa, with an order to provide a landing craft to be used during future manned trips to the Moon  despite four of his first five launches here exploding.

Musk, the founder of Tesla electric cars who built his first fortune with Paypal, says he is on a mission to save humanity from probable extinction on Earth by creating what he calls 'a space-bearing civilisation and multi-planetary species'.

He declared in April that humans need to create a permanently occupied base on the Moon, 'then build a city on Mars and become a spacefaring civilisation we don't want to be one of those single-planet species'.

As one visitor gawking at the rockets told me, this might be hokum but a billionaire spending his cash to save our species and commercialise space travel is rather nobler than all those egotistical plutocrats frittering away vast sums on giant yachts.

Standing in his way, however, is the unlikely figure of Celia Johnson. This pensioner's determination stems from her childhood as one of 11 children in a family from the nearby town of Brownsville, which has lived in the area for five generations.

'My father was a labourer and this was a place for poorer people who did not have money for vacations, so they would pack up their pick-ups with watermelon and sandwiches for a day on the beach. I loved that this was for the locals, for the poorer families, and it was so remote and beautiful with such a long stretch of beach.'

Although Johnson worked as a social worker in Michigan, she was determined to return to her south Texan roots and bought one of the houses in 1982. 'This was my dream home,' she said.

Later, she used a slice of her pension pot to buy a second home for holiday rentals to pad out her retirement income, while two of her sisters also bought bungalows in the village. 'It was really nice when we could all get together,' she said.

She moved back full-time three years ago  just as the SpaceX plans, first revealed on a far smaller scale in 2012, were taking off. The firm also began trying to obtain all the properties using a mixture of money and, allege residents, bullying.

Celia Johnson is among ten rebel residents in this battle for Boca Chica who are determined to resist the pressure to leave

'We were told the Federal Aviation Administration had said it was hazardous to live here, but then they moved in their staff and remodelled the homes they had bought,' said Johnson, who has had three windows shattered by rocket launches.

As we chatted, I saw an elegant woman clad in black designer clothes park at the next door property, plug in a Tesla for charging and stroll off to a SpaceX meeting. She declined to talk with me, but the contrast was striking with the older residents.

Johnson said her sisters had both sold up, fearing that if they did not take the cash on offer  slightly more than the market value of about $110,000 (77,000)  there would be forced purchases at a far lower figure. One official told me they hoped to avoid such drastic action, although he did not rule it out.

Johnson's friend Cheryl Stevens, who reluctantly sold her home, is furious at how her retirement plan was destroyed. 'It felt like a dictatorship moved in and we had no power to do anything to stop them,' she said.

Or as Johnson herself puts it: 'It was our heaven, our little piece of heaven that God gave us. And then, with SpaceX, everything changed.'

Yet she bears no animosity towards Musk and ignores him if she sees him in the street, since she believes we all have the right to privacy. 'Everyone can follow their dreams,' she said. 'I don't think living on Mars is a possibility but I'm not a scientist.'

Although she is evacuated from her home during rocket launches and loathes the road closures, she admits they are exciting events to watch. 'The whole ground seems to move and shake, although it is disappointing to see them crash.'

SpaceX is developing its Starship vehicles as reusable launch systems that Musk says will form the core of its deep-space fleet with 'Super Heavy' boosters on trips to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The first was launched last December, flew to 41,000ft but exploded when landing. Each of the following three flights also disintegrated. 'Looks like we've had another exciting test,' commented the announcer on the SpaceX livestream after the fourth failed launch spread debris five miles away.

There cannot be many more idyllic spots for those seeking the quiet life than Boca Chica, which sits on one of the most unspoilt beaches in the United States beside a wildlife refuge, 20 miles from the nearest town

Last month, SN15  the silver rocket by the beach  landed successfully after a six-minute flight, having soared six miles into the sky. Starhopper, an early prototype that looks like a giant R2-D2 robot from the Star Wars films, can also be seen over a wall.

SpaceX, which was founded in 2002 and has nearly 10,000 staff, recently sent the first humans into space from US soil in a decade, delivering two astronauts for Nasa from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station.

Yet scraps of debris from the exploded rockets in Texas still litter areas of Boca Chica, as well as a very full skip of disintegrated parts by the entrance to the launch zone.

Unsurprisingly, conservationists are dismayed at the sprawling site in the midst of such a precious wildlife zone that includes a state park and nationally designated refuge, where 500 migratory bird species pass through and turtles lay eggs.

'This is a unique area,' said Stephanie Bilodeau, a biologist with the non-profit Coastal Bend Bays And Estuaries Programme, who spends her days on a boat counting birds and overseeing nesting habitats.

'Elon Musk said this was the ideal place to launch rockets because it is just a big wasteland, but this is one of the best places for birds. There is nothing else like it with the combination of coastal grasslands, lomas [hills] and saline mudflats.'

She pointed out that intensely loud rocket launches and explosions unsettled the birds, while all the construction, traffic and tourists had begun altering the nature of a previously isolated place and damaging some habitats.

There are also significant flocks of space geeks and tourists visiting the site.

'This is amazing  it is where we will be going to another planet,' said Bradley Lynch, 52, a computer scientist who was touring with his family from Indiana.

Ryan Tucker, 41, has even moved from Michigan to watch the site's creation, regularly posting footage on social media for fellow space fans.

'This is like a real-life Star Trek,' he said, looking up from his camera opposite a wall emblazoned with 'Starbase'. 'I wanted to be as close as possible because this is the most exciting thing on Planet Earth. Musk is awesome  everything he does pushes humanity forward.'

Some might disagree with such an analysis of a maverick billionaire whose restless desire to shape the future often ruffles feathers, as have some of his intemperate comments on social media, including nasty jibes aimed at a British diver in the 2018 Thai cave rescue of stranded boys.

Local politicians in Brownsville, the nearest town (and supermarket) to Boca Chica, hope SpaceX will boost the prosperity of a struggling area sitting by the Mexican border.

Musk has already given $20 million (14 million) to schools in the area. But some have concerns about the power of a mega-rich private company and fear that gentrification of the area might drive out low-income families and irrevocably alter their community.

'Space exploration is wonderful and important but there is a big difference between Nasa and SpaceX,' said Nansi Guevara, an artist, lecturer and member of Fuera SpaceX (Leave SpaceX), a group fighting for a stronger community voice in Musk's plans.

'We are not against space exploration, but the role of a private company led by a billionaire ruling over our land raises ethical questions.'

Eddie Trevino, the county's top elected official, admitted that some people in Boca Chica were suffering from SpaceX having landed in their midst but that he was optimistic the wider benefits of Musk's arrival would boost the region.

'We are talking about changing the trajectory of our community for ever with space travel to the Moon and Mars,' he said. 'Who would have thought we would see the testing and launching of rockets out of our back yard?'

A good question. But it has already happened  much to the chagrin of Celia Johnson and the other residents who had found a sanctuary for their retirement amid the natural beauty and serenity of Boca Chica.
A delivery driver is fighting for his life after being run over by his own van while trying to stop a thief from stealing his vehicle.

The man, aged 28, is understood to have been making a delivery when he saw his van being stolen on Oxbarn Avenue in Wolverhampton on Friday afternoon.

He attempted to stop the van as it was driven away and was hit and reportedly dragged along the road.

He was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition.

Around 10 police vehicles were sent to the Bradmore area of the city after the man was injured at around 1pm.

One resident, who lives nearby and asked to remain anonymous, said: 'I was sitting in my house when I heard a noise outside.

'I looked outside and saw this guy lying on the street, which was a shock.

'The police got here quickly and I saw him being taken away in the air ambulance.'

Another neighbour added: 'It's frightening to think that could happen around here.

'I think it was a delivery driver who was making a delivery and someone tried to steal his van, from what I've heard.

'I hope the guy's OK.'

An air ambulance landed on the nearby recreation ground before the man was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where there is a major trauma centre, by land ambulance.

The 28-year-old victim was rushed to hospital following the shocking incident in Oxbarn Avenue yesterday

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We were called to reports of a collision between a van and a pedestrian on Oxbarn Avenue at 1.15pm.

'One ambulance, two paramedic officers and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford, with a doctor on board, attended the scene. On arrival we discovered one male patient who was found to have suffered serious injuries.

'He received specialist trauma care at the scene before being transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham by land ambulance.'
Anti-press campaigner Max Mosley is to be lionised in a big-screen documentary made by a film company of which he was a shareholder.

Mosley: It's Complicated has been billed as an independent film ahead of its scheduled release in cinemas next month.

But documents show the former Formula 1 chief, who died last month aged 81, had a stake in the production firm, Media Diamond Ltd, with his wife.

Their financial interest in the company is not declared in an advance copy of the 90-minute documentary seen by The Mail on Sunday.

Mosley: It's Complicated has been billed as an independent film ahead of its scheduled release in cinemas next month. He is pictured with Hugh Grant in 2011

The film focuses largely on his efforts to cut road deaths in India by improving car safety and his campaign for press regulation after he won 60,000 in damages from the News of the World.

The now-defunct paper was ruled to have breached his privacy by revealing a sadomasochistic orgy with five prostitutes in 2008.

But questions about his father, Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists, and his own involvement in far-Right politics are scant.

Asked about his father's views, Mr Mosley says: 'Everything he did he did because he thought it would be for the benefit of other people.'

The film focuses largely on his efforts to cut road deaths in India by improving car safety and his campaign for press regulation after he won 60,000 in damages from the News of the World

The documentary features an interview with Bernie Ecclestone, who teamed up with Mr Mosley to revolutionise F1.

The billionaire apologises for not supporting his friend after the sex scandal and reveals he suggested to Margaret Thatcher that she should give Mr Mosley a job in her Cabinet, adding: 'He could have been an excellent Prime Minister for the UK but, when pushed, he thought his father's history might have held him back.'

Actor Hugh Grant, who supported Mr Mosley's crusade against newspapers, also lauds him, although there is no room for comment from anti-racism groups or those in the newspaper industry who are heavily criticised.

Mr Mosley alleges that one or more of three F1 figures may have orchestrated the News of the World sting, but does not name them or provide any evidence of collusion.

He denies a claim made by a friend that he leaked a photograph of Jean-Marie Balestre, the former president of F1's governing body, wearing a Nazi uniform during a bitter struggle for control of the sport.

Publicising the film, director Michael Shevloff calls Mr Mosley 'an extraordinary man' who saved tens of thousands of lives with his work on car safety.

He said the work was 'completely independently conceived, created and edited' and Mr Mosley 'had no editorial input or control'.

Asked why it dwelled on road safety rather than Mr Mosley's far-Right links, he added: 'The film is my portrait of his life and an account of the time that we followed him. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I believe the film speaks for itself.'
Former Trump spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany slammed an upcoming profile of Press Secretary Jen Psaki by photojournalist Annie Leibovitz, saying that women in the Trump administration weren't given the same treatment by the press.

Leibovitz, the widely acclaimed American portrait photographer, was spotted in the White House on Thursday.

It is believed that she was there to snap pictures of Psaki, President Biden's top spokesperson, as part of a profile that will likely appear in an upcoming issue of Vogue.

Psaki's predecessor, McEnany, who now works as a Fox News political commentator, wondered on Friday why she and other women in the Trump administration weren't granted similar coverage.

'Instead of the glowing profiles, there were hit pieces repeatedly, time and time again,' McEnany said during her appearance on the Friday edition of the midday talk show Outnumbered.

Former First Lady Melania Trump, for instance, never was on the Vogue cover during President Trump's administration - though she did grace the cover in 2005 when she was marrying the former Apprentice star, the Mercury News reported.

Kayleigh McEnany (seen top right on the Fox News Channel on Friday) slammed an upcoming profile of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki by photojournalist Annie Leibovitz, saying that women in the Trump administration weren't given the same treatment by the press. Pictured clockwise from top left: Emily Compagno, McEnany, Morgan Ortagus, Larry Elder, and Julie Banderas on the show Outnumbered

Annie Leibovitz, the widely acclaimed American portrait photographer, was spotted in the White House on Thursday

It is believed that she was there to snap pictures of Jen Psaki, President Biden's top spokesperson, as part of a profile that will likely appear in an upcoming issue of Vogue. Psaki is seen above during the White House daily briefing on Friday.

'It's just so sad that you have a fawning press corps like this, a fawning media sycophantically covering members of the Biden administration,' McEnany said.

'They asked Jen Psaki yesterday about Joe Biden's cat. I mean, it's incredible the kinds of questions that they ask.

'We need investigative journalism. We don't need fawning coverage.

'It doesn't do the American people any justice.'

McEnany said that The New York Times sent photographers to Trump campaign headquarters to profile the women working to help the Republican get elected.

But she claims that the newspaper declined to run a story because 'it wasn't negative enough.'

Last year, New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman posted a tweet praising a senior Biden campaign official, Jen O'Malley Dillon, for juggling her career with motherhood.

Last year, New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman posted a tweet praising a senior Biden campaign official, Jen O'Malley Dillon, for juggling her career with motherhood. McEnany replied to Haberman's tweet by posting a photo of herself at the White House pushing a stroller with her young daughter in it

'Putting aside everything else, it is rare to hear a woman speaking unapologetically and unselfconsciously about life having kids and an intense job,' Haberman tweeted.

'The kind of thing men aren't often asked to think twice about but women are always expected to.'

McEnany replied to Haberman's tweet by posting a photo of herself at the White House pushing a stroller with her young daughter in it.

On Fox News on Friday, she told her fellow Outnumbered panelists that Haberman and other media figures declined to note that working moms under then-President Trump were not mentioned for experiencing similar challenges.

'Sarah [Sanders] was a working mom. Stephanie Grisham was. I was, and Morgan Ortagus was pregnant during her final year at the State Department, but Maggie Haberman seemed to have forgotten that,' McEnany said.

Ortagus, who worked for Trump in the State Department, agreed with McEnany.

'I think maybe I just have come to accept that we're not going to get the same sort of accolades,' Ortagus said during the show.

'Kayleigh, your daughter, one day, whether you were in Vogue or not, is going to be able to see these pictures of you working at the White House, taking her around in her carriage.

'And I think that is worth more than 20 profiles.'

McEnany replied: 'I had one goal: Elevate the forgotten men and women.

'And that is a legacy that I'm very proud of. No Vogue profile necessary here.'

On Twitter, McEnany was blasted for being jealous of her successor. Lindy Li tweeted: 'Propaganda Minister Kayleigh McEnany is upset over the great press Jen Psaki is getting...But she didn't seem upset at all over the disastrous Trump regime or the fact that our Capitol was invaded by their mob...Weird.'

Outnumbered co-host Emily Campagno said that while there was nothing wrong with women in the Biden administration receiving positive press, it was worth 'pointing out the media's unfair coverage of all of the hardworking women in the Trump administration.'

On Twitter, McEnany was blasted by some for being jealous of her successor.

Haberman tweeted: 'McEnany, still complaining her personal press coverage wasn't good enough, several months out.'

Lindy Li tweeted: 'Propaganda Minister Kayleigh McEnany is upset over the great press Jen Psaki is getting...But she didn't seem upset at all over the disastrous Trump regime or the fact that our Capitol was invaded by their mob...Weird.'

Another Twitter user commented: 'Kayleigh McEnany is jealous that Jen Psaki gets so much better press coverage.'

Bruce Strickland wrote: 'Here's a theory: Psaki is a lot better at the job and she doesn't lie.'

Another Twitter user referred to the former White House press secretary as 'Kayleigh McEnvy.'

John Pavlovitz tweeted at McEnany: 'You got bad press because you lied for a living on behalf of a racist, traitorous sociopath, knowing thousands of people were dying every day and you were ensuring they would. Be grateful you're not in prison.'
More than 5 million Americans are under a heat advisory this weekend as a record-breaking heatwave sweeps through the area.

Some of the hottest temperatures of the year are expected this weekend, CNN reports, with the heatwave likely to break records in certain cities.

Washington D.C. was expected to be in the low 90s on both Saturday and Sunday, and New York City saw its hottest day of the year on Saturday, reaching 90 degrees.

Boston, Massachusetts: Crowds gathered at L Street Beach on Saturday as more people in New England get vaccinated against the coronavirus

Boston, Massachusetts: Some people went out on their boats

Boston, Massachusetts: The beach was filled with people trying to enjoy the heat

The Northeast was expected to see a heat wave this weekend, with a record-breaking heat wave sweeping through the country

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday urged New Yorkers to limit outdoor activity and check on their neighbors  especially young children and the elderly for whom extreme heat could be dangerous.

In Boston, meanwhile, the heatwave is expected to last several days, and if it lasts for at least five days straight, it would be the longest heat wave in eight years, according to WBZ Meteorologist Jacob Wycoff.

The heatwave is expected to last into early next week, the National Weather Service predicts.

New York, New York: Brooklyn United Marching Band performed at the Let's Get This Show on the Street parade Saturday as revelers stood outside in the heat to watch

New York, New York: A sweltering crowd gathered to watch the show in Times Square as temperatures touched 90 degrees

Cape Cod, Massachusetts: The beach at Cape Cod was lined with beach chairs and umbrellas on Saturday as many in the Northeast flocked to the beach to enjoy the warm weather

Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Some even brought their dogs out to enjoy a day on the sand

Fire Island, New York: A restaurant on the South Shore of Long Island was crowded with people enjoying drinks in the warm weather on Saturday

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh released an infographic warning people of the signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, telling people that if they have symptoms of heat exhaustion they should get to a cooler, air conditioned place, drink water and take a cold shower.

Those who are experiencing a heat stroke, though, should call 911.

The mid-west and Plains were also expected to see highs near the 100s, with the Twin Cities National Weather Service issuing a heat advisory for the area until 9 p.m. Saturday.

Narragansett, Rhode Island: A couple watched a boat pass by Salty Brine State Beach

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh warns people experiencing heat exhaustion to get into the air conditioning, drink water or take a cold shower, and people experiencing heat stroke should call 911

Meteorologists in the area expect temperatures to reach 100 degrees on Saturday in Minneapolis and St. Paul, which would shatter a record high not seen since 1925. Similar temperatures are expected on Sunday.

It will also be scorching in the desert area of the Southwest with 100 to 110 degree readings, but a cold front will move through the Northwest.
Demands that Dr. Anthony Fauci face criminal investigation for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic are making their way from evening cable talk shows to Congress.

It is the latest escalation in attacks on the federal government's leading expert on infectious diseases, a figure adored on the left and despised by the right.

In an interview, Rep. Chip Roy used the release of a batch of emails to say that Fauci should face criminal investigation.

'We have literally wrecked the greatest economy in the history of the world because Anthony Fauci wanted to be on the cover of magazines and be in at the cocktail scene circuit in D.C.,' he told podcast host Todd Starnes.

'Well go follow the truth wherever it may lead and if thats criminal investigations, so be it.'

Republicans have stepped up their attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci with the release of thousands of emails. Now Rep. Chip Roy is saying he wants answers and that may require a criminal investigation into the federal government's top coronavirus adviser

Fauci said the cache of emails has been taken out of context and the White House has defended his role throughout the pandemic

The email cache - released after a Freedom of Information request by news organizations - has raised fresh questions about how much Fauci knew about work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The laboratory is at the center of claims the pandemic started with the leak of a virus.

Fauci's critics contend the emails show he was warned about the lab leak hypothesis early in the crisis and that he knew about 'gain of function' research at the lab, in which scientists conduct research by altering the genetic makeup of viruses.

And they believe emails sent in February last year show colleagues at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases were concerned they may be linked to the work at the Chinese lad.

The result is a feeding frenzy among conservatives.

They first took against Fauci last year when he frequently offered a skeptical take on President Donald Trump's optimistic view of the pandemic's progression.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson trawled through the emails on Wednesday evening, including a message from Peter Daszak.

Daszak was the head of a nonprofit responsible for sending U.S. funding to the Wuhan lab and wrote thanking Fauci for publicly ruling out the idea that the facility was to blame for the facility.

Carlson said it was odd that most of the email was redacted.

'That specific exemption to the FOIA law applies to, quote, records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of those documents could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,' he said.

'Are Peter Daszak and Tony Fauci under criminal investigation?

'We can only hope they are. They certainly deserve it.'

"We have literally wrecked the greatest economy in the history of the world because Anthony Fauci wanted to be on the cover of magazines"



WATCH: Rep. Roy discusses efforts to #FireFauci with @ToddStarnes pic.twitter.com/PrjcmtVUnA  Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) June 4, 2021

Roy took up the idea in the interview.

He said he could not level an accusation of criminal behavior but that more needed to be known.

'This has been the best example you could have of what happens when you fund federal bureaucrats to go in and make decisions on our behalf, and step in with the power that they have,' he said.

'Think about the power of Anthony Fauci and what hes done. 100,000 businesses closed, destroyed lives, children wearing masks, mental stuff up, people who couldnt get cancer screenings.'

A slew of Republicans is demanding his resignation.

President Biden has ordered the intelligence community to redouble efforts into finding out whether the novel coronavirus emerged naturally or from a lab. Researchers at the Wuhan Institute for Virology are seen in this February 2017 file photo

'Anthony Faucis recently released emails and investigative reporting about #COVID19 origins are shocking," Sen. Josh Hawley, tweeted.

'The time has come for Fauci to resign and for a full congressional investigation into the origins of #COVID19 - and into any and all efforts to prevent a full accounting.'

The White House has thrown its support behind Fauci, who remains one of the countries most trusted authorities on public health, according to latest polls.

And, for his part, Fauci said the emails had been taken out of context.

'It's really very much an attack on science,' he told MSNBC Friday.

Being a public figure, he said, meant he expected attacks.

'My job was to make a vaccine and use my institute and its talented scientists that we have there - and that we fund in the various universities - to get a vaccine that was highly safe and highly effective and we succeeded,' he added.

'All the other stuff is just a terrible.. not-happy type of a distraction. But it's all nonsense.'

'I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human, but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak,' he told CNN.

President Joe Biden recently ordered a fresh look at the virus's origins prompting former President Donald Trump to say he was right to raise the lab leak theory more than a year ago.

'There are a lot of questions that must be answered by Dr. Fauci,' he said in a statement. 'What did Dr. Fauci know about 'gain of function' research, and when did he know it?'
Stonewall has complained to Ofsted about its inspectors not always raising trans issues with pupils who are primary school age.

Current rules mean those from the school watchdog do not have to ask children around the age of five about subjects such as sexual orientation if the schools head believes it is sensitive.

And in an email the LGBT rights charity said they were concerned Ofsted is not addressing issues.

Stonewall raised concerns about some inspectors not raising trans issues with primary school children

The Telegraph reported the email saying: We are concerned that exempting inspectors from speaking to pupils about certain protected characteristics could undermine their ability to effectively assess a primary schools compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

It also asked if schools could be marked down in future if children are not made aware of trans issues.

A spokesperson for Ofted said: "Primary schools that are meeting the Department for Educations statutory requirements for teaching RSHE, including on the protected characteristics, but are not explicitly teaching about gender reassignment, can still be judged outstanding.

"As set out in our guidance, if a school requests that inspectors do not speak to pupils about a topic that the school reasonably believes is sensitive for its pupils, inspectors will not ask pupils questions about it."

The gay rights charity was previously under fire for suggesting organisations should replace 'mother' with 'parent who gave birth'

The issue comes a day after it was revealed hundreds of organisations wanting to be included on Stonewall's equality leaderboard were told they should replace the term 'mother' with 'parent who has given birth'.

The group has issued various guidance to employers wanting to make the cut on its Workplace Equality Index, which has attracted more than 500 applications in the last year.

A number of government departments, such as the Home Office, the Department for International Trade and the Ministry of Justice feature on the list, as well as the likes of MI6 and the British Army.

Stonewall says featuring on the Workplace Equality Index allows employers to understand their employees' experiences and shows commitment to LGBT equality.

Earlier this week it was reported the Equalities Minister Liz Truss wants the Government to quit a diversity scheme run by Stonewall amid a row over trans rights.

Miss Truss is said to be pushing for departments to join the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and Acas in dropping the Diversity Champions scheme over fears it is not providing value for money.
A quick-thinking rookie police officer in Arkansas saved the life of a newborn baby recently, with his heroic rescue caught on camera.

Cody Hubbard, 23, is the rookie officer who stepped into action to save the day when called upon last weekend in Pottsville.

The Pottsville Police Department received a call about a three-week old baby who needed help because he was choking on anti-gas drops last Saturday.

The infant was clearly struggling to get air, causing his parents and grandparents to panic.

'We were trying to give Grady his medicine  and he was taking them just fine,' father Joe Chronister told Fox & Friends on Saturday. 'Right towards the end, he started choking.'

Scroll down for video

Officer Cody Hubbard, 23, stepped in to save the day in Pottsville, Arkansas after a baby's distressed family called police when the newborn began choking on medicine

The baby began to 'turn purple,' leading Joe and his wife to call 911.

Hubbard was the responding officer to the call and says he prayed on his way to the baby.

'A normal day went to a chaotic day in a matter of seconds,' Hubbard, a parent himself, told FOX 16 after the fact. 'When a family is depending on you like that, you know the pressure hits.'

Hubbard later said that he dealt with a similar problem himself involving his daughter, giving him the experience to deal with the situation.

Chronister tried in vain to help his son, but was struggling until Hubbard arrived.

The officer appeared to squeeze and clap the baby's back, trying to dislodge the drops

Hubbard, for his part, chalked up the rescue to prayer, saying, 'Pretty much for the Lord to be on my side on this one'

'We were trying everything, and it seemed like he [Hubbard] knew exactly what to do,' Chronister said.

In bodycam footage from Hubbard's uniform, he can be seen clapping Grady on the back and trying to squeeze from under his armpits, both which ultimately helped dislodge the drops from where they were caught.

'Got him breathing and got him crying, which is a good thing' Chronister said. 'He saved my babys life.'

Hubbard, for his part, chalked up the rescue to prayer, saying, 'Pretty much for the Lord to be on my side on this one.'

Hubbard also explained his process for dealing with situations involving children.

'Whenever I rolled up on this call, anytime I deal with something that involves a child, I think about how the parents would want me to treat the child as if it was mine,' Hubbard said.

'I started just kind of bawling because, you know, it felt good to see how that turned out,' Hubbard said. 'Mentally, I just broke down. I was crying, but it was happy tears'

Afterwards, Hubbard admits to crying about the ordeal in his police car after he turned off his body camera.

'I started just kind of bawling because, you know, it felt good to see how that turned out,' Hubbard said. 'Mentally, I just broke down. I was crying, but it was happy tears.'

'It was life-changing,' Hubbard added to Fox & Friends.

Hubbard is set be given an award later this month to honor the fact that he saved a life

On Thursday, the police department posted about the incident on Facebook, writing, 'As an officer you never know what is ahead of you for the day, it can go from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye.

'Last Saturday Officer Hubbard went above and beyond to save a little life, thank you Officer Hubbard for your quick response. This is what we are all about!'

Hubbard is set be given an award later this month to honor the fact that he saved a life.

Grady is said to be doing fine now.
Usman Khan, 28, pictured, murdered Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, during a Learning Together event at Fishmongers' Hall in London in November 2019

The creators of a controversial prison education programme that worked with London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan did not pass a training course after clashing with organisers about staff safety.

Cambridge University academics Dr Ruth Armstrong and Dr Amy Ludlow attended a course hosted by the US Inside-Out programme, forerunner to other schemes including their Learning Together project, in 2015.

But they walked out after rejecting Inside-Out's policies of banning contact with prisoners outside the programme. The US scheme has a near total ban on supporting terrorists after release from jail.

Inside-Out founder Lori Pompa told The Mail on Sunday: 'Though some of the ways that Learning Together describes its philosophy and goals are similar to the underpinnings of Inside-Out, what they do and how they do it seems to contrast fundamentally with the way that Inside-Out operates.'

Learning Together decided that it would work with released terrorists, including Khan, 28. He murdered Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, during a Learning Together event at Fishmongers' Hall in London in November 2019.

An inquest jury last month found that failings by the police, probation service and MI5 contributed to the unlawful killings of the two graduates.

After the verdict, Ms Jones's family criticised Dr Armstrong and Dr Ludlow for the 'scant regard they had for the fundamental safety of their staff'.

The inquest heard that Learning Together often did not know details of prisoners' offending backgrounds and staff did not receive training on handling dangerous inmates.

John Podmore, professor of sociology at Durham University, which works with Inside-Out, said: 'Inside-Out sets out that there should be no contact outside the programme. But Cambridge just believed they could do it their own way.'

An inquest jury last month found that failings by the police, probation service and MI5 contributed to the unlawful killings of the two graduates
Police have discovered a huge cannabis farm in an aristocrat's castle, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Officers spent two days removing plants and equipment from Woodlands Castle, which is owned by eccentric peer Sir Benjamin Slade. It is understood Sir Benjamin rented out the 17th Century property in Somerset earlier this year and there is no suggestion he was aware of any illegal activity.

Police vans were seen at the castle last Tuesday and officers were still searching it on Thursday.

Sir Benjamin Slade rented out the property earlier this year and was completely unaware that drugs were being grown in the location

Woodlands Castle, set in 12 acres of parkland, is a well-known luxury wedding venue in Ruishton, six miles from Sir Benjamin's 13th Century ancestral home, Maunsel House, pictured

Woodlands Castle, set in 12 acres of parkland, is a well-known luxury wedding venue in Ruishton, six miles from Sir Benjamin's 13th Century ancestral home, Maunsel House.

A police spokesman said: 'A man has been charged with production of controlled drug B following a discovery of suspected cannabis plants at an address in Ruishton.'

Trung Nam Pham, 39, of no fixed address, appeared before Taunton Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and was remanded in custody pending a crown court hearing.

The spokesman added: 'Two further individuals were arrested in connection with this incident. Enquiries continue.'

Sir Benjamin, 75, a divorced shipping magnate who has a 150-strong gun collection that includes blunderbusses, a tommy gun, 400-year-old muskets and an AK47 assault rifle, once placed an advertisement for a 'castle-trained wife' who could provide him with two sons  an heir and a spare. He listed his requirements for the perfect 'breeder'. She should be taller than 5ft 6in  'preferably 6ft 1ins or 6ft'  aged between 30 and 40, and possess a gun licence. 'Scorpios, drug users, lesbians, communists and Scots need not apply,' he added.

Woodlands Castle usually plays host to dozens of weddings and events each year but has not been operating since the Covid-19 pandemic started. At the height of the crisis last year, Sir Benjamin offered the property to the Government to be used as a testing centre and emergency hospital.

Maunsel House  thought to be one of the properties at which Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales  has also been badly hit by the pandemic and Sir Benjamin recently advertised the 17-bedroom manor house for sale on Facebook. He told The Times that if a 'stupid Arab or Chinese or Russian oligarch' offered 30 million, he would 'bite their hand off'.
For a group who love to experience the great outdoors naked, it's a rather curious way to appeal to new recruits.

But British Naturism, which says there has been a surge in the popularity of nudism since lockdown, is spreading the word by telling fans to get their kit on.

T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and aprons are being sold with slogans such as 'I'd rather be naked', 'I've got nothing on later' and 'Clothing is always optional'.

British Naturism is selling T-shirts (left), hoodies, sweatshirts and beanie hats (right) with slogans such as 'I'd rather be naked' and 'I've got nothing on later'

The merchandise, which also includes a 'Clothing is always optional' T-shirt (pictured) priced at 16, is being sold on the British Naturism website

There's even a bright orange beanie hat with the phrase 'Isn't it a bit cold for that?'

The merchandise, which also includes a 'Naturists may be seen beyond this point' doormat priced at 20, is being sold on the British Naturism website, which promises that new items are 'ready for the winter  or the British summer'.

Officials say further products in the pipeline include towels and flags 'to show your support from tents, boats, caravans and maybe even flagpoles'.

British Naturism reported last month that the social isolation seen during the pandemic had 'caused an explosion in naked living'.

The group has been staging dozens of online events each week allowing members to strip off and chat or take part in activities such as naked yoga sessions, cooking classes or cocktail hours on Zoom.

But lockdown restrictions have forced the organisation to reschedule one of its biggest annual nudist events  'The Gathering'  to October when hardy naturists will venture to the Isle of Bute in Scotland.

Officials say further products in the pipeline include towels and flags 'to show your support from tents and boats'. Pictured: Grey hoodie with 'Nothing's better' slogan priced at 29

British Naturism said last month that the social isolation seen during the pandemic had 'caused an explosion in naked living'. Pictured: 16 orange T-shirt with 'Naturist on Holiday!' slogan

Those joining the three-night break at one of the grandest hotels on the island may be grateful for British Naturism's fleeces and woolly hats, as the average temperature in Bute at that time of year is just 7C (44F).

The recent interest in naturism has buoyed the movement's long-standing fans who say they look forward to welcoming those who enjoy 'exploring the freedom, friendship and acceptance that naturism offers, perhaps for the first time'.

A spokesman added: 'We've seen a growth in enquiries to join us, no doubt linked to coronavirus.

'People were spending a lot of time at home during lockdown and I think a lot of them spent that time naked. It's only natural that it would be carried over.'
The audacious theft of a masterpiece from the National Gallery by a retired Geordie bus driver is among the most famous art heists in history  and it will soon be the subject of a new film, The Duke, starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren.

But in a fresh twist to the bizarre case, it has emerged that police were told during the 1965 trial of the man who was convicted and jailed over the theft of Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington that they had the wrong man.

During the Old Bailey hearing, Kempton Bunton claimed he had intended to hold the painting 'to ransom' to draw attention to the plight of pensioners struggling to pay their TV licence fees.

Mr Kempton Bunton, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who was accused of stealing the Goya painting

Portrait of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington', 1814. In 1969 Jackie Bunton confessed to stealing the Goya but it was decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him

But many people questioned how a 57-year-old man weighing 18st could have squeezed through an open toilet window in the early hours of August 21, 1961, and made off with the priceless portrait.

Now, a crucial document that could have spared Bunton his prison term has been unearthed by The Mail on Sunday. In a witness statement to the Metropolitan police on November 11, 1965, Pamela Smith, who was dating Bunton's eldest son Ken, alleges that his youngest son, John, was the real culprit.

Pointing the finger at the 20-year-old van driver who lived in London and was known as Jackie, she told officers: 'When Jackie stole it from the gallery, he had just taken any picture, he didn't go there for the Goya. Jackie was alone in London, he stole the painting and then wrote to his father, told him he was in trouble. Ken told me that Jackie wanted to burn it or write it off as a bad job.'

She claimed that Kempton and Jackie agreed to try to sell their story to a newspaper after the trial and split the proceeds.

She added: 'Kempton himself is not interested in pensioners, he is just looking after himself.' She told police she did not want to give evidence. The portrait, which had been bought in 1961 by the Government for 140,000 (the equivalent of 3.2 million today), was eventually found in a locker at New Street Station in Birmingham before Kempton Bunton gave himself up to the police.

The film is due for release in September, with Broadbent starring as Kempton Bunton and Mirren as his wife Dorothy

His lawyers argued he could not be convicted because he had planned to return the painting. He was jailed for three months for stealing the frame.

In 1969 Jackie Bunton confessed to stealing the Goya but it was decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him. Last night, the Metropolitan Police declined to comment.

The film is due for release in September, with Broadbent starring as Kempton Bunton and Mirren as his wife Dorothy. Its director, Roger Michell, told last year's Venice Film Festival: 'This is a very strange, very English, eccentric story.'
Dear Tim and Executive Leadership,

Thank you for your thoughtful considerations on a hybrid approach to returning to office work, and for sharing it with all of us early this week. We appreciate your efforts in navigating what has been undeniably an incredibly difficult time for everyone around the world, and doing so for over one hundred thousand people. We are certain you have more plans than were shared on Wednesday, but are following Apple's time-honored tradition of only announcing things when they are ready. However, we feel like the current policy is not sufficient in addressing many of our needs, so we want to take some time to explain ourselves.

This past year has been an unprecedented challenge for our company; we had to learn how to deliver the same quality of products and services that Apple is known for, all while working almost completely remotely. We did so, achieving another record-setting year. We found a way for everyone to support each other and succeed in a completely new way of working together  from locations we were able to choose at our own discretion (often at home).

However, we would like to take the opportunity to communicate a growing concern among our colleagues. That Apple's remote/location-flexible work policy, and the communication around it, have already forced some of our colleagues to quit. Without the inclusivity that flexibility brings, many of us feel we have to choose between either a combination of our families, our well-being, and being empowered to do our best work, or being a part of Apple. This is a decision none of us take lightly, and a decision many would prefer not to have to make. These concerns are largely what prompted us to advocate for changes to these policies, and data collected will reflect those concerns.

Over the last year we often felt not just unheard, but at times actively ignored. Messages like, 'we know many of you are eager to reconnect in person with your colleagues back in the office,' with no messaging acknowledging that there are directly contradictory feelings amongst us feels dismissive and invalidating. Not only do many of us already feel well-connected with our colleagues worldwide, but better-connected now than ever. We've come to look forward to working as we are now, without the daily need to return to the office. It feels like there is a disconnect between how the executive team thinks about remote / location-flexible work and the lived experiences of many of Apple's employees.

For many of us at Apple, we have succeeded not despite working from home, but in large part because of being able to work outside the office. The last year has felt like we have truly been able to do the best work of our lives for the first time, unconstrained by the challenges that daily commutes to offices and in-person co-located offices themselves inevitably impose; all while still being able to take better care of ourselves and the people around us.

Looking around the corner, we believe the future of work will be significantly more location and timezone flexible. In fact, we are already a distributed company with offices all over the world and across many different timezones. Apple's organizational hierarchy lends itself towards offices that often follow the same structure, wherein people in the same organization are more likely to be co-located in an office. At the same time, we strongly encourage cross-functional, cross-organization collaboration, and our organization's many horizontal teams reflect this. Such collaboration is widely celebrated across our organization, and arguably leads us to our best results  it's one of the things that makes Apple, Apple. However, orgs are rarely co-located within walking distance, let alone in the same building, meaning our best collaboration has always required remote communication with teams in other offices and across timezones, since long before the pandemic. We encourage distributed work from our business partners, and we've been a remote-communication necessary company for some time, a vision of the future that Steve Jobs himself predicated in an interview from 1990. This may explain how mandatory out-of-office work enabled tearing down cross-functional communication barriers to deliver even better results.

Almost all of us have worked fully remote for over a year now, though the experience arguably would have been better less one pandemic. We have developed two major versions of all our operating systems, organized two full WWDCs, introduced numerous new products, transitioned to our own chipsets, and supported our customers with the same level of care as before. We have already piloted location-flexible work the last 15 months under much more extreme conditions and we were very successful in doing so, finding the following benefits of remote and location-flexible work for a large number of our colleagues:

Diversity and Inclusion in Retention and Hiring

Tearing Down Previously Existing Communication Barriers

Better Work Life Balance

Better Integration of Existing Remote / Location-Flexible Workers

Reduced Spread of Pathogens

We ask for your support in enabling those who want to work remotely / in location-flexible ways to continue to do so, letting everyone figure out which work setup works best for them, their team, and their role  be it in one of our offices, from home, or a hybrid solution. We are living proof that there is no one-size-fits-all policy for people. For Inclusion and Diversity to work, we have to recognize how different we all are, and with those differences, come different needs and different ways to thrive. We feel that Apple has both the responsibility to recognize these differences, as well as the capability to fully embrace them. Officially enabling individual management chains and individual teams to make decisions that work best for their teams roles, individuals, and needs  and having that be the official stated policy rather than the rare individual exceptions  would alleviate the concerns and reservations many of us currently have.

We understand that inertia is real and that change is difficult to achieve. The pandemic forcing us to work from home has given us a unique opportunity. Most of the change has already happened, remote/location-flexible work is currently the 'new normal,' we just need to make sure we make the best of it now. We believe that Apple has the ability to be a leader in this realm, not by declaring 'everyone just work from home for forever,' as some other companies have done, but by declaring an official broad paradigm policy, that allows individual leaders to make decisions that will enable their teams to do the best work of their lives. We strongly believe this is the ideal moment to 'burn the boats'  to boldly declare 'yes this can be done, and done successfully, because there is no other choice for the future.'

We have gathered some of our requests and action items to help continue the conversation and make sure everyone is heard.

We are formally requesting that Apple considers remote and location-flexible work decisions to be as autonomous for a team to decide as are hiring decisions.

We are formally requesting a company-wide recurring short survey with a clearly structured and transparent communication / feedback process at the company-wide level, organization-wide level, and team-wide level, covering topics listed below.

We are formally requesting a question about employee churn due to remote work be added to exit interviews.

We are formally requesting a transparent, clear plan of action to accommodate disabilities via onsite, offsite, remote, hybrid, or otherwise location-flexible work.

We are formally requesting insight into the environmental impact of returning to onsite in-person work, and how permanent remote-and-location-flexibility could offset that impact.

We have great respect for Apple and its leadership; we strongly believe in the Innovation and Thinking Differently (from 'the way things have always been done' and 'industry standards') that are part of Apple's DNA. We all wish to continue to 'bleed six colors' at Apple itself and not elsewhere. At Apple, our most important resource, our soul, is our people, and we believe that ensuring we are all heard, represented, and validated is how we continue to defend and protect that precious sentiment.

This is not a petition, though it may resemble one. This is a plea: let's work together to truly welcome everyone forward.
Crystal Smith, the mother of Aiden Fucci, was booked into jail just after 12pm on Saturday and released at 1:40pm by the St. John's County Sheriff's Office

The mother of the 14-year-old Florida boy who allegedly stabbed a 13-year-old cheerleader 114 times, killing her, has turned herself in to authorities after she was suspected of tampering with evidence, investigators said.

Crystal Smith, the mother of Aiden Fucci, was booked into jail just after 12pm on Saturday and released at 1:40pm by the St. John's County Sheriff's Office, according to WTLV-TV.

Smith is alleged to have been caught on surveillance footage going into her son's bedroom after his arrest on May 10.

She allegedly retrieved a pair of blood-stained jeans, cleaned them, and then put them back in the bedroom.

Investigators who returned to the home after Fucci's arrest took the pair of jeans from his bedroom. They then conducted tests which showed blood traces on the jeans as well as inside a drain in the bathroom.

Aiden Fucci appeared in court via Zoom last Friday (May 28) to be charged as an adult with the murder of cheerleader Tristyn Bailey, who prosecutors say he stabbed 114 times in a cold blooded murder.

Fucci was arrested on May 10, a day after 13 year-old Tristyn's body was found covered with knife wounds in St Johns, Florida.

He was pictured in a new mugshot released last Friday, after charges against him were upgraded.

'I remain incredibly proud of the men and women of the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office for their continued thoroughness in this investigation,' Sheriff Hardwick said in a written statement Saturday.

'Crystal Smith will be held responsible for her role in this case and justice will be served for Tristyn Bailey and her family.'

Initially, Fucci was charged with second degree murder as a juvenile, but prosecutors have spent weeks deliberating whether to upgrade that charge to first degree murder, and whether to process him as an adult.

Aiden Fucci appeared in court via Zoom on Friday, May 28, to be charged as an adult with the murder of cheerleader Tristyn Bailey, who prosecutors say he stabbed 114 times in a cold blooded murder.

Fucci in court via Zoom on Friday, May 28, wearing a mask. He is being held without bond in jail

On May 27, the district attorney did just that, and filed paperwork charging Fucci as an adult with first degree pre-meditated murder.

It is a capital felony that can carry the death penalty for anyone who committed the crime over the age of 15. He misses that prospective punishment by just a year.

State's Attorney R.J. Larizza gave harrowing details at a press conference afterwards, saying it was a 'sad' but easy decision given how violent the killing was and indicating that his office will seek life without parole.

Fucci didn't speak during the May 28 hearing. He is being held without bond.

Prosecutors indicated that he they would seek life without parole but said Aiden will likely be able to appeal it, as part of a wider, ongoing effort to reduce sentences for juveniles, in Florida.

Prosecutors are yet to reveal whether there was any evidence of sexual assault, or if they have honed in on a motive.

They did say that Fucci had been telling friends he planned to kill 'someone' in the woods and that Tristyn may simply have been in 'the wrong place at the wrong time'.

Larizza revealed that Aiden had told friends he was going to kill 'someone in the woods' before he murdered Tristyn, and said that it was 'disturbing' it wasn't taken seriously.

'You've heard that our victim Tristyn was stabbed - to say that it was horrific could be argued to be an understatement. The medical examiner completed an autopsy on our victim and identified confidently that there 114 stab wounds.

Tristyn Bailey, 14, died fighting for her life while Fucci stabbed her 114 times

'At least 49 of those were to the hands, arms and head and were defensive.

'Premeditation can be inferred from just the sheer number of stab wounds that Tristyn Bailey had to suffer. Every time that arm went back, and every time that arm went down, that was premeditation and it happened 228 times.

'It's not just the fact she was stabbed 114 times - it's also information that we were able to glean from witnesses.

'The defendant made statements to several people that he intended to kill someone. He didn't say who that was but he indicated that he was going to kill someone by taking them into the woods and stabbing them which are certainly the facts of this case.'

'A knife was found in the pond, very close in proximity to our victim's body. The tip of the knife was located by the medical examiner in the scalp of our victim.'

Larizza said that he'd never dealt with such a violent crime in his entire career.

He said DNA evidence helped solidify his decision - Aiden's DNA was found on Tristyn and Tristyn's was found on Aiden's clothes and the knife.

'The juvenile system is geared for kids with drug issues maybe, or who commit non violent crime,' Larizza said as he explained his decision to charge Fucci as an adult.

'When you get kids that get tot his level of violence, the time and accountability is not there the adult system is where this case belongs.

'It was not a difficult decision to make. It's a sad decision and a sad state of affairs but it was clear to us after we looked at what happened that it was not only appropriate but it was really the only choice we could make.

Aiden posted this selfie on social media after being taken in for questioning. Sheriffs say the 'egregious' post shows he was proud of what he did

Tristyn's family reported her missing on May 9. She was last seen at midnight by them, and cops say she was last accounted for at around 1.15am. By 6pm, her body had been found

State's Attorney RJ Larizza said on Thursday it was a 'sad' but easy decision to charge Fucci as an adult and that they had no other choice given the severity of the crime

The teenagers were last seen on May 9 walking near the Durbin Amenity Center in St John's at 1.45am. It's unclear what she was doing there or if Aiden was with her

'She was fighting for her life. It's just sad that we even have to talk about that,' Larizza said.

He added there was no indication that Fucci suffers mental health problems or had been seeking treatment for it. He refused to say if Fucci had confessed to the killing.

'These kids, they're teenagers, they have their groups and hangout. It started out as just a few kids getting together and hanging out but it didn't end that way,' he said.

In Florida, first degree murder can become capital murder if prosecutors can prove that the murder was 'especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel', or if it was 'committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.'

Sheriffs have been strong in their criticism of Fucci and unreserved in their public horror at the way in which Tristyn died.

She was stabbed a 'horrific' number of times in a 'cold blooded' act of murder, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said earlier this month.

Tristyn was found hours after she vanished, by a local resident who was out for a walk.

Surveillance camera footage is said to have shown the victim and Fucci walking towards the spot where her body was dumped on the evening of her disappearance, with Fucci walking back alone afterwards.

He had posted on Snapchat a selfie from the back of a cop car with the snide caption 'anyone seen Tristyn?'

That photo sparked an outcry, with St John's County Sheriff's Office later having to explain that Fucci had been taken in for questioning as a person of interest at the time, meaning he had not been arrested, cuffed or had his phone taken off him.

Larizza said on Thursday that the Snapchat post indicated how he had no remorse for his actions, with prosecutors now set to use it to strengthen their case against Fucci.

Fucci's next court appearance has not yet been scheduled.
Actor John Sessions left most of his 1.4 million estate to his siblings.

The TV star, known for stints on QI, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Have I Got News For You, died aged 67 in November after a heart attack.

Most of his estate went to his twin Margaret and his brother William.

The comedian, whose real name was John Marshall, also starred in films such as The Merchant Of Venice with Al Pacino

A Picasso lithograph was left to old school friend Alan McWalter.

The comedian, whose real name was John Marshall, also starred in films such as The Merchant Of Venice with Al Pacino.

Dazzling mimic whose hardest role was playing himself... CHRISTOPHER STEVENS on towering comic genius John Sessions

John Sessions was once inescapable. Every chat show and panel game on TV was clamouring for his brilliant impressions and stream-of-consciousness wit.

He was the mainstay of Channel 4's improvisation comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway?  dazzling the other competitors with his surreal, erudite gags invented and performed in a blur of hilarity.

In conversation, he flipped between famous voices, John Gielgud one moment and Harold Wilson the next  a trick he could keep up for hours. His friends lived in fear of being skewered by his lethal impersonations: on Spitting Image, he was the voice of his old chum from theatre school, Kenneth Branagh, as well as Norman Tebbit, Larry Olivier, Prince Edward, Peter O'Toole, Jonathan Miller and Barry Took.

John Sessions, pictured here in 1985, was the mainstay of Channel 4's improvisation comedy series Whose Line Is It Anyway?  dazzling the other competitors with his surreal, erudite gags invented and performed in a blur of hilarity

In conversation, he flipped between famous voices, John Gielgud one moment and Harold Wilson the next  a trick he could keep up for hours. His friends lived in fear of being skewered by his lethal impersonations

His talent was so outrageous that the Spitting Image puppet-makers couldn't resist sending him up, the only time that one of the show's voice actors was portrayed. They made a latex version of him that imitated everyone and then disappeared up its own backside.

The joke proved darkly prophetic. John Sessions, tipped for international stardom and a sack of Oscars, all but disappeared. While contemporaries went on to colossal success, Sessions  who died from heart failure at his London flat aged 67  ended his career doing bit parts and voiceovers.

Partly, he was a victim of his own ostentatious brilliance. 'For an actor, really, you're too clever,' scolded Clive Anderson, the compere of Whose Line, during one interview.

But the real cause of his implosion went much deeper. Depressed and tormented by guilt over his sexuality, and unable ever to admit to his parents that he was gay, Sessions suffered catastrophic stage fright that kept him out of the theatre he loved for nearly 20 years.

He was born John Gibb Marshall, in January 1953, to Scottish parents in Ayrshire. When he and his twin sister Maggie were three, they moved to Bedfordshire, where his domineering father worked as a gas engineer.

John Sessions, tipped for international stardom and a sack of Oscars, all but disappeared. While contemporaries went on to colossal success, Sessions  who died from heart failure at his London flat, aged 67  ended his career doing bit parts and voiceovers

His mother Esme was 'a much more tender creature' from whom he inherited a love of reading. At school he was bookish, while Maggie was fiery.

'She was quite a tomboy and fought all my battles for me,' he said. 'The teachers thought I was turning into a wee jessie, so they split us up.

'I played by myself, and lived in a fantasy world. I didn't have friends till I was eight or nine. The headmistress of my primary school told my mother that she thought I was backward and needed to go to a special school. My mother said, 'He's not a stupid boy,' and the head said, 'He gives that impression.' '

Being funny became his defence. He had to make the bullies laugh, he said, or they would give him a kicking.

The twins were separated permanently when the rebellious Maggie, pregnant at 17, left for Canada. John adored and missed her all his life, and spoke to her on the phone every week.

With the family fractured, John was left lonely and confused. One night, aged 18, he got drunk in a pub and staggered home to tell his mother he was gay. 'I let it all hang out, but I was so panicked by her reaction  horror  that I backtracked.'

One night, aged 18, he got drunk in a pub and staggered home to tell his mother he was gay. 'I let it all hang out, but I was so panicked by her reaction  horror  that I backtracked'

They never spoke of it again. There was no question of discussing it with his father, also called John, who frightened him with his short temper and mood swings  full of jokes one minute, bitter and angry the next.

After doing a masters in English literature at Bangor University, Sessions abandoned his PhD to study acting at Rada, but could never decide whether he wanted to be a comedian or a serious performer. He tried to combine both, with the result that he never felt a success at either.

The world didn't see his self-doubt. At the height of Spitting Image, in 1987, he starred in Porterhouse Blue, an adaptation of the caustic Tom Sharpe novel with Ian Richardson and David Jason. It was a huge success with critics and viewers alike.

Every chat show host was desperate to interview him. Terry Wogan asked him to demonstrate his talent for improvisation and, on the spur of the moment, Sessions turned to fellow guest Betty Marsden and chatted her up, like a drunken Glaswegian in a bar.

Marsden was thrilled: 'Do it as J. R. Ewing,' she gasped, and Sessions slipped seamlessly into Texan. Down the end of the sofa, Coronation Street's William Roache called out: 'Now be Prince Charles.'

Instantly, Sessions was transformed. His back went rigid, he clasped his hands nervously, and he mumbled: 'I think it was Laurens van der Post who said, 'The most exciting thing you can do to a woman is sit there and quote some old-fashioned writer with a centre parting, and bore her stupid'.' All of it was invented on the spot.

Sessions provided the voice of the Norman Tebbit Spitting Image puppet in the 1980s

Wogan loved it so much, he invited Sessions back on to his teatime show a few weeks later. BBC2's comedy commissioners were in awe as well, and gave the impressionist a series of six one-man shows called Tall Tales  freewheeling conversations between a cast of characters, all played by Sessions without cuts or costume changes.

In 1991, he starred in Moliere's misanthropic satire Tartuffe, or The Impostor, as a religious hypocrite. The play was directed by Sir Peter Hall at the Playhouse Theatre in the West End, and Sessions baffled audiences by playing the character in different ways on alternate nights  first as a weak but sympathetic man, and then as a psychopath.

This, he admitted to Clive Anderson, was something 'you're not supposed to do, when you're being a serious luvvie. A lot of the critics have found that a bit wacky.' When he looked back on his career, Sessions would talk of these as his 'twinkly years' when he could do nothing wrong. It all came to a crashing end, shortly before his 40th birthday.

Sessions, pictured left, was outed by a journalist in 1994 while promoting a play about a gay man called My Night With Reg. His mother died six weeks later and his father developed dementia

His relationship with his parents was more fractious than ever. In the middle of the Moliere run, he went home for Christmas and got into a drunken row with his father. Pulling his building society book out of his pocket, he shoved it in the older man's face to show him how much money he was making.

'It was horrible,' he said later, 'like a demonic version of one of my own shows. Me doing him hitting me as a child.'

At the same time, he saw himself as a fraud. When he talked to serious actors, the ones he lampooned so mercilessly on Spitting Image, it was like talking, he said, to God. He felt inadequate.

In 1994, promoting a play about a gay man called My Night With Reg, at the Royal Court Theatre, he told a journalist that he was gay  and then begged her not to print it because, he told her, he hadn't told his parents. 'In that case,' the interviewer retorted, 'you'd better phone them now.'

The piece was published, outing him, but he never did discuss it with his family. His mother died six weeks later and his father, racked with grief, slipped into dementia.

Devastated, Sessions discovered he could no longer remember lines. One night at the Royal Court, he dried up so badly he had to walk off stage and consult the script.

The best remedy, he realised long after, would be to throw himself into theatre work, one play after another. Instead, mortified, he hid from audiences for almost 20 years.

More recently, Sessions caused controversy by his opposition to Scottish independence and later his support for Brexit and Nigel Farage

The highlight of his later career was the sketch show Stella Street, co-starring Phil Cornwell, which imagined all the world's most famous people living on one suburban road  where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards ran the corner shop. The lowlights were too many to list.

Sessions didn't make life easier for himself with an appearance on Question Time and a series of interviews in which he espoused political views that made him a pariah among fellow actors.

It wasn't just his staunch opposition to Scottish independence. What really made him enemies was his support for Brexit. 'I get so bored with people going, 'UKIP are a bunch of racists.' They're nothing of the kind. Nigel Farage talks more sense than the rest of the politicians put together.'

The reaction of friends and fans to that saddened him. For years, faced with his cavalcades of impressions and flights of fancy, people begged to know who 'the real John Sessions' was.

When he finally found the courage to show the world, they wanted somebody else.
The police department in one of Americas fastest-growing cities is facing staff shortages so severe that it will not respond to certain 911 calls, including complaints of burglaries, theft, property damage, identity theft, or trespassing.

The Asheville, North Carolina Police Department said that it has lost 84 officers since January 1, 2020.

APD Police Chief David Zack says the attrition rate, which has accelerated since protests against law enforcement became widespread in the wake of George Floyds death in May of last year, has reached crisis proportions.

He said it is necessary to no longer respond in-person to low-level offenses so that response times to more serious crimes could be cut down.

'This is what it looks like when you're down this much, when you lose 50% of your detectives,' Zack told members of the Asheville City Council on Tuesday.

According to the Asheville Citizen Times, experts are warning that police failure to respond to low-level, nonviolent crimes could lead to an escalation in more serious offenses.

Police in Asheville, North Carolina will not respond in-person to low-level, nonviolent crime in order to cut down on response times to more serious offenses, the chief of police told local lawmakers earlier this week

The police department in one of Americas fastest growing cities is facing staff shortages so severe that it will not respond to certain 911 calls, including complaints of burglaries, theft, property damage, identity theft, or trespassing

Local activists, however, dispute this, and say the rate of violent crime in Asheville has not increased as feared.

As a result, they believe it is best to leave the job openings in the police department unfilled.

'A 50% reduction in detectives and 30% reduction in officers and no change in crime? Good,' one citizen who calls himself Jose said as he phoned in to the City Council meeting.

'Cut their budget in half. That's all the justification you need.'

Before Floyds fatal arrest in Minneapolis in May of last year, the attrition rate for APD officers was one per month.

In the four months after Floyds death, the attrition rate surged to 7.5 per month.

The latest figures cited by Citizen Times found that the attrition rate remains high - at around 6 officers per month.

The APDs $30million budget allocates funds to fill 238 officers positions. As of Saturday, however, just 167 of those jobs had been filled.

An APD spokesperson said that of the 167 officers currently employed, just 148 of them are able to work due to vacations and other types of leave.

APD Police Chief David Zack says the attrition rate, which has accelerated since protests against law enforcement became widespread in the wake of George Floyds death in May of last year, has reached crisis proportions. The image above shows a protest in Asheville on June 6

After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year, activists demanded a 50 per cent cut in the police budget. The city council voted to reallocate 3 per cent of the APD's $30million budget. Protesters are seen above in Asheville on July 30 after the budget was approved

Last fall, as activists demanded steep budget cuts to the APD, the city council voted to reallocate around $700,000 from the police budget - or about 3 per cent, far short of the 50 per cent reduction demanded by protesters and activists.

The attrition rate and staff shortages have led to increased response times to emergencies, according to Zack.

Before Floyds death, it took APD officers an average of 7.7 minutes to respond to serious crimes like homicides or gunshot wounds during peak hours between 7am and 3pm, according to Zack.

This past April, the response time increased by nearly three minutes - to 10.6 minutes.

Zack said that to cut down on response times, APD would no longer respond in-person to several types of low-level complaints. Anyone who calls 911 to complain about noise can expect significant delays, according to Zack.

The police chief said that it could take many, many months to fill most or all of the open slots.
Throughout the day, Nigerians expressed their dissatisfaction regarding their government's move to ban Twitter and its operations within Nigeria's internet domain using the same site that their higher ups trying to ban.

In a statement posted in Techcrunch.com, Lai Mohammed, the country's minister of Information and Culture, said that the suspension was made due to the social networking site's "persistent use for activities that are capable of undermining the country's corporate existence."

Several people tweeted for protest, with the hashtag "#TwitterBan," saying that the ban would compromise their freedom of self-expression while others label it as "useless."

VPNs Dey sha.



People will change location and still tweet.



No be 1983 be this abeg, this is 2021 



Technology don evolve #TwitterBan pic.twitter.com/fh2Uxkuv7j  Moemudi Abuja fashion designer  (@Princemudi_) June 4, 2021

Even the Nigerian chapter of the Amnesty International condemns said act, saying in their tweet that the action is "clearly inconsistent and incompatible" with the country's international obligations that were under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

READ ALSO: 'Twitter' Reopens Profile Verification: How You Can Verify Your Twitter Account

Others, on the other hand, took measures to evade said social media ban in their own hands and decide to use technology to aide said evasion.

A tweet from @Princemudi_ said that there is a way - through a Virtual Private Network, or VPN for short. But how does it work?

In an article by Kaspersky, A VPN can hide your IP address by letting a network redirect it through a specially configured remote server that was run by its host.

This means that if you will surf online, whether in PC or in mobile, while your VPN is on, its server becomes the source of your internet data, acting as a "smokescreen" so that you Internet Service Provider (ISP) and other third parties cannot see which websites are you visiting or what data you are sending or receiving.

Basically, VPN acts as a tunnel that you can sneak in so that you can visit the sites that you cannot access because of your ISP.

For example, I want to watch something on Netflix but that show is not available in my country because it was blocked by my ISP. I activate a VPN so that I could watch said show. The VPN will "mask" the data that was in my computer, fooling my ISP that this is what I am visiting.

Installing a VPN has its benefits according to Kaspersky. Its prime benefit is data encryption security, in which it will protect your data encryption from suspected hackers or cyber criminals that is lurking within a public network.

It also disguises you from the internet as VPN servers will act as proxies, hiding your actual location. In addition to that, most of its services do not store your activity logs, therefore things like the sites that you are visiting will remain hidden.

VPN can also give you the ability to access content that are region-blocked in your country. Like the aforementioned example regarding Netflix, VPN's location spoofing can "change" the location by switch to a server from an another country so that you could access a content that is not accessible, or watchable, in your country.

And finally, VPN servers can reduce the risk of getting your data leaked with the help of their encryption methods and connection to a private network.

There are types of VPN that you can choose from depending on the usage. A Secure Sockets Layer VPN, according to Fortinet.com, makes you access towards an organization's network and client-server applications, as well as internal network utilities, without any need of a specialized software.

This is suitable in today's standards, especially during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, when companies allowed their workers to do their corporate work at home.

A Site-to-site VPN was designed to hide private intranets, allowing its users of these secure networks to access each other's resources. This is an office-suitable VPN, which is perfect for companies who had multiple connections within, each with its own local access networks connected to a wide area network.

Finally, the Client-to-server VPN is a VPN service where you can access any website from their home via secure connection. This is the commonly used VPN as it was used in practical ways, such as entering a region-blocked site, while giving its data a security that it needs.

Client-to-server VPNs are often installed either in a PC or in a smartphone, either free or paid.

In an article by Security.org, two VPNs are viewed the bests VPNs that you can install in your Android smartphones. ExpressVPN, whose servers are in the British Islands, offers quick internet access that can also keep your data safe.

On the other hand, NordVPN, who is based in Panama, is suitable for keeping your data, and internet-surfing experience, private, even if you are browsing the web on a public Wi-fi.

From the two, both are well-renowned for their VPN prowess, but they each have their own advantages. ExpressVPN allows Split Tunelling, or the ability where one can access both public networks at the same time using similar or different connections.

NordVPN has its multi-hop encryption, or any data sent was encrypted in multiple servers, making it more secured. Apart from these two, NordVPN is much cheaper than ExpressVPN.

Is It Safe?

With the Twitter Ban being in place in Nigeria as of this writing, Nigerians are now resorting to VPN to protest the said act from the government. But is it safe for them to do so? In an article made by Comparitech.com, the answer is "Yes."

According to the article, a VPN is a much safer way to access the social media app when it is blocked to a country, such as China, Iran, North Korea, Turmenistan, and recently, Nigeria. Many people nowadays are now resorting in using it to provide information or seeking help.

As an added bonus, it can also encrypt your traffic, "masking" it from those who are watching your network.

Twitter do not ban users from using VPN, rather the social networking site doesn't mind whether you are using it or not.

READ ALSO: #cashappfridays: What is the Trend All About? Is It Safe? What is Cash App?
Jasmine Hartin is stuck behind bars 'for political reasons', a source close to the case claimed on Saturday night.

Ms Hartin remains in solitary confinement at the notoriously tough Belize Central Jail after her bail plea was adjourned.

In Belize, a person with no criminal record should automatically receive bail for the charge of manslaughter with negligence.

Jasmine Hartin (pictured in 2013) remains in solitary confinement at the notoriously tough Belize Central Jail after her bail plea was adjourned, a source claimed on Saturday

But the Director of Public Prosecutions has deemed Ms Hartin 'a flight risk' and has adjourned her bail application until Wednesday.

It has been suggested the decision was designed to counter criticism that the wealthy socialite has received 'special treatment' because of billionaire Lord Ashcroft's extensive business interests in Belize.

A source said: 'The public is baying for blood. There's a feeling she's getting away with it.

'Politicians and police want her to stay in prison to assuage the public. It could be a year before there is a trial.

Ms Hartin faces a manslaughter by negligence charge for killing police Superintendent Henry Jemmott (pictured) with his own gun

In private, politicians accept this was an accident, but if voters say she needs to be hung, drawn and quartered, it will take a brave politician to say they're wrong.

'She is certainly not being given any special treatment in jail  she's being segregated for her own safety'.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of a 7,000 fine and five years in jail, but if a judge agrees the death was accidental, it is unlikely Ms Hartin will spend any further time behind bars.

The source said: 'It's a relatively small fine, so why would she go on the run? She being punished for political reasons.'
Former President Trump wanted to publicly question Dr. Anthony Fauci about American funding of the Wuhan laboratory suspected of leaking COVID-19 but was talked out of setting up a presidential commission by aides, according to a forthcoming book.

An executive order had been drafted in order to hold China to account and bill Beijing for reparations.

Details emerged Saturday amid fresh question about who knew what and when in the federal government about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump was 'enthusiastic' about setting up a commission along the lines of those that investigated the 9/11 attacks and the JFK assassination, according to What Really Happened in Wuhan, by Sharri Markson, due to be published in September by HarperCollins.

And, excerpts published by the New York Post, reveal that officials suspected China developed a vaccine for COVID-19 before the outbreak.

It may seem likely that the Wuhan Institute of Virology has been researching a vaccine before the outbreak, a State Department analysis authored by Miles Yu, a China adviser to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

New book probes the way Trump administration viewed the origins of COVID-19 and lays bare divisions over how to investigate lab at center of leak worries (pictured) and how to handle China. It claims President Trump was in favor of a commission to examine the issue but the the idea was shelved

China hawk and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro reportedly drafted executive order in August 2020 to establish 'The National Commission on the Origins and Costs of COVID-19

Navarro blamed White House economist Larry Kudlow for urging Trump not to push ahead with the plan for fear it would destroy already fraught relations with Beijing

Forthcoming book by journalist Sharri Markson offers fresh insight into how Trump's White House tried to investigate the Chinese origins of COVID-19

The details offer fresh insight into how officials focused in on the Wuhan laboratory while scientists publicly insisted the virus had emerged naturally.

But skeptics will also see an opportunity for China hawks to settle scores and blame others for getting in the way of their plans.

The book reveals an executive order was drafted in August 2020 to establish 'The National Commission on the Origins and Costs of COVID-19.

The driving force was combative White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.

He told DailyMail.com he wanted Tom Cotton as commissioner and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding to lead sessions on the geo-politics of the affair.

Witnesses were to include Fauci and EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak, who was responsible for funneling some U.S. funding to the Wuhan lab.

'It would have established the cause of the virus,' he said as well as reparations owed by China.

'That likely would have been of the nature of twenty trillion dollars.'

It would be run out of the State Department and was backed by Pompeo.

This week former President Trump said fresh questions about the Wuhan Institute of Virology vindicated his stance last year pointing the finger at China and its role in the emergence of COVID-19. He said the country should pay ten trillion dollars for the damage it caused

Three members of staff Wuhan Institute of Virology were reported to have sought medical help for COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, adding to growing speculation that the virus escaped from the facility triggered a pandemic

But it was killed off by the president's economic advisers, he said, who feared it would shatter already strained relations with China, and concerns that it would look like a partisan move so close to an election.

'I just couldn't get it past the usual suspects in the White House,' he said, referring to Kudlow and Steve Mnuchin, Trump's Treasury Secretary.

'They were the sand in the gears. Just stupid, flat out stupid on both their parts but there were only so many battles I could win.

'I just think it was tragic for the nation.'

In the book, he added: 'We had a presidential commission for Pearl Harbor, for the BP oil spill and for the Kennedy assassination. We need one into the origins of the coronavirus as well.'

The scientific, political and media consensus that the virus emerged spontaneously has broken down in recent weeks.

President Joe Biden ordered the intelligence community to look again at its origins as a string of high-profile scientists said they could no longer be sure that it crossed from an animal host to humans.

At the same time, the release of thousands of Fauci's emails have prompted his conservative critics to step up their attacks.

The new book offers more support for the once fringe idea that the virus could have been the result of a military program.

It reveals that an internal State Department report raised questions about whether China began researching a vaccine before the outbreak.

Patent applications for an anti-viral treatment lodged on January 19 2020 and a virus patent filed on February 24 triggered questions.

'Filing a patent requires lengthy documentation, clinical statistics and international national legal opinions,' says the report.

'It normally would take months or even years to prepare and compile the application, rather than a few days.'
Priti Patel has ordered social media giants including Facebook and Twitter to remove posts that 'glamorise' illegal Channel crossings, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The Home Secretary's action comes as the number of migrants trying to reach the UK soars again, and amid growing anger in Government that tech companies are allowing people-smugglers to use their platforms to advertise their criminal services. One video showing migrants travelling from Calais to Dover has been seen more than 800,000 times on Chinese-owned TikTok.

In the strongly worded letter which has been seen by this newspaper, Ms Patel asks the internet giants to 'put an end to the exploitation of your platforms by criminals involved in organised immigration crime' as more people than ever are making 'incredibly dangerous journeys across the Channel'.

Priti Patel has ordered social media giants including Facebook and Twitter to remove posts that 'glamorise' illegal Channel crossings, The Mail on Sunday can reveal

Trafficking gangs use the sites, which also include Instagram and YouTube, to advertise illegal boat crossings as well as fake passport and visa services

Trafficking gangs use the sites, which also include Instagram and YouTube, to advertise illegal boat crossings as well as fake passport and visa services. Ms Patel warns in her letter, which was sent yesterday: 'Posts which promote and even glamorise these lethal and illegal crossings, either by boat or in the back of lorries, are totally unacceptable.

'What these posts and adverts do not mention are the people who have died trying to make this crossing, or those forced to spend 13 hours in unseaworthy boats in freezing waters.'

In a powerful plea, she adds: 'These adverts directly lead to loss of life and I implore you to do everything in your power to quickly and proactively remove posts related to illegal crossings before more men, women and children die in the Channel or on other illegal migration routes. Now is the time to act before it is too late.'

At least 4,300 Channel migrants have already arrived in the UK this year, including more than 1,000 in the past week.

The annual total is expected to exceed the 8,400 who made the journey in 2020 and the numbers are rising despite Ms Patel's pledge to make illegal immigration across the Channel 'unviable'.

It was reported yesterday that the Border Agency, for which Ms Patel is responsible, had helped migrants to enter Britain after the Navy ship HMC Valiant picked them up in French waters and took them to Dover.

In a recorded maritime radio conversation, the officers discussed the 'legality' of the operation before heading over to the French side of the Channel and launching an inflatable boat to collect the migrants.

Ms Patel decided to act after being advised by the National Crime Agency (NCA) that social media was playing an increasingly key role in the people-smuggling business

Ms Patel's intervention is a sign of a growing determination within Government to tackle the power and influence of tech giants.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday helped to broker a historic deal among the G7 countries with the world's most advanced economies to stop companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google from channelling their profits through low-tax regimes.

Under the deal, finance ministers agreed to set a global minimum corporation tax rate of 15 per cent in tandem with a measure to force global companies with at least a ten per cent profit margin to pay taxes in the countries where they sell their services.

It comes after a subsidiary of Microsoft was revealed last week to have paid zero corporation tax on 222 billion profit last year because it was resident in Bermuda for tax purposes.

Ms Patel decided to act after being advised by the National Crime Agency (NCA) that social media was playing an increasingly key role in the people-smuggling business. The NCA will now work with tech companies to swiftly identify and remove content related to the migrant crossings. Fewer than half of posts targeted by the law enforcers have been taken down.

The video showing a group of men crossing the Channel in a flimsy dinghy went viral after it was placed on TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It has attracted more than 37,000 likes and over 24,000 comments. Meanwhile, action by the Home Office and the NCA to close the established Channel routes has forced the trafficking gangs to make longer and more perilous journeys, launching from points anywhere along around 125 miles of coastline to evade detection. It means migrants can spend up to 13 hours at sea.

The Home Office is trying to combat the social media activities of the gangs by posting its own content on the platforms containing information on the safe alternative options available to migrants

The Home Office is trying to combat the social media activities of the gangs by posting its own content on the platforms containing information on the safe alternative options available to migrants.

A spokesman for Facebook said: People smuggling is illegal and any ads, posts, pages or groups that co-ordinate this activity are not allowed on Facebook. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies around the world including the NCA and Europol to identify, remove and report this illegal activity."

Ms Patel has also called on the French to do more to tackle the migrant vessels at sea. Currently, President Emmanuel Macron's government will only intervene if the migrants ask for help.

Separately, an investigation by the MoS today reveals how a 'cat and mouse' game played by foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers in British courts as they try to avoid deportation is costing the taxpayer at least 200 million every year.
Harry and Meghan's baby daughter is due on Thursday, June 10, on what would have been Prince Phillip's birthday, according to reports.

The expectant parents are considering naming her after the late Duke, the Queen or Princess Diana, The Sun reported on Saturday.

Citing Royal insiders in the United States, the newspaper claimed that the Sussexes have thought about naming their newborn Pip after Harry's late grandfather, or Lily after his Grandmother - Queen Elizabeth II.

Harry and Meghan's baby daughter is due on Thursday, June 10, on what would have been Prince Phillip's birthday, according to be reports. Pictured: The couple pose with their son Archie in a pregnancy photograph taken shared in May

'The baby is due on Philip's birthday and it would be so special if she came then,' the source told the newspaper. 'That, and naming her Pip, would be a lovely way to pay tribute to Philip.

'Harry has been discussing the due date and possible names with his close pals and they're talking about it quite openly now it's getting close.'

Another name reportedly being considered by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their second child is Diana, after Prince Harry's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

According to the bookies, Dianna is favourite to the baby's name at 4-1 odds.

The source told The Sun that while the names Lily and Pip 'aren't exactly traditional royal names,' the couple have not taken the traditional route as a royal couple.

The couple's new baby will their second after Archie, who is two.

Pictured: The moment Meghan and Harry introduced baby Archie to the Queen and Prince Philip as proud grandmother Doria watched on in 2019

The report comes after Meghan and Harry were demoted on the official Royal Family website, which came after they left their senior roles and moved to the US.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now listed below Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, as well as the Princess Royal and the Duke of York on the official site.

The Prince of Wales' growing role as an active heir preparing to ascend to the throne is reflected in his own promotion to the top of the Royal Family' section on www.royal.uk.

The Queen has been removed and is instead featured higher on the page.

Despite the reshuffle, the website still claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be 'balancing their time' between the UK and the US.

It comes as Prince Edward and his wife the Countess of Wessex took part in their first major interview since their marriage in 1999.

The couple shared a laugh over Harry and Meghan's controversial Oprah interview as they insisted the royals remain a family 'no matter what happens'.

It was recently revealed Sophie is one of four loyal, discreet and utterly trustworthy women of the Queens inner circle who are offering crucial support as she faces life without her beloved Prince Philip, who died on April 9, aged 99.

 Slide me  How the website looks now, left, and how it used to look on April 22, right. Of the website change, Buckingham Palace told MailOnline it had no comment 'other than that we refresh the website regularly'

Of the website change, Buckingham Palace told MailOnline it had no comment 'other than that we refresh the website regularly'.

Elsewhere, the Princess Royal was moved up five places to sit below the Duchess of Cambridge on the website page. And the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent were added to the bottom, just beneath the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Under the Duke and Duchess of Sussex the website reads: 'They are continuing to honour their duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and their patronages.

'Frogmore Cottage in the UK remains their family home.

'The Duchess will continue to support a number of charitable causes and organisations which reflect the issues with which she has long been associated including the arts, access to education, support for women and animal welfare.'

Royal fans were confused when the official website went down briefly, and quickly spotted the changes once it was set live again.

One tweeted: '@KensingtonRoyal @RoyalFamily still have #meghanmarkle #princeharry in the royal website? Why?

'They are not working royals and they aren't "dividing their time between the UK and North America" why are they being promoted on the website?'

The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral was the first time Prince Harry returned to the UK since he and his wife Meghan stepped down from their senior royal positions.

It comes as another blow following revelations the Earl and Countess of Wessex will join Prince Charles in a slimmed down monarchy.

Yesterday, speaking in their first major interview together since they married in 1999, the Earl and Countess of Wessex jokingly asked 'Oprah who?' and 'what interview?' when quizzed on whether they watched Harry and Meghan's bombshell sit down with the US chat show host

Harry and Meghan previously complained they felt 'pushed out' by the Firm following their decision to step down from their senior rank.

Yesterday, speaking in their first major interview together since they married in 1999, the Earl and Countess of Wessex jokingly asked 'Oprah who?' and 'what interview?' when quizzed on whether they watched Harry and Meghan's bombshell sit down with the US chat show host.

They also reflected on Prince Philip a little over a month since his funeral - with Prince Edward describing how coronavirus restrictions created an 'extremely odd' ceremony, and the particularly poignant moment 'when everything stopped'.

In the Wessexes' first public comments since that momentous day, Sophie explained: 'We are still a family no matter what happens, we always will be.'

The Countess of Wessex also admitted to having a 'lengthy chat' with Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April.

A royal source previously commented on the Countess of Wessex' close relationship with the Queen. Sophie is like another daughter to the Queen, they are that close, they said. She is trusted and relied on like few others

Sophie and her husband the Earl of Wessex, who married at Windsor Castle 22 years ago, said they were 'flattered' to be taking on a more prominent role in a slimmed-down monarchy since Harry and Meghan's move to California.

In an interview with The Telegraph Magazine, Sophie said she had a 'lengthy chat' with Harry after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April.

Speaking on the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April, Prince Edward, 57, said: 'It was extraordinarily odd walking into St George's Chapel and finding the nave completely empty.

'It's always difficult with these kinds of things because you're in the middle of it, so you've got no idea what it necessarily looks like from the outside.

Prince Andrew sported a striped rugby shirt with royal insignia today as he went for an early morning horse ride in Windsor with a female groom

Donning dark sunglasses, a helmet, and riding slacks the Prince of York, 61, who lives at the nearby royal lodge, looked at ease as he enjoyed the June sunshine

'It became really poignant to be there because it was suddenly so very intimate.'

A royal source previously commented on the Countess of Wessex' close relationship with the Queen.

Sophie is like another daughter to the Queen, they are that close, they said. She is trusted and relied on like few others.

The pair are said to speak at least once a day and enjoy regular Saturday movie afternoons when they watch old films together.

Prince Andrew was snapped sported a striped rugby shirt with royal insignia this morning as he went for an early morning horse ride in Windsor with a female groom.

The Duke of York, 61, appeared in high spirits for the day out as he waved from atop the horse.

The Queen's second son, pictured today, recently became a grandfather for the first time when Princess Eugenie welcomed son August Brooksbank in February

The reports come as royal experts predicted the Duke of York was 'trying to rehabilitate himself' and get back into the royal fold - despite his brother Prince Charles pushing plans for a slimmed-down monarchy.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that Andrew would 'obviously like to be rehabilitated', but must first answer FBI questions on his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
A beloved actress who appeared in the films Cocktail and Gone Girl has been struck and critically injured by a scooter in New York City.

Lisa Banes, 65, was hit while crossing the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and West 64th Street on the Upper West Side at about 6.30pm on Friday, according to the Daily News.

Witnesses said the scooter operator blew through a red light and then fled the scene after mowing her down.

Banes is a prolific actress of stage and screen, and had recurring roles on The King of Queens, Six Feet Under and Nashville, as well as memorable guest roles on The Orville and Desperate Housewives.

Lisa Banes, 65, was hit while crossing the intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and West 64th Street on the Upper West Side at about 6.30pm on Friday

Lisa Banes is seen with Tom Cruise in the 1988 film Cocktail. She is a prolific actress

The force of the scooter's impact sent Banes flying out of this crosswalk. She was rushed by ambulance to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital

The street where Lisa Banes was hit was roped off by police on Saturday as cops investigated

NYPD officers were seen guarding the cordon as forensic teams got to work

The force of the scooter's impact sent Banes flying out of the crosswalk, witnesses said.

She was rushed by ambulance to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

Banes' wife Kathryn Kranhold issued an appeal to the public to come forward with any information about the scooter operator, who fled the crash scene.

We have several days ahead of us to pray for Lisa, the worried wife told the Daily News.

If anyone has any information about the scooter driver, we ask them to please call police.

Banes is seen in character as Lady Tremaine in the Disney series Once Upon A Time

Banes lives in Los Angeles but was in town to perform a two-woman show being streamed by the Manhattan Theater Club

Kranhold said that Banes was on her way to meet friends for dinner and was stopping by the the Lincoln Center along the way.

Banes lives in Los Angeles but was in town to perform a two-woman show being streamed by the Manhattan Theater Club. The theater has issued no comment on the crash.

It comes as traffic fatalities in New York hit a seven-year high.

As the pandemic emptied the roads of traffic, many drivers began speeding dangerously.

At least 243 people died in traffic crashes in New York City in 2020  making it the deadliest year on record since Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced his signature 'Vision Zero' plan to improve street safety in 2014.
The Justice Department said Saturday that it no longer will secretly obtain reporters' records during leak investigations, a policy shift that abandons a practice decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

The reversal follows a pledge last month by President Joe Biden, who had said it was 'simply, simply wrong' to seize journalists' records and that he would not permit the Justice Department to continue the practice.

The latest revelation came Friday night when the Times reported the existence of a gag order that had barred the newspaper from revealing a secret court fight over efforts to obtain the email records of four reporters.

Donald Trump's administration started the ball rolling - although attempts to obtain the emails continued for three months of the Biden presidency, with the Biden team even putting a gag order on the paper, preventing it from disclosing the request.

The gag order had been in place since March 3 before a federal court lifted it, allowing the newspaper to speak of the DOJ's attempt to get email logs from Google, which runs the NYT's system.

The request to Google was made on January 5 this year, with only 15 days left of the Trump presidency.

Joe Biden previously pledged to stop the seizing of journalists' records by the DOJ

Biden's comments came after CNN reported that the Justice Department secretly obtained the 2017 phone records of one of their correspondents at the behest of the Trump administration.

Those records were obtained to try and track down a journalist's confidential sources in an apparent attempt to plug a White House leak, it is claimed.

Though Biden's comments in an interview were not immediately accompanied by any change in policy, a pair of statements from the White House and Justice Department on Saturday signaled an official turnabout from an investigative tactic that has persisted for years.

Democratic and Republican administrations alike have used subpoenas and court orders to obtain journalists' records in an effort to identify sources who have revealed classified information.

But the practice had received renewed scrutiny over the past month as Justice Department officials had alerted reporters at three news organizations - The Washington Post, CNN and The New York Times - that their phone records had been obtained in the final year of the Trump administration.

Prosecutors in the office of the United States attorney in Washington had obtained a sealed court order from a magistrate judge, demanding that Google hand over the records in relation to the New York Times in secret. Google refused, and the emails were never obtained.

On March 3, now under the Biden administration, the Justice Department placed a gag order on the paper. The gag order was lifted on Friday.

'Clearly, Google did the right thing, but it should never have come to this,' executive editor said Dean Baquet. 'The Justice Department relentlessly pursued the identity of sources for coverage that was clearly in the public interest in the final 15 days of the Trump administration. And the Biden administration continued to pursue it.'

Baquet added, 'As I said before, it profoundly undermines press freedom.'

The court attempt came amidst heavy coverage of former FBI director James Comey and his actions in the run-up to the 2016 election.

The department tried to obtain records from the four reporters - Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt - who all worked on an April 2017 investigation into Comey and the election.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Saturday that no one at the White House was aware of the gag order until Friday night, but that more broadly, 'the issuing of subpoenas for the records of reporters in leak investigations is not consistent with the President's policy direction to the Department.'

The DOJ announced it 'will not seek compulsory legal process in leak investigations to obtain source information from members of the news media doing their jobs'

In a separate statement, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said that 'in a change to its longstanding practice,' the department 'will not seek compulsory legal process in leak investigations to obtain source information from members of the news media doing their jobs.'

He added: 'The department strongly values a free press, protecting First Amendment values, and is committed to taking all appropriate steps to ensure the independence of journalists.'

In ruling out 'compulsory legal process' for reporters in leak investigations, the department also appeared to say that it would not force journalists to reveal in court the identity of their sources.

The statement did not say whether the Justice Department would still conduct aggressive leak investigations without obtaining reporters' records.

It also did not define who exactly would be counted as a member of the media for the purposes of the policy and how broadly the protection would apply.

Even so, it marked a startling reversal concerning a practice that has persisted across multiple presidential administrations.

The Obama Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, alerted The Associated Press in 2013 that it had secretly obtained two months of phone records of reporters and editors in what the news cooperative's top executive called a 'massive and unprecedented intrusion' into newsgathering activities.

There have been several recent disclosures about attempts to secretly seize records under the Trump administration

After blowback, Holder announced a revised set of guidelines for leak investigations, including requiring the authorization of the highest levels of the department before subpoenas for news media records could be issued.

But the department preserved its prerogative to seize journalists' records, and the recent disclosures to the news media organizations show that the practice continued in the Trump-era Justice Department as part of multiple investigations.

The Washington Post disclosed that the Justice Department had last year seized phone records belonging to three of its journalists who covered the investigation into Russian meddling.

Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller, and former Post reporter Adam Entous were subject to the obtaining of phone records over a three-and-a-half month period in 2017.

'We are deeply troubled by this use of government power to seek access to the communications of journalists,' said Cameron Barr, acting executive editor of the newspaper.

'The Department of Justice should immediately make clear its reasons for this intrusion into the activities of reporters doing their jobs, an activity protected under the First Amendment.'

Last month, Psaki suggested that the Justice Department would use the 'Holder model,' a reference to Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder, when asked how the administration viewed the practice of obtaining journalists' records.

Under Holder, the Justice Department announced revised guidelines for obtaining records from the news media during criminal leak investigations, removing language that news organizations said was ambiguous and requiring additional levels of review before a journalist could be subpoenaed, but it did not end the practice.

In May, CNN Pentagon learned that prosecutors obtained the phone and email records of correspondent Barbara Starr.

The records stretched across all of June and July 2017, including Starr's personal email account.

Starr was reporting on military options in North Korea, as well as ongoing conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan during the time spanning the record obtainment.

A Justice Department official claimed that Starr was not the target of an investigation.

'CNN strongly condemns the secret collection of any aspect of a journalist's correspondence, which is clearly protected by the First Amendment,' CNN president Jeff Zucker said.

A reporter who worked for BuzzFeed, Politico and The New York Times was also subject to having their phone records obtained for their reporting on the Russia investigation.

Phone records typically reveal the length and recipient of calls, but not the actual material of the conversation.

They could potentially be used to identify leakers speaking to reporters about perceived wrongdoing within the White House administration, or in a government department.
Britons having a booster jab against Covid this autumn are likely to be offered a different brand from their original vaccine, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

According to guidance being circulated among senior health officials  and seen by this newspaper  a mix-and-match approach will be recommended to maximise protection against new variants while also offering greater flexibility over access to supplies.

The leaked memo says it is likely people will be recommended to receive a different brand of vaccine to the brand they received previously during this inaugural programme.

It is understood, however, that trials are still under way to ensure the cocktail effect of mixing brands has no significant side effects.

According to guidance being circulated among senior health officials, a mix-and-match approach will be recommended to maximise protection against new variants while also offering greater flexibility over access to supplies (pictured: people queuing for jab on June 5)

The third phase of the world-beating vaccination programme will roll out in the autumn after all over-18s have been offered two doses of the jab. The memo also says:

Booster jabs will follow the same pattern as the original programme, with priority given to the over-50s in descending age order, along with NHS staff, carers and those with medical conditions;

It will also include vaccinations for all 16 and 17-year-olds, and potentially 12 to 15-year-olds too. It was announced on Friday that the Pfizer vaccine had been approved for use in children aged 12 to 15 by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will now advise on whether children in that age group should receive the jab;

The jabs will be given at the same time as the annual flu vaccination, with medics also encouraged to offer health and lifestyle advice such as losing weight and giving up smoking;

Two further vaccines  Valneva and Novavax  are expected to have been approved by regulators before the booster programme begins, adding to the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson jabs already in use.

Research has shown that mixing the brands used in first and second doses is more likely to cause short-term side effects such as chills, headaches and muscle pain than injecting the same drug.

The latest figures showed 174,535 first doses and 360,691 second doses were administered in the previous 24 hours, taking the total numbers to 40.1 million and 27.2 million respectively (file photo)

One in ten volunteers who were given two AstraZeneca jabs four weeks apart reported feverishness, but the proportion rose to about 34 per cent when they received one AstraZeneca jab and one Pfizer. Half of those given two AstraZeneca shots experienced fatigue, but it rose to almost 80 per cent for those who had AstraZeneca followed by Pfizer.

The proposed extension of vaccines to children as young as 12 may prove controversial, with Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the JCVI, accepting there were ethical dilemmas to be considered.

Last night, the Department of Health and Social Care said: We are preparing for a booster programme to take place later this year. Final decisions on that programme havent been made.

Details of the autumn vaccination plans came as the number of cases of Covid-19 exceeded 5,000 for the third consecutive day and 13 more deaths were reported  up from seven last Saturday but down from 27 on May 5.

Chris Hopson, the head of NHS Providers, said the number of patients in hospital with the so-called Indian variant was rising but not very significantly, and that vaccines appeared to have broken the chain between infection and serious illness.

In a bid to protect Freedom Day on June 21, the Government is trying to get as many vaccine shots in arms as possible (pictured: a woman receiving her Covid vaccine card in March)

The latest figures showed 174,535 first doses and 360,691 second doses were administered in the previous 24 hours, taking the total numbers to 40.1 million and 27.2 million respectively.

In Harrow, North-West London, people as young as 18 queued for up to six hours to receive vaccines at a health centre that had dropped age limits.

In a bid to protect Freedom Day on June 21, the Government is trying to get as many vaccine shots in arms as possible. It was reported yesterday that Ministers are considering plans to cut wait times between jabs for the over-40s from 12 weeks to eight. Another report said over-25s will start receiving invitations this week.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Boris Johnson will use this weeks G7 summit to secure a pledge to vaccinate the worlds population against Covid by the end of next year.

In Portugal, thousands of Britons were rushing to get Covid tests so they could return to the UK before Tuesdays quarantine deadline  but were warned of delays of up to a fortnight. Faro Airport said it expected 20,000 Britons to depart this weekend, with some travellers forced to pay high prices to get back in time to avoid having to self-isolate.

And many of those waiting to fly out to Portugal  which was controversially moved from green to amber status last week  were either changing their plans or found their flights had been cancelled.
David Cameron has been accused by allies of Boris Johnson of resuming his lobbying activities  this time against the Prime Minister's move to drop the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of the UK's economy on foreign aid.

Tory rebels, led by former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, are increasingly confident they will win a Commons vote tomorrow to force the Government to abandon the plan to lower the percentage to 0.5 per cent, a drop from 14 billion to 10 billion.

The cut aims to help meet the economic cost wrought by the Covid crisis.

More than 30 Tory MPs, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, have backed the proposed amendment, while another ex-PM, Sir John Major, said he did not believe it was 'morally defensible' for the UK to save money at 'the expense of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world'.

David Cameron has been accused by allies of Boris Johnson of resuming his lobbying activities  this time against the Prime Minister's move to drop the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of the UK's economy on foreign aid

Pictured: Bob Gibbons from the Department for International Development and Cpl Chris Kent doing final checks on the the humanitarian aid bound for Iraq in 2014

Now allies of Mr Johnson claim that Mr Cameron has also been urging MPs to vote against Mr Johnson on the issue.

It comes after Mr Cameron faced weeks of embarrassment over his efforts to lobby for Covid support of the supply chain financing firm Greensill Capital. A source said: 'You would think Cameron would keep a low profile after that, but we have been told that he has contacted at least one select committee chair urging them to vote to reverse the cut.'

Mr Cameron did not respond to a request for comment last night.

Mr Cameron first made the pledge Conservative policy during his 'hug a husky' period  when he was trying to increase the party's electoral appeal by 'detoxing' its image and associating himself with more compassionate and pro-Green policies.

Mr Mitchell said yesterday that he had 'offered an olive branch' to the Government by saying that the rebels would accept moves to bring back the 0.7 pledge in a year's time, after the worst of the economic crisis has passed.

Now allies of Mr Johnson (pictured in 2019) claim that Mr Cameron has also been urging MPs to vote against Mr Johnson on the issue

He said: 'We are cautiously optimistic that we have enough votes. They should accept this offer.' No 10 points to a recent polls which showed that two-thirds of people back the cut, while only 18 per cent oppose it  but a Commons defeat would be particularly embarrassing for Mr Johnson in the week that foreign leaders land in the UK for the G7 summit.

With Tony Blair and Gordon Brown also voicing their objection to the move, Mr Johnson is facing the opposition of all five living former Prime Ministers.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has also opposed the cut, saying: 'People who are poorest must be dealt with generously. First, for reasons of humanity from one of the richest and most powerful nations on Earth. Second, for our own long-term security.'

In a statement last week, Sir John Major said: 'Whilst I fully recognise our own budgeting difficulties, I do not believe it is morally defensible to ease our own financial burden at the expense of some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world, who have nothing  and nowhere else to turn for help.'.

When Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the plans to cut the budget last November, he said spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid was 'difficult to justify'.

Mr Sunak said: 'At a time of unprecedented crisis, the House must take tough choices'.
Police are set to investigate new claims that Madeline McCann's body was buried in a forest just six miles from the Portuguese resort she was last seen in.

Michael Schneider has told police officers the 'exact co-ordinates' of the spot he believes the youngster's body can be found in a fresh blow to the McCann family.

He says he informed officers that Madeline McCann is 'dead and buried in a forest six miles from where she went missing'.

The clairvoyant, 50, passed the details onto investigators at Germany's BKA last month, with senior prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters tonight confirming to the Sunday his team have used similar methods in previous cases.

The investigation has attracted a number of psychics since Madeleine's disappearance - with the McCanns considering 'credible' tips from seers as early as 2007.

A 2million police review, launched in 2012, also examined calls from mediums who were previously ignored in the hunt for 'Maddie'.

Clairvoyant Michael Schneider, 50, (pictured) passed details of where Madeleine McCann is allegedly buried onto German investigators

A clairvoyant has claimed he recently told German police officers the 'exact co-ordinates' of the spot he believes Madeleine McCann's body can be found

Former TV reporter Schneider has had recent success in locating people, helping police crack missing persons investigations in Germany and Italy this year alone.

Schneider, 50, helped solve the case of a missing woman in Germany last month, while also finding the bodies of murdered Italian couple Peter Neumair and Laura Perselli at the turn of the year.

His clairvoyance technique includes looking at photographs of a missing person and asking God 'whether this living being is alive or dead', before turning to atlases and Google Maps until they 'stop on a spot'.

Schneider told the Mirror: 'I do not give out such information lightly and without constantly questioning myself because I am very well aware of the responsibility of what I do.

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (left) now believe she was killed in Portugal by German suspect Christian Brueckner (right)

'I'm happy that the BKA seem to be taking me seriously.

'Often you have a reputation as a freak, or someone just trying to squeeze money out of someone and this is hurtful. I never take money.'

Schneider's claims will come as a fresh blow to Madeleine's grieving parents, who vowed they 'will never give up hope' on what would have been her 18th birthday.

He isn't the first clairvoyant to claim supernatural powers have helped him pinpoint Madeleine's location.

Nine years ago, detectives studied 100 logs from psychics that were previously ignored and termed 'a waste of resources'.

And in 2017, the family were hit by a cruel hoax after Susan Kelly demanded payment from the family as she claimed to know 'the truth' about Madeleine's whereabouts.

Three-year-old Madeleine, known as Maddie, vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007. Pictured: Praia da Luz beach (file)

Schneider's claims will come as a fresh blow to Madeleine's grieving parents Kate and Gerry (pictured in 2017), who vowed to 'never give up hope' on what her 18th birthday in May

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the McCann investigation in Germany, claims the police are convinced she died in Portugal

Maddie, then 3, disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, with heart doctor Gerry and medical worker Kate continuing to fight tirelessly to find their daughter.

What followed is widely regarded as one of the most reported on missing person investigations in the world.

Portuguese authorities closed their enquiries in July 2008 but Maddie's parents continued with private detectives.

Scotland Yard launched their own investigation - Operation Grange - in 2011 and enquiries are ongoing.

But fresh evidence uncovered by police in the search for Madeleine McCann was revealed last month as phone records showed a suspect's movements in Portugal.

Officers investigating her disappearance believe she was killed in Portugal by German suspect Christian Brueckner, 44.

Convicted child sex offender Brueckner  referred to as Christian B in Germany due to the country's strict privacy laws  is believed to have murdered Madeleine after abducting her from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

When asked where he believed Maddie was killed, Mr Wolters told the newspaper: 'In Portugal. I am optimistic we will solve this case.'
British business owners in the Algarve say they have been forced to make staff redundant after the Government's amber list decision left them facing another lost tourist summer.

Firms have been inundated with cancellations and said the abrupt move means 'that nobody can have any confidence in the British Government's policy on foreign travel'.

Bex and John Seabrook, originally from London, own BJ's Oceanside restaurant, near Quarteira. British holidaymakers account for 90 per cent of their turnover.

Mrs Seabrook, 39, said the initial shock of Portugal being removed from the 'green list' had now given way to 'anger and an awful feeling of helplessness'.

Bex and John Seabrook own BJ's Oceanside restaurant where British holidaymakers account for 90 per cent of their turnover

They have been forced to reduce staff numbers from 40 to 30 with Mr Seabrook, 38, adding: 'Sadly, this announcement will mean that we don't have work for some of them until the tourists return.

'In some cases, this means they will struggle to get by and to put food on their family table. This decision is so far reaching.'

Travel and tourism made up 20 per cent of Portugal's gross domestic product in 2019  largely from popular tourist areas such as the Algarve.

While the UK Government says the data is under constant review, Mrs Seabrook said: 'The symbolism of this announcement means that nobody can have any confidence in this government's policy on foreign travel.'

Tom Willis, 61, has run the Centre Algarve hotel in Moncarapacho with his wife Belinda, 55, and children Amy, 23, and Sam, 27, for 11 years.

Thousands of desperate holidaymakers are trying to get out of Portugal before Thursday

'Our unique complex specialises in holidays for families with special needs or disabled children who have become reliant on having a break here,' said Mr Willis. 'Since the decision to put the Algarve on amber, so many have had to cancel as they are not in the position to be able to quarantine when going home.'

He added: 'Many of our regular families are now heartbroken. They have suffered more than most with lockdowns and coping with the special needs of their children. The whole family need a well-needed break and their children are devastated.'
On Saturday, the Wadi Abyad area in As-Sukhna desert, east of Homs, witnessed the explosion of a landmine left by ISIS mercenaries, killing three elements of the Damascus government forces and wounding two of them, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Yesterday, at dawn, Friday, ISIS mercenaries attacked positions and points belonging to Damascus government forces in the area of Fayda ibn Muyinj within Al-Mayadin desert in rural in the western countryside of Deir-ez-Zor, after which clashes took place, killing 5 Damascus government forces' elements and two ISIS mercenaries.

The Observatory also documented the killing of 7 Damascus government troops, including a brigadier general, in a surprise attack by ISIS mercenaries in As-Sukhna desert, located in the far eastern countryside of Homs, near the administrative border with Deir ez-Zor. The attack also led to the killing of 3 ISIS mercenaries in the surprise attack.

T/S

ANHA
Female shepherds are a rare breed in the UK, so it seems fitting that one of them has emerged as Prince Charles's secret weapon in his bid to conserve the nation's most endangered farm animals.

Charlotte Darwent, 28, is in charge of the Prince's 800-strong flock at his Dumfries House estate in Ayrshire  ably assisted by her dogs Maggie, Dot and Gill.

Cradling a Castlemilk Moorit lamb, the Cheshire-born shepherdess told The Mail on Sunday: 'Many rare breeds are ancient breeds and are hardy and self-sufficient  they don't need a lot of feeding  and they are so characterful and charming.

Charlotte Darwent, 28, is in charge of the Prince's 800-strong flock at his Dumfries House estate in Ayrshire  ably assisted by her dogs Maggie, Dot and Gill

The Prince was heavily involved in selecting the rare breeds for the programme four years ago

'They bring colour and variety to livestock farming.

'Sometimes people ask us if the Castlemilk Moorits are goats or deer. They are very unique and look olde-worldy, almost medieval. This uniqueness is one of the reasons it's so important to keep them going.'

The future of Castlemilk Moorit sheep had looked uncertain, with fewer than 900 registered in the UK, but this year the farming team at Dumfries House has welcomed 27 new lambs.

Another success story is the conservation of Vaynol cattle, which were on the brink of extinction several years ago, with just 25 breeding females in existence. As a result of the Prince's initiative, seven white calves were born last month.

After lockdown, the estate's Valentin Education Farm has recently begun to welcome back schoolchildren who are taught about the provenance of food as well as seeing the animals up close

The team has also seen the arrival of 27 Boreray lambs, ten Shetland goslings, two Shetland ducklings, ten Scotch Dumpy hen chicks, eight Scotch Grey hen chicks and three Crollwitzer turkey chicks, known as poults. A new litter of British Landrace piglets are expected in the autumn  making 2021 the farm's most successful year.

News of the arrivals has been welcomed by Charles, patron of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The Prince was heavily involved in selecting the rare breeds for the programme four years ago.

Talking about the scheme, he admits: 'It's a real uphill struggle to get people to understand how valuable they are.'

After lockdown, the estate's Valentin Education Farm has recently begun to welcome back schoolchildren who are taught about the provenance of food as well as seeing the animals up close.

Manager Denise Richardson-Rowell said: 'We are all very proud of what we have achieved, and welcoming a new generation of rare-breed babies makes it all so worthwhile.

'They are the proof we are succeeding. If people don't carry on breeding these native rare breeds, they will just die out and be gone for ever.

'His Royal Highness is very passionate about the importance of rare breeds, and when he visits Dumfries House he always comes to see us at the farm and takes a great interest in all the animals.'
A sleeping woman was pinned to her bed by an SUV after it crashed through a wall and into her bedroom in the middle of the night.

The 54-year-old woman was asleep in the front room of her home on Jack Davis Place at Bargo, south-west of Sydney, at 11.40pm on Saturday.

An SUV then crashed into the home before pinning the woman by her legs and trapping the 46-year-old driver.

The 54-year-old woman was asleep in the front bedroom of her home on Jack Davis Place (pictured) at Bargo, south-west of Sydney, at 11.40pm on Saturday

The driver was taken to Liverpool Hospital for mandatory testing following the crash at Bargo

New South Wales Ambulance and Fire and Rescue were called to the scene before they freed both women.

The resident was taken to Campbelltown Hospital and is being treated for a minor injury to her left leg.

The driver was taken to Liverpool Hospital for mandatory testing.

A man and two teenage girls were also at the home but avoided injury.

Camden Police Area Command are investigating the crash.
Boris Johnson will use the G7 summit to secure a global pledge to vaccinate the world's population against Covid-19 by the end of 2022.

The Prime Minister will call on world leaders to agree a plan to end the pandemic by ensuring every person has access to a jab within the next 18 months.

He hailed the summit, which will be held in Cornwall, as 'historic'. The G7 starts on Friday, when the leaders will gather for a face-to-face meeting.

Mr Johnson said the premiers  which include United States President Joe Biden on his first foreign visit since taking office  must use the event to 'rise to the greatest challenge' since the war.

The Prime Minister (pictured getting his second jab last week) will call on world leaders to agree a plan to end the pandemic by ensuring every person has access to a jab within the next 18 months

Speaking ahead of the summit, Mr Johnson said: 'The world is looking to us to rise to the greatest challenge of the post-war era: defeating Covid and leading a global recovery driven by our shared values.

'Vaccinating the world by the end of next year would be the single greatest feat in medical history.

'I'm calling on my fellow G7 leaders to join us to end to this terrible pandemic and pledge will we never allow the devastation wreaked by coronavirus to happen again.'

The leaders of the G7 will arrive in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, for three days of meetings.

They will be joined virtually by experts, including the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, environmentalist Sir David Attenborough and philanthropist Melinda Gates.

On Saturday, the G7 leaders will be joined either in person or virtually by their counterparts from Australia, South Africa, South Korea and India to discuss health and climate change.

The Prime Minister is expected to call for a stepping up of the manufacture of vaccines, lowering barriers to the international distribution of jabs and sharing surplus doses with developing countries, both bilaterally and through Covax, a World Health Organisation scheme.

Mr Johnson will also ask for their support for the Global Pandemic Radar  a new surveillance system that will protect immunisation programmes against new Covid variants through early detection.

The summit comes after the Government came under pressure to donate more doses to low- income countries.

MPs last week wrote to the Prime Minister urging him to pledge to donate one dose abroad for every one administered in the UK.

Germany, France and Italy have committed to donating at least 100 million vaccine doses through Covax before the end of the year.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock last week said the UK would look to donate spare doses, in line with a Government pledge made in February, but added: 'At the moment we don't have any excess doses. We're just getting them into arms as quickly as possible.'

Ministers are in a race to vaccinate more Britons in the face of new variants, to save the next phase of lockdown reopening on June 21.

The summit will also discuss climate change and expanding girls' education around the world.
A top epidemiologist has warned the state will continue to face lockdowns until at least three quarters of the population is vaccinated.

State health officials announced two new cases on Sunday were locally acquired with six other cases recorded in hotel quarantine.

Acting Premier James Merlino said the cases were primary close contacts of existing cases and included a person in their 50s linked to the Port Melbourne finance exposure site and a primary school teacher linked to the West Melbourne cluster.

The new cases bring the total number of active cases in the state to 85, with 72 in the Melbourne cluster that has brought the city into lockdown for a fourth time.

Despite the low number of cases recorded overnight health authorities have already extended their state of emergency powers while Melburnians have been forced to push through an extended lockdown until Thursday - making it a fortnight long.

During a press conference on Sunday, Victoria's deputy chief health officer Allen Cheng said he doesn't expect the lockdown to be lifted sooner.

Victoria has recorded two new Covid-19 cases while a top epidemiologist has warned the state will continue to face lockdowns until at least three quarters of the population is vaccinated

Despite the low number of cases recorded overnight health authorities have extended their state of emergency powers while Melbourne residents have been forced to push through an extended lockdown until Thursday

The extension of the state of emergency powers doesn't necessarily mean lockdown will remain in place until July 1, but gives the government the power to do so

He said health authorities were still trying to determine the source of the Delta strain outbreak - a highly infectious and contagious variant of the virus.

'We are still continuing to look at all possibilities, particularly, as you say, I think the Wollert case is now going back quite some time now so I think any hidden transmission from that is probably less likely,' he said.

Mr Merlino added he would wait for the advice from health authorities before even considering easing restrictions.

'We know that the Delta variant is 50 per cent more infectious than what we were dealing with last year' he said.

'The last thing we want to see is this variant of the virus getting out, and becoming uncontrollable.'

The list of exposure sites has also grown to almost 400 with another venue added to the list.

One of the new cases identified had visited Thornbury Market from 10.30am to 11.30am on June 1.

Professor Cheng asked anyone who had been at the location at the time to immediately get tested.

'It is a pretty precautionary one because we think the symptoms were on the edge of happening but they are both tier two sites so if you've been at either of those, please get tested and isolate,' he said.

The news has drawn heavy criticism from residents and businesses and led them to question when the draconian restrictions will be lifted for good.

Only two to three per cent of the state's population is fully vaccinated while less than 20 per cent have received their first jab

University of Melbourne Professor Tony Blakely has revealed that Victoria would have to achieve herd immunity before the state could completely reopen and lockdowns would become a thing of the past.

He added at least 80 per cent of the state would need to be fully vaccinated in order to reach that goal.

'We probably won't get to herd immunity until next year where we can completely open up,' he said.

Only two to three per cent of the state's population is fully vaccinated while less than 20 per cent have received their first jab.

But Professor Blakely has remained optimistic that restrictions could be eased sooner.

Health Minister Martin Foley made the decision after holding talks with Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton (pictured), who has been described by senior figures in the Victorian government as a 'catastrophist'

He said the advanced contact tracing system might encourage health officials to start advising to reopen the state with only half of the population vaccinated.

Minister for Small Business Jaala Pulford has also held meetings with industry leaders and urged them to start campaigning for their staff to get vaccinated so life can return to normal.

'Our small businesses have paid a high price keeping the community safe  the best thing we can now do for them is get vaccinated,' she told Herald Sun.

On Tuesday, Victoria's under fire Labor government signed off to extend its state of emergency powers for another four weeks - meaning the Andrews regime can hold almost seven million Australians in lockdown until July 1.

The extension of the state of emergency powers does not mean lockdown will remain in place until July 1, but it does give the government the power to do so.

On Thursday, when the lockdown is due to end, the government could either decide to extend it - or to ease restrictions as it did for regional Victoria.

The Andrews Government first brought in the state of emergency on March 16, 2020

Greater Melbourne remains in lockdown with residents and businesses unhappy politicians are sitting back and letting health officers decide what will be done

Victoria recorded five new local infections on Saturday, bringing the state's outbreak to 70 cases and sparking fears Melbourne's Stage 3 lockdown will be extended for a second consecutive time.

Health Minister Martin Foley made the decision to extend the state of emergency after holding talks with Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, who has been described by senior figures in the Victorian government as a 'catastrophist'.

The Andrews Government, currently helmed by Acting Premier James Merlino, first brought in the state of emergency on March 16, 2020.

It was initially set to remain in place for four weeks, but has since been extended 17 times.

The state emergency was signed off to 'assist with measures designed to 'flatten the curve' of Covid-19 and give our health system the best chance of managing the virus', Mr Andrews - who is currently on medical leave - said last year.

Melbourne is now in its second week of strict lockdown, with Mr Foley non-committal about planned easing of restrictions on June 10

The powers of the order include 'detaining people, restricting movement and preventing entry to premises', through lockdowns, mandatory mask wearing and hotel quarantine.

Mr Foley remained tight lipped about when a decision will be made on extending the state's lockdown.

'There is no simple answer,' he said, when asked about a potential date.

'Clearly, as we approach next Thursday, the kind of facts we have been going through here, the evidence, what cases (we are) aware (of), either linked or unlinked, have we got the support around them.

'How we got the evidence that Professor Lewin was talking about, as to knowing where they've come from.'

Melbourne is now in its second week of strict lockdown, with Mr Foley non-committal about planned easing of restrictions on June 10.

Three of the five are direct primary close contacts of existing cases and have been in quarantine for their entire infectious period.

The remaining two are 'unlinked' to any known cases and were infectious in the community.

Victoria recorded five new local infections on Saturday, bringing the state's outbreak to 70 cases

One of the mystery cases had been a regular visitor to Craigieburn Central shopping centre and came forward as a result of efforts to test heavily in the area.

Three of the five new cases linked to primary close contacts include two connected to the families with the Delta virus strain, bringing that cluster to nine.

A child of one of the families has tested positive, as well as an adult family friend.

Poll Should Victoria's lockdown end? Yes No Should Victoria's lockdown end? Yes 1120 votes

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The presence of this strain, which has caused devastation in the UK and India, is of concern to authorities because it is unknown how the family contracted it.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Victorians continued to protest the government's lockdown measures in the CBD.

Police arrested two people and handed out 16 fines for failing to provide names and addresses and travelling outside 10km limits. Three people were fined for not wearing a mask.

The entire state was first locked down at the end of May for seven days - due to end at the start of winter on June 3 - but just one day before residents planned to return to their semi-normal lives, the government announced Greater Melbourne would be forced to stay locked inside their houses for an additional seven days.

The extension of the state of emergency powers doesn't mean lockdown will remain in place until July 1, but gives the government the power to do so

With the new Indian 'Delta' variant that has wreaked havoc amongst a billion-strong population overseas being detected in the state, residents fear the leading health officers may extend the dreaded lockdown again (pictured in Melbourne)

With the new Indian 'Delta' variant that has wreaked havoc amongst a billion-strong population overseas being detected in the state, residents fear the leading health officers may extend the dreaded lockdown again.

This is despite the highest number of infections on a single day in the latest outbreak, which started on May 4, being 12 - with every other day reporting total community transmission of between three to six cases despite tens of thousands of tests.

During Victoria's emergency lockdown meeting almost two weeks ago Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews - the North Face-wearing voice of reason throughout the state's most gruelling 2020 lockdown - was nowhere to be seen, either in person or on Zoom, when it was decided that drastic measures would need to be taken.

As he is still recovering from a spinal injury, Mr Andrews had spoken to Acting Premier James Merlino earlier that day and was waiting for more updates after the meeting concluded.

Instead it was Prof Sutton who led the fast-paced one hour discussion before it was decided the state would be locked down the following day when cases were linked to the infectious Indian Kappa variant.

The news was understandably a disappointment for the business sector, who were never consulted.
One of Britain's most respected female judges today reveals the appalling misogyny that she experienced as a barrister  including from a senior judge who offered to father her child.

Baroness Heather Hallett, who will preside over the inquest into the Novichok poison attack in Salisbury, says she was 'too terrified' to report the incident because it might ruin her career.

Then the mother of a young son, she recalls on today's BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs being called into the judge's chambers mid-way through a trial to discuss a 'personal matter'.

Baroness Hallett, who was the fifth woman to sit on the Court of Appeal, was called to the Bar in 1972 when, she says, sexism 'was overt'

Baroness Hallett, who sits as a cross bench peer in the House of Lords will appear on Desert Island Discs this morning

'He said, 'You have one sprog so far, well it's obviously time you had another. If you need somebody helping to'  and he used the F word  'then I'm your man,' ' she says.

'I had to leave his room and go back into court and carry on with the trial. I was just stunned.' Baroness Hallett, 71, adds: 'Had I complained about him, I would have been complaining about a very senior figure in that area  loved by some, respected by some.

'I didn't report him I didn't even tell my husband, I don't think. I buried it. I wish now I had protested more but you just didn't. When I look back on some of the things that happened to me, and people say 'Why didn't you do something?', all I can say is that we were just terrified it would affect our career.'

Baroness Hallett, who was the fifth woman to sit on the Court of Appeal, was called to the Bar in 1972 when, she says, sexism 'was overt'.

She was refused a scholarship by her own Inn of Court after being told: 'Surely, you're just going to go off and have babies?'

On another occasion after securing a hard-earned appointment, she was propositioned by another senior member of the judiciary.

'He decided that he was responsible for my getting that appointment and he made it perfectly plain how I could thank him physically, sexually, which I was very distressed about,' she says.

Baroness Hallett, a crossbench peer, also describes winning a place at St Hugh's College, Oxford, despite her school refusing to support her application because it thought she was not clever enough. She credits her police officer father and secretary mother with giving her the encouragement to achieve.

'My parents thought I could do anything a man could do and they were nearly right,' she says.

The Baroness  once named by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour as the UK's eighth most powerful woman  describes how she coped with harrowing testimony while presiding over inquests for the 52 victims of the 7/7 terror attacks.

'It was a trick taught to me by a judge who is also ordained,' she says.

'He said that if ever you are doing a difficult funeral service or memorial service, you stick your nails into the palms of your hand and cause pain. If you cause pain then that emotion helps prevent the emotion of tears On one occasion I came out of a 7/7 hearing and my palm was bleeding.'

Earlier this year, Baroness Hallett promised a 'fearless' inquiry into the death of Dawn Sturgess, who was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in March 2018.

The intended victim of the attack  suspected of being carried out on the orders of the Kremlin  is believed to have been former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.
Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly planning a sensational last minute swoop to try and sign Georginio Wijnaldum on a free transfer from under the noses of Barcelona.

The Dutch midfielder will leave Liverpool at the end of June once his contract expires, having already played his last game for the club where he was given a fond farewell by team-mates as well as supporters on the final day of the Premier League season.

It had looked certain that Barcelona would land the 30-year-old on a free transfer as a long term target, with the players' representatives having been negotiating with Nou Camp chiefs.

Georginio Wijnaldum will leave Liverpool once his contract expires at the end of June

However, according to ESPN, PSG are ready to gazump the Spanish side with a more generous financial package that the report claims he is more attracted by, as Mauricio Pochettino looks to revamp his squad to win back the French title next term.

The report claims Barca are aware of the competition from outside the club, with Bayern Munich also thought to be monitoring the situation.

Having met up with the Dutch squad as part of a side targeting glory at Euro 2020 this summer, Wijnaldum admitted he had been in touch with Barca over a deal, but he didn't rule out the prospect of moving elsewhere.

Wijnaldum says farewell to Liverpool fans with Barcelona having looked a likely destination

But Mauricio Pochettino's PSG side are looking to hi-jack a deal for the Dutch midfielder

Marca quoted the midfielder saying: 'I cannot deny the contacts [with Barcelona]. I have just signed off from Liverpool and it is an interesting situation for many clubs.'

Losing out on Wijnaldum would be a blow to Barca's summer transfer plans, with Ronald Koeman already forced to largely raid free transfers given the club's precarious financial situation.

Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia have already arrived from Manchester City, while the club are still trying to pursue a deal for Lyon star forward and Wijnaldum's international team-mate Memphis Depay.

Wijnaldum is currently with the Dutch national team and has admitted talks with Barca

Compatriot Ronald Koeman is keen to bring the midfielder to the Nou Camp this summer

Koeman's future looked uncertain after only guiding Barca to a third place finish, but it was confirmed on Thursday his role as manager was safe heading into the 2021-22 campaign.

'I am relieved to say my players and staff can fully focus on the new season now,' he wrote on his Facebook page.

'The last few weeks have been intense, but I am glad that President Joan Laporta gave his support to me and calm has been restored.

'The focus of everyone in the club is the same: building a winning Barca and achieving success! #ForcaBarca.'
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Early morning on Bourbon Street and the city is rubbing its eyes and wearily accepting a ten-millionth collective hangover.

How many Mardi Gras festival costumes have shimmied, bounced and staggered down these ancient streets? How many visitors have been lured to Louisiana over the decades by watching everyone from Elvis (in King Creole) to Roger Moore (in Live And Let Die) to Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper (in Easy Rider) experience the wild, weird and utterly unique vibe of the Big Easy?

I'm one of those visitors. And never have I visited a city which so emphatically devotes itself to hedonism. Nor have I have seen a city which is so utterly different to the country to which it belongs.

All that jazz: The colourful French Quarter in New Orleans. The city remains one of the only places in the U.S. where you can legally walk outside with an open beer

Rob says he's never visited a city which 'so emphatically devotes itself to hedonism'. Pictured, a scene from the city's Mardi Gras festival

The clapboard houses; the Byzantine street network; the baroque, overgrown cemeteries; the distant honk and snap of a brass band rehearsing in a nearby alley.

This is not a city that adheres to the American WASPy values of hard graft and early starts. Indeed, New Orleans remains one of the only cities in the U.S. where you can legally walk down the street with an open beer in your hand.

But, even for me, it's too early for a drink. I rub my eyes again and lurch towards the French Market in search of my favourite New Orleans culinary creation.

The influence of Cajun and Creole ingredients on dishes here is well documented. But, in reality, almost everything you eat in New Orleans is unique to the city in some way, with influences zigzagging from West Africa to Cuba to Italy.

The Sazerac cocktail is a typically robust Big Easy creation made with whisky, cognac and absinthe

'What I'm salivating for is the wonderfully named muffaletta,' writes Rob, 'a sesame-crusted wheel of bread stuffed with salami from Genoa, Swiss and provolone cheese and olive salad'

The fluffy, sugar-coated beignets; the gluttonous excess of pickle wedges, onions, peppers and chilli on top of a 'Lucky Dog'; the salty hit of beef noodles in a bowl of 'Old Sober'; the astringent punch of a bowl of jambalaya. But what I'm salivating for is the wonderfully named 'muffaletta'.

Everyone here knows the best in town is served at the Central Grocery Store. It's an exceedingly large snack said to have been created by Sicilian immigrants working on the banks of the Mississippi. The store has been here since 1906 (making it positively Neolithic by U.S. standards) and serves up around 500 muffalettas a day.

Obeying the time-honoured rule that it must be eaten cold, I'm served mine on a bar stool. I take my first bite, hoping it will cure my aching head, which is the result of two or three too many Sazerac cocktails last night  another typically robust Big Easy creation made with whisky, cognac and absinthe.

The muffaletta itself sounds fairly humble on paper: a sesame-crusted wheel of bread stuffed with salami from Genoa, Swiss and provolone cheese and olive salad. But it works its magic.

The sensual crunch of the bread mixed with the soothing oils, creamy cheese and unctuous meats is almost dizzying in its sybaritic richness. Bite into a hamburger in New York and you're eating America.

Bite into a muffaletta in New Orleans and you're eating the whole concept of immigration, diversity, openness and a fusion of cultures. That's a lot to chew over. And more than enough to fix my hangover, too.
The Flash's director, Andy Muschietti, shared a photo of Michael Keaton's bloody Batman costume to his Instagram account on Friday.

The 69-year-old actor was announced to be taking up the helm of the Caped Crusader in the much-awaited film this past April, although he was first speculated to have been involved with the project in June of last year.

The DC Comics-based film has been in development for several decades, and it is currently scheduled to be released in November of last year.

An inside look: The Flash's director, Andy Muschietti, shared an image of a blood-spattered Batman logo to his Instagram account on Friday

Muschietti's photo showed Batman's iconic insignia that is typically placed on the center of the character's costume.

A few drops of what appeared to be blood were notably spattered across its front.

The image seemed to signal that Keaton would be returning to his former role in the forthcoming superhero film.

The Birdman star's first time portraying the character was in 1989's Batman, which was directed by Tim Burton.

Putting in work: The Flash has been in development for several decades and is expected to be released in November of next year; Muschietti is seen in 2019

Back in the saddle: The post seemed to hint at Michael Keaton's return to the role of the Caped Crusader; he is seen playing the character in 1989's Batman

The feature was well-received by critics upon its release, with many reviewers pointing to the actor's performance as especially strong.

Keaton went on to portray the character in the film's sequel, Batman Returns, which was also helmed by Burton and released in 1992.

After the Ed Wood director stepped down from a planned third sequel, the Beetlejuice actor also left the series, and the two were replaced by Joel Schumacher and Val Kilmer, respectively.

Other actors who have taken up the helm of the Dark Knight since then include George Clooney and Christian Bale, among others.

Doing it again: Keaton portrayed Bruce Wayne for a second time in 1992's Batman Returns before leaving the role; he is pictured in 1989

Ben Affleck went on to portray Batman in the 2016 feature Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and played the character in several other features.

The 48-year-old actor was initially supposed to direct, write and star in the upcoming feature The Batman, although he later left the production and was replaced by Robert Pattinson.

Both Affleck and Keaton are set to portray younger and older versions of Bruce Wayne in The Flash.

A film based on the DC Comics character had been in development for several decades, with several aborted attempts to create a movie about the superhero occurring over a period of roughly thirty years.

A different look: Ben Affleck took up the superhero's mantle in 2016's Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and he went on to portray the character in several other features

The feature went through several prospective directors, including Rick Famuyiwa and Seth Grahame-Smith, before Muschietti stepped in to helm the flick.

The Barry Allen version of The Flash will be portrayed by Ezra Miller, who first played the speedster in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

Other performers who will appear in the long-awaited movie include Kiersey Clemons, Sasha Calle and Ron Livingston.

The feature will follow the titular character as he travels back in time in order to prevent the untimely death of his mother, which causes consequences to occur in his own timeline.

Making an impact: Ezra Miller first portrayed the Barry Allen version of The Flash in 2016 and will reprise his role in the upcoming feature

Filming began in April and took place at various locations in England, and production is currently scheduled to move to Scotland later this year.

The Flash was originally scheduled for release in 2018, although it was later pushed back due to its troubled development process.

After Muschietti was brought on to helm the feature, it was rescheduled for a June 2022 debut and was eventually pushed back to November 4th of that year as a response to the onset of the global pandemic.
Robert Irwin celebrated what would have been his parent's 29th wedding anniversary with a sweet and funny photo of Terri and the late 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve.

On Friday, the young Wildlife Warrior, 17, shared a throwback photo of his mother and late father at their family's zoo - Australia Zoo - in Beerwah, Queensland.

In the photo, Terri can be seen pushing Steve around in a wheelbarrow.

Special tribute: On Friday, Robert Irwin celebrated what would have been his parents 29th wedding anniversary with a sweet and funny photo of Terri and the late 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve

Steve - who tragically died after he was struck in the chest by sting ray in 2006 - was being wheeled around because he appeared to have injured his ankle that was bandaged and was holding on to crutches.

'Happy anniversary, Mum and Dad,' Robert wrote in the caption

The nature photographer cheekily added: 'This is my favourite photo ever.'

'This is my favourite photo ever': He shared a throwback photo of his mother and late father at their family's zoo - Australia Zoo. Steve is pictured in a wheelbarrow being pushed around by Terri because he appeared to have injured his ankle that was bandaged and was holding on to crutches

Keeping the memories alive: The 17-year-old nature photographer (pictured as a child with his father) wrote in the caption: 'Happy anniversary, Mum and Dad'

Earlier in the day, his older sister Bindi shared her own heartfelt tribute to mark her parents' special day.

The 22-year-old new mother shared a throwback picture of her late father Steve Irwin and mother Terri and called them 'soulmates'.

'Happy Anniversary to my sweetheart parents. Your love is the stuff of miracles,' she wrote.

Heartfelt: Earlier, his older sister Bindi shared her own tribute to mark her parents' special day. The 22-year-old new mother (pictured with her daughter Grace) shared a throwback picture of her late father Steve Irwin and mother Terri and called them 'soulmates'

Sweet tribute: In the picture, the young animal-loving couple were all smiles as Terri cradled a baby goanna into her chest. Bindi wrote: 'Happy Anniversary to my sweetheart parents. Your love is the stuff of miracles'

In the picture, the young animal-loving couple were all smiles as Terri cradled a baby goanna into her chest.

Steve and Terri tied the knot in 1992 in her home state of Oregon.

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.

Emotional: In a new trailer for Crikey! It's a Baby!, Bindi broke down as she revealed her sadness over the fact her daughter Grace will never get to meet Steve

Sharing stories: '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,' she added

In a recent trailer for Crikey! It's a Baby!, Bindi broke down in tears as she revealed her sadness over the fact her daughter Grace will never get to meet Steve.

'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,' Bindi said tearfully.

'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.'

Gone too soon: 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

An emotional Bindi 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.'

Through tears, she said 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 continued.

Heartbreaking: '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,' Bindi said tearfully on Crikey! It's a Baby!

Bindi and her husband Chandler Powell welcomed daughter Grace Warrior Irwin Powell on March 25.

The baby was born on their first wedding anniversary.

Grace's middle names are a tribute to Bindi's late father Steve, who coined the term 'Wildlife Warrior' to promote his conservation efforts at Australia Zoo.
Justin Hemmes is 'still together' with his girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel, after he was seen on the dancefloor of an afterparty with model Megan Blake Irwin.

Despite momentary speculation the Merivale CEO, 48, and his model girlfriend Madeline, 24, were on the rocks, a friend told The Daily Telegraph it was not the case.

'They are very much still together,' the friend of the billionaire pub baron told the publication of the couple, on Saturday.

Going strong: Justin Hemmes is 'still together' girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel (pictured), according to a friend of the billionaire pub baron who told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday - despite momentary speculation the Merivale CEO, 48, and Madeline, 24, were on the rocks

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Justin Hemmes and Megan Blake Irwin's reps for comment in relation to this article.

This comes after Justin on the dancefloor of the event at his Coogee restaurant Mimi's on Thursday.

He was spotted on the dancing with Megan at the Auteur Studio Australian Fashion Week afterparty.

Justin's girlfriend, Madeline, was not seen in the jovial dancing video, which was shared to Instagram by Sydney DJ Alice Quiddington.

Enjoying the evening! It comes after Justin was seen on the dancefloor of an Australian Fashion Week afterparty at his Coogee restaurant Mimi's on Thursday

Megan and Justin are believed to be only good friends. They were clearly having a blast while dancing to Finally by CeCe Peniston alongside other revellers and socialites.

Justin and Madeline were last pictured together at the Million Dollar Beard Ball on May 13.

Dancing the night away: The video was shared by Sydney DJ Alice Quiddington and his girlfriend Madeline Holtznagel was not seen in the video. Megan and Justin are believed to be only good friends and were clearly having a blast while dancing with other revellers and socialites

Last seen: Justin and Madeline, 24, (right) were last pictured together at the Million Dollar Beard Ball on May 13

Romance: Madeline has been dating billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes, 48, for some time, with reports of their romance first surfacing in August 2020

The model spent lockdown last year at his Vaucluse mansion and now reportedly lives in a Coogee penthouse that he owns.

The couple have been spotted out and about in Sydney several times lately.

Madeline lifted the lid on their relationship in October last year, telling The Sydney Morning Herald she was yet to introduce Justin to her parents.

'My parents and my sister Anna haven't met him yet, but [her other sister] Simone has been introduced to him and really liked him,' she said.

Live-in love: The model spent lockdown last year at his Vaucluse mansion and now reportedly lives in a Coogee penthouse that he owns

Former flame: Justin split with Kate Fowler in 2018, after a four-year relationship. They met on a boat party in 2014

Madeline remained tight-lipped about how long she and Justin had been dating, but hinted they'd been seeing each other for longer than report.

Justin split with Kate Fowler in 2018, after a four-year relationship. They met on a boat party in 2014.

They share two daughters together, Alexa, 5 and Saachi, 3.




North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo session of the Workers' Party in his first public appearance in a month and discussed convening a key party meeting and organizational matters, the North's state media reported Saturday.







During the session, the politburo agreed to hold a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Party in early June to take "additional state measures for solving pending problems urgent for the economic work and people's living," the official Korean Central News Agency said.







"Positively appreciating that a lot of planned works are being sped up on a long-term basis, thanks to the ideological enthusiasm and fighting spirit of self-reliance of the entire Party and all the people which were considerably raised by the 8th Congress of the Party, though the smooth development of the state affairs are being seriously challenged and restricted due to the prevailing unfavorable subjective and objective conditions and environment," the KCNA said.







Kim was last seen in public May 6 when he held a photo session with the families of members of the North Korean army after watching their performance the previous day. (Yonhap)


The Apprentice's Lottie Lion has revealed she's had a nose job.

The TV star, 21, said she decided to get the procedure after being bullied at school and later in life being trolled online for her appearance after her stint on national TV.

The former business analyst admitted she is ashamed she has 'given in to the trolls' and said she doesn't want to influence young girls to get it done.

Change: The Apprentice's Lottie Lion has revealed she's had a nose job (pictured left after the procedure and right before during her time on the BBC show)

Lottie said she has felt insecure about her appearance ever since breaking her nose during a judo event at school.

She told The Sun: 'I had some serious self-confidence issues about my side profile and appearance in general.

'I was bullied at school because of my nose, but between the ages of 17 to 19 was able to regain confidence, coming to terms with my unconventional looks.'

Difficult: The TV star, 21, said she decided to get the procedure after being bullied at school and later in life being trolled online for her appearance after her stint on national TV (pictured before)

She then appeared on the 2019 series of The Apprentice where she caused controversy for using 'inappropriate' racist language towards her rival Lubna Farhan.

This lead to her being abused by trolls online but she says she is happier now she has had the plastic surgery.

She told the publication: 'I get messages and comments on a daily basis about my looks and what I should get changed.

'I believe that if you are truly unhappy about something you should change it. I did this for myself, no one else.'

Honest: The former business analyst admitted she is ashamed she has 'given in to the trolls' and said she doesn't want to influence young girls to get it done (pictured before)

She added that she is still an advocate for body positivity and 'loving yourself'.

It comes after in February Lottie claimed her life was ruined by the BBC show and left her resorting to meeting men on a sugar daddy dating website.

Following her much-publicised stint on the programme, which she admitted wreaked havoc with her mental health, she was driven to attempting to maintain her lifestyle by seeking older men who were 'set for life'.

The 'villain' of the 2019 series confessed that she joined Seeking Arrangement after splitting from an older man who had treated her to lavish holidays and 'paid for everything' as she wanted to maintain her lifestyle.

Limelight: Lottie appeared on the 2019 series of The Apprentice where she caused controversy for using 'inappropriate' racist language towards her rival Lubna Farhan

However, she ultimately left the site and had to contact the police after receiving 'threats and harassment.'

Lottie told The Sun on Saturday that the coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on her finances.

As a result, she joined the sugar daddy website in the hopes of funding her luxury lifestyle, and getting a 'bag or holiday'.

She explained that the idea of joining the website came to her after splitting from a partner in his mid-30s who had discussed using sugar babies in the past.

The TV personality revealed that he'd often whisked her away on trips while covering all the costs, saying their relationship was 'sort of like' a sugar daddy/baby dynamic.

Worry: Her time on TV lead to her being abused by trolls online but she says she is happier now she has had the plastic surgery

Lottie also admitted that even at the age of 18, she has never dated someone under the age of 26, as she left home at an early age and had to grow up fast.

The controversial contestant said she is now drawn to 'mature men' who have life experience and success to their name .

However her decision to seek out older, established men backfired as she said to the publication: 'Since The Apprentice I was wary in case someone recognised me, and that is what has happened.

'I was approached by a man who seemed charming, very chatty and interested in getting to know me.

'After that, its so hard to talk about, suffice to say I wont be on there any more. Ive had threats, harassment and had to speak to police.'

Crisis: It comes after in February Lottie claimed her life was ruined by the BBC show and left her resorting to meeting men on a sugar daddy dating website

Lottie revealed she has struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic after constantly applying for jobs and being forced to rely on income from influencer work and savings.

Lottie believes the downwards spiral of events was influenced by her appearance on the BBC One show, as she claimed producers contacted her to check her welfare, but it was too little to late.

The former librarian admitted her mental health has been suffering since appearing on the business competition, and resulted in her feeling like she couldn't 'carry on' anymore and taking breaks from social media to 'detox'.

She declared that the hit BBC programme should increase the minimum age of participants to 21, following the backlash she faced.

Lottie also claimed that she was made to take on a persona for her stint on the show, saying she asked to be called Charlotte but producers wanted her to be Lottie.

The TV personality alleged that TV execs preferred the sounds of 'Lottie Lion the Librarian' and she was so keen to take part that she went along with the idea.

MailOnline have reached out to BBC for a comment. While an Apprentice spokesperson told The Sun that candidates' wellbeing 'is of paramount importance.'

Lottie was caught up in reports of behind-the-scenes race rows and homophobia during her time on The Apprentice.

She is said to have referred to another contestant - Lubna Farhan - as 'Gandhi', telling her to 'shut up', adding 'Ill f**k you up' and threatening her with an 'upper cut to the jaw'.

Lottie was also accused of making homophobic remarks about gay candidate Riyonn Farsad.

She was consequently banned from The Apprentice sister shows You're Fired and You're Hired.
Nina Dobrev showed some love for the legendary rock and roll band AC/DC as she left her local gym in West Hollywood.

The 32-year-old Vampire Diaries star donned a vintage t-shirt with the band's logo splashed across the front as she headed to her car on Friday.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower actress recently shared some hilarious snaps in which she is seen goofing off with her boyfriend Shaun White at the beach.

Rock on: Nina Dobrev showed some love for the legendary band AC/DC as she left her local gym in West Hollywood

Nina's loose-fitting tee displayed the band's Live Tour logo in yellow and white stenciling surrounded by a purple lightning bolt against a background of stars.

The t-shirt's cap-sleeves showed off the Bulgarian-born actress's lithely muscled biceps. She was sporting comfortable-looking black and beige sandals with two wide straps.

Her high-waisted black leggings hugged her toned legs as she strolled across the sidewalk with her Starbucks coffee and iPhone in hand.

Trim: Dobrev's high-waisted black leggings hugged her toned legs as she strolled across the sidewalk with her Starbucks coffee cup and iPhone in hand

The late spring breeze lifted the beautiful brunette's long hair away from her face as she walked on the sunny day in Los Angeles.

Dobrev shielded her eyes with a pair of oversized amber-colored cat-eye sunglasses and covered her face with a black mask. Mask mandates in California will be relaxed for people who are fully vaccinated on June 15.

Though Nina's slim physique was on full display on Friday, the actress pretended to be heavily pregnant in a trio of funny photos that she posted the day before.

Fake out: In the first photo, Nina is seen wearing a white sweater with the hood pulled up over her head as she spreads her arms out and shows off what seems to be a pregnant belly

In the first photo, Nina is seen wearing a white sweater with the hood pulled up over her head as she spreads her arms out and shows off what seems to be a big belly.

However, in the next shot, the enlarged stomach is revealed to be the head of Dobrev's boyfriend White, 34, which was buried under her sweater as he laid on his back against her.

In the last photo, Shaun was hilariously wearing a pair of sunglasses on his face underneath Nina's sweater as the two played around at the beach.

Funny: Dobrev's boyfriend White, 34, buried his head under her sweater as he lay on his back against her

White was sunbathing shirtless in a pair of black swim trunks with his arm tattoo clearly visible. His knee was wrapped in gauze and a metal crutch was laying nearby.

The skateboarding champion was injured recently during practice and had to withdraw from the 2021 X Games.

'cult content continued...,' Nina captioned the post. A few days earlier, the actress had posted a photo of herself lounging on the steps outside of the We Care Spa in Desert Hot Springs, California.

In the caption, she wrote, 'I've joined a cult. i am the leader. dm for inquires. namaste.'

Recuperating: Shaun's knee was wrapped in gauze and a metal crutch was laying nearby. The skateboarding champion was injured recently during practice and had to withdraw from the 2021 X Games
Jenna Dewan looked the picture of California cool as she stepped out to grab beignets with her daughter Everly in Studio City.

The 40-year-old actress and dancer extraordinaire was seen rocking flared blue jeans and a black muscle tee while carrying a box of delicious treats from the Beignet Box.

By her side was the daughter she shares with Channing Tatum, eight, who looked whimsical in a rainbow fairy dress while carrying a cold beverage.

Beignet babe: Jenna Dewan, 40, looks the picture of Southern California cool as she grabs beignets with daughter Everly, eight, in Studio City

The mommy-daughter duo started the weekend off with a sweet treat as they carried a to-go container of and some additional brown bags.

The Step Up star paired the jeans and T-shirt combination with a pair of leather slides and a chic twist-knot headband.

She carried a colorful clutch purse and offset the black accented outfit with a pair of white sunglasses and simple diamond studs.

Everly wore a white tulle dress with ruched straps and matched the rainbow on her dress to colorful neon Skechers and a sparkling headband.

The two were seen in face masks as they made their way to the car while clasping hands.

Sweet weekend: The mommy-daughter duo started the weekend off with a sweet treat as they carried a to-go container of and some additional brown bags

Time flies! On Thursday Jenna shared a throwback snap with a then-baby Everly as she gushed 'I love being a mama'

On Thursday, Jenna shared a throwback snap with Everly sitting on her lap, as the then-toddler utilized her mom's hair curls.

'Look at this #tbt my phone just showed me..! What a slice of life here. I love being a mama,' she wrote.

On her eighth birthday days ago she gushed: 'I am SO SO proud of you every single day and beyond honored to be your mamma,' while calling her 'magical.'

And she added one more to her litter just after the pandemic hit last year, welcoming a son Callum with fiance Steve Kazee who popped the question just one month before her due date.

Growing family: Jenna welcomed a son named Callum with fiance Steve Kazee last March; pictured April 15

Intimate moments: The mother of two was seen bathing her only son in a recent snap

Recently Jenna and ex Channing listed their marital home in Beverly Hills for $6M, after purchasing it in 2015.

The house sat vacant since they split in 2018 after eight years of marriage, with the Magic Mike actor now living in Brentwood, and Jenna residing in Encino.

Though their separation was finalized in the fall of 2019, the pair are reportedly still hammering out details of their divorce settlement.

According to documents obtained by Us Weekly at the end of April, the Magic Mike actor, 41, scheduled a five day trial for the pair to reconcile details of their divorce which include child and spousal support, attorney fees, and any reimbursements owed.
Luke Jacobz finally reunited with his American fiancee Raychel Stuart on Friday, after 499 Days apart due to Covid travel restrictions.

The Dancing With The Stars champion, 40, wasted no time showing his wife-to-be the sights around his hometown of Sydney.

The lovebirds were spotted embarking on the Harbour Bridge Climb, dressed in the blue and grey overalls and wearing the safety harnesses.

Welcome to Sydney! Former Home and Away star Luke Jacobz and his American fiancee Raychel Stuart reunited and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Friday, after being separated for 499 Days due to Covid travel restrictions

Raychel beamed as they began their ascent to the top, wearing a pair of chic sunglasses with a strap and safety earmuffs - likely as another safety precaution.

She looked thrilled to be climbing the tourist attraction, leading her fiance in the climb to the top.

The former Home and Away star followed closely behind, also wearing a pair of sunglasses and safety earmuffs.

Ready for the climb! Raychel beamed as they began their ascent to the top, wearing a pair of chic sunglasses with a strap and safety earmuffs - likely as another safety precaution

Safety first: The former Home and Away star followed behind, also wearing a pair of sunglasses and safety earmuffs

Excited: She looked thrilled to be climbing the tourist attraction, leading her fiance in the climb to the top

Fun: Despite competing with the sounds of the traffic below on the bridge, the pair appeared to be having an animated conversation

Despite competing with the sounds of the traffic below on the bridge, the pair appeared to be having an animated conversation.

At one point in the start of the climb to the top, the actor was seen raising both arms up in the air in excitement.

The couple shared a sweet embrace as they looked out to the view of the iconic harbour.

Outing: The couple's thrill-seeking outing was one of the first things they did together following Raychel's 14 days in hotel quarantine after arriving in Sydney

Tourist attraction: The couple followed a bridge climb leader who took them to the top of the Sydney landmark

Let's do this! At one point in the start of the climb to the top, the actor was seen raising both arms up in the air in excitement

A very smitten Luke was very happy to have the 'love of his life' in his arms and in his hometown.

The TV presenter revealed on his Instagram they had climbed the iconic bridge together twice.

The couple were reunited on Friday after Raychel completed her mandatory 14 days in hotel quarantine.

Very brave: The pair didn't seem to be afraid of the heights as they continued their way up

Cuddled up: The couple shared a sweet embrace as they looked out to the view of the iconic harbour

Checking out the view: A very smitten Luke was very happy to have the 'love of his life' in his arms and in his hometown

The first thing Luke he treated her to was a simple and romantic picnic at a park in Bondi Beach, he revealed in an Instagram post.

Luke, who prepared celebratory champagne and cheese, proudly wrote in the caption: 'She's finally here!!! After 499 days apart!'

'I am reunited with the love of my life!!,' he added with the hashtags: '#love #patience #worththewait #covidsucks #beachpicnic #champagne #cheese'.

'I am reunited with the love of my life!' The first thing Luke treated her to was a simple and romantic picnic at a park in Bondi Beach. Luke, who prepared celebratory champagne and cheese, proudly wrote in the caption: 'She's finally here!!! After 499 days apart!'

In April he revealed to Woman's Day that a wedding is on the cards, sooner rather than later.

The couple were initially planning to marry in November last year, but were forced to postpone their nuptials until Raychel was able to fly to Sydney from Los Angeles.

Although Luke said they're yet to pencil in a wedding date, the talented dancer isn't prepared for wedding planning just yet.

Wedding bells: In April he revealed to Woman's Day that a wedding is on the cards, sooner rather than later. The couple were initially planning to marry in November last year, but were forced to postpone their nuptials until Raychel was able to fly to Sydney from Los Angeles

'I hope she doesn't want me to choreograph any dances for our wedding because that won't be happening,' he said.

Luke and Raychel became engaged in November 2018, after dating for a few years prior.

Last year, Luke returned home from the US to reprise his role as Angelo Rosetta on Home and Away, almost a decade after leaving the long-running soap.
Rachel Fenton was spotted chatting animatedly to two male pals during a night out in London on Friday.

Looking gorgeous in a plunging black top, the Love Island star, 29, kept warm beneath a black jacket as she puffed on a cigarette in the smoking area of Sumosan Twiga's in Knightsbridge.

Rachel appeared in high spirits as she talked to one male pal wearing a denim jacket in the smoking area, before putting on a giggly display with another friend.

Having fun: Rachel Fenton was spotted chatting animatedly to two male pals during a night out in London on Friday

Rachel wore her glossy blonde hair loose as she rang in the weekend and accessorised with a show-stopping pair of gold hoop earrings.

Rachel also took to Instagram on Friday to share clips from her night on the town, pouting for fans before cosying up to a female friend as they enjoyed drinks.

Hours earlier, the blonde bombshell revealed she had paid a trip to the hairdresser ahead of her night out, sharing a photo of her newly chopped tresses.

Close: Rachel appeared in high spirits as she talked to one male pal wearing a denim jacket in the smoking area, before putting on a giggly display with another friend

Weekend-ready: Rachel wore her glossy blonde hair loose as she rang in the weekend and accessorised with a show-stopping pair of gold hoop earrings

Having a ball: Rachel appeared in high sprits as she chatted away while ringing in the weekend with drinks

The TV personality has been making the most of lockdown easing as she was spotted putting on a cosy display with co-star Tommy Cole in London on Monday.

Rachel wrapped her arms around the handsome newbie as she left a boozy drinking session at Neverland with Clelia Theodorou and pal John Slater, before joining Francesca Allen, 25, at Tower Hills rooftop bar.

Her latest outings come a few weeks after Rachel was spotted leaving the Dorsett City hotel in London with TOWIE star James Lock.

The pair were seen holding hands as they left the venue in a taxi together.

They were joined by a group of friends on the night out including James' TOWIE co-star Pete Wicks.

Keeping warm: Looking gorgeous in a plunging black top, Rachel kept warm beneath a black jacket as she puffed on a cigarette

Something funny? The blonde beauty appeared to tell a joke while standing in a circle with her friends

James and Rachel were seen in close conversation outside the venue, with Rachel placing her hand on the reality star's waist.

However, a source told MailOnline: 'They are just friends, James is single and not dating anyone.'

The reality star has recently turned her back on life in the spotlight and works as an NHS nurse.

Rachel caught coronavirus twice during the pandemic while working on the front line.

Gang's all here: The Love Island star enjoyed a night out on the town with a group of her friends

Social media: Rachel also took to Instagram on Friday to share clips from her night on the town, pouting for fans before cosying up to a female friend as they enjoyed drinks

New hair: Hours earlier, the blonde bombshell revealed she had paid a trip to the hairdresser ahead of her night out, sharing a photo of her newly chopped tresses

Friends: Rachel cosied up to a female friend over drinks in the capital

In February the Orthopaedic Clinical Nurse Specialist shared a selfie to Instagram receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

She thanked the medical field and hoped that 'it's the beginning of the end'.

In the caption she wrote: 'The beginning of the end. thank you to all the incredible doctors and scientists for creating this vaccine and helping us become one step further to beating this virus' (sic) .

Rachel took to her social media just before Christmas in 2020, to reveal her 'scary' experience with Covid, explaining that anyone who has been infected before is not immune to catching the virus again.

She wrote on Twitter: 'I've been re-infected with COVID-19. I tested positive back in March and also had the antibodies.

'I knew reinfection did happen but I didn't think it was that common? I think it's important people know that reinfection is happening, it could be the new strain?

'I've had another positive swab recently. I had very mild symptoms which were not like the symptoms I had before.

'Has anyone else experienced a second positive Covid-19 swab?'

Then taking to her Instagram Story, Rachel discussed her positive test result further and said that luckily she had been on annual leave and hadn't been in contact with patients.
Three men have been charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief in connection to a burglary that occurred at one of 50 Cent's places of business in January 2021.

According to TMZ's law enforcement sources in Bergen County, New Jersey, the suspects Matthew Gale, 40, Richard Murphy and Travis Villalobos, both 31, were alleged to have made off with '$3million in cash and jewelry' from an unlocked safe on the property, as well as a vehicle.

After a five-month investigation, Cliffside Park PD recovered the stolen vehicle connected to the case and used surveillance footage to track down the alleged perpetrators.

Three men have been charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief in connection to a burglary that occurred at one of 50 Cent's places of business in January; 50 Cent pictured

The burglary took place at 'a leased corporate apartment' for one of 50 Cent's businesses in Bergen County, New Jersey, while the rapper was residing in Miami.

'At the time the suspects were in the unit, police drove by but did not realize the individuals were still inside.

'The entire matter was caught on surveillance cameras,' 50 Cent's lawyer told the outlet on Friday.

The stolen cash and high ticket jewelry items are all, surprisingly, expected to be recovered.

Suspects: According to TMZ 's law enforcement sources in Bergen County, New Jersey, the suspects Matthew Gale, 40, Richard Murphy and Travis Villalobos, both 31, were alleged to have made off with '$3million in cash and jewelry' from an unlocked safe on the property, as well as a vehicle.

At the time, Radar reported the robbers forced 'their way into the property through a garage door window.'

They are facing years in jail, if convicted.

In April, 50 Cent made it clear he feels no ill will towards fellow musician Diddy, who was seen holding hands with his ex and baby mama Daphne Joy.

The If I Can't rapper wrote: 'Nah me and puff fight over business s***, If he like the girl, he like the girl. I dont give a f***.'

The burglary took place at his luxury apartment in Bergen County, New Jersey, while he was Miami; seen in 2021

50 Cent shares eight-year-old son Sire with model Joy, 34, who he parted ways with in 2012.

50 Cent and Joy have a turbulent past, as in October of 2013, he entered a guilty plea to vandalism charges stemming from a row he had with the model at her Los Angeles home in June of that year.

Prosecutors dropped a domestic violence charge in the incident, in which they said that the rapper 'allegedly began destroying the females property,' and injured her after he 'kicked open the bedroom door and kicked her,' CNN reported.

No hard feelings: In April, 50 Cent made it clear he feels no ill will toward Diddy, who was seen holding hands with his ex Daphne Joy, who he shares a child with

50 Cent was given three years of probation, 30 days of community service, $7,100 in fines, and a year of domestic violence counseling in connection with the incident.

The Candy Shop artist is currently dating a woman by the name of Cuban Link, who he was first romantically linked to in August 2019.

This past holiday season, 50 Cent gifted the beauty a $250,000 Mercedes Maybach truck.

In recent years, Diddy has also been linked to socialite Lori Harvey and model Tina Louise since his 2018 split from longtime girlfriend Cassie.
She was hospitalised last month after suffering kidney stones and bravely showed off scars she had been left with after being operated on for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

And Cara Kilbey enjoyed some much-deserved downtime on Friday when she paid a visit to the luxury spa at The London Corinthia hotel, showing off her impressively muscled midriff in a candid Instagram snap.

Perched on a massage table wearing a string green bikini, former TOWIE star Cara, 33, captioned her post: 'There's no spa I'd rather be.'

Wow: Cara Kilbey enjoyed some downtime on Friday when she paid a visit to the spa at The London Corinthia, showing off her impressively muscled midriff in a candid Instagram snap

Riffing on Clean Bandit's Rather Be song, the doting mother wore her glossy brunette hair loose in the snap and looked radiant without a spot of make-up.

Placing her hands behind her while posing for the gorgeous photo, Cara appeared fully relaxed as she enjoyed a day of pampering.

She was also sporting a fresh pedicure.

It comes after Cara shared a photo of her stomach scars after being operated on for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

Candid: In May, Cara shared a photo of her stomach scars after being operated on for a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, revealing: 'These are my surgery scars'

Scars: Pulling down her black trousers, doting mother Cara revealed two red puncture marks on her stomach

In an emotional post, she detailed to fans: 'These are my surgery scars. I was lucky enough to have keyhole surgery and just the one fallopian tube taken away.'

The former TV star - who was first hospitalised in April then again in May due to kidney stones  also asked her Instagram followers for advice, adding: 'If anyone has any advice on scar cream I would be really appreciate.' [sic]

Pulling down her black trousers, doting mother Cara revealed two red puncture marks on her stomach.

'I was rushed into theatre': Cara shared a snap of her arm with a cannula in to Instagram explaining that she's been admitted again with kidney stones

A day earlier, the brunette beauty shared a snap of her arm with a cannula in, explaining that she's been admitted again with kidney stones.

Updating her fans on why she's been quiet on social media in recent weeks, the mother-of-two candidly detailed her recent health woes, starting: 'I've been quiet on Instagram recently

WHAT IS AN ECTOPIC PREGNANCY? An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes are the tubes connecting the ovaries to the womb. If an egg gets stuck in them, it won't develop into a baby and your health may be at risk if the pregnancy continues. Unfortunately, it's not possible to save the pregnancy. It usually has to be removed using medicine or an operation. In the UK, around 1 in every 80-90 pregnancies is ectopic. This is around 12,000 pregnancies a year. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

'Last month I found out I had an ectopic pregnancy that had ruptured and caused an internal bleed, so was rushed into theatre for an emergency op.

'Now I'm back again, but this time with kidney stones... Think I'm overdue a holiday.'

An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes.

A ruptured fallopian tube is very serious and surgery to repair it needs to be carried out as quickly as possible, according to the NHS.

Cara has left reality TV behind her.

She now runs a pre loved designer good business, often sharing branded items to Instagram at discounted prices.

And after leaving the show, Cara met her boyfriend Daniel Harris in 2014 and in 2015 she suffered a miscarriage when she was five months pregnant.

The couple now have two children, daughter Penelope Blu and son Hunter, with their little boy being born after Daniel served time in prison.

Doting mama: Cara is mum to daughter Penelope and son Hunter (pictured together)

Daniel was accused of masterminding a drugs empire, but was cleared of drugs charges and instead found guilty of stashing 116,000 in ill-gotten gains in 2017.

Cara had been patiently waiting while her partner languished in jail, shortly after the birth of Penelope, who she brought to visit him one to two times a week.

Daniel was accused of making 'vast profits' by sending drug couriers on mopeds disguised as trainee cab drivers around central London over three-and-a-half years.

They announced they were expecting Hunter in June 2017, just two months after Daniel was released.

The couple met while Daniel was living out in Spain with his father and she was on holiday there. They returned to the UK in September 2015 when she fell pregnant.

It was previously reported that other men, some of whom were his friends, went on to plead guilty to their part in the plots and have been jailed for more than 68 years.

Cara still shares snaps of her beau and their children, with her last posting a lovely image of Daniel and Penelope in the sea to mark his birthday in March.
Mariah Carey has reportedly severed her business relationship with rapper Jay-Z, just three and a half years after signing with his management company Roc Nation.

The superstars allegedly had a 'blazing row' about the future of Carey's career, which reportedly inspired the star to look for a new manager with 'full belief in her.'

'Mariah and Jay had an explosive meeting which did not go well at all. She has made it clear she wants nothing more to do with him and has called it quits with Roc Nation,' a source told The Sun on Friday.

Moving on: Mariah Carey has reportedly ended her business relationship with rapper Jay-Z, just three and a half years after signing with his management company Roc Nation; seen in 2019

The insider continued: 'She will formally depart in the next few weeks. It is a shame because they had done some great work in the last few years. But this meeting couldn't have gone much worse.'

Carey is said to have already begun 'talking to other managers' and is not letting anything 'stand in her way.'

Roc Nation has already removed the performer from their website, which lists the talent they represent.

A source close to the situation refuted earlier claims by telling DailyMail.com that reports of a 'row' between Mariah and Jay-Z are 'simply not true.'

'Mariahs relationship with Roc Nation ended amicably and Mariah and Jay-Z are on great terms,' said the insider.

DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Mariah and Jay-Z for comment.

Not the right fit: The superstars allegedly had a 'blazing row' about the future of Carey's career, which reportedly inspired her to look for a new manager with 'full belief in her'; Jay-Z pictured in 2020

'Mariah and Jay had an explosive meeting which did not go well at all. She has made it clear she wants nothing more to do with him and has called it quits with Roc Nation,' a source told The Sun (pictured together all the way back in 2005)

Mariah is currently finalizing her 'R&B- influenced album' and is in the midst of planning a coinciding world tour.

During Carey's time with Jay-Z's management company, she released her 30th anniversary album The Rarities and published her best-selling memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, just last year.

Additionally, she signed a deal Apple TV+ for Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special for the 25th anniversary of her holiday hit.

In 2018, while on better terms, she reflected on their first collaboration together for her 1999 track Heartbreaker.

Departing soon: Roc Nation has already removed the mom-of-two, who shares her twins Moroccan and Monroe, ten, with ex-husband Nick Cannon, from their website, which lists the talent they represent; seen in 2006

'We were at Mr. Chow's in New Yorkthis is before everybody in the world knew who he was,' she recalled of their their friendship during an interview with iHeart Radio.

She added: 'But we lovers of hip-hop knew who he was, and were very in awe of him, his talent, where he came from, his whole story and everything. So we talked all night and ended up collaborating.'

The same year she was featured on his song, Things That U Do, because she said they had a 'history as friends and as collaborators.'
YouTube star Chloe Morello has welcomed her first child with her husband Sebastian Mecha.

Posting to his Instagram on Saturday, the new dad shared the first photograph of his son.

'Friday June 4th 2:30am. Welcome to the World SON!' the 32-year-old captioned a picture of his baby boy clutching onto his fingers.

Mum and dad: YouTube star Chloe Morello has welcomed her first child with husband Sebastian Mecha. Pictured, Chloe and her husband, Sebastian 'Seba' Mecha'

First photo! Posting to his Instagram on Saturday, the new dad shared the first photograph of his son. 'Friday June 4th 2:30am. Welcome to the World SON!' the 32-year-old captioned a picture of his baby boy clutching onto his fingers

Meanwhile, the new mum shared the happy news to her Instagram Stories, writing: 'Hey everyone, I had our baby last night at 2.30am,' alongside a drowsy picture of herself in a hospital bed.

She also revealed that he'd been admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, meaning their hospital stay would be longer than expected.

'Unfortunately he had to go to NICU for monitoring and I have got preeclampsia (?!) so will be here another 2 days they said.'

The besotted mum then followed up the post with a smiling selfie, adding: 'Yes we had a baby boy.'

She also told her 1.2million Instagram followers that post-birth, she was 'feeling good' and 'can't wait to see the baby again soon.'

Baby is here! The new mum announced her baby's arrival via her Instagram Stories, writing: 'Hey everyone, I had our baby last night at 2.30am,' alongside a drowsy picture of herself in a hospital bed

It's a boy: The besotted mum then followed up the post with a smiling selfie, adding: 'Yes we had a baby boy'

Almost 24 hours earlier, the brunette beauty let her fans in on the most intimate moment of her life by livestreaming her labour on Instagram.

Chloe updated her followers with photos and videos before dashing to hospital shortly after 8am just ahead of 'peak hour traffic'.

'Baby is coming! Just waiting for contractions to get four minutes apart (as our

doctor suggested when we called her) but nervous because it's almost peak hour traffic,' she posted early on Friday morning.

The updates began around 4am with a selfie taken in bed at her home in Sydney.

Blogger life! Almost 24 hours earlier, the brunette beauty let her fans in on the most intimate moment of her life by livestreaming her labour on Instagram

'We think I'm in early labour! Contractions since 3.30am,' she wrote on the photo.

The co-owner of sustainable makeup remover Face Halo then shared a video of her phone screen where she was scrolling through an app that records the space between contractions.

'Could be false labour, we are just monitoring but they are getting more painful now,' she said.

Chloe described her contractions as feeling 'like period pain' that radiates from her back down into her legs.

'When it's a bad one, it contracts my stomach,' she added.

Two hours later Chloe filmed herself walking up and down the curb outside her house, a technique that is believed to induce labour.

The updates began around 4am with a selfie (pictured) taken in bed at her home in Sydney

All the details: The co-owner of Face Halo also shared a video of her phone screen where she was scrolling through an app that records the space between contractions (pictured)

It did the trick, with Chloe telling viewers her mucus plug had fallen out shortly after.

'Lost my plug after that walk! Then had a quick shower and two more painful contractions while in there,' she said.

One hour later Chloe shared a selfie from the passenger seat of a car with a pained expression etched across her face.

She said she was on her way to the hospital but joked that contractions were not as painful as having her teeth whitened.

Chloe announced her pregnancy on January 27, letting fans in on the happy news with an Instagram post.

In high spirits: Chloe joked that contractions were not as painful as having her teeth whitened

'Yes, it's happening - in June,' she wrote alongside a sweet video and gallery of photos that proudly showed off her baby bump.

In the clip, the mum-to-be looked radiant as she danced around the living room in a pink dress.

Sebastian was grinning from ear to ear as he pointed to her growing stomach.

Chloe also shared a sweet snap of the moment they found out she was expecting.

The brunette beauty had her hands over her mouth in shock as she looked down at a positive pregnancy test.

She also shared two sonograms of their unborn baby alongside several snaps of herself and Sebastian tenderly cradling her baby bump.

Big moment: Chloe also shared a sweet snap of the moment they found out that she was expecting

Cute: Chloe shared two sonograms of their baby alongside several photos of herself and Sebastian tenderly cradling her baby bump

Sebastian shared the images on his own Instagram account, captioning the post: 'We're gonna be parents'.

Chloe and Sebastian met on the dating app, Happn, where they chatted for two weeks before finally meeting in person.

They announced their engagement in early 2017 months after he popped the question during a camping trip in Toronto in October 2016.

The couple tied the knot in an extravagant wedding ceremony on a luxury yacht as it sailed around Sydney Harbour in January 2018.
Chrissy Teigen has been the target of backlash since abusive tweets by the star, originally made in 2011, resurfaced online, including one that urged a then 16-year-old Courtney Stodden to kill themselves.

And amid the scandal, the 35-year-old model is now bowing out of a previous commitment, a voice role on the upcoming second season of Netflix's Never Have I Ever, according to Deadline.

Teigen was slated to be one of the guest narrators for the series, co-created by Mindy Kaling, but is exiting the gig amid the fallout following her cyberbullying scandal.

Woes continuing: Chrissy Teigen is bowing out of a previous commitment, a voice role on the upcoming second season of Never Have I Ever; seen here in 2020

'Chrissy Teigen has decided to step away from a guest voiceover role in one episode of the upcoming second season of Never Have I Ever,' a spokesperson for the Netflix series said.

The statement revealed that Teigen's role 'is expected to be recast.'

Late last month, the embattled model was glimpsed for the first time in weeks amid the massive scandal, which has threatened her once-booming business empire.

The Cravings founder was spotted laughing on a Facetime call after a business meeting in LA, just one day before her Twitter victim Courtney Stodden announced their engagement.

Teigen is under fire for allegedly telling the former reality star  who identifies as they/them  to 'kill themselves' when they were just 16-years-old, and also wrote slanderous comments about a few other Hollywood names.

The scandal has caused the mother of two to run into a fair amount of trouble in maintaining her partnerships, including a deal with Vrbo and retailers carrying her Cravings cookbooks.

Despite the backlash she's incurred for her malicious tweets, Teigen looked relatively chipper as she took her phone call on May 30th in Beverly Hills.

Not happening: Teigen was slated to be a guest narrator for the steaming giant's series, co-created by Mindy Kaling, but is exiting the gig amid her cyberbullying scandal

Embattled: Teigen is under fire for telling former reality star Courtney Stodden to 'kill themselves' when they were just 16-years-old, among many other slanderous comments

The sighting came just a day before Stodden  who recently came out as non-binary with pronouns of they/them  announced their engagement to Chris Sheng after several years of dating.

'I said yes,' they gushed in the caption, as they showed off an enormous sparkler, adding: 'the ring made me gag it's so beautiful.'

Chrissy has gone radio silent on social media following outrage over tweets from almost a decade ago, in which she told teen bride Stodden to 'kill themselves' and also insinuated that Lindsay Lohan slit her wrists  among other things.

Sparkler: Courtney Stodden, 26, announced their engagement Sunday on Instagram when they showed off a stunning diamond ring

Stodden incurred relentless bullying both publicly and in private from Teigen, who tweeted at the then-teen in 2011: 'My Friday fantasy: you. dirt nap. mmmmmm baby', followed by: 'go. to sleep. forever.'

Old tweets from 2013 have also resurfaced in which she described nine-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis as 'cocky' and called Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham, then 21, a 'wh***'.

And ironically enough, Chrissy had stated that she was leaving Twitter before the scandal erupted because she was experiencing too much 'negative' abuse.

Relentless: In one tweet Teigen told the non-binary reality star to 'take a dirt nap,' which is slang for death

Hatred: In another tweet she told Stodden 'I hate you,' and insinuated that drugs must be responsible for her affected speech

'This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively  I've always been portrayed as the strong clap back girl but I'm just not,' she said.

Stodden first rose to fame as the teen bride of much older Green Mile actor Doug Hutchison (then 60-years-old) in 2011, and brought Teigen's abusive tweets to light in recent weeks.

'What a shame #ChrissyTeigen is leaving Twitter,' they wrote of Chrissy's supposed parting, sharing a screen grab of one of the model's many mean tweets to them, before doxxing others.

Afterwards Stodden told the Daily Beast that they would also get private messages from the Chrissy's Court star. '[Teigen] wouldn't just publicly tweet about wanting me to take 'a dirt nap' but would privately DM me and tell me to kill myself...Things like, 'I can't wait for you to die.''

After the barrage of tweets came to light and people called for the model to be 'cancelled,' she issued an apology to Stodden.

'Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bulls**t in front of the entire world. I'm mortified and sad at who I used to be. I was an insecure, attention seeking troll. I am ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behavior but that is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel,' she began.

'I have tried to connect with Courtney privately but since I publicly fueled all this, I want to also publicly apologize. I'm so sorry, Courtney. I hope you can heal now knowing how deeply sorry I am,' she wrote.

Stodden appeared to accept the apology but maintained that they had 'never heard' a private apology, while revealing Chrissy still had them blocked, years later.

Under pressure: After the barrage of tweets came to light and people called for the model to be 'canceled' she issued an apology to Stodden

Jaw-dropping: 'I said yes,' they gushed in the caption, adding that 'the ring made me gag it's so beautiful'

Moving on: 'I accept her apology and forgive her. But the truth remains the same, I have never heard from her or her camp in private,' Stodden wrote

'I accept her apology and forgive her. But the truth remains the same, I have never heard from her or her camp in private,' Stodden added.

They went on to say that the apology seemed like damage control amid the backlash. 'All of me wants to believe this is a sincere apology, but it feels like a public attempt to save her partnerships with Target and other brands who are realizing her 'wokeness' is a broken record.'

At the time of the scandal, Target had discontinued their partnership with Teigen's line of Cravings cookware  though it was said the two came to an agreement in December before the social media eruption.

But just weeks later, retail giant Macy's also dropped her cookware line and it was reported that Bloomingdale's also backed out of a huge deal with the internet personality.

Expedia-owned rental site VRBO is now also under fire for recently running a promo with Teigen, Legend, and their kids Luna and Miles, to celebrate 'joy and togetherness.'

VRBO: The two-and-a-half minute video celebrating 'joy and togetherness' shows Teigen interacting with her husband John Legend, their children Luna, five, and miles, three, and her mom Pepper which had many seething with anger

The promo push on social media prompted many enraged users to speak out that the company shouldn't promote partnerships with a 'bully.'

After Vrbo retweeted an article about the commercial from People, one user responded: 'VRBO, cancel the collab you have with Chrissy NOW unless you support telling children to commit suicide.'

Another tweeted: Hey, @vrbo You're paying @chrissyteigen to do ads for you after she repeatedly messaged an abused minor, telling them to commit suicide? Really?'

'Using an abuser bully as a spokesperson no thanks,' another wrote.

Amid the fizzling of her very lucrative partnerships, other social media personalities including right-winged correspondent Candace Owens, have even gone as far as to compare Teigen to Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein.

Additionally SNL comedian Pete Davidson continued to pack on the punches in a recent episode of the famed variety show, saying that the 'one good thing about the pandemic' was 'getting Chrissy Teigen out of our lives.'
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 4. AP-Yonhap



Russian President Vladimir Putin called for guaranteeing the security of North Korea to resolve the standoff over its nuclear program, stressing that pressure and sanctions alone were not going to solve the quandary.



Putin made the remarks during a virtual meeting with the heads of global news agencies at an annual economic forum in St. Petersburg, Friday, (local time), as nuclear negotiations between the North and the United States remain deadlocked after the breakdown of the Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-U.S. President Donald Trump in early 2019.



"The North Korean nuclear problem is not going to be resolved by pressuring the North and toughening the sanctions against it," Putin said through an interpreter when asked by Cho Sung-boo, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency in Seoul to comment on Moscow's stance on North Korean nuclear issues.



"Only by ensuring the security of its people, and with patience and a careful approach, should we be able to resolve this problem," he said.



Moscow has favored a phased-in approach to denuclearize the North that would come with reciprocal steps, including a partial lifting of U.N. sanctions, as the regime takes measures to roll back its nuclear program.



Putin blamed the U.S. for the deadlock in nuclear negotiations.



"The North Korean leadership showed a constructive attitude, but countries such as the U.S. seems to have abandoned the promise (they made) to the North," he said.



The nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington broke down after they failed to find common ground over how to match Pyongyang's denuclearization steps with sanctions relief from Washington.



Putin called for efforts toward working out a solution that "will be accepted by all concerned countries," apparently reaffirming Russia's stance advocating for some form of a multilateral dialogue platform similar to the previously held six-party talks.



Putin also expressed hope for Russia to resume trilateral economic cooperation projects with the two Koreas, apparently referring to a railway project linking the North's port city of Rajin and Russia' border town of Khasan.



The project became bogged down after Pyongyang's last nuclear and long-range rocket tests in 2016.



South Korea has invited Putin to visit Seoul; and when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong in Seoul in March, the two agreed to work together to realize this at an early date.



However, Putin offered no comment to Cho's question on whether he plans to visit South Korea this year.



Attending the virtual session were the chiefs of the news agencies from 16 countries, including Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Xinhua News Agency of China, the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France Press. (Yonhap)


Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson was devastated to learn of her sister Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Shannon's pregnancy from her step mother, Jennifer Thompson.

After Sugar Bear's wife announced the 21-year-old reality was expecting her second child with husband Joshua Efird, her younger sibling looked crushed as she retreated to her room to process the news.

'Alana, it wasn't even like that,' Pumpkin pleaded with Alana to understand. 'I didn't mean to not tell you, you know what I'm saying?'

Making it right: Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson was devastated to learn of her sister Lauryn 'Pumpkin' Shannon's pregnancy from her step mother, Jennifer Thompson

To which, Alana shot back: 'How do you not mean to not tell me? That's just not something you forget, Pumpkin.'

Meanwhile, their mom, Mama June, who also found out of her daughter's pregnancy from Jennifer, was yelling in another room before joining her kids' for a much-needed chat.

'Okay, Mama, well we're going to need you to take a seat because how we handle things here is, we talk things out,' Pumpkin began as her husband, who was outside, feared he may have just lost his job with Sugar Bear after the family drama.

Devastated: After Sugar Bear's wife announced the 21-year-old reality was expecting her second child with husband Joshua Efird, her younger sibling looked crushed as she retreated to her room to process the news

'Alana, it wasn't even like that,' Pumpkin pleaded with Alana to understand. 'I didn't mean to not tell you, you know what I'm saying?'

Catching up: Meanwhile, their mom, Mama June, who also found out of her daughter's pregnancy from Jennifer, was yelling in another room before joining her kids' for a much-needed chat

Pumpkin revealed she didn't tell Alana first because the teen had a lot 'going on lately.'

'When you come back from Florida, you said you felt like a burden, and then you were in there cutting coupons a few days ago,' she said.

Alana replied: 'You and Josh are barely making ends meet right now. I mean, how are y'all gonna take care of all of us?'

Feeling betrayed: Alana asked: 'You and Josh are barely making ends meet right now. I mean, how are y'all gonna take care of all of us?'

Grateful: In a confessional, Mama June praised Pumpkin's parenting and said she was 'very proud' of her for 'stepping up and taking care of Alana'

Family time: The trio end the conversation on good terms as they speculate about the upcoming addition's gender and the possibility of 'adding another little girl to the bunch'

'We always figure it out, Alana, though. We may struggle for a little bit, but we always get back up. These are things that I have to worry about, not you. You shouldn't be stressing,' Pumpkin added, while assuring her they'll always have enough food on the table.

In a confessional, Mama June praised Pumpkin's parenting and said she was 'very proud' of her for 'stepping up and taking care of Alana.'

'For many, many years I always struggled to make sure that the girls had what they need. And now I wanna be more present so they won't have to struggle,' she told the cameras.

Rough start to the day: The next morning Efird confided in his wife Pumpkin about her father possibly firing him from his grass-cutting business

Exciting: Meanwhile, his wife is heading off to the obstetrician (OB) to find out her baby's gender

Expecting: Before learning she would be having a son, she was convinced she was having a little boy

Mama June continued: 'I don't mind helping out when help is needed. I mean, when you think you're a burden to Pumpkin, you can just text me, and I'll help.'

The trio end the conversation on good terms as they speculate about the upcoming addition's gender and the possibility of 'adding another little girl to the bunch.'

Later, they have a pizza party with Mama June, her boyfriend Geno Doak, Efird and Jessica Shannon.

No way! Pumpkin learned she is expecting a baby boy at the doctor's office

She received an ultrasound and wore a mask due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Special moments: After learning the gender, she baked a cake with her three-year-old daughter Ella, who is so excited to be getting a younger sibling

The next morning Efird confided in his wife Pumpkin about her father possibly firing him from his grass-cutting business.

Once he arrives, Sugar Bear asks: 'How do you expect me to give you a job back after yesterday?'

'I had no idea that June and Geno were even coming. I was kind of p**sed that they showed up, you know, out of nowhere. I tried to call you at least 20 times to let you know that they were there, that way you could have turned around,' Efird reasoned.

'Well, Jennifer ain't gonna be too happy with me if I keep you,' the father-of-one replied.

At Pumpkin's gender reveal party, the family is thrilled she's having a son, after they cut into their slices of cake, which is blue inside.

Baking: Little Ella was the first one Pumpkin told of their soon-to-be bundle of joy's gender

They decorated the cake with purple frosting and sprinkles

One month away! Pumpkin is due in July 2021

In his confessional Sugar Bear admits he doesn't want to fire Efird, but 'happy wife, happy life.'

Efird reminds him he 'really' needs the job because he has a 'baby on he way.'

'Get your a** in the truck. We got plenty of yards to mow,' Sugar Bear gives in.

Breaking the news: At Pumpkin's gender reveal party, the family is thrilled she's having a son, after they cut into their slices of cake, which is blue inside

Stunned: Josh couldn't believe the news

Beaming: Alana looked overjoy after they were all initially confused why the cake was blue

Meanwhile, Pumpkin learns she is expecting a baby boy and starts baking a cake with her three-year-old daughter Ella, who is pumped to be getting a younger sibling.

Alana goes to lunch with her mother and Geno, where they discuss when she'll receive the results of her diabetes test and the possibility of the duo going to prison.

'The fact is, we both may end up in jail,' Geno says bluntly, while Mama June is convinced she would never spend a day in prison.

Tough conversations: Alana goes to lunch with her mother and Geno, where they discuss when she'll receive the results of her diabetes test and the possibility of the duo going to prison

'The fact is, we both may end up in jail,' Geno says bluntly, while Mama June is convinced she would never spend a day in prison

'I'm worried for Mama because Geno looks after Mama, but, like, if she goes to jail, who's gonna help her then? Nobody is gonna help her around the jail cell,' Alana says in a confessional

'I'm worried for Mama because Geno looks after Mama, but, like, if she goes to jail, who's gonna help her then? Nobody is gonna help her around the jail cell,' Alana says in a confessional.

She, then, turns to her mother and says: 'You just love to sugarcoat stuff, don't you, Mama?

Geno interjects: 'That's her way of dealing with it, dude.'

'I could be facing up to ten years, and your mom could be facing up to two. It is a possibility. She just don't wanna admit it,' Geno notes

'I could be facing up to ten years, and your mom could be facing up to two. It is a possibility. She just don't wanna admit it,' he notes.

At Pumpkin's gender reveal party, the family is thrilled she's having a son, after they cut into their slices of cake, which is blue inside.

'I'm really excited Pumpkin's pregnant again and she's having a boy, but in my mind, I'm thinking, 'What the hell are we going to do with a boy?' Mama June muses in a confessional.

Hatching a plan: Geno repeatedly tells Mama June she needs to take the possibility of going to jail seriously as she jokes about being a celebrity

'I've been there before, so, I mean, I know how horrible it is and what to expect, and you're sitting here saying just the opposite of what it's really like,' he tells her

In denial: She replies: 'I know the sheriff, and he's, like, clicked in with the whole, like, town'

Geno, however, reminds her that she could be in jail before her grandson is even born.

He goes on to repeatedly tell Mama June that she needs to take the possibility of going to jail seriously as she jokes about being a celebrity.

'I've been there before, so, I mean, I know how horrible it is and what to expect, and you're sitting here saying just the opposite of what it's really like,' he tells her.

Unforgivable: To better prepare Mama June, Geno hatches a plan to take his other half to jail to meet up with some police officers, who take her 'in the back'

'Uh, no. Uh, no,' she says as they handcuff her and put her in the backseat of a cop car to get locked up as Geno waves goodbye

'I'm gonna kill Geno when I'm outta here. That's not a threat. That's a promise' she says in a confessional

She replies: 'I know the sheriff, and he's, like, clicked in with the whole, like, town.'

Jessica and Pumpkin later discuss their mother possibly going to prison, which could be detrimental to their half-sister Alana's mental health.

'She just thinks she can sweet talk her way out of everything, but you can't sweet talk your way out of prison,' Jessica says.

Scary: While behind bars, she puts on an orange Macon County uniform, in which she says put her on 'the verge' of having a panic attack

Not ready: In addition to wearing a prison uniform, she is placed in a cell, and is later told she'll be getting a roommate

Pumpkin adds: 'I already noticed Alana shutting down too, and it sucks because, like, we've worked so hard to get her to be, like, talkative and all these things, and it's like, boom, we get Mama back, and then now there's a possibility she might be going to prison too.'

To better prepare Mama June, Geno hatches a plan to take his other half to jail to meet up with some police officers, who take her 'in the back.'

'Uh, no. Uh, no,' she says as they handcuff her and put her in the backseat of a cop car to get locked up as Geno waves goodbye.

Too much to process: Mama June looked petrified as she stepped into the jail

'I'm gonna kill Geno when I'm outta here. That's not a threat. That's a promise' she says in a confessional.

While behind bars, she puts on an orange Macon County uniform, in which she says put her on 'the verge' of having a panic attack.

The episode ends, while teasing she is getting a roommate.
She played the stern DCI Patricia Carmichael in hit drama Line of Duty.

And Anna Maxwell Martin, 44, has revealed she still hasn't even watched the final episode of the record-breaking sixth series which saw the elusive 'H' character unveiled.

The actress told Grazia that she hadn't had chance to watch the finale, which aired last month, because she has been busy filming and the television in her hotel room doesn't work.

Still not watched: Anna Maxwell Martin, 44, who played DCI Patricia Carmichael in Line of Duty, admitted she still hasn't seen the hit series finale which aired last month

Discussing the final episode, which was watched by more than 15 million people, Anna said: 'I haven't seen it. My friends were quite mixed, some of them loved the ending because they felt it was open for new stuff. I liked that it was Nigel.

'I've always thought he's hilarious. I've been away filming and my TV in my hotel doesn't work. I've still not talked to reception. I'm like, 'Oh I feel bad, they're so nice!'

And, despite the show's popularity, Anna, who is mother to daughters Maggie and Nancy with her ex-husband Roger Michell, revealed she very rarely gets recognised in the street because her face is 'rubbery' and 'morphs into the background'.

Following the roaring success of Line Of Duty, Anna spoke about the widely-discussed prospect of another series, but explained she wouldn't know it was happening until she was put on a plane to Belfast - where the series is filmed.

Concluding the series: Discussing the final episode, which was watched by more than 15million people, Anna said her friends' opinions were 'quite mixed'

Possible new series? When asked about the chances of a seventh series Anna said she wasn't in the 'in-crowd' and wouldn't know about a new series until she was on the plane to Belfast to film

She said she isn't in the 'in-crowd' on the show and that she would never be told about a potential comeback.

The series writer Jed Mercurio admitted late last month it is 'too soon' to consider whether the show will continue, but hinted there is 'clearly potential' for a further plot about Owen Teale's character, Philip Osborne.

While creator Jed, 55, is unsure if it will be the last-ever season, he confirmed it is possible he could further explore the Chief Constable (Owen, 60) in a future storyline.

When asked if series six could be considered 'a finale, or a clearing-out of the past' ahead of a fresh start, he replied to Den Of Geek on Thursday: 'I'd say it's too soon. It's too soon to draw that conclusion. It could be either of those, or it could be something different.'

Revealing: Jed Mercurio admitted it is 'too soon' to consider whether the show will continue, but hinted there is 'clearly potential' for a further plot about Philip Osborne

Referring to character Philip, he added: 'I think that if there is more Line of Duty then clearly there's potential there.

'He's someone who retains high office, who is an outright liar and has been involved in corruption in the past in terms of the Karim Ali case and the Lawrence Christopher case.'

'Clearly there would be potential there if we wanted to explore it, but it's too early to say whether we ever would.'

Jed also admitted he puts in additional attention to detail to his scripts nowadays because the way TV is consumed, makes it much easier for people to go back and re-watch episodes.

Curious: Jed, 55, confirmed he could possibly further explore the Chief Constable (played by Owen, 60, pictured) in a future storyline

He explained to the publication: 'We have embraced the fact that the way that people watch TV now has changed.

'In the past, people just had one opportunity to watch and writers like me were often discouraged from putting too much detail in because we were warned that the audience would miss it all, whereas now, the audience has the opportunity to go back  if they care, and I'm not saying that they should.

'Some members of the audience care enough that they go back and re-watch and it gives them a new perspective, so being able to reward them for doing that is part of our responsibility on the show.'

However, Line Of Duty fans across the nation were left 'fuming' last month as the nail-biting series finale drew to a close and the mysterious antagonist 'H' was finally unmasked.

Mystery: When asked if series six could be considered 'a finale, or a clearing-out of the past' ahead of a fresh start, he replied to Den of Geek: 'I'd say it's too soon. It's too soon to draw that conclusion' (pictured Martin Compston as Steve Arnott and Vicky McClure as Kate Fleming)

Promising: Referring to character Philip, he added: 'I think that if there is more Line of Duty then clearly there's potential there'

Seasoned fans took to social media in their droves to share their frustrations as officers from the police anti-corruption unit AC-12 discovered the identity of the elusive 'fourth man', who had been colluding with the organised crime group (OCG), was none other than DSU Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle).

It saw the words 'fuming', 'disappointing' and 'underwhelming' all trend on social media in the aftermath of the show.

And the disbelief it could be him was compounded by the way he was only caught because of his repeated mis-spelling of the word 'definitely' - hardly the blunder of a hardened criminal mastermind.

The detective - widely thought until Sunday to have been just a bungling stooge - was first introduced to viewers in series one as the SIO in the case of murdered businesswoman Jackie Laverty by then Chief Superintendent Derek Hilton.

Underwhelming: Line Of Duty fans across the nation were left 'fuming' earlier this month as the nail-biting series finale drew to a close and the mysterious antagonist 'H' was finally unmasked

Really? Seasoned fans took to social media in their droves to share their frustrations as officers from the police anti-corruption unit AC-12 discovered 'H' was DSU Ian Buckells

He later went on to become Detective Chief Inspector in series four before being promoted once more to Detective Superintendent in this final series.

While the finale tied up many unresolved storylines, there were still some gaping plot holes and storylines left unanswered.

The sixth series also saw DI Arnott finally called in for a meeting with Occupational Health, who noted that while he had not broken the law through his excessive painkiller use, he would have to surrender his firearms licence.

However, the 60-minute episode's end failed to offer any resolution on whether the team of DI Steve Arnott, DI Kate Fleming and Superintendent Ted Hastings would return, ending on the revelation that the team has 'never been weaker.'

The mystery surrounding the identity of 'H' had been up for speculation since his character was first mentioned at the end of series three, which aired in 2016, and detectives at the anti-corruption unit discovered there were four officers working within the force who had links to the underground criminal network.

BBC bosses are yet to confirm whether the show will return, despite an average of 13 millions viewers tuning in for the latest series, which faced multiple delays due to the Covid pandemic.
Kate Winslet's Mare of Easttown is shaping up to be one of the most iconic roles of her almost 30-year career.

And while playing troubled detective Mare Sheehan has brought her critical acclaim, the British actress has revealed that the show's network and director attempted to airbrush out some of her physical flaws.

Speaking to Australia's Financial Review, the 45-year-old said that she had to fight to keep her character looking like a middle-aged woman.

Authentic: Kate Winslet had to fight to keep her character in Mare of Easttown from being airbrushed to look younger and skinnier

When Mare's director Craig Zobel told Kate he would cut out 'a bulgy bit of belly' in her sex scene with Guy Pearce, she told him: 'Don't you dare!'

She then shared how she had to send the show's poster back twice after HBO tried to airbrush the lines out of her face.

'They were like, "Kate, really, you cant," and Im like, "Guys, I know how many lines I have by the side of my eye, please put them all back."'

The Titanic star said that it was important for her to be true to the character of Mare and to show her as a 'middle-aged woman and a grandmother'.

Editing: When Mare's director Craig Zobel told Kate he would cut out 'a bulgy bit of belly' in her sex scene with Guy Pearce, she told him: 'Don't you dare!'

'Shes a fully functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that moves in a way that is synonymous with her age and her life and where she comes from. I think were starved of that a bit,' she said.

Kate recently discussed beauty and ageing, saying that the 'Hollywood look is a myth' in an interview with Vogue.

The actress explained how stars have spent hours perfecting a red carpet glow and that for her the secret to ageing is not being 'so self-critical'.

'I know how many lines I have by the side of my eye': Kate also shared how she had to send the show's poster back twice after HBO tried to airbrush the lines out of her face

Kate, who is L'Oreal Paris' new spokesperson, said: 'I do want to say to any woman who is trying to emulate a Hollywood look: its a myth. Its honestly a myth.'

She drew on her own showbiz experience and explained that women walking the red carpet have had their glamorous looks applied by professionals after hours in the makeup chair as well as several facials in the week leading up to an event.

And revealing what she thinks matters most, Kate added: 'For me, the secret to ageing at any age is actually accepting who you are and accepting that we cant fight change... Its about beauty coming from within and not being so self-critical.'

She also joked that she can no longer 'get away with' having too many glasses of red wine as it takes her skin 'four days' to recover from the heavy night.
Former Below Deck Mediterranean star Hannah Ferrier has taken a swipe at her old boss Captain Sandy Yawn.

The pair have been locked in a feud since Hannah left the hit series last year, and in a new interview, she accused Sandy of having an ego problem.

The 34-year-old also said that it was often difficult working for the esteemed Sandy due to her critical management style.

Shady: Former Below Deck Mediterranean star Hannah Ferrier (pictured) has taken a swipe at her old boss Captain Sandy Yawn

'It was very difficult from the start because I think she kind of joined the boat and definitely wanted to be top dog,' she told the Real House Husbands podcast.

'Which is fine, you're the captain, I understand that. But I was just there to do my job and it just felt like a lot of the time it was quite difficult because I felt like she was very much trying to find fault with what I was doing.'

Hannah continued: 'She really enjoys the ego boost from her crew. And I'm a bit more like, "Hey, I'm just here to do my job."'

'It was very difficult from the start because I think she kind of joined the boat and definitely wanted to be top dog,' she told the Real House Husbands podcast

She also hit back at Sandy for saying in interviews that she was only on Below Deck 'for the cameras'.

'But what are you there for? Because there's plenty of boats you can work on that don't have cameras,' Hannah sniped.

Back in April, the 34-year-old slammed Sandy on social media after the super yacht captain criticised her in an interview.

Drama: Former Hannah (pictured) is still feuding with her old boss and co-star Captain Sandy Yawn, more than one year after leaving the show

The pair famously fell out during the last season of Below Deck Mediterranean when Sandy fired Hannah for bringing undeclared prescription drugs on board during a charter.

In a recent interview, Sandy boasted about sacking Hannah before taking a jab at the stewardess.

'There is no competition with Hannah. I'm a captain and she waits tables,' she told Showbiz Cheat Sheet.

'Theres no equal there professionally. I think thats the part that I think really disturbs her, is her ego,' Sandy continued.

Drama: The pair famously fell out during the last season of Below Deck Mediterranean when Sandy fired Hannah for bringing undeclared prescription drugs on board during a charter

'Its sad. I feel for her, this girls still hanging onto that sh*t I havent thought about until you asked me about it,' she continued.

Sandy also said that Hannah was only on Below Deck 'for the camera' and that she 'didn't trust her'.

She wasn't finished there, with the captain also claiming that the professional manner in which she'd fired Hannah on the show had inspired managers in the yachting industry.

'Imagine being a captain and then insulting and bringing down half of the yachting community (mostly the woman) while continuing to pretend you empower woman,' Hannah tweeted

'I met with a manager, a fleet manager that manages crew. And he said he wants to take the clip of the video, how I explained it, and show every captain on yachts that have to deal with crew,' she bragged.

Hannah hit back on Twitter, writing: 'Imagine being a captain and then insulting and bringing down half of the yachting community (mostly the woman) while continuing to pretend you empower woman.

'At least she FINALLY vocalised how she feels about people who work on the interior...' she added.

The mother-of-one also re-posted an Instagram post from fan account Blocked_By_Jax that said: 'Captain Sandy can f**k off'

The mother-of-one also re-posted an Instagram post from fan account Blocked_By_Jax that said: 'Captain Sandy can f**k off.

'Hasn't thought of Hannah at all but is making a training video about her. I cannot stand this woman.'

Since leaving Below Deck Mediterranean last year after five seasons, Hannah has settled down in Sydney and had her first child with fiance Josh Roberts.
Kourtney Kardashian was seen passionately kissing her shirtless beau Travis Barker out in Los Angeles this week.

The 42-year-old reality star threw her arms around her boyfriend, who shot to fame as the drummer for the band Blink-182.

Meanwhile her friend the TikTok star Addison Rae was spotted nearby demonstrating the strength of their bond by wearing a KOURT choker.

Look of love: Kourtney Kardashian was seen passionately kissing her shirtless beau Travis Barker out in Los Angeles this week

Not only was her necklace a sign of the friendship - Addison even matched outfits with Kourtney in a white crop top and Daisy Dukes.

Kourtney and Travis looked completely besotted with one another as the drew each other into a tight embrace on the sidewalk.

Travis, 45, who once tagged Kourtney in an Instagram post reading: 'All day I dream about sex with you,' showed off his sprawl of tattoos.

Kourtney and Addison showed off their matching outfits on Instagram that day in a post where the eldest Kardashian sister declared it was: 'almost summer.'

Smoldering: The 42-year-old reality star threw her arms around her boyfriend, who shot to fame as the drummer for the band Blink-182

Meanwhile: Her friend the TikTok star Addison Rae was spotted nearby demonstrating the strength of their bond by wearing a KOURT choker

The dynamic duo were lounging on a perfectly manicured grassy slope where they could be seen playfully popping their feet up.

Travis and Kourtney have gotten so serious that he has had her name inked onto his chest and allowed her to tattoo: 'I love you,' on one of his arms.

His ex-wife Shanna Moakler told Kourtney: 'welcome to the club' through a TMZ interview, apparently implying her own name is inked on Travis as well.

He also posted an Instagram picture of Kourtney sitting lovingly by him as he got body art of a skull - which Shanna says was to cover up a tattoo of her name.

So sweet: Kourtney and Travis looked completely besotted with one another as the drew each other into a tight embrace on the sidewalk

Shanna, 46, then posted an Instagram video of herself getting her own tattoo of Travis' name lasered off as her beau Matt Rondeau, 28.

Lately Shanna has been claiming that while she was married to Travis he had an affair with Kourtney's sister Kim - who has called the allegation a 'False narrative!'

In his 2015 memoirs Travis maintained that he and Kim were never involved - though he confessed being attracted to her.

During a TMZ interview last month alongside Matt, Shanna accused the Kardashians of 'destroying my family twice.'

Inked up: Travis, 45, who once tagged Kourtney in an Instagram post reading: 'All day I dream about sex with you,' showed off his sprawl of tattoos

She was referring in part to the fact that she is 'alienated' from her children with Travis - Alabama, 15, and Landon, 17.

'We just had dinner with our kids and all their friends three weeks ago. So, you know, this has all started since my ex started dating a certain person,' said Shanna.

Alabama has accused Shanna of being an absent mother and recently claimed to have 'gone seven months without seeing my mom and her not calling me once.'

That broadside was not the first time Alabama publicly slammed her mother on social media, and she has also taken aim at Matt.

Interesting: Their relationship has in fact gotten so serious that he got Kourtney's name inked onto his chest and allowed her to tattoo: 'I love you,' on one of his arms

'Matthew is nothing but awful to her. Not only that, but he cheats on her. My mom has never completely been in my life. Can you guys stop painting her out to be an amazing mom?' Alabama alleged.

The teenager continued: 'Did your moms ask to see you on Mother's Day cause mine didn't? I'm done keeping it a secret, reality shows.'

'Co-parenting is hard, but I have always and will continue to prioritize my children's happiness and well-being,' Shanna responded in a People statement.

She pointed to a 'vindictive parenting competition' and said the 'claims of being absent from my children's lives are false and incredibly hurtful.'

Hitting the headlines: Lately Shanna has been claiming that while she was married to Travis he had an affair with Kourtney's sister Kim - who has called the allegation a 'False narrative!'

Shanna, who has appeared on Hollywood Exes, said: 'I know one day my children will see through the fame and money machine they have been thrust into and realize their mother loves and will always be there for them.'

Meanwhile Matthew has insisted to Life & Style that he has 'never' been unfaithful and said: 'Shes an amazing mother, and I am with her because she loves and cares so much about her family. Thats just one of the reasons why I love her so much.'

During an Instagram Q&A Shanna was asked why her children spend more time at Travis' home than at hers.

'Because he lives behind two gates, has a mega mansion and is cooler than me,' she dished. 'LOL, we have shared custody but our kids are older. We are very close.'

Proud mother: Kourtney shares her three children - Mason, 11, Penelope, eight, and Reign, five - with her sizzling ex-fiance Scott Disick

Meanwhile Addison has been pals with Kourtney since at least early last year and recently shed some light on their friendship.

'Kourtney has become a good friend, shes included me in so much and has given me great support in navigating through some of the new experiences Im having,' Addison shared in a new interview with Rollercoaster.

The reality TV diva and the Tik Tok star became acquainted because Kourtney's son Mason, 11, was apparently a big fan of Addison.

Kourtney shares her three children - Mason, 11, Penelope, eight, and Reign, five - with her sizzling ex-fiance Scott Disick.

Expanding her portfolio: Kourtney last month splashed out north of $10 million on a swank six-bedroom mansion in Palm Springs, Us Weekly reported

Scott, 37, is currently involved with Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin's daughter Amelia, who is the latest in his string of teenage girlfriends.

Amelia is 19, Scott started dating his previous girlfriend Sofia Richie when she was 19 and before that he was linked to Bella Thorne when she herself was 19.

Kourtney last month splashed out north of $10 million on a swank six-bedroom mansion in Palm Springs, Us Weekly reported.

Feeling the heat: Kourtney and Addison showed off their matching outfits on Instagram that day in a post where the eldest Kardashian sister declared it was: 'almost summer'

Having a ball: The dynamic duo were lounging on a perfectly manicured grassy slope where they could be seen playfully popping their feet up
Tommy Mallet and Georgia Kousoulou were in high spirits on Friday when they arrived at Hutton Hall in Brentwood with their one month old son Brody in tow.

Preparing to film the finale of their new television show while also introducing their TOWIE cast friends to their little lad, both Tommy - who was carrying Brody in a baby carrier - and Georgia dressed for the occasion.

Arriving with her beloved pet dog tucked under her arm, Georgia, 29, looked chic in a material co-ord while Tommy, also 29, opted for a short-sleeved blue shirt and jeans.

Doting parents: Tommy Mallet and Georgia Kousoulou, both 29, were in high spirits on Friday when they arrived at Hutton Hall in Brentwood with their one month old son Brody in tow

Doting mother Georgia - who also carried signs adorned with Brody's name into the venue - kept warm beneath a leather jacket and teamed her outfit with a stylish pair of open-toe sandals, while Tommy slipped into trainers.

Georgia accessorised with gold hoop earrings and wore her hair in loose waves while opting for a natural makeup look.

A plethora of TOWIE stars attended the bash, including James Argent and Saffron Lempriere plus ex cast members Chloe Ross and Amber Dowding.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Georgia and Tommy looked every inch the proud parents as they shared a sweet snap with their little one, revealing they had kitted him out in a sweet yellow onesie for the occasion.

Stylish arrival: Arriving with her beloved pet dog tucked under her arm, Georgia looked chic in a material co-ord

Baby on board: Doting dad Tommy carried his son in a baby carrier as he strolled through the carpark

Drizzle: Tommy hurried inside with his four-week-old son in a bid to avoid the drizzle

Posing in front of a beige balloon display, Georgia told Brody the celebrations were 'all for you' while also revealing that filming for their show had wrapped.

She wrote: 'All for you baby boy & that's a wrap coming sooon!!! we can't wait for you to see our show, to be on this journey with us , so so greatful for everything in my life.

'& so grateful to all of my followers for all the support as always. Thank you to the best team ever for all your hard work the last few months & thank you to all the companies who made today possible.' [sic]

Attention to detail: Georgie also carried signs adorned with Brody's name into the venue and opted for open-toe sandals for the celebrations

Radiant: Georgia accessorised with gold hoop earrings and wore her hair in loose waves while opting for a natural makeup look

It comes after last week Georgia took to Instagram to congratulate her boyfriend Tommy for celebrating his first birthday as a father as he turned 29.

Alongside an unseen snap from the day their son arrived, the reality star wrote: 'Happy birthday to my Tommy Mallet. First birthday as a daddy!!'

In the sweet snap, Georgia could be seen breathing through the pain of labour while Tommy grinned next to her on the special day.

Continuing her gushing birthday post, the new mum wrote: 'Thank you for being the best .. I couldn't have got through the last few weeks without you. We love you so much'

Proud: It comes after last week Georgia took to Instagram to congratulate her boyfriend Tommy for celebrating his first birthday as a father as he turned 29 while sharing unseen birth snaps

Happy: Alongside a snap from the day their son arrived, the reality star wrote: 'Happy birthday to my Tommy Mallet. First birthday as a daddy!!'

This will be a very happy birthday for Tommy, who has taken to social media to tell his followers that his life is now 'full' since welcoming his son.

In the same Instagram post, Georgia also wished a happy birthday to Tommy's close friend Benny Shamps, who has been spending lots of quality time with baby Brody.

Georgia and Tommy announced baby Brody had arrived earlier this month with a series of adorable Instagram posts.

Taking to social media to share their joy, Georgia wrote: 'Introducing you .. Brody Fordham. 05.05.21 weighing 8lb 9, We are so in love.'

Doting dad: 'Thank you for being the best .. I couldnt have got through the last few weeks without you. We love you so much' Georgia gushed in the birthday post

'Thank you for all your messages. I feel so blessed, the best experience of my life,' she added sweetly.

Georgia looked radiant as she cradled her little boy, who was wrapped in a soft white blanket, while laying in a hospital bed alongside her beaming beau.

Clearly proud of his new baby boy, Tommy penned at the time: 'Now my life is full! Welcome to the world young.'

Doting new mother Georgia replied to the comment, and said: 'The best thing that's ever happened to us.'

Georgia's 1.3million followers were quick to congratulate the couple, with many of their reality star pals also sending love.
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly appeared to have parked her Range Rover in a disabled spot while out in Los Angeles this week.

The showbiz couple, who first became an item last year, wore California casual ensembles while enjoying their latest outing.

Kelly, 31, whose real name is Colson Baker, slipped into a loose-fitted sweatshirt and dark trousers, accessorizing with a beaded necklace.

On the go: Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, who first became an item last year, wore California casual ensembles while out in Los Angeles this week

There it is: They appeared to have parked her Range Rover in a disabled spot

Meanwhile Megan, 35, threw on a boyfriend fit white T-shirt with hot pink writing that perfectly matched her nail polish.

She tucked part of the T-shirt into her black sweats and wore her luxurious long hair down, rounding off the look with sneakers.

Earlier this week Kelly and Megan were pulled over by law enforcement while on his motorcycle because he was not wearing a helmet.

Pictures showed the blond rapper talking to a police officer as Megan sat nearby with her helmet safely on.

The look: Kelly, 31, whose real name is Colson Baker, slipped into a loose-fitted sweatshirt and dark trousers, accessorizing with a beaded necklace

Kelly's driver's license reportedly also did not have the required endorsement to drive a motorcycle, according to TMZ.

He was ticketed for both not wearing a helmet and the endorsement issue, and sources said he and Megan both cooperated amicably with law enforcement.

As the week wore on Megan and her beau were seen wearing mouse ears and holding hands while enjoying a trip to Disneyland with her parents.

Megan is currently in the process of divorcing Brian Austin Green with whom she has three children - Noah, eight, Bodhi, seven, and Journey, four.

Meanwhile: Megan, 35, threw on a boyfriend fit white T-shirt with hot pink writing that perfectly matched her nail polish

On the move: She tucked part of the T-shirt into her black sweats and wore her luxurious long hair down, rounding off the look with sneakers

Her estranged husband announced their separation last May and she finally filed for divorce the day before Thanksgiving.

Megan filed for divorce from Brian in 2015 citing irreconcilable differences, but she was back with him and pregnant with Journey the following year.

Three years after they got back together, Megan took the legal step of filing to dismiss the divorce petition in April 2019.

Before the coronavirus lockdowns Megan and Kelly were in Puerto Rico as co-stars filming their upcoming movie Midnight In The Switchgrass.

Having a ball: This week Megan and her beau were seen wearing mouse ears and holding hands while enjoying a trip to Disneyland with her parents

Then last May the dynamic duo were glimpsed grabbing takeout in his Aston Martin amid rumors she was self-isolating separately from Brian.

A couple of days later Brian emotionally announced on his podcast ...With Brian Austin Green that Megan had left him.

She has since evidently become quite serious about Machine Gun Kelly, even getting a tattoo in his honor that reads: 'el pistolero' which is Spanish for 'the gunman.'
TV stars Eamonn Holmes and his wife Ruth Langsford are targeting the 'grey pound' with a series of lucrative advertising deals.

The couple, both 61, have been inundated with offers to front campaigns aimed at the over-55s.

After being axed from their regular presenting roles on ITV's This Morning, the pair  reportedly worth 4 million  have turned to promoting items ranging from blood circulation boosters to equity release plans and bingo games.

Advertising experts say campaign directors see them as 'the perfect fit' to appeal to the older generation and tap into their purchasing power  the grey pound.

'Healthy legs': The couple, both 61, have been inundated with offers to front campaigns aimed at the over-55s

The couple are set to earn a seven-figure sum after being signed up for two big TV ad campaigns. One is with Revitive, a US company that sells a 300 device to improve circulation, reduce puffy feet and ankles and strengthen legs.

The other is Mr Holmes's five-figure deal with Age Partnership, which organises equity-release plans for homeowners over 55. The Leeds firm said: 'As a trusted family man of a certain age, Eamonn is a perfect fit for our brand.'

On Friday, he landed a windfall from Mecca Bingo, answering questions, playing games and calling out bingo numbers online.

Online games: On Friday, he landed a windfall from Mecca Bingo, answering questions, playing games and calling out bingo numbers online

Mature fashion: Ms Langsford has a clothing range for 'the older woman' that she sells on the satellite channel QVC. She also promotes the anti-ageing sun cream Ultrasun UK

Ms Langsford has a clothing range for 'the older woman' that she sells on the satellite channel QVC. She also promotes the anti-ageing sun cream Ultrasun UK.

Industry insiders say they are the 'go-to' couple to sell to older consumers. One added: 'Think of Posh and Becks but add a couple of decades. They have the appeal and then some. Incredibly relatable and very popular with the masses.'

Their success will be a relief to former Sky News host Mr Holmes, who lost a fight with the taxman last year over a 250,000 sum.

He said he was a self-employed freelancer whose ITV payments went to his limited firm, and he 'never knowingly avoided taxes'. He is appealing against the ruling.

The pair, who have a six-bedroom mansion in Surrey, were axed in November from presenting This Morning.

Although they still host it in school holidays, during half-term last week they were replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary.
Celebrity chef Tom Brown, hunky star of ITV's This Morning, has split from his wife after less than six months of marriage.

The restaurateur met Julieanne Soto last July and she proposed just two months later as they lay in bed eating pizza.

They married in December but the relationship between the 33-year-old chef and his Glaswegian wife proved tempestuous.

Marketing assistant Ms Soto has confided to friends that the relationship is over, and sources close to the heavily tattooed chef confirmed the marriage has hit the rocks.

The restaurateur met Julieanne Soto last July and she proposed just two months later as they lay in bed eating pizza

Mr Brown, who was born in Cornwall, shot to prominence by reaching the finals of the BBC's Great British Menu in 2017 and made the banquet the following year.

He made his This Morning debut last year, cooking for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, who have dubbed him 'the hot chef'.

Since then he has attracted a huge following on social media, with fans commenting on his 'absolutely gorgeous' looks.

Ms Soto, a mother- of-one who has appeared in several television adverts, posted excitedly on social media just days ahead of their wedding in December.

They married in December but the relationship between the 33-year-old chef (pictured on This Morning) and his Glaswegian wife proved tempestuous

'I met a guy in July, decided to find a house together in August then proposed to him in bed eating pizza in September and we are finally getting hitched in three days' time,' she wrote beside a picture of her engagement ring.

Despite his woes, Mr Brown's reputation as one of the UK's most talented chefs remains.

His Michelin-starred Cornerstone restaurant in Hackney, East London, has been placed third in the National Restaurant Awards' Top 100.
Thirty seconds into the trailer for the new film Benedetta, a young novice nun takes a shower, her modesty 'protected' by only the flimsiest of transparent gauze curtains.

As the film's lead character enters  in habit and wimple  the young nun 'slips', causing Benedetta to instinctively reach out, almost touching the novice's naked breast before recoiling in pious shame.

The 'teaser' for what has already been dubbed 'the most controversial movie of the year' is less than two minutes long, yet manages to contain scenes of lesbian sex, self-flagellation, nun- on-nun kissing and even a fleeting 'nipple shot'.

Even the trailer has caused consternation and cinemas are braced for protests.

Yet the movie will take centre-stage at next month's Cannes Film Festival, an event being hyped as 'the reintroduction of Hollywood red carpet glamour' to fans after the global pandemic stopped movie-going and cost the film industry billions in lost revenue.

The 'teaser' for Benedetta, which has been dubbed 'most controversial movie of the year' contains scenes of lesbian sex and self-flagellation. Pictured: Virginie Eifra and Daphene Patakia as Benedetta and Bartolomea

Last night, a producer who works for one of the biggest studios in Hollywood said: 'Benedetta is competing for the Grand Prize at Cannes and it will have its world premiere there. It's the centrepiece of the festival.

'Sure it's controversial but sex sells. At this point the studios have to get people back into movie theatres. It's a matter of survival. What better than a bit of titillating nunsploitation?'

British actress Charlotte Rampling, 75, herself no stranger to scandal (she recently admitted to a menage-a-trois during the Swinging Sixties) plays an abbess who is outraged by the 'sexual deviancy' taking place within the convent.

And it should come as no surprise that the man behind the camera is risque director Paul Verhoeven, who broke the 'barrier of decency' in mainstream movies back in 1992 with the notorious leg-crossing scene in Basic Instinct.

Sharon Stone recently said she was duped by Verhoeven into removing her knickers in the erotic thriller  he told her the white underwear she had been wearing was 'reflecting' in the camera and ruining his shot.

She insists Verhoeven promised her modesty would be protected. Instead, when she watched Basic Instinct for the first time, she was so horrified by the below-the-belt exposure that she slapped Verhoeven across the face.

The 82-year-old director has strongly denied her claims that he 'conned' her, saying: 'Sharon is lying. Any actress knows what she's going to see if you ask her to take off her underwear and point there with the camera.'

Dutch-born Verhoeven is a complicated figure. Hailed by some as a visionary and 'grand auteur', to others he is a shameless exploiter of sex, violence and depravity  all in the name of art.

Charlotte Rampling (pictured), 75, herself no stranger to scandal (she recently admitted to a menage-a-trois) plays an abbess who is outraged by the 'sexual deviancy' in the convent

One Hollywood PR told The Mail on Sunday: 'You only have to look at the trailer for Benedetta. There's a graphic sex scene, nudity, flogging, titillation. This is Basic Instinct with wimples and crucifixes.'

Verhoeven, however, insists his latest movie is 'empowering' to women. He lauds Benedetta as an apt heroine for the #MeToo generation because she is a woman who embraced her sexuality at a time when being a lesbian could result in a woman being burned at the stake.

A source who has worked with the director said: 'Paul's a genius. This is his magnum opus. People are quick to criticise him but his films have layer upon layer and they are hugely entertaining.

'Sure, people remember Basic Instinct because of the nudity but you can watch that film today and it still holds up as a great piece of film-making nearly three decades later. He is an auteur who takes risks and pushes the envelope. That's what all great artists do.'

Verhoeven's last film, Elle, released in 2016, was about a businesswoman who plays a psychological game of cat-and-mouse with the man who brutally raped her. The critics loved it and it earned an Oscar nomination for lead actress Isabelle Huppert.

But who can forget 1995's Showgirls, a film about strippers which critics panned as 'sordid', 'laughable' and 'high-gloss trash'.

However,Verhoeven's blockbuster combination of graphic sex and gore has had the tills ringing. Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in his 1990 dystopian sci-fi drama Total Recall, which is packed with bloodshed and violence.

An earlier 1987 hit, RoboCop, used a record 200 'squibs' of blood for a scene in which an actor was blown to bits.

'Paul has a proven track record for producing box-office hits, albeit full of gore or graphic sex,' said one actor who worked with him.

'He pushes boundaries and gets people talking and that gets people to go to the cinema. He's what the studios need right now.'

A senior executive with a major Hollywood studio told The Mail on Sunday that films such as Benedetta were vital to revive an industry that's 'dead on its feet'.

'Hollywood studios are in dire trouble. The pandemic killed the movie theatres and people have got used to seeing new releases on streaming services in the comfort of their own home.

'It has cost the industry billions and continues to do so.

'We need to get people back into cinemas in order to survive. We know there are certain movies, Marvel comic book heroes, for example, which will get younger audiences back in. But we need to appeal to a wider demographic. Films like Benedetta could save Hollywood.

'The next 12 months will be make-or-break for Hollywood and that's why films like this are vital for our survival. We need to reintroduce the magic of going to the movies.'

Benedetta will take centre-stage at Cannes Film Festival, which is hyped as 'the reintroduction of Hollywood glamour' after Covid-19. Pictured: Lambert Wilson as The Nuncio in Benedetta

Benedetta, which the octogenarian director calls his masterpiece, is based on a true story about an abbess in Renaissance Italy who had a lesbian fling within her convent while experiencing 'godly visions' and being hailed a saint.

Shameless provocateur he may well be, but Verhoeven's new film plunders a scholarly tome. Historian Professor Judith C. Brown's Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy was published in 1986.

The story of Benedetta had attained mythical status in Italy and was passed down through generations but Prof Brown gave the story academic credibility by unearthing new documents in the state archives in Florence, which confirmed the authenticity of the story.

Born in 1591, Benedetta Carlini grew up in a respectable middle-class Italian family and entered The Convent of the Mother of God in Pescia, Tuscany, at the age of nine.

At the time in Renaissance Italy, middle-class families often 'bought' their daughters a place at a convent as it was a quarter of the cost of a marriage dowry and conferred respectability. Benedetta was made abbess of the convent at 30.

She reported 'visions' which came to her, including one in which Jesus asked to take her as his wife.

Other visions were more graphic and sexual. She would 'speak' in the voices of angels and underwent a mock marriage ceremony at the convent where only she could 'see' Jesus, her new husband.

She became a sensation with people flocking to see her and once showed stigmata on her hands bleeding wounds similar to the ones the Bible says Christ suffered during the Crucifixion.

The other nuns were so concerned by her increasingly disturbing claims that they reported her actions to the papal council in Rome and were ordered to confine Sister Benedetta to her room.

A young novice nun, Sister Bartolomea Crivelli, was assigned to watch over her. However, the pair embarked on a lesbian affair which ended when Bartolomea told another nun about their illicit romance.

Later, at a papal inquiry, Bartolomea gave graphic testimony about how Benedetta engaged in sex acts with her while possessed by the spirit of a 'male demon' called Splenditello.

Papal authorities determined Benedetta's revelations were the work of the Devil, not God; 'a diabolical obsession'. They stripped her of her rank and she was in the convent's 'prison' for the remaining 35 years of her life. She died in 1661.

In Verhoeven's movie, the title role is played by Belgian actress and former television presenter Virginie Efira. Her lover is portrayed by Daphne Patakia, another unknown Belgian starlet. Both women are set to become stars thanks to their erotic on-screen lovemaking.

Rampling, who has lived in France for decades, has herself been accused of exploiting sex in the name of art. In the 1974 arthouse film The Night Porter, she played a concentration camp survivor called Lucia who embarks a sadomasochistic relationship with an ex-Nazi SS officer now working as a porter at a Vienna hotel.

Nunsploitation is not a new phenomenon. In fact, Verhoeven's film follows in a long tradition of Hollywood using forbidden lust in the cloisters to titillate audiences.

In The Sound Of Music, Julie Andrews's virginal Maria turns her back on the abbey after falling for Captain Von Trapp.

There were a series of B-movies in the 1970s with titles such as Sister Lucia's Dishonour, Nude Nuns With Big Guns, and The Sinful Nuns Of Saint Valentine.

In the trailer, as the lead character enters, in habit and wimple, the nun 'slips', causing Benedetta to reach out, almost touching the novice's naked breast before recoiling

Last year's surprise BBC hit Black Narcissus  about an Anglican nun setting up a branch of her order in the Himalayas  starred Gemma Arterton as Sister Clodagh and marked one of Dame Diana Rigg's final performances as strict Mother Dorothea.

A source said: 'There was a whole nunsploitation sub-genre in European movies in the 1970s. It developed a cult following. These films are fetishised images of naughty nuns, whose devotion to God is challenged by the weak desires of their own flesh.'

The source added: 'There's often an evil Mother Superior involved which adds to the drama and titillation factor. That's what you've got in Verhoeven's film. It's all very entertaining and naughty.'

Verhoeven has said his movies are influenced by his own childhood growing up in Nazi-occupied Holland, where he witnessed brutality and victimisation.

Film-makers are expecting a backlash from religious organisations when Benedetta opens.

A source said: 'There has already been outrage on social media about the trailer. We fully expect Catholic groups and others to be up in arms about the depiction of the Church in this. But it won't be the first time religious groups have taken against Hollywood.'

Festival organisers are said to be prepared for protests when the red carpet is rolled out for the film's world premiere on July 9.

But as the source put it: 'If it gets people into cinemas and away from streaming services like Netflix then Verhoeven will be a hero and he'll get Oscar nominations.

'If the film flops, the studios will move on. Whether it's art or not is another story.

'Frankly, no one in Hollywood much cares at the moment.'
A man gets a COVID-19 testing at a makeshift testing site near Seoul Station, June 5. Yonhap





Daily new COVID-19 cases bounced back to over 700 here for Friday, as infection clusters continued to sprout up nationwide despite a stepped-up vaccination campaign.







The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 744 more coronavirus cases, including 725 local infections, and raising the total caseload to 143,596. The latest tally marked the highest since May 26 when 706 new cases were reported.







There were two additional fatalities, raising the total death toll to 1,971.







This week, the country has seen its daily virus count rise from 430 last Sunday to 677 on Wednesday and 695 on Thursday, as sporadic infections continued to erupt at workplaces, restaurants, bars and saunas.







The health authorities remain on guard against continued infections and more transmissible variant cases while ramping up efforts to inoculate the elderly population, who are considered more vulnerable to the coronavirus.







The authorities expect to achieve the goal of inoculating over 13 million, or a quarter of the nation's population, by the end of June, if the smooth supply of vaccines is ensured, including the predawn arrival of 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the United States, Saturday.







A total of 7.45 million people, including 367,761 the previous day, have received their first shots since the vaccine rollout began Feb. 26, or 14.5 percent of the total population.







Vaccine doses from AstraZeneca and Pfizer were administered to 4.83 million and 2.62 million people, respectively.







The KDCA said 2.27 million people, or 4.4 percent of the total population, have been fully vaccinated, with 29,584 receiving their second shots Friday.







Of the locally transmitted cases, 274 were in Seoul and 206 came from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province.







There were 19 additional imported cases, with 11 coming from other Asian nations, excluding China.







The number of seriously or critically ill COVID-19 patients was 151; while the total released from quarantine after making a recovery was 133,763, up 474 from Thursday. (Yonhap)


Judges Oti Mabuse and Davina McCall made sure to turn heads for The Masked Dancer final on Saturday.

Strictly Come Dancing star Oti, 30, dazzled in a sweeping gold gown that featured not only a cape but also a beautiful high neck.

Wearing her raven tresses weaved into a plaited bun, Oti looked sensational when she shared snaps of her finale look on Instagram wearing a full face of expertly-applied glam.

Wow: Oti Mabuse, 30, and Davina McCall, 53, made sure to turn heads for The Masked Dancer final on Saturday with Oti wearing a show-stopping gold gown with cape detailing

Davina, 53, cut a sophisticated silhouette in a beautiful sleeveless dress.

Wearing her glossy brunette hair loose and showing off her trim figure in the floor-length blue gown, Davina looked radiant as she took to the judging panel for the last time.

The doting mother opted for a natural make-up look, making sure her smile was the centre of attention with a swipe of pale pink lipstick.

Hours earlier a makeup-free Oti was seen leaving London's BBC studios looking radiant following her appearance on Saturday Kitchen.

Beautiful: Davina cut a sophisticated silhouette in a beautiful sleeveless dress. Wearing her glossy brunette hair loose and showing off her trim figure in the floor-length blue gown

Stunning: Wearing her raven tresses weaved into a plaited bun, Oti looked sensational when she shared snaps of her finale look on Instagram wearing a full face of expertly-applied glam

The South African dancer wore a zebra print dress beneath a floor-length beige cardigan and opted for comfort in a pair of white trainers.

She wore her long raven hair loose and made sure to flash photographers a smile as she went about her day.

During The Masked Dancer's semi-final on Friday, Kelly Brook was unmasked as Frog while Craig Revel Horwood was unveiled as Knickerbocker Glory.

Stepping out: Hours earlier a makeup-free Oti was seen leaving London's BBC studios looking radiant following her appearance on Saturday Kitchen

Stylish: The South African dancer wore a zebra print dress beneath a floor-length beige cardigan and opted for comfort in a pair of white trainers

During the latest double elimination, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig, 56, was the first to be revealed leaving his co-star and show judge Oti elated.

Oti was the only judge to guess correctly Craig was Knickerbocker Glory while the rest of the panel - Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan, Davina and guest John Bishop - wrongly predicted Rylan Clark-Neal, Jason Donovan and Paul O'Grady.

Due to Oti and Craig working together on Strictly, she as a pro and he as a judge, the dancer was able to suss out his particular walk, saying: 'It's that walk you have, I was like: "Oh!"

Enjoying the weekend: Oti appeared in high spirits and flashed photographers a smile as she went about her weekend

Mask on: The Strictly Come Dancing judge was carrying a black face mask in her hand in keeping with pandemic protocol

'It was just that moment, I was like I've seen this person walk away before... then all the pieces started coming in.'

Talking after the big reveal, Craig joked that it was 'torture, darling', he continued: 'I don't dance generally. I try sitting behind the desk, like you lot. When you've got a head on you, you don't see anything.

'It was a whole other experience, so pleased I did this, it's good for me as a judge, darling, a mean and harsh one, to actually come up and challenge myself.

Double elimination! Kelly Brook, left, was unmasked as Frog while Craig Revel Horwood, right, was unveiled as Knickerbocker Glory on Friday night's semi-final of The Masked Dancer

'I was extremely nervous, I really feel for the celebrities [on Strictly] ... not that I will change any of my opinions, I do feel for them as it's terrifying.'

Talking about his reason to take part, Craig said: 'To prove myself that I have the guts to do something like this, takes me back to being 23, that whole experience again!'

Next up to be unmasked was Frog who turned out to be none other than model and presenter Kelly, 41, leaving the judging panel stunned.

It's Craig Revel Horwood! During the latest double elimination, Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig, 56, was the first to be revealed leaving his co-star and show judge Oti elated

Again, the only judge to guess correctly was Oti who predicted that it was Kelly underneath the Frog costume while her co-stars guessed the likes of Katie Price, Caprice and Carol Vorderman.

Talking after the reveal, Kelly said: 'I have always loved dancing, I've not danced for years. I can pat myself on the back and say: "Yeah, I did that' it's been the best experience ever".'

It comes after Zoe Ball was unmasked as Llama while Christopher Dean was unveiled as Beagle on Thursday night's edition of The Masked Dancer.

Saturday night's final will see Zip, Squirrel, Scarecrow and Carwash compete.
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Angelina Jolie celebrated her 46th birthday surrounded by all six of her children on Friday night.

In pictures exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, the actress was seen leaving TAO restaurant in LA with Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and 12-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

In a true sign it was indeed a special occasion, she swapped her signature goth black wardrobe for a bright yellow floaty knee-length frock, nude heels and a Valentino Garavani Rockstud Alcove handbag.

Angelina - who stars as a firefighter Hannah Faber in her new Netflix film Those Who Wish Me Dead - and her family all wore masks as they left the West Hollywood hotspot together.

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Birthday dinner: Angelina Jolie celebrated turning 46 on Friday with a dinner at LA's TAO restaurant with her six children

Brave face: Angelina, seen here with her 15-year-old daughter Shiloh, has endured a difficult few weeks after being left 'bitterly disappointed' by a judge's decision to award Brad Pitt joint custody of their minor children

It follows a difficult few weeks for the actress, who was left 'bitterly disappointed' when her ex husband Brad Pitt was awarded joint custody of their children following a long and very nasty legal battle.

In late May, the court ruled that Brad and Angelina will have shared custody of all their children with the exception of Maddox, who is no longer a minor.

According to reports from US Weekly on Tuesday, the actress feels she can 'never forgive' Brad and believes their legal battle is 'far from over'.

Family fun: Her sons Pax, 17, and Maddox, 19, were spotted at the West Hollywood restaurant

Take out bag! Zahara took home leftovers from dinner in a Tao tote

A source told the publication: 'She will never forgive him... She maintains it's far from over and still believes that justice will prevail.'

It was also claimed that the Maleficent star will give 'everything she's got' to appeal the decision in court.

Brad's representatives declined to comment when approached by MailOnline last week and spokespeople for Angelina were also contacted for further comment.

Sources believe Angelina will continue fighting the custody arrangement, as she reportedly thinks there were 'issues' with the way Judge John Ouderkirk handled their court proceedings.

Twins: Angelina's 12-year-old children Knox and Vivienne also joined in the fun

The source added: 'Joint custody is not the issue that Angelina objects to, there were other issues of concern, but the court proceedings are closed and sealed.'

Angelina and her legal team claimed the judge wouldn't allow her children to testify in court.

A filing made to California's Second District Court of Appeal read: 'Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children's health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case ... They have failed to adequately consider a section of the California courts code, which says it is detrimental to the best interest of the child if custody is awarded to a person with a history of domestic violence.'

Angelina believes the court should be able to 'hear the minor teenagers' input as to their experiences, needs, or wishes as to their custody fate', but this has been refused.

However, Brad's lawyers believe the proceedings have been conducted fairly.

Looking on the bright side: Angelina swapped her signature black wardrobe for a yellow party frock

Mom's special day: Her children were out in force on the actress' birthday

Home time: The family piled into a waiting car after their celebratory dinner

Custody war: Last month, a court awarded Brad (pictured with Angelina in 2014) joint custody of their children with the exception of Maddox who is no longer minor

In a response filing made to the courts, they said: 'Ouderkirk has conducted an extensive proceeding over the past six months in a thorough, fair manner and reached a tentative ruling and order after hearing from experts and percipient witnesses. [Angelina's testimony] lacked credibility in many important areas, and the existing custody order between the parties must be modified, per Mr. Pitt's request, in the best interests of the children. [The objections are causing] grave harm upon the children, who will be further denied permanence and stability.'

Brad and Angelina met and by their own admission fell in love while filming Mr and Mrs Smith in the summer of 2004 while he was still married to Jennifer Aniston.

After a controversial start, they quickly became Hollywoods golden power couple and quickly grew their family.

They eventually married in 2014 at their Chateau Miraval in France in front of all six of their children.

But by August 2016, their high-profile romance had collapse and Angelina filed for divorce and requested primary custody of their children, marking the beginning of the long and ugly legal war.

In 2019, Pitt revealed that he turned to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) after his split from Angelina because his drinking had got out of control.
Reclusive Kanye West was spotted breaking cover on a sweltering day in Los Angeles wearing a balaclava that featured religious imagery.

The 43-year-old rapper, who has withdrawn from the spotlight following his divorce and controversial presidential campaign, was spotted in LA on Thursday.

His bizarre mask included small breathing holes in the front and two intricate images of Jesus including one image of Christ apparently being eaten by a whale, along with children wearing angel wings. Other symbols include a single dice.

His outing came just as his marriage split was playing out on TV.

It's Yeezy: Reclusive Kanye West was spotted breaking cover on a sweltering day in Los Angeles wearing a balaclava that featured religious imagery and heavy jacket

Kim was seen breaking down in tears during Thursday's episode of her family's E! reality show  which was filmed last year  as she spoke candidly about the breakdown of her marriage.

Kim hinted that the reason for divorcing the 'Heartless' rapper after almost seven years of marriage was because he 'deserves' a wife who can travel from state to state with him.

Speaking to her sisters, she said: 'I honestly can't do this anymore.

Reclusive: The 43-year-old rapper has withdrawn from the spotlight following his divorce and controversial presidential campaign

'Why am I still in this, like, place where I'm stuck for years? Like, he goes and moves to a different state, every year, I have to be together so I can raise the kids, you know? And he's an amazing dad, he's done an amazing job.'

The Skims founder admitted she feels like a 'failure' and a 'loser'

because this marks her third divorce after previous marriages to Damon Thomas and Kris Humphries.

She added: 'I feel like a f****** failure, that it's like, a third

f****** marriage. I feel like a f****** loser. But I can't even think about that like, I want to be happy.'

Kim filed for divorce from Kanye in February, and although the decision wasn't an easy one to make, she's now at peace with her choice.

Marriage misery: Kim broke down in tears over the demise of her romance with Kanye West on Thursday night's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians

A source told People magazine on Friday: 'Kim is doing great. She was really struggling around the time she filed for divorce. She was very upset about it and really didn't want to file. She has come a long way since she filed for divorce, though. She's very happy and convinced that she made the right decision.'

The insider also revealed Kim and Kanye's children  North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, two  are 'doing well', and that Kanye still sees them 'often'.

Since the pair split, Kim and her children have continued to live in the Hidden Hills mansion she shared with 43-year-old Kanye, while the rapper has predominantly been living in Wyoming.

And a source previously said Kim will likely stay in the family house so that her brood don't have to go through the stress of moving house.

Another insider said: 'They both agree that the less stress the kids experience, the better. Kanye loves his kids. He wants them to be happy.

'He doesn't want to fight with Kim about anything.'
They've put the pretty Berkshire village of Bucklebury on the map due to their Royal connections.

But are the Middleton family hoping to make the area a mini-fiefdom of their own?

I only ask because the Duchess of Cambridges brother James has just snapped up the familys fourth property in the village  a 1.45 million pad to share with his fiancee, Alizee Thevenet.

Its a four-bedroom Grade II listed period farmhouse with beams and leaded windows in a village on the Bucklebury fringes.

James Middleton has just snapped up the familys fourth property in the village  a 1.45 million pad to share with his fiancee, Alizee Thevenet (both pictured above)

Jamess move means the Middletons own three properties in the area, having sold one. Its a four-bedroom Grade II listed period farmhouse with beams and leaded windows in a village on the Bucklebury fringes

It means Kates family are all now near-neighbours, with parents Carole and Michael living in a 4.7 million Georgian manor house in the village, while her sister Pippa recently bought Bucklebury Farm Park, a petting zoo which is a favourite of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Jamess move means the Middletons own three properties in the area, having sold one. The original family home, the 1.5 million Oak Acre, where Kate and William met in secret during breaks from St Andrews University, was sold a few years after they married.

Mind you, tongues may well be wagging in the village about how James has managed to afford his new home, as two-and-a-half years ago his novelty marshmallow company Boomf was posting losses of 3 million.

Happily, business is now boomfing and he seems to have found his feet after meeting Alizee, a wealthy French financier.

Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page has gone from being TVs sexiest Duke to a nerdy knight fighting dragons for cash!

Playing a Paladin  thats a holy knight to non-nerds  in an upcoming Dungeons and Dragons film, he says: Its a brilliant job. Im paying off my mortgage by fighting imaginary dragons.

Rege, who quit Bridgerton after one season, admits to missing his racy scenes. The 31-year-old adds: I want everything I do to be as sexy as Bridgerton, just in different ways.

Surely only the anoraks that Dungeons and Dragons was first designed for in 1974 would describe it as sexy!
Sometimes life indeed does imitate art.

And General Hospital star Kirsten Storms revealed that she herself is recuperating after a visit to the hospital, where she recently underwent brain surgery.

The soap opera actress, 37, checked in on her Instagram stories over the weekend to discuss the circumstances leading to her operation.

On the mend: General Hospital star Kirsten Storms revealed that she herself is recuperating after a visit to the hospital, where she recently underwent brain surgery

'Ive not really spoken about this much, or at all, actually,' Kirsten said in the video from the passenger seat of an automobile.

'Less than 48 hours ago, I had brain surgery, hence the neck brace,' she continued, gesturing to the green brace she wore.

'It was on the lower portion of my brain,' she added, going on to specify that the cyst was 'not cancer, I want to clarify that right now before the Internet, like, goes crazy wild with rumors about this!'

Seen here in 2016: The soap opera actress, 37, checked in on her Instagram stories over the weekend to discuss the circumstances leading to her operation

The Zenon star also mentioned that her good friend and former co-star, Emme Rylan, is taking care of her  and Emme appeared in the video post as well, sitting behind the wheel of the car where they were filming.

'I will be on the mend for the next several weeks. I will be back at work when this is over with,' Kirsten added.

The actress is well known for playing Maxie Jones on GH, a role she has played since 2005.

Pals: The Zenon star mentioned that her good friend and former co-star, Emme Rylan, is taking care of her  and Emme appeared in the video post as well, sitting behind the wheel of the car

Prior to that, she played Belle Black on Days Of Our Lives over the course of five years, from 1999 until 2004.

Storms also played Zenon in the sci-fi Disney Channel movie trilogy.

She is also a mother to daughter Harper Rose, seven, whom she shares with her ex-husband and former GH costar Brandon Barash.
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Lake at near record levels, close to topping emergency spillway

Josh Edwards/The Daily Sentinel Josh Edwards/The Daily Sentinel A boater approaches submerged trees Wednesday at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper County. Heavy rain this weekend could cause record levels at the lake and send water rushing over the emergency spillway. Josh Edwards/The Daily Sentinel Josh Edwards/The Daily Sentinel The Angelina River on the south end of Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper County tied record height Wednesday and is expected to continue to rise with coming rain. Josh Edwards/The Daily Sentinel Josh Edwards/The Daily Sentinel Ebenezer Park near the emergency spillway at Sam Rayburn Reservoir is closed due to flooding. Rain this week could send water over the spillway and set a record for flooding at the lake.

JASPER  Heavy rain expected through the weekend could push Sam Rayburn Reservoir to record heights and send floodwater rushing over the emergency spillway.

The lake was at 175.06 feet Friday afternoon as another round of late spring thunderstorms moved into the region. Record elevation is 175.15 feet set in March 1992 and water flows over the emergency spillway at 176 feet. Lake levels are measured in height above sea level rather than actual depth. Normal elevation at Sam Rayburn is 164.40 feet.

The National Weather Service is calling for high chances of rain and thunderstorms through at least Tuesday, adding to the 21.69 inches recorded at the reservoir in March.

We think the main rainfall should remain down in the San Antonio and Austin areas, however, across Deep East Texas we expect 1.5 to 3 inches with some areas receiving upwards of 4 inches, weather service hydrologist C.S. Ross said.

Army Corps of Engineers officials have been releasing water steadily at around 11,400 cubic feet per second. Theyve also been operating the hydroelectric generators at the dam in Jasper County 24 hours per day since May 24 and plan to continue to do so until the lake falls to 170 feet.

Water released from the hydroelectric dam flows into the Angelina River, which was at a record high of 175.1 feet south of the lake Thursday.

Its basically been tied with the record for the last 36 hours, Ross said Thursday morning. The river had not begun to fall by Friday.

Some water began to slosh over the spillway at Ebenezer Park during Memorial Day weekend, but the lake so far this year has remained below the 176-foot crest needed to activate the spillway. Ebenezer is one of 11 parks and boat rams operated by the Corp that are fully or partially closed due to flooding.

An overflowing spillway could cause structural damage to some roads in the area.

Only the power plant access area in Jasper County and Ralph McAlister Park east of Etoile are fully open.

Water released from the lake flows through the Angelina River and eventually into the Lower Neches River via B.A. Steinhagen Lake, midway between Jasper and Woodville. The lake is commonly referred to as Dam B and intended to provide flood control along the Angelina and Neches river basins.

Steinhagen was at 81.82 feet Thursday, which is well within its normal elevation.

In western Nacogdoches County, Lake Nacogdoches had fallen significantly in the past few weeks and was less than half a foot into the flood pool Friday. Loco Bayou, where overflowing water is released, had mostly returned to normal elevations after swelling well beyond its banks in late May. On the other east side of the county, the Attoyac Bayou remained nearly a foot above flood stage.

Just how much rain has fallen on Nacogdoches over the past month is difficult to gauge. Just north of the city limits, The Daily Sentinel columnist Dr. Paul Risk recorded just under 17 inches of rain at his home weather station during May. A private weather station on Crestwood Drive in the southeast portion of the city recored around 10.5 inches for the month.

Risk, who is a biologist and professor emeritus of the Stephen F. Austin State University college of forestry and agriculture, said his readings were about 10 inches above normal for May.

My lawn is so saturated that I have water trickling out even when its not raining, Risk said.

Heavy spring showers and thunderstorms led to flooded roads and toppled trees across the region, forcing school closings in late May as many county roads became impassible. Another possible 3 to 4 inches of rain over the weekend could bring a repeat of those conditions, the weather service warns.

The ground is so saturated that trees are suffering from a stability standpoint, Risk said. Not much wind and they get blown over.

So much rain following subzero temperatures in late February have taken a toll on fish, birds and burrowing animals.

We arent in very good shape with our our East Texas wild things, Risk said.

Increased silt and debris in waterways can create harmful conditions for aquatic wildlife, and muddy soil isnt good for gophers and moles  much to the delight of some lawn owners.

But on a positive aspect, its producing a tremendous amount of leaf and grass vegetation on wild plants and domestic plants that the deer are having a field day with, Risk said.

Perhaps worst of all is all the standing water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are loving it, and were getting a bumper crop of mosquitoes, Risk said.
Work to unload Johnson Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine from a cargo plane is underway at Seoul Airport, June 5. Yonhap



More than 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine arrived in South Korea from the United States, Saturday, in what Seoul and Washington officials touted as a sign of the two countries' robust alliance.



The KC-330 military aircraft carrying vaccine for 1.01 million people arrived at 12:40 a.m. at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, after it departed from an air base on the U.S. west coast Thursday (local time), officials said.



The shipment came after U.S. President Joe Biden pledged during last month's summit with President Moon Jae-in that his administration will offer vaccinations for South Korea's 550,000 active service members, who work closely with U.S. troops here. Washington later nearly doubled the shipment volume.



Seoul plans to use them to inoculate reserve forces, civil defense members and others in charge of defense and foreign affairs.



Officials from the government and the U.S. Embassy, including Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min and charge d'affaires Rob Rapson, welcomed the arrival of the vaccine on the tarmac.



"The arrival of the Janssen vaccine serves as an opportunity to once again realize the solid bond of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and its crucial value," Park said. "I thank the Korean and U.S. military for its operations to safely transport the vaccine doses."



In a tweet, Rapson pointed out, "This is what allies do; this is what makes our alliance and partnership so strong!"



Touching on the vaccine supply, Ned Price, spokesman of the U.S. State Department, said, "The friendship between our two countries runs deep, especially in times of great need."



"One million JJ vaccines are headed to our partners in the Republic of Korea. With these doses we're ensuring the safety and readiness of ROK and U.S. forces," he tweeted.



Escorted by police, two trucks transported the U.S.-provided vaccines to warehouses in Icheon, 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, for use later this month. (Yonhap)


Dancehall star Skillibeng has reportedly lined up more international collaborations, this time with American rappers Lil Baby and Bobby Shmurda.

Shmurda, whose father is Jamaican, appears set to deliver a second official remix of Skillibengs crossover hit Crocodile Teeth, after Nicki Minajs version was released on May 14 and later entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 100.

The recently freed rapper shared a snippet of the upcoming track that promises to be another ballistic affair.

Unnu nuh fi shiesty/ First ting unnu nuh hard like me/ me nuh call no man, mi ah god, from I peep/ everything get shot when I squeeze, he raps in an Instagram clip re-shared by one of Crocodile Teeths producers earlier this week.

Woah rapper Lil Baby and the Mr. Universe deejay are also reportedly working on a new collaboration after a photo surfaced today of the two entertainers on a video call along with Claims Records producer/CEO Gutty Bling.

ZipFM reached out to Gutty Bling, who confirmed that the two artists were in fact discussing a collaboration on the call. The radio station said they were told that Skillibengs verse was already done, while Lil Baby received his verse and loves it.

Lil Baby just released a collaborative album The Voice of The Heroes with fellow rapper, Lil Durk today.

It seems Skilli and Lil Baby have been in talks about the upcoming project for some time now. Just last month, Lil Baby posted a clip from another Skillibeng hit, Coke, on his IG stories and was sure to tag the Brik Pon Brik artist in the post.

Similarly, in early April, Bobby Shmurda showed Skillibeng some love on IG as he was vibing to one of the St. Thomas natives latest Trap Dancehall/Hip Hop fusion tracks  2Gyal.

The EastSyde Records deejay has become Dancehalls hottest commodity for collabs with international stars. Prior to Nicki Minaj jumping on the Crocodile Teeth remix, Skillibeng teamed up with rappers Rich The Kid and Jay Critch on Real Boss, and shot the music video in Port Antonio, Jamaica in April.

The month before, he dropped Blow Up, with Ghanaian artist Shatta Wale.

He also appeared with rapper Young M.A on the track Money Counter in April, which was co-produced by Claims Records.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.

The escalating havoc caused by ransomware gangs raises an obvious question: Why has the United States, believed to have the worlds greatest cyber capabilities, looked so powerless to protect its citizens from these kind of criminals operating with near impunity out of Russia and allied countries?

The answer is that there are numerous technological, legal and diplomatic hurdles to going after ransomware gangs. Until recently, it just hasnt been a high priority for the U.S. government.

That has changed as the problem has grown well beyond an economic nuisance. President Joe Biden intends to confront Russias leader, Vladimir Putin, about Moscow's harboring of ransomware criminals when the two men meet in Europe later this month. The Biden administration has also promised to boost defenses against attacks, improve efforts to prosecute those responsible and build diplomatic alliances to pressure countries that harbor ransomware gangs.

Calls are growing for the administration to direct U.S. intelligence agencies and the military to attack ransomware gangs' technical infrastructure used for hacking, posting sensitive victim data on the dark web and storing digital currency payouts.

Fighting ransomware requires the nonlethal equivalent of the global war on terrorism launched after the Sept. 11 attacks, said John Riggi, a former FBI agent and senior adviser for cybersecurity and risk for the America Hospital Association. Its members have been hard hit by ransomware gangs during the coronavirus pandemic.

It should include a combination of diplomatic, financial, law enforcement, intelligence operations, of course, and military operations, Riggi said.

A public-private task force including Microsoft and Amazon made similar suggestions in an 81-page report that called for intelligence agencies and the Pentagons U.S. Cyber Command to work with other agencies to prioritize ransomware disruption operations.

Take their infrastructure away, go after their wallets, their ability to cash out, said Philip Reiner, a lead author of the report. He worked at the National Security Council during the Obama presidency and is now CEO at The Institute for Security and Technology.

But the difficulties of taking down ransomware gangs and other cybercriminals have long been clear. The FBIs list of most-wanted cyber fugitives has grown at a rapid clip and now has more than 100 entries, many of whom are not exactly hiding. Evgeniy Bogachev, indicted nearly a decade ago for what prosecutors say was a wave of cyber bank thefts, lives in a Russian resort town and is known to enjoy boating on the Black Sea, according to the FBIs wanted listing.

Ransomware gangs can move around, do not need much infrastructure to operate and can shield their identities. They also operate in a decentralized network. For instance, DarkSide, the group responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack that led to fuel shortages in the South, rents out its ransomware software to partners to carry out attacks.

Katie Nickels, director of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Red Canary, said identifying and disrupting ransomware criminals takes time and serious effort.

A lot of people misunderstand that the government cant just willy-nilly go out and press a button and say, well, nuke that computer, she said. Trying to attribute to a person in cyberspace is not an easy task, even for intelligence communities.

Reiner said those limits do not mean the United States cannot still make progress against defeating ransomware, comparing it with America's ability to degrade the terrorist group al-Qaida while not capturing its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over after U.S. troops killed Osama bin Laden.

We can fairly easily make the argument that al-Qaida no longer poses a threat to the homeland, Reiner said. So short of getting al-Zawahiri, you destroy his ability to actually operate. Thats what you can do to these (ransomware) guys.

The White House has been vague about whether it plans to use offensive cyber measures against ransomware gangs. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that were not going to take options off the table, but she did not elaborate. Her comments followed a ransomware attack by a Russian gang that caused outages at Brazils JBS SA, the second-largest producer of beef, pork and chicken in the United States.

Gen. Paul Nakasone, who leads U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, said at a recent symposium that he believes the U.S. will be bringing the weight of our nation, including the Defense Department, to take down this (ransomware) infrastructure outside the United States.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who is a legislative leader on cybersecurity issues, said the debate in Congress over how aggressive the U.S. needs to be against ransomware gangs, as well as state adversaries, will be front and center of the next month or two.

To be honest, its complicated because youre talking about using government agencies, government capabilities to go after private citizens in another country, he said.

The U.S. is widely believed to have the best offensive cyber capabilities in the world, though details about such highly classified activities are scant. Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the U.S. conducted 231 offensive cyber operations in 2011. More than a decade ago a virus called Stuxnet attacked control units for centrifuges in an underground site in Iran, causing the sensitive devices to spin out of control and destroy themselves. The cyberattack was attributed to America and Israel.

U.S. policy called persistent engagement already authorizes cyberwarriors to engage hostile hackers in cyberspace and disrupt their operations with code. U.S. Cyber Command has launched offensive operations related to election security, including against Russian misinformation officials during U.S. midterm elections in 2018.

After the Colonial Pipeline attack, Biden promised that his administration was committed to bringing foreign cybercriminals to justice. Yet even as he was speaking from the White House, a different Russian-linked ransomware gang was leaking thousands of highly sensitive internal files  including deeply personal background checks  belonging to the police department in the nations capital. Experts believe its the worst ransomware attack against a U.S.-based law enforcement agency.

We are not afraid of anyone, the hackers wrote in a follow-up post.
Former Alabama Gov. John Patterson, who entered politics as a reformer after his fathers assassination but was criticized for failing to protect the Freedom Riders from angry white mobs, has died. He was 99.

He died Friday, his daughter, Barbara Patterson Scholl, confirmed. She said funeral arrangements are pending. "He died very peacefully at home. His family and friends were with him, she said.

Pattersons involvement with state government spanned a half century, beginning with his election as attorney general at 33 after violence in Phenix City, and later as a judge.

A segregationist as governor, he drew criticism when Freedom Riders were attacked while in Alabama and Patterson did nothing to protect them. He later voiced regret for what happened. He ended his political career more serenely on the Court of Criminal Appeals, where he continued to write opinions into his 80s.

Patterson also was involved in the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, helping the CIA get Alabama Air National Guard members to train Cuban exiles. Some Alabama pilots died when the 1961 invasion of Cuba failed.

Patterson was born on his grandparents farm in the tiny Tallapoosa County community of Goldville, but finished high school in Phenix City, where his father, Albert Patterson, was a lawyer. After serving on Gen. Dwight Eisenhowers staff during World War II, Patterson returned home, got his law degree from the University of Alabama and went into practice with his father, Albert Patterson.

Albert Patterson ran for attorney general in 1954 on a platform of cleaning up the vice and illegal gambling that had turned his town into Sin City, U.S.A. He won the Democratic nomination to be the state's top prosecutor, but was gunned down in Phenix City on June 18.

Democratic Party officials pressured his son to run for attorney general in his place. He did and won.

In a 2003 interview, Patterson told The Associated Press he had no interest in politics until his fathers death. If he hadnt been killed, I never would have run for public office. Nobody would have ever heard of me outside legal circles, Patterson said.

As attorney general, Patterson kept his fathers campaign promise to clean up Phenix City. He also fought civil rights groups in court. In one case, he got a restraining order to keep the NAACP from operating in Alabama. The restraining order remained until 1964, when it was lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Patterson ran for governor in 1958, beating Wallace in a Democratic primary that focused largely on Pattersons pro-segregation stand.

Patterson was the only person to beat Wallace in an Alabama election.

Four years later, Wallace successfully claimed the segregationist banner to begin his dynasty.

During Pattersons term, Alabama launched a $100 million school building program, increased old age pensions, returned the State Docks to profitability, and enacted a small loan law to curb loan sharks.

But his term also saw attacks on the Freedom Riders who were seeking to integrate bus waiting rooms and lunch counters. Patterson said later he mistakenly trusted police in Birmingham and Montgomery to protect the Freedom Riders, but they didnt.

I regret it, and it was bad for my administration, Patterson said in 2003.

Patterson said he knew segregation couldnt be maintained under the Constitution, but he wanted to delay its end. He said he felt Alabamians would accept integration without violence if change occurred slowly.

Exactly 50 years after the Freedom Riders were beaten by a white mob in Montgomery, Patterson welcomed 10 of them back to Montgomery on May 20, 2011, for the dedication of a museum honoring them.

It took a lot of nerve and guts to do what they did, Patterson said. In a 2009 interview, Sam Webb, co-editor of the book Alabama Governors, said Patterson was a brave and courageous governor on many fronts, but those accomplishments were overshadowed by race issues.

Unfortunately what will stand out in John Pattersons case is his vociferous opposition to civil rights and racial integration, said Webb, a historian at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

During Pattersons term as governor, the CIA began planning for Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and try to overthrow Fidel Castro. A CIA agent approached Patterson about getting members of the Alabama Air National Guard to help train the exiles. Patterson agreed after the agent assured him that President Eisenhower had approved the plan.

About 300 Alabamians helped train Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs invasion, which was not carried out until President John Kennedy replaced Eisenhower in the White House in 1961. On the third day of the invasion, as it was failing, Alabama pilots flew the last bombing mission, and four died.

Kennedy initially denied any U.S. involvement in the invasion, which was a shock to Patterson, who knew differently.

Years later, Patterson disclosed that he had tipped off Kennedy about the invasion plans shortly before the November 1960 presidential election. Patterson, a Kennedy supporter, flew to New York to tell Kennedy out of concern that the Eisenhower administration would carry out the invasion just before the presidential election to boost Vice President Richard Nixons chances of beating Kennedy.

Patterson couldnt seek a second term in 1962 because Alabama law then prohibited consecutive terms. He tried a comeback in 1966, but lost to Wallaces wife, Lurleen. He also ran unsuccessfully for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 1972.

Patterson, who had been friends with Wallace before their bitter 1958 race, eventually renewed the friendship and helped Wallace in his later campaigns for president and governor. In 1984, Wallace appointed Patterson to a vacancy on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.

He won election to a full six-year term later that year and was reelected in 1990. In January 1997, he had to retire because the state constitution prohibits judges from running for another term after reaching 70.

Still, Patterson continued to work for the court by helping write opinions because he said he enjoyed being a judge more than any office he held.

Current Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sent her condolences to the Patterson family Saturday.

I am sending my prayers to the family and loved ones of former Governor John Patterson as they mourn his passing," Ivey said in a statement.

___

Phillip Rawls, who retired from the Associated Press, contributed to this report.
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These foreign nationals will not be required to submit any application to the FRRO or FRO concerned for extension of their visas. (DC file photo)

New Delhi: The visas of foreign nationals, stranded in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have been extended by the government till August 31 on gratis basis or free of charge.

The Union Home Ministry said that due to the non-availability of normal commercial flight operations on account of the pandemic since March, 2020, a number of foreign nationals who came to India prior to that date on valid Indian visas got stranded in the country.

Keeping in view the difficulties being faced by such foreign nationals in getting their visas extended due to the lockdown, the Home Ministry had issued an order on June 29, 2020 conveying that the Indian visa or stay stipulation period of such foreign nationals expiring post-June 30, 2020 shall be deemed to be valid until 30 more days from the date of resumption of normal international flight operations, on gratis basis.

However, such foreign nationals have been applying for extension of their visas or stay stipulation period on a monthly basis, the Home Ministry said in a statement.

The matter has now been reconsidered by the ministry in the light of non-resumption of normal commercial flight operations, and it has accordingly been decided that the Indian visa or stay stipulation period of such foreign nationals stranded in India will be considered as deemed to be valid till August 31, 2021 on gratis basis without levy of any overstay penalty, the statement said.

These foreign nationals will not be required to submit any application to the FRRO or FRO concerned for extension of their visas.

Such foreign nationals may apply for an exit permission to the FRRO or FRO concerned before exiting the country, which would be granted on gratis basis without levy of any overstay penalty, the statement said.
KHAMMAM: Delay that was caused in the process of lifting of paddy from Indira Kranthi Patham centres to the rice mills has resulted in heavy loss to paddy farmers following the onset of the rainy season.

In some places, farmers were kept in wait mode by procurement officials for over a month, and now this damage has occurred.

About 1,200 tonnes of paddy placed in 75 centres at various mandals was hit by the rain.

The government had opened 285 procurement centres in 22 mandals of this district and the paddy lifting was going on in Kallur, Penuballi, Julurpad, Vemsoor, Sattupalli and Tallada mandals. Yet, the scarcity of lorries due to the lockdown turned out to be a curse to the farmers in ten mandals.

The affected mandals are Kusumanchi, Mudigonda, Chintakani, Wyra, Tiruamlayapalem, Raghunathapalem and Nelakondapalli. These mandals witnessed rainfall on June 3 and 4.

In Kusumanchi, there existed 20 lifting centres. Some 50 tonnes of paddy was damaged in the rain. The situation in Nelakondapalli mandal with 12 lifting centres was also the same. At least 80 tonnes of the produce has been damaged in these centres.

About 100 tonnes of paddy placed in Wyra Farm Market has been damaged by the rain.

Bharatiya Kisan Morcha state president K Sridhar Reddy, who visited the market, said, The negligence of the government turned out to be a curse to the farmers. Sprouts are coming from the paddy kept in sacks in the market due to the rain. Some farmers were kept waiting for more than one month before officials came forward to lift the paddy.

He said that the millers are making the payment only after the procured paddy is reached to their mills. The millers are rejecting damaged paddy. He urged the government to lift the paddy from the farmers and make full payment to them. The farmers should not be penalized for the fault of the government, he said.
Even in cases, where it is not necessary, it is alleged that some doctors are prescribing even C.T. scan twice or thrice, thus benefiting the laboratories which are allegedly sharing profits with them. (Representational Photo: PTI)

KAKINADA: Private diagnostic laboratories are fleecing Covid-19 patients in the name of different tests as the virus is ravaging the state. Apart from private and corporate hospitals, the laboratories are extorting huge sums of money for various tests.

Even in cases, where it is not necessary, it is alleged that some doctors are prescribing even C.T. scan twice or thrice, thus benefiting the laboratories which are allegedly sharing profits with them. Before Covid-19, the labs used to charge Rs 75 to Rs100 for diabetes tests. Now, they are charging Rs 175 to Rs 350 for the test.

The government has fixed charges for RT-PCR at Rs 499, Rapid Antigen Test at Rs 230 and CT Scan at Rs 3,000. But neither the laboratories nor private hospitals are offering tests at these rates. They are charging R 1,200 to R 2,500 for RT-PCR and rapid tests alone. There is no check.

However, District Medical and Health Officer K.V.S. Gowreeswara Rao said that stringent action would be taken against the laboratories, if they are charging more than the charges fixed by the government. He appealed to the patients to inform if any laboratories are overcharging them.

Meanwhile, a patient developed Covid-19 symptoms and took a Covid-19 test. But the test result showed negative. When he went back to his doctor, he prescribed tests again along with CBP, CRP, LDH, D.Dimer and others. He even prescribed C.T. scan for chest.

A laboratory in Rajamahendravaram charged Rs 17,000 for these tests. For the past 20 days, he made these tests in two instalments. The doctor recommended him to undergo the same tests another time. I am unable to bear such huge costs for laboratory tests. When I want to go to the government hospitals for these tests, the situation there is not favourable, he said.

In Kakinada also, the laboratories are fleecing the patients exorbitantly. Four members of a family of a private employee in a rice mill at Kakinada contracted Covid-19. He spent Rs 20,000 so far and he tested negative, but his doctor said he would call for the same tests after a week. He said that he was at a loss to raise money for further tests.

The Covid-19 patients urge Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to pay attention to exploitation by the laboratories and their nexus with doctors.
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Rep. Song Young-gil, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea / Korea Times file





The head of the ruling Democratic Party said Saturday that he would "seek a visit" to the United States in the near future to explore a "clue" for the resumption of the now-shuttered inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong.







Song Young-gil made the remark during a meeting with an association of business owners who used to run operations at the complex that was closed in February 2016 following the nuclear and missile tests by the North.







The owners have called on the government to find a way to recoup their financial losses caused by the closure of factories that employed tens of thousands of North Koreans to produce labor-intensive goods, such as shoes, watches and utensils.







"I hope that we can find a clue within the term of the Moon Jae-in administration by persuading people in the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and building an understanding with the North Korean side," Song said.







"I will seek to visit the U.S. in the near future," he added.







Song did not elaborate on the envisioned trip to the U.S., but if he travels there he is expected to seek a loosening of international and U.S. sanctions to pave the way for the resumption of inter-Korean economic exchanges.







At the meeting, the businesspeople called on Song to push for the normalization of the complex and a special law on compensating them for financial losses  estimated to reach 230 billion won ($206 million)  and providing other support.







"If everybody gives up on it, who would trust the government and jump into inter-Korean economic cooperation projects?" Lee Jae-cheol, the head of the association, said.







The ruling party chief said in turn that he understood their situation and would relay their demands to the government. (Yonhap)


Police have asked the Derry public to 'engage' with them in order to bring paramilitaries, who have carried out eight shootings this year, before the courts.

Since January 1, eight males have sustained serious injuries as a result of being shot in paramilitary-style attacks in the city.

However, no-one has been charged at this stage in connection with the offences.

Chief Superintendent Darrin Jones, the local police commander said investigations into the shootings are active.

Those responsible for these violent gun attacks on members of the Derry community have nothing to offer and only want to exert fear and control over the community for their own selfish gains and think nothing of using their guns against people in the communities where they live," he said.

The brutal injuries they inflict on people are a stark violation of peoples basic human rights.

They do not care about the long-term physical and emotional damage they are inflicting on their victims and their families.

We are actively investigating these incidents to identify those involved and bring them before the courts.

Police have conducted a number of searches and, while no persons have been charged, five men have been arrested and questioned in connection with a number of these violent incidents.

Chief Superintendent Jones urged people with any information about the attacks to come forward.

He added: There are obvious difficulties in getting victims and witnesses of such attacks to come forward due to fear but Police are far from powerless when it comes to dealing with these people who are exploiting their own communities.

We are targeting the groups and individuals we suspect are responsible for the attacks and tackling their wider criminality, be that drug dealing, or any other illegal activity.

My message is simple: Policing works for communities, particularly for those communities that engage and work with us.

TIMELINE OF SHOOTINGS

January 6: The first paramilitary style attack took place when a man in his 30s was targeted in what police described as a barbaric shooting. It took place around 7.30pm in the Southway area of Derry.

January 8: Just two days later, a man was shot outside a residential property in Creggan Heights before 7.45pm, sustaining what police said may be life-changing injuries.

February 6: Two men were hospitalised after being shot in the legs in Rinmore Drive, close to Creggan shops. Again, it took place early in the evening and was described as reckless and brutal by the PSNI.

February 27: A teenager was shot in an alleyway in the Curryneirin area.

April 13: A man in his 20s was shot in the Meenan Drive area in a paramilitary-style assault.

April 15: Men forced their way into a property in the Whitethorn Drive area of the city where a man was shot a number of times in his legs.

May 17: The most recent involved a man being bundled into a car on the Letterkenny Road and driven to Claudy where he was shot. The injured man made it to a nearby house where he raised the alarm and was transported to hospital.

INTIMIDATION

Paramilitary groups in the city often attempt to justify the shooting of individuals who they claim are drug dealers.

However, graffiti appeared in Creggan, Ballymagroarty and the Bogside earlier this year with members of the New IRA and INLA accusing one another of protecting drug dealers.

According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), serious and organised crime gangs involved in the sale and supply of drugs have adapted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the yearly period to March 2021, NI has experienced its highest number of drug offences on record.

The number of drug offences increased by 163 in the past twelve months to 8,165 offences.

Derry City and Strabane saw the biggest increase in drug seizure incidents, up from 670 in 2019/20 to 812 in 2020/21.

Drug related arrests at a local level also increased from 430 to 473  the biggest jump in the country, with other policing areas experiencing a decrease in arrests.

Michael Mulqueen, Professor of Policing and National Security at the University of Central Lancashire, has focused on policing in Ireland.

The Derry News asked him whether it is normal in other parts of Ireland or the UK for eight people to be shot and nobody brought before the courts.

He says community intelligence in a small city such as Derry can be contingent upon how the police is perceived within local communities.

Professor Mulqueen added: But any shootings  much less those flowing from the menacing world of paramilitarism allied to serious and organised crime  create an additional challenge.

Unscrupulous and well-organised paramilitary crime gangs will, routinely, engage in despicable acts of witness intimidation.

So, whereas police should always be trying to do more to resolve serious crime, there are, frustratingly, complicating factors.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Overall recorded crime decreased in all of the PSNIs 11 policing districts over the last 12 months.

Derry has experienced the smallest annual percentage drop in crime at -1.7 per cent.

By way of comparison, Belfast City experienced a -17.1 per cent drop and across Northern Ireland, as a whole, recorded crime decreased by -11.4 per cent.

Local policing commanders will offer reasons for the variance.

But, Professor Mulqueen believes that in the case of Derry, data seems to expose the myth' that republicans violently opposed to the peace process suppress crime in communities.

He said: Resorting to knee-capping and other thuggish ways may be running counter to the intended effect: could it be that it is persuading people in Derry to report crime to the PSNI with greater frequency?

Alternatively, one can read the data as PSNI and its partners having experienced a year in which crime has proved harder to contain than in other districts.

This may be, not least, due to the efforts of a menacing dissident presence. Indeed, however it is cut, those opposed to the peace are living up to the refrain of their critics: they offer nothing.

The policing expert cited Februarys double shooting at Rinmore Drive, Creggan, as an example in this regard.

A PSNI investigating officer concluded that two men were shot in savage attacks in a residential area at a time when people would have been out and about.

The trauma inflicted upon victims and the community was, no doubt, designed to inflict collateral damage in the form of weakening the will of vulnerable people to seek local PSNI support, Professor Mulqueen concluded.

Police have appealed for anyone with information about any criminality to contact police on 101, or submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/
Juhi Chawla's Plea In 5G Case Dismissed, Delhi HC Orders Actress To Pay 20 Lakhs For 'Abuse Of Process Of Law'

The Delhi High Court Friday dismissed actress Juhi Chawla's lawsuit challenging the setting up of 5G wireless networks in the country and slapped a cost of Rs 20 lakh on her and co-petitioners by describing the plea as "defective", "abuse of process of law" and filed for "gaining publicity".

Justice J R Midha said the plaintiffs -- Chawla and two others -- have abused and misused the process of law and wasted the court's time. The judge said the plaint in which questions have been raised about health hazards due to the 5G technology was "not maintainable" and was "stuffed with unnecessary, scandalous and frivolous averments". The court said the suit filed by actress-environmentalist and others was to gain publicity which was clear as Chawla circulated the video conferencing link of the hearing on her social media account which resulted in repeated interruptions by unknown persons.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Juhi Chawla (@iamjuhichawla)

The court also issued contempt notices against unknown persons and asked the Delhi Police to identify them.

During the June 2 hearing on Chawla's plea, a man started singing some of the hit songs of the actress' movies and caused repeated interruptions in the virtual proceedings. On the judge's directions the person was repeatedly removed from the hearing, but he kept on joining with different names and started singing till the time the proceedings were locked.

The detailed judgement is awaited but after its pronouncement, Chawla's counsel sought a stay on the verdict for filing an appeal against it which was outrightly denied by the court. Advocate Deepak Khosla, appearing for the actress and others, questioned the imposition of cost contending that it was without any legal basis and attempted to show a Supreme Court' verdict. However, the judge said 'very sorry. Rejected. The matter is over. You gave your regal remedies. It would not be proper for a counsel to comment on the order. As a counsel you should know your limits'.

The court, while pronouncing the order, said the plaintiffs abused and misused the process of law and wasted the court's time. A cost of Rs 20 lakh is imposed on the plaintiffs It appears the suit was filed to gain publicity which is clear as plaintiff no. 1 (Chawla) circlulated the link of the hearing on her social media account which caused repeated interruption in the proceedings by unknown persons.

It said the cost be deposited by the plaintiffs Chawla, social worker Veeresh Malik and Teena Vachani, with Delhi State Legal Services Authority within one week and in case of failure, the authority can initiate the process to recover the amount. The court said disruptions were made thrice in the proceedings by unknown persons and directed issuance of contempt notices against them and asked the Delhi Police to identify them and take action and file a compliance report before it. No case is made out for granting permission to institute the suit or to sue in representative capacity as the suit is defective and not maintainable. The plaint is stuffed with unnecessary, scandalous and frivolous averments, it said.

The court added Chawla and the two others not only did not comply with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), but also flouted several other mandates under the Code. It said the plaint is not verified and the plaintiffs have mentioned that only a few paragraphs were said to be true to their knowledge and the suit was based on legal advice which is not maintainable and as mandated under the law, the plaintiffs did not approach the authorities claiming their rights and directly moved the court. It questioned them as to why as many as 33 parties have been added to the plaint and said it is not permitted under the law.

The court had on June 2 reserved its order on the issue of maintainability of the plaint in which the plaintiffs sought a direction to the authorities to certify to the public at large that how 5G technology is safe to humans, animals and every type of living organism, flora and fauna.

The counsel for the Department of Telecommunications had said the 5G policy does not fall in the category of public nuisance and it is obviously not prohibited in law.

The counsel representing private telecom companies had said launching of 5G technology is a policy of the government and as it is a policy, it cannot be a wrongful act.

The suit said that if the telecom industry's plans for 5G come to fruition, no person, animal, bird, insect and plant on earth will be able to avoid exposure, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to levels of RF radiation that are 10x to 100x times greater than what exists today.

This suit will reveal a complete sell-out by the regulatory agencies who, statutorily, have been tasked to protect the health and life of the public, but whose actions reveal an utter derogation of their own statutory duty in order to advance private interests..., the plea has alleged.

Since 'prevention' is well-accepted to be far better than 'cure', immediate measures must be taken to protect humanity and the environment, in accordance with ethical imperatives as well as formal international agreements, before such harm is actually unleashed, it said.

The plea in April 2019, Brussels became the first major city in the world to halt any further steps in the 5G rollout on account of health hazards.
Naagin 3 Actor Pearl V Puri Arrested After Alleged Rape And Molestation Of A Minor

It has just been a few days since charges of gang rape had come up against Jaccky Bhagnani and a few others after a model had filed a complaint. Now, TV actor Pearl V Puri has come under the radar. Allegations of rape and molestation of a minor have been made against the Naagin 3 actor. He has been taken to custody.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pearl V Puri (@pearlvpuri)

Pearl was arrested on Friday by Waliv police in Vasai. Sanjay Patil, DCP Zone 2, Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar, said "The incident is old but the 17 year old minor victim complained to us along with her mother at the police station and we registered case under Section 376 (rape) of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act(POCSO) Act, 2012." Police also added that Puri had asked for sexual favours and promised the girl a career in the TV industry. He has been remanded to police custody for now.

There has been no word about the same coming from Puri or his representatives. The actor has been a part of the TV industry for close to a decade now. He became a household name after his stint in Naagin 3. His co-star Anita Hassanandani supported the actor and wrote on social media, "Woke up to some nonsensical news bout @pearlvpuri I know him! It is NOT true ... canNOT be true.... all lies. Im sure there is more to it. And the truth will be out soon. Love you @pearlvpuri #ISTANDWITHPEARL."
Pearl V Puri Case Update: Naagin 3 Actor Sent To Judicial Custody After Being Presented In Vasai Court

TV actor Pearl V Puri had earlier been arrested by the Mumbai Police after a complaint of rape and molestation of a minor was filed against him. Now, the actor has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

ANI tweeted that the actor was produced to Vasai court, after which he was sent to judicial custody. See the tweet here:

#UPDATE : Vasai court sends television actor Pearl Puri to judicial custody.#Maharashtra  ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2021

However, Pearl V Puri's Naagin 3 co-star Karishma Tanna had something else to say. The actress took to her social media and claimed that the actor had been granted bail. Posting a picture with Pearl, Karishma wrote, "Satyamev Jayate. Truth wins and he did win. #gotbail @pearlvpuri

#istandwithpearl." See her post here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karishma Tanna (@karishmaktanna)

According to Sanjay Kumar Patil, DCP, MBVV Commissionerate, the case against Puri was filed in October 2019 with Versova police station by the victim's father. The victim is reportedly 5 years old. The case was being probed by Waliv police who found Puri's role and called him to the police station on Friday evening and He was later arrested on Friday. The victim's father is a friend of Puri. Keep following us for all the latest updates on the case.
NEWS RELEASE Release Number: 2021-58 June 4, 2021

Standards Board Readopts Revised Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards

The revised Cal/OSHA standards are expected to go into effect no later than June 15

Sacramento  The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board on June 3 readopted Cal/OSHAs revised COVID-19 prevention emergency temporary standards.



Last year, the Board adopted health and safety standards to protect workers from COVID-19. The standards did not consider vaccinations and required testing, quarantining, masking and more to protect workers from COVID-19.



The changes adopted by the Board phase out physical distancing and make other adjustments to better align with the states June 15 goal to retire the Blueprint. Without these changes, the original standards, would be in place until at least October 2. These restrictions are no longer required given todays record low case rates and the fact that weve administered 37 million vaccines.



The revised emergency standards are expected to go into effect no later than June 15 if approved by the Office of Administrative Law in the next 10 calendar days. Some provisions go into effect starting on July 31, 2021.



The revised standards are the first update to Cal/OSHAs temporary COVID-19 prevention requirements adopted in November 2020.



The Board may further refine the regulations in the coming weeks to take into account changes in circumstances, especially as related to the availability of vaccines and low case rates across the state.

The standards apply to most workers in California not covered by Cal/OSHAs Aerosol Transmissible Diseases standard. Notable revisions include:

Face Coverings :

: Indoors, fully vaccinated workers without COVID-19 symptoms do not need to wear face coverings in a room where everyone else is fully vaccinated and not showing symptoms. However, where there is a mixture of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons in a room, all workers will continue to be required to wear a face covering.



Outdoors, fully vaccinated workers without symptoms do not need to wear face coverings. However, outdoor workers who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear a face covering when they are less than six feet away from another person.

Physical Distancing: When the revised standards take effect, employers can eliminate physical distancing and partitions/barriers for employees working indoors and at outdoor mega events if they provide respirators, such as N95s, to unvaccinated employees for voluntary use. After July 31, physical distancing and barriers are no longer required (except during outbreaks), but employers must provide all unvaccinated employees with N95s for voluntary use.

Prevention Program : Employers are still required to maintain a written COVID-19 Prevention Program but there are some key changes to requirements:

: Employers are still required to maintain a written COVID-19 Prevention Program but there are some key changes to requirements: Employers must review the California Department of Public Healths Interim guidance for Ventilation, Filtration, and Air Quality in Indoor Environments.



COVID-19 prevention training must now include information on how the vaccine is effective at preventing COVID-19 and protecting against both transmission and serious illness or death.

Exclusion from the Workplace: Fully vaccinated workers who do not have COVID-19 symptoms no longer need to be excluded from the workplace after a close contact.

Fully vaccinated workers who do not have COVID-19 symptoms no longer need to be excluded from the workplace after a close contact. Special Protections for Housing and Transportation: Special COVID-19 prevention measures that apply to employer-provided housing and transportation no longer apply if all occupants are fully vaccinated.

The Standards Board will file the readoption rulemaking package with the Office of Administrative Law, which has 10 calendar days to review and approve the temporary workplace safety standards enforced by Cal/OSHA. Once approved and published, the full text of the revised emergency standards will appear in the Title 8 sections 3205 (COVID-19 Prevention), 3205.1 (Multiple COVID-19 Infections and COVID-19 Outbreaks), 3205.2 (Major COVID-19 Outbreaks) 3205.3 (COVID-19 Prevention in Employer-Provided Housing) and 3205.4 (COVID-19 Prevention in Employer-Provided Transportation) of the California Code of Regulations. Pursuant to the states emergency rulemaking process, this is the first of two opportunities to readopt the temporary standards after the initial effective period.



The Standards Board also convened a representative subcommittee to work with Cal/OSHA on a proposal for further updates to the standard, as part of the emergency rulemaking process. It is anticipated this newest proposal, once developed, will be heard at an upcoming Board meeting. The subcommittee will provide regular updates at the Standards Board monthly meetings.



The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, a seven-member body appointed by the Governor, is the standards-setting agency within the Cal/OSHA program. The Standards Board's objective is to adopt reasonable and enforceable standards at least as effective as federal standards. The Standards Board also has the responsibility to grant or deny applications for permanent variances from adopted standards and respond to petitions for new or revised standards.



The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, is the division within the Department of Industrial Relations that helps protect Californias workers from health and safety hazards on the job in almost every workplace. Cal/OSHAs Consultation Services Branch provides free and voluntary assistance to employers to improve their health and safety programs. Employers should call (800) 963-9424 for assistance from Cal/OSHA Consultation Services.



Contact: Erika Monterroza / Frank Polizzi, Communications@dir.ca.gov, (510) 286-1161.
gettyimagesbank



This article is the second in a series about Koreans adopted abroad. Learning the Korean language is an extremely difficult proposition for Korean adoptees. Language is an essential element constituting the identity of a person. By virtue of the nations to which adoptees were sent English, French, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swiss and Italian are the predominant mother tongues among them. The Korean language could have been their first language, but learning this language in adulthood is an incredible challenge. However, many adoptees desire to learn, and try very hard to master the Korean language. Why? The story of Jonas, a Korean adoptee to Germany, may yield some insight on the matter.  ED.



By Jonas Sang Shik Eberle




A history of US submarines from the Revolution to today
Duncan, OK (73533)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms, especially during the morning. High 92F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low around 70F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
In the market for a "forever home" or a holiday hideaway?

Check out this detached four-bedroom dormer bungalow in the wilds of Donegal.

It goes under the hammer at the BidX1 auction on June 25 with a guide price of just 68,000.

The property is located approximately 4km from Glenties town centre and has stunning views of woodland and mountains.

The bungalow is on a generous site of three-quarters of an acre.

Local amenities in the area include the Highlands Hotel, Glenties Health Centre and Scoil Mhuire National School together with a range of shops, bars and restaurants available in Glenties town centre and nearby Donegal town.

Transport links include regular bus routes (991, 492), the R250 and N56 national road.






Louis Vuitton's duty free store at Incheon International Airport. Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



French fashion house, Louis Vuitton, one of the world's three major luxury brands along with Chanel and Hermes, is contemplating closing its duty free shops in downtown areas of Seoul, according to recent reports.



Instead, the high-end fashion brand will expand its stores in airports.



The Moodie Davitt Report, a British publisher specializing in reports on the duty free and travel retail industries, said, "French luxury house Louis Vuitton is progressively withdrawing from much of its downtown duty free business  including its long-standing and expensive Korean presence."



When questioned about the validity of the report, a local PR agency representing Louis Vuitton Korea said it was not in a position to comment.



Various reasons are said to have led to Louis Vuitton's decision, but its determination to retain the brand's premium image is apparently the main reason.



Many luxury brands place priority on the scarcity of their products in order to make them more valuable. There is even a popular saying that goes, "If everyone wears Louis Vuitton, it is not Louis Vuitton."



However, the brand reputation of Louis Vuitton has been diminishing over the years as so-called "daigou" in Korean, or surrogate shoppers, have been sweeping up products in duty free shops in downtown Seoul. Daigou are paid to purchase luxury goods for customers in China.



When the government here decided to allow the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system in 2017, the Chinese government banned group tours to Korea in retaliation. China fears that the powerful radar of the THAAD system could be used to spy on its military activities. The retaliatory move forced Korean duty free shops in downtown Seoul to become more reliant on daigou buyers and this practice increased following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.



Daigou are said to be responsible for 90 percent of sales at downtown duty free shops in Seoul.



There are currently four travel retail stores run by Louis Vuitton  one each in Seoul and Busan, and two on Jeju Island.



Local duty free retailers said the news cannot be confirmed as of now.



"Nothing has been decided as far as we are concerned. However, If Louis Vuitton has really decided to close all of its duty free shops in downtown Seoul, massive damage is inevitable," an industry source said. "Louis Vuitton operates the biggest duty free stores here among other luxury brands and also employs the largest number of workers too. If the fashion house closes down all its shops, it will lead to a huge unemployment problem."



The report added that the French fashion house's plan underscores its move to expand its business in China. It reported that Louis Vuitton will open six duty free stores at Chinese airports by 2023 and is already planning to open a second shop at Hong Kong International Airport.



"China has a bigger domestic market for luxury goods and its duty free business is increasing at a faster rate. Louis Vuitton may be thinking of moving its main market in Asia from Korea to China," an industry source said.


Where are the best places to shop? Who gives the best haircut? Who cooks the best burger? Join our readers in selecting the "Best of Windham."

Make your picks!
By The Staff of The News

CLOVIS  An animal control officer with the city of Clovis is facing charges of criminal sexual penetration with a 13-year-old girl, according to a Clovis Police Department release.

Antonio Cardenas, 21, was booked into the Curry County Adult Detention Center Friday afternoon. He faces charges of criminal sexual penetration of a minor with force, criminal sexual penetration and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

According to the CPD release and a warrant filed Friday in Curry County Magistrate Court:

 The victim told police she had been communicating with Cardenas over Snapchat, and that the two met in the late evening on May 21. The two went to Cardenas residence, where they smoked marijuana and had intercourse. The victim said she tried to dismiss Cardenas advances but was physically overpowered.

 An investigating officer was provided the phone the victim used to communicate with Cardenas, and the officer recognized Cardenas.

It was not immediately known if Cardenas was still employed with the animal control department, which falls under the umbrella of the CPD.
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A new county animal shelter at Baseline Road and Lewis Drive will replace the existing one at Rio Salado and the Loop 101.
Maria Cheung had never been to the annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park to remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, believing she could always go to the next one.



But on Friday night, she decided it was time to act. After finishing work at 6 p.m., the 50-something clerk left her office in Cheung Sha Wan and hopped onto the MTR to head straight to Causeway Bay, clutching a white candle in one hand.



"I used to take things for granted, but now I realize it is important to make a stand," she said.



Friday evening marked the second time in two years that police had banned the annual gathering on public health grounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic.



This time, though, there was also the threat of the national security law, leaving Hongkongers to wonder if they risked arrest for shouting slogans that could be construed as subverting state power and undermining national sovereignty, or for just showing up and wearing black, the color of protest.



Despite the risks, Cheung felt she had to show up to mourn those who died in Beijing, as tanks rolled into the capital on June 4, 1989, to crush a student-led movement that had been fighting for democracy and an end to corruption. Hundreds, possibly more, died in the confrontation.



For others who turned up to show solidarity with the victims, the night's outing was also to mark the first political mass event since Beijing's crackdown on the city after the anti-government protests two years ago.



They showed up in small groups on the fringes of the park  which was under a security lockdown from early afternoon  and in other scattered locations such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan.



In scenes that evoked the social unrest in 2019, when protesters wore black and chanted slogans, including those calling for independence, pockets of people also wearing the same colors popped up, flashed their phones or held candles, and then melted into the crowd.



Some chanted slogans but, throughout it all, they kept walking and moving to elude arrest by police who turned out in force.



In Mong Kok, a 29-year-old woman in black, who only gave her surname as Li, said the anniversary was different this year because she felt the city's freedoms had been suppressed since 2019.



"Today is not just about Tiananmen Square but about 2019," said Li, who works in the insurance industry.



The last time she protested on the streets was last July, hours after Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law on Hong Kong that outlawed acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with "foreign forces."



"This is the first time we have been able to gather and have our voices heard," she said.






Council rebuts 120K gum cleaner claim



By Chris Cave - Local Democracy Reporter

The leader of Douglas Council has denied claims street cleaning equipment has been sold at a huge loss to the ratepayer.

A machine to rid pavements of chewing gum was purchased for 120,000 in 2011.

David Christian insists the device is still in use, despite parts being sold at a recent auction for 200.

Not true at all, Mr Christian told Local Democracy Reporter Chris Cave.

Unfortunately [its] misinformation thats been put out there, he continued.

UK firm Gum Clear, which supplied the equipment to Douglas Council, was dissolved in 2016.

Mr Christian continued: The old jet-washing equipment [is what has been sold]  so basically it was there for scrap purposes  thats whats been sold off.

The vehicle itself which was the bulk of the cost of the equipment is actually on use on a daily basis in the Cleansing Department.

So no, not a 120,000 loss at all.
Mrs. Alberta Hamley Griffin, 97, of Athens, Alabama, died Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at Athens Health and Rehab. A Graveside Service will be 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Copeland Cemetery with Keith Griffin officiating. No visitation is planned. Spry Funeral Home in Athens is directing the services. Mr
In this file photo illustration taken on May 04, a phone screen displays a Facebook logo with the official portrait of former U.S. President Donald Trump on the background in Arlington, Virginia. AFP-Yonhap





Facebook announced Friday that former President Donald Trump's accounts will be suspended for two years, freezing his presence on the social network until early 2023, following a determination that he stoked violence ahead of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.







At the end of the suspension, the company will assess whether Trump's ''risk to public safety'' has subsided, Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president for global affairs, wrote in a blog post. He said Facebook will take into account ''external factors'' such as instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.







Facebook also announced that it would end a contentious policy that automatically exempted politicians from rules banning hate speech and abuse, and that it would stiffen penalties for public figures during times of civil unrest and violence.







The former president called Facebook's decision ''an insult.'' The two-year ban replaced a previous ruling that ordered Trump to be suspended indefinitely.







''They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our country can't take this abuse anymore!'' Trump said in a news release.







Social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have become indispensable tools for politicians to get their messages out and to raise small-dollar donations. Without the megaphone of Twitter and the targeted fundraising appeals his campaign mastered on Facebook, Trump could be at a serious disadvantage relative to other politicians.







Trump has teased running for president again in 2024. His aides say that he has been working on launching his own social media platform to compete with those that have booted him, but one has yet to materialize. A blog he launched on his existing website earlier this year was shut down after less than a month, after attracting dismal traffic.







On Facebook, Trump's suspension means that his account is essentially frozen. Others can read and comment on past posts, but Trump and other account handlers are unable to post new material. Twitter, by contrast, has permanently banned Trump from its service, and no trace of his account remains.







''What they've done here is shield themselves from potential presidential rage'' with a reassessment of Trump's account in two years, said Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University communications professor.







In a color-coded chart on its blog post, the company said public figures who violate its policies during times of crisis can be restricted from posting for a month (yellow) or as long as two years (red). Future violations, it said, will be met with ''heightened penalties, up to and including permanent removal.''







The policy that exempted politicians from rules on hate speech and abuse was once championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The company said it never applied the policy to Trump, but on Friday backtracked to say it did use it once, in 2019 for a video of a rally on his Facebook page.







The social media giant said it will still apply the ''newsworthiness'' exemption to certain posts it deems to be in the public interest, even if they violate Facebook rules. But it will no longer treat material posted by politicians any differently than other posts. In addition, Facebook said it will make public whenever it does apply the exemption to a post.







The announcements are in response to recommendations from the company's quasi-independent oversight board. Last month, that panel upheld a decision by Facebook to keep Trump suspended, but the board said the company could not merely suspend him indefinitely. It gave the company six months to decide what to do with his accounts.







In its decision last month, the board agreed with Facebook that two of Trump's Jan. 6 posts ''severely violated'' the content standards of both Facebook and Instagram.







''We love you. You're very special,'' Trump said to the rioters in the first post. In the second, he called them ''great patriots'' and told them to ''remember this day forever.''







Those comments violated Facebook's rules against praising or supporting people engaged in violence, the board said. Specifically, the board cited rules against ''dangerous individuals and organizations'' that prohibit anyone who proclaims a violent mission and ban posts that express support for these people or groups.







The two-year suspension is effective from Jan. 7, so Trump has 19 months to go.







A group calling itself the Real Facebook Oversight Board, which is critical of Facebook and its oversight panel, said in a statement Friday that the ban brings Trump back just in time for the 2024 presidential election and shows ''no real strategy to address authoritarian leaders and extremist content, and no intention of taking serious action against disinformation and hate speech.''







Due to its sheer size and power, Facebook's decision has broad implications for politicians and their constituencies around the globe. Chinmayi Arun, a fellow at Yale Law School's Information Society Project, said it was good that the company had laid out a standard for when it will suspend political leaders and for how long.







''What's tremendous is that Facebook took the oversight board's recommendation to reevaluate the real-world context and the offline tensions, while deciding what to do with a politician's online speech,'' she said. But she remains concerned that suspensions cannot be reviewed unless Facebook asks.







For years, Facebook gave the former president special treatment and free reign to spread misinformation and threats on the platform. Outside critics and even Facebook's own employees called for the company to remove Trump long before the Jan. 6 comments.







Last summer, for instance, Zuckerberg decided to leave up posts by Trump that suggested protesters in Minneapolis could be shot, using the words ''when the looting starts, the shooting starts.'' Trump's comment evoked the civil-rights era by borrowing a phrase used in 1967 by Miami's police chief to warn of an aggressive police response to unrest in Black neighborhoods.







While Facebook put labels on many of Trump's election posts, he did not face penalties such as suspension for repeatedly and falsely claiming victory in 2020.







In Friday's post, Clegg anticipated criticism from both sides of the political aisle.







''We know that any penalty we apply  or choose not to apply  will be controversial. There are many people who believe it was not appropriate for a private company like Facebook to suspend an outgoing president from its platform, and many others who believe Mr. Trump should have immediately been banned for life,'' he wrote.







Facebook's job, he said, was ''to make a decision in as proportionate, fair and transparent a way as possible, in keeping with the instruction given to us by the Oversight Board.''







But by staying in the middle, some experts said Facebook had once again punted the decision instead of taking a firm stance.







''It's the wait-and-see approach,'' said Sarah Kreps, a Cornell professor and director of the Cornell Tech Policy Lab. ''I think they're hoping this can just resolve itself with him not being kind of an influential voice in politics anymore.'' (AP)


The Department of Justice has charged Alla Witte, a Latvian national also known as Max, who's accused of being part of the Trickbot Group that deployed the notorious Trickbot malware. Witte allegedly helped develop the malware and wrote code related to its control and deployment, as well as code enabling ransomware payments. According to the DOJ, the ransomware-related code Max wrote would tell people that they need to purchase special software through a Bitcoin address controlled by the Trickbot Group to decrypt their files.

Authorities are also accusing her of writing code that monitored and tracked authorized users of the malware and of developing tools and protocols used to store stolen login credentials. Trickbot started out as a malware made to steal banking credentials and other logins. It evolved to become more and more sophisticated over the years, gaining the ability to bypass safeguards put in place by tech companies.

Eventually, at least a million computers infected with the malware became known as the Trickbot botnet and became a distribution platform for ransomware like Ryuk. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, US federal authorities warned that attackers had been using Trickbot to infect hospitals and healthcare providers with the Ryuk ransomware. Other victims of the malware include schools, public utilities and governments. In fact, both Microsoft and the DOD's US Cyber Command group took steps to disrupt the botnet last year out of concern that bad actors would use the network of hijacked computers to meddle in the 2020 US Presidential elections.

While Max was originally from Latvia, the Trickbot Group operated out of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Suriname. The indictment (PDF) accuses Max and her accomplices of using Trickbot to steal money and confidential information from individuals, businesses and financial institutions in the US, UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Russia. They allegedly started their operations in November 2015.

Witte was charged in 19 counts of a 47-count indictment, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud and aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud affecting a financial institution, bank fraud affecting a financial institution, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Two of those carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said in a statement:
Tech giants are now likely to pay more taxes after years of breaks. BBC News reports that the G7 countries have struck a deal that will have multinationals like Apple, Amazon and Google pay more tax. The new agreement would have companies pay more taxes where they operate as long as they have a minimum 10 percent profit margin, with a tax on 20 percent of any profit above that figure. There would also be a minimum corporate tax rate of "at least" 15 percent to prevent countries from serving as tax havens.

There's an understanding that this would replace the digital service taxes in countries like the UK, according to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Amazon and Google both claimed to have welcomed the arrangement as a modernization, with Amazon saying it would add "stability" to international tax.

The move could raise the baseline tax rate for tech companies that have relied on havens in Ireland and other countries to minimize their expenses. That would please countries that have long accused the tech industry of depriving them of much-needed revenue, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies have been bracing for increases like this for a while, but the G7 pact makes these hikes more likely and consistent.

Just when and how these changes would come about is another matter. The agreement will go through a larger discussion at a G20 meeting in July, and there's no guarantee those extra countries (including China and Russia) will agree to it. There's also the matter of timing  it could take years for countries to reshape their tax laws. However influential the G7's announcement might be, it's just the start of a long journey.
Twitter is once again facing blowback for taking action on a political leader's tweets. As Reuters reports, Nigeria says it has suspended Twitter for allegedly "undermining" the country by removing a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari. Twitter said the post violated its abuse policy by threatening to punish secessionists that allegedly attacked government buildings.

Attorney general Abubakar Malami, meanwhile, claimed the nation would prosecute people who tried to circumvent the suspension using VPNs and similar tools.

It's not clear how comprehensive the suspension will be. Twitter's web version wasn't accessible on some Nigerian phone networks as of the morning of June 5th, but both the app and website were usable on other providers.

Twitter unsurprisingly objected to the suspension. The company said in a tweet that it was "deeply concerned" by Nigeria's actions, and that it considered the open internet an "essential human right."

The incident reflects the fine line Twitter frequently tries to walk between claims of openness and honoring both its own policies as well as local laws. While it often balks at censorship and potential privacy intrusions, it also bends to local laws sometimes meant to block tweets or increase access to sensitive information.

The company has also routinely drawn criticism from multiple sides when applying its rules to political leaders. While some have accused Twitter holding leaders to a separate standard, others have blasted the social network for allegedly censoring voices when it does take action. Twitter was unlikely to find a happy middle ground in Nigeria  it's just a question of how much damage the social media giant suffers.

We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria. Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society.



We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn  Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) June 5, 2021
The US military is expanding an experimental program that could one day see the Space Force use reusable rockets to move material and equipment across the planet. Per CNBC , the Pentagon is moving forward on a project called Rocket Cargo where it will study spacecraft that can land on a variety of surfaces and air-drop supplies after reentering the atmosphere. The Air Force requested $47.9 million during fiscal 2022 to continue work on Rocket Cargo. Most of those funds would go towards paying for prototypes the department wants to test in the field and simulations.

The project will demonstrate new trajectories and ways to fly large rockets, the ability to land rockets at austere locations and design and test an ejectable pod for air drop, the Air Force said in its budget proposal. "The Department of the Air Force seeks to leverage the current multi-billion dollar commercial investment to develop the largest rockets ever, and with full reusability to develop and test the capability to leverage a commercial rocket to deliver AF cargo anywhere on the Earth in less than one hour, with a 100-ton capacity."

The document doesnt mention SpaceX specifically, but as CNBC points out, the companys in-development Starship heavy rocket best fits the bill of what the military wants. It also worked with SpaceX, as well as Exploration Architecture Corporation, when it first started work on the project last year. The thing is Starship has yet to reach orbit , and it only recently successfully landed in one piece during a test flight .

Either way, the military is keeping its options open. We talked to a number of providers that we see potentially coming to the table to compete for these contracts, Dr. Greg Spanjers, the research lead on Project Cargo, said on Friday. SpaceX is certainly the most visible, no question about it  [but] what youre trying to do is go into an orbital or a suborbital trajectory, bring the payload back down, and land it on the planet Earth. There are multiple companies that have that technological capability today, not just SpaceX. The military said its also willing to consider less obvious candidates, in part to spur more activity in the space.
Enid, OK (73701)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then partly cloudy during the afternoon hours. High 92F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 66F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
Despite Prince Harry's alleged misgivings against the royal family, many wonder why Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the senior royals have not removed him from the line of succession nor stripped his royal titles.

In the past few days, there have been several calls to Her Majesty, demanding that she strip the Duke and Duchess of Sussex off their titles for all of the things they exposed after stepping down from their senior royal roles.

But according to the Prince's royal biographer Angelina Levin, she has one perfect explanation why Queen Elizabeth II has not done 'her best" to teach the Sussexes a lesson by removing all titles from his grandson.

Queen Elizabeth Worried About Prince Harry's Mental Health?

In a tweet, she explained, "My view is that Harry's family in London are very worried about his mental health and think slamming the royal door in his face could have devastating consequences."

In the reply section of Levin's tweet, many people somehow agreed with her views.

According to Twitter user @m_metcalf, "As he has a history of mental illness and instability, royals have every reason to be concerned."

She also explained how instability and impulsive nature could put someone under undue pressure, leading to rash acts.

Prince Harry is known to be vulnerable at the moment, and doing something drastic such as closing the royal door on his face may take him into a downward spiral.

Meanwhile, others argue that Prince Charles should have a one-on-one with his son because, after all, he is the father.

But one Twitter user argued that the Prince of Wales is the heir to the throne and has a responsibility to the country he represents.

@MeggyTimeus explained, "As a father, I think it's very heavy to see a son suffering, but his duty is to put the need of UK first, even if may be hard."

However, some said that perhaps if the royals continue to leave the door open, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will "keep pushing and testing the boundaries."

READ ALSO: Meghan Markle Pregnancy: Duchess Suffering Severe Conditions With Second Baby?

Kate Middleton Thought Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Could Return

The royals were very open-minded that Kate Middleton was reportedly hopeful the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could return as working royals even after a year since they've exited.

Per Telegraph, aside from the Queen's statement how the pair would continue to be "much-loved members of the royal family," the Duchess of Cambridge also took the same approach and hoped that the Sussexes would return to the royal fold.

But not until the couple sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an exclusive interview.

However, it is still worth noting that the mom-of-three is a "brilliant arbiter and peacemaker," according to her uncle Gary Goldsmith.

She even tried to end Prince Harry and Prince William's feud.

"If anyone can bring peace to the royals, Kate can. Every bone in her body is about making friends and doing the best she can. She's trying to mediate."

READ MORE: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Living Near a Crime Scene? Officers Arrive Upon Disturbing Discovery [REPORT]

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
New technology that will marry probes that can detect cancer tumours through the skin with high-precision robotic surgery is to be developed for use in hospital settings for the first time in a project led by the University of Warwick

Scientists to investigate potential of terahertz radiation, or T-rays, to diagnose skin and colorectal cancers and improve accuracy of cancer surgery using robots

8 million funding for collaboration led by University of Warwick and involving University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire, University of Leeds and University of Exeter

T-ray probe technology to be combined with medical-grade surgical robots

There are over 150,000 cases of new cases of skin cancer in the UK each year, while 1 in 15 UK males and 1 in 18 UK females will be diagnosed with bowel cancer in their lifetime and it is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK

New technology that will marry probes that can detect cancer tumours through the skin with high-precision robotic surgery is to be developed for use in hospital settings for the first time in a project led by the University of Warwick.

The Terabotics project will use probes that use terahertz radiation, or T-rays, to scan for tumours under the skin while medical-grade surgical robots will be adapted to use these scans to guide them in removing tumours in skin and colorectal cancer patients more precisely.

If successful, the researchers hope it could lead to real-time diagnosis for cancer patients, shorter waiting periods for cancer surgery, and more comprehensive removal of tumours with reduced need for follow-up surgery.

The project, which has received funding of 8 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation, is a collaboration between the University of Warwick, University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire, University of Leeds and the University of Exeter. The five-year project starting in September 2021 aims to eventually trial the technology with patients attending cancer services at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Terabotics will use research from the University of Warwick into terahertz (THz) radiation, or T-rays, which sit in-between infrared and WiFi on the electromagnetic spectrum. Previous work from the University of Warwick's Department of Physics has shown that these can be used to detect very subtle changes in the outermost layers of skin, and the technique has already been demonstrated on healthy volunteers. This will be the first time that it will be studied in patients within an active cancer process.

As well as assessing how effective T-ray technology is in diagnosing cancers compared to standard care, the project aims to incorporate the technology into surgical robots to guide them more accurately when detecting tumours during colonoscopy and removing them during surgery.

Principal Investigator Professor Emma Pickwell-MacPherson, from the University of Warwick Department of Physics, said: "What we will be testing is our hypothesis that we are able to detect a buried or hidden tumour. We think our terahertz probe will be able to detect those through looking at the transient response of the skin.

"Somebody might already be diagnosed with cancer but the actual extent of that cancer may not be known. For example, in skin cancer patients, the THz probe will image the visible tumour and the surrounding area to better determine the extent of the tumour that is beneath the surface. This will enable the whole tumour to be removed in one go, rather than incrementally. In turn, this enables better planning for reconstruction and speeds up the procedure."

Initially, the researchers will focus on adapting the T-ray probes to work with the surgical robots, miniaturisation of the technology and refining the design to provide more diagnostic parameters.

Later stages of the project will involve trialling the technology with patients with a known or suspected cancer. Those attending cancer services at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire will be offered the opportunity to participate alongside their routine care. Colorectal cancer patients will be seen at the University of Leeds, where an endoscopic probe is being developed specifically to examine the colon. Just like our skin, the colon is an epithelial lining and could potentially be scanned by T-rays in the same way.

At present, diagnosis of skin cancer relies upon a visual inspection by a clinician and a biopsy. There are over 150,000 new cases of skin cancer in the UK each year (1) and two to three million globally (2), numbers which are set to rise due to increased life expectancy. 1 in 15 UK males and 1 in 18 UK females will be diagnosed with bowel cancer in their lifetime and it is the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK. (2)

Professor Joseph Hardwicke, Medical Lead for the project at University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire, said: "This technique is a way to examine the skin at a deeper and more technical level than what we are able to at the moment. The main hope, especially for skin cancer, is to determine the extent of the spread locally and also to potentially diagnose these cancers without the need for a biopsy in future.

"This is a whole new area of diagnostics, like how MRI in the 1980s revolutionised medical imaging. I think this is a chance for terahertz combined with robotics to give us that greater accuracy. Even though we are still building evidence, there seems to be a lot of pieces of the jigsaw that make logical sense."

Professor Pickwell-MacPherson adds: "If we can give a quantitative answer using our technology that would be great, and ultimately that will speed up the throughput of patients. That in turn will reduce waiting times and costs, it will mean that the surgical procedures can be better planned and done more efficiently, the number of follow-up procedures can be reduced, then that has implications financially to the NHS.

"This area is up and coming and terahertz robotics is becoming a hot topic. It has long been suggested that THz technology could be used for cancer detection and this project will push the technology forward to make it a reality. We hope that by demonstrating its application to skin and colon cancers we will open up the door to applying the technology to benefit other cancers too and transform cancer treatment protocols."

Professor Pietro Valdastri of the University of Leeds said: "Robotics is increasingly used in the operating theatre as it brings superior accuracy and unload some of the burden of the procedure from the surgeon. At Leeds, we are developing the next generation of surgical robots to detect colorectal cancer earlier and remove it more effectively. Adding THz perception capabilities to our robots is a new exciting avenue of research that has the potential to improve cancer patient quality of life in the next 5 to 10 years."

The project is among 20 innovative projects announced to revolutionise healthcare, improve treatments for millions of people with a wide range of conditions and save the NHS money.

The projects are supported by 30.8 million of funding by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Four projects were co-funded by UKRI's Medical Research Council (MRC).

EPSRC Executive Chair Professor Dame Lynn Gladden said:

"Technologies and approaches pioneered by UK researchers have the potential to revolutionise treatment for a wide range of conditions, from bowel cancer to diabetes.

"The projects announced today exemplify this potential and may play a key role in improving the lives of millions of people."

###

* Note for patients: Patients will be invited to participate after referral via GP on a suspected cancer referral. There are no plans for open recruitment to this study at this time.

Notes to editors:

1. https:/ / www. cancerresearchuk. org/ about-cancer/ skin-cancer/ about-skin-cancer

2. https:/ / www. who. int/ news-room/ q-a-detail/ radiation-ultraviolet- (uv)-radiation-and-skin-cancer

3. https:/ / www. cancerresearchuk. org/ health-professional/ cancer-statistics-for-the-uk

Photographs available to download - The in vivo THz imaging systems set up for skin imaging in Professor Emma MacPherson's lab at the University of Warwick:

https:/ / warwick. ac. uk/ services/ communications/ medialibrary/ images/ may_2021/ img_2920. jpeg (pictured: Professor Emma MacPherson)

https:/ / warwick. ac. uk/ services/ communications/ medialibrary/ images/ may_2021/ img_2946. jpeg

https:/ / warwick. ac. uk/ services/ communications/ medialibrary/ images/ may_2021/ img_2947. jpeg

https:/ / warwick. ac. uk/ services/ communications/ medialibrary/ images/ may_2021/ img_2943. jpeg

https:/ / warwick. ac. uk/ services/ communications/ medialibrary/ images/ may_2021/ img_2931. jpeg

https:/ / warwick. ac. uk/ services/ communications/ medialibrary/ images/ may_2021/ img_2902. jpeg

For interviews contact:

Peter Thorley

Media Relations Manager (Warwick Medical School and Department of Physics) | Press & Media Relations | University of Warwick

Email: peter.thorley@warwick.ac.uk

Mob: +44 (0) 7824 540863
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  The Belarusian opposition said Friday a dissident journalist was coerced to appear in a video on state TV in which he wept and praised the country's authoritarian ruler, a broadcast sharply criticized by Western officials.

In the 90-minute video broadcast Thursday night, Raman Pratasevich repented for his opposition activities and said he respects Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko as "a man with balls of steel.

He said he was tired of political activism and only wants to have a family and live a normal life. Then he broke into tears, covering his face with his hands. As he did so, marks left by handcuffs were clearly visible on his wrists.

Associates of the 26-year-old reacted with outrage, accusing authorities of forcing Pratasevich to confess and disavow the opposition.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the main opposition candidate in Belarus presidential election in August 2020, said she would urge the U.S. and the EU to pressure Belarus to release him.

Raman is a hostage, she told The Associated Press. Lukashenko hijacked a passenger plane in order to capture him and subject him to that moral and physical humiliation.

Tsikhanouskaya said earlier during a visit to Poland that Pratasevich and others speaking in videos from prison "are for sure being tortured and violated.

Her spokeswoman, Anna Krasulina, said Pratasevich "made his statements under tough physical and psychological pressure and, possibly, under drugs.

We demand the immediate release of Raman, who is used by Lukashenkos regime as a toy and instrument to blackmail Belarus democratic forces," Krasulina told the AP. Lukashenko is an international terrorist who must be stopped.

Pratasevich was traveling from Greece to Lithuania aboard a Ryanair flight on May 23 when Belarusian flight controllers ordered the pilots to divert to Minsk, citing a bomb threat. No bomb was found, but Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend were arrested.

Speaking in a trembling voice and looking nervous in the program on the state-controlled ONT channel, Pratasevich said opposition leaders were pondering plans for a forceful government overthrow and was feuding over how to divide funds given to them by Poland and Lithuania.

Pratasevich, who ran a popular channel on the Telegram messaging app that helped organize months of demonstrations against Lukashenko, also offered repentance for his action and said he pleaded guilty to organizing mass disturbances. The charges carry a 15-year prison sentence.

Pratasevich said he fears he could face a death sentence on charges linked to his being part of a volunteer battalion that fought Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. He pleaded with Lukashenko not to hand him over to separatists who have launched a criminal investigation against him. His colleagues say he was not involved in fighting and was covering the conflict as a journalist.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned that Lukashenko will feel pain if Belarus allows the separatists to interrogate Pratasevich, adding that Kyiv will interpret that as a sign of disrespect of its territorial integrity.

Stsiapan Putsila, who co-founded the Nexta channel with Pratasevich, told the AP that Pratasevich likely had been subjected to both psychological pressure and specially designed drugs."

His statements had nothing to do with reality, they are the result of unbearable torture and exploitation of his emotions, Putsila said.

Tsikhanouskaya's adviser, Franak Viachorka, described Pratasevich's TV appearance as a public humiliation.

He was forced to publicly betray his views and his colleagues, Viachorka told AP. He was forced to plead respect for Lukashenko on camera. Their goal was to humiliate, break and trample him. He's a hostage taken in a terrorist operation of Lukashenko's regime that hijacked the plane.

Belarus was rocked by months of protests triggered by Lukashenko's reelection to a sixth term in an August vote that was widely seen as fraudulent. He responded to opposition demands to step down with fierce repression. More than 35,000 people have been arrested and thousands beaten, and opposition leaders have been either jailed or forced to leave the country.

The program aired Thursday night marked Pratasevich's third appearance on state TV since the May 23 flight diversion and arrest. In a brief video a day later, he confessed to staging mass disturbances. In other remarks shown Wednesday, he said demonstrations against Lukashenko had fizzled and the opposition should wait for a better moment to revive them. He also said he had been set up by an unidentified associate.

Outraged European Union leaders responded May 24 to the flight's diversion by barring Belarusian flag carrier from EU airspace and airports and directing European carriers to avoid Belarus' airspace. The 27-nation bloc formalized the ban Friday, saying member countries will be required to deny permission to land in, take off from or overfly their territories to any aircraft operated by Belarusian air carriers, including as a marketing carrier.

EU leaders also denounced the Pratasevich video. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkels spokesman Steffen Seibert said the German government condemns in the strongest terms his TV appearance and dismissed his confessions as completely unworthy and implausible.

"This is a disgrace for the broadcaster that screened it and for the Belarusian leadership, Seibert said in Berlin.

Speaking after a meeting of top diplomats of Denmark and the Baltic nations in Copenhagen, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis called the broadcast a manifestation of state terrorism.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted that Pratasevich was clearly under duress, adding that the persecution of those defending human rights and media freedom in Belarus must stop.

Those involved in the filming, coercion and direction of the interview must be held accountable, he said.

In stark contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered strong support Friday for Belarus, casting the angry Western response to the flight's diversion as a manifestation of double standards. He pointed to a 2013 incident in which a private plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales landed in Vienna after several European nations had refused to let it cross their airspace, purportedly over speculation that Edward Snowden, who leaked classified U.S. government information, was aboard.

Putin said the Western reaction has been driven by a desire to influence developments there, adding that they shouldn't meddle in domestic affairs of Belarus.

He also derided allegations by some in the West that Russia could have been involved in the flights diversion.

NATO is in danger if NATO's leadership makes such statements, Putin snapped. It reveals a complete lack of understanding of the procedures.

Asked by a moderator if Russia would act like Belarus and divert an international flight if it knew that a person on its wanted list was on board, Putin smirked and said: I won't tell you.

___

Karmanau reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP)  Mario Kovach stood at a trailhead near Hawk Mountain the other day, with the Appalachian Trail stretching to Maine one way and Georgia the other and a perfect blue sky spilling sunshine over everything  a red car parked on the side of the road, a gaggle of genial thru-hikers pausing among their heaps of gear to rest and drink water.

He slowly rotated his right forearm, displaying 20 surnames of men and women tattooed in a font patterned, he said, after the one on the tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery.

All died in service of their country. Solesbee, Bell, Schwartz, Seidler, Weiner, Miller, Loncki, Moss. On and on. As members of the U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, they were steel-nerved experts in the highwire job of defusing bombs, including the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that killed so many troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This was Kovachs job, too, during his 20 years in the Air Force. The Pottstown native, who retired in 2018, survived five rotations through Afghanistan without serious injury, except to his psyche. It is this wound the retired master sergeant has been treating on the trail and other places where nature is still able to soften the sharp edges of the manmade world and hush its incessant screech and roar.

Its natural stimulus versus manmade stimulus, he said. Nature is nothing that man controls. Its the combination of the environment and solitude that gives me the feeling of resetting my internal locus.

This is where Cindy Ross enters the story. She is a writer and lifelong hiker whose adventures in travel and education have filled nine books so far.

The latest, Walking Towards Peace  Veterans Healing on Americas Trails, is about the veterans Ross serves through the nonprofit River House PA, headquartered at the log cabin she and husband Todd Gladfelter built 30 years ago in East Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County.

The organization was born out of Ross experience with some veterans who thru-hiked the trail in 2013, meaning they walked all 2,180 miles. When the group paused in Albany Township, she and Gladfelter organized a dinner for them at the cabin, listening to the stories they told of wars horrors and the unexpected happiness they found in the arduous but beautiful trek along the trail.

Its a place they can find peace, said Ross, who speaks intently and earnestly, in the manner of someone sharing information you absolutely have to know.

It is, after all, an urgent matter. Post-traumatic stress disorder  PTSD  is endemic among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, with one study suggesting the rate is as high as 30%. Many Vietnam veterans still carry the burden, too.

Veterans also take their own lives in extraordinary numbers. Military suicide has rightly been called an epidemic  the Department of Veterans Affairs says nearly 18 veterans a day committed suicide in 2018. And though rates have declined among veterans who have received care through the department, much work remains to be done.

Kovach is among the veterans profiled in Ross book. They are men and women who have seen the worst of the worst and, in many cases, came close to suicide before discovering natures restorative power  manifested in the flute-like call of a wood thrush, the rattle of a woodpecker, the glimpse of a sun-mottled deer among the trees.

Ross worked with veterans affairs early on and word spread about the program, so she has no shortage of veterans visiting River House and hitting the woods. The water, too  they do a lot of tubing and paddling. Paralyzed veterans can ride adaptive mountain bikes on the trails.

At the end of these days, they gather back at Ross and Gladfelters house and, like that first night, have dinner and gather around a fire.

At least a few of them would start to cry and say, It was the best day of my life, Ross said. They say, I need to do this with my family and kids.

Most gratifying are the messages from veterans who tell her a day in nature was crucial to saving their lives.

Kovach, who grew up in the shadow of the Limerick nuclear power plants cooling towers and now lives in upstate New York with his wife and two sons, was circumspect about what led him into explosives disposal.

I didnt get into it on purpose, he said, then veered into a discussion of the history of the Ordnance Disposal unit  how it evolved from the need to clear English city streets of the time-delayed bombs dropped by Nazis in Luftwaffe raids.

All four military branches have EOD units. Kovach said the Air Force unit numbers in the hundreds but is a close-knit group nonetheless.

Most I knew or worked with in some capacity, Kovach said of the fallen colleagues whose names cover his arm.

He recounted the ways some of them perished. Airmen Timothy Weiner, Daniel Miller and Elizabeth Loncki  Team Lima  died in Iraq in 2007 when a device they were investigating detonated. Technical Sgt. Kristoffer M. Solesbee was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan.

Airmen Matthew Seidler, Bryan Bell and Matthew Schwartz were hit by a giant IED in Afghanistan in 2012, Kovach said. And Walt Moss was the first EOD killed in Iraq. That was in 2006.

Carrying such memories, not to mention the accumulated stress of moving through war zones where every moment posed a threat, turned Kovach into a different man, a change he sums up in Ross book:

Guys like me thrive in crisis situations. But the longer you are in combat, the more your nature begins to change. Our wires get crossed. You might be in a mall at home on leave, but hypervigilance mode is going through the roof. I feel as if I have to pay close attention to details and I cant turn it off in a normal situation. We dont have a switch. For so long and for so often, I needed to keep the team alive. Urgency becomes the norm. This lifestyle has completely eroded my nerves.

In 2019, Kovach hiked the 85-mile Susquehannock Trail in Potter and Clinton counties. Thats where he learned that nature can restore what life has taken.

Not a single part of me on that hike felt as if I were on a mission, he told Ross. I was not teleported back to the mountains of Afghanistan.

Kovach is keenly aware that for every vet who finds healing and solace, many more still struggle to the point of despair. Last fall he co-founded Project Felix, a nonprofit group for unit technicians coping with survivors guilt and other trauma.

Were trying to put a dent in the ether of military suicides, he said.

There are means of healing other than hiking and paddling, of course, but Kovach said a day in the woods  or a week, or a month  must be reckoned among the best.

It doesnt cost anything, he said. Youre not putting medications into you. And you can do it anytime.

___

Online:

https://bit.ly/3i3OAe8
SANAA, Yemen (AP)  A ballistic missile fired by Yemens Houthi rebels on Saturday killed at least 17 people in a government-held city, including a 5-year-old girl, officials said, as a U.S. envoy to the country accused the rebels of failing to try to reach peace in the war-wrecked nation.

The missile hit a gas station in the Rawdha neighborhood in the central city of Marib, according to Ali al-Ghulisi, the provincial governor's press secretary.

Information Minister Moammar al-Iryani said the attack killed at least 17 people and wounded at least five others. All casualties were civilians, he added.

He called on the U.N. and the U.S. to condemn the attack, saying it amounted to a war crime.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The government-run SABA news agency reported that the rebels also fired an explosive-laden drone shortly after the missile attack. It said the drone destroyed two ambulances that had rushed to the area to transfer wounded to hospitals.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been attempting since February to capture Marib from the internationally recognized government to try to complete their control over the northern part of Yemen.

But they did not make any substantial progress and suffered heavy losses amid stiff resistance from government forces aided by the Saudi-led coalition supporting them.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Iranian-backed Houthis swept across much of the north and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the government. The war has killed more than 130,000 people and spawned the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

Saturday's attack on Marib came just a day after U.S. special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking lashed out at the rebels, accusing them of failing to try to reach an urgently needed cease-fire. He said the Iranian-backed Houthis bear the major responsibility for refusing to engage meaningfully and to take steps to "resolve a nearly seven-years conflict that has brought unimaginable suffering to the Yemeni people.

Lenderkings remarks came in a statement late Friday by the State Department after his return from a Mideast diplomatic mission on Yemen that took him to Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

He also criticized the Houthis renewed offensive on the oil-rich Marib province, an anti-Houthi stronghold held by the internationally recognized government that is crucial to the countrys energy supplies.

The ongoing Marib attack, which began in February amid an international and regional diplomatic push to end the conflict, has left the rebels increasingly isolated," Lenderking said.

The State Department said Lenderking coordinated his efforts closely with the U.N. special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, who held video talks last week with the Houthis religious and military leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi.

Griffiths expressed frustration that his efforts to achieve a cease-fire have been derailed by warring parties seeking gains on the battlefield.

He urged the sides to seize the considerable regional and international support for the U.N. peace plan.

Lenderkings rebuke to the Houthis came as the U.N. Security Council criticized the rebels for delaying a technical assessment of an oil tanker moored off the war-torn countrys coast loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil.

An Omani delegation, meanwhile, arrived in Sanaa for talks with rebel leaders that aim to advance the peace process, according to Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the chief Houthi negotiator.

Another Houthi official said the delegation arrived on an Omani military plane and would try to convince Houthi leaders to halt their offensive on Marib and return to the negotiating table in Omans capital of Muscat.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The visit came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Friday with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud al-Busaidi.

Blinken reiterated the need for an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire to help bring the war in Yemen and the humanitarian suffering of the Yemeni people to an end, according to the State Department.

______________

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo, Egypt.
Israel's visiting defense minister said Thursday that it will stay engaged as the U.S. tries to return to a nuclear deal with Iran, sidestepping what's long been an area of open disagreement between the United States and the now-jeopardized government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Benny Gantz told reporters before a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Iran's nuclear program and other actions were an existential threat to Israel. Stopping Iran is certainly a shared strategic need of the United States," Israel and other countries, Gantz said.

But on a visit that came as an opposition coalition back home tries to end Netanyahu's 12 years in power, Gantz  unlike Netanyahu  stopped short of openly opposing the Biden administration's efforts to get the United States back into a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program, in exchange for relief from sanctions.

Sitting across a table from his U.S. counterpart at the Pentagon, Gantz said, Our dialogue is so important to ensuring that any deal effectively meets its goal of keeping Iran away from nuclear weapons.

Of course, given the scope of the threat, Israel must always make sure that it has the ability to protect itself, Gantz added.

The Israeli official made clear the change in tone was purposeful. We will continue this important strategic dialogue in private discussion ... only, not in the media in a provoking way, he said, calling for open dialogue behind closed doors." It echoed Biden's own embrace of what the administration has called quiet diplomacy when dealing with Israel.

Netanyahu's years-long fight to torpedo the Iran nuclear deal  struck during the Obama administration in 2015, but rejected by President Donald Trump after his election  included Netanyahu denouncing it to a 2015 joint session of the U.S. Congress as a very bad deal.

Netanyahu has continued that open opposition in recent days, saying a deal paves the way for Iran to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons with international legitimacy and that the fight against that was worth any friction with our great friend the United States.

Biden has pressed for a return to the nuclear deal as the best way to keep Iran from building up what it says is a civilian nuclear program, and to calm a flashpoint in the Middle East. European negotiators expressed some optimism this week as they closed the latest round of talks in Vienna on getting the U.S. and Iran back in the deal.

Gantz also met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Gantz is part of the coalition pushing to unseat Netanyahu, and he is expected to remain in his post as defense minister if the government changes.

His meetings Thursday underscored U.S. security commitments to Israel as that country weathers its greatest domestic political upheaval in years and the aftermath of last month's war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

Gantz said he would lay out for administration officials a complete plan for a diplomatic end to hostilities with the Palestinians. He gave no details.

A key aim of Gantz's visit to Washington was believed to be securing U.S. funding to help restock Israel's Iron Dome, a sophisticated missile defense system that smacked down many of the rockets Hamas militants fired toward Israel last month. More than 260 people were killed, the vast majority Palestinians, in an 11-day war in which Israel struck targets in Hamas-ruled Gaza with hundreds of airstrikes while Hamas fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, touring Israel this week in a show of support after the latest Gaza war, said he expected Israelis to seek up to $1 billion from the U.S. for Iron Dome, including for restocking the systems interception missiles.

U.S. officials made no immediate announcements on funding. Austin noted Biden "has expressed his full support for replenishing Israels Iron Dome missile defense system, which saved so many lives.

We are committed to maintaining Israels qualitative military edge and ensuring that Israel can defend itself," Austin added.

The U.S. partnership in Israels Iron Dome has wide bipartisan support in Congress, as does overall U.S. support for Israels defense, a tenet of U.S. foreign policy for decades. Last months war, however  the fiercest Israeli-Palestinian fighting since 2014  has exposed a rift in Bidens Democratic Party. Progressives and some others demanded a cease-fire by Israel as well as Hamas as Palestinian deaths grew in the crowded Gaza Strip.

Blinken told reporters before meeting with Gantz that Americans also were talking to him about getting aid in to Gaza to help rebuild housing and services damaged and destroyed in the fighting, in addition to discussing Israeli security.
Last month, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, a prohibition on the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy.

While Texas isnt the first state to enact a six-week limit, it is the first to allow private citizens to enforce it by suing doctors and anyone else who helps provide abortions after six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat is first detected. That makes the law difficult to preempt in federal court.

Advocates on both sides say the statute still faces an uncertain path, even if allowed to take effect as scheduled on Sept.1.

There has been this very anticipated dance between the Legislature and the abortion industry when they pass pro-life laws, John Seago, the legislative director for Texas Right to Life, said last month. This is different, he said. And I think that is what is worrying them the most  theyre not sure how these state judges are going to handle the complaints.

Opponents say the state law amounts to an outright ban because most women either dont know theyre pregnant after six weeks or havent completed all of the other prerequisites that Republican leaders have enacted in recent years. Some of those restrictions were overturned in court or remain in limbo pending litigation.

Abortion is currently prohibited after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in rare instances where there is a life-threatening condition.

Dr. Kari White, the lead investigator of the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas at Austin, expects that the new law would exacerbate existing disparities.

We know that women of color, women living on low incomes and those who live far from a facility are more likely to obtain care later in pregnancy, she said. These are the folks who are going to be most affected if this law is allowed to go into effect.

The number of abortion clinics left in the state is just over half of what it was in 2013. In parts of west and northeast Texas, women have had to travel more than 90 miles one way to access an abortion clinic. About 54,000 abortions were performed in the state last year.

In signing the new law, Abbott declared, Our creator endowed us with the right to life, and yet millions of children lose their right to life each year because of abortion. In Texas, we work to save those lives, and thats exactly what the Texas Legislature did this session.

2 1 of 2 Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Jay Janner, MBR / Associated Press Show More Show Less



High school valedictorian slams law

The issue gained renewed attention this week when a high school valedictorian in the Dallas area used her graduation speech to call out the new law.

I have dreams and hopes and ambitions. Every girl graduating today does, Paxton Smith said in a video of the remarks that went viral. And we have spent our entire lives working toward our future, and without our input and without our consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us.

The Texas measure comes as the conservative-led U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could roll back parts of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that protects a womans right to an abortion before a fetus can survive outside of the womb.

Abortion rights advocates warn that a rollback of Roe could result in women lacking access to proven reproductive care in a vast expanse of the country, including Texas.

A federal judge on Wednesday gave an early glimpse into how courts may respond to the new Texas law when he dismissed litigation to block a similar local abortion ban in Lubbock. Like the state law, the new Lubbock ordinance is enforced through private litigation.

Hundreds of Texas doctors and lawyers have spoken out against the law, warning it would create chaos in the legal system, and not just for cases involving abortion.

Constitutional questions

Seth Chandler, a law professor at the University of Houston, said both the Lubbock ban and the state law fly in the face of two centuries of court precedent and about 20 Supreme Court opinions that prohibit people from suing another party if they werent directly harmed.

If I were an abortion provider, I would not be stressed out by the Lubbock ordinance or by the Texas statute, because both of them are plainly unconstitutional insofar as they authorize non-injured parties to sue, he said.

Imagine if Texas said that anyone on earth can sue someone who murders another real, living person, Chandler added. That is attempting to regulate homicide in a way that is completely non-traditional.

Neither the Lubbock ban, which was approved by voters, nor the state law make exceptions for rape or incest.

Joshua Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, predicted last month that litigants may go after groups that fund abortions and help with logistics, rather than providers themselves, because that would do the most damage to abortion services.

Its going to be very hard for Planned Parenthood to challenge this bill right away, he said. Basically, the abortion clinics have to sit and wait until someone sues them, and then they can argue that this bill is unconstitutional.

Abortion providers have not said how they will respond to the state law when it takes effect in September, other than they plan to challenge it. In response to the Lubbock ruling, Planned Parenthood, which opened a clinic there last year, appears to be rolling back its abortion services.

We will continue to fight to protect the rights of all Texans, Adriana Pinon, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement. The clinic is still providing other sexual and reproductive health care services.

jeremy.blackman@chron.com
It took less than eight minutes at a hearing Friday to sentence Noah Espada, a man who suffocated a woman he encountered while on his way to kill the manager who fired him from a downtown dance club in 2004.

But the plea agreement took several years to negotiate, starting when his attorney discovered that a witness had lied in the capital murder trial that sent Espada to death row in 2005.

Espada, now 37, pleaded guilty to a new charge of murder as well as the previous charge, to receive stacked sentences of 20 years in prison and life in prison, respectively.

At a Zoom hearing before state District Judge Ron Rangel, he waived his right to a double jeopardy defense, which would have prevented him from being convicted of the same crime twice.

With credit for time served, Espada will be eligible for parole as a 71-year-old, in 2055.

On ExpressNews.com: Amid court battle over storm charges, top attorney at San Antonio's CPS Energy to depart utility

Espadas attorney, Michael Gross, who has represented him since 2008, called the moment poignant.

He was an early 20s kid in 2005, and here we are 13 years later, Gross said. Hes not even the same individual anymore.

Espada was 20 when he killed his former boss, Luther Luke Scott in February 2004 after Scott fired him from Polly Esthers, a now-defunct River Walk nightclub. After following Scott home, Espada broke into the wrong apartment and found Sandra Ramos instead.

He tied her with duct tape, placed a bag over her head and tightened it, then left. Days later, Espada found the right apartment and shot Scott in the back of the head.

Charged with capital murder for both killings, Espada was sentenced to death.

During the punishment phase of the trial, a former Bexar County Jail guard, Christopher Nieto, testified that Espada was found with drugs in his cell and had gotten into a fight with another inmate within two months of his arrest. It bolstered prosecutors argument that Espada would be a future danger to society even if sentenced to life in prison.

When Gross was appointed to handle Espadas appeals, he sought out the inmates who witnessed the fight and had been set to testify during Espadas initial trial. One of them did, but was cut off by prosecutors before he could say what he and the others swore in affidavits Gross obtained: that Nieto had lied, and had planted the drugs and set up the inmate fight, Gross said.

Ive done this 34 years, and never have facts like this come out, Gross said of the case.

Nieto, during an appeal hearing in 2012, testified that he had not lied during the initial sentencing, but acknowledged that he didnt try to fight a suspension from his job over threats another jailer heard him direct at Espada and that he quit the Sheriffs Office after a small amount of marijuana was found in his car. Nieto said it had been left there by his brother-in-law.

In 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Espada should get a new punishment hearing. The conviction was unchanged but the death sentence was suspended.

And in 2017, jailers told a different story about Espada. Gross said statements from jail guards called Espada a model inmate, and that they wished all inmates behaved as well. He followed the rules, was never a problem and was always considerate, they said.

That did away with future danger, and contributed to Fridays outcome, Gross said.

The time Espada spent in a four-by-12-foot cell on death row for seven years changed him for the better, Gross said, adding that its not something that can be said of everyone who spends time there.

During Fridays hearing, prosecutors announced to Rangel that they were not seeking the death penalty. The waiver of Espadas right to a double jeapardy claim allowed the new charge of murder.

News researcher Misty Harris contributed to this report. JBeltran@express-news.net
File Photo/Hearst Connecticut Media

A San Antonio man was killed Friday night in a hit-and-run when his bicycle was struck by a passing car.

According to a police report, officers were called to the intersection of Babcock Road and Huebner Road for a major accident. When they arrived, they found a 63-year-old Hispanic male unconscious in the street with serious head and neck injuries.
A 17-year-old man was walking along Alamo Street with his friends early Saturday morning when he heard gunshots.

One grazed the right side of his head, a minor wound. The man and his friends sought help in the Menger Hotel, said the hotels general manager, Garvin ONeil, recounting what he saw and heard when gunfire disrupted the heart of San Antonios tourist district.

The hotels security team called police and emergency medical services. The young mans wound was treated at the hotel while security manned the entrances, verifying that those entering were guests.

ONeil called the scene in the lobby calm and orderly as police interviewed witnesses and EMS tended to the young man.

Officers searched Alamo Plaza and the surrounding area and called in a police helicopter to look for vehicles.

The Police Department said it received multiple reports of gunshots downtown just before 2 a.m.

The shooting also injured a 23-year-old woman in both legs. She was a passenger in a vehicle with her 22-year-old boyfriend, police said.

The woman was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The man told police that two men had shot at him and his girlfriend, but police said he was upset and not very cooperative.

Officials are investigating whether multiple gunmen were involved in the incident. Police said tourists were not shot in the gunfire.

The Police Department said numerous shell casings were recovered in front of Pat OBriens bar-restaurant and Louis Tussauds Waxworks and at the intersection of Houston and Alamo, at the northwest end of the plaza, a block from the historic Emily Morgan Hotel.

Two people matching descriptions provided by the 22-year-old man were spotted on foot near College and St. Marys and were detained for questioning, police said.

One of the them, identified as Nikolas Holland, 21, had a gun in his waistband, police said.

Police discovered he had an outstanding warrant for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. They charged him with unlawfully carrying a weapon. He is being held in the Bexar County Jail on $6,400 bail, according to magistrate records.

The second man, identified in the report only as a 27-year-old, was released.

Alamo Plaza attracts hundreds of San Antonians and tourists each day, and Saturday afternoon was no different. With no police tape, pedestrians had no clue about the previous nights incident.

Richard Oliver, director of partner and community relations for Visit San Antonio, the citys tourism-marketing arm, said visitors could be confident that San Antonio is a safe destination.

The city works overtime to protect them with the same care it provides its own residents, Oliver said in a statement.

liz.hardaway@hearst.com | Twitter: @liz_hardaway
Ridership recovery for VIA Metropolitan Transit is moving in a promising direction, but VIA officials say the system lost about 50 percent of its riders during the pandemic, and a significant number of them might never return.

April ridership for VIA buses show a 9 percent rise over April 2020, when the citys and nations mass transit usage plummeted to historic lows due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The average number of weekday VIA bus passengers stood at 55,509 for April, nearly 5,000 more than last year, when the transit company was two months into pandemic lockdowns, mask mandates and a dramatic shift in the number of people who worked at home.

But in the three years prior to 2020, average weekday ridership ranged from about 108,000 to 114,000.

VIA has set a goal of returning to 80 percent of its pre-COVID ridership by the end of March 2022, said Jon Gary Herrera, VIA senior vice president for public engagement.

With vaccinations increasing and consumer confidence improving, we have the right recipe for the economy improving and people coming back, Herrera said. But we know it will take time.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

Earlier this week, VIA allowed its buses to again run at full capacity, after about a year of reduced loads to comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for mass transit. Passengers must still wear masks, however.

In recent surveys of riders, Herrera said, some 67 percent of former passengers said they intended to return to VIA.

But we dug deeper, and asked when they thought they might come back, and thats when we heard everything from zero to three months to more than six months, he said.

Many people stopped using the bus for their jobs, but continued taking VIA for grocery shopping and doctor visits. Others who left VIA said they migrated to ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, but were returning to buses due to fare hikes with those pricier services.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

As part of a recovery and growth strategy at VIA, Herrera said, two more of the successful VIALink, or mobility-on-demand, zones will be opened in the fall. The first will be in the UTSA/Northwest Vista College zone, while the second will serve the small city of Sandy Oaks in the southeast part of Bexar County.

VIALink has already proven to be popular on the Northeast Side, where riders can use a cellphone app to summon one of seven vans that will take passengers  all for the standard bus fare of $1.30  to a larger nearby bus station or destinations within the zone. They wont take you anywhere you want, like traditional taxis or the ride-hailing services.

The Sandy Oaks VIALink will pick up passengers from any location in that area, but they will only be taken to the Brooks Transit Center, where they can connect to the wider VIA network of bus routes.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

In August, said Herrera, VIA hopes to increase the frequency of some routes  perhaps the MLK No. 26 or routes on San Pedro Avenue, Blanco Road and New Braunfels Avenue  by adding new buses.

We know we have a way to go, he said. But we think the timing is right and that it will only get better in San Antonio as the hotel and tourism industries fully recover.

bselcraig@express-news.net
Joshua Wong is in a Chinese prison for having the temerity to speak the truth. For that, Chinese authorities just gave the lithe 24-year-old democracy activist another 10 months on top of the 13 months they sentenced him to in December for standing up for free speech and the freedom of assembly in his hometown of Hong Kong.

Wong made it clear what he and other freedom advocates were up against during an interview last August with my Bush Institute colleagues Lindsay Lloy and Chris Walsh, and me.

While still free, he said: Misleading information and propaganda by the pro-Beijing camp is part of what we are experiencing. When I was in high school during the Umbrella Movement, the most popular pro-Beijing newspaper accused me of being a CIA agent and that I was trained by the U.S. Marines. Pro-Beijing politicians might not believe that, but they still used this kind of propaganda. When my parents read that, they asked me, If you are trained by the CIA, how come your body size is far different from that of Tom Cruise?

Ten months after our interview, Wongs willingness to stand for the truth  that Chinese authorities are squelching basic freedoms  continues to be used against him. Nor is he the only person or institution being targeted. The New York Times recently reported police pamphlets have arrived in Hong Kong newsrooms stating: Know the Facts: Rumours and Lies Can Never Be Right.

The not-so-subtle dig at the Hong Kong media is part of the Chinese authorities crackdown on what they perceive as fake news, a term that, unfortunately, is ricocheting from our shores around the world.

Lets be clear here: Calling foul on Chinas crackdown on the right to free assembly and the expression of political dissent, as Wong and others, such as Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai, were doing when Chinese leaders imprisoned them last year, is not in any way spreading misinformation. Quite the opposite. They were speaking the truth.

Fake news has become a term people use to dismiss information that runs counter to their view of the world. Taken to an extreme, the inability to operate from a common set of facts makes it almost impossible for a society to establish trust.

A lack of trust is exactly what authoritarians covet. Manipulation of the truth is the ground game of authoritarians and propagandists. They love a vacuum into which they can pour lies and falsehoods. That makes it harder for opponents to gain standing. And spreading misinformation makes it difficult for citizens to hold authoritarians accountable.

Claims about fake news are troubling in a democracy like ours, too. It is very hard to have a stable democracy with a competition over alternative facts.

This is why it is crucial for Americans  and, for that matter, people in Hong Kong and elsewhere  to become adept in discerning fact from fiction. At least in the United States, there is some good news here: Media literacy continues to gain ground as a field of study for American students, including some as young as elementary school.

As one example, Alan Miller, founder and CEO of the News Literacy Project, reports 91,638 students have completed one or more lessons from his organizations Checkology course in this school year. By comparison, about 155,000 students had completed at least one lesson in the first four years of the offering of the course. (Checkology uses media experts and journalists to interact online with students as they learn how to determine the reliability of a story or social media post.)

The inclusion of media literacy in our schools makes sense because the strengthening of Americas democracy starts at the classroom door. Historian Jon Meacham recalled at ExcelinEds recent EdPalooza conference how Thomas Jefferson believed that a republic fails without an educated citizenry. Today, that means possessing the 21st-century skill of media literacy.

Unfortunately, acquiring that skill is not a priority for the Chinese government. Instead, the Times reports, the government is considering laws that will stop the spread of fake news.

Its a safe bet to assume that the authorities would use any new law to stifle the flow of reliable information, the kind that independent journalists fact-check before publishing. A reliable flow of information also is what democracy activists use to hold governments accountable  sometimes at their own peril. Just ask Joshua Wong.

William McKenzie is senior editorial adviser at the George W. Bush Institute.
Something unexpected happened to me during lockdown: I gained deeper appreciation for my ears. I dont mean aesthetically, but rather functionally. As the coronavirus put much of the world off-limits and my household became suddenly crowded and chaotic, I increasingly began to think of audio as a kind of refuge.

Glass screens had been conquered by Slack and Zoom and social media, the apps of work and school and lifes assorted horribles, but my ears offered daily escape from, as Freddie Mercury sang, all this visual. Audios new power lay in its emotional intensity and its digital malleability. It is the sensory domain that technology has conquered most completely, and depending on how I tweaked it, my aural environment could alter my mood and physiology, could inspire joy and soften sadness, and perhaps help prompt new ideas and deeper thinking.

To say all this quite a bit less romantically: My kids were home and I spent a lot of time with headphones on  noise-canceling ones.

I mean, a lot. The other day I realized Ive taken to popping in my AirPods Pro just after I wake up, sometimes at the same time I put in my contact lenses. From there, my ears are usually occupado all day, often until I sleep, sometimes even during.

About half the time my headphones are a fire hose for media  podcasts, audiobooks and such, often played at close to double speed, because I cant resist information saturation. During the rest of the day I cultivate a bespoke, moody soundtrack to accompany ordinary life: music to work and cook and walk and exercise by; refreshing, digitally enhanced silence for thinking in a house with two loud, pandemic-bored kids; and many long hours of bells, nature sounds, precise-frequency tones and other strange background noises for relaxation and sleep.

If youre younger than 35 or so, my paean to the mind-altering magic of ubiquitous digital audio might sound more than a bit outdated; Farhad, do you also get goose bumps when considering the TV remote?

But I grew up in the era of cassette tapes and CDs, back when audio was hampered by physical scarcity and fierce gatekeeping. Kids, when I was a teenager, a new album  lets say a dozen songs  usually sold for between $15 and $20, at least a months allowance. If you liked a song  even just one  from a new release, you were all but forced to buy the whole album.

I am also old enough to remember the long road to todays musical cornucopia. The recording industry spent the early part of this century fighting against the digital world rather than trying to adapt to it; it was not until the 2010s that all-you-can-play subscription services like Spotify gained clearances to operate in the United States.

Perhaps because I followed those battles closely as a reporter, the endless digital buffet available to our ears today still feels like an everyday miracle. The ability to call up just about any song at any time, to wander musical landscapes through genres and across decades and then to burrow deep wherever you like  none of this was ever inevitable.

Streaming services are often said to have saved the music industry, which is no doubt true, notwithstanding persistent complaints from artists about the paltriness of their streaming paychecks. Revenue from the sale of recorded music in the United States declined for almost two decades before streaming services began turning the business around in 2016. In 2020, recorded music grew to $12.2 billion in sales, the vast majority from streaming.

But digital audio has done more than alter how music is paid for. Along with two other innovations  smartphones and wireless headphones  technology has also expanded the frontiers of audio. By allowing access to more sounds in more places during more of our days, it has broadened what music is for and deepened the role audio plays in our lives.

For me, the clearest way that streaming has altered my relationship to music is in its steady blurring of the boundaries between genres. I have always been a lover of pop music, but in high school and college, I was a serial rabbit holer  Id get hooked on an artist (Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Ani DiFranco) and then spend months obsessing over their work, listening more or less constantly to the same tunes over and over. A lot of this was by necessity: Even if you were a Mr. Moneybags who owned dozens of CDs, only a small amount of it was accessible at any moment. The beloved, beat-up Discman that got me through college could hold only a single CD of music; I played OK Computer every day for a semester mostly because I couldnt get enough Radiohead, but a little because I kept forgetting to switch out the disc.

I still fall into rabbit holes, but in the streaming era my tastes have grown far more capacious. Streaming has turned me into a musical butterfly, flitting between moods and genres in whatever way my tastes happen to lean. Indeed, in the last half decade I have explored more kinds of music than in the decades before  and I keep finding more stuff I like, because thanks to endless choice, theres never nothing to listen to.

For instance, I turned 40 a few years ago and became, as required, a Dylanologist  one of those insufferable types who regales bored friends and family with factoids about bootlegs and alternative lyrics in certain legendary Dylan recording sessions. In days past, pursuing such an interest would have been a time-consuming side hustle; now I can pull up much of Bob Dylans catalog, bootlegs and all, on any road trip just as easily as I can play the latest hits, as my very annoyed children never tire of complaining.

Or: I used to know next to nothing about hip-hop; thanks to Spotify, I can walk you through much of it, and my wife and I may have been the middle-aged fans at the Migos concert I dragged her to in 2017.

Or: Im ethnically Indian but Id long known little about Bollywood. Then Spotify recommended a song by Shreya Ghoshal, a queen of Indian cinema playback singing, and my 8-year-old daughter and I became devoted to pop from the subcontinent.

I am not alone in experiencing a musical reawakening through digital music. In a note to investors last summer, Spotify said its service was pushing wider diversification in tastes. The number of artists in the services most-played 10 percent of streams keeps growing  that is, there are many more artists at the top.

But you dont need stats to show that music is increasingly breaking through staid genre boundaries  you can tell in the music itself. The canonical recent example: Old Town Road, the 2019 Lil Nas X country-rap song that first went viral on TikTok, then took over the whole world, becoming the longest-running No. 1 single in the history of Billboards Hot 100 chart (19 weeks).

Is it even possible, in 2021, to locate, let alone enforce, an impermeable membrane between R&B and hip-hop, hip-hop and pop? the critic Amanda Petrusich asked recently in the New Yorker. Genre was once a practical tool for organizing record shops and programming radio stations, but it seems unlikely to remain one in an era in which all music feels like a hybrid, and listeners are no longer encouraged (or incentivized) to choose a single area of interest.

Many artists remain deeply skeptical of the music business turn to streaming. While big acts can pull through on the internets infinite jukebox, smaller groups make a pittance from streaming and must support themselves by selling merchandise, touring and other business opportunities. Still, these issues seem fixable  contracts will likely adjust to artists needs over time, and new streams of revenue, like direct support from audiences, will likely catch on.

Whats not going to change is the pre-eminent role audio now plays in our days. Once, I thought of my headphones as a conduit for music, and then they were for music and podcasts, but now they are something else entirely: They are the first gadget to deliver on the tech industrys promise of augmented reality  the mashing up of the digital and analog worlds to create a novel, enhanced sensory experience.

Now that sound has been liberated from time, place and physical media  now that I can fly from the Nashville studio where Dylan recorded Blonde on Blonde to Taylor Swifts Tiny Desk concert to the comforting, indistinct background murmur of a crowded coffee shop, all while on a walk in my suburban California neighborhood  my ears might never be bored again.
HAMDEN  A New Haven man pleaded guilty this week to his role in a 2018 shootout with a police officer while he was allegedly trying to rob a local store, according to officials.

Kwaun Cole, 34, pleaded guilty before Judge Gerald L. Harmon to criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a firearm, according to Patrick J. Griffin, the New Haven states attorney.

Cole, represented during his Thursday court appearance by attorney Paul Carty, has multiple previous felony convictions for robbery and assault offenses, officials said.

Hes scheduled to be sentenced July 12.

Coles guilty plea came Thursday, the third day of jury selection in Superior Court in New Haven. The charges against him stem from an incident on Jan. 24, 2018.

Officials said it was shortly after 9 p.m. that day when Cole went into the Krauzers Food Store at 1959 State St., wearing a mask and armed with a semiautomatic handgun. He allegedly accosted the store clerk and a shopper with the gun, demanding they comply as he took cash from the register and a cellphone from the customer.

Hamden Officer Andrew Pfeiffer, driving in the area, was flagged down by a witness in the parking lot. Pfeiffer called in the alleged armed robbery and walked toward the store. He immediately spotted the man armed with a gun, later identified as Cole.

Pfeiffer saw that he was holding the store clerk at gunpoint, officials said. Pfeiffer believed the clerk was in imminent danger and went into the store to confront Cole.

Cole ducked behind some store shelving rather than showing his hands as Pfeiffer had ordered. Officials said Cole then pointed the gun at the officer and fired a round.

Pfeiffer and Cole exchanged gunfire, with Cole eventually making a break for the front door while shooting at the officer seeking cover, officials said. When Pfeiffer returned fire, Cole apparently went back inside the store. Officials said he later was seen leaving out an emergency side exit before taking running away from the area.

Coles description went out to all officers on the police radio waves. Soon after, he was found hiding under a car in a driveway on State Street. He was found with injuries to his right hand and fingers. Officials said he also had been shot in the torso. He was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital to be treated.

Pfeiffers use of force in the case was deemed in defense of himself and others in the store, with the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad and the New Haven States Attorneys Office ruling his actions as justified.

Ballistic evidence showed that Cole fired six shots at the officer, officials said. Its unclear how many were fired by Pfeiffer.
HONOLULU -- A review of Hawaii Gov. David Iges emails shows the state epidemiologist spent key weeks in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic resisting suggestions and requests that she boost contact tracing to control the spread of COVID-19.

They also showed Dr. Sarah Park repeatedly telling her superiors that the states failure to adequately fund the division she headed was preventing her from quickly expanding their work to respond to the crisis.

The Associated Press obtained the emails last month in response to a May 2020 request submitted under Hawaiis open records law.

Contact tracing was especially difficult for many states. The effort aims to alert people who may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus and prevent them from spreading it to others. Health experts say its key to containing the virus.

The governors records show that University of Hawaii President David Lassner emailed administration officials on April 16, 2020, to say university researchers had written a report about the need to boost contact tracing and other steps to control COVID-19.

Park didnt outright reject more contact tracing but replied: I am increasingly disturbed that people seem to think contact tracing is somehow easily accomplished as a simple task when it is a part of the practice of applied epidemiology.

___

MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

 New England's success against COVID-19 could be a model

 Amid brutal case surge, Afghanistan hit by vaccine delays

 Pilgrims return to Spain's El Camino paths after pandemic

 Heart reaction probed as possible rare vaccine effect in teens

 Experts see strides on AIDS, but COVID-19 halted progress

___

Follow more of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

___

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

PHILADELPHIA  Philadelphia bike riders wont need shirts, pants, skirts or underwear  just a mask.

Organizers of the Philly Naked Bike Ride say this years event will take place Aug. 28 and will require masks, based on the citys earlier coronavirus restrictions.

The city lifted most of those restrictions this week, citing increased vaccinations and decreased cases. But ride organizers say they havent chatted since the citys guidelines changed so for now, theyre sticking with their initial mask guidance.

Ride participants usually gather in a park to undress before carefully hopping on their bikes to promote body positivity and cycling safety and protest fossil fuel dependency.

Organizers canceled the 2020 event, saying it was the most responsible thing to do.

___

BANGKOK  Trade ministers from the Pacific Rim were discussing ways to build back better from the pandemic in an online meeting Saturday hosted by New Zealand.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum has long focused on dismantling trade barriers. The meeting of its trade ministers was convened virtually, given travel restrictions in the region as coronavirus outbreaks flare in many countries still struggling to obtain and deploy enough COVID-19 vaccines.

On the agenda was a statement on aiding the movement of essential goods needed to fight the pandemic, in line with global trade rules that have been strained in recent years, especially during the administration of President Donald Trump who favored striking trade deals with individual countries.

The trade ministers conferred with business leaders on Friday on ways to better manage the health and economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

We must ensure that trade plays a role in combatting the worst, continuing effects of COVID-19 through open and unrestricted trade in vaccines, essential medical supplies and associated products, said Rachel Taulelei, chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council.

In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the share of people vaccinated so far is in the low single digits. That includes places like Thailand and Taiwan that initially managed to avoid initial massive outbreaks but now are contending with their worst flare-ups.

___

UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations chief is welcoming the Biden administrations announcement that it will be donating millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the U.N.-backed COVAX facility as well as to individual countries and U.N. front-line personnel in challenging and dangerous locations.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also extremely grateful to the U.S. government for including U.N. personnel and diplomats and staff of the 193 U.N. member nations in the U.S. vaccination program.

Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the COVAX program, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX.

Dujarric said the donation to U.N. frontline personnel will allow staff members to stay and deliver critical services to vulnerable people around the world in a safe and effective manner.

Guterres renews his call for countries to share vaccines, particularly with countries struggling with new surges and variants, Dujarric said.

There is an urgent need for increased global solidarity to ensure that vaccines are available to everyone, everywhere, he said.

___

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican officials said Friday they will use 1 million U.S. doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to inoculate people along the border.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says the vaccinations along Mexicos northern border with the United States is part of an effort to fully reopen border crossings, which are currently restricted to essential travel.

There is going to be a special vaccination plan in the border communities of our country on the northern border, with the aim of getting border transportation back to normal, Lopez Obrador said.

Mexican officials say they will have to obtain another 2 million doses of the one-shot vaccine  which they might purchase from Johnson & Johnson  to vaccinate 3 million border residents between 18 and 40 years old.

Presumably, those older than 40 will be covered by Mexicos regular nationwide campaign, which does not use Johnson & Johnson, although the shot has been approved for use in Mexico.

On Thursday, an official said some doses might also be used at coastal resorts frequented by Americans, but that possibility was not included in the plan announced Friday.

The announcement came on the same day that Mexico City announced the gradual lifting of a partial coronavirus lockdown that began more than a year ago.

___

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will not lift the coronavirus state of emergency on June 15.

Newsom has said he will lift most of the virus restrictions on that date. But Friday, Newsom said he will not lift the state of emergency that gives him broad authority to issue alter or suspend state laws and regulations.

California has been under a state of emergency since March 4, 2020. Since then, according to a resolution authored by Republican state senators, Newsom has authorized billions of dollars in emergency spending and issued at least 47 executive orders to alter or suspend 200 state laws and regulations because of the virus.

Newsom, a Democrat, said he wont end the state of emergency because the virus is not taking the summer months off.

Republicans in the state Senate have tried repeatedly to pass a concurrent resolution to end the state of emergency. But Democrats in the majority have always blocked their efforts.
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A.D. Engineering | Chattanooga, TN | Full time | Engineering Services



Opportunity:

A.D. Engineering seeks a results-driven, detail-oriented civil engineer to join our team of professional engineers and designers. Successful candidates will possess a passion for civil engineering and a desire to grow their skills while completing complex and challenging projects for residential, retail, industrial, government, and commercial clients.



At A.D. Engineering, we believe civil engineers deliver more than design; they build relationships in the community, manage projects with a personal touch, bring creative approaches to the table, and thrive in a collaborative environment in order to deliver the best results. We see how a well-rounded understanding of a project and a focus on individual strengths can make us better professionals. Thats why weve been an established, trusted name in the communities where we work for over 16 years.



Join a team where your work responsibilities can be tailored toward your interests as you develop a well-rounded skill set. Work alongside clients on conceptual designs that turn into final plans and construction documents. Experience the rewarding satisfaction of seeing those plans developed and finally enjoyed by homeowners, students, manufacturers, retailers, and shoppers. Successful candidates will have access to seasoned mentors and opportunities for training and advancement only accessible at a hands-on engineering firm.



Key Responsibilities:

Apply civil engineering design principles and procedures toward land development and infrastructure projects

Possess strong written and verbal communication skills

Ability to work on multiple projects at a time

Research site due diligence

Prepare construction documents, including site plans, grading plans, stormwater design, and utility plans

Draft reports and specifications

Develop and demonstrate a proficiency with AutoCAD

Prepare engineering designs to treat and clean up stormwater, such as stormwater detention, water quality, and infiltration systems

Work closely with local, state, and federal regulators to apply for and acquire permitting approval

Collaborate effectively with team members and clients

Manage time, energy, and workspace to successfully accomplish tasks



Qualifications for Application:

Were open to a range of experience levels. Whether youve just graduated from college with a bachelors degree in civil engineering or have been in the industry for 15 years, we'd love to hear from you. Submit your resume and cover letter through the link provided. Competitive salary is commensurate with experience.



Benefits:



As a growing and thoughtfully engaged civil engineering firm, A.D. Engineering offers a competitive compensation and benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and Simple IRA retirement plan. Additionally, team members received an annual end-of-year bonus based on both personal and company performance. This provides a significant boost to individual salaries.



About A.D. Engineering:

We provide quality engineering solutions and civil site design to clients in a wide range of industries. Specialties include:

Initial concept designs and master site plans

Rezoning

Site layout

Grading

Stormwater design

Water system design

Sewer system design

Permitting



Each member of our team works closely with clients and permitting agencies to provide environmentally conscious and cohesive services and design. This is achieved through clear communication, high-quality drawings, practicing honesty and integrity in our relationships, and efficiently completing tasks. As a trusted engineering and planning partner, were often involved every step of the way, from helping clients prepare conceptual site plans and master plans for larger-phased developments, to seeing those plans through to fruition.



For over 16 years, our primary goal has been to maintain steady, sustainable growth through successful completion of projects. This fosters a stable work environment for both employees and clients and creates a platform to develop skills and advance careers. Join us today and make visions for our community come to life.



Equal Opportunity Employer:

A.D. Engineering does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, political affiliation or belief, veteran status, or citizenship status (except in those special circumstances permitted or mandated by law). Please send resumes to Adam at Adam@ADEngineering.us.

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Bhumi Pednekar has been one of the most woke and active voices in Bollywood when it comes to talking about climate change and what you can do to save the Earth from any further damage. She successfully runs her social media advocacy platform Climate Warrior that aims to educate people about climate change and during the second wave of COVID-19 crisis in India, she also launched an initiative COVID Warrior that has saved many lives across India. Talking about the damage that is already done and how to regenerate nature and resources, Bhumi answered some burning questions about the climate crisis. Read on





You take the threat of climate change very seriously. How has your upbringing shaped the advocate that you have become for our planet?





I feel that every part of me even the person I am today is a complete sum of all my life experiences, and most of them come from what I have seen at home. I remember when we were children and I was in school and our country was hit by a natural calamity our parents would send us for drives to collect donations so that we could give back to the people affected. So, I have seen this from a very young age. I have seen my father always go out and help his community and I have seen my mother show extreme compassion towards people around her. So, I think this is something that came naturally to me from them and I feel that's so important. I feel that everything we see in our childhood is what we practice in our adult life and I am thankful to my parents for opening up this world to me.





Influential artists like you have the power to bring about positive changes. Is that why you are so vocal about this glaring issue?





Absolutely. I feel like especially when you are in a place of power and when you are in a place of influence, it is your duty to give back. It is not fair to be selfish and keep all that you have gained. Especially for me, I feel like artists and as actors, the place where I am today is because of so many people that have supported my art and that have loved my work and there is no way that I can ignore them. I feel that it is my responsibility to give back and I try doing that through various ways in my personal life and also through the films that I do because I feel like my work and my art needs to reflect what I believe in. That does not mean specifically me or the characters I portrat but at the end of it, the narrative of the story needs to bring about a certain amount of positive change in the way my audience looks at things.

It is not always easy to speak your mind in a divided world such as this. What makes you want to lead from the front on important social issues such as climate change.





I think climate change is something that is very personal to me. I have always been somebody who had questions. When I was 8 or 9 years old I would think what would happen if our water level rises or what would happen if one day our planet becomes too hot? Because in school you are taught these things and these are the things that stayed back with me. While growing up we were told to not waste electricity and there were times we were called back because maybe the geyser was on. My house was not a house where overconsumption happened, my parents made sure we didnt waste food and we don't use a lot of plastic. So, there was always a responsible consumption habit that was inculcated in us. I think that is why I have always been aware of the fact that we have this phenomenon that is climate change that has been happening for many years but since the last few generations because of our bad habits it has been accelerated to levels where the balance of biodiversity which was maintained by nature is now completely lob sided and that is something that really bothered me and that's why even though Climate Warrior came into existence 2 years ago I still have always been working towards the cause, I have still been advocating for it.

We are in a climate crisis today. What do you have to say about this?





I feel that today we are actually at the tip and if we don't start bringing about huge levels of change then things are about to get very bad and the last year has been a good learning. In the last two years, we have seen forest fires, we have seen cyclones. Cyclones in areas that had never seen one before this, we have seen drought, we have seen floods and now we have seen this pandemic and this is only the beginning. I feel that it is important for people to understand that, and it really pains me to see how irresponsibly people treat medical trash for example and I'd really hoped that in the last one year people would have understood that you cannot mess with nature because if you do then she is going to give it back to you and it really doesn't matter then if you are rich or poor cause money cannot buy you out of those bad effects of climate change but unfortunately I still see people littering, using plastic irresponsibly or just things like there are going to be more masks and medical waste in our oceans than marine life. These things hurt me and bother me because honestly, this is not just for our generation as much as it is also for the future generations to come. I really believe that is our responsibility to leave behind a cleaner planet for our future generations as we got it from our ancestors. I would never want my children to be brought up in a world that is full of pollution and does not have clean and healthy sources of water and food you know everything is so scarce it's just not okay. I want my children to be brought up in the kind of world where I grew up, where everything was abundant. I don't want to go into a forest and see fauna it is not a luxury, that was not how it has to be. The way deforestation is happening, the way we are fishing and hunting I feel as humans we should just change our consumption habits.





What are your goals as a climate warrior this year? What will make you happy as a climate warrior 10 years from now?





My goal as a climate warrior this year is genuinely to see people take action on planet conscious behaviour. I think for me all of 2021 is only going to be about hammering better habits, about hammering and making sure that people actually do something about everything that we have been speaking about right from less consumption of single use plastics to making sure that individually we all reduce our carbon footprint. I really hope that our world opens up to a certain extent so that we can do a certain amount of groundwork as well. But what will honestly make me happy is that 10 years from today everything that we and the entire community have been fighting for, to at least see some amount of change. We do see that there is a lot more replantation than deforestation. I really hope that the amount of compassion that we show to different species is a lot more and 10 years from today I want to look back and be like Oh Wow! We are happily coexisting with all those millions of species that rightfully share this planet with us. I really hope theres a beautiful balance between development and conserving our nature. I really hope that we live in a world that doesnt abuse all the natural resources that our beautiful planet gives us. We live in a world that gives us so much and individually everybody has enough compassion and care to understand that the four walls we live in the isnt our real home, this planet is our real home and theres no planet B and we have to conserve it for it to be beautiful and abundant again
he world is facing one crisis after another. Global warming, the melting ice caps, forest fires, air pollution, the list is endless. Technology and industrialisation has had its adverse effects on the environment and regeneration of resources is almost getting impossible.





Spreading awareness of ways you can contribute to bringing about a change in the world, some celebrities have been strong advocates of environmental awareness and preservation. Celebrities have started campaigns and initiatives to give back to nature after decades of exploration and exhaustion of resources.





On World Environment Day, we take a look at people whove worked as eco-warriors to help make a change.





Bhumi Pednekar





Bhumi Pednekar has been an active voice when it comes to spreading awareness about the depleting environment. She started the initiative Climate Warriors to tell people about everything wrong happening in the world. From oil spills to carbon footprints, Bhumi has shared information about how government policies and practises have caused damage to resources. In an interview, she listed down her goals and said, My goal as a climate warrior this year is genuinely to see people take action on planet conscious behaviour. I think for me all of 2021 is only going to be about hammering better habits, about hammering and making sure that people actually do something about everything that we have been speaking about right from less consumption of single use plastics to making sure that individually we all reduce our carbon footprint. plastics to making sure that individually we all reduce our carbon footprint.





Dia Mirza





UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador for India, Dia Mirza actively supports conscious environmentalism. Shes not only taken up the cause on a global level, but has consciously spread awareness about little ways you can contribute to the change. From segregation of waste to sustainable fashion, Dia has transformed the way one looks at their daily life and the small things that can make a big difference. She is also the ambassador of Wildlife Trust of India, which is a part of Swachh Bharat Missions youth-based programme. Furthermore, she is also a member of the Sanctuary Nature Foundation. Speaking about the environment today, Dia said, Every little deed towards a greener lifestyle goes a long way and every little choice that we make must be rooted in respecting the diversity of nature little choice that we make must be rooted in respecting the diversity of nature







Alia Bhatt





Alia Bhatt started an initiative called Coexist to make people understand the balance between nature and life. Shes constantly had adoption campaigns for animals, shes actively spoken about saving the flora and fauna and shes spread important information about the oceans and how industrialisation has affected life under water. She also started a social media campaign to cut the use of plastic with the hashtag #BeatPlasticPollution. Alia also started a clothing brand for children, Edamamma and with that she created a conscious line of kidswear that is not only comfortable but good for the environment.

Priyanka Chopra





Priyanka Chopra is UNICEF's Global ambassador and has stood up for multiple social causes since her appointment. The actor is known for taking up initiatives that help make the environment better for the coming generations. Apart from this Priyanka has also been supporting many environmental campaigns. She was also part of a campaign titled Greenthon which focused on creating a tomorrow by adopting eco-friendly habits today. part of a campaign titled Greenthon which focused on creating a tomorrow by adopting eco-friendly habits today.









Rahul Bose





Rahul Bose became the Oxfam Global ambassador in 2007. He has been an active voice against climate change, global warming and other environmental crises. He works with NGOS closely and has his own non-profit organisation that is relentlessly working to make a change and spread awareness about global warming. working to make a change and spread awareness about global warming.

John Abraham





John Abraham is a pet lover and has time and again spoken about adoption of animals. He has urged people to never buy pets as it encourages breeders to cross-breed in below par conditions. He also signed up for the PowerLight a Village campaign that is helping get solar power energy in villages across india. He also signed up for the PowerLight a Village campaign that is helping get solar power energy in villages across india.

Ajay Devgn





Ajay Devgn has been quietly working for several eco-friendly causes. He helped set up a solar power plant in Patan district in Gujarat and he has hinted at starting a similar project in Rajasthan as well. He is a strong advocate of eco-friendly energy to generate power. Rajasthan as well. He is a strong advocate of eco-friendly energy to generate power.

Aamir Khan





Aamir Khans non-profit organisation, Paani Foundation has worked towards prevention of drought and watershed management in the state of Maharashtra. Paani Foundation has been organizing the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup competition where villages compete with each other to implement watershed management and water conservation methods in the summer months, leading upto the monsoon season. leading upto the monsoon season.









Nandita Das





Nandita Das has actively participated in spreading awareness about water conservation. Shes used her platform to spread information and talk of ways one can contribute in their daily lives. She also collaborated with the Centre for Science and Environment to spread awareness about the conservation of water and spoke of how reckless usage today can cause a crisis tomorrow. reckless usage today can cause a crisis tomorrow.





Gul Panag





She started herself by switching to an electric car to reduce air pollution and has since held strong ground on her views about solutions caused by certain technologies. Shes been vocal about sanitation and waste disposal in the country and has propagated sustainable practises for everyone to follow in their daily lives. Shes been vocal about sanitation and waste disposal in the country and has propagated sustainable practises for everyone to follow in their daily lives.
An alleged rape and sexual assault case was filed against television actor Pearl V Puri by a 17-year-old old minor today. The actor, along with five others accused were arrested by the police and are being remanded in custody by the Vasai court.

Talking about the same, producer Ekta Kapoor came out in support of Pearl, revealing details of a conversation she had with the minor girls mother. She shared that the mother spoke of how it was a false allegation by the father of the girl, only to get full custody of the daughter and prove her to be an unfit working mother, who isnt equipped to take care of the daughter. Ekta shared, Will I support a child molesteror a molester of any kind? But what I witnessed from last night to now, was the absolute low in human depravity. How can humanity go to this level? How can people who are upset with each other, drag a third person into their own fight? My opinion only comes from what the girls mother said to me last night & that is - Pearl is innocent and it is very very sad if people are using various tactics to prove working mothers are unable to take care of their children, because there are predators on the set.





Ekta further added that she has messages and voice notes from the mother to prove her narrative, I have all the voice notes and messages between the childs mother and me which clearly points to the false allegations being put on Pearl. The film industry is as safe or as unsafe as any other business. To give it a bad name to get your agenda sorted is the lowest form of low ever. 





Anita Hassnandani also posted a picture with Pearl and wrote, Woke up to some nonsensical news bout @pearlvpuri I know him! It is NOT true ... canNOT be true.... all lies.Im sure there is more to it. And the truth will be out soon.
Television actor Pearl V Puri, known for shows like Naagin 3 and Brahmarakshas 2, was arrested in an alleged rape and sexual assault case of a 17-year-old girl. The reports suggest that the actor, along with 5 other people raped the girl a while back and she filed a complaint with the police only recently. He along with the five accused were arrested in Vasai today.

Sanjay Patil, DCP Zone 2, Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar, said, "The incident is old but the 17 year old minor victim complained to us along with her mother at the police station and we registered case under Section 376 (rape) of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act(POCSO) Act, 2012.





According to the reports, the minor was asked for sexual favours in return for work in a television show. The actor is being remanded in police custody by the Vasai court.
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.
Leading investors with more than $15 trillion of assets under management participated in the meeting.

RDIF presented 25 pharmaceutical companies that have partnered with the Fund for production of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in 14 countries

Presidents of Serbia and Argentina officially launched Sputnik V production at facilities in their countries

SAINT PETERSBURG, June 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and representatives of the investment community took part in the traditional meeting of The Russian Direct Investment Fund's (RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund) International Advisory Board (IAB) held at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

More than 30 investors from 17 countries with over $15 trillion of assets under management took part in the Board's meeting. Participants discussed key issues of international partnership needed to ensure an investment breakthrough in the Russian economy and implementation of high-tech projects in priority areas (healthcare, infrastructure, industrial production, etc.). The coronavirus pandemic, the key topic on the global agenda, was also touched upon during the IAB meeting.

The official start of industrial production of Sputnik V, the world's first registered vaccine against coronavirus, at facilities in Argentina and Serbia became the highlight event of the meeting with President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic joining by video conference for the launch. The vaccine will be produced to meet the domestic needs of Argentina and Serbia and will be exported at a later stage.

RDIF has established a wide network of international partnerships for the production of the Sputnik V vaccine. For the first time, the IAB meeting was attended by representatives of 25 pharmaceutical companies from 14 countries where Sputnik V is already being produced or the production is being set up:

Hetero, Virchow Group, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Gland Pharma, Wockhardt ( India );

); Hualan Biological Bacterin, TopRidge Pharma, GeneSail Biotech, Shenzhen Yuanxing Gene-Tech ( China );

); GL Rapha, ISU ABXIS ( South Korea );

); Laboratorios Richmond (Argentina)

Uniao Quimica ( Brazil );

); R-Pharm Germany Gmbh ( Germany );

); ADIENNE Pharma & Biotech, Avara Liscate Pharmaceutical Services S.P.A. ( Italy );

); Torlak Institute (Serbia);

Arabio ( Saudi Arabia );

); Cinnagen Ilac ( Turkey );

); Cinnagen Group, Actoverco ( Iran );

); Belmedpreparaty ( Belarus );

); Karaganda Pharmaceutical Complex ( Kazakhstan ).

The Russian vaccine has already been registered in 66 countries with a total population of over 3.2 billion people. Sputnik V has been approved for use by countries in virtually every part of the world, including Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. The agreements of the Fund with its partners will ensure the total production of Sputnik V sufficient to vaccinate more than 800 million people a year.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 90 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB2 tn. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 1 million people and generate revenues equivalent to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at www.rdif.ru

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1140939/Russian_Direct_Investment_Fund_Logo.jpg
Amsterdam, Netherlands--(Newsfile Corp. - June 5, 2021) - Recently, Ailoadnet officially announced that the first batch of whitelist registrations will be by internal invitation. Users who do not receive an invitation will not be able to register for the whitelist to participate in Ailoadnet and will have to wait until the next batch of registrations opens.

AiloadNET is a decentralized platform for artificial intelligence. The platform provides a series of services based on blockchain AI for organizations or individuals who are not in a position to independently develop AI, covering marketing, promotion, games, VR, personal assistants, drones and many other industry fields that require AI participation. Simply put, AiLoadNET is an application store about AI artificial intelligence.

Through AiLoadNET, companies, organizations and individuals can empower their AI agents to participate in the marketplace, buy or sell products and services, so that AI no longer exists in silos and no longer needs to rely on specific companies, infrastructure or industries to function. AI can use the AiLoadNET marketplace to purchase rare and valuable datasets or analytic capabilities that would normally require in-house development from scratch. AI can also use the AiLoadNET Marketplace to profit from its own assets, creating significant value from proprietary information, algorithms and functionality.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7987/86605_a16ab4e454fabb3d_001full.jpg

Advantages of Ailoadnet

AiLoadNET has made significant progress in key areas such as face recognition, language recognition, emotion perception, language learning, and logic application processing. AiLoadNET has implemented experimental results in artificial intelligence robot. The market forecasts the AI market to reach $3.1 trillion by 2025, and AiLoadnet will capture one-third of the market.

In addition, using AiLoadNET has huge network advantages compared to other projects.

Access - AI agents can leverage previously unique datasets, structuring and monetizing them to serve big data.

Accuracy - Users can work with information sets of higher complexity.

Efficiency - Collaborative AI can perform beyond the original organization.

Contingency - A combination of different AI tools will bring emergency intelligence and processing capabilities that other platforms cannot provide. Speed - Information can be processed faster than competitors.

Creativity-AI can dynamically create new capabilities with new data sets and capabilities.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7987/86605_a16ab4e454fabb3d_002full.jpg

Join Ailoadnet

Currently, Aiload is by invitation only, and Ailoadnet still wants more users to have the opportunity to join to "democratize" AI and achieve Ailoadnet's ability to continue to innovate and change.

For more information please visit: http://www.aiload.io

Media contact

Contact: ALie Khon

Company Name: AiloadNET.

Address: 592 2084 HN Amsterdam The Netherlands

Website:http://www.aiload.io

Email: service@aiload.io

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86605
Growve, a St. Petersburg FL-based company which specializes in acquiring and operating natural supplement brands, raised $175M in funding.

Multiple bank syndication partners participated in this new credit facility, which follows a minority equity investment from Palm Beach Capital. The expanded banking syndicate is comprised of Truist Bank, Compeer Financial, Wells Fargo, N.A., First Horizon Bank, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Synovus Bank, South State Bank, N.A., Atlantic Capital Bank, N.A., HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and Seaside Bank and Trust, a division of United Community Bank.

The company intends to use the funds to expand acquisition of omnichannel natural wellness & body care brands and organig growth.

Led by CEO Brian Baer, Growve is a brand consolidator specializing in acquiring and operating world-class natural brands in the supplement, body care, food, household and pet categories. Its team of 400+ derives its value from aggregating brands and driving growth through in-house expertise in marketplace management, digital marketing, creative services, innovation, distribution, retail sales, manufacturing, supply chain management, regulatory and accounting. The companys portfolio includes 20+ brands and hundreds of unique products.

FinSMEs

05/06/2021
Tampa, FL (33646)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. High 87F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms. Low near 75F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.


Temporary Extended Day Classroom Leader (Pre-K Spanish Immersion)

6.0 hours/day for 191 days (pro-rated)

8:00am - 2:30pm

$15.86 - $20.72/hour (Depending on Experience)

Palisades



Applicants must be a fluent Spanish-speaker.



JOB SUMMARY

The Extended Day Classroom Leader position assists with and provides support for the districts pre-school and pre-kindergarten program. Position supervises students on site and during program activities, and delivers various services including education/instruction and recreational activities.



ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential duties of this position include the following tasks. Employees in this position perform some or all of the following tasks. Other duties may be assigned at any time. Prepare and implement daily lesson plans in math, reading, writing, art, science, and social studies Follow the curriculum provided by supervisor Communicate with parents on a regular basis Prepare and conduct parent conferences twice a year Conduct student assessments at least twice a year Attend staff meetings, trainings, professional development Work with the Educational Service District (ESD) staff for students needing early intervention services Follow Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) and behavior plans as needed Confers with supervisor and implements day-to-day routines and programs. Performs program-related instructional, behavioral and other activities. Undertakes delegated instructional tasks for individuals and small groups; assists with monitoring student activities in the classroom and other locations. Performs daily instructional support tasks. Organizes materials, which include learning games, collects data and monitors students. Manages personal student information according to federal and state laws and district policies, and maintains strict confidentiality. Helps maintain orderly, attractive and safe instructional and play areas (i.e., prevents litter, puts up bulletin board displays, cleans blackboards, stores supplies, sets up study areas, etc.). Assists students with physical education and other recreational activities. Maintains orderly and accurate records, reports, rosters, and attendance records for assigned site. Files all required reports in a timely manner. Maintains adequate supply of all program information and forms for parents/guardians. Provides student safety, self-care, health care, medical protocols, hygiene care, and mobility assistance services which may include lifting, feeding, and toileting/diapering. Consistent, daily and punctual attendance. NON-ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Non-essential duties of this position include the following tasks. Employees in this position perform some or all of these tasks. Other duties may be assigned at any time. Operates and troubleshoots various office equipment including telephones and photocopy machines. Performs routine clerical work such as typing, photocopying, filing, record-keeping, and answering telephones. OTHER REQUIREMENTS Consistently follows all applicable federal and state laws and all district policies, rules and supervisor directions. Observes ergonomics of sedentary office work including placement of computers and monitors, and sitting alignment. Observes proper lifting techniques and other strategies to avoid accidents and personal injury while performing job duties. Performs other duties as assigned. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

All school employees have some responsibility for supervising students and assisting in maintaining a safe environment.



QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Education and/or Experience: Requires high school diploma or GED. Associate Degree or two years of college/university training preferred. Two years of experience working successfully with students individually or in groups in an instructional setting preferred.

Requires high school diploma or GED. Associate Degree or two years of college/university training preferred. Two years of experience working successfully with students individually or in groups in an instructional setting preferred. Interpersonal Skills: Works well with others from diverse backgrounds. Focuses on solving conflict, maintaining confidentiality, listening to others, keeping emotions under control, remaining open to others ideas and contributing to building a positive team spirit. Demonstrates the ability to remain calm and professional in an environment with frequent interruptions. Interacts with staff and students appropriately .

Works well with others from diverse backgrounds. Focuses on solving conflict, maintaining confidentiality, listening to others, keeping emotions under control, remaining open to others ideas and contributing to building a positive team spirit. Demonstrates the ability to remain calm and professional in an environment with frequent interruptions. Interacts with staff and students appropriately Language Skills: Ability to communicate English fluently both verbally and in writing, including proficiency in spelling and grammar. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from students, parents, staff, regulatory agencies, vendors and members of the community. Ability to read and interpret documents including governmental regulations, safety rules and operating and maintenance instructions/ instruction manuals. Ability to prepare routine reports and correspondence with high degrees of accuracy and professionalism.

Ability to communicate English fluently both verbally and in writing, including proficiency in spelling and grammar. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from students, parents, staff, regulatory agencies, vendors and members of the community. Ability to read and interpret documents including governmental regulations, safety rules and operating and maintenance instructions/ instruction manuals. Ability to prepare routine reports and correspondence with high degrees of accuracy and professionalism. Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals. Ability to calculate rates, ratios, percentages, and proportions.

Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals. Ability to calculate rates, ratios, percentages, and proportions. Reasoning Ability: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in oral, schedule or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving more than one variable.

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in oral, schedule or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving more than one variable. Computer Skills: Ability to effectively use office computers and internet access for email, research, word processing, database manipulation, visual presentations and general web-based applications.

Ability to effectively use office computers and internet access for email, research, word processing, database manipulation, visual presentations and general web-based applications. Other Skills and Abilities: Ability to exercise good judgment and work effectively in a dynamic environment.

Ability to exercise good judgment and work effectively in a dynamic environment. Certificates, Licenses, Registrations: A valid First Aid Card as required by federal, state or local law(s) and/or determined by the District including a valid Oregon Drivers License. PHYSICAL EXPECTATIONS

The physical expectations described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.



When performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk, see, or hear. The employee is frequently required to walk stand, sit, use fingers and hands for fine manipulation, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms and move around inside and outside of buildings. The employee is occasionally required to, push, pull, bend, stoop, crawl, kneel and crouch. The employee must lift and/or move up to 35lbs. The employee may occasionally climb stairs or ladders. The employee must have, with or without vision correction, close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.



The employee must occasionally move quickly and sometimes run to keep students safe and avoid injuries. The employee must regularly lift students up to 35 pounds and lift, with assistance, students weighing up to 150 pounds.



WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.



The work environment is a standard classroom setting and activity/play areas. The noise level of the work environment is usually moderate, but occasionally high depending upon the location, the student population and current activities. The employee occasionally will be required to supervise children during their arrival/departure. The employee is occasionally exposed to wet or humid conditions and outdoor weather conditions, including seasonal heat and cold. The employee may occasionally be exposed to contagious diseases, bodily fluids and blood-borne pathogens.



The employee will be exposed to a variety of cleaning agents and occasionally some hazardous chemicals and fumes.



Special Requirements:

The person selected for this position must be able to provide: proof of educational requirements, verify identity and employment authorization, complete a pre-employment record check and be approved by the State Department of Education after having a Fingerprint-Based Criminal History Verification completed. The selected candidate will pay $10-$20 for a set of fingerprints and $59.00 for the verification check.



NOTE: This is not necessarily an exhaustive or all-inclusive list of responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, functions or working conditions associated with the job. This job description is not a contract of employment or a promise or guarantee of any specific terms or conditions of employment. The school district may add to, modify or delete any aspect of this job (or the position itself) at any time as it deems advisable.



Equal Opportunity Employer:

The Lake Oswego School District is committed to being an antiracist, Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to ensuring diversity and inclusion in all aspects of recruitment, selection, and employment without regard to race, disability, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, religion, veteran or military status, or any other category protected under the law. LOSD is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment procedures for individuals experiencing a disability. If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 503-534-2000. Speech/Hearing impaired persons may contact the district for assistance through the Oregon telecommunications Relay Service at 1-800-735-2900. To Apply, visit: https://www.losdschools.org/ Lake Oswego School District is a Drug-Free/Smoke-Free Workplace

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Monica Rainge with the USDA (second from left) and Dr. Larry Robinson, president of FAMU (center), joined other alums at an education event last week for Black farmers.
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Geneva, NY (14456)

Today

Becoming partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 84F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has surfaced in press renders ahead of launch, thanks to @evleaks. This comes after the CAD-based renders that surfaced back in April. The phone looks similar to the S21, sans the metal housing and a metal frame. The new renders show the phone in Black, White, Lilac Purple and Olive Green colours. These should feature a plastic back with a matte finish.

Rumours say that S21 FE might also support S Pen and will be a sequel to the Galaxy Note20 since the company is reportedly not planning to launch a Note series phone this year, instead launch new foldable phones. Check out the rumoured specifications.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE rumoured specifications

6.4-inch (2400 x 1080 pixels) FHD+ Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED Display, 120Hz refresh rate

Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5nm Mobile Platform

6GB / 8GB LPDDR5 RAM with 128GB/256GB storage

Android 11 with One UI 3.1

Single / Dual SIM

12MP rear camera with OIS, LED Flash, 12MP Ultra Wide sensor, f/2.2 aperture, Telephoto camera, 4K 60 fps, 8K 30fps

32MP front camera

Water resistant (IP68)

In-display fingerprint scanner

Dimensions: 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9~9.3mm (with camera bump)

5G SA/NSA, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS + GLONASS, USB 3.1, NFC

4500mAh battery with 25W fast charging, 15W Qi wireless charging

Based on the earlier rumours, the Galaxy S21 FE is expected to be introduced at the Unpacked event tentatively scheduled on August 19th.
That's a interesting question.



I wonder if those be still offering that with 10's thousands of vehicles in the backlog.



The funny thing is just because Ford is starting up production on the 22's, some people think they will have thier truck within 3 months or so. The logistics of getting all these trucks back online and then shipped out to dealerships will be a challenge. There are only so many car haulers, only so many train cars. It's not only Ford, it's all manufacturers so we are talking hundreds of thousands of vehicles.


The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of Black River Memorial Hospital and Black River Healthcare Clinic, positively influencing the operations of the facility, and making decisions based on the Organizations financial goals. As a member of the Senior Leadership, this position develops strategic plans for sustainability and overall financial health of the Company and develops best practices for its financial goals. The CFO oversees finance, nutrition services, revenue cycle, environmental services and the purchasing department staff but will work with all parts of the organization management staff. The ideal candidate for this position is trustworthy and responsive; possesses proven leadership and communication skills; is a long-range thinker; makes sound decisions that encourage company growth and possesses an innovative approach to solving business challenges. Educational Qualifications: Must possess Bachelors degree in accounting, finance, business, healthcare or related field from an accredited four-year college or university. Will be required to obtain MBA or MHA within 5 years of the date of hire.

Minimum of 7-years progressive, related experience, and leadership/management responsibilities.

Exceptional knowledge of healthcare financial management, third-party reimbursement, contracts, and generally accepted accounting principles and practices.

Strong knowledge of hospital patient care principles and practices.

Extensive knowledge of relevant state and federal regulations and healthcare policies and practices.

Comprehensive knowledge of risk business management policies, procedures and practices.

Working knowledge of contemporary supervisory, management and administrative principles and practices.

Excellent computer skills in a variety of software programs across a variety of applications. We are ready to offer this position to a candidate that wants to join our vision: To be the best community hospital in the nation. BRMHs core values: Excellence, Progressive, Integrity, Compassion and Collaboration. We want you if youre ready to use these as the fundamental beliefs that make our team work towards a common goal. Excellence. Always. To view a full job description, click HERE. Qualified candidates may apply online HERE. EOE

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MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -- Local ham radio operators are at it again. This weekend they are aboard the USS Alabama and the USS Drum taking part in the "Ships Across America" 48-hour ham radio broadcast event.

The goal is to try and make contact with as many of the more than 70 museum ships participating around the world. We caught up with members of the "Deep South Amateur Radio Club" who are set up with the second deck of the battleship. They tell us after last year's event was cancelled -- they were ready to be back on air and explained there is a lot of special interest in making contact with the "Mighty A."

"We try to talk to and make contact with all of those different ships. Who can talk to a battleship anymore -- nobody. So they are anxious to talk to us... we will get on and give a call and identify ourselves and they will come back in like gangbusters -- what we call a pile up," explained Larry Anderson, Deep South Amateur Radio Club.

They're also using the ship's original antenna to broadcast and have been working for the past few months to restore the USS Alabama's Communications Room to its former glory -- eventually having it up and running to communicate from.

"Prior to us coming down here -- all of these radios are World War II radios -- these are the radios that were used," explained Bruce Miller, Deep South Amateur Radio Club.

"The antennas and all have to be reworked so we have spent a lot of time working on that -- we've spent a lot of time scraping and painting. It's been a group effort by a lot of people to make it look like it did back in the day," said Ken Bell, Deep South Amateur Radio Club.

For retired history teacher and adjunct professor Tim Morgan -- working on the USS Alabama is a bucket list opportunity.

"This is actually one of the greatest things in my life... had a doctor tell me you got to find something to do other than sit around the house and waiting to die -- and this is it," said Morgan.

As they plug away -- they'll take shifts making contacts throughout the weekend and take every opportunity to promote the USS Alabama.

"Mainly -- it's PR for the battleship. All of us who work on the ship -- we love this battleship," said Miller.

"It stirs my soul to be able to talk to somebody from our battleship, especially me being a Navy veteran," said Anderson.

Ships Across America was started by the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station as a way to create interest in both the historic naval ships and to keep the tradition of ham radio broadcasts alive. The event ends Sunday at 5 p.m. Each person they make contact with -- they send a card with a pic of the battleship on it (a QSL card) to keep record of their correspondence with the USS Alabama.
(CNN) -- The agency investigating the fatal shooting of a suspect during an arrest attempt in Minneapolis Thursday says evidence shows "the man fired his weapon from inside the vehicle."

While trying to arrest a person wanted on a felony warrant in a parked car on Thursday afternoon, US Marshals task force members shot the suspect, who had "produced a handgun" and "failed to comply with officers' commands," the US Marshals Service said in a prepared statement obtained by CNN affiliate WCCO.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. A 27-year-old woman who was a passenger in the car sustained minor injuries from glass debris, authorities said.

"BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun as well as spent cartridge cases from inside the driver's compartment," the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said in a statement.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office will identify him "once the preliminary autopsy, formal identification and family notifications have taken place," the BCA said.

The BCA statement said that "at one point a Hennepin County sheriff's deputy and a Ramsey County sheriff's deputy serving on the task force discharged their weapons, striking the man."

The suspect had been wanted on a state arrest warrant for possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Marshals Service.

There is no body camera or squad car camera footage of the shooting, which is in the early stages of investigation, the BCA said.

"The Marshal Service currently does not allow the use of body cameras for officers serving on its North Star Fugitive Task Force," the BCA statement said.

Upon completion of the investigation, the BCA said it "will provide its findings without recommendation to the appropriate prosecutor for review."

Brother of slain man calls for release of videos

The family of the man who was shot and killed called for justice during a Friday afternoon press conference.

Kidale Smith told reporters his brother Winston Smith was the man killed by the US Marshals task force Thursday night.

CNN has reached out to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office, US Marshals, the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) regarding the identity.

Kidale Smith said that law enforcement has not reached out to him following his brother's death and he learned of the shooting last night from a family member.

"I got a call from my stepbrother saying that the man that got shot was my brother," Kidale Smith said.

"I'm here to speak up on the fact that there needs to be something done about this," he said. "This man had a family, he's just like anybody else."

He's called for law enforcement to release any and all footage of the incident, as well as name those involved.

"I want body camera footage," Smith said, adding that he is particularly interested in footage from a camera on the fifth floor of the parking garage where his brother was shot and killed.

"I want them cops to come forward. All of them. Every single one of them," Smith told reporters. "I want names, I want faces. I want experience, history. I want all of that."

Waylan Hughes, a family friend who said he's known Winston Smith for over 10 years, also called for any and all video to be released in the case.

"We want to see all the security surveillance in the area," Hughes said. "We need justice. We want those cops to go to jail. They wrongly shot him."

"He only had a warrant out for his arrest. He wasn't even a bad person," Hughes added.

Hughes said that Winston Smith has three children, two girls and one boy.

"He was a comedian. He was a funny guy," Hughes said, adding that Smith used to make skits and comedy videos.

"He was not out to get nobody," Hughes told reporters.

Protests followed the shooting

The shooting led to protests in Minneapolis' Uptown area during the evening and overnight.

People began gathering at the scene to watch investigators, and some people began chanting "insults at Minneapolis police, whose officers were providing perimeter support," the Star Tribune reported.

Most dispersed by early evening, but a crowd returned after 9:15 p.m., not long after investigators left, WCCO reported. People dragged a trash container into an intersection and set it on fire, and pulled down crime scene tape, according to WCCO.

Video from the station shows exterior glass broken at a nearby CVS store Thursday night.

Buildings were looted and damaged, Minneapolis police said early Friday in a brief advisory, without elaborating.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Friday that while tensions are high local jurisdictions are in charge and resources from the National Guard are not necessary to deploy at this time.

The law enforcement shooting comes as the city grapples with last year's killing of George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis last year, and with the murder conviction in that case of former police officer Derek Chauvin.

On Thursday, Minneapolis city workers removed parts of a memorial at the intersection where Floyd took his final breaths, as the city stated its plans to create a permanent memorial and reopen the area to through-traffic.

The intersection where Floyd died -- Chicago Avenue and 38th Street -- is about a 3-mile drive southeast of where Thursday's shooting happened.

Shortly after the removal of the Floyd memorial, some activists blocked the intersection.

At a press conference, Mayor Jacob Frey said the city workers' efforts were just the first step in a "phased reconnection" of the Chicago Avenue/38th Street intersection, and he acknowledged that it will be some time before the intersection is open to traffic for good.

CNN's Natalie Andes, Travis Caldwell, Jason Hanna and Alta Spells contributed to this report.
FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2020 file photo people wait in line to vote at a polling place on the final day of early voting in Las Vegas. More than 1.1 million Nevadans have already cast ballots ahead of Tuesday's election, where the state will be a presidential battleground, two incumbent Democratic members of Congress will try to hold on to their seats and voters will settle dozens of races for statewide, legislative and judicial offices and five statewide ballot questions. (AP Photo/John Locher,File)
Yes! I think the restaurants should keep as much outdoor seating as possible  now and after the pandemic ends

It depends on the setup. I like some outdoor options a lot more than others

I always prefer to eat inside the restaurant

I dont really care

Vote

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William Weber West, 93 of Gainesville, Texas passed away on June 2, 2021. He was born on April 7, 1928 in Atchison, Kansas to Lee West and Elizabeth (Weber) West. He married Mary Ellen Peyrot on May 17, 1951 in Gainesville, Texas. William enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 5, 1951 in Gaine
Today

Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 91F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

Tonight

Some clouds. Low 68F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

A mainly sunny sky. High around 90F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. NW winds shifting to SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds with an isolated thunderstorm possible after midnight. Low around 80F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
While we have still not seen the report from the law firm, I have received information from a credible source tonight that the report will conclude that there was a failure of university leadership, including a failure to sufficiently fund the Title IX efforts, Alexander said in the March 4 email.

The draft sent with the email was a far cry from the statement eventually released to the public the following night, though they both started with the same sentence: I have been made aware that an external report by the law firm Husch Blackwell regarding LSU Title IX and sexual misconduct matters was released today.

In the second and third paragraphs of the drafted statement, Alexander directly attacked the methodology used to compile the report.

I understand from those who have reviewed the report that its content fully ignores the actions that I took to address sexual misconduct while president and chancellor of Louisiana State University, Alexander wrote that start of the second paragraph.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Gettysburg, PA (17325)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.


Job Title: WAE, Coordinator SYEP Summer Learn and Earn



Office: Office of Teaching and Learning



Date Posted: 6/4/2021



Salary Range: 1-5 / $30.83 - $34.79



NTE Date: 8/6/2021



Position Overview The Office of Social Emotional Academic Development works with the Chancellor to ensure coherence in the educational experience for our students, families, and schools. Our goal is to initiate change and lead DC Public Schools into the highest performing school district in the nation. We are currently in the process of creating our next strategic plan. After engaging with over 3,000 internal and external stakeholders to help shape the future of DCPS, our draft strategic priorities include: Promote Equity: Define, understand, and promote equity to close achievement gaps and interrupt institutional bias.

Empower Our People: Recruit, develop, and retain a talented, caring, and diverse team.

Educate the Whole Child: Provide rigorous, joyful and inclusive academic and social emotional experiences for all students.

Ensure Excellent Schools: Increase the number of high quality schools across the district by defining blended autonomies for schools and creating opportunities for innovation.

Engage Families: Deepen partnerships with families and community. The mission of the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) is to deliver high-quality instructional resources, enhance classroom practice and scale effective programs to increase DCPS student achievement and prepare all students for success in college, career, and (see application details) spans four core competency areas: Curriculum; Professional learning; Enrichments and interventions; and Formative assessment. Team members support school-based staff in implementing DCPS's existing academic programs while simultaneously working to rethink and redesign school programming, academic and curricular resources and educator professional development. The Coordinator (WAE), SYEP Summer Learn and Earn will use administrative and programmatic skills to ensure that DCPS is in compliance with requirements of the Department of Employment Services Summer Youth Employment Program through our Summer Learn and Earn initiative. The WAE, Coordinator SYEP Summer Learn and Earn will report to the Manager, Secondary Academic Recovery. Essential Duties and Responsibilities The below statements are intended to describe the general nature and scope of work being performed by this position. This is not a complete listing of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required. Other duties may be assigned. Tracks and enters students' time and labor.

Works with third party vendor to ensure that students have access to the CareerEdge platform.

Stays abreast of student engagement in required learning modules.

Runs and provides weekly student engagement reports to Manager, Secondary Extended Learning and Academic Recovery.

Follows up with students weekly who are not on pace to complete assigned CareerEdge modules.

Works collaboratively with peers around best practices in support of students.

Ensures that the Manager, Secondary Extended Learning & Academic Recovery is aware of any major challenges. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field and two to four years of work experience, with specific experience in an administrative role for a large team, organization, or agency a plus.

Master's degree preferred.

Previous exposure to or experience in the education sector a plus.

Previous experience supporting students and families.

Strong ability to multi-task.

Strong computer and accurate data entry skills.

DCPS Values STUDENTS FIRST : We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do.

: We recognize students as whole children and put their needs first in everything we do. COURAGE : We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success.

: We have the audacity to learn from our successes and failures, to try new things, and to lead the nation as a proof point of PK-12 success. EQUITY : We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds.

: We work proactively to eliminate opportunity gaps by interrupting institutional bias and investing in effective strategies to ensure every student succeeds. EXCELLENCE : We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions.

: We work with integrity and hold ourselves accountable for exemplary outcomes, service, and interactions. TEAMWORK : We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically.

: We recognize that our greatest asset is our collective vision and ability to work collaboratively and authentically. JOY: We enjoy our collective work and will enthusiastically celebrate our success and each other.


You asked. We listened. Your daily crossword, Sudoku and dozens of other puzzles are now available online. Play them or print them here.

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Staff file photo/Members of the public will have the opportunity to ask questions specific to the safety performance of Seabrook Station and the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions role in ensuring safe plant operations following a June 9 presentation. The plant is located about 17 miles from Cape Ann as the crow flies.




ImOn Communications is the LOCAL choice for cable TV, high-speed Internet and phone service. We value the relationships we have with colleagues, customers, and members of our community and look forward to serving Eastern Iowa for many years to come. As we expand our service availability we are looking for a Voice Engineer to be a part of the ImOn Difference! Our employees share a passion for building a culture of Creating Connections One Person at a Time and fostering a fun and rewarding work environment. The Voice Engineer will support ImOn Communications Data and VOIP networks through complex translations, maintenance, testing, troubleshooting and service provisioning of data and VOIP networks. Essential Job Responsibilities for Primary Functional Area of Accountability Working with management to facilitate accurate and timely implementation of new circuits, network elements and implementation of complex trunking projects.

Working with management to facilitate accurate and timely implementation of new translations.

Understanding and implementing security best practices as it relates to VoIP services.

Provisioning, turning up and troubleshooting SIP Trunks and PRI circuits.

Preforming advanced troubleshooting and problem resolution to diagnose basic and complex call routing problems in a TDM and VoIP based network.

Performing routine checks and proactive monitoring all assigned voice related servers and systems.

Performing documentation and reporting.

Train and support Wholesale Engineering staff on SIP, PRI and HPBX product development.

Become familiar with all Voice, Video and Data technologies and participate in department on-call rotation.

Assist other department team members with their duties as needed.

Provide level III support to the ImOn NOC.

Provide recommendations for and participate in the design, budget, documentation and training for all functions of this position. Requirements We're looking for someone who is: Quality: Able to maintain high standards despite pressing deadlines; establish high standards and measures; do work right the first time and inspect material for flaws; test new methods thoroughly; reinforce excellence as fundamental priority.

Customer Focus: Able to demonstrate a high level of service delivery; do what is necessary to ensure customer satisfaction; deal with service failures and prioritize customer needs.

Attention to Detail: Able to be alert in high-risk environment; follow detailed procedures and ensure accuracy in documentation and date; carefully monitor gauges, instruments, or processes; concentrate on routine work details, and organize and maintain a system of records.

Relationship Management: Able to develop a rapport with others and recognize their concerns and feelings; build and maintain long-term associations based on trust; help others.

Must be self-motivated, well organized and have the ability to work independently.

Must be adaptable to rapidly changing work environments with the ability to keep up with industry trends and technology advancements.

Must have the ability to communicate professionally while maintaining problem ownership and accountability.

Must be a team player and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. Required Experience, Training, and Special Qualifications College degree or equivalent experience plus 5 -7 years experience in telecommunications and/or networking environment is required.

Working knowledge of Metaswitch Class 5 switching, TDM multiplexing and digital access cross-connect systems.

Working knowledge of call routing, local number portability, SS7 networking and traffic management.

Ability to understand, configure and support hosted PBX lines and CPE equipment to best meet the needs of the customer.

Extensive knowledge of soft-switch technology and utilization within a telecommunications environment.

Extensive knowledge of Class 5 switch database administration and provisioning.

Proficiency with routing and charging concepts as applied to Class 5 voice switches.

Proficiency with SS7 networks and understanding of the Local Exchange Routing Guide. In addition to competitive pay, ImOn also offers health & dental insurance, 401(k), discounted Cable, Internet & Phone services, and additional perks such as FREE vision insurance, FREE life insurance as well as FREE short term/long term disability, vacation & holiday pay, and community volunteer opportunities.

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A man walks into 5th Avenue Deli and Grill on Friday in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Hiring in the United States picked up in May yet was slowed again by the struggles of many companies to find enough workers to keep up with the economys swift recovery from the pandemic recession. U.S. employers added 559,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, an improvement from Aprils sluggish increase of 278,000.
NAPPANEE [mdash] Daniel F. Chupp, 89 of Nappanee, Indiana, died at 9:46 a.m. Thursday, June 10, 2021 at Goshen General Hospital. Cremation will take place and a memorial service will be held at a later date.
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Governor Northam Urges Virginians to Prepare Now for 2021 Hurricane Season

Early predictions indicate active, above-normal Atlantic hurricane season

RICHMONDGovernor Ralph Northam is calling on all Virginians to prepare now for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which starts June 1 and lasts through November 30. The beginning of hurricane season is the ideal time for Virginians learn their risk for inland or coastal flooding, find out which evacuation zone they are in, and develop an emergency plan for their families or businesses.

Hurricanes and tropical storms can have devastating impacts on every part of our Commonwealth, not just coastal communities, said Governor Northam. As the 2021 hurricane season begins, now is the time for all Virginians to prepare for a potential storm by checking your insurance coverage, making an emergency plan, and having a disaster kit ready.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Climate Prediction Center predicts an above-normal 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, with a 70 percent likelihood of 13 to 20 named storms of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes, including 3 to 5 major hurricanes. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season had a record-breaking 30 named tropical storms, including 13 hurricanes and 6 major hurricanes. Virginia has been prone to many impacts from tropical systems including damaging winds, flooding, and tornadoes. Even storms that start in the lower Atlantic states have the potential to cause significant damage.

Hurricane preparedness is even more important today, as we have seen an increase in the number and intensity of storms in recent years, said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian J. Moran. Together with all of our emergency management and public safety partners across the Commonwealth, we have spent months preparing for hurricane season, and we encourage Virginians to make plans to protect their families and property.

Virginians are encouraged to review the Virginia Hurricane Evacuation Guide During the COVID-19 Pandemic, which includes information on preparedness, response, and recovery activities in the event of tropical weather, particularly for coastal evacuation areas of the Commonwealth. This years guide includes pandemic considerations, recognizing that COVID-19 is still circulating and there are still many unvaccinated individuals, including younger Virginians.

Disasters and emergencies dont affect everyone equally and we know that low-income and disadvantaged communities are disproportionately impacted, said Curtis Brown, State Coordinator at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. We have made significant progress building equity into Virginias emergency management programs and will continue working to support at-risk populations well in advance of any event.

Before peak storm season gets underway, all Virginians and those visiting the Commonwealth are encouraged to prepare by knowing your risk, purchasing flood insurance or reviewing your policy, and create an emergency plan that includes arrangements for your pets. Learn what to do to protect yourself, your loved ones, your property, and your community by taking these steps:

Know your zone. Evacuation may become necessary depending on the track and severity of the storm. Review Virginias evacuation zones at KnowYourZoneVA.org. It is important to note that the zone colors have been updated. Users can enter their physical address in the search bar of the website to view and confirm their designated evacuation zone.

Complete a family communication plan. Prepare for how you will assemble and communicate with your family and loved ones. Identify meeting locations and anticipate where you will go. Federal Emergency Management Agency guidance on family communications plans is available here.

Check your insurance coverage. Remember, there may be a waiting period for a flood insurance policy to become effective, and be aware that not all hurricane-related losses, such as flooding, are covered under traditional policies. Now is the time to review your coverage and contact your insurance agent for any changes. If you are not insured against floods, talk to your insurance agent or visit floodsmart.gov. If you are a renter, now is the time to ensure you have adequate coverage to protect your belongings.

Make an emergency kit. Assemble an emergency kit that includes nonperishable food, water, medication, sanitary supplies, radios, extra batteries, and important documents. Learn more about building an emergency supply kit here.

Stay informed. Identify where to go for trusted sources of information during emergencies. Check with your local emergency management office to sign up for alerts that go directly to your phone or email. Be sure to monitor local news for watches and warnings in your area and follow directions of local officials. Power outages are always a concern during weather eventsmake sure you have a battery-operated radio available so you can still receive life-saving alerts.

There are many resources available to assist with hurricane planning efforts. Learn more about preparing your business, your family, and your property against hurricane threats at vaemergency.gov/hurricanes and ready.gov/hurricanes. Additional information about preparing for hurricanes during the COVID-19 pandemic can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

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Mercedes headed to Azerbaijan with plenty of positivity, but the first day of the race weekend did not bode well. Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton finished in the middle of the pack and will have to work hard with the team to get a good qualifying result. However, Lawrence Barretto believes things will work out.

The journalist from the official website of Formula 1 saw that Toto Wolff was having a very hard time with Mercedes' performance. "He did not look like a happy man as he walked out of the garage and up to his hospitality unit after second practice  and who can blame him? Hes not used to seeing his cars one and two seconds, respectively, off the pace."

However, Barretto is confident the Germans will do better on Saturday. "Mercedes have shown time and time again that they can recover from a poor Friday, but rarely have they had to come from this far back. That said, getting into Q3 should still be no problem, and with the race pace they have  on a track where overtaking is possible  they can certainly aim for damage limitation before heading to more favourable tracks."

Verstappen at Azerbaijan GP

Red Bull Racing actually experienced an ideal start to the weekend by setting the two best times in the second free practice session.
His crash in turn fifteen of the Baku street circuit meant the end of practice for Max Verstappen. Although the driver is expected to be present at the qualifying session, the team radio just after the crash might reveal another problem for the team.

After the crash in the third free practice session, Verstappen's engineers at the pit wall advised him to drive the car back onto the track, and then try to bring it to the pit lane.

Read more Verstappen crashes into the wall, FP3 finished for the Red Bull driver

However, Verstappen notices that the car is not cooperating, and he cannot manage to put the car in reverse. "I can't use it, I can't manage it," the Dutchman reports back.

Damage

The damage to the RB16B of the Dutchman seemed to be limited to the front wing, which broke in half during the crash. However, it is possible that the suspension and gearbox were also affected by the impact, something which will give Verstappen's engineers an extra headache in their race against the clock.

Read more Will Verstappen make it into qualifying after his slide in third free practice?
Max Verstappen was unable to grab pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, instead finishing qualifying in P3, behind Charles Leclerc and title rival Lewis Hamilton. His first run was good enough for that third fastest time and he then could not improve his time thanks to incidents for Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz at turn 15. The Dutchman is disappointed with the result.

"It was just a stupid qualifying," Verstappen said in an initial reaction to his spot on the second row of the grid. "It is what it is, it is P3 after all. We have a good car. Everything worked, but it's this shit every time. It doesn't bother me. It's in Q3 again, but it's a street circuit and so these can happen."

Clearly, the 23-year-old Limburger had hoped for more. "As I said, our car is strong. Hopefully we can keep the tyres good in the race. I would have liked to have started a bit further up front, but as you see in qualifying a lot of things happen. Maybe it will happen again in the race. Let's hope for a good, trouble-free start."

Quite a duel on Sunday

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time on Saturday afternoon, with Lewis Hamilton in P2, meaning it will be quite a battle with different teams in the race."It's always good to see several racing teams up front," Verstappen concluded.
Dr Helmut Marko has reluctantly ruled out spicing up the second Austrian GP this year by reversing the layout of the Red Bull Ring.

As Formula 1 grapples with the ongoing covid pandemic, Red Bull stepped up by offering to host a second race at the circuit it owns in Styria.

To keep interest high between one race and the next, Red Bull's F1 supremo Marko asked Liberty Media if the second race could feature 'sprint qualifying' - but the sport's three-race trial for 2021 was already set.

Plan B was a reverse-direction race, which according to Auto Motor und Sport would have cost between 5 and 8 million euros in required safety modifications to turns 1 and 3.

"Together with the FIA, we created a plan of how you could drive the race in the other direction," Dr Marko said.

"There were two tricky spots. In turn 3, you brake over a crest into nowhere.

"And in the starting corner, a car could fly into the spectators without special protection. The cars would have driven downhill towards the corner at high speed," he explained.

Another problem is that the required circuit changes between the first and second race could not have been carried out in such a short amount of time.

(GMM)
Magnolia, AR (71754)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 96F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 73F. Winds light and variable.
Dr Helmut Marko has played down Mercedes' performance slump on the streets of Baku.

The reigning champions also struggled at Monaco, but neither Lewis Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas were even among the top ten in Friday practice at the Azerbaijan capital.

"We just couldn't find any grip," said chief engineer Andy Shovlin.

Bottas suspects there is "something fundamentally wrong with the car".

Told by a reporter for Iltalehti newspaper that his day appeared to be a little difficult, Bottas answered: "I don't think 'little' is the right word for this."

Hamilton, already 4 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, said: "The long runs are better, which suggests that we have a tyre problem over one lap.

"We're just too slow," the seven time world champion admitted.

Team boss Toto Wolff, meanwhile, brought the 'bendy' wing debate into the performance equation, in addition to Mercedes' difficulty with Baku's 90-degree corners.

"If your rear wing works in such a way that you get more speed out of it, then this is the optimal combination of factors to be able to fight us," he said, alluding to Red Bull's alleged advantage.

"I think qualifying here could be one of our most difficult in memory," Wolff added.

However, Red Bull is not convinced that Mercedes is really so far behind.

"They probably had some traffic on the short runs," Verstappen told Ziggo Sport. "But on the long runs they were there.

"They are definitely in this race," said the Dutchman.

Verstappen's boss Christian Horner said of Hamilton's prediction that more than the top ten is not currently possible: "Let's hope he is right."

Finally, Red Bull's Dr Marko told motorsport-magazin.com: "Mercedes was simply faster in the long runs.

"They have problems especially in the tight corners, but we assume they will solve that."

(GMM)
China-based Minmetals Group subsidiary Minmetals Salt Lake announced the successful testing of an improved direct lithium extraction process. The process, developed by Xian Lanshen New Material Technology, uses aluminum hydroxide as an adsorbent to separate lithium from other impurities.

R&D investment totalled RMB44.8 million (US$7.0 million) and a 1kt-scale pilot line started operation in April. After running consecutively for two months, the test result proved to be a success with improvements in lithium recovery rate and processing cost compared to historical processing methods, according to a Roskill report.

Minmetals Salt Lake operates the Yiliping lithium salt lake project in Qinghai province, which was commissioned in 2018 with a 10ktpy capacity of lithium carbonate. The project, located in the Tibetan Plateaus Qaidam Basin, has a mining license that will expire in 2028.

In March, Chinas Ganfeng Lithiumthe sixth-largest lithium company by production in 2019said that its board approved a plan to acquire a 49% equity interest in Yiliping for 1.47 billion Chinese yuan (US$229 million). China Minmetals will still hold a 51% controlling stake in the project.

Minmetals first adopted membrane technology provided by Jiuwu Hi-Tech, though a solar evaporation stage was still essential. The traditional solar evaporation stage normally takes 18-24 months to produce concentrated brine from which lithium may be extracted, while the direct lithium extraction technology developed shortens the extraction process to 20 days.

This technology can be applied in the initial concentration stage of processing, with membrane separation later used to extract lithium from solution, increasing current capacity without significant investment.

Roskill noted that given that China relies heavily on imported raw materials to produce lithium products, the development of domestic lithium resources is seen as the key to establish supply security and help Chinese companies remain competitive.

China has abundant brine resources located in Qinghai province, but the quality of resources with low lithium content, though high Li:Mg ratio, has impeded production. If direct lithium extraction technology can be successfully applied to Minmetals existing operation and other Minmetal Salt Lake assets in China, lithium extracted from brine would be expected to contribute a greater portion of global supply, Roskill said.
A request to refund $5,000 paid as a bid security by New Peak Construction was tabled by the Green River City Council Tuesday night as city staff determine how much the company cost the city in both staff time and public notice publications regarding two tracts of land formerly occupied by Lincoln High School.

The company originally bid $100,000 to purchase and develop the land for residential housing in 2017. However, in the following years, New Peak Construction was unable to develop the areas known as tracts B and C and have requested a refund of the $5,000. New Peak Construction is operated by Joe and Jared Killpack, who are the sons of Councilman Gary Killpack, who did not attend the meeting Tuesday night.

Questions circulated about if the city could keep the $5,000 as New Peak Construction had asked for and received extensions on its timetable to develop the two tracts, which cost the city both staff time in preparing the extensions and money through public notices published to announce the extensions. Mark Westenskow, director of public works for the city, said his department didnt have a direction as to how it should handle the request, which resulted in him bringing to the Council.

Councilwoman Sherry Bushman pushed for a penalty clause in future purchase agreements -- if a developer could not develop land within the timetable proposed, the company would forfeit the bid security. Wyoming statutes dictate that a 5% security be paid to a municipality when it sells land for development. However, George Jost disagreed with the sentiment, saying the citys precedent from has been to refund the security, saying it may hurt the city if theyre sued for the $5,000. City attorney Galen West said he is unable to determine how a court would handle the issue, saying it would likely be heard at the district-court level, adding the statutes are not clear on how the request should be handled.

When voting to table the request, Jost was the only vote opposing the motion to table.
JACKSON  New legislation spearheaded by U.S. Sen. John Barrasso proposes to do away with permit fees for small film crews and social media influencers shooting video on most federal land.

The bill introduced by Wyomings senior senator, called the Federal Interior Land Media Act, would codify a recent legal decision that led the National Park Service to suspend permit fees for low-impact filming outside wilderness areas.

While that change in policy is confined to 85 million acres of Park Service property, the law that has been pitched would prohibit charging fees on all land under the U.S. Department of Interior and Agriculture, which totals more than 520 million acres.

Barrasso told the Jackson Hole Daily that his intent is to cut red tape that burdens sponsored bloggers, social media influencers and film crews that arent larger than 10 people.

All of those folks, we dont think that they need to go through the rigmarole of getting permits and paying fees, Barrasso said. People want to share their adventures.

The potential policy shift has support in Jackson Hole circles. Wilson-based Teton Gravity Research, most famous for its ski cinematography, blogged about the legislation, writing that permitting on federal lands has never been straightforward or easy.

Up until last January, trying to obtain a film permit was either an arduous process or impossible altogether, TGRs post says. That could change with current legislation headed to the U.S. Senate floor by Senator John Barrasso.

A former high-ranking U.S. Department of the Interior official who lives on the Snake Rivers west bank is also advocating for the reform. Rob Wallace, Interiors former assistant secretary in charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Park Service, said he recently ran into some filmmakers at Lees Ferry on the Colorado River and heard their frustrations firsthand.

They were completely flummoxed on how to proceed, Wallace told the Daily. Should they go to Glen Canyon to get a permit? Should they go to the South Rim? Whats a permit cost? And they were having zero impact on the resource.

Wyoming Office of Tourism Executive Director Diane Shober also called the FILM Act a really good bill.

We live in an age when people from all walks of life can share their adventure stories in a virtual environment, Shober said in a statement disseminated by Barrassos office. The FILM Act will guarantee that the people who visit Wyomings parks and public lands can record and share their stories online and through social media without asking the government for permission.

The suspension of permit fees for small film crews on Park Service lands followed a January federal court ruling that found the fees unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a permanent injunction halting the filming requirements, saying the fees could have a chilling effect for a wide swath of visitors to national parks.

The ruling came after Gordon Price, an independent filmmaker from Yorktown, Virginia, filed a lawsuit to challenge the permitting system. The Park Service fined Price after he made a film at Yorktown Battlefield in Colonial National Historical Park without getting a permit.

Price challenged being required to pay a fee when noncommercial entities and news crews are exempt.

The precedent that was created did not extend to other classes of federal lands.

If unchanged and successful, Barrassos legislation would do that, doing away with permit fees for small crews on other federal lands in Teton County, like the Bridger-Teton National Forest and National Elk Refuge.
CASPER  Although a highly invasive and harmful mussel was unexpectedly found in aquarium decorations at Wyoming pet stores earlier this year, wildlife officials say they have not yet detected the zebra mussels in state waters.

Right now, we are negative for zebra and quagga mussels in the state, Alan Osterland, chief of fisheries for Wyomings Game and Fish Department, told the Star-Tribune.

Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon are also negative, Osterland said.

If zebra mussels were to proliferate, they would be harmful to Wyomings infrastructure, in large part by clogging up water delivery systems. And because the animals are filter feeders, they have the ability to filter out planktons that other species need to survive.

That damage wouldnt take much time.

Zebra mussels are extremely reproductive, Osterland said.

One female can lay up to 1 million eggs per year. The eggs are often microscopic, making them difficult to detect in their first year of life.

Agriculture stands to lose a lot if zebra mussels become established in the state of Wyoming, Doug Miyamoto, director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, told lawmakers at a recent Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee meeting.

In early March, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department announced it had detected Zebra mussels in decorative marimo balls or moss balls at four Wyoming pet stores.

The discovery surprised wildlife officials, who for years have worked to keep the invasive species out of Wyoming waters through boat inspections.

Officials worry the mussels could end up in Wyoming waters or treatment systems when an aquarium owner disposes of tank water.

The moss balls are no longer sold at pet stores in Wyoming, but other aquatic and semiaquatic plants are. If the plants that are still sold in pet stores are shipping internationally, they will be inspected at the ports for any foreign bodies.

So far we dont have any indication that weve identified zebra mussels in connection with other nursery stock type products in the state, Miyamoto said.

The online sales of the moss balls are also highly limited because of the threat of zebra mussels, which has given rise to what Miyamoto called a black market.

Theyre so popular that they are being sold in underground markets, Brian Nesvik, director of the Wyoming Game and Fish department, said in the same committee meeting.

Because people often dispose of their aquarium water through drains, Game and Fish and the Department of Agriculture are monitoring sewer systems for proliferation of the invasive species.

So far, there is no evidence of the mussel in the wastewater treatment systems, but theres also no evidence to suggest that the mussel is unable to survive in the system.

In the case of this situation with the moss balls, if we get a positive on a wastewater facility, it would mean we would ramp up monitoring at that facility, Osterland said in an email.

One way these departments monitor and test water is through environmental DNA technology (eDNA). The highly sensitive tool can be utilized in flowing and standing water to detect whether or not a certain species is present.

In fact, the technology is so sensitive that it may produce a positive result even if the species is dead. If that were to occur, follow up testing would ensue.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Wyoming Department of Agricultures efforts go beyond testing. Boats and other watercraft have to go through mandatory inspection and possible sanitization before entering Wyomings waterways, particularly if the watercraft came from out of state. Once the boat is inspected, people receive a receipt as proof of inspection.

Failing to get your boat inspected can result in citations and possible jail time if you are a repeat offender.

In 2020, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department documented 226 people who failed to stop at aquatic invasive species checkpoints. About half of these people were given warnings and half were given citations, according to Richard King, chief of Game and Fish.

I believe we have a solid set of regulatory hurdles in place to prevent the transfer of what we know so far about zebra mussels and their pathways. Our state will have to remain vigilant to prevent future importation of these mussels, Miyamoto said.

Wyoming has also made a concerted effort to raise public awareness through emails, press releases, reward programs, signage and more.

One thing Im reasonably confident about is that most folks know about this, Nesvik said.

If zebra mussels do establish themselves in a body of water, the next best step is containment.

Once theyre there, once theyre established, once theres enough infestation in the water, youre not getting them out of there, Osterland said.
Wyomings Covid-19 vaccination rate remains among the lowest in the nation, yet the state has declined to set quantifiable goals, offer incentives or otherwise modify its approach to address the underperformance.

Almost half of the national population has received at least one Covid-19 vaccination shot, with just less than 40% being fully vaccinated. The highest vaccination rates in the nation are in the northeast and New England. Vermont, the second least populous state behind Wyoming, is approaching its goal of vaccinating 80% of the population before the governor lifts all Covid-19 restrictions. As of May 24, only 28.6% of Wyomingites were fully vaccinated.

The rates vary in Wyomings 26 counties, with the lowest, Campbell County, at 15.9%. The highest rate is in Teton County with 58.6% of its population vaccinated as of May 26.

There are a lot of reasons for that disparity, Kim Deti, spokesperson for the Wyoming Department of Health, said. One of the most difficult obstacles, Deti said, is the politicization of Covid-19.

Its unfortunate, but its a reality that we do face, Deti said.

Even taking the position that people should get vaccinated has political consequences, Sen. Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) said. Overall, Rothfuss said Wyoming has come up short in encouraging its residents to be vaccinated.

It would be nice if there was a common uniform message from the executive branch, from the Legislature, from all of the government agencies across the state, Rothfuss said. Ive been disappointed in our efforts, in our messaging.

The executive branch has said consistently that the vaccine is safe and effective, but also that it is a personal health decision whether to receive it.

Other elected officials, such as Sen. Troy McKeown (R-Gillette), believe the low vaccination rate is not a problem. For McKeown, who said he has no plans to be vaccinated against Covid-19, inconsistent messaging from the federal government makes it an unreliable source of information regarding the Covid-19 vaccine.

I dont know the exact effectiveness of the vaccine, and I believe nobody does, McKeown said. I think its still yet to be determined.

The Covid-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of clinical trials, meeting rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness and approval for emergency use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 285 million doses were administered between December 14 and May 24, rarely resulting in any serious safety problems.

A recent national survey from the Surgo Foundation found that Wyoming has the third-highest proportion of Covid-19 skeptics in the nation. The health department has done what it can to make sure accurate information is available and to encourage participation, Deti said.

At the basic level it is a personal choice, but it does affect more than you and your own personal health, she said.

In the current environment, Rothfuss said, there are difficulties in convincing people that it is the right thing for a community to decide to be vaccinated.

Its hard to undo the many months of inaccurate messaging or less than accurate messaging that weve put forward so far, he said.

Deti said it is the goal of Wyomings state government to have as many people vaccinated as possible, but that establishing a goal with policy implications has never been part of the plan.

We want everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated because what our goal is is to keep people from getting ill, and to particularly prevent those hospitalizations and serious illnesses, and the deaths, she said.

As of May 26, Wyoming has seen 719 deaths related to Covid-19, 50,556 confirmed cases and 9,405 probable cases of the disease. Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in Wyoming in 2020, behind only heart disease and cancer.

In looking to increase their Covid-19 vaccination rates, some states, such as Ohio, are offering cash incentives. (An official from the Ohio Department of Health declined to be interviewed for this report.)

The federal government recently gave the OK to states to use money from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan relief package for cash incentive programs.

For Wyoming, incentives are being considered, but that remains in the idea stage.

There have been preliminary discussions about incentive programs, but (we) havent identified any specific ideas yet, Michael Pearlman, Gov. Mark Gordons communication director, said in an email.

McKeown, one of the Wyoming Senates more conservative members, said offering incentives would in fact compromise personal choice.

Its the government bribing people to take a shot when it should be their choice, McKeown said. They should educate themselves and figure out whether they need it or not, or whether they believe in it or not.

Teton County has set a goal of vaccinating 80% of its population by July 4. Jodie Pond, the countys director of health, said theres been a high level of interest in being vaccinated. But to help meet that goal, Pond said, Teton County is partnering with the private sector to offer incentives such as jackets and hotel gift cards. At this point, no public funds are being spent on those incentives.

We know theres been interest in other parts of the country where theyve done raffles, Pond said. We dont have what Ohio did, but weve got some great prizes coming.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
Last week, we reported on Western Wyoming Community College trustee Carla Hester-Croffs resignation following her claims of the college administration not being transparent and her concerns about a proposed board policy expanding on how a trustee could be removed from the board.

While our interactions with the college have shown its board of trustees and administration to work towards maintain a transparent relationship, we believe the proposed policy should have some changes made before it is adopted by the board of trustees.

We applaud the move to identify situations where a trustee should be removed. A string of absences without notifying the President of the board, is inexcusable in any circumstance. Similarly, identifying situations where a trustee is convicted of either two misdemeanor charges or a single felony charge as grounds for removal is something to be lauded as these elected positions are positions of trust and those elected to represent the public should be held to a higher standard.

What should change are situations involved with the complaint system the policy creates. As written, the policy allows for trustees, college employees and residents of the college district to file a complaint against a trustee with the board President or Westerns President, which would then start a process where a hearing is scheduled and the compliant heard by a committee of trustees. That committee would then write a recommendation regarding the trustee in question, which the board could then act on by removing that trustee with a two-thirds vote.

First, we dont think the colleges President should be involved in this process as the board of trustees are the people who oversee that position, allowing an employee to hear complaints about their immediate supervisors.

This is easily remedied as a drop box the board President has sole access to could be used to deliver a complaint about a trustee.

Additionally, two of the three groups should not be included in this complaint system, with language allowing trustees and residents the opportunity to file complaints removed from the policy. With trustees, we see a situation where a bloc of trustees could manipulate the system to remove unpopular trustees as a means of solidifying its power on the board. Politics can be messy, even for nonpartisan groups like the WWCC Board of Trustees. Removing that clause would protect trustees who may have unpopular views regarding the direction of the college.

For residents, they already have a means of replacing trustees -- the election process. The policy, even with the omissions we propose, give the board a tremendous amount reach when determining if a trustee should be removed -- especially with the language allowing removal for other cause for which the Board finds to be just cause.

If people are upset with a trustee over their representation on the board or for any other reason, trustees will face opponents in their re-election bids. If voters dont like how the board or trustee is performing their duties, the incumbents will not be re-elected. That is the political process as it is supposed to work.

However, we dont think the system should be scrapped completely and believe college employees should have the ability for file complaints against trustees. Over the years, we have heard of situations with some elected officials where they allegedly give government employees direction outside of the established chain of command. Those employees never go on the record for the obvious fear of losing their jobs, but weve become convinced it does happen. This and other employee-trustee situations could be addressed through the proposed complaint system.
Madelyn Thomas reads her Patriot's Pen essay on what patriotism means to her at Riverview Cemetery Monday morning as part of the services hosted by the American Legion and the VFW. Thomas' essay placed 11th at the national Patriot's Pen competition.

Monday morning, a 12-year-old Lincoln Middle School student shared what patriotism means to her before a group of veterans and residents assembled to pay their respects on Memorial Day.

The essay Madelyn Thomas wrote resonated with judges, earning first place in state and district contests and placing 11th nationally. For Thomas, finding out the essay was so well-regarded was a surprise.

"It was kind of shocking," she recalls.

Her grandfather texted her while she was in class with the news.

The Thomas family are no strangers to the contest, which is hosted by the VFW, with each post hosting their own contest and sending winners to larger competitions. Courtney Thomas, Madelyn's mother, said she and her husband, a Navy veteran, had to stop judging the contest because Madelyn had entered. For Madelyn, the decision to enter came after talking with her neighbors, members of VFW Post 2321.

While most children struggle with knowing what they want to be when they grow up, Madelyn's mind is already set -- she wants to be a teacher at Truman Elementary School.

"I loved being a student there and I have a lot of memories there," she said.

What is Patriotism to me?

By Madelyn Thomas

Patriotism is important because it brings people together, and you can unite people from different backgrounds. Patriotism is also important because it puts other people's needs above your own. It shows support for those who have served and are serving our country, and it makes your community a better place to live

Patriotism to me is showing appreciation to my country, respecting its traditions, honoring its laws, and loving your country even if it's going through good time or bad ones. I show appreciation to my country by honoring our veterans and showing respect to our elected officials. I show my appreciation to my community by being a good citizen, helping at events, showing respect to our neighbors, and keeping our community safe and clean for others.

Patriotism to me is also volunteering your time to help others, honoring our county's flag, lending a hand to veterans and soldiers, and honoring the fallen soldiers and treating them with respect. Patriotism is also supporting our economy and small businesses, being responsible for what you say about leaders and government officials, voting, and paying your taxes.

I also believe that patriotism means to honor other' opinions, be kind to others, and to try to make the world a better place. Patriotism is sticking with your country no matter what, recognizing what your country and community needs, and meeting those need to your best ability. Patriotism is showing devotion to your country and loving it, no matter what, even if it is going through tough times, or is just living the dream.

Patriotism is being proud of your country, knowing proper etiquette when you sing your country's national anthem, and learning and understanding the meaning of our country's Pledge of Allegiance. Patriotism is learning how to treat your country's flag, and how to fly it correctly.

Patriotism to me is helping the VFW pack Christmas boxes for the troops overseas, and making Christmas cards for them. Patriotism is lending a hand with Citywide Cleanup, serving dinner at the senior center, and packing shoeboxes to send to the children who can't afford presents.

In conclusion, everyone should do their part to be the best patriot they can be and love their country. Thanks to patriotism, veterans are recognized for all they do to serve our country, and we can make our community a better place to live!
Greensburg, IN (47240)

Today

Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low near 60F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
3 1 of 3 Sarah Page Kyrcz / Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed / Sal LoBalbo Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Scene This is Us star Justin Hartley and his wife, Sofia Pernas, his former co-star on The Young and the Restless, were seen at Eastend restaurant on Greenwich Avenue on May 27, eating dinner and chatting with Sal LoBalbo of LoBalbo Auto Body in Stamford. Hartley, who is in the area to film The Noel Diary for Netflix, was also seen there on Thursday night. Netflix is also making The Good Nurse in the area with actors Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne.

Out there Miku Sushi and the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation are partnering in June to raise money and awareness for its FISLL Project. which promotes faith, integrity, sacrifice, leadership and legacy. Mikus chef developed a special menu to promote the youth empowerment initiative, and 100 percent of the proceeds from sales this month will benefit the foundation. Since its creation in 2001, the foundation has helped thousands of participants in programs that promote youth mentoring, responsible fatherhood and entrepreneurship. For more info, visit www.mikugreenwich.com.
Richard Drew/AP

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo, the daughter of New York's governor, used a social media post Thursday to share her queer identity and call for allies to speak up against homophobia.

To those who are contending with the compulsive heterosexuality our society force feeds us and innate attraction beyond cis het folks, please know that you are not alone, the 23-year-old wrote on Instagram. Today, I stand in my queer identity with pride, and in memory of those who came before me. I stand indebted to the activists who fought for my right to love and happiness.
WEST HAVEN  Police have charged former councilwoman and bakery owner Louise Martone and her husband with crimes related to selling drugs out of the eatery after a months-long investigation.

Sgt. Patrick Buturla said the departments street crime unit launched an investigation into prescription oxycodone pills being illegally sold from Louises Homemade Food and Baked Goods  a bakery located at 4 Ocean Avenue  in December 2020.

The months-long investigation revealed that the owner, Louise Martone, age 52, and her husband, Ronald Martone, age 60, were selling these Oxycodone pills from the business, he said in a statement.

Louise Martone is a former West Haven councilwoman who was head of the finance committee until she a lost re-election in 2019. When she opened her dual deli-bakery in 2015, she was hailed by West Haveners for bringing Italian pastries to the area, which before people would have traveled to New Haven for.

Police said they obtained warrants for the arrests of both Louise and Robert Martone, as well as a search warrant for the bakery at the end of the investigation, which were executed on June 4.

A search of the business revealed numerous items of evidentiary value to include Oxycodone pills and cash, Buturla said.

Louise Martone was taken into custody without incident and charged with four counts of selling narcotics, four counts of the illegal sale of prescription drugs, according to police. She was also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sale of narcotics and one count of conspiring to illegally sell prescription drugs, police said.

Ronald Martone turned himself in later, according to Buturla. He was charged with one count of conspiring to sell narcotics and another count of conspiring to illegally sell prescription drugs, Buturla added.
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MIAMI (AP)  Royal Caribbean International said Friday that eight of its ships will resume U.S. voyages in July and August with trips leaving ports in Florida, Texas and Washington state.

The cruise line said all crew members will be vaccinated against COVID-19. Passengers 16 and older on cruises to Alaska will also be required to be vaccinated. The requirement will be expanded to cover Alaska-bound passengers 12 and over starting Aug. 1.

For other trips passing through U.S. water, Royal Caribbean said that passengers are strongly recommended to get vaccinated. Unvaccinated passengers must be tested for the virus and follow other measures that will be announced later, the company said.

Royal Caribbean said that its first U.S. sailing since March 2020 will leave Miami on July 2 on the Freedom of the Seas.

The company said that over the following six weeks, five other ships will sail the Caribbean after leaving from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral, Florida, and Galveston, Texas. Two ships will sail from Seattle to Alaska.

Royal Caribbean, which is headquartered in Miami but registers its ships in other countries, plans to have 12 ships operating worldwide by the end of August. Those include ships sailing from the United Kingdom, Europe and the Bahamas.

In the U.S., cruise companies are still talking with federal, state and local officials about health measures and trial sailings. Royal Caribbean plans trial voyages starting later this month. Those pilot trips are required before cruise lines can operate regular sailings with less than 95% of passengers being vaccinated.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials this week said that a Florida lawsuit against the federal government over conditions for cruise lines to resume sailing could threaten plans to restart cruising in Alaska.
GREENWICH - Sacred Heart Greenwich's 75 graduating seniors gathered outside on the lawn of the school's campus Friday afternoon for an outdoor commencement ceremony.

Andrea Sanford, a 2007 graduate of the school and a vice president at Bank of New York Mellon, delivered the commencement address. Isabel DeVita, a Darien native, gave the valedictory address and Piper Gilbert, a Greenwich native, gave the salutatory address.

The students at the all-girls independent day school wore their traditional long, white dresses and carried small bouquets of pink flowers for the ceremony.

Despite a year of uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sacred Heart students and their families were able to gather in person for both commencement and the annual Baccalaureate Mass, celebrated by the Rev. Tom Collins, at the Roman Catholic school.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586




Haiti - FLASH : The Covid could force the postponement of the referendum and the elections





Friday June 4, 2021, in press release #10, Guilande Mesavieu, President of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) informs that the calendar of activities relating to the constitutional referendum (June 27) and the combined elections of September 26 (municipal, local, legislative and presidential elections of 2021) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33857-haiti-politic-referendum-elections-revised-calendar-official.html could be modified following the alarming increase in cases of Covid-19 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33894-haiti-flash-very-heavy-toll-in-may.html



While reiterating its determination to accomplish its mission in complete independence, in a credible, honest and transparent manner, the CEP awaits the evaluation of the health authorities and technical opinions in order to contribute to the protection of the population and continue to work for the carrying out referendum and electoral operations



Recall that on the same Friday the former co-president of the multisectoral coronavirus management commission, Dr. William Pape urged the Executive to cancel the referendum. According to Dr. Pape, the division caused by this file within Haitian society compromises the awareness campaign around Covid-19. Stating that this position is not political and that he continues to advocate vaccination to protect the population against the pandemic.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33894-haiti-flash-very-heavy-toll-in-may.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33857-haiti-politic-referendum-elections-revised-calendar-official.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





An Italian engineer kidnapped in Port-au-Prince

Retired Italian engineer Giovanni Cali (74) was kidnapped this week by unidentified gunmen while inspecting road construction for Italian construction company Bonifica Spa. The kidnappers demand $500,000 for his release and the same for his collaborator.



95 Haitian migrants repatriated from the Bahamas

On Friday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM-Haiti) and the National Migration Office supported 95 Haitian migrants repatriated from the Bahamas by providing them with food, hygiene kits, psychosocial support and medical assistance as cases of Covid-19 continue to increase in Haiti. Assistance made possible thanks to the support of ECHO, the Directorate General in charge of humanitarian aid and civil protection of the European Union.



Words of sympathy from the UNiQ

Following the death of Professor Louis Delima Chery https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-33895-icihaiti-obituary-passing-of-professor-louis-delima-chery.html Dean at Quisqueya University (UniQ), Jacky Lumarque Rector of UniQ presents in his name and that of UNiQ "[...] to Lunise, his lifelong companion, to his four daughters all trained in Quisqueya, to his sons-in-law, to his relatives, to his friends, to his colleagues, to the entire Inspection Generale team, and to the community of Dondon, my deepest sympathies."



Professional blind massage therapists

"I was happy to share alongside Ms. Fenzie Jean the Director of Source de Sante (SOSA), on the issue of clientele in entrepreneurship and professional ethics with students [blind people] soon to be professional massage therapists graduates in within the framework of the Project Promotion of the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Social Protection and Employment Programs carried out by the Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities, financed by the World Bank with a trust fund from Japan," informed Soinette Desir, Secretary of State for the Integration of People with Disabilities.



Cooperation with East Timor

The Ambassador of Haiti accredited to Japan, Helph Monod Honorat received a courtesy visit from the Ambassador of East Timor, Ilidio Ximenes da Costa. The two diplomats discussed the various opportunities for bilateral cooperation, particularly in academic fields and university research with Japan.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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During our national search, we looked for health care leaders with the knowledge to further the work we have been doing to give people convenient access to care, an unsurpassed experience when they are at LVHN, and health care value, LVHN President and CEO Brian Nester said. John and Liv have that skill set, and their personal values perfectly align with our health networks values. We are excited to welcome them to the LVHN family.
Published on 2021/06/05 | Source

Korean movie "We Grow Up" added to HanCinema database



"We Grow Up" (2021)



Directed by Choi Won-Sub



With Kwon Sang-woo, Moon Chae-won,...



Synopsis

"We Grow Up" is a remake of the Argentinian film No Kids and follows a single father who has to keep his daughter a secret from his first love from high school, who he meets again by chance, but who he discovers has no interest in dating anyone with children.



Release date in Korea : 2021
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During the past year, we have experienced challenging market conditions as the near-term market in North America has been influenced by consolidation, leading to a reduction of the blade manufacturing footprint in North America as well as reduced production at the continuing locations, read a May 25 memo to the companys employees and vendors that was reviewed by The Morning Call.
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Huntington, WV (25701)

Today

Foggy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 87F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.
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Menu highlights include appetizers such as cheese quesadillas, house-cut Jersey disco fries and Pocono Pickle Guy fried pickles; sandwiches like corned beef and Swiss on rye, pork roll and cheese on a Kaiser roll and a classic BLT with Nellos bacon; and 4-ounce Pennsylvania beef burgers such as the top of the hill (two grilled beef burgers on a griddled cheese sandwich with cheddar and American cheese, pickles, bacon, tomato and garlic aioli).
Anderson, IN (46016)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

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Clear skies. Low around 60F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Seven to nine vehicles were involved in the 5:24 p.m. crash on Route 22 East, near the Route 33 South exit. Eastbound traffic was diverted at Route 191 until the lanes were reopened at 7:20 p.m., dispatchers said.
Uniontown, PA (15401)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning with thunderstorms becoming likely this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Alabama 159,136 Alabama residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 159,136 Alabama residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Alabama's uninsured rate fell from 13.6 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 9.7 percent as of 2019. However, Alabama has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 240,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Alaska 80,319 Alaska residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 16,780 Alaska residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 63,539 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Alaska's uninsured rate fell from 18.5 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 12.2 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Arizona 308,233 Arizona residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 143,964 Arizona residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 164,269 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Arizona's uninsured rate fell from 17.1 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 11.3 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Arkansas 366,755 Arkansas residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 60,258 Arkansas residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 306,497 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Arkansas's uninsured rate fell from 16 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 9.1 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

California California cuts its uninsured rate by more than half, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 1,583,781 California residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 4,074,553 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. That totals to 5,658,334 California residents that gained access to health coverage. California's uninsured rate fell from 17.2 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 7.7 percent as of 2019. California is one of seven states that have reduced their uninsured rate by at least half through enrollment in Marketplace coverage and expansion of Medicaid to adult populations. Read the full brief.

Colorado 640,717 Colorado residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 161,342 Colorado residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 479,375 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Colorado's uninsured rate fell from 14.1 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 8 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Connecticut 375,539 Connecticut residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 95,213 Connecticut residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 280,326 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Connecticut's uninsured rate fell from 9.4 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 5.9 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Delaware 34,883 Delaware residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 23,889 Delaware residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 10,994 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Delaware's uninsured rate fell from 9.1 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6.6 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

District of Columbia 88,678 District of Columbia residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 15,822 District of Columbia residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 72,856 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. The District of Columbia's uninsured rate fell from 6.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 3.5 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Florida 2,018,631 Florida residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 2,018,631 Florida residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Furthermore, Florida's uninsured rate fell from 20 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 13.2 percent as of 2019. However, Florida has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 796,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Georgia 482,350 Georgia residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 482,350 Georgia residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Georgia's uninsured rate fell from 18.8 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 13.4 percent as of 2019. However, Georgia has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 445,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Hawaii 45,060 Hawaii residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 20,191 Hawaii residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 24,869 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Hawaii's uninsured rate fell from 6.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 4.2 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Idaho 156,355 Idaho residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 66,422 Idaho residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 89,933 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Idaho's uninsured rate fell from 16.2 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 10.8 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Illinois 974,572 Illinois residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 270,823 Illinois residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 703,749 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Illinois's uninsured rate fell from 12.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 7.4 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Indiana 572,729 Indiana residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 124,979 Indiana residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 447,750 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Indiana's uninsured rate fell from 14 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 8.7 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Iowa 232,637 Iowa residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 54,820 Iowa residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 177,817 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thank to the ACA. Iowa's uninsured rate fell from 8.1 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 5 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Kansas 82,971 Kansas residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 82,971 Kansas residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Kansas's uninsured rate fell from 12.3 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 9.2 percent as of 2019. However, Kansas has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 57,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Kentucky Kentucky cuts its uninsured rate by more than half, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 70,680 Kentucky residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 612,712 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. That totals to 683,392 Kentucky residents that gained access to health coverage. Kentucky's uninsured rate fell from 14.3 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6.4 percent as of 2019. Kentucky is one of seven states that have reduced their uninsured rate by at least half through enrollment in Marketplace coverage and expansion of Medicaid to adult populations. Read the full brief.

Louisiana 674,878 Louisiana residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 76,289 Louisiana residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 598,589 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Louisiana's uninsured rate fell from 16.6 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 8.9 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Maine 113,305 Maine residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 55,502 Maine residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 57,803 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Maine's uninsured rate fell from 11.2 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 8 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Maryland 521,630 Maryland residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 154,815 Maryland residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 366,815 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Maryland's uninsured rate fell from 10.2 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Massachusetts 259,677 Massachusetts residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 259,677 Massachusetts residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage thanks to the ACA. Massachusetts's uninsured rate fell from 3.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 3 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Michigan 1,059,421 Michigan residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 249,353 Michigan residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 810,068 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Michigan's uninsured rate fell from 11 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 5.8 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Minnesota 335,787 Minnesota residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 106,138 Minnesota residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 229,649 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Minnesota's uninsured rate fell from 8.2 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 4.9 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Mississippi 99,897 Mississippi residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 99,897 Mississippi residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Mississippi's uninsured rate fell from 17.1 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 13 percent as of 2019. However, Mississippi has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 189,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Missouri 200,588 Missouri Mississippi residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 200,588 Missouri residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Missouri's uninsured rate fell from 13 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 10 percent as of 2019. However, Missouri has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 204,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Montana 142,327 Montana residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 41,842 Montana residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 100,485 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Montana's uninsured rate fell from 16.5 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 8.3 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Nebraska 111,213 Nebraska residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 83,275 Nebraska residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 27,938 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Nebraska's uninsured rate fell from 11.3 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 8.3 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Nevada 355,412 Nevada residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 79,976 Nevada residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 275,436 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Nevada's uninsured rate fell from 20.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 11.4 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

New Hampshire 114,042 New Hampshire residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 44,228 New Hampshire residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 69,814 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. New Hampshire's uninsured rate fell from 10.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6.3 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

New Jersey 880,345 New Jersey residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 257,819 New Jersey residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 622,526 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. New Jersey's uninsured rate fell from 13.2 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 7.9 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

New Mexico 324,479 New Mexico residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 38,922 New Mexico residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 285,557 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. New Mexico's uninsured rate fell from 18.6 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 10 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

New York New York cuts its uninsured rate by more than half, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 197,083 New York residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 395,785 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. That totals to 592,868 New York residents that gained access to health coverage. New York's uninsured rate fell from 10.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 5.2 percent as of 2019. New York is one of seven states that have reduced their uninsured rate by at least half through enrollment in Marketplace coverage and expansion of Medicaid to adult populations. Read the full brief.

North Carolina 501,252 North Carolina residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 501,252 North Carolina residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. North Carolina's uninsured rate fell from 15.6 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 11.3 percent as of 2019. However, North Carolina has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 328,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

North Dakota 44,686 North Dakota residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 21,822 North Dakota residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 22,864 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. North Dakota's uninsured rate fell from 10.4 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6.9 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Ohio 749,604 Ohio residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 187,869 Ohio residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 561,735 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Ohio's uninsured rate fell from 11 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6.6 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Oklahoma 161,639 Oklahoma residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 161,639 Oklahoma residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Oklahoma's uninsured rate fell from 17.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 14.3 percent as of 2019. Oklahoma has recently expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 190,000 uninsured adults will become newly eligible for Medicaid. Read the full brief.

Oregon Oregon cuts its uninsured rate by more than half, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 129,436 Oregon residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 490,690 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. That totals to 620,126 Oregon residents that gained access to health coverage. Oregon's uninsured rate fell from 14.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 7.2 percent as of 2019. Oregon is one of seven states that have reduced their uninsured rate by at least half through enrollment in Marketplace coverage and expansion of Medicaid to adult populations. Read the full brief.

Pennsylvania 1,229,222 Pennsylvania residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 315,334 Pennsylvania residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 913,888 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Pennsylvania's uninsured rate fell from 9.7 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 5.8 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Rhode Island Rhode Island cuts its uninsured rate by more than half, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 30,670 Rhode Island residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 82,223 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. That totals to 112,893 Rhode Island residents that gained access to health coverage. Rhode Island's uninsured rate fell from 11.6 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 4.1 percent as of 2019. Rhode Island is one of seven states that have reduced their uninsured rate by at least half through enrollment in Marketplace coverage and expansion of Medicaid to adult populations. Read the full brief.

South Carolina 217,292 South Carolina residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 217,292 South Carolina residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. South Carolina's uninsured rate fell from 15.8 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 10.8 percent as of 2019. However, South Carolina has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 136,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

South Dakota 29,974 South Dakota residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 29,974 South Dakota residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. South Dakota's uninsured rate fell from 11.3 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 10.2 percent as of 2019. However, South Dakota has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 23,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Tennessee 196,626 Tennessee residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 196,626 Tennessee residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Tennessee's uninsured rate fell from 13.9 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 10.1 percent as of 2019. However, Tennessee has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 179,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Texas 1,210,431 Texas residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 1,210,431 Texas residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Texas's uninsured rate fell from 22.1 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 18.4 percent as of 2019. However, Texas has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 1,378,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.

Utah 276,674 Utah residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 198,037 Utah residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 78,637 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Utah's uninsured rate fell from 14 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 9.7 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Vermont 23,700 Vermont residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 23,700 Vermont residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage thanks to the ACA. Vermont's uninsured rate fell from 7.2 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 4.5 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Virginia 692,277 Virginia residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 198,037 Virginia residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 494,240 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. Virginia's uninsured rate fell from 12.3 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 7.9 percent as of 2019. Read the full brief.

Washington Washington cuts its uninsured rate by more than half, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 202,546 Washington residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 662,676 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. That totals to 865,222 Washington residents that gained access to health coverage. Washington's uninsured rate fell from 14 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6.6 percent as of 2019. Washington is one of seven states that have reduced their uninsured rate by at least half through enrollment in Marketplace coverage and expansion of Medicaid to adult populations. Read the full brief.

West Virginia West Virginia cuts its uninsured rate by more than half, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 17,217 West Virginia residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage and according December 2020 data, 193,341 were newly eligible enrollees in Medicaid coverage thanks to the ACA. That totals to 210,558 West Virginia residents that gained access to health coverage. West Virginia's uninsured rate fell from 14 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 6.7 percent as of 2019. West Virginia is one of seven states that have reduced their uninsured rate by at least half through enrollment in Marketplace coverage and expansion of Medicaid to adult populations. Read the full brief.

Wisconsin 202,546 Wisconsin residents have gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act. As of February 2021, 202,546 Wisconsin residents were enrolled in Marketplace coverage. Wisconsin's uninsured rate fell from 9.1 percent in 2013 before the ACA to 5.7 percent as of 2019. However, Wisconsin has not yet expanded Medicaid under the ACA. HHS estimates that 31,000 uninsured adults would become newly eligible for Medicaid in the state if it were to expand eligibility to 138% of the federal poverty level. Read the full brief.
FILE - In this May 13, 2006, file photo, is a desert tortoise in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve east of Leeds, Utah. A coalition of conservation groups on Friday, June 4, 2021, sued the U.S. government over the Trump administrations decision to allow construction of a new four-lane highway through the national conservation area in southern Utah that includes protected habitat for the Mojave desert tortoise.
According to state police at Dublin, two cars, each with two passengers, were involved in the accident, which happened on Mountainview Drive at about 11:40 p.m. Both passengers of one car  a 25-year-old man from Ottsville, Bucks County, and the 26-year-old from Quakertown  died. One passenger in the other  a 24-year-old Rockaway, New Jersey, woman  died.
Former President Donald Trump's accounts will be banned for two years, Facebook announced Friday. The suspension started in January was extended after a determination that Trump incited violence ahead of the fatal Capitol insurgency.

The ban will end in early 2023, and Trump's accounts can resume operations. According to NZ Herald, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, wrote in a blog post, "Experts will be consulted to determine if the threat to public safety has subsided. External considerations, such as acts of violence, ban on peaceful assembly, and other indicators of social disturbance, will be assessed."

Trump calls Facebook's suspension an insult

Donald Trump said Facebook's action is an insult. Politicians have turned to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to get their messages out and earn small-dollar donations. The former president might be at a severe disadvantage from other candidates if he does not have the megaphone of Twitter and the targeted fundraising pitches that his campaign mastered on Facebook.

However, the blog he created with great fanfare earlier this year was shut down after less than a month, indicating how tough his present circumstances are for him. Trump's ban on Facebook effectively implies that his account is inactive.

Others can read and comment on previous postings, but Trump and other account administrators are unable to make new entries. On the other hand, he has been permanently banned from Twitter, with no record of his account remaining.

Mark Zuckerberg requests dinner with Trump at White House

Trump added jokingly in a statement that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg used to seek dinners at the White House. According to the former president, there would be no more of those in the future.

"At his request, there will be no more dinners with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife the next time I'm at the White House. It'll be all about business," Trump said, as per The Sun.

Fans are hopeful that Trump's remark of the "next time" he will be in the White House meant he intends to seek reelection in 2024, as he has hinted at it on multiple occasions. His remark comes after an earlier statement in which he chastised Facebook for extending his suspension until 2023.

Facebook announced theyre suspending Donald Trump for two years.



When will they be suspending the left wing groups that actually promoted violence all last summer?



RT if you agree  Time for big changes at Big Tech.  Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) June 4, 2021

Trump's long-time supporters seemed to agree. "Big changes at Big Tech," according to House Republican Whip Steve Scalise. Meanwhile, Facebook announced that Trump's account will be resurrected in January 2023, after experts determine if the risk to public safety has subsided.

Read Also: Meatpacking Giant JBS Believes Russia Behind Cyber Attack; Price Hike, Shortages in Beef Feared

The Facebook suspension will limit Trump's funding for Republican candidates

The extended suspension is putting a stop to his ability to raise donations for any Republicans he backs in the 2022 midterm elections via social media. Trump will be reinstated on January 7, 2023, ahead of the 2024 presidential race but not in time for the midterm elections, according to the company.

Since the day of the tragic riot at the Capitol on January 6, Trump has remained off the platform. Bret Jacobson, president of conservative digital advocacy group Red Edge, said, Republican candidates, will have to become creative in their fundraising efforts rather than depending on Trump's social media skill.

Per USA Today, Trump has turned to tweet-like one-liner statements and fundraising emails to get his message out after being banned from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, while networks like One America News Network have carried his torch. Trump previously had a website where he issued written remarks, but it was shut down this week due to low viewership.

The former president may struggle to successfully transmit his message to a broad audience without a presence on popular social media networks, which was a significant aspect in his political rise and election to the presidency the last time around. Trump was more recognized for his Twitter activities, but he utilized Facebook to raise money and communicate his message for the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.

Related Article: Trump to Return to Social Media With 'Own Platform' in 2-3 months



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Thousands of pages of emails sent and received by Anthony Fauci at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were revealed this week thanks to Freedom of Information Act requests. The emails provide an intimate peek at the hectic work life of the prominent infectious diseases expert in the early months of the pandemic.

When COVID-19 initially began to radically impact the US society last year, Fauci engaged with fellow authorities, colleagues, scientists, and worried Americans, according to the emails. The following are some of the most important takeaways from the emails:

Trump administration did not restrict Fauci

Several queries were posed to the nation's top infectious diseases expert, including if he was being silenced by former President Donald Trump or his administration, from medical experts and a columnist. Fauci, on the other hand, refuted any claim that the administration was limiting what he might say to the public.

Mark Shlomchik, the chair of the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Immunology, sent an email to Fauci in early March 2020 pushing him to refute allegations that he was being silenced publicly after Shlomchik established that they were not accurate. Fauci became a trusted voice in the administration as head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). But he occasionally fought with Trump and other officials, raising fears that the recognized expert might be ordered to remain silent, as per The Hill.

Experts are concerned that COVID-19 could 'look engineered'

The Scripps Research Institute's director, Kristian G. Andersen, wrote to Fauci on January 31, 2020, saying that some of the SARS-traits CoV-2's may be created. Andersen pointed out that the virus's "unique traits" only made up a small portion of its DNA.

Andersen and his colleagues then published a paper in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine in which they said that no laboratory-based scenario is realistic. However, more scientific data might tip the balance of evidence to favor one explanation over another, according to the article.

Read Also: COVID-19 Origins Probe: WHO Reviews Research on When Coronavirus Entered Italy, Indicates Experts Track Down Virus Outside China

Initial predictions, advice shows COVID-19 understanding

The NIAID director's emails show that early in the pandemic, his expectations, projections, and advice did not always match up with current data and suggestions, indicating that even Fauci was learning as COVID-19 appeared. Some of the emails revealed how Fauci's advice on mask use has changed throughout the outbreak.

The director of the NIAID initially advised against wearing masks, fearing that Americans would deplete the already scarce supply of face masks required by medical personnel. In February 2020, he provided the same instructions to Sylvia Burwell, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, who inquired via email if she needed to carry a mask to the airport, claiming she would be in a "low-risk location."

Fauci is uncomfortable with celebrity status

During the pandemic, Fauci became a well-known character with a popular image that spawned articles, memes, and even merchandise. He did not like being the center of attention.

On March 31, 2020, he received an email from a colleague at the National Institutes of Health with a link to a Washington Post piece titled Fauci socks, Fauci doughnuts, Fauci fan art: The coronavirus specialist gains a cult following.

"Surreal to the point of absurdity. Hopefully, this will all come to an end soon. It's not at all nice, that's for sure," Fauci wrote in reply, Newsweek via MSN reported.

Fauci emails give more reason to divulge COVID-19 origins

Dr. Anthony Fauci was expressing skepticism on the lab-leak explanation of COVID-19 origins in the early months of the pandemic. Even though he was getting at least one warning from a genomic expert that "some of the traits appear potentially engineered."

Significantly, he distributed anti-conspiracy theory articles in which Peter Daszak, the head of a US organization that received grant money from Fauci's organization to sponsor coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was reported as criticizing the lab-leak scenario. Daszak and others wrote to Fauci personally to express their gratitude for his debunking of the theory.

Meanwhile, Beijing has refused to assist in any real independent inquiry, launching a trade war with Australia after Australian officials demanded one. We have been taught for a year to believe the research, yet Fauci has declared that some theories have been "debunked" when they have not, as per NY Post.

Why would he support Daszak's self-serving rejection of the lab idea with no real proof when he had email proof to the contrary? NY Post stated these revelations add to the increasing fear that US taxpayer funds may have aided in the progression of the virus. All of this adds to the pressure on the Biden administration to solve the riddle and make getting China to cooperate at long last the top priority in discussions with Beijing.

Related Article: Fauci Emails Released: Republicans Urge Infectious Disease Expert to Testify Against COVID-19 Origins Probe



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Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the United States for treating the Capitol rioters unfairly. He claimed it was unfair for the US to condemn international crackdowns on anti-government protests while pursuing Americans for "political demands."

Putin, speaking at a conference in St. Petersburg, had modest expectations for his meeting with US President Joe Biden on June 16 in Geneva, Switzerland. Relations between the two nations are at an all-time low, dating back to the Cold War.

Vladimir Putin addressed some of the diplomatic stumbling blocks at the International Economic Forum on Friday, saying he does not expect any breakthroughs at the Biden bilateral. He refuted assertions that Russia was behind recent cyber attacks on US firms, as well as assertions that Moscow meddled in American elections.

Russia doesn't expect any breakthrough with the US

The Russian leader kept some of his toughest remarks for the United States' denunciation of Belarus's crackdown on anti-government protesters. He retaliated by claiming that the rioters in the US Capitol were being handled unfairly.

Approximately 500 people have been detained in connection with the riot, the majority of them have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted facility or grounds. Many have been freed pending trial, but others remain in solitary detention.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of Biden's own Democratic Party, has warned that some of the defendants are being treated "cruelly," BBC reported. Putin also chastised the West for criticizing Russia's response to anti-Kremlin protests, including the detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The Russian president said that demonstrators in Europe had been met with a harsher police reaction, with some being shot in the eye with democratic rubber bullets, as he mockingly referred to them. It's unclear what he was talking about, but during the so-called yellow vest protests that began in late 2018, several French demonstrators were blinded by rubber bullets fired by police.

Read Also: Russian President Vladimir Putin Warns Rise of 'Nazi' Beliefs in Speech for the Anniversary of WWII's End

Putin and Biden to talk on June 16 Geneva summit

Per Daily Mail, Putin emphasized that Russia denies claims of meddling in the presidential elections in the United States, as he did in the Helsinki meeting with President Trump. And he slammed the US response to the Capitol attack, which occurred just as Congress was about to proclaim Biden's victory over then-President Donald Trump in the November election.

Arms control, global conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change are among the topics Putin and Biden want to cover during their June 16 summit in Geneva. According to the White House, Biden would question Putin on the situation in Belarus, as well as Ukraine, election involvement, cyber threats, and opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The Russian President expressed optimism that the meeting will assist to de-escalate tensions with Washington. Relations between Russia and the United States have deteriorated to post-Cold War lows as a result of Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's the Crimean Peninsula, accusations of Russian meddling in elections in the United States and other Western countries, and cyberattacks blamed on Russia by US officials.

Separately, Putin told Russia's Channel 1 state television that he does not anticipate breakthroughs from the Biden summit, but that he expects it would help build circumstances for taking future steps toward normalizing Russian-American ties. He also seized the opportunity to slam the suspicions that Russian hackers were involved in hacking a US pipeline and a meat industry, which had darkened the atmosphere leading up to the summit.

"We have no disputes with the US; we only have one problem with them: their determination to stifle our development. We should strive to find measures to improve ties between Russia and the United States," Putin stated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, as per The Hill.

Putin went on to dismiss US sanctions against Russia as a mystery, claiming that domestic politics in Washington are guiding the two countries' relationship. Nonetheless, he expressed optimism that the two nations might cooperate, noting their common interests in strategic stability and the elimination of weapons that pose a global threat.

Related Article: Capitol Police Officers Express 'Disappointment' at GOP Opposition to January 6 Commission; Citing McConnell, Mccarthy's Lack of Leadership



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China marks 32nd anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre with a rare recognition. In a statement, it said that it successfully "aborted" an attempted revolution akin to the Eastern Europe uprisings and that it has been exonerated by its subsequent economic progress.

Chow Hang Tung, a pro-democracy activist, has been taken into custody by Hong Kong police on the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre. Chow is vice chairwoman of the Hong Kong Alliance which conducts yearly vigils for victims of Beijing's fatal crackdown on democracy protesters.

Chow's arrest for promoting unauthorized convening. It comes as Hong Kong has prohibited the vigil for the second year running, citing COVID-19 restrictions.

Police officers dispersed crowds who gathered with their phone lights and lit candles. This year's anniversary is the first after a new controversial security law was approved. Critics of the law say that it criminalizes dissent and the pro-democracy movement.

Muted Commemoration of Tiananmen Massacre

The Tiananmen Massacre was an incident when the Chinese army killed many people after weeks of democratic protest. But many Chinese citizens, through government repression and control of media, know nothing of what transpired that day.

Discussion of Beijing's decision to use troops and tanks against peaceful democracy demonstrations on June 4, 1989, is currently forbidden on the mainland.

Macau and Hong Kong are the only places in China where people could commemorate the anniversary of the violent crackdown by Chinese soldiers on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing. Estimates of fatalities vary from a few hundred to several thousand, reported BBC.

Thousands of police officials are enforcing a prohibition on protests in Hong Kong as China marks 32nd anniversary of Tinananmen Massacre. This is traditionally a day of pro-democracy people power, but China has made apparent it will no longer tolerate it.

Such police officials banned a vigil commemorating the incident in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square for the second year in a row. But activists like Chow remain defiant. She said, "As long as they haven't said candles are illegal, we will light a candle," reported Reuters. She also added that the situation tests whether they can defend the "bottom line of morality."

Read Also: US Ban on Chinese Firms: President Joe Biden Brings List Previously Issued by Trump to 59

Hong Kong students cleaned the Pillar of Shame statue on the 32nd anniversary. According to government statistics, 300 fatalities were recorded after the Chinese military brutally suppressed demonstrations in support of democracy.

Police officials cautioned Hong Kong residents not to participate in the Victora Park memorial event on Friday. In the past years, tens of thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park to commemorate the victims of the massacre.

China Has Made 'Remarkable Progress'



China has "made remarkable progress that amazed the world" and embarked on "a socialist path with Chinese characteristics" since the incident, reported US News. Beijing recognizes its history of brutal crackdowns against civil dissent. This is seen as an indication that fears the nation's communist leaders earlier held regarding their ability to silence dissent are currently waning.

Related Article: China-US Nuclear War: Is It a Possibility as US Theory of COVID-19 Wuhan Lab Leak Gains Support Globally?

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Barring objections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), New York face mask guidelines will relax for children and adults attending schools and camps starting next week.

State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker wrote a letter to the CDC on Friday, outlining a proposed COVID-19 guidance that enables those who are fully inoculated to go maskless. He also calls for face coverings to be "encouraged" but not required for students, adults, and campers who are not fully vaccinated.

The state is asking the CDC if there is any reason it should not ease its mask mandate for campuses. That move could transpire early.

What are the details of the proposed guideline?

New York is planning on implementing the changes in guidelines on Monday, June 7, Zucker wrote in the letter. Under the state's proposed guidance outlined by Zucker, indoor mask-wearing will be strongly encouraged, but not required for students, campers, and adults who are not fully vaccinated. Outdoors, masks will not be required, reported NY 1.

New York plans to adjust to the following rules pending potential input from the CDC, reported 13 WHAM:

Masks are not required outdoors. Students, staff/teachers/counselors, and campers who are not fully inoculated are "encouraged" to don a mask in particular higher-risk circumstances.

Indoors, mask used will be much encouraged but not required for students, staff/teachers/counselors, and campers who are not fully inoculated.

Schools and camps may decide to implement more rigid standards.

Both outdoors and indoors, students, staff, and campers who are fully inoculated do not need to wear face masks.

Read Also: Joe Biden Announces 'National Month of Action' to Provide COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives, Including Free Beer

According to Zucker, "If there is any data or science that you are aware of that contradicts moving forward with this approach, please let me know as soon as possible," reported Daily News. The letter indicates that CDC guidance varies for campuses compared to camps.

Zucker indicates in the letter that current CDC guidelines on campuses contradict the guidelines for youth camps. He added that barring evidence to the contrary, they plan to make the guidance effective.

The letter comes as New York health officials are being urged to rescind mask guidelines for children in schools as the warmer weather commences. It also coincides with the decrease in the COVID-19 infection rate and more individuals becoming fully inoculated.

Children are regarded as less likely to spread the novel coronavirus. Mask rules overall in New York have greatly subsided, excluding some circumstances such as health care facilities or mass transit.

Current federal guidelines call for consistent and proper use of well-fitting face masks with proper filtration by all students, staff, and teachers on campuses. To support his proposed New York face mask guidelines, Zucker also underscores there is no distinction between mask-donning for indoor versus outdoor activities. He added that the CDC language does not address vaccinated individuals.

The CDC currently advises that face masks be worn in schools, both indoors and out. In camps, face masks are "strongly encouraged."

Related Article: New York's Excelsior Pass Is First COVID-19 Vaccine Passport in the United States, Will It Catch On?

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Prince Harry recently made headlines when he said that he did not comprehend the public outpouring of sorrow following his late mother, Princess Diana's, death because he did not want to share his pain with the world. Angela Levin, royal analyst and Prince Harry's biographer who authored the book Harry: Biography of a Prince, called him selfish and very immature in revealing his views about other people's reactions to his mother's funeral.

In his new mental health series with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry said he was haunted by the sound of horses' hooves cracking down The Mall at Princess Diana's funeral, and that felt like he was outside of his body while following his mother's coffin down the road.

"I was astonished when Prince Harry said again how much he despised all the people who were encircling him and grieving during Diana's funeral because it was his mother, and they shouldn't do that. It showed that he was still very immature," Levin said on Royalty TV's The Royal Beat.

Response to the recent interviews

Despite coming under quite severe criticism from his son, Prince Charles has opted on a strategy of dignified silence in public, said the leading royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah, as per Daily Mail.

The remarks follow royal analyst Camilla Tominey's claims that Kate Middleton told friends that it wasn't too late to bring Prince Harry and Meghan back into the fold before their Oprah interview aired. Before the interview, the Duchess of Cambridge, 39, is reported to have taken the same approach as The Queen and hoped they would return to the Firm.

Read Also: Australian Man Claiming He is Prince Charles and Camilla's Son Shocks Royal Watchers With 'Undeniable Proof'

Royal Family 'very worried' about Prince Harry's mental health

According to a royal expert, the Royal Family is very worried about Prince Harry's mental health in light of his recent public statements. Harry told Oprah that his brother, Prince William, feels "trapped" in the Royal Family during the conversation.

Harry went on to say that he is following a different route than his brother William. He described their relationship as having space and mentioned that time can heal all wounds. However, he had harsher words for his father. Prince Harry said that Prince Charles, had truly let him down and that a lot of hurts has occurred.

Per The Sun, because she fears the devastating consequences for Prince Harry's mental health, the Queen will not shut the door for him. The Queen's focus is said to be her grandson's well-being, despite her being secretly distraught by the Duke and Duchess' constant truth bomb attacks on the Royal Family.

Multiple sources told Page Six that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are "definitely" on the Queen's Platinum Jubilee invite list and will not be iced out. The pair, who have left the royal family staggering with accusations of their horrible time within palace walls, is set to return to the UK next year to mark Her Majesty's 70th year on the throne.

The Queen's Jubilee will be celebrated in June 2022 with a four-day weekend, which will include a celebration at Buckingham Palace. The family will also be excited to meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's new baby girl, who is coming any day now, according to Page Six's reliable source.

Related Article: Prince Harry's Relationship With Royal Family Strained After US Media Interviews; Face Mounting Pressure To Give Up Titles

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You bet - Ill be there all weekend.

I plan to be there at least part of the time.

Im still a little leary because of the crowds.

Vote

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East Penn currently doesnt have a figure for how much the program will cost because it depends on what type of dogs are chosen and how old the dogs are. Expenses will include purchasing the dogs, pet insurance, training them, and basic supplies such as food and grooming. But at a recent board meeting, Superintendent Kristen Campbell said the district has financial support from the East Penn School District Education Foundation for the initial startup.
Jessica Christian, Staff / The Chronicle

Katy Independent School District has axed plans for a virtual high school in the 2021-22 school year as the Texas Legislature did not provide funding for virtual learning.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Fort Bend County program aims to hire up to 250 young people this summer
As subsidence concerns continue to escalate in Montgomery County, Harry Hardman plays a unique role in county water policy, one that has seen him and his agency  the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District  the subject of controversy and even legal action.

Hardman is the president of the LSGCD board, leading an entity that has seen dramatic changes in the past few years as it continues to manage groundwater from various aquifers in Montgomery County.

On HoustonChronicle.com: District seeks Montgomery County's support for changes in subsidence data

With an ongoing public comment period about GMA 14 desired future conditions for subsidence and groundwater pumping rates in Montgomery County, subsidence has raised hairs on the necks of officials across the county. The public comment period ends at 11:59 p.m., July 19.

Concerns about the issue come from citizens as well as officials at the numerous municipal utility districts in the township, the San Jacinto River Authority, The Woodlands Township and The Woodlands Water Agency.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Jace Houston of SJRA discusses subsidence in Woodlands

Hardman sat down with The Villager to share his views and those of The LSGCD board on subsidence in this weeks Sunday Conversation.

QUESTION: What role does LSGCD play in the subsidence issue in regard to The Woodlands and the south Montgomery County area, if any?

Hardman: Subsidence is one of the nine factors we take into consideration in managing the aquifers. That is the overall mandate for Lone Star, is to regulate and conserve groundwater in Montgomery County. We use the best science and data to monitor the aquifers to maintain the optimum short and long-term range viability for those aquifers in the future.

QUESTION: What is the basic role LSGCD and what is the entitys geographic area of authority for those unaware?

Hardman: Lone Star is one of 100 groundwater conservation districts throughout the state of Texas. Our mission is protecting private property rights and permitting well owners for groundwater utilization. Lone Star is (only in) Montgomery County. Our job is to permit wells, whether on public or private property. People come to us every day seeking a well permit. If they meet the criteria, we permit the well. 

QUESTION: What has LSGCD done to raise awareness about subsidence? Has LSGCD has any partnerships with other entities or agencies on the issue?

On HoustonChronicle.com: Subsidence concerns heighten in The Woodlands

Hardman: Sure, absolutely and weve taken it a step further. For the first time, we initiated a subsidence study. We completed the first phase of that study. What we want to do is utilize the best science available to make decisions on these important issues. That is why were are taking the time, effort and expense to do an expensive study. Nobody has done a subsidence study just for Montgomery County previously.

QUESTION: Do you feel misinformation has been spread on the issue of subsidence to the public by any group, other entities or people?

Hardman: Not that I am aware of. I think everyone is well meaning. That is one of the reasons why were doing this study, is to use empirical evidence to make those decisions. What we want to do is study subsidence to make that informed, evidence-based decision. Clearly, The Woodlands has been impacted. There is empirical evidence of that, weve heard about that, the residents comment about that at all of our meetings. Were responsible for the entire county, What we need to do is to see what subsidence looks like holistically so we can manage this issue.

QUESTION: How have you been collaborating with other entities?

Hardman: Weve been very engaged with stakeholders. We are in the desired future conditions process, that is a every five-year process. Weve reached out to key stakeholders across the county an we continue to engage in conversations about all of the management parts of the aquifers. Subsidence is important, but it is only one of nine we have to take into consideration. Ive definitely spoken with members of the (Woodlands) township board. Weve met with SJRA, who owns all of wells in the community. Weve been in conversations with a lot of different people.

QUESTION: Have the board of directors of Woodlands-area municipal utility districts been involved?

Hardman: Weve received a lot of public comment from a lot of different people on this. There have been some MUD directors have made public comment at our meetings. Weve gotten letters from all these other entities from all around the county on this issue.

QUESTION: Are their subsidence worries valid? Many Woodlands water officials are worried LSGCD will increase groundwater pumping rates.

Hardman: The restrictions that were previously in place, those were found to be unreasonable and unenforceable by the district court. we are not managing to that number again or well find ourselves in court. Weve not come up with a new metric in regard to what the pumpage is going to be.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston Advanced Research Center report details subsidence issue in The Woodlands

QUESTION: Does there need to be more subsidence monitoring equipment installed in Montgomery County, such as extensometers?

Hardman: Yeah, I am in vehement agreement with them on that issue. I made a presentation to the commissioners court (recently) on the issue. Part of the issue we have on this, in monitoring subsidence, they are asking us to come up with average data across the county, which we dont have. HARC actually did a report on it and the adjective they used to describe our monitoring was sparse. We are absolutely in agreement with them. That is one of the things we want to do moving forward, is making an incremental investments in equipment. It is hard to manage something you cant actively monitor.

QUESTION: How is morale at LSGCD and how are you and other leaders coping with challenges?

Hardman: We are literally invested in this and really doing the very best job we can in the management of our most precious resource. That is why we all ran for election. it is why we put the time and effort into this and do things like the subsidence study, which is the first time ever thats been done in the county. Weve also done well spacing to make sure wells being spaced too close together dont have negative impacts. We on the board, we all have children and many have grandchildren. We want this resource to be available to them as it is to us. Weve been in reaction mode, and we want to ensure citizens we are doing the vest we can and using science to make these decisions.

jeff.forward@chron.com
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP)  The U.S. will give Taiwan 750,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, part of President Joe Biden's move to share tens of millions of jabs globally, three American senators said Sunday, after the self-ruled island complained that China is hindering its efforts to secure vaccines as it battles an outbreak.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who made a three-hour stop in Taiwan with fellow Democrat Christopher Coons of Delaware and Republican Dan Sullivan of Alaska, said their visit underscores bipartisan U.S. support for the democratic island that Beijing claims as its own renegade territory. Taiwan faces a severe vaccine shortage and has geopolitical significance as a flashpoint in U.S.-China relations.

Im here to tell you that the United States will not let you stand alone, Duckworth said at the airport after landing on a U.S. military transport plane. We will be by your side to make sure the people of Taiwan have what they need to get to the other side of the pandemic and beyond.

Taiwan was included on a long list of places announced last week that would receive 25 million doses from the United States in what the Biden administration says is the first tranche of at least 80 million doses to be distributed globally. Most of the first tranche, including Taiwan's, will be sent through COVAX, a U.N.-backed program to distribute vaccines to low and middle-income countries.

The island of 24 million people, which lies 160 kilometers (100 miles) off China's east coast, is desperate for vaccines after a sudden outbreak that started in late April caught authorities by surprise. Japan shipped 1.2 million doses to Taiwan on Friday, opting to skip the COVAX process in the interest of speed. It was unclear when the 750,000 American doses would arrive.

Taiwan has accused China of blocking its efforts to reach a deal with BioNTech to import the vaccine co-developed by the German company and Pfizer. Beijing has said it is willing to supply vaccines to Taiwan, including BioNTech, through Chinese partner Fosun, and that the island's government is to blame for putting politics above the lives of its people. Taiwanese law bans the import of Chinese-made medicines.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, welcoming the senators at the airport, said that Taiwan is fortunate to have like-minded countries showing support, which he said is about sustaining freedom and democracy in the face of autocracy.

Taiwan is facing unique challenges in combating the virus," he said. "While we are doing our best to import vaccines, we must overcome obstacles to ensure that these life-saving medicine are delivered free from troubles of Beijing.

He said China is trying to block Taiwan's international assistance and prevent it from participating in the World Health Organization. "We are no strangers to that kind of obstructionism, he said.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and most Taiwanese favor maintaining the current state of de facto independence while engaging in robust economic exchanges with the mainland.

China's ruling Communist Party says Taiwan must come under its control, and has in recent months increased pressure on the island, including flying warplanes near Taiwan. The increasing activity and vast improvements in Chinas military capabilities have raised concern in the U.S., which is bound by its own laws to ensure Taiwan is capable of defending itself and to regard all threats to the islands security as matters of grave concern.

Taiwan, which had weathered the pandemic virtually unscathed until the recent outbreak, is now facing its most serious flare-up with more than 10,000 new cases since late April.

President Tsai Ing-wen, meeting with the senators, expressed gratitude to the Biden administration for including Taiwan in the first group to receive vaccines and said the doses will arrive at a critical time for the island.

I hope that through cooperation with the United States, Japan and other countries, Taiwan will be able to overcome the immediate challenges and ... and move towards recovery, she said.

Both Duckworth, who was born in Thailand, and Sullivan said the American donation also reflects gratitude for Taiwan's support for the U.S., as Taiwan donated millions of masks and other supplies to the U.S. in the early days of the pandemic.

This is love from America in return, Sullivan said, wearing a mask that he noted had Love from Taiwan" written on it.

The three senators arrived at 7:30 a.m. from South Korea, where they met senior officials including the foreign and defense ministers on Friday and Saturday to discuss COVID-19 cooperation, the U.S.-South Korea military alliance and North Korea. They departed Taiwan at 10.30 a.m. the same morning, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry.

___ Soo reported from Hong Kong.
People of color are more likely to become infected with COVID-19 and suffer severe complications or die because of a lack of access to affordable health care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are also likelier to live in neighborhoods served by lead water pipes and where air is polluted by highways, factories and warehouses served by fleets of polluting trucks. At the same time, they work in jobs that are underpaid and struggle to enter the middle class.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The blob, captured on distant, fuzzy video by Navy pilots, seems to skitter just above the ocean waves at improbable speed, with no discernible means of propulsion or lift. Oh my gosh, man, one aviator says to another as they laugh at the oddity. What ... is it?

Is it a bird? A plane? Super drone? An extraterrestrial something?

The U.S. government has been taking a hard look at unidentified flying objects like this one. A report summarizing what the U.S. knows about unidentified aerial phenomena  better known as UFOs  is expected to be made public this month.

There won't be an alien unmasking. Two officials briefed on the report say it found no extraterrestrial link to the sightings reported and captured on video. The report won't rule out a link to another country, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss it.

While the broad conclusions have now been reported, the full report may still present a broader picture of what the government knows. The anticipation surrounding the report shows how a topic normally confined to science fiction and a small, often dismissed group of researchers has hit the mainstream.

Worried about national security threats from adversaries, lawmakers ordered an investigation and public accounting of phenomena that the government has been loath to talk about for generations.

There is stuff flying in our airspace, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, one of the senators who pressed for the probe, recently told Fox News. We don't know what it is. We need to find out.

Congress late last year instructed the director of national intelligence to provide a detailed analysis of unidentified aerial phenomena data from multiple agencies and report in 180 days. That time is about up. The intelligence office wouldn't say this past week when the full document will be out.

The bill passed by Congress asks the intelligence director for any incidents or patterns that indicate a potential adversary may have achieved breakthrough aerospace capabilities that could put United States strategic or conventional forces at risk.

Now Playing: Video: Associated Press

The chief concern is whether hostile countries are fielding aerial technology so advanced and weird that it befuddles and threatens the world's largest military power. But when lawmakers talk about it, they tend to leave themselves a little wiggle room in case it's something else  whether more prosaic than a military rival or, you know, more cosmic.

Right now there are a lot of unanswered questions, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California told NBC this week. "If other nations have capabilities that we dont know of, we want to find out. If there's some explanation other than that, we want to learn that, too.

Luis Elizondo, former head of the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, said he didn't believe that the sightings were of a foreign power's technology in part because it would have been nearly impossible to keep that secret. Elizondo has accused the Defense Department of trying to discredit him and says there's much more information that the U.S. has kept classified.

We live in an incredible universe, Elizondo said. Theres all sorts of hypotheses that suggest that the three dimensional universe which we live in isnt quite so easy to explain.

But Michael Shermer, editor of Skeptic magazine, is skeptical.

The science historian, a longtime analyst of UFO theories and other phenomena, said hes seen too many blurry images of supposed alien encounters to be convinced by still more blurry footage of blobs from airplanes. This is a time, he notes, when several billion people worldwide have smartphones that take crisp images and satellites precisely render detail on the ground.

Show me the body, show me the spacecraft, or show me the really high quality videos and photographs, he said in an interview. And Ill believe.

Mick West, a prominent researcher of unexplained phenomena and debunker of conspiracy theories, said it was right for the government to investigate and report on the potential national security implications of sightings captured in now-declassified videos.

Any time there is some kind of unidentified object coming through military airspace, thats a real issue that needs to be looked into, he told AP.

But the videos, even though theyre showing unidentified objects, theyre not showing amazing unidentified objects.

Pilots and sky-watchers have long reported sporadic sightings of UFOs in U.S. airspace, seemingly at unusual speeds or trajectories. In most cases, those mysteries evaporate under examination.

In 1960, the CIA said 6,500 objects had been reported to the U.S. Air Force over the prior 13 years. The Air Force concluded there was no evidence those sightings were inimical or hostile or related to "interplanetary space ships," the CIA said.

Reports of UFOs have, of course, persisted since then. Some people who study the topic argue investigations have been limited by the stigma of being linked to conspiracy theories or talk of little green men storming Earth. They note that the government has a history of stonewalling and lying about the unexplained.

It took 50 years for the government to offer what it hoped was a full debunking of claims that alien bodies were recovered at a crash site in New Mexico in 1947. In 1997, the Air Force said the Roswell "bodies were dummies used in parachute tests, recent ancestors of the car-crash dummies of today.

Retired Air Force Col. Richard Weaver, who wrote one of the official reports on the Roswell rumors, tried to assure the public that the government isnt competent enough to cover up a genuine alien sighting. We have a hard time keeping a secret," he said, let alone putting together a decent conspiracy.

A recent turning point came in December 2017, when The New York Times revealed a five-year Pentagon program to investigate UFOs. The Pentagon subsequently released videos, leaked earlier, of military pilots encountering shadowy objects they couldnt identify.

One was the video clip of the aviators tracking the blob above the ocean off the U.S. coast in 2015, dubbed Gofast. In another from that year, labeled Gimbal, an unexplained object is tracked as it soars high along the clouds, traveling against the wind. There's a whole fleet of them, one naval aviator tells another, though only one indistinct object is shown. It's rotating.

In 2019, the Navy announced it would create a formal process for its pilots to report unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs. Last August, the Defense Department created a task force dedicated to the matter. The mission was to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could endanger the U.S.

In an era of increasingly sophisticated drone aircraft, now seen as a risk to sensitive domestic military sites such as nuclear missile bases, the focus has been more on foreign rivals than on any supposed visitors from another planet. Yet the formation of the task force stood as a rare acknowledgment from the government that UFOs posed a potential national security concern.

More recently, a story on CBS 60 Minutes featured the declassified videos and raised questions about what intelligence the U.S. government has.

Rubio, top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and its former chairman, said it is important for investigators to follow up on the reports of its pilots and make the findings public. I am going off what our military men and their radars and their eyesight is telling them, Rubio said. There are multiple highly trained, highly competent people."

Yet things in the sky are very often not what they seem. Shermer rattles off examples of how phenomena that appear otherworldly may be tediously of this Earth.

Ninety to 95% of all UFO sightings," he said, can be explained as weather balloons, flares, sky lanterns, planes flying in formation, secret military aircraft, birds reflecting the sun, planes reflecting the sun, blimps, helicopters, the planets Venus or Mars, meteors or meteorite space junk, satellites, swamp gas ... ball lightning, ice crystals reflecting light off clouds, lights on the ground or lights reflected on a cockpit window, temperature inversions, punch clouds.

For any of these things to be real, we need something more than these grainy videos and blurry photographs, he said.

"We need really some hard evidence, extraordinary evidence, because this would be one of the most extraordinary claims ever if it was true.

___

Associated Press video journalists Dan Huff and Nathan Ellgren and AP National Security Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.
OnSceneTV

A 15-year-old boy was shot Friday night while sitting in a car with his family in Houston's Northside neighborhood, police said.

The family was inside a car parked on Werner near Rosamond when around 10 p.m. multiple people pulled up in a gray vehicle, said Lt. R. Willkens of the Houston Police Department.
Outfitted in sneakers and a special monitor, Debra Walker was ready to walk a mile for some answers.

The president of the Sunnyside Community Redevelopment Organization set off  with other volunteers on foot and bike  to help survey the quality of air in Sunnyside.

This is a dire need to educate the people about the air. Nobody knows why theyre sick all the time or have allergies, Walker said.

The citizen science initiative, sponsored by nonprofit Air Alliance Houston, equipped 15 people with Flor 2 air monitors in the historically Black neighborhood. With the ability to connect to mobile devices, the pocket-sized monitors detect harmful compounds and gaseous chemicals that could have short- and long-term health effects, said David MacLean, president and founder of environmental organization McMac CX. Starting in Sunnyside Park, participants traversed 1 mile by foot or biked 3 to 6 miles through surrounding neighborhoods.

The preliminary results varied but were the best that residents had because their community has not received air monitors from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, according to Walker and organizer Chelbi Mims.

Higher levels of volatile organic compounds, possibly from the nearby landfill, were found in the park, while cyclists monitors picked up higher levels of nitrogen oxide, which can contribute to unhealthy ozone.

Karina Barbosa, 24, said the event made the issue of air quality, which can sometimes be bogged down by scientific jargon, more relatable.

It makes it real, Barbosa said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: This is historic: City agrees to lease Sunnyside landfill for solar farm, charging $1 a year

Thats the goal, said MacLean, adding that final results will be published for the community in coming weeks. Residents tracking air quality in their community develop a personal and emotional connection to the issue of poor air, which most often plagues Black and brown communities.

A study published in the Science Advances journal in April states that people of color in the United States are exposed to disproportionately high levels of a dangerous air pollutant, known as PM 2.5  the largest environmental cause of human mortality, the study notes. Poor air quality can trigger asthma and other respiratory conditions, resulting in lower performance in school, at least partly because of increased absences.

We want to help people visualize the invisible. We can help them change expectations instead of walking into a building and just assuming or expecting that the air quality is different or clean, MacLean said.

We have this unrealistic expectation that were in great air here or in our home.  We know for a fact that its not because we dont have to design a community or a home or a school for great air. We just have to design it for acceptable air, and then no one measures it.

MacLean, who works to fund the placement of air monitors in area schools, said there are no regulations in Texas that require the measurement of indoor air quality. He said he has worked with legislators to push for the implementation of House Bill 351. If passed during the expected special session, the bill would make ventilation and filtration of air a standard.

Councilwoman Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, District D, and Harris County Precinct One Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who grew up in Sunnyside, attended the event, thanking participants for their work.

Its a challenge on the state level because the rules are so weak and enforcement is so lax. But youve got to get involved and get active, said Ellis, who rode with participants on the 6-mile ride through his old stomping grounds. Make some noise. Cause some good trouble, because you deserve better than what you are getting.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Cancer cluster identified in Houston neighborhood near Union Pacific railyards creosote contamination

Mims, 29, said she was inspired to organize the event after residents tested the air quality in the Heights last year. She was shocked to learn that the neighborhood had high rates of harmful chemicals in the area, particularly near the Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge.

As a homeowner in Sunnyside, Mims began to think about the repercussions for herself and her family.

Will my child have asthma because of these silent killers in the air? Will I get cancer at a young age because I cant afford to buy a home in a different area? she asked herself.

Air Alliance officials said they will continue to test air quality in under-resourced neighborhoods without air monitors in the coming weeks, including the Greater OST/South Union area next Saturday and Fifth Ward on June 19.

Bad air quality is not something that slaps you in the face like crime or failing education. Its a silent killer, Mims said. You have to think about those things.

brittany.britto@chron.com
More than 47,000 records of slave trade voyages  from maps, itineraries and mortality rates to accounts of insurrections on ships and stories of enslaved people  are now entrusted to Rice University.

SlaveVoyages, a digital repository transferred from Emory University in Atlanta earlier this year, offers extensive details on ship voyages along the trans-Atlantic and intra-American routes.

The database has been used by students conducting research and those who are looking to their own history as either descendants of the enslaved or slaveholders, said Rice professor Daniel Domingues da Silva, who also is director of SlaveVoyages. Scientists have also used SlaveVoyages to trace the distribution of sickle cell disease; archaeologists, to find more information about shipwrecks; and geneticists, to analyze the racial distribution of Africans.

Included are dates of voyages, demographics of enslaved Africans transported, as well as the names of ships, captains, slaveholders and more than 91,000 individuals who were liberated from slave voyages. The website presents a 3D rendering of a ship and a time-lapse map that shows slave trade routes over more than 300 years.

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Vignettes show how the database and archival materials have helped piece together rare stories of the enslaved. Theres Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, an African man who traveled from Bondu to the Gambia River to sell two slaves, only to be captured himself and transported to Maryland on the ship Arabella. Diallo worked as a slave on a tobacco plantation for more than a year before escaping to England and returning to Africa.

Important terms Trans-Atlantic slave trade refers to the voyages made across the Atlantic Ocean to transport slaves. Intra-American slave trade refers to the slave voyages made between North, Central and South American countries. See More Collapse

And 8-year-old Catherine Zimmermann-Mulgrave, who with other children was lured to the Portuguese ship Heroina on the coast of Angola by sailors who offered them candies. The Heroina set sail for Cuba with more than 300 slaves. Journal entries from Catherines husband said she was treated well, but she saw a slave badly beaten because he had attempted to kill himself. The vessel shipwrecked in Jamaica, then a British territory, and Zimmerman-Mulgrave was freed.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., host of PBS Finding Your Roots, used SlaveVoyages to aid his work in identifying the histories of notable guests. Gates, the professor and director of Harvard Universitys Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, once called the database a gold mine and one of the most dramatically significant research projects in the history of African studies, African American studies and the history of world slavery itself.

The database shows not only the trade from Africa across the Atlantic to the Americas, but intra-American routes. Hundreds of thousands of people who arrived in British American colonies from Africa quickly boarded new ships for intra-American voyagesboth within British America and across imperial lines to French and Spanish colonies, the site says.

We often think about the slave trade in the Atlantic or North America toward the United States, but it was way greater and way broader than that. Both the estimates page and database show that, Domingues said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Rice University is working on an implantable device to help shake off jet lag

The origins of SlaveVoyages go back to 1970, when David Eltis began compiling data.

Launched in 1999 on CD-ROM, the project has expanded beyond the capacity of any book or CD with the contributions of researchers around the globe. In 2008, a free website was launched to make it more accessible and has since estimated 12.5 million Africans were transported to the Americas as slaves, and around 10.7 million made it alive.

Now professor emeritus at Emory University, Eltis said traffic is the highest its ever been  at an average of 1,700 visits a day  a sharp contrast from when he began compiling data a half century ago.

Then, slave trade history was a peripheral subject, he said.

American history didnt deal with it as much, he said, but now that such subjects, including race and social justice issues, are center stage, he predicts there will be more interest and more traffic.

On HoustonChronicle.com: David Leebron, Rices second-longest serving president, to step down

Domingues, who started working with the database as a graduate student in Brazil in 2001 and helped expand it while a doctorate student at Emory, said its the first time the project has moved to another location aside from Emory.

Its a big responsibility to maintain a website like this, said Domingues, adding that Rices goal is to preserve, maintain and further build the archive so that people can learn and expand on the research for years to come.

Scholars who worked on the database have noted that the biggest issue with the database is ensuring that it endures and its information is not lost even as institutions and their priorities change, Eltis said.

To maintain the website, Rice and Emory have formed the SlaveVoyages Consortium with six other institutions  the Hutchins Center, the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture at the College of William & Mary, and three University of California campuses including UC Berkeley.

The network institutions, each required to pay around $8,000 annually to upkeep the database, plan to host the database for at least three years.

The work on the database itself, however, will continue filling the gaps and will serve as a model for future large-scale digital humanities projects, said Allen Tullos, co-director of Emorys Center for Digital Scholarship.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Rice University will require all students to be fully vaccinated against COVID

Domingues said staff will work to include additional images, documents and archival information, as well as new slave trade voyages, particularly those across the Indian Ocean and traffic to Texas. In partnership with the universitys Center for African and African Studies, Rice students will work over the summer as history research assistants.

Rice has already begun to focus some of its courses and events on SlaveVoyage material.

A December conference, Bound Away: Voyages of Enslavement in the Americas, will highlight new information on the intra-American slave trade and feature panels on the involvement of Texas, Louisiana, Spanish American countries and Brazil.

And a year-and-a-half-long seminar for students through the Center for African and African American Studies will explore the African diaspora and history of slavery with visits to Ghana, Brazil, Jamaica and a former plantation near Houston.

As the country strives to come to terms with its history of slavery, segregation and racial injustice, the database will also be an educational asset, Domingues said.

For Rice, already working to confront its history and social injustice through its Task Force on Slavery, Segregation and Racial Injustice and Center for African and African American Studies, it will be one giant step in that direction, he said.

brittany.britto@chron.com
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Fighting over birth control language, lawmakers did not renew the tax, which expires Sept. 30, before they ended their session May 14.
LOS ANGELES  Before they can say precisely how many weeks or months Jack Flaherty will miss recovering from a significant injury to a muscle in his torso, the Cardinals can already calculate the challenge ahead to cover innings, reinforce a rotation, and keep their pitching staff from straining under the weight of yet another absence.
This is How Many People Work for the Government in Missouri
Cheshire Selectmen Interview Town Administrator Candidates

CHESHIRE, Mass.  The Selectmen interviewed three candidates for town administrator on Thursday and plan to make a decision next week.

The finalists interviewed were Kathleen Degnan, former Pittsfield city solicitor; Alicia Fonash-Willett, assistant town clerk and information technology coordinator for the town of Durham, Conn., and Jennifer Morse, the current town administrator in Ashfield.

Each candidate was given roughly 45 minutes and was asked the same 11 questions

Degnan was the first to be interviewed and she said she has also worked as the city solicitor for Westfield. She has worked in the private sector but said her real passion lies in the public sector.

"The reason why I have pursued a career in government was that you get to work with a lot of different people who are professional and very knowledgeable," she said. "I think municipal officials are the best people to work with."

She said in her role as a city solicitor, she was the head of a small department but also had to work with other city officials and department heads. She said she has negotiated contracts, built budgets, and worked with unions.

Degnan said she has a lot of experience with Open Meeting Law and procurement. She said although she does not have direct experience with grant writing, as a city solicitor she was part of the process.

She said she does not like to micromanage and prefers to lead with respect and an open line of communication.

"Respect. That is the first thing. If you don't respect other employees or departments it is not going to work out," she said. "A leader has to have that skill. I trust people ... you have to listen and accept other people's opinions."

Degnan said she has experience with Microsoft Office and other programs used in town and experience with remote meetings.

Degnan said she would communicate with residents in whatever way the Selectmen wanted her to. She said her first preference was to work with media partners, but she was not opposed to using social media to disseminate information.

She said she has worked with and is familiar with many local organizations such as Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Elder Services, Red Cross, and the United Way.

She said she likes Cheshire and would be proud to take the position.

"It is small. It is quaint ... there is a big difference between being a mayor and a town administrator. I think that is just the right size," she said. "I would like to do this, and I have the skills ... I have lived in Berkshire County all of my life and Cheshire is just really nice."

The position, that has formerly been part time, is budgeted for full time, however, this is contingent on town meeting approval.

Degnan said she would take the position in a part-time capacity if the budget did not pass the town meeting.

Fonash-Willett was next to be interviewed.

"I think being in the town clerk's office, moving into the TA position is a natural progression because everybody from the state level you are dealing with. You are dealing with your boards and commissions, and you have to be available to the residents," she said. "That is why we are here. We are here to serve the residents and give them the best of us."

She said she holds a unique dual position in Durham, that is similar in size to Cheshire. She said Durham is also part of a regionalized school district.

As an IT coordinator, she helped move Durham's antiquated IT infrastructure into an advanced system. She said she helped improved cybersecurity and set up an IT improvement plan that allowed the town to be proactive with technology instead of reactive, which is often more costly.

Fonash-Willett said this work really shined during the pandemic when town departments were forced to work remotely. She said employees had access to everything in town hall via cloud servers from home. She added that calls were able to be directed to their homes.

She said there was of course a learning curve to all of this new technology in which she set up training so everyone in town was well versed. She added that in this respect, it was incredibly important to keep moving forward.

"I think it is important to keep up that momentum, and I think it is absolute death when government says that is the way we have always done it," she said. "It pains me whenever someone says that to me ... history is very important, but there has to be at least some level of progress. You cant stay in the same place and also be productive and continue to serve the residents."

She said she manages this IT budget as well as subsections including a capital IT budget

She said she has worked with many town departments to help address their technology needs.

As for communicating with the public, she said Durham was very active on social media keeping people abreast of what was going on in town. She said, like Cheshire, there were some residents who were hesitant to use social media. She said there were able to find out-of-the-box solutions to this and were even able to help some technology adverse residents utilize it.

Fonash-Willett said she did not have direct experience writing grants but worked closely with the finance director to seek out new technology grants. She added she had taken procurement courses in Connecticut, noting this would vary in Massachusetts.

She added that she has worked with multiple departments and surrounding communities. She said different governmental bodies need to work together in order to be successful.

Fonash-Willett said actually being present in town will not be an issue because as of July she will become a resident with her husband after living in Connecticut for 18 years.

"This was just the perfect opportunity for us to move to Cheshire. That is something that we always kind of talked about," she said. "It is such a wonderful town ... I feel like in my 13 years in state and local government I can make big difference in how government serves its residents."

Fonash-Willett said she would still take the position if it were part-time but felt the town needed a full-time town administrator to truly move forward.

Morse was the final candidate to be interviewed. The longtime Rowe resident said she has always been interested in volunteerism and giving back to her community.

"I volunteered throughout my entire childhood and all the way through and someone finally said do you want to be the town clerk. I said sure why not," she said. "I think this is a great opportunity for me."

This led to positions on the board of health and then on the select board. Just last year she took up the Ashfield town administrator position, right at the beginning of the pandemic. She said it has been a "roller coaster ride" but by working closely with the Board of Health and other departments, she has been successful.

Morse said she does not micromanage and prefers to put her trust in strong capable department heads.

"The town has to have good solid department heads. That is what it comes down to," she said. "As a town administrator, I don't micromanage at all. I let the department heads run their departments, and if they need support I get it done for them."

She said Ashfield is a small community like Cheshire that is part of a regional school district.

Morse said she has learned positive communication skills from years of working as an assessor. She said it also gave her a solid understanding of budgeting which she brought into the town administrator position.

She said she was familiar with procurement and has captured over $1 million in various grants for her community.

Just as importantly, she said she tracks different grants to make sure the town is reimbursed when they are supposed to be.

She said she is familiar with different computer programs that Cheshire relies on. She said she edits the Ashfield website and that the town recently underwent a substantial IT upgrade, much like what Cheshire plans to do.

She said she has worked with an IT consulting firm and manages a technology replacement and improvement plan.

Morse said Ashfield has a sophisticated communication system and can reach out to large groups of people. She said they also send out community email blasts to keep residents informed. She said this is something she could do in Cheshire.

Morse said she would have to familiarize herself with different county organizations and communities but has no issue working collaboratively.

She explained to the selectmen many of her own processes in Ashfield, such as the budget and how closely she worked with the finance committee. She also asked questions herself in regard to different policies and future projects in Cheshire.

She said she is most satisfied when residents share their appreciation with her.

"When people thank me or when they smile at me in town hall. When they thank me for what I do or for just picking up the phone," she said. "I love the recognition when I am able to accomplish something and help somebody."

Morse said she would no longer consider the position if it was part time.
Family and friends celebrate BCC graduates at a drive-thru celebration on the campus that was followed by a virtual commencement ceremony.

BCC Graduates Recognize Community, Support on Campus



Valedictorian Marybelle Burns talks about her experiences at the community college.

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Community College held its 61st commencement ceremony virtually on Friday, presenting 180 associate degrees and 91 certificates to 238 students.



Speakers recognized the community that BCC provides and the importance of support from friends, family, and the college itself.



Preceding the virtual ceremony  which was broadcasted on Pittsfield Community Television  was a campus drive-thru ceremony to offer graduates a socially distant, in-person celebration.



A majority of the graduates reside within the state, some from Connecticut and New York, and one graduate was from the state of Florida.



Valedictorian Marybelle Burns, who recently moved to the Berkshires from Tucson, Ariz., said she "fell in love with the natural beauty and community" she found in the county and at BCC.



"BCC is a place where everyone is welcome, and we are each given the power to explore what brings us happiness," she said. "Some of my favorite times were the holiday meals, dancing, crafts, and barbecues in the quad that brought us all together."



Burns earned a associate of science degree in nursing with a 4.0 grade-point average. She appreciated the fine arts side of campus as well, enjoying productions at the Robert Boland Theatre such as "Next to Normal" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and participating in the biannual art show in 2019.



"I look at this college as a community where you can simply explore and make connections," she concluded. "You do not need to know what your passion is to start the journey of being a lifelong learner, just stay kind, curious, and conscientious."



Salutatorian Nicole Rivera hopes that as her fellow graduates celebrate their achievements, they also celebrate those who accompanied them on their journeys such as friends, family, and educators.



Rivera moved to the Berkshires from Ecuador in 2008 and attended Pittsfield High School, where she worked to understand a new culture and language. She earned a certificate in medical interpreting in 2014 and a certificate in human services in 2020.



She graduated on Friday with an associate of science degree in human services with a 3.983 GPA.
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Imperial Valley News Center

Justice Department Requires Substantial Divestitures in Zen-Noh Acquisition of Grain Elevators from Bunge to Protect American Farmers

Washington, DC - The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it will require Zen-Noh Grain Corp. (ZGC) to divest nine grain elevators in nine geographic areas located in five states along the Mississippi River and its tributaries in order to proceed with its proposed $300 million acquisition of 35 operating and 13 idled grain elevators from Bunge North America Inc.

The Justice Departments Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed merger. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the departments competitive concerns.

American farmers produce the crops that feed our nation and the world, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division. Without this comprehensive divestiture, many American farmers would have faced lower prices for the corn and soybeans they produce. The divestiture of these assets protects vital competition in our nations agricultural industry.

According to the complaint, the defendants are two of only a small number of competing grain purchasers in nine geographic areas. Without the required divestiture, the combined company likely would have been able to pay less for grain and lower the quality of services offered to farmers. The divestiture ensures that the buyer of the grain elevators will be well positioned to compete vigorously with the merged company in the purchase of corn and soybeans in the affected markets, preserving competition for the benefit of farmers in Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana and Missouri.

The divestiture required under the settlement would, if approved by the court, require ZGC to sell the grain elevators to Viserion Grain LLC (Viserion) or an alternative acquirer approved by the United States. Viserions management team has substantial experience in the grain industry.

Zen-Noh Grain Corporation, headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, is the U.S. subsidiary of the National Federation of Agriculture Cooperative Associations of Japan, Zen-Noh. Zen-Noh Grain Corporation trades and exports corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat and byproducts from its export elevator in Convent, Louisiana, to Japan and other global markets.

Bunge North America Inc. is the North American arm of Bunge Limited. Bunge North America is headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri. Its operations include grain origination, grain processing and grain trading.

Viserion Grain LLC is owned by Viserion International Holdco LLC, a Colorado-based global agriculture merchant formed with the financial backing of Pinnacle Management L.P. Pinnacle is a $3.2 billion private, New York-based alternative asset management firm that maintains a focus on global commodity markets and trading.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Robert Lepore, Chief, Transportation, Energy and Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 8000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Imperial Valley News Center

Four Plead Guilty to Multi-State Dogfighting Conspiracy

Washington, DC - Four defendants pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting and conspiracy charges for their roles in an inter-state dogfighting network across the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey.

The Honorable John A. Gibney Jr., U.S. District Judge in Richmond, Virginia, accepted the following pleas:

On June 1, Odell S. Anderson Sr., 52, of the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to violate the animal-fighting prohibitions of the Animal Welfare Act by conspiring with others to sponsor and exhibit dogs in a dog fight, as well as to buy, sell, possess, train, transport, deliver, and receive dogs for the purposes of having those dog participate in animal-fighting ventures. Additionally, Anderson pleaded guilty to one felony count of causing a child under the age of sixteen to attend an animal-fighting venture;

On May 10, Emmanuel A. Powe Sr., 46, of Frederick, Maryland, also pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to violate the animal-fighting prohibitions of the Animal Welfare Act; and

On April 28, Chester A. Moody Jr., 46, of Glenn Dale, Maryland; and Carlos L. Harvey, 46, of King George, Virginia, each pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy.

According to court documents filed in connection with the cases, from April 2013 through July 11, 2018, the pleading defendants and their co-conspirators participated in animal-fighting ventures, involving training, transporting, breeding and dogfighting setups, including at least one specific two-card dogfighting event on April 3, 2016. For that event, Anderson, Powe and Harvey met up with others in the Walmart parking lot in King George, Virginia, and then traveled to another location for a fight. Moody, Powe and Anderson then participated in a pre-scheduled two-card dogfight, which involves two separate dogfights with different dogs and handlers. The dogfighters subjected the dogs to arduous training for several weeks before the fighting event. At least one of the dogs died due to its injuries in this dog fight.

The defendants each also maintained other fighting dogs at their residences, as well as dogfighting equipment including dog treadmills, med kits, breeding stands (to immobilize female dogs), and chains weighing up to several pounds per linear foot. Each animal-fighting charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge against Anderson of taking a minor to attend a dog fight carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Organized dogfighting  whether on a professional, hobbyist or street fighter level  has no place in our society, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division. Dogfighting is an extremely violent and secretive venture of animal abuse, and bringing young children to these fighting events exposes another generation to indifference towards animal cruelty and disrespect for the law against this ruthless and illegal activity.

Dogfighting is absolutely intolerable and callously subjects defenseless animals to inhumane treatment and abuse, said Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia. We must protect and care for these animalsnot cruelly turn them against each other for profit. Those who engage in this deplorable conduct will face justice to the fullest extent of the law.

The provisions of the Animal Welfare Act were designed to protect animals from being used in illegal fighting ventures, which often entail other forms of criminal activity, said Special Agent in Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins of the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG). Together with the Department of Justice, animal fighting is an investigative priority for USDA-OIG, and we will work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and assist in the criminal prosecution of those who participate in animal fighting ventures.

This case was prosecuted as part of Operation Grand Champion, a coordinated effort across numerous federal judicial districts to combat organized dogfighting. The phrase Grand Champion is used by dogfighters to refer to a dog with more than five dogfighting victories.

The Humane Society of the United States, along with other entities, assisted with the care of the dogs seized by federal law enforcement.

The government is represented by Trial Attorney Shennie Patel of the Justice Departments Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The case is being investigated by the USDA-OIG, with assistance from the FBI.

The district court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Imperial Valley News Center

Man Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of an Official Proceeding for Breaching U.S. Capitol

Washington, DC - A Florida man pleaded guilty Wednesday to crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6 which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

According to court documents, Paul Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, Florida, entered the U.S. Capitol building at approximately 2:50 p.m. on Jan. 6. Around 3 p.m., Hodgkins entered the Senate chamber, walked among the desks, and then removed eye goggles. He took a selfie-style photograph with his cell phone and walked down the Senate well where, a few feet away, several individuals were shouting, praying and cheering using a bullhorn. Hodgkins walked toward the individuals and remained standing with them while they continued commanding the attention of others. At approximately 3:15 p.m., Hodgkins exited the Senate chamber and the U.S. Capitol Building.

Hodgkins pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, fine of $250,000 or twice the monetary gain or loss of the offense. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19 at 10 a.m. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Honorable Randolph D. Moss accepted Hodgkins guilty plea.

The FBIs Washington Field Office investigated this case, with significant assistance provided by the FBI Tampa Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the DC Metropolitan Police Department.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

The charges contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Imperial Valley News Center

California Physician Pleads Guilty in Medicaid Fraud Conspiracy

Los Angeles, California - A California man pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

According to court documents, Keyvan Amirikhorheh, M.D, 61, of Seal Beach, worked as a physician at Los Angeles Community Clinic. Together with his co-defendants, Amirikhorheh defrauded the Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment (Family PACT) program administered by Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, by submitting and causing the submission of fraudulent claims for family planning services, diagnostic testing, and prescriptions for non-existent patients.

Amirikhorheh is the final defendant to plead guilty. Hilda Haroutunian, 61, of Sun Valley, California pleaded guilty on Sept. 25, 2020, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 17; Lorraine Watson, 57, a physicians assistant, of Valley Village, California, pleaded guilty on Oct. 9, 2020, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10; Edmond Sarkisyan, 41, of North Hollywood, California, pleaded guilty on Jan. 29, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16; and Noem Sarkisyan, 65, of North Hollywood, California, pleaded guilty on March 5, 2020, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3.

As alleged in court documents, between approximately March 2016 and April 2019, Los Angeles Community Clinic and associated laboratories and pharmacies submitted approximately $8,406,204 in claims to Medi-Cal and were paid approximately $6,660,028 as the result of this fraudulent scheme.

Amirikhorheh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 1, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Departments Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison of the Central District of California; Assistant Director in Charge Kristi Koons Johnson of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Timothy DeFrancesca of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector Generals (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kris Lyle of the California Department of Justice made the announcement.

The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, and California Department of Justice are investigating the case, which was charged as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California.

Trial Attorneys Alexis Gregorian and Claire Yan of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program nearly $19 billion.
If the pandemic deepened the challenges of dealing with long-felt issues among business owners of color, the recovery is putting them in focus. Access to capital and racial inequity in America continue to weigh on underrepresented small-business owners.

That was the key takeaway from a recent virtual briefing dubbed "Back to Business: Restarting Main Street in the Wake of Covid-19," which was hosted by Reimagine Main Street, a project founded last year to lead small businesses toward an inclusive economic recovery. The discussion convened business leaders and officials, who offered their own ideas for how to resolve these longstanding issues so that minority-led businesses can get back to business.

Here are their top three tips:

1. Help people get vaccinated.

As the pandemic fueled much of the recent difficulty hitting underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs, a good first step is to do all you can to overcome the pandemic, which can be achieved by helping people get vaccinated. "You can't get the economy back on track without beating Covid," says Cedric Richmond, a senior adviser to President Biden. Specifically, he suggests offering vaccine incentives to employees, customers, and the communities you serve.

He proposes offering paid time off for employees to get a jab, and providing compensation for missing work because of vaccine complications as motivation. "So many people can't afford to lose a day or two of work," says Richmond, therefore servicing the needs of your employees is a crucial part of getting the economy up and running again.

As for customers, the more people who are vaccinated, the quicker it is you'll return to normalcy. So consider rewarding consumers who are fully vaccinated. United Airlines, for instance, last week launched its "Shot to Fly" campaign, offering the chance to win a year of free flights to vaccinated customers. "We just appreciate the business community partnering with us to get it done," says Richmond.

2. Create an inclusive recovery.

Ensuring Black and Latinx business owners continue to receive financial support is vital, says Tammy Halevy, co-lead of Reimagine Main Street. Passing the American Jobs Plan, Biden's nearly $2 trillion plan to shore up the nation's crumbling infrastructure and boost green jobs, would be a start, adds Halevy. Additionally, it would be helpful to offer new grant programs and to "push the [Small Business Administration] to process forgiveness applications faster" to Black and Brown business owners, who need help accessing capital.

But you can't just rely on the government for help, says Richmond. It is important for all small-business communities to help one another. Yes, you need to focus on supply chains and other internal matters. However, intentionally supporting other ancillary businesses, such as law firms, accountants, and even the local car wash, is an important step in getting minority communities as a whole back in business.

3. Demand greater access to capital.

For many minority-owned small businesses, federal relief was not accessible throughout the pandemic, says Chiling Tong, president and CEO of Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce. "Sixty percent of AAPI businesses, who did not apply for federal relief, did not apply because they did not think they were eligible for relief."

Tong notes that a lack of awareness was a problem. But also, she adds: There was a potential language barrier. She says that information regarding some federal aid programs was not translated into other languages, at least initially.

These technical disadvantages pervaded long before the pandemic, she adds. The government at all levels needs to partner with various chambers of commerce to disband technical disadvantages these communities face, making sure they have the capability to apply for and maintain the same access to capital that other businesses have, says Tong.
Drake Bell, the former star of Nickelodeons Drake & Josh, has been arrested and charged with attempted child endangerment.

Bell, whose full legal name is Jared Drake Bell, was indicted by a grand jury in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, News 5 Cleveland, a local ABC affiliate, reported.

He is facing charges of attempted endangering children and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, according to the network. The date of the alleged offence is listed as December 2017.

Bell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is free on $2,500 bond. His lawyer told In Touch Weekly the facts will be revealed in the courtroom.

The Independent has contacted Bells representatives for comment.

Bell is reportedly due back in court later this month for a pre-trial hearing.

Drake & Josh aired on Nickelodeon between 2004 and 2007. It starred Bell as Drake Parker and Josh Peck as Parkers stepbrother Josh Nichols.
Lucifer fans are only now just noticing a small detail about the finale that could tease a big season six moment.

The hit series returned to Netflix for part two of its fifth season, with fans tearing through the episodes over the weekend.

In the finale, titled A Chance at a Happy Ending, Lucifer (Tom Ellis) takes on his brother Michael (also Tom Ellis) in a fight to the death in order to decide who will become the new God.

However, Chloe Decker (Lauren German) intervenes and Michael stabs her in the stomach with a staff that Lucifer had been using as a weapon

By the end of the episode, Lucifer sacrifices himself so he can resurrect Chloe  an act that, in turn, transforms him into the new God.

Its a detail around the staff Michael uses to kill Chloe that fans are highlighting. As its thrown to Lucifer by Amenadiel (DB Woodside), Zadkiel (Joel Rush) exclaims: That staff is all that remains of the Tree of Life.

Fans are convinced that this line is no coincidence, and that there will be consequences to Chloe being stabbed by this particular item.

Fans think this line will take on bigger importance in Lucifers next season (Netflix)

One fan wrote: Chloe getting stabbed in the womb by the Tree of Life is very VERY interesting to me.

In response to this, many others expressed shock at having missed this line.

I hadnt even made that very symbolic connection, was in such a frenzy to just watch it for general goings on the first time that I didnt even pay attention to that detail! one viewer wrote.

One person added: Everything is intentional in this show, with another viewer stating: Honestly it was the first thing I thought of when it was mentioned and then she got hit with it.

Lucifer will return for a season six in 2022. The show can currently be streamed on Netflix.
India has finalised a deal with local manufacturer Biological-E to buy 300 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, making it the first order that the country has placed for an unapproved jab.

Indias health ministry said the unnamed vaccine is currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials after showing promising results in Phase I and II trials.

The doses will be manufactured by Biological-E from August to December 2021 and the government has already put down an advance payment of 140 million. The vaccine is likely to be made available in the next few months.

The health ministry said that the arrangement with Biological-E is part of the governments wider endeavour to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in Research & Development (R&D) and also financial support.

India is currently using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine  manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and called Covishield locally  and Covaxin made by local firm Bharat Biotech. It has also approved Russias Sputnik V vaccine.

The country is also in talks with US vaccine producers Pfizer and Moderna, though they have demanded relaxations of the regulatory process before they will agree to export to India.

The Narendra Modi government has been criticised for not placing large advance orders for vaccines, which some experts said has contributed to the shortage of doses that India is currently facing.

The government is now trying to speed up its vaccination drive and says it plans to inoculate every adult by the end of the year. Government adviser VK Paul said this week that India could have as many as 10 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines available daily in July and August.

But for June, the government had said India will have nearly 120 million doses for domestic use.

A data analysis by the Hindustan Times pointed out that India needs to deliver 238 million doses every month from June to meet the target of vaccinating every adult by the end of December this year. If India administers 120 million doses in June, it will need to give 258 million doses per month from July to meet the end-of-year goal.
We had to cut the ropes from their hands after the bodies were brought here, the nurse said with a voice of suppressed rage. Most of the soldiers were found by the Red Cross in the forest. There are 80 corpses here. This did not happen during the fighting.

She led the way down the steps of Baabda General Hospital to a fetid, fly-infested basement, and there, on the floor and stacked inside glass refrigerators, were dozens of young men, most of them shot in the face or chest, many dressed only in underpants.

Several of the bodies  some of them in a state of advanced decomposition because there has been no electricity to work the hospitals freezer system  were still in the uniform of the Lebanese army. Most had wounds under their chins or on their faces. Blood had long congealed on the heads of the almost naked men.
Organisers of South Koreas annual competition to be the best at doing nothing  seriously, nothing  needed just the right spot for the work-from-home parents, remote-learning students and others wary of the pandemic.

So what could be better than a healing forest on the southern island of Jeju? The woodlands are known as a site for other therapeutic programs.

Twenty-eight pandemic-battered competitors gathered under the leafy canopy for the Space Out Competition. The premise is simply: zone out for 90 minutes, with the winner having the lowest and most stable heart rate. Spectators also cast votes for the top three who displayed the best Zen. (A Jeju-based hairstylist, who barely moved during the 90 minutes, won.)

South Korean artist Woopsyang created Space Out in 2014 as a pushback against South Korea's fast-paced and high-pressure society. It has since spread to other places such as Hong Kong and the Netherlands.

"The pandemic-hit world needs Space Out more than ever," says Woopsyang, who goes by one name. "We have a lot of downtime at our homes but we spend that time stressing over the virus and feeling anxious."

The competition made an in-person return this year. Last year, it was online. Experts say the pandemic pressures can put the body and mind into a virtual survival mode.

"Facing unprecedented threats of the virus, people find it hard to stay still and keep worrying about what action to take next," says Shin Dong-won, a clinical psychiatrist at Seoul's Kangbuk Samsung Hospital.

"But what the brain needs during these unusual times is a moment to space out, take a mental rest to break free of the self-perpetuating cycle of anxiety," she adds.

We spoke to three South Korean participants on why they came to the forest to space out.

This time I could really let go of myself. I felt very refreshed (The Washington Post)

Lee Ji-won (24, college student)

Her 90 minutes at the Space Out Competition is the longest time she spent doing nothing in a while.

"The coronavirus opened up a lot of free time for me, but I felt pressured to use those time effectively," she says. As a college senior majoring in social work, Lee is prepping for South Koreas hypercompetitive job market, which is getting even tougher as many job opportunities dry up in the wake of the pandemic.

Lees days are heavily loaded with screen time, which has gone up further since the pandemic with online classes. And, yes, there is also lots of YouTube and "doom-scrolling" through news and social media.

She forced herself to take a break and flew to Jeju from the mainland city Gwangjufor the competition.

"This time I could really let go of myself," she says as she walks out of the Healing Forest. "I felt very refreshed."

Hyeon-guk is taking a break from his pork-knuckle eatery (The Washington Post)

Jwa Hyeon-guk (40, restaurant owner)

Jwa Hyeon-guk made a rare move: closing his restaurant in Jeju city for a day to take part in the Space Out.

During the pandemic, his pork-knuckle eatery switched to delivery and takeaway.

"My restaurant lost the hustle and bustle of diners and I had a lot of time to myself, but I could not spend that time in a chill manner," Jwa says.

The restaurateur says he was staring at his phone for many hours, checking customer reviews of his restaurant on delivery apps and mulling over things such as how to improve takeaway packaging.

A bad customer review online could lead him to speculate all the things that could have gone wrong  what he describes as a vicious circle of negativity.

It is hard not being able to interact with customers directly, he said. I miss keeping busy with customers who come to dine at my restaurant and having friendly exchanges with them in person.

During South Korea's third wave of coronavirus in November and December last year, restaurant sales dropped by more than a third compared to the same period in 2019, according to South Korean government data.

Jwa says he is going to try to stop thinking about his business and simply stare into the void for the day at the competition. "It's difficult these days, but I know the good days will eventually come."

Youn Kyoung-won and her 12-year-old daughter are competing together (The Washington Post)

Youn Kyoung-won (53, retailer)

Youn Kyoung-won, who runs a business selling fruit compote, accompanied her daughter to the Space Out Competition.

Since the outbreak in South Korea, Youn was spending too much time at home in Jeju feeling trapped. She ran her company from home while her 12-year-old daughter, Lee Ji-hyun, took online classes in her bedroom.

Balancing work and parenting was already a double burden for Youn. She almost become a teacher for her daughter, who had trouble concentrating on online classes.

"I was increasingly feeling stressed and irritable, and I found myself projecting my stress onto my daughter," she says.

Her daughter suggested they take part in the Space Out competition and have a moment to unwind together.

A 2020 study by South Korea's Family and Environment Research found two-thirds of female survey-takers said the burden of child-rearing increased as family members spent more time at home.

"I can chill out here," Youn says.

 The Washington Post
Chrissy Teigen has reportedly stepped back from a voiceover role in Netflixs Never Have I Ever following accusations that she bullied Courtney Stodden and other reality stars.

Stodden opened up about Teigens past behaviour in a recent interview with The Daily Beast, where they recounted how the cookbook author had bullied them when they were a teenager and told them to kill themselves.

After resurfaced tweets from Teigen directed at Stodden corroborated the claims, the 35-year-old publicly apologised on Twitter, where she described herself as an insecure, attention-seeking troll and said that she was mortified and sad at who I used to be.

Not a lot of people are lucky enough to be held accountable for all their past bulls*** in front of the entire world. Im mortified and sad at who I used to be. I was an insecure, attention-seeking troll, Teigen wrote on 12 May. I am ashamed and completely embarrassed at my behaviour but that is nothing compared to how I made Courtney feel.

Teigen has taken a hiatus from her social media accounts since the apology, with Variety reporting that the Cravings author has now bowed out of her upcoming role in season two of the Netflix series created by Mindy Kaling.

According to the outlet, the upcoming season will feature voice-over narration for key characters performed by guest actors, with the Lip Sync Battle co-host previously scheduled to appear in one episode.

A spokesperson for the show told the outlet that the role will now be recast.

The mother-of-twos alleged decision to drop out of the project comes after Stodden revealed that they had not been contacted by the cookbook author or her team, despite Teigens claims that she had attempted to reach out to the former reality star to apologise.

Addressing the public apology on Instagram on 12 May, Stodden said that they forgive Teigen, but the truth remains the same, I have never heard from her or her camp in private.

In the post, Stodden also revealed that Teigen had them blocked on Twitter, so they could not actually see her apology, before sharing their doubts over the authenticity of the apology.

All of me wants to believe this is a sincere apology, but it feels like a public attempt to save her partnerships with Target and other brands who are realising her wokeness is a broken record, Stodden wrote.

Following the controversy, it was also reported that Bloomingdales had decided not to sign a contract with Teigen, which would have seen her host an upcoming promo event.

The Independent has contacted a representative for Teigen for comment.
A watchdog designed to ensure the Australia trade deal does not undermine UK food and animal welfare rules will not be set up until months after it is signed, it has emerged.

Liz Truss, the trade secretary, is accused of breaking a commitment to MPs and farmers by shelving scrutiny until the autumn  when it is feared it will be too late to make any changes.

The formation of the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) was conceded by the government last year, after protests that the rush to strike post-Brexit deals threatens to breach standards and hurt farmers.

It was expected to be in place by the spring or early summer  as the Australia talks accelerated  to scrutinise the deal as it is being negotiated and assess the implications for shoppers, agriculture and the climate.

Instead, the hunt for members has yet to even begin and The Independent has learnt the TAC will not be allowed to view the agreement until after a legal scrub, probably in the autumn.

The delay has alarmed Tim Smith, the head of a temporary commission which was wound up in March, who has also criticised a refusal to involve the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments in the talks.

The watchdog badly needed to examine both the mandate and the execution of the trade deals, Mr Smith told MPs, in order to advise negotiators.

Looking at the impact of a free trade agreement at the point at which it is about to be, or has been, signed is not particularly helpful, the former Food Standards Agency chief said.

The criticism was echoed by Neil Parish, the Conservative chair of the Commons environment committee, who accused the government of wasting time.

Parliament cannot be unsighted on the principles of the deal, as it will be too late to make any amendments once the deal is put to the Commons, he told The Independent.

The National Farmers Union has warned the clock is ticking, adding: As we are so close to finalising these deals, its critical the TAC is set up urgently so that it can prepare in good time for the vital job of scrutinising.

And Emily Thornberry, Labours shadow trade secretary, called for the looming agreement with Australia to be blocked until the government changed course.

The deal  offering Canberra zero-tariff, zero-quota terms, despite farmers fears of ruin from cheap and lower-quality meat imports  is expected to be sealed immediately after next weekends G7 summit in Cornwall.

This is no longer just a case of Liz Truss avoiding the verdict of the Trade and Agriculture Commission on the sell-out offer she has made to Australia, Ms Thornberry told The Independent.

She is actively subverting the statutory role that the commission has been given by parliament to inform scrutiny of such trade deals. That is an unacceptable breach of the commitments made.

Anger has been fuelled by Ms Trusss failure to respond to Marchs report by the temporary commission, with 22 recommendations on everything from animal welfare and labour standards to the climate crisis and food labelling.

Mr Parish has demanded that Ms Truss explain the delay, adding: It is essential we get a response from the government regarding the TACs report as soon as possible.

The Department for International Trade declined to respond to the criticisms, but it is understood to believe the TAC  enshrined in the Agriculture Act  does not need to start scrutiny until after the text of a deal has been agreed in order to comply with the law.

When she announced it last November, Ms Truss described the commission as an important part of our vision.

It is about putting British farming at the heart of our trade agenda and ensuring the interests of farmers and consumers are promoted and advanced, the trade secretary promised.
NEW YORK - JANUARY 21: A New York Water taxi comes into port through ice floes in the Hudson River January 21, 2005 in New York City. The northeastern U.S. is bracing for its first major winter snowstorm this weekend as forecasters predict as much as a foot of snow for the New York City area. (Photo : Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)

A river near a Russian city that sits just above the Arctic Circle began to 'ice-out' a month earlier than expected due to warm spring.

A footage of the thawing Yenisey River in the town of Dudinka, Russia was captured by a drone footage over the last weekend of May showing Arctic ice over the river cracking a month earlier than normal and forming bizarre figures along the river bank.

According to Ruptly, the unusual warm spring in the Russia's Krasnoyarsk region caused the early ice drift, provided that the town's location above the Arctic Circle usually experiences mild summer and severely cold winter.

The town of Dudinka serves as a port to Norilsk, a Russian city east of the Yenisei River and also north of the Arctic Circle, also known as the second-largest city and the 'northernmost city' in Siberia, with around 175,000 permanent population.

Shipping Industry in Dudinka and Norilsk

Norilsk is the center of a region where the most valuable mineral deposits such as nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, palladium and coal are mined and refined. Technically, Norilsk and Dudinka function like an island and transport goods by using ocean-going ships. Shipping out and bringing supplies in across the Arctic Ocean or on the Yenisei River is considered essential for their region.

However, their shipping industry operates in a limited and short window due to the river's annual thawing. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews said they have short time-frame to do so.

On the flip side, NASA reports Norilsk is directly responsible for severe pollution due to smelting, generating acid rain and smog. NASA estimates 1% of the sulfur dioxide emissions globally comes from the city. NASA described that the metal pollution in the area was so heavy and severe that their soil has been extremely polluted with economic grades of platinum and palladium, making it 'economically feasible' to mine their soil.

At this time, both Dudinka and Norilsk are considered "closed cities," and carries out specific restrictions over who is authorized to visit or stay overnight.

Also read: Glacial Meltwaters in Greenland Could Release Toxic Mercury in Seafood Supply

The Law of Gravity

The Yenisey River, known as the world's sixth largest river in terms of discharge runs from south to north across the great expanse of central Siberia. However, Andrews explained that every river answer to gravity and not to a compass. This means rivers can flow in whichever direction, as long as they follow the law of gravity.

"A look at north Asia on the map shows that the coast is to the north of Arctic Ocean with land to the south. Thus, downslope is south to north," he noted.

When spring comes and increasing air temperatures melts down ice sheets, Siberian rivers generally 'ice-out' from south to north. On the Yenisei, which stretches more than 3,000 km from Southern Siberia to the Arctic Ocean, flood surge is expected to bulldoze feet-thick ice sheets out of the river banks.

Also read: California Wildfire's Thick Smoke Spreads Across the Planet
G7 leaders have struck a historic agreement to force internet giants to pay more tax, including in the UK, Rishi Sunak has announced.

The agreement will make sure the right companies pay the right tax in the right places, the chancellor pledged.

The breakthrough  the result of a major push by US president Joe Biden  follows years of largely futile attempts to end massive tax avoidance by major tech firms.

Now they will be forced to pay a corporation tax rate of at least 15 per cent, though the rate will be allowed to rise in future. Mr Biden originally proposed 21 per cent.

More importantly, 20 per cent of the profits of around 100 of the biggest firms  likely to include Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft  will be reallocated to the countries where sales have taken place.

The move is designed to end offshoring, where companies set up legal entities in low-tax countries  regardless of where their revenues are actually earned.

Mr Sunak said the agreement would tackle the problems of tax havens and tax-dodging digital companies, vowing: We are going to level the playing field.

Speaking after a meeting of G7 finance ministers in London, he said the new measures would make the tax system fit for the global digital age, adding: Thats a huge prize for British taxpayers.

The euphoria at the announcement is tempered by the fact that Mr Bidens pitch of 21 per cent has been dropped. Only three developed countries  including Ireland  have corporation tax rates below 15 per cent.

Also, only the G7 countries have currently reached agreement, ahead of a meeting of the larger G20 grouping which includes the likes of China and India.

Labour criticised the 15 per cent figure, accusing the government of actively watering down hopes for a more ambitious pact.

That would have brought 131m extra a week to Britain for our NHS and other public services, while also stopping our high streets being aggressively undercut, said Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor.

Nevertheless, Mr Sunak hailed a very proud moment and praised fellow leaders willingness to work together to seize this moment to reach a historic agreement that finally brings our global tax system into the 21st century.

He defended the decision not to push for 21 per cent, telling Sky News: First of all, the agreement reached here today says at least 15 per cent.

And secondly, it is worth taking a step back. This is something that has been talked about for almost a decade.

The British public wanted to know that there is a level-playing field, in regard to whether people are operating in tax havens, or whether large, particularly online businesses, are able to not pay tax in the right places, said the chancellor.

Thats what this agreement gives us the ability to do, and it has been agreed among G7 colleagues, and once we broaden it out and implement it globally, it is a huge prize for British taxpayers.

Facebook's vice-president for global affairs, Nick Clegg, said the deal was a big step toward increasing business certainty and raising public confidence in the global tax system, but acknowledged it could cost the company.

We want the international tax reform process to succeed and recognise this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places, the former UK deputy prime minister said on Twitter.

An Amazon spokesperson said: We believe an OECD-led process that creates a multilateral solution will help bring stability to the international tax system. The agreement by the G7 marks a welcome step forward in the effort to achieve this goal.
The Home Office is investigating an incident which saw migrants crossing the English Channel picked up in French waters by Border Force staff and brought to Dover.

The move has sparked claims that the agency has helped people enter the country illegally  and is understood to have angered Priti Patel, the hardline home secretary.

The Border Force is only meant to pick up migrants if they are in UK waters  and only if there is an immediate threat to life, which appears not to have been the case in the incident last Saturday.

It was revealed in a recording of a maritime radio conversation, obtained by the Daily Mail, which said UK and French officers discussed the legality of the operation.

The Valiant, a UK cutter, then entered the French side of the Channel and launched a fast inflatable boat to collect the migrants from a dinghy and bring them to Dover, the recording showed.

The move came ahead of a surge in Channel crossings as the summer weather arrived, with 585 migrants intercepted in just three days.

The French authorities dealt with eight incidents involving 130 people on Friday alone, while the UK dealt with four boats involving 83 people, the Home Office said.

Ms Patel is known to be frustrated that the French are not doing enough to stem crossings, but the countrys government has blamed Brexit for the increase in people making the perilous journey.

The UK ended legal routes for migrants to join family members in this country, forcing them to turn to traffickers and make attempts in small boats, it says.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We are urgently investigating the circumstances behind this incident.

The move by the Valiant appears to fly in the face of a statement to parliament, in January 2019, by then immigration minister Caroline Nokes .

In the majority of cases, if a migrant is picked up in UK waters they are taken to the UK. If they are picked up in French waters they are taken to France, Ms Nokes told MPs.

An action plan with France to curb the number of crossings meant that migrants found in the Channel would be returned to the nearest safe port in accordance with international maritime law.

The minister added: Too often, migrants in the Channel dictate to those who come to their rescue which country they should be taken to. That is not right. I have asked immigration officials to do all they can to prevent asylum shopping at sea.

Ms Patel has been criticised for increasingly draconian ideas to stem crossings, including putting floating barriers in the Channel.

She also looked into setting up a processing centre for asylum seekers on Ascension Island, 4,000 miles from the UK, or on disused ferries moored off the coast of England.
Scotlands heath secretary Humza Yousaf has apologised for causing alarm after claiming young children had been hospitalised because of Covid.

The SNP minister was accused by his political opponents of making an appalling misleading statement about hospitalisations, claiming he had spread panic among families.

My main message was to urge caution, not to cause any undue alarm, I regret if that was the case, Mr Yousaf tweeted on Friday.

On Wednesday the health secretary claimed that 10 children in Scotland  aged zero to nine  had been admitted to hospital last week because of Covid.

But it later emerged that the number included young children who had Covid-19 last week, but may have been hospitalised for unrelated reasons.

This language from Humza Yousaf has now been proven to be completely misleading by his own governments data, said the Scottish Tories health spokesperson, Annie Wells.

His comments were alarming and a terrible example of scaremongering during a health crisis  hes started his new role with an appalling misleading statement.

The Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said parents have enough to worry about right now over lost school days, SQA assessments and economic uncertainty without causing undue alarm.

Mr Yousaf  moved from his role as justice secretary to the health brief following the SNPs recent Holyrood election victory  had used the hospitalisation figures as he warned families against travelling between different parts of the Scotland.

The risk of someone who travelled from a level two area into a level one area and who took their children into a soft play area could lead to the hospitalisation of children, he told BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday.

After the ministers comments raised alarm, medics moved to reassure families by pointing out that childrens wards had not seen any significant rise in admissions due to Covid-19.

Dr Steve Turner, registrar for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: We are not seeing any evidence of an increase in paediatric admissions with Covid. A very small number of admissions who test positive for Covid is what wed expect.

On Friday first minister Nicola Sturgeon warned Scotland is at a critical juncture in the coronavirus pandemic as she said cases have more than tripled in the past month.

The SNP leader urged caution as Covid restrictions are due to ease across some parts of Scotland on Saturday.

Speaking at a Scottish governments latest coronavirus briefing, she confirmed Scotland has recorded two deaths of coronavirus patients and 992 new cases in the past 24 hours.

She said there are strong indications that vaccines are weakening the link between rising case and hospitalisations  but warned this link has not yet been completely broken and hospital admissions are rising.
Nigerias chief legal officer has ordered that anyone breaching a ban on using Twitter in the country be prosecuted.

Telecoms firms have blocked access to Twitter after the government announced an indefinite suspension of the social media giant on Friday.

Millions of users in Nigeria were blocked from accessing the site and app on Saturday, but some Nigerians have got round the ban by using virtual private networks (VPNs).

Attorney general and justice minister Abubakar Malami said he had directed for immediate prosecution of offenders of the federal government ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria, telling the public prosecutor to swing into action.

The ban came two days after Twitter removed a post from the countrys president, Muhammadu Buhari, that threatened to punish regional secessionists.

Information minister Lai Mohammed said the government had acted because of the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

Mr Mohammed did not spell out what form the suspension would take or explain what the undermining activities were.

In an irony not lost on Twitter users, his ministry used Twitter to announce the suspension.

Early on Saturday, Twitters website was inaccessible on some mobile carriers, while its app and website worked on others, according to tests in Lagos and Abuja by Reuters.

The mobile phone operators umbrella body confirmed to the BBC that they had been told to stop people accessing Twitter, and that companies had complied.

The attorney generals spokesperson said his warning about prosecutions was targeted at both corporations and individuals.

Twitter is investigating what it called the deeply concerning suspension of operations.

The company tweeted: Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society. We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world.

On Wednesday, the US tech firm said Mr Buharis post threatening to punish groups blamed for attacks on government buildings had violated Twitters abusive behaviour policy.

The government has blamed the social media giant for the escalation of protests against police brutality last October, shared with the slogan #EndSARS.

Additional reporting by Reuters
The Ohio deputy who fatally shot Casey Goodson Jr. in the back five times last year is retiring on disability, the Franklin County sheriff said Friday.

Goodson, 23, a Black man, was killed by Deputy Jason Meade, who is white, last December in an encounter that is still largely unexplained.

Meade will retire July 2, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said without detail.

Law Enforcement disability decisions are governed by state law and made by the pension system, Baldwin said. As sheriff, I have no control or input over what the pension system decides with this or any other disability case.

A message was left with the attorney representing Meade.

The shooting took place in Columbus on Dec. 4 while Meade, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was finishing up an unsuccessful search for a fugitive as part of his work for a U.S. Marshals Office fugitive task force.

Goodson was not the subject of the fugitive search. While U.S. Marshal Peter Tobin initially said Meade confronted Goodson after Goodson drove by and waved a gun at the deputy, he later withdrew those comments, saying they'd been based on insufficient information.

Tobin also said Meade was not performing a mission" for the marshals at the time of the shooting.

Relatives say Goodson was opening the door to his grandmothers house at the time he was shot. Officials said that a gun was recovered from the scene but have not provided further details. There was no body camera or cruiser dash cam video of the shooting.

The case remains under criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney's office with help from the Justice Department s Civil Rights Division Meade has not been charged.

Goodson's family is disappointed that Baldwin didn't fire Meade but his resignation provides a small sense of relief, Sean Walton, an attorney representing the Goodson family, said in a statement.

Meade's sudden retirement shows that he understands that he is soon to be held accountable for his actions, and for Caseys family and for this entire community that day cannot come soon enough, Walton said.
Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp was greeted with a chorus of boos when he took the stage at the state's Republican convention, evidence that conservative voters still have not forgiven him for not overturning the 2020 election result in favour of Donald Trump.

Maya Prabhu, a reporter with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, reported that Mr Kemp spoke for 30 seconds before the jeers died down enough for the press to hear him.

Despite their disdain, she reported that the crowd did cheer when Mr Kemp bragged that Georgia was the first state to reopen during the pandemic.

Mr Kemp called for unity among Republicans in order to defeat Democrats in upcoming elections.

We must be strong and courageous, Mr Kemp said. [Democrats] got Hollywood. Theyve got billionaires in New York and California. ... That is why we have to be united as well and move forward together.

Republican lawmakers suffered two major losses in the 2020 presidential elections and then the Senate run-offs in January, with former Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue losing their seats to challengers Jon Osoff and Raphael Warnock.

Despite his calls for unity, Mr Kemp never mentioned Mr Trump in his speech, nor did he reference fraudulent allegations that the 2020 election was stolen.

Perhaps more troubling for Mr Kemp is the response that his primary challenger, former Democrat Vernon Jones, received.

The crowds gave "the most raucous reception" for Mr Jones, according to the newspaper, when he took the stage. Mr Jones is a vocal supporter of Mr Trump.

The former president blamed Mr Kemp for not overturning the state's election in his favour.

"Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan won't be running again for office. He was the one who, along with Governor Brian Kemp, stopped the Georgia State Senate from doing the job they wanted to do on the 2020 Presidential Election Fraud. Duncan's fight against Election Fraud made him unelectable," Mr Trump said in May.

Mr Kemp defended himself by saying any attempt he made trying to force the legislature to change the election process would be challenged and found unconstitutional.

"Any attempt by the legislature to retroactively change that process for the Nov 3rd election would be unconstitutional and immediately enjoined by the courts, resulting in a long legal dispute and no short-term resolution," Mr Kemp said.

Mr Trump recorded a video message for the convention in which he praised Georgia Republicans in general, though he never mentioned Mr Kemp.

He promised he would be returning to George for a rally "in the very near future."
More than 75 per cent of Americans support LGBT+ nondiscrimination protections, a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) has found.

Laws that would protect LGBT+ Americans from discrimination in housing, the job market, and public accommodations are supported by 76 per cent of the public.

Almost one in five Americans, 19 per cent, are against such protections for members of the LGBT+ community.

Slightly more than one third, 34 per cent, feel strongly about their support for nondiscrimination protections, the same number for those who strongly oppose such regulations is six per cent.

Researchers found high levels of support for LGBT+ protections across groups divided by race, age, religion, and political preference. Its the highest level of support ever recorded among Americans according to PRRI.

The level of support has increased four per cent since 2019, when 72 per cent of Americans were in favour of LGBT+ protections. In 2015, that number was 71 per cent. In 2018, support dipped to 69 per cent.

PRRI says the bump in support could be traced to increasing acceptance among people of colour and white Protestants. White mainline Protestants went from 73 to 82 per cent between 2015 and 2020, and black Americans moved from 65 to 75 per cent.

Other groups whose support has grown between 2015 and 2020 include multiracial Americans, who have moved from 72 to 81 per cent, Black Protestants, who have gone from 64 to 73 per cent, Americans between the ages of 30 and 49, moving from 73 to 81 per cent, independents, 73 to 78 per cent, and Democrats, who increased their support from 78 to 85 per cent.

The Catholic Church still rejects the idea of same-sex marriage, but Catholics as a group have still increased their support for LGBT+ rights.

The support among Hispanic Catholics increased from 75 per cent to 81 per cent since just 2019. Among white Catholics, support increased from 74 to 77 per cent.

Support within the Evangelical Christian community is significantly weaker, with only 62 per cent supporting nondiscrimination protections.

Many religious groups have publicly supported the Equality Act currently being considered by Congress. If signed into law, it would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The legislation passed the House in late February. On a previous vote in 2019, eight Republicans voted for the bills passage. That figure had dropped to three when the bill passed the House again this year.

While the legislation is splitting the religious community, many faith leaders have expressed support.

We should all be able to agree on this one thing  the law should treat all our children, Gods children, equally, United Church of Christ minister Edith Guffey said as she testified before the Senate in March, ABC News reported. I also know how religion and faith were used to justify slavery, but that was wrong  I think we can learn from that.
Recently revealed emails sent between Arizona state senators has revealed that Donald Trump and his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani personally urged GOP officials in the state to push for the highly-partisan recount of the 2020 election vote counts in Maricopa County.

The emails were uncovered by American Oversight, a watchdog organisation, which criticised the audit as a "sham partisan crusade." The Washington Post reported on the contents of the emails.

In one email from 2 December, the president of the Arizona state Senate Karen Fann told two constituents that she had spoken with Mr Giuliani "at least six times over the past two weeks."

Another constituent warned Ms Fann in late December that she would be recalled by "the new patriot movement of the United States" for not offering enough support to Mr Trump.

Ms Fann assured him she was "doing everything legally possible to get the forensic audit done."

I have been in numerous conversations with Rudy Guiliani [sic] over the past weeks trying to get this done, Ms Fann wrote. I have the full support of him and a personal call from President Trump thanking us for pushing to prove any fraud.

Arizona became an early flashpoint in the 2020 election after Fox News called the state for Joe Biden, shocking conservatives who were certain the generally red-leaning state would go to Mr Trump.

Since then, Trump-loyal conservatives have been desperate to find any evidence of widespread voter fraud in the state with no success.

Austin Evers, the executive director of American Oversight, said the emails were clear evidence that the audit's goal was to further entertain Mr Trump's lies about the 2020 election.

The more we learn, the more it becomes clear that this is not an audit, its a sham partisan crusade carried out by some of the most cynical actors our democracy has ever known, Mr Evers said in a statement. With each new email, the paper trail confirms that the true goal of this process is to perpetuate Donald Trumps big lie of a stolen election and to undermine faith in our democracy.

The emails were also indicative of the desperation of Republican voters and their refusal to admit that Mr Trump lost the election.

In one email from 10 April, an individual named Rachel Griffin told Ms Fann if they did not turn up evidence of fraud the Arizona lawmakers would be voted out of office.

We are not going to be treated like idiots. We will make sure none of you are ever re-elected again unless you prove there was fraud, Ms Griffin wrote. It is no longer acceptable for all of you to pay lip service. We want results and we want them now.

Ms Fann assured the woman that the lawmakers were working to deliver on the audit, saying our efforts have been sabotaged every step of the way but we are not giving up!

That response stands in sharp contrast to another that Ms Fann gave to a constituent who said she was "appalled, offended and upset" that taxpayer money was being used for a "fraudulent audit."

Ms Fann assured her that the audit was meant to reaffirm Mr Biden's win in the state, not to undermine it.

This is where you are mistaken. Biden won. 45% of all Arizona voters think there is a problem with the election system. The audit is to disprove those theories or find ways to improve the system, she wrote.

The audit in Maricopa County has been criticised for its lack of transparency and for not following state rules for elections and recounts.

Cyber Ninjas, the group overseeing the audit, is run by a man who is a vocal Trump supporter and who parroted the president's lies about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. The audit has also long overshot its deadline to finish, which was initially set in mid-May.

At the current rate the recount will not be finished until August.
Donald Trump is reportedly urging friends to spread the bizarre theory that he will be reinstated as president in August.

Mr Trump is trying hard to recruit journalists, politicians and other influential figures to get behind the idea that he can return to the White House, according to the conservative National Review magazine

The idea has become popular with Trumps MAGA supporters and is based on the idea that Joe Bidens election victory could be overturned following Republican audits of election results in Arizona and Georgia.

I can attest, from speaking to an array of different sources, that Donald Trump does indeed believe quite genuinely that he  along with former senators David Perdue and Martha McSally  will be reinstated to office this summer, said Charles Cooke of the National Review.

Trump is trying hard to recruit journalists, politicians, and other influential figures to promulgate this belief  not as a fundraising tool or an infantile bit of trolling or a trial balloon, but as a fact.

Mr Trumps belief that he will be back in the White House over the summer was first reported by The New York Times.

Trump has been telling a number of people hes in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August (no that isnt how it works but simply sharing the information), tweeted Maggie Haberman.

Mr Trump filed and lost more than 40 lawsuits across the country in a failed attempt to overturn Joe Bidens election victory, and failed to present any credible evidence of fraud to any judge.


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Bangladesh on Saturday counted the highest coronavirus positivity rate in 39 days and the highest number of deaths from the infection in 27 days.

A total of 43 people died of Covid-19 and 1,447 of the 13,115 people tested were found positive for the disease, with the positivity rate being 11.03 per cent, in the 24-hour period till 8:00am on the day, according to official data.

Bangladesh recorded 12.51 per cent positivity rate on April 27 and 56 deaths on May 9 this year as the country started witnessing a second wave of Covid infections after the novel coronavirus was first detected in the country in March 2020.

The country saw the rise in deaths and the positivity rate when more infectious and dangerous delta variant, well known as Indian variant, was confirmed in nine districts with experts suspecting the spread of the variant in more districts.

The Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research earlier confirmed the presence of the Indian variant in nine districts, including Dhaka, Khulna, Dinajpur, Chapainawabganj, Gaibandha, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Jhinaidah and Gopalganj.

Virologists said that variant might have spread to other districts as well in the meantime because of government failures.

The government has failed to restrict public movement, ensure early identification and mandatory quarantine and enforce health guidelines, they said.

IEDCR adviser Mohammad Mushtuq Husain said that the coronavirus positivity rate was increasing alarmingly.

If we cannot deal with the situation properly Bangladesh might see a very bad situation soon, he remarked.

He asked the government to strictly monitor the border, ensure the quarantine of suspected people and put the areas with high infection rates on lockdown.

He also cautioned that new variants might emerge in the country if the delta variant mutate with the local ones.

An IEDCR report unveiled on Thursday has found 80 per cent of a randomly selected sample of 50 Covid patients infected with the Indian variant.

Additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services Nasima Sultana in an official letter issued on Thursday asked health officials to ensure the rapid antigen test for all suspected coronavirus cases.

DGHS spokesperson Robed Amin said that infection positivity and fatalities were going up fast in border districts because of the Indian variant.

Community transmission of the Indian variant has already begun, which may seriously worsen the Covid situation in the country, he said.

He urged local administrations to enforce strict measures to contain the situation as a national lockdown was yet to be declared.

Former DGHS director and public health expert Be-Nazir Ahmed said that as inter-district transports continued to operate people infected with virus too were spreading from district to districts.

He also said that community transmission of the delta virus might cause mutations that might be more dangerous.

The country had witnessed a spike in Covid cases and deaths for a couple of months since late March after a comparatively better situation during JanuaryFebruary.

The test positivity rate had hit 23 per cent in April before gradually coming down to 68 per cent.

But the rate is increasing fast as the Indian variant entered the country.

The highly lax nationwide restrictions on public movement and business activities extended in phases to contain the Covid situation since April 5 are scheduled to expire today.

The Saturday Covid figures have taken the overall death toll to 13,115 and the number of cases to 8,09,314 since Covid-19 emerged in the country on March 8, 2020.

Among the 43 who died during the past 24-hour period, 30 were male and 13 female, according to the DGHS daily update.

By age, 21 of the deceased were above 60 years, 13 between 51 years and 60 years, two between 41 years and 50 years, five between 31 years and 40 years, one between 21 years and 30 years and another was below 10 years.

During the time, 1,970 people recovered from the diseases.

The New Age correspondent in Satkhira reported that the local administration had imposed a seven-day lockdown from Saturday 6:00pm to check the fast spread of the new outbreak.

According to our Rajshahi University correspondent, eight more people died at the Covid-19 unit of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in the past 24 hours as the daily Covid infection rate in some of the bordering districts has sharply increased over the past few days.

RMCH deputy director Dr. Saiful Ferdous said that four of the dead were Covid positive while the rest died with symptoms of the disease.

He said that 60 of the 101 deaths recorded in the Covid unit since May 24 occurred with Covid symptoms.

A total of 288 new Covid cases were reported in the division in the past 24 hours when 11 people died of the disease, the highest number of deaths the division has ever recorded in a single day since the detection of Covid-19 there in April 2020.

According to the Rajshahi division health office, infection rates were steadily increasing in the division after the Eid vacation.

Dr Saiful Ferdous told New Age that the positivity rate was over 51 per cent in the districts of Rajshahi, Natore and Chapainawabganj in the past 24 hours.

Individually, Chapainawabganj, which has been on strict lockdown since May 25, had the highest positivity rate of 61.83 per cent in the period.

The positivity rate in Chapainawabganj was 54 per cent on Friday.

Meanwhile, the positivity rate in Rajshahi district was 49.43 per cent in the past 24 hours, almost double compared to the previous day.

The Noakhali district administration on Saturday also imposed a seven-day lockdown in Noakhali municipality and six unions under the sadar upazila.

The district recorded 32.56 per cent positivity rate in the period.
While it is a welcome relief for the financial capital which saw the horrors of people dying without getting treatment and even oxygen. The number of daily COVID-19 infections has been falling in the past few weeks and Mumbai gear ups for the third wave of Covid-19. During this tough time, Clown man Ashok Kurmi is doing their best by helping an army of young fans to fight the coronavirus in Mumbai's slums. Take a look at the images:


The fight to save the Aarey Forest in Mumbai was one of the most high-profile one-of-its-kind battles India has seen in recent years.

The Aarey forest in the middle of Mumbai was to be cleared to make way for a car shed for the metro project.

However concerned citizens and activists fought tooth and nail up to the Supreme Court of India to save Mumbai's green lungs.

BCCL

Their efforts paid off in October 2020, in a major victory for the campaigners, around 800 acres of land in Aarey was declared a reserve forest, by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who also said that the construction of the controversial car shed for a Metrorail project in the area would be shifted to Kanjurmag.

Replanting Aarey

With the metro project moved out, environmentalists have been working towards restoring Aarey's greenery with replantation drives.

Indiatimes

"We have been doing this since November last year. In the first phase, we planted around 450 saplings. Our focus is on planting the right plant and giving the right care to it," Sushant Bali, an activist who has been a part of the Save Aarey campaign told Indiatimes.

According to him, they are only planting a limited number of saplings that they will be able to take care of in the long term and ensure that they grow into trees.

Indiatimes

"In our group, there are a few people who are experienced in plantation, including me. I have studied Miyawaki and has worked on similar projects in the past too. There are others with us who have experience in working with farmers and Adivasis, which also is importnt," he said.

Prefer local species

After identifying the location for the replantation drive, the activists spent the next two weeks studying the plants and trees in the area to identify the trees there.

Indiatimes

"We researched the regional trees that were specific to Aarey with the help of Adivasis and some botany students who identified the plants. Based on what we learned we listed the local plant species and collected the sapling which is specific to the area so that the biodiversity won't be affected by the introduction of a foreign species," Bali explained.

Indiatimes

Community involvement

Other than restoring the greenery, the activists are also making sure that the locals especially the Adivasis who live in Aarey benefit from the initiative.

"Since last year we have been working with the Adivasis there. We started with two families, who we collected the seeds and distributed. After they germinated into saplings we bought them back and used them for the plantation drive. In addition to this, we are engaging the Adivasis and some youths from the nearby slums in the irrigation of the saplings and making sure that they grow into trees," he said.
The severe second wave of COVID-19 devastated families across India leaving thousands of children orphaned.

Many children in the country are contending with the difficult reality that is irreparable: The loss of a parent from coronavirus. It is hard to imagine what these so-called "COVID orphans" must be going through.

Representational Image/iStock

While grief might seem insurmountable, many are trying to overcome the tragedy to honour their parents. For three siblings in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli, who lost every loved one bringing them up - the reality seems different.



Samarpit, 13, Meena, 12, and Shankar, 11, from Lisadh village, suddenly find themselves all alone. In a year, they have lost their father, mother, and both grandparents.

Representational Image/AFP

According to a report in Times Of India citing district official, under the new government scheme the financial assistance will be arranged, but the children will continue to live alone in their house in Lisadh with a relative checking in on them, from time to time.



Saddened, their lives upended, Samarpit, just a teenager himself, said he will step up and raise his siblings.

Also read: How Organisations & Individuals Are Helping Children Who Lost Both Parents To COVID

Representational Image/iStock

Tragedy has befallen us. But we are dealing with it together. I will try my best that my siblings education is not impeded. I will work hard and look after them, Samarpit told TOI.



The villagers they have known and grown up around have been in touch with the district administration to secure their future. All four elders of the family are gone. These little kids have been orphaned. We appeal to the government to take care of these children until they become adults, Shyam Singh, a local, told TOI.
In a shocking incident, a passenger on Delta Airways flight from Los Angeles to Nashville allegedly tried to breach the cockpit and "hijack the plane" on Friday.

As per a Fox News report, the Delta Flight 386 crew members tackled and zip-tied the man before anyone was harmed.

In a clip, apparently shot by a co-passenger, shows some of the encounter, with a man in airlines' uniform wrestling with someone who is out of view of the camera behind a row of seats.



Due the the unruly scenes, the plane from Los Angeles was diverted to Albuquerque, where it landed at around 2:20pm local time, according to local station KOAT-TV.

The suspect was taken in to custody and the aircraft then continued on to Nashville, according to the report. No one was injured.

Screengrab/Twitter

The passenger was not successful. The plane landed safely and the passenger was removed by police and the FBI. He is in custody now, Delta said in a statement to the station.



A woman named Jessica Robertson tweeted more than two minutes worth of footage of the suspect being restrained at the front of the plane.



This was our view from the 3rd row right after the @Delta attendants and passengers apprehended the person who attempted to get into the cockpit. He was screaming Stop the plane. pic.twitter.com/8CG7zNFpTq  Jessica Robertson (@jesscribe) June 4, 2021

There has been so far no information as to what prompted his outburst. The airline and law enforcement did not say whether the individual was armed, whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

FBI Albuquerque said there was no active threat to the public.

Also read: Passenger Tries To Open Emergency Door Of SpiceJet Flight To Varanasi Mid-Air, Arrested
A file photo taken in November 2020 shows illustration of vials with Covid vaccine stickers attached and syringes, with the logo of the University of Oxford and its partner British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.  Agence France-Presse

BANGLADESH started its vaccination programme against Covid-19 quite satisfactorily at the end of January 2021. It got momentum during February 1122 when only the first doses were administered. The daily administration of jabs exceeded 0.20 million at that time. If Bangladesh could retain the trend throughout the first two months, 10.20 million jabs could be administered during that phase. And maintaining this progress during the next two months, when the first and second doses were given simultaneously, Bangladesh could have administered 20.4 million jabs, plus another 10.20 million for a new group of vaccinated people supposed to get the first jab afresh. Thus, the total number of jabs would have reached close to 30.60 million within four months and the rate of vaccination would have reached the ratio of about 21 jabs per 100 people of the population by now. But that figure is only 6.01 as of May 29, 2021, as published by the New York Timess Tracking Coronavirus Vaccination around the World.

Counting the number of COVID-19 vaccination doses administered per 100 people irrespective of the number of people vaccinated till May 29, 2021, the above mentioned chart shows that the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada have the achievement of administering 95, 88 and 61 jabs respectively. The figures from Germany, Spain, France, and China are 59, 56, 52, and 43 respectively. Saudi Arabia, Brazil and India have the ratio of 40, 31 and 15 respectively. Although Bangladesh started the vaccination programme ambitiously, it failed to maintain the progress throughout the programme up to the end of May. Setbacks involving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in Denmark, Germany, France and some other EU countries following a number of incidents of the formation of blood clots in vaccine recipients had a negative impact on peoples mind resulting in a wavering condition as to whether or not to be vaccinated with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. This slowed down the progress in Bangladesh. There were other reasons too. Some people say that the conduct of the vaccination programme lacked the tenacity to overcome small glitches that got in the way. The final unfortunate blow came when the Serum Institute of India stopped the supply of vaccine after having supplied .70 million doses even though it was under contract to provide 30 million doses within a period of six months. When the supply of the intended number of doses got disrupted, the implementing agencies of the vaccination programme naturally became demoralised and had to compromise with adjustments in their planning, as the circumstances may dictate us to believe so. This has largely contributed to confining our achievement in terms of vaccination.

A review of the pandemic suggests that vaccination could play a major role in curbing the infection and death rates. If this factor is considered, we are not in a well off position at the moment. The Covid-19 Dashboard of the Directorate General of Health Services shows that 5,823,245 first jabs and 4,115,773 second jabs have been administered so far. This was the progress of the vaccination programme as of May 25, 2021. With Serums supply being discontinued, we have no other option but to depend on China and Russia. China has already donated 1.1 million jabs as a gesture of friendship and is committed to enter into a commercial deal which is under process. So it is with Russia. We expect that China and Russia will be true to their words in respect of possible export deals or the collaborated production of the Sinopharm and Sputnik V vaccines in Bangladesh. People who received the first dose of Serums Covishield vaccine, on the other hand, now have to wait for the supply to resume to receive the second dose. The government is now reported to be exploring all prospective sources. So we also expect that doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be available in due time for those who got the first dose of the Covishield vaccine. Everyone expects that Bangladesh will be able to be among the mid-level performing countries, not among the tail-enders, because it started the vaccination programme earlier than many developed and developing countries.

Gazi Mizanur Rahman, a former civil servant, is a writer.
Kolkata health workers administer the Covid-19 vaccine. Indian students planning on attending U.S. universities who have been inoculated with India's indigenous Covaxin or the Russian-made Sputnik V are being asked to revaccinate as these vaccines have not yet been approved by the World Health Organization. (Kuntal Chakrabarty/ IANS photo)
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A judge has rejected Prince William Countys quest for sanctions and formally ended a lawsuit saying members of the Board of County Supervisors violated open meeting laws last spring.

Circuit Court Judge Dennis Smith finalized an order on May 18 tossing a petition to reconsider a lawsuit by three county residents.

Alan Gloss, Carol Fox and Tammy Spinks filed the lawsuit last year against Board Chair Ann Wheeler and Democratic supervisors Victor Angry, Neabsco District; Margaret Franklin, Woodbridge District; Kenny Boddye, Occoquan District, and Andrea Bailey, Potomac District.

The plaintiffs claimed that the supervisors violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by attending a forum organized by the police chief.

The forum was organized after a May 30, 2020, protest in Manassas against the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The Manassas protest became violent, with police using tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets and arresting several protesters.

The emergency community meeting the following day, May 31, was arranged by Barry Barnard, then the Prince William police chief, and Jarad Phelps, who would become the interim chief after Barnards retirement in June. Barnard had tasked Rev. Cozy Bailey, the head of the local NAACP chapter and husband of Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey, with organizing a forum to discuss police actions the night before.

The boards five Democrats wound up attending the meeting, they testified, to hear from the community, not conduct official Board of Supervisors business. Only two actually coordinated their attendance, they testified. The rest heard about it through other channels.

The lawsuit was dismissed Oct. 7. Afterward, the boards Democrats sought reimbursement for $95,400 in legal fees.

Smith ruled against the Democrats request for reimbursement and dismissed the motion to reconsider the case.
IN a development that could set tongues wagging, the Reserve of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has named Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ambassador to Zimbabwe Mawampanga Mwana Nanga as one of the top beneficiaries of the countrys foreign exchange auction system.

The foreign diplomat received higher forex allocations than a large-scale mining company over a period of one year, The NewsHawks has established.

According to the latest list of 1 423 beneficiaries of the US$1.2 billion allotted under the main foreign exchange auction between June 2020 and 31 May 2021 which was published by the RBZ, the DRC ambassador  who doubles as the dean of African diplomats and is known for rallying counterparts in the diplomatic service to project Zimbabwe in good light especially during chaotic events like elections  accessed US$120 000 from the main auction system.

To put it into context, at position 992 on the main auction allocation list, Mwanananga, who has no known business interests in Zimbabwe, accessed the same amount of forex as the City of Gweru, one of Zimbabwes largest urban centres which is currently being dogged by run down infrastructure and water shortages, among other challenges.

The Congolese diplomat also accessed more cash than local diamond miner Murowa Diamonds which requires forex for its throughput. Mining is one of the most capital intensive sectors in the country.

Murowa received US$100 000 which represented 0.01% of the total allocations for large entities. Other notable beneficiaries which received less funds from the apex bank compared to the DRC ambassador include Hwange Colliery, Art Corporation, the City of Masvingo, Zimbabwe School Examinations Council and Bindura University of Science Technology.

At US$19 million, agro industrial concern Blue Ribbon Foods received the lions share of the allocations. The central bank, which may soon crack the whip on individuals and entities abusing forex accessed from the formal system, said funds accessed from the system would be used for raw materials, machinery and equipment, retail and distribution, among other critical needs.

Efforts to contact Mwana Nanga on his mobile phone were in vain. A text message sent to the DRC ambassador was not responded to.

Desperate to tame the runaway parallel market and stabilise prices, the central bank introduced the Dutch auction system a few years ago which critics said was heavily managed by the apex bank and benefited only a few individuals and companies.

At inception, the system benefited large corporates before a second-tier system was introduced for the small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

The central bank statement further shows that 2 027 beneficiaries comprising known, little known as well as prominent personalities were allotted US$102 million under the SME foreign exchange auction during the same period under review.

A few months ago, a local research unit expressed concern over the allocation list which was published by the RBZ at the start of the year.

On the qualitative side, it would have been more helpful if the central bank had also provided critical information on whether or not the top beneficiaries are exporting, how their capacity has improved, among other key variables that may aid in understanding whether or not the forex is being put to good use, Econometer Global Capital said in a research note. NewsHawks
Burma Myanmar Daily Post-Coup Update: June 4

Anti-regime protesters in Mandalay.

To keep you updated on what happened in Myanmar in the last 24 hours, here are the main events of the day more than three months after the putsch.

The rival government, the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, at its press conference on Friday said it would announce a national D-Day to fight the military regime when the time is ripe. The military regime imposed an hour-long internet blackout when the press conference started at 5 p.m.

In Kachin State, the combined forces of Shwegu Township Peoples Defense Force and the Kachin Independence Army attacked the township police station.

People staged a protest against the military regime in Myanmars jade mining hub, Hpakant.

In Shan State, at least four junta troops died in fighting with Moe Bye Peoples Defense Force (MBPDF) in Moe Bye. Some houses were damaged as the military council fired artillery and some civilians were also arrested by the military, said the MBPDF.

In Sagaing Region, four junta troops died in the fighting with civilian resistance fighters near Kale.

A bomb exploded outside a teashop in Myittar Myaing ward in Taze. Taze People Comrades formed by local resistance fighters said it was a warning to the teashop owner, who they claim is a military informant.

In Chin States Mindat, a striking policeman who was fighting on the side of the civilian resistance fighters was shot dead by a junta sniper.

In Tanintharyi Regions Laungon, a member of the Ka Myaung Kin village-tract administration body was shot dead by unknown attackers outside his house.

In Kayah States Demoso, junta troops shot dead a displaced civilian who was returning to his house to take food. In Loikaw, junta troops shot dead a motorbike rider.

In Ayeyarwady Regions Myanaung Township, a bomb exploded outside the house of the township Union Solidarity and Development Party chairman.

An explosion was reported inside the compound of the municipal office in South Dagon Township in Yangon Region.

Anti-regime protests took place in different forms in various locations across Myanmar.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Daily Post-Coup Update: June 3

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Myanmar Daily Post-Coup Update: June 1
Burma Myanmars National Unity Govt No Longer Has Faith in ASEAN

Myanmar coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (center) poses for a photo with the ASEAN secretary-general (left) and Bruneian foreign minister (second left) during the regional envoys visit to Naypyitaw on June 4. / New Light of Myanmar

Myanmars parallel National Unity Government (NUG) said it no longer has any expectation that ASEAN can help Myanmar, as the regional bloc has only engaged with the regime while neglecting it.

The comment came on Friday as two regional envoys visited the country as part of a five-point consensus agreed at the Jakarta meeting in late April, and met the junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing.

To help resolve the crisis caused by the military coup in February, the regional bloc has led the main international diplomatic effort. Four months on, the country is still reeling from the resulting chaos, such as the regime troops deadly crackdowns on protesters, economic stalemate and instability issues. The junta has been facing deadly resistance from ethnic armed groups as well as guerrilla-style civilian resistance forces across the country.

In April, the ASEAN leaders reached a five-point consensus, including urging Myanmar to accept the appointment of a special envoy to engage with all the parties and to grant access to humanitarian assistance from ASEAN.

After the Jakarta meeting, the Myanmar coup leader said the agreements will be carried out only when stability has returned to Myanmar.

During an online press conference on Friday, the NUGs Deputy Foreign Minister U Moe Zaw Oo said the NUG had asked the ASEAN secretariat many times what ASEAN would do if the coup leader, who had consented to the blocs five-points consensus, does not comply with the agreement. The NUG was not invited to the April meeting despite its request.

But there has been no response yet, he said.

The deputy minister said ASEAN must engage with both sides, saying ASEAN at the moment is not engaging with the NUG, but only with the junta leaders.

Frankly speaking, we no longer have any faith in ASEANs efforts, and we have no expectation, he said, adding that it looks like ASEAN does not have a solid plan for their credibility.

On the same day in Naypyitaw, ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and Erywan Yusof, Bruneis foreign affairs minister, met with Myanmar coup leader Min Aung Hlaing. They discussed cooperating with Myanmar on humanitarian issues, according to the militarys mouthpiece Myawady TV.

The junta also raised the issue of violence in the country and blamed the NUG and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Union Parliament) (CRPH), both of which it has declared treasonous.

During the press conference, the NUG stressed that it had nothing to do with ongoing explosions at schools or the killing of junta-appointed general administrative officials in urban areas.

U Moe Zaw Oo said, We disagree with violent acts, and we dont commit such terror acts against civilians. The NUG is not related to such violence.

The NUGs deputy minister of defense, Daw Khin Ma Ma Myo, said the NUG and CRPH are being accused of destructive acts that are believed to have been committed by military thugs.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Junta Troops Shoot and Arrest Young People in Yangon

Myanmar Junta Detains Pro Bono Lawyer Representing Kachin Protesters

COVID-19 Claims Three More Lives in Myanmar-India Border Town
Commentary Myanmar Juntas Efforts to Kill the NLD Will Always Fail

NLD supporters celebrate the party's electoral victory in Mandalay. / The Irrawaddy

Needless to say, Myanmars most popular political party, the National League for Democracy, will be abolished sooner or later, as it is the wish of the coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. No matter how many people supported it and no matter how many times it was democratically elected in landslide victories, it must be gone.

In the coup on Feb. 1 the top military leader used tyrannical means to make himself head of state by overthrowing the ruling NLD and arresting most of its leaders, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint.

But thats not enough if the coup leader is determined to achieve his political ambitionsto continue to rule the country and, perhaps, to anoint himself as president in the future. To be successful in that, he has to finish off the countrys most popular political leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, bury her party, the NLD, and render its new generation extinct from Myanmars soil.

Its a political annihilation that he seeks. Its also an act against the peoples will, because most of the more than 27 million citizens who cast ballots in the general election last year voted for the NLD. The Spring Revolution following the coup has also seen a significant number of teenagerswho were not eligible to vote in the last electionexpressing support for the NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

However, it will be a piece of cake for the regime.

To finish the political life of popular 75-year-old Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will just need a lengthy imprisonment (she is facing six legal charges) and to bury the NLD will need only an official announcement to disband it.

Only after this grand scheme is implemented will coup leader Min Aung Hlaing feel that he can run the country safely. Otherwise, the NLD will haunt him and his regime as in the past. And it might even take power back from him again with the overwhelming support of most people across the country, as it did in 2015 through the election.

Undoubtedly, it must be one of the main items on the agenda of the coup leader since he decided to seize power on Feb. 1, or even before that.

So, its the Union Election Commission, hand-picked by the regime, that will carry out the wish of the coup leader.

What should we do with the NLD, which plotted against the law [to win the election]? The party must be abolished. And we must consider taking action against those who rigged the vote as traitors to the country, said UEC chairman U Thein Soe, a former major general in the military, in a meeting with political parties held on May 21.

The NLD was now dubbed traitors for its rigged vote. But no international or domestic election monitoring groups found any evidence of electoral fraud. The Asian Network for Free Elections, which released its final report in May, said the outcome of the vote was by and large, representative of the will of the people of Myanmar.

But the regime and its UEC are not interested in what the election monitoring groups say, because thats not the story the junta is creating.

On May 15, the regimes spokesman said at a press conference that action must be taken against the NLD under the Political Parties Registration Law and the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, because the party supports the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), both of which the regime has declared to be terrorist and unlawful associations. The CRPH represents lawmakers, mostly from the NLD, who were elected in November. The NUG was formed by the CRPH as a shadow government to rival the military regime.

Then the UEC asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct a review to determine whether any of the countrys political parties have breached the pledges they made as part of the registration process. The move could be viewed as an attempt by the regime to provide legal cover for dissolving the NLD. It should be noted that the request to the ministry came three days after UEC chairman U Thein Soe publicly said that the NLD must be abolished because it plotted illegally to win the election.

In fact, this is not a new crackdown against the NLD. The previous military regime and its generals ruthlessly pursued the same strategy from the time the NLD was born in 1988 following the nationwide pro-democracy uprising. Of course, the NLD wasnt the only victim, but all pro-democracy forces were crushed during that time.

Former military dictatorand mentor of Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaingex-supremo Than Shwe, locked up NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for 15 years under house arrest starting in 1989, incarcerated many hundreds of NLD members and their elected lawmakers in notorious prisons for years and crippled the party and almost all of its political operations for two decades.

Under those conditions, with its key leaders and its political operations contained, the NLD was merely existing. It became truly active again only after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released in November 2010 and the party was allowed to operate more freely in a new political environment, albeit one that was dominated by the military under the constitution designed by then Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

The former military leader must have thought the NLD was finished under his political system controlled by the 2008 constitution. But he was wrong and so were his followers, like general-turned president U Thein Sein.

The NLD got overwhelming support from a majority of people across the country. As in the 1990 election, it won landslide victories in 2015 and 2020. Thats simply democracy.

Now, what Snr-Gen Min Aung Haling seems to have learned from his former master is not to let the NLD exist at all. So, no question that this time, under his regime, must be the worst for the party.

Since the coup, the regime has arrested more than 200 NLD members, including government ministers, lawmakers, members of the partys Central Executive Committee, heads and members of state and regional offices, as well as youth members. Many of the NLD members have been political prisoners before, having been jailed under the previous junta. Its forces cruelly killed several members of the NLD during their detention.

Additionally, other members who are still free have gone into hiding. All the NLD offices across the country stopped operating in the past few months.

Under the rule of Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, there will be no room or no survival kit for the NLD.

But if anyone believes in democracya genuine democracy which is based on the will of the majority of the people, its totally impossible for anyone, even powerful dictators, to finish off the NLD, its leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (regardless of the manner in which she eventually passes away) and their political capital, as they are based on the will of the majority of the people in the country. Aware of this, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi recently said in response to the regimes attempt to abolish it that the NLD will be there as long as the people are, because the party was founded for the people.

So, Min Aung Hlaing appears intent on annihilating the NLDa much harsher policy than even his ex-boss Than Shwe implemented. But this time, the resistance against this kind of action will be stronger. The coup leaders efforts to kill the NLD may be stronger this time, but they will be even more counterproductive.

Naing Khit is a commentator on political affairs.

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Great barbecue food from Novecento and homemade chorizos from The Knife, an open bar of Malbec, Chardonnay wine and Mahou beer and the warm setting provided by the Key Biscayne Beach Club, all come together to help a great humanitarian cause.

The perfect backdrop to create a true island philanthropic experience.

On June 10 at 8:00 p.m. the KB Beach Club will host a fundraiser for the reconstruction of the "School 926", in the Chaco Impenetrable National Park, in the Gran Chaco region of northern Argentina.

This school is destroyed, with no kitchen, broken windows and roofs, no bathrooms, causing more than 100 children to stop going to class. The objective of the event is to generate enough funds to help rebuild the school.

The work will include replacing doors and windows, fixing ceilings, electrical wiring, new bathrooms and especially the kitchen. The purchase of materials and labor will be made in the area, to promote much needed local work.

The complete reconstruction work of the school will require US $ 4,500. If the goal is achieved, one hundred children will be able to return to school.

Tickets to the event are $50.00 per person. To register or more information, click here.

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MiMi-Sandra of Fort Worth, born 7 September 1945 in Jacksonville to Joe Selman Gore and Jeffie Gwendolyn (Lazenby) Gore. Preceded by her parents and five siblings. Survived by her husband, daughters, four siblings, nieces and nephews.
He said the Trump Organizations internal approval process for moving large sums of money outside was for McConney to prepare a memorandum that we have to move money, and then either Allen or Trump himself would approve or deny the request.
CORNELIUS, N.C., June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The PV Solar industry continues to adopt tracker systems for increased energy yields and higher power output during more hours of the day. However, trackers can pose difficulties for monitoring systems and O&M providers due to inadequate visibility of real-world operations. Unlike fixed tilt sites, trackers also introduce multiple mechanical and electrical challenges. If left unattended, shortfalls in production accumulate, which can create significant production losses over time.
In the first-ever televised broadcast of the Georgia Trustees Gala, David Abney, executive chairman of the UPS Board of Directors, and Juanita Powell Baranco, executive vice president and COO of Baranco Automotive Group, were to be inducted Saturday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia Historical Society as modern-day Georgia Trustees.
Della A. (Kinkade) McGuire, 85, passed away at 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 10th, 2021 at the Presbyterian Manor in Parsons, KS, where she had lived for almost three years. On July 28, 1953, Della married Max E. McGuire. He preceded her in death on January 21, 1999. Della is survived by her 
The victim was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens with head trauma. He was later transferred to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell where he remained in critical condition late Friday night.
Fire and police department boats were working nearby after a jet ski incident and were at the ferrys side four minutes after it was reported to have run aground, said FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala.
Opinion Columnist

Chris Powell has worked for the Journal Inquirer since 1967, first as a reporter, then as an editor, and now as a columnist. He was managing editor from 1974 until retiring from that position in 2018.
A strike killed 14 civilians Saturday at a petrol station in the Yemeni city of Marib, the governments last northern stronghold, state media said, blaming rebels for the attack.

The Huthi militias targeted the petrol station where dozens of cars were waiting to fill up, sparking a huge fire in which 14 civilians perished, including a little girl, the Saba news agency said, adding that five people were wounded including a child.

It said a ballistic missile and a booby-trapped drone were used in the attack.

A medic in Marib confirmed the toll reported by Saba.

A resident meanwhile told AFP that the petrol station is located near an open-air market and a camp for displaced people, while another resident said that a government military base is also nearby.

Yemeni Information Minister Mouammar al-Eryani denounced the attack on Twitter, calling it a heinous terrorist crime which amounts to a war crime.

The Huthis rebels launched a fierce offensive in February to seize Marib and its surrounding oil fields  the last significant pocket of government-held territory in the north.

Heavy battles between the Iran-backed Huthis and forces of the internationally recognised government have exacerbated the Yemen conflict, which the UN calls the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

The attack came as a diplomatic push to secure a ceasefire in Yemens long war intensifies.

On Saturday an Omani delegation, accompanied by senior Huthi figures, arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa to try to convince the Huthis to accept a ceasefire and join the peace efforts, Huthi sources said.

Marib, which lies east of Sanaa, had witnessed relative stability since the war erupted in 2014 when the Huthis seized the capital, becoming a safe haven for hundreds of thousands who fled frontline fighting.

But the escalation of hostilities has displaced thousands in Marib this year, according to the UN refugee agency.

Maribs loss to the Huthis would be a major blow for Yemens government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and could unleash a humanitarian disaster for the regions civilians.

In late May the United States announced sanctions against two Huthi commanders who are leading the Marib offensive.

Yemens years-long conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed millions to the brink of famine.
Don McGahn testified to Congress on Friday after being summoned two years ago.

Former White House Counsel to President Donald Trump Don McGahn Congressional Democrats said on Friday that the investigation into Russias role in the 2016 U.S. election and the pressure on the lawyer to hinder the federal investigation revealed new clues.

McGahn served as a lawyer for President Trump for nearly two years before resigning in October 2018. He testified in a one-day closed-door meeting of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

McGahn appeared under the subpoena issued Two years ago Testified while the committee is investigating allegations of Trumps misconduct. At the end of 2019, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump on charges of abusing power and obstructing Congress. He was acquitted by the Senate and then controlled by the Republican Party.

The record of McGahns testimony will be published in the next few days. According to an agreement with the Ministry of Justice, members of the Judiciary Committee refused to provide details of what he had said before that.

Mr. McGahn is clearly disturbed by President Trumps refusal to follow his legal advice time and time again, and he has a new understanding of the disturbing incidents of today, Committee Chairman Jerrold Nader Le said in a statement.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler returned from leave to preside over a closed-door meeting with former White House counsel Don McGahn [J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]

However, Republican Congressman Matt Gates told reporters that McGahns testimony provided no new information.

Gates said of the Democratic Party: People expect Don McGahn to be some kind of important witness, bringing new information worthy of years of litigation and the expense of countless taxpayers.

Member and representative of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, leaves, and Matt Gaetz comments to reporters during a closed-door meeting with former White House counsel Don McGahn [J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]

The Democratic Representative of the Senior Judiciary Committee, Madeleine Dean, told reporters that McGahn made him the pressure and the pressure that other aides were subjected to the Presidents instruction by Rod Rosenstein to remove the special counsel (Robert) Mueller.

At the time, Rosenstein was the deputy attorney general, and Mueller was investigating Trump and his 2016 presidential campaign.

After a long investigation, Mueller found many connections between the campaign and the Russians and concluded that the campaign was expected to benefit Moscows efforts to make the vote beneficial to Trumps efforts. But Mueller said that this interaction either does not constitute a crime or is difficult to prove in court.

As White House legal counsel, McGahn has insider views on many of the events reviewed by Mueller and his team during the Russian investigation.

McGahn proved to be a key witness against Trump, and his name was mentioned hundreds of times in the Mueller report and its footnotes.

McGahn described to investigators the presidents repeated efforts to stop the investigation and the disturbing instructions he said he received from the president.

He recalled that Trump had asked him to contact the then Attorney General Jeff Sessions and ordered him not to avoid the Russian investigation. McGahn also stated that Trump had pleaded with him to tell then Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that Mueller was removed from his position because he believed there was a conflict of interest-and after the incident was reported in the media, he publicly and Falsely denying that this has been requested.

McGahn also described the circumstances that led to Trumps firing of James Comey as the director of the FBI, including the presidents insistence on including in the termination letter the fact that Comey had assured Trump that he himself was not under investigation.
According to a cybersecurity consultant who responded to the attack, the hacking that caused the largest fuel pipeline disruption in the United States and caused shortages across the East Coast was the result of a password leak.

Charles Carmakal, senior vice president of Mandiant, a network security company under FireEye Inc., said that hackers entered the Colonial Pipeline Co. network on April 29 through a virtual private network account that allows employees to remotely access the companys computer network. In an interview. He said that the account was no longer in use at the time of the attack, but it could still be used to access Colonials network.

Since then, the password for the account was discovered in a batch of leaked passwords on the dark web. He said this means that the colony employee may have used the same password on another account that was previously hacked. However, Carmakal said he was not sure how the hacker obtained the password, and he said investigators may never be able to determine how the credentials were obtained.

The VPN account has been disabled and multi-factor authentication is not used. This is a basic network security tool that allows hackers to use only leaked usernames and passwords to disrupt Colonials network. It is not clear how the hackers obtained the correct username, or whether they can determine for themselves.

We conducted a very detailed search of the environment to try to determine how they actually obtained these credentials, Carmakal said. For employees who used credentials, we did not see any evidence of phishing. Before April 29, we had not seen any evidence of other attackers activities.

Soon after the hacking, Colonial paid a ransom of US$4.4 million to the hacker, an affiliate of DarkSide, a cybercriminal organization associated with Russia [File: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg]

Ransom record

More than a week later, on May 7, an employee in the Colonial control room saw a ransom note demanding cryptocurrency appear on the computer before 5 AM. The employee notified an operations supervisor, who immediately started shutting down The pipeline process, Colonial CEO Joseph Blount (Joseph Blount) said in an interview. Blunt said that by 6:10 in the morning, the entire pipeline had been closed.

Blount said this is the first time Colonial has closed its entire gasoline pipeline system in its 57-year history. At the time we had no choice, he said. This is definitely the right approach. At the time, we didnt know who was attacking us or what their motives were.

Colonial Pipeline asked Carmakal and Blount to be interviewed before Blount testified before a congressional committee next week. He is expected to provide more details about the scope of the compromise and resolve the companys decision to pay the attacker.

It didnt take long for the news of Colonials closure to spread. The companys system transports approximately 2.5 million barrels of fuel daily from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast. The power outage has caused long queues at gas stations, many of which have been used up, and fuel prices have risen. Colonial resumed service on May 12.

Soon after the attack, Colonial began a thorough inspection of the pipeline, tracking 29,000 miles on the ground and in the air, looking for visible damage. The company finally determined that the pipeline was not damaged.

Scan the net

At the same time, Carmakal said, Mandiant is scanning the network to understand how far the hackers have probed when installing new detection tools, which will alert Colonial of any subsequent attacks  which is not uncommon after severe damage. Investigators found no evidence that the same group of hackers tried to regain access.

The last thing we want is to allow threat actors to actively access the network, where there are any possible risks in the pipeline. This is the biggest concern before restarting, Carmakal said.

Mandiant also tracked the hackers activities on the network to determine how close they were to the systems adjacent to the Colonial operating technology network (the computer system that controls the actual flow of gasoline). He said that although hackers do move around the companys information technology network, there is no indication that they can disrupt more critical operating technology systems.

Blunt said that only after Mandiant and Colonial were able to finally determine that the attack was under control would they consider reopening their channels.

Soon after the hacking, Colonial paid a ransom of US$4.4 million to the hacker, an affiliate of DarkSide, a cybercriminal organization associated with Russia. According to a report by Bloomberg News last month, hackers also stole nearly 100 GB of data from the Colonial Pipeline and threatened to leak it if they did not pay the ransom.

Colonial hired Rob Lee, founder and CEO of Dragos Inc., a cyber security company focused on industrial control systems, and John Strand, owner and security analyst of Black Hills Information Security, to advise on its cyber defense and focus on defending the future s attack.

After his company was attacked, Blunt said he hoped that the US government would hunt down hackers who found a safe haven in Russia. Ultimately, the government needs to pay attention to the participants themselves. As a private company, we do not have the political ability to shut down the host country with these bad actors.
According to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Friday, JP Morgan Chase will resume political donations to U.S. lawmakers, but will not provide political donations to Republican congressmen who voted to overthrow Joe Bidens victory in the presidential election.

After the fatal riots in the Capitol on January 6, supporters of former President Donald Trump tried to prevent Congressional certification elections. The bank is one of many companies that suspended political donations.

Just a few hours later, 147 Republicans, the vast majority of whom were in the House of Representatives, voted to overturn the electoral college results that Trump falsely claimed to be contaminated by fraud.

The bank said that after review, the countrys largest bank will resume donations through its Political Action Committee (PAC) this month, but will continue to freeze donations to the small number of 147 lawmakers it previously supported.

The suspension will last until the election cycle from 2021 to 2022, including the midterm elections in November, after which JPMorgan Chase will review whether to resume donations to relevant legislators based on individual circumstances.

This is a unique historic moment, and we believe that the country needs our elected officials to put aside their strong differences and show unity, the bank wrote in reference to the vote that proved Bidens victory on January 6.

JPMorgan Chase pointed out that its PAC is an important tool for participating in the political process of the United States. A PAC is a political committee organized to raise cash to support or in some cases oppose election candidates.

By its very nature, democracy requires active participation, compromise, and contact with people who hold the opposite view. This is why the government and business must work together, JPMorgan Chase wrote.

As part of its improved spending strategy, the bank will also expand donations from legislators overseeing financial affairs to those who are actively involved in issues that the bank considers the moral and economic imperative of our country, such as addressing the racial gap between rich and poor, Education and criminal justice reform.

Since the initial rebound in January, companies have been trying to figure out how to recover PAC spending, which lobbyists believe is important for reaching policymakers without alienating other stakeholders, including employees who fund PACs.

Federal records show that the American Bankers Association PAC, one of the largest banks in the United States, began donating again in March.

Although JP Morgan Chase did not mention any legislators in its memo, the banks new policy may alienate the influence of Republicans on bank policies, some of whom have already taken a positive stand on issues such as climate change and racial equality. Feel angry.

According to data from the Center for Response Politics (CRP), out of 147 lawmakers, JPMorgan Chase provided $10,000 to members of the House Finance Committee Blaine Luetkemeyer and Lee Zeldin, and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy during the 2019-2020 election cycle. . Representatives of the lawmakers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to CRP, all in all, JPMorgan Chases PAC provided nearly $1 million to federal candidates and committees supporting candidates in the 2019-2020 election cycle.

According to CRP data, of the $600,300 it provided to federal candidates, nearly 60% went to Republicans and the rest went to Democrats. As the bank supports broader social and economic issues, this combination It may tilt further to the left.

Data shows that commercial banks have generally increased political spending in recent years, providing federal candidates with $14.6 million in the 2020 cycle, which is the second highest amount since 1990.

After the 2008 financial crisis, this combination benefited Republicans, but in recent years banks have increased spending on Democrats because they want to rebuild bipartisan support in Congress.
Warner Springs (CNS)-San Diego County Sheriffs Department staff seized more than 3,900 marijuana plants after executing a search warrant at an illegal cultivation operation in Warner Springs on Friday.

San Diego County compliance officials also found several dangerous violations and environmental-related crimes related to the operation.

According to the sergeant, the arrest warrant was served at the scene at the 30800 block of Chihuahua Valley Road around 7 am. Camon Harris.

Detectives seized 3,916 live cannabis plants, valued at nearly 1.5 million U.S. dollars. Harris said investigators said they believed the marijuana was shipped to unlicensed marijuana shops in Southern California.

Harris said the arrest warrant was part of an investigation into the cultivation and sale of illegal marijuana in San Diego County and was issued following community concerns about illegal marijuana activities near schools and residential areas.

Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.
National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar said that more than 600 police officers will use body cameras to combat violations of the rights of suspects.

The chief of the Philippine police announced that hundreds of police officers in the Philippines will begin to wear body cameras during the operation. After thousands of murders and cover up allegations, they will listen to the demands of human rights organizations to be held accountable.

On Monday, an off-duty policeman shot and killed another woman. This caused public outrage. This led to condemnation from activists who said police brutality had become systemic. Under the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte and his bloody drug war.

The 52-year-old Lilibeth Valdez was killed, recorded on a mobile phone and shared on social media, sparking widespread condemnation.

In the video, police officer Hensie Zinampan was seen pulling Valdezs hair before shooting her in the neck. Administrative and criminal charges have been filed against him.

The Human Rights Commission said it is investigating the killing.

Following a series of deaths and killings attributed to the police recently, we urge the Philippine National Police to translate the promise of internal cleansing into an actual reduction in the number of local human rights violations. There are too many deaths for one person, the agency was killing. Said later.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the recent shooting was disturbingly reminiscent In December 2020, a mother and child were killed by a policeman In Tarak province.

Carlos Kant, a senior researcher in Human Rights Watchs Asia Department, said: This case shows that only when criminal acts are captured on cameras can the police be held accountable.

These incidents highlight the need for police officers to wear body cameras that comply with proper procedures during operations. Although cameras alone cannot prevent police from abusing their power, they bring a certain degree of transparency in police operations.

On Friday, Lilibeth Valdez, a 52-year-old woman who was shot by an off-duty police officer, was buried in an apartment-style grave in Metro Manila [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]

Staging a crime scene

Valdez rested in peace at a ceremony on Friday.

The Philippine police were accused of executing suspects and then staged crime scenes and fabricated reports. Activists claimed that the culture of impunity under Duterte made them more bold. The police and the government rejected these claims.

Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar (Guillermo Eleazar) said that in order to combat police abuse of power and eliminate doubts about the legality of the operation, more than 600 police officers will use body cameras on Friday.

In a statement, Eleazar also stated that the cameras were a tribute to the police, whose ultimate sacrifice in performing their mission was accused of extrajudicial executions, providing evidence and other unfair allegations.
San Diego  Authorities have identified two San Diego police detectives who were killed in a crash in the wrong direction near the border on Friday night. They were married couples.

SDPD Director David Nisleit identified the detectives as 32-year-old Ryan Park and 33-year-old Jamie Huntley-Park. The driver who crashed into the police car was also killed in the fiery crash, but the authorities have not yet released her name.

According to the authorities, the detective was killed when the wrong driver hit their car head-on on Interstate 5 near the San Ysidro Dairy Supermarket Road.

CHP started investigating shortly before 10:30 am because a car on I-5 was driving in the wrong direction. Soon after, another call came about the crash.

According to the Centers for Health Protection, the Honda Civic driven by the wrong driver caught fire after colliding with a police officers Ford car near Interstate 905. Officials found three bodies in the wreckage.

Salvador Castro, a spokesperson for the Health Protection Center, said at the scene that the heroic efforts of the San Diego Fire Brigade failed to rescue any of the passengers in the two vehicles.

The department said in a statement: The San Diego Police Department expresses its most sincere condolences to the relatives of the fallen detective. We ask the San Diego community to maintain thoughts and prayers with the detectives family during this difficult time.

The Health Protection Center said its officials are still working to determine how fast the reverse driver is driving and whether drugs or alcohol are the cause of the accident.
Kranhold said the actress was going to meet friends for dinner when she was struck. Banes was going to stop by her alma mater, Juilliard, and Lincoln Center along the way, her spouse said.
President Moon Jae-in immediately accepted Li Chengyongs resignation, making him the air force commander with the shortest service time in the country.

According to her family, the chief of staff of the South Korean Air Force has resigned and apologized and assumed responsibility for a member of the army who committed suicide after being sexually harassed by a colleague.

After an Air Force sergeant chief was arrested in March for molesting and hurting a female colleague of the same level, Li Chengrong offered to resign.

I feel very responsible for this series of situations, the general said.

I express my deep condolences to the victims and my sincere condolences to the families of the deceased.

President Moon Jae-ins press secretary said on Friday that he immediately accepted Lees resignation, making him the shortest commander of the South Korean Air Force since he was appointed in September.

The victims family said she suffered mental distress and continued bullying, and accused the Air Force of trying to cover up the attack and shut her up in the past two months.

After the womans family filed a petition to Moon Jae-ins office on Tuesday, demanding thorough investigation and punishment of those involved, the case sparked strong public protests. So far, more than 326,000 people have signed the agreement.

This case also puts a lot of pressure on Moon Jae-in. His popular support rate has been declining steadily, and his political party Fiasco in the election The two major cities before next years presidential election.

Too little too late

Moon Jae-in ordered an investigation on Thursday, including how the Air Force handled the case, because the family reported to the military prosecutor three officials from the Li base, accusing two of them of negligence and attempted coercion, and the other for sexual harassment.

The Air Force fired the two directors involved in the Lee case on Thursday, but did not elaborate on the reasons.

The Ministry of National Defense said that on Friday, military prosecutors raided the Air Force Gendarmerie Headquarters and the offices of the Li Zayong base.

A series of incidents prompted the military to tighten regulations and penalties for sexual abuse, but activists said the military is still too weak against members accused of wrongdoing.

The investigation is ongoing, but so far, there are signs that the Air Force is trying to protect its own organization, not the victim, despite her repeated attempts to seek help, a defense source who asked not to be named quoted the investigation to Reuters. Say.

Amid growing discussions about whether to abolish the all-male draft pick in the South, the womans death also followed.

All able-bodied male citizens must serve for nearly two years, but women can join the army voluntarily.

Military bullying and other forms of abuse have long tarnished South Korean military service and have led to several suicides and fatal shootings in the past.

March, A transgender Korean soldierAfter being forcibly discharged from the army after sex reassignment surgery, she committed suicide, triggering another public outcry.
According to the US State Department, Christiana Chamorro and two of her colleagues were arrested on fabricated charges.

The United States on Friday called on the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to immediately release the detained opposition leader Christiana Chamorro and two of her colleagues.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said: Their detention on unwarranted charges is an abuse of their rights. This is an attack on democratic values ??and an obvious attempt to free and fair elections.

Chamorro is Under house arrest After her home was raided by the Nicaraguan police on June 2, Ortega tried to maintain control of power during an escalating political struggle before the November elections.

The 67-year-old journalist Chamorro is seen as a possible challenger for Ortega, who is expected to run for re-election for the third consecutive term in November.

Policemen Raid the home of the Chamorro In the capital, Managua, after spending more than five hours on the scene, her brother Carlos Fernando Chamorro announced on Twitter that they would put her under house arrest and isolation.

Nicaraguan presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro tried to challenge long-time president Daniel Ortega in the November national election, but she has been placed under house arrest. [Carlos Herrera/Reuters]

The Chamorro is the third potential opposition candidate arrested in Nicaragua, where two opposition parties have been declared illegal.

The detention of the Chamorro also drew condemnation from the Democratic leader of the U.S. Congress and Representative Eric Svalwell of California on Friday.

Instead of wasting time to suppress dissent in an undemocratic way, Ortega should work hard to get his country out of poverty and terrible violence, which has caused many of his voters to leave the country, Svalwell Say.

I condemn in the strongest terms the unreasonable house arrest of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on the popular opposition candidate Christiana Chamorro. My statement: pic.twitter.com/Fiw1g4IOls -Representative Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) June 4, 2021

Svalwell called on the Biden government to cooperate with allies in the region to impose consequences for the Ortega regimes attacks on freedom, democracy and human rights.

A group representing Nicaraguan political prisoners and the mothers of the victims called for a nationwide strike after the Chamorro were detained.

A national strike is better than a bullet, said Grethel Gomez, standing in front of Chamorros house. The families of political prisoners came here to express their solidarity.

Earlier this week, the Nicaraguan Attorney General-Ortegas ally-asked Chamorro to disqualify her from public office because a criminal investigation was conducted against her, and a judge immediately signed and approved it.

She was accused of money laundering by state attorneys and accused of false statements, but she denied these allegations.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken met with President Carlos Alvarado in neighboring Costa Rica on June 1, criticizing Ortegas behavior and reiterating the United States Economic sanctions against Nicaraguan officials.

Sanctions have a purpose, and that is to promote accountability for those who violate human rights, corruption or undermine democracy, Brinken said.

In Costa Rica, Antony Blinken said Nicaragua is moving in the opposite direction | QCosta Ricahttps://t.co/QWbd4ciQEH -Voice of Nicaragua (@vozdenicaragua) June 4, 2021

Although the Chamorro can appeal the disqualification, it is unlikely to be revoked due to Ortegas influence on the court.

The Chamorro of legendary political descent has recently become a possible candidate for unity, and he can unite the divided opposition to defeat Ortega in the November vote.

Chamorro is the daughter of Violeta Chamorro. She was elected President of Nicaragua in 1990 and removed Ortega after she took power for the first time. Her father, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, led the democratic opposition Somoza in dictatorship after decades Assassinated in 1978.
Veterinarian warns of heat risk

A top veterinarian issued a heat wave warning, worrying that pet owners did not take enough measures to protect their four-legged friends from heatstroke, sunburn and even skin cancer.

As the UK enjoys the heat wave of bank holidays, people are increasingly worried about our pets being over-exposed to the sun, especially since many of us became pets for the first time during the lockdown.

Aimee Labbate, veterinarian Pocket vet, Revealed her important tips to protect cats and dogs from serious problems in hot weather.

Aimee said: As a general rule of thumb, when the temperature exceeds 19C, exercise your dog with caution. We not only need to worry about pet heatstroke, but also need to worry about the mat scorching or even sunburn, especially cats.

It is important to remember that your pets skin will burn just like our skin. Remember to protect them with proper sunscreen, especially the nose and ears.

If you let it burn, your pet may develop skin cancer. Unfortunately, we see this in unprotected pets, especially cats. If you notice any changes in your pets behavior, its best Seek advice from the veterinarian.
Some researchers have recently stated that they believe there is a link between the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and a small number of people suffering from myocarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle). Here are the answers to some of the questions people have asked:

What causes myocarditis?

This is not a very common thing, said Dr. Carolyn Quach-Thanh, a pediatric infectious disease expert and medical microbiologist at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal.

When myocarditis occurs, it is usually after various types of viral infections, from the common cold to gastrointestinal diseases. As part of the bodys immune response, the virus can cause inflammation of the heart.

Usually, myocarditis is not serious and will go away on its own after infection.

In many cases, nothing can be done. You have to wait for it, Quach-Thanh said.

In rare cases where inflammation affects the hearts ability to pump blood, treatment may include anti-inflammatory drugs or steroids.

Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh said that myocarditis sometimes occurs after viral infection, and the symptoms are usually mild. (Amelie Philibert / University of Montreal)

What are the symptoms?

Some people didnt notice it at all. But according to Dr. Peter Liu, a cardiologist and chief scientific officer of the Heart Institute at the University of Ottawa, the most common symptoms include:

Chest pain.

There is a feeling of pressure in the chest that will not disappear.

The pain worsens when you take a deep breath.

Shortness of breath.

In more severe cases, arrhythmia and fainting occur.

Where does the theory of vaccine links come from?

It is difficult to determine whether the few people who develop myocarditis after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will develop it, or whether it is caused by the vaccine.

last week, The Israeli Ministry of Health announced A study it commissioned convinced them that there was a possible link between receiving a second dose of the vaccine and developing myocarditis. Research so far has focused on Pfizer vaccines, not Moderna vaccines, which are also mRNA vaccines.

Israeli officials said that of the more than 5 million people who were vaccinated, 275 cases of myocarditis were reported between December 2020 and May 2021mainly men between the ages of 16 and 30.

The Israeli government says this frequency is rare and most cases are mild.

Pfizer stated that it is aware of the results of the Israeli investigation, but does not believe that a causal relationship has been established. The company said that the incidence of myocarditis after vaccination is not higher than the normal incidence in the general population.

Health officials in the United States are also monitoring the frequency of myocarditis after vaccination.

Who is most affected?

Based on research to date, male adolescents and young men seem to be most likely to develop myocarditis after vaccination-although this is still very rare in this group.

Liu said that this is consistent with general myocarditis. He said that regardless of the cause, men are about twice as likely to develop the disease as women, and they are usually very young.

Why does the vaccine cause myocarditis?

The currently available mRNA vaccines, including Pfizer-BioNTech, have evoked a strong immune response, thats why they are so protective [against COVID-19], Liu said.

In addition, young people tend to have a stronger immune response. When they receive the second dose of vaccine, their immune system is already ready from the first dose.

Therefore, in rare cases, an overactive immune response may occur, which can trigger inflammation around the heart, he said.

Will Canadians get myocarditis after being vaccinated?

Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada said they are watching closely Myocarditis monitoring report, But has not yet seen a clear connection with mRNA vaccines.

Spokespersons from the two agencies said in an email to CBC News: The incidence in Canada is not higher than expected by the general population (outside the scope of the vaccine).

Cardiologist Liu said that the information he has seen so far indicates that myocarditis caused by mRNA vaccines does occur, but rarely occurs.

In addition, it only seems to happen after the second dose, he said.

Liu said Israel may see more cases of post-vaccination myocarditis because it is far ahead of Canada in providing people with a second dose of vaccine.

Watch | The second key to delta variants:

The delta variant of the more transmissible coronavirus first discovered in India is taking root in Ontario, and officials are racing to get more people vaccinated. Studies have shown that a single dose of vaccine is only about 33% effective against delta variants. 2:03

Quach-Thanh said that this is an advantage for Canada in terms of vaccine side effects monitoring.

She said that because myocarditis is more common among young people, when its their turn to get the second dose, other countries, including the United States, should have clearer data on how big the association is.

So should anyone avoid vaccination?

The overwhelming consensus of expertsincluding the Israeli experts who most firmly stated that it is related to myocarditisis definitely not.

The efficacy of the vaccine outweighs the risk, Nachman Ash, the countrys pandemic response coordinator, told an Israeli radio station.

Canadian experts agreed and pointed out that COVID-19 itself is a serious threat to heart health-so getting an effective vaccine to prevent it is the right approach.

I have heart disease. Should I be vaccinated?

The Heart and Stroke Foundation stated that for people suffering from cardiovascular disease, vaccinations to protect themselves from COVID-19 are particularly important.

Patrice Lindsay, Director of Health System Reform at the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, said: If you are infected with COVID, your condition will be worse, noting that the organization has so far found no potential vaccine side effects to prove that someone did not get it. Was vaccinated.

Liu agreed.

The risk of rare cases of myocarditis occurs mostly in young individuals with no history of heart disease and can usually resolve on their own, he said.

Patients with heart disease are not at high risk.

So what is the bottom line?

All experts interviewed by CBC News emphasized that Canadians, including teenagers and young men, can be confident that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective.

But they said that it is still important for the public and healthcare providers to be aware of the potential risk of heart inflammation after the second dose of Pfizer BioNTech.

This way, if someone has symptoms and they have recently received a second dose of the vaccine, they will not just erase the symptoms, but should also talk to the healthcare provider. In turn, this information can help healthcare providers diagnose myocarditis more quickly and determine whether any treatment is needed.
The media network condemned the arrest of Givara Budeiri, saying that the systematic attack against her reporter violated all international conventions.

Givara Budeiri, reporter for Al Jazeera News Channel Was brutally arrested Israeli occupying forces reported on demonstrations near Sheikh Jala in occupied East Jerusalem. Al Jazeera asked the Israeli government to be responsible for her welfare and demanded her immediate release. Al Jazeera photographer Nabil Mazzawi was also destroyed by the Israeli authorities while reporting his camera.

Commenting on the arrest, Dr. Mostfa Suger, Acting Director-General of Al Jazeera Media Network said: We condemn the actions of the Israeli occupation forces in the strongest terms. The systematic targeting of our journalists violates all international conventions. The Israeli occupation forces today The violence against Givara Budeiri and Nabil Mazzawi completely ignored the basic human rights of journalists.

He further stated: In recent weeks, Gaza and Occupied Jerusalem have witnessed the Israeli authorities intimidating journalists to suppress their daily activities. These actions cannot be viewed in isolation. Todays arrest occurred two weeks after the bombing. Destroy the Al Jalaa building, Which has offices in Gaza for Al Jazeera and other media organizations.

This kind of attempt to prevent journalists from fulfilling their professional duties of informing the world and reporting on local events is a crime against the press.

Al Jazeera called on international news organizations and human rights agencies to jointly condemn the Israeli governments actions, and called for the immediate release of Givara Budeiri and all other detained journalists, allowing them to pursue their own professions without restrictions. Fear or intimidation.
The attack took place at night and targeted residents of Solhan village in Jakarta, which borders Niger.

Armed assailants killed about 100 civilians when they attacked a village in northern Burkina Faso at night.

The government said in a statement on Saturday that the attackers attacked on Friday night and killed residents of Solhan village in Jakarta, which borders Niger, and added that the attackers also burned down houses and a market.

It described the attackers as terrorists, but no organization claimed responsibility.

The government declared 72 hours of national mourning.

Since the beginning of this year, in the Sahel region of West Africa, attacks by fighters associated with Al-Qaida and Islamic State (ISIS) have increased dramatically, especially in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, where civilians have been the first to bear the brunt.

Burkina Fasos poorly equipped army Struggled To curb the spread of violence.

Last year, the government recruited volunteer militias to help the army, but was retaliated by insurgents who attacked them and the communities they helped.

Armed groups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger promote religious and ethnic tensions between agro-pastoral communities to promote recruitment in marginalized communities.

The United Nations agency said last week that the worsening violence in the wider Sahel has caused one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises.

In just over two years, the violence in Burkina Faso has displaced more than 1.14 million people, and this poor and arid country has also hosted approximately 20,000 refugees from neighboring Mali who are seeking to escape the violence Security.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey supports the future of Bitcoin, and he supports the importance of cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin absolutely changed everything, Dorsey Yesterday at Bitcoin Conference 2021I think there is nothing more important than this in my life.

He added, If Im not in Square or Twitter, Ill be working on Bitcoin. If [bitcoin] Need more help than Square or Twitter, I will leave them to Bitcoin. However, I believe that both companies can play a role. 

It appears in Elon Musk said he missed Bitcoin After yesterdays markets recent rebound stalled, several major coins plummeted.

This Tesla CEO Published a meme about a couple breaking up due to excessive quoting of Linkin Park lyrics.Mr. Musk Shared memes With #Bitcoin and a broken heart emoji.

with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano with Dogecoin After showing an upward trend for most of Friday, everyone fell again.The market trend is as follows Elon Musk A meme mocking the market downturn was posted on Twitter.

The billionaire CEO of Tesla-whose social media activities have driven the cryptocurrency market like anyone else-posted a couple breakup meme with the emoji of #Bitcoin and Broken Heart.

Chasing the truth Experts say the world must push for an investigation after the disturbing UFO report Wild ride With Twitters Jack Dorsey supporting cryptocurrencies, Ethereum and Bitcoin rose In danger WhatsApp check once message will help paedos destroy evidence activists say Lost city From the Pyramids of Japan to the Underwater Kingdom of Wales-Stunning Lost City SAM spam Geeks dressed as Samsungs new Sexy Samantha mascot, leading the viral trend X-TRA Microsoft is giving away free Xbox Series X consoles to people who play games
The official media said that the clashes in the villages of the Irrawaddy region caused three deaths, while the local media said that as many as 20 civilians were killed.

According to official media, fighting between Myanmars security forces and villagers holding catapults and crossbows in the Irrawaddy Delta has killed at least three people-although local media reported that as many as 20 people have been killed.

State television news reported that three terrorists were killed and two arrested in Hlayswe village on Saturday because security forces went to arrest a man accused of plotting against the country.

A military government spokesperson did not answer a call from Reuters, requesting comment on the violence in the village of Kyonpyaw Township, Ayeyarwady Province. Reuters could not independently confirm the death toll.

Since the military dismissed the Aung San Suu Kyi government in February, Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy has been paralyzed, citing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud during the 2020 elections.

At least four local media outlets and one resident said that before dawn on Saturday, clashes broke out in Hlayswe, about 150 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Yangons main city, when soldiers said they had come to find weapons.

The only people in the village are crossbows, and there are many casualties on the peoples side, said the resident, who asked not to be named, fearing retaliation.

Khit Thit Media and Delta News Agency said that 20 civilians have been killed and many more injured. They said that after the soldiers attacked the residents, the villagers tried to fight back with a catapult.

According to MRTV National Television, security forces were attacked by compressed air guns and darts. It said that after the shootout, the bodies of three attackers were found.

If confirmed, the death toll given by the local media will be the highest in a single day in the past two months.

The local defense force

According to a militant group, about 845 people have been killed by the army and police since the coup in February. The military government disputed this figure.

Several communities across Myanmarespecially towns and villages where the police caused a high death toll during the protestshave formed local self-defense forces.

But in conflicts with the Burmese army, their numbers and firearms are often outnumbered, and the Burmese army is one of the most tenacious and cruel troops in Southeast Asia.

Since the coup detat, conflicts have also broken out in the border areas, where about two dozen national troops have been fighting the country for decades.

The anti-military Rigou Peoples Defense Force stated that it attacked a police station in northern Rigou along with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on Friday night.

Reuters could not reach KIA for comment.

In eastern Myanmar, MBPDF (Mobye Peoples Defense Forces) stated that it clashed with the army on Friday and four terrorist soldiers were killed.

Protesters against the Burmese military government burn the flag of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Mandalay, Myanmar [Reuters]

Despite the turmoil, the Burmese army has hardly shown to listen to calls from opponents to relinquish control.

This week, the military government welcomed the first high-profile foreign tourists-the ICRC president and two ASEAN Special Envoy.

On Saturday, protesters in Mandalay, Myanmars second largest city, burned an ASEAN flag and accused the organization of legitimizing military rule.
Newest:

As the pace of COVID-19 vaccination in Canada continues to accelerate, the countrys top public health official reiterated the importance of receiving a complete two-dose series of vaccines, especially now that the latest worrying variant has been discovered in several provinces.

Dr. Teresa Tan said on Friday that it was recently called the delta variant, which was first discovered in India, also known as B.1.617, and was found basically throughout Canada.

Tan said that this variant is believed to be the cause of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in parts of the UK and has proven to be more spread than previous versions of the new coronavirus.

Preliminary data released by the Department of Public Health last week showed that Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxfords COVID-19 vaccines are effective against delta variants after two doses, but are less effective after only one dose.

As of Friday, 65% of eligible Canadians had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but the vaccine tracker showed that approximately 7% of the eligible population had been vaccinated.

On Friday, 83-year-old William Bechard (left) watched his 92-year-old friend Rory OFarrell take second place at the CAA Center Sports Center in Brampton, Ontario COVID-19 vaccine. (Nathan Dennett/Canada Press)

Tam said the high spread of delta variants is clearly a worrying feature.

[It] Means that in under-vaccinated people, or if we let go [of] Public health measuresIn the context of a transmissible variant, this variant is likely to take off and replace other viruses in the community, she said.

So when there are variants such as delta variants in our community, getting a second dose is very important.

Watch | Health officials say that the second dose of the vaccine against the delta variant is key:

The delta variant of the more transmissible coronavirus first discovered in India is taking root in Ontario, and officials are racing to get more people vaccinated. Studies have shown that a single dose of vaccine is only about 33% effective against delta variants. 2:03

As more and more vaccine supplies flood into the country, some provinces are speeding up the introduction of a second dose of vaccine.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that a large number of vaccines will continue into the summer, and it is expected that by the end of August, there will be more than 2 million doses of Pfizer vaccine each week.

Trudeau said that Pfizer will receive 9 million doses in July and expects to have 9.1 million doses in August. He added that Canada has also negotiated an option with Pfizer and plans to deliver 3 million doses of Pfizers drugs in September.

Trudeau said he was encouraged by the vaccine introduced in Canada, adding that Canadians have reason to be hopeful this summer and fall.

The more people vaccinated, the safer we will be so let us start looking forward to more things we like, from camping to dinner with friends, he said.

Whats happening in canada

As of 7 am Eastern Time on Saturday, Canada has reported 1,389,508 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 26,575 are considered active. The death toll on CBC News is 25,679.

Approximately 60% of Canadians have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In the past three months, the number of doses injected nationwide has increased from approximately 1 million to more than 25 million. Approximately 29 million doses of vaccine have been shipped to Canada, most of which are Pfizer-BioNtech vaccines.

Trudeau said that the 48 million doses of Pfizer currently ordered by Canada will be delivered by August.

British Columbia Report 183 new COVID-19 cases There was another death on Friday. This is the fourth consecutive day that the number of new cases per day has fallen below 200 in the province.

Watch | Reports of a small number of children vaccinated against Pfizers heart inflammation:

A small number of children who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reported heart swelling. Researchers and officials are closely tracking this phenomenon, but so far, they have not found the cause of the panic. 2:03

Alberta 244 new cases and 7 deaths were reported, while in neighboring areas Saskatchewan, Health officials report 89 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.

Manitoba Report 329 new cases and 4 deathsIn order to free up beds, dozens of COVID-19 patients remain in intensive care units in other provinces.

in Ontario, The province reports 914 new COVID-19 cases And 19 others died. According to provincial data, due to COVID-19, the number of hospitalizations is 687 and there are 522 in the ICU.

Quebec 279 new COVID-19 cases and 4 other deaths were reported on Friday. According to the provincial dashboard.

Across the north, Nunavut According to Governor Joe Savitataaq, a new case of COVID-19 was reported on Friday, bringing the number of active cases in the region to 10.

These two North-west region with Yukon Territory No new cases were reported on Friday.

Friday in Atlantic Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Report Two new COVID-19 cases, Nova Scotia 15 new cases reported with New Brunswick Report 10.

Prince Edward Island Report Two new cases Thursday.

Watch | The Atlantic Provinces reopening plan includes a vaccine certification strategy:

The Atlantic provinces plan to allow Canadian travelers to enter without isolation, provided they have been fully vaccinated. This is not far from the concept of a vaccine passport, which raises fairness issues for Canadians who are still waiting for the first and second doses of vaccine. 1:57

What is happening around the world

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, as of Saturday morning, more than 172.6 million COVID-19 cases have been recorded worldwide. Coronavirus toolsThe reported global death toll exceeds 3.7 million.

Japan 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have been shipped to Taiwan, more than double the amount of vaccine available on the island.

As Taiwan reported 472 new infections, the vaccine landed at Taipeis main international airport on Friday afternoon.

Australian On Saturday, Victoria, the second most populous state, reported a slight increase in locally infected COVID-19 cases.

Five new cases were reported, bringing Victorias total in the most recent outbreak to 70.

The state capital Melbourne has entered the second weekend of the hard lockdown, which was originally scheduled to end on June 10. Restrictions in other parts of the state were relaxed on Friday.

On Saturday, police patrolled on horseback near a mass vaccination center in Melbourne against protesters who opposed vaccination. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

inside United States, Hawaii Governor David Ige said on Friday that once 70% of the states population has been vaccinated against the disease, the state will remove isolation and COVID-19 testing requirements for travelers.

He said that once this level is reached, Hawaii will also cancel the requirement for people to wear masks indoors.

The state Department of Health website stated that 59% of Hawaiis population had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 52% completed the dosing regimen.

Currently, travelers arriving from outside the state must be quarantined for 10 days, or in order to bypass the quarantine, they must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test before departing for the island.
The government said on Saturday that gunmen killed at least 100 people in a village in northern Burkina Faso, the deadliest attack in the country in years.

Government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement accusing the militants that the attack took place in the village of Solhan in the Sahels Yagha province on Friday night.

He said that the local market and several houses were also burned down near the Niger border.

The President of Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, described the attack as barbaric.

Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Location and Incident Data Project of Armed Conflict, said this was the deadliest attack in Burkina Faso since Burkina Faso was occupied by militants associated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State about five years ago. event.

It is clear that the militant groups have stepped up to exacerbate the situation in Burkina Faso and transfer their efforts to areas outside the direct range of the French-led anti-terrorist coalition fighting them in the border areas of the three countries, he Say. Say.

No organization claimed responsibility for the attack.

Although there are more than 5,000 French troops in the Sahel, radical violence is still increasing. In one week in April, more than 50 people were killed in Burkina Faso, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish environmentalist. More than 1 million people in the country have been internally displaced.

On November 23, 2020, a child fleeing an attack by armed militants in the Sahel can be seen in an internally displaced person (IDP) camp in Kaya, Burkina Faso. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

A local, who asked not to be named, was worried about his safety and was visiting relatives at a medical clinic in the town of Seba, about 12 kilometers away from the location of the attack. He said he saw many wounded enter the clinic.

I saw 12 people in one room and about 10 people in the other room. There are many relatives taking care of the wounded. There are also many people running from Sol Khan to Seba People are very scared and worried, he told The Associated Press presses the phone.

The government announced 72 hours of condolences.

United Nations provides support

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was angry at the killing and told the authorities Fully support the authorities in overcoming the threats to the peace and stability of Burkina Faso.

He strongly condemned the heinous attacks and emphasized that the international community urgently needs to redouble its support for member states to combat violent extremism and its unacceptable casualties, Dujarric said in a statement.

Extremists are increasingly launching attacks in Burkina Faso, especially in areas bordering Niger and Mali.

Last month, gunmen killed at least 30 people in eastern Burkina Faso near the Niger border.

In this photo taken on September 17, 2019 in the village of Yagma near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, a young woman holds a baby. Due to continued violence, more than 1 million people in the country have been internally displaced. (Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images)

Burkina Fasos poorly equipped army has been working hard to contain the spread of militants. The government recruited volunteer fighters to help the army last year, but these volunteers were retaliated against by extremists who targeted them and the communities they helped.

Mali is also experiencing a political crisis that has led to a suspension of international support.

France has stated that it will cease joint military operations with the Malian army until the military government of this West African country complies with international requirements and resumes civilian rule.
The victim is a longtime member of the 100 Clocks street gang and was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of a Brooklyn robbery in 2000, according to court records and police sources.
The chief legal officer ordered the prosecution of anyone who refused to follow the government blockade on social networks.

After all mobile operators in the country were ordered to suspend access to the social media giant, Nigerian Attorney General Abubakar Malami has ordered immediate prosecution of those who try to circumvent the governments Twitter ban.

There are no more details about the prosecution and who will be targeted, but many Nigerians criticized Saturdays announcement on social media.

The Federal Attorney General has now ordered the arrest and prosecution of anyone who uses Twitter in Nigeria. This is the next stage of tyranny, bullying and oppression. Please let the world know that the Nigerian government has now declared war on young people.  #OurFavOnlineDoc ?????? (@DrOlufunmilayo) June 5, 2021

Buhari suspended @TwitterBusiness in Nigeria is not legal. This is a policy. The Nigerian Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and association of Nigerians.Therefore, please ignore any illegal threats from Attorney General Buhari to arrest you#TableShaker #BuhariTormentor -Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) June 5, 2021

Earlier in the day, Nigerias telecommunications operators stated that they had complied with government orders to suspend access to Twitter. Two days later, the social network removed a violation of its rules from the account of President Muhammadu Buhari. tweets.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) confirmed that its members have received formal instructions from the government regulator to suspend visits.

ALTON members are responsible for the mobile network that most Nigerians use to access Twitter.

Twitter can still be accessed via relatively expensive fixed broadband, which is rarely used by Nigerians.It is not yet clear

Access via this route will also be blocked. Some users in Nigeria are able to circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network (VPN).

The Nigerian Ministry of Information announced on Friday that the government will suspend Twitter operations indefinitely. It did not mention the tweets that Buhari deleted, but stated that the platform was suspended because activities can undermine the survival of Nigerian businesses.

Twitter stated that it had taken action because the tweet violated the sites rules for abuse. The American technology giant also suspended the account for 12 hours.

The company said in a statement: The Nigerian government announced the suspension of Twitters business in Nigeria, which is deeply worrying.

We are investigating and will provide updates when we learn more.

news Immediately aroused strong opposition Between social media users and human rights activists.

If the government does not revoke the decision to suspend Twitter, many groups, including the Nigerian Bar Association, have threatened to take legal action.
Johannesburg, South Africa  As the winter sun dipped below the horizon on a cold Wednesday evening last June, hundreds of women, men and children gathered sombrely on the streets of Meadowlands in Soweto.

Dressed in black, and clutching pink balloons and flickering candles, the crowd  some hand-in-hand, many with tears in their eyes  made their way to the home of Tshegofatso Pule, the words of an old anti-apartheid struggle song echoing in the air around them.

Senzeni na, senzeni na (what have we done?), they sang, paying their final respects to a life lost too soon. It would be the first of many gatherings in her name.

Five days earlier, on June 5, 2020, a group of residents from Durban Deep in Roodepoort, a residential area seven kilometres (four miles) from Meadowlands, stumbled upon a spine-chilling sight: the lifeless body of a heavily pregnant woman, blood dripping from her torso to her toes, hanging from a tree in broad daylight.

They made multiple phone calls to other community members but their efforts failed to identify her. So the group of men took pictures and videos of the gruesome scene and started circulating them on social media. The footage was posted to try and find her family, said one witness, Tshepo Bodibe, who had been summoned to the crime scene by a friend.

On June 8, the devastated family of Tshegofatso, who had been searching for their daughter for days, saw the gut-wrenching viral video of a woman hanging from a withered grey tree. They recognised her as their Tshego, as she was affectionately known.

The 28-year-old had been eight months pregnant when she was shot in the chest and then hanged.

Tshegofatso Pule (centre) with friends Lindiwe Radebe (left) and Zinhle Zwane (right) [Photo courtesy of Zinhle Zwane]

Nothing could ever prepare you for this, says Tshegos childhood friend, Zinhle Zwane, as tears well up in her eyes. A distraught Zinhle had first shared the news of her friends gruesome death on Twitter. It sent shockwaves across the country, sparking outcries from women, politicians and celebrities.

Among those who took to social media to express their shock in the wake of the killing was former Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi, who tagged the South African president in a tweet, expressly saying I am not okay! This is not okay! Mr President, we are dying!

Zinhles smile perseveres across her tear-stained face as her mind wanders back to the good memories she shared with her friend. The pair met 22 years ago when they were just six years old. Their mothers before them, had also been close friends. But the line is now cut; her child will never get a chance to be friends with Tshegos daughter, who died in the womb along with her mother that day.

As women, we are not safe. We can fight, march and raise awareness, the reality is that we are not safe, Zinhle says.

One of eight women

In South Africa, a woman is killed every four hours. On June 5 last year  the day Tshego was killed  she became yet another statistic: one of eight women brutally murdered by men in South Africa that day.

We know the names of two of the others: Luyanda Nkambule, 29, whose life was cut short in her home in Secunda, Mpumalanga province, and Nompumelelo Tshaka, 45, who was mutilated and her body discarded in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape.

For two of the others, we know a bit of their story: in KwaZulu-Natal, two young nurses were brutally killed on their way home from St Apollinaris Hospital, allegedly by an ex-boyfriend of one of the victims.

But the other three are merely numbers. The grim reality is that femicide is grossly underreported in the media, and police reports often strip victims of their identity, turning them into statistics.

Women take part in a protest against gender-based violence in Pretoria in 2019 [File: Jerome Delay/AP Photo]

According to the human rights organisation, Centre for Constitutional Rights, the femicide rate in South Africa is five times the global average. In the first two weeks of June 2020, 21 women were reportedly murdered by men in the country. But we may never know the names, faces and stories of all of them.

For South African women, the familiar feeling of fear and collective trauma has shown itself in desperate pleas on social media, urging the government to take action against femicide.

Days following the public outcry after Tshegos killing, President Cyril Ramaphosa released a statement condemning the surge in violence against women and children in the country. In the statement, he urged communities to end the culture of silence and speak up, adding it could save your lives.

But for many young South African women, like Beloved Sechele, his words rang hollow. The law student replied under his statement posted on Twitter, This is dismissive and hurtful because we have articulated our troubles and reported many times. She went on to say, We are literally suffering and this feels like yet another brush-over of our concerns.

Her sentiments were echoed by Monique Smith, a political science student at the University of Pretoria, who fired back in the Twitter comments, Mr President has shown that when he wants to [tackle an issue] he will. She continued, Look at how he worked with many different leaders to try to minimise the impact of COVID-19. How quickly laws and bans were enforced. He doesnt give gender-based violence the same energy because he doesnt want to.

Tshego: She lit up the room

Makhotso Mahlatsi is a spirited, bubbly student. She was a good friend of Tshegos and spoke to her just a few days before she was murdered. We were talking on the phone when she heard my boyfriends voice in the background and thought he was talking to her, she then teased him for butting into our conversation and we all laughed.

Her voice quivers while recounting their final chat, That was Tshego, you could never stay mad at her.

Makhotso met Tshego a few years ago when they worked together in a shop. I definitely initiated the friendship. At first, I thought she was shy, but once I really got to know her, I saw her outgoing, loud and hilarious side, and I loved it.

Her heartache still palpable, she continues, You know how people say someone lights up a room, that was literally Tshego.

From left to right, friends Lindiwe Radebe, Zinhle Zwane and Tshegofatso Pule [Photo courtesy of Zinhle Zwane]

Friends say Tshego often gushed about the fact that she was expecting a little girl, and had already picked out a name. Those closest to her say she was excited to be a mother and was planning a baby shower for June 27. In fact, on June 4, the day she left her Meadowlands home before she was killed, Tshego had told her family and friends that she was meeting her then-boyfriend, Ntuthuko Shoba, to buy clothes for their baby.

Later that night, Tshego had apparently sent a message to a friend, telling her that she just wanted to come home. Her friends surmise that the couple might have fought. Security camera footage taken just before 10pm outside Shobas Westlake apartment complex in Florida, Roodepoort, 7km (four miles) away from where Tshegos body was discovered, painted an ominous picture of her final moments. Tshego can be seen leaving his apartment and seemingly voluntarily getting into a grey Jeep in the cold dark of the night. Shoba is nowhere to be seen in the footage, but he would later inform the police about the security cameras in his apartment complex, in the early days of the investigation.

Following weeks of protests and mounting pressure, the South African police launched a manhunt and apprehended the driver of the now infamous grey Jeep, a 32-year-old man named Mzikayise Malephane.

On February 19, 2021, eight months after he was arrested, Malephane stood in a Johannesburg courtroom and pleaded guilty to charges including murder, obstruction and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but this was not the end of the case.

According to the plea agreement read out by his lawyer, Malephane claims he was offered R7,000 ($490) to carry out the killing but declined, only agreeing to do it when the offer went up to R70,000 ($4,900). Armed with this information, investigators swiftly moved to arrest the man implicated as the mastermind behind the murder: Tshegos 33-year-old boyfriend and the father of her unborn baby, Ntuthuko Shoba.

Two days after the confessed killer Malephane was sentenced, Shoba stood in the dock for the first time facing murder, obstruction and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Clean-shaven in a black suit, the former Johannesburg Stock Exchange analyst appeared composed. During his bail application, the state alleged it had proof that on May 29, 2020, Shoba called Malephane 11 times and then a further 23 times using an unregistered sim card on June 4, 2020, the day that Tshego went missing. With that, his first bail application was denied.

On May 7, 2021, Shoba stood in court once again, in a second bid to be released on bail. But Magistrate Delize Smith denied his second application, telling the court that it would not be in the interest of justice to release him. Many women in the public gallery, including members of the ruling African National Congress partys Womens League, relatives, neighbours and friends of Tshego, could be seen and heard rejoicing, ululating and crying.

Suspect Ntuthuko Shoba appears at the Roodepoort Magistrates Court for bail reapplication on April 22, 2021 in Johannesburg [File: Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images via Getty Images]

Athandwa Gumbi sat on the pavement with a small group of young women who had been singing outside since the court proceedings commenced. The group had come to support Tshegos family as well as to protest more generally against gender-based violence. Her eyes red and swollen from crying, the 20-year-old university student said she lives in fear.

Our bodies are just crime scenes, a place for men to violate and discard us in the bushes beneath shallow graves  South African women are not safe. Taking her mask off to wipe her face with a tissue, she continued, The worst part is, you just dont know when it will be you.

Nompumelelo: A beloved sister

On the same day that Tshegos lifeless body was discovered, a passer-by found the body of a 45-year-old woman in an open field in Mthatha, Eastern Cape province. Nompumelelo Tshaka had been brutally murdered with an axe, her face crushed and left on display. According to her brother Andile Tshaka, the crime scene was so gruesome that the police first called to the site were sent for counselling.

Her family still reels from the aftermath of losing their beloved sister and daughter.

According to police spokesperson, Captain Khaya Tonjeni, investigators had moved swiftly to arrest Ayanda Zenani, a 36-year-old man who was alleged to have been Nompumelelos boyfriend.

On June 18, the magistrates court in Mthatha heard and denied Zenanis bail application. In the wake of public outcries about the prevalence of femicide, Lieutenant General Lisiziwe Ntshinga, the police commissioner of the province, released a statement promising to make an example of the man suspected of killing Nompumelelo.

Almost 10 months later, Zenani was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the horrific murder. Nompumelelos brother, Andile says the profound loss was a painful experience that continues to devastate their entire family.

Women hold placards as they protest against gender-based violence outside the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2019 [File: Marius Bosch/Reuters]

Rosie Motene, a Pan-African queer feminist and author, believes that at the root of femicide is the fact that patriarchy is entrenched in institutions that are meant to protect the vulnerable. I know from experience how difficult and traumatic it is to deal with the South African Police Service in pursuit of protection, she says. On many occasions, we have had to spend hours pleading with the police to open a case against a violent perpetrator.

Through her organisation, Letsatsi Healing Space, Rosie provides services to help marginalised women open cases against perpetrators of violence and get protection orders.

I think we need to be intentional about demanding change and smashing the patriarchy in our legal system, in the media and society at large, she says.

Xolie Mngadi, a performing art gender-based violence activist at the Campus of Performing Arts in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, believes that misogynoir makes up the fabric of South African society to the extent where, Institutions that are meant to protect and take decisive action against atrocities committed against women, are simply too incoherent to function. She continues, There is no chance that women can stop femicide, while at the receiving end of violence. The onus is on the government to interrogate the ineffectiveness of current efforts, if any.

Luyanda: She had an infectious smile

With an enigmatic smile and beautiful eyes, Luyanda Nkambule was, by all accounts, an ambitious young woman. On June 5, 2020, her fate was forever intertwined with that of Tshego, Nompumelelo, and the five other women whose lives were senselessly stolen in South Africa that day.

Secunda is a coal mining town in the Mpumalanga province. Luyanda was a resident of Tuscan village, a tight-knit community. The 29-year-old student was discovered by her flatmate at about 5:45pm, lying in a pool of blood, with an electric cord tied around her neck.

According to the police, it appears she was murdered during a house robbery because some of the victims valuables were taken, including a laptop, house keys and two mobile phones. Captain Gerhard Elmes, the spokesperson for Secunda Police, described the scene as truly horrendous.

Mbalenhle Mabuza is a waitress and blogger. On that sunny Saturday morning, she planned to go to work when she got a phone call from a mutual friend she shared with Luyanda. The voice on the other end of the line broke the news. She was devastated, I called my manager and asked for the day off because it was just too painful to fathom.

When not at work, Mbalenhle spends her days taking pictures of her food, the places she travels to, and doing natural hair styling tutorials. She remembers her younger days with Luyanda at her side when the two attended the same primary school and stayed together at a boarding school in White River. Mbalenhle giggled a little recalling how Luyanda would get into trouble for laughing out loud during school assemblies.

She fondly described her friend as a breath of fresh air. She was bubbly, and silly with a huge heart and an infectious smile  you can see it in all her pictures.

There is no one in this world that she adored more than her little brother.

Luyanda Nkambule, a 29-year-old student who was killed on June 5, 2020 [Photo courtesy of Afrika Mosadi]

When South Africa went into lockdown in March last year due to the coronavirus, Luyanda got creative and started planning a book club, Mbalenhle said. She challenged her friends to read 50 books by December.

Mbalenhle cannot stop herself from laughing as she remembers their last conversation and how they spoke about the importance of being financially independent but never shying away from being spoiled. Their mantra, Mbalenhle explained, was Black women deserve everything.

Killed with no repercussions

Families and friends of South Africas femicide victims mourn their loved ones, as every day the number of women killed gets higher. Meanwhile, activists continue to put pressure on the government to take decisive action, pointing out that the actual number of femicides is likely to be twice as high as the number reported.

Bafana Khumalo, of Sonke Gender Justice, a non-profit that tackles gender-based violence, said women are not just falling off the face of the Earth, but are deliberately being killed by men while the government lacks the political will to end the massacre.

Al Jazeera contacted the director of communications in the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities for comment on the scourge of violence against women in South Africa, but did not receive a response before publication.

Demonstrators protest against gender-based violence in Pretoria in 2019 [File: Jerome Delay/AP Photo]

Gender-based violence on-campus campaigner at the University of Johannesburg, Sezikhona Phakade, said the problem in South Africa is that men know they will get away with it.

Impunity is the biggest enabler of crime, what would impede men from murdering and violating us when theres only a three percent chance that they will be prosecuted for it? she asked.

Phakade alludes to the fact that the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, announced that only 130 of the 4,058 people arrested for alleged gender-based violence (GBV) in March 2020, had been convicted. This includes cases such as femicide, assault with intent and other forms of physical violence, and it means that the conviction rate for violent crimes against women is only three percent.

In addition, Phakade argued, Apartheid and colonialism left a legacy that says Black women do not own their bodies, that we do not deserve to live on our own terms, and that we can be killed with little to no repercussions.

Zimasa Mpemnyama, a Black feminist writer, says: Despite South Africa making great strides since the dawn of democracy, the lingering cultural impact of apartheid is best illustrated by the level of misogyny that is grossly normalised and societys attitudes towards women and particularly Black women.

A year after the heinous murder of Tshego and her unborn baby, all that remains for her family, friends and the community of Meadowlands are memories and a fight for justice.

Tshegos best friend smiles as she remembers their last conversation, She wanted to have a water birth, so I was playfully scaring her about labour pains. After a short pause, she adds, I still listen to our voice notes. I miss her every day.

For South African women, all that is left are struggle songs and the lingering thought, Am I next?

And when the next does come, they will wear black clothing, hold candles and walk towards the home of another woman whose life has been stolen, singing: Senzeni na (What have we done?), Senzeni na kulomhlaba? (What have we done in this country?)
The G7 advanced economies have reached a historical agreement they call taxation of multinational companies, hoping to create an unstoppable momentum for reaching a global agreement.

A communique issued on Saturday showed that the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Canada have found enough compromises to prevent companies from transferring profits to low-tax jurisdictions and to ensure that the largest multinational companies are located where they operate. Pay more taxes.

The agreement was welcomed by the Minister of Finance and marked an important step forward in the negotiations that began in 2013.

Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, as the organizations chairman this year, welcomed the deal. He said: My financial colleagues and I have reached a historic agreement on global tax reform, requiring the largest multinational technology giants to pay a fair share of taxes in the UK.

The UKs first priority in the negotiations is to get more revenue from companies such as Apple, Google and Facebook.

Sunaks enthusiasm has been recognized by other G7 finance ministers. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the agreement is a significant, unprecedented commitment to at least 15% of the worlds lowest corporate tax, which will significantly increase US corporate tax revenue.

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz stated that the deal was good news for tax justice and solidarity, and bad news for tax havens around the world.

French colleague Bruno Le Maire said that the G7 countries have faced up to the challenge of this historic moment, saying that the agreement paved the way for the G20 global agreement to be held in Venice in July.

The details of the first part of the agreement are a major concession made by the Biden administration in the United States. It clearly stated that the worlds largest company with a profit margin of at least 10% must distribute 20% of its global profits to the country where they sell.

If implemented, this will overturn the international corporate tax that has existed for a century, which means that profits are taxed only where the company has a physical presence.

The definition of the worlds largest company remains to be resolved. This part of the transaction will require a global agreement later this year.

In return for this concession, the United States has obtained agreement from other G7 countries to impose a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15% on each country.

This will reduce the motivation of large companies to declare profits in tax havens or low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland, because the country/region where the company is headquartered will be able to make up the companys tax payment to the lowest effective level in the world.

The United States is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the second pillar of the agreement.

On Friday night, people have been bargaining over whether the agreement will set the global minimum tax rate at 15% or at least 15%. Countries such as France have called for higher tax rates in order to get more income from its largest country. the company.

One of the most controversial issues is that the United States requires France, the United Kingdom, and Italy to waive the new digital tax in exchange for the right to tax the transaction. US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen (Janet Yellen) had hoped to do so immediately, while European countries insisted that they would eliminate these taxes once any global agreements were signed and approved.

The communique shows that this part of the transaction still needs to be linked to specific commitments. We will provide appropriate coordination between the application of the new international tax rules and the abolition of all digital service taxes for all companies and other related similar measures, it said.
The three-year ban on offensive weapons was overturned, prompting condemnation from the states Democratic governor.

A federal judge overturned Californias three-year-old assault weapons ban, ruled that it violated the constitutional right to bear weapons and hit the states Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who condemned the order.

San Diego District Judge Roger Benitez ruled that the states definition of illegal military rifles illegally deprives law-abiding Californians of weapons that are normally allowed in most other states and the US Supreme Court.

Benitez said on Friday: The law cannot survive under any degree of rigorous scrutiny. He issued a permanent injunction prohibiting law enforcement, but put it on hold for 30 days to allow State Attorney General Rob Rob Bonta has time to appeal.

Governor Newsom called it a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians.

In his 94-page ruling, the judge praised modern weapons, saying that most of them were used for legal reasons.

Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapons and defense equipment. It is good for family and combat, the judge said in the introduction of his ruling.

Newsom said in a statement that this comparison completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face for families who have lost loved ones because of this weapon.

This decision is a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians. Comparing the AR-15 with the Swiss Army Knife is a slap in the face for those who have lost their loved ones due to guns. We will not back down, we will fight for common sense gun laws. https://t.co/YHaruaxtEX  California Governors Office (@CAgovernor) June 5, 2021

This decision was made at a time when gun violence surged across the United States-and just over a week later, a disgruntled and heavily armed California public transportation worker shot and killed nine people.

This weeks search of the gunmans home-which was set ablaze shortly before the attack-found 12 guns, approximately 22,000 rounds of ammunition and suspected incendiary bombs.

Mass shootings have also occurred in Florida, Indiana, California, Colorado, and Georgia, and violence has surged. President Joe Biden referred to it as an epidemic.

The U.S. Supreme Court will also hear gun lobby groups questioning a New York law restricting the expenditure of guns.

This will be the first major case involving the Second Amendment constitutional right to carry weapons before the U.S. Supreme Court in more than a decade.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has slowed violence in the workplace as more people stayed at home, gun sales have also reached a record high.

According to the New York Times, in March last year, the number of weekly federal background checks on gun buyers exceeded 1 million for the first time.
A man who was previously convicted of sexual assault and kidnapping, and who died in 2016, has been named as a "person of interest" in the death of teenager, Molly Bish pictured on June 27, 2000 in Massachusetts.
North Kansas City-based health care IT firm Cerner Corp. says they are currently going through a reduction of their workforce.
When the smoke cleared, a 25-year-old man was shot in the back, a 24-year-old man was hit in the chest, a 38-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the right arm and a 29-year-old man was hit in the right leg, authorities said.
In the recent Florence Korea Film Festival, Korea's mystery-thriller movie "Recalled" that stars actress Seo Ye Ji and actor Kim Kang Woo, received a special award!

Florence Korea Film Festival Recognizes Seo Yoo Min's Film "Recalled"

The annual Florence Korean Film Festival began the ceremony by introducing the dedication and passion of the young and promising Korean film directors to Italy. As they celebrate their 19th year anniversary, the known festival has established a place for cultural exchanges between the two involved countries.

Meanwhile, the masterpiece of director Seo Yoo Min, movie "Recalled," had the opportunity to screen, along with Yoo Jong Bin's "the Spy Gone North" and Lee Chang Dong's "Burning" for the Orizzonti category.

After the movies were presented, "Recalled," starring "It's Okay to Not Be Okay" actress Seo Ye Ji and "Woman of 9.9 Billion" actor Kim Kang Woo, was chosen to be the recipient of the Audience Award as the whole piece received enthusiastic response from the Italian audience.

Director Seo Yoo Min expressed her gratitude upon hearing the good news, according to her, "Since I was still a student, I have always loved Italian movies. That's why this award is very meaningful to me. I am happy to hear that 'Recalled' won the Audience Award in Italy, a country full of great films."

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE :IU and Park Seo Joon Excite Fans with Script Reading Video for Their Upcoming Film 'Dream'

Seo Ye Ji, Kim Kang Woo Prove Their Credibility as Actors in the International Scene

Last April 21, the mystery-thriller movie "Recalled" hit the cinemas and gained positive feedback from the viewers. It was about Soo Jin (Seo Ye Ji), a woman who lost her memory and started to see visions of the future. But as she puts together her memories, she discovers a shocking truth about her husband, Ji Hoon (Kim Kang Woo).

The movie is still available for streaming on various platforms such as Wavve, TVING, Kakao Page, Google Play, and Naver Series On.

Sweet! There are many articles reporting how Seo Yeji's movie, 'Recalled' won the "Audience Award" at Florence Korean Film Festival.



Love how despite everything, her talent speaks loud and clear! #seoyeaji #seoyeji



View the articles, like, and share  pic.twitter.com/3Ux1dID4MK   (@MISSSKYFLOWER) June 4, 2021

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Seo Ye Ji Snubbing Baeksang Arts Awards after Winning 'Tiktok Popularity Star' Title

Have you watched Seo Ye Ji and Kim Kang Woo's "Recalled"? What can you say about it? 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
GQ Korea released a five minutes TMI interview of "Sweet Home" actor Song Kang. A segment where an artist has to pick random questions inside the TMI box and personally answer them.

Song Kang Genuinely Answers Fans Questions in TMI Interview with GQ Korea

After the magazine pictorial of Song Kang for GQ Korea's June magazine issue, he sat with the team and started the candid interview. The young actor read the first question he picked that asks, "How do you respond when someone you like comes within 10m near you?."

Song Kang answered, "Actually, I am a playful person, but when someone I like appears in front of me, I immediately become stiff." He added, "I am not sure if it's because I feel shy, but I tend to be quiet, cold, and unfriendly."

The "Love Alarm" star further explained that he gets extremely shy when he is in front of the person he likes and hides his true feelings from her. Song Kang also shared that he is not good at expressing his feelings.

When asked about what was his favorite among all the projects he did recently, Song Kang revealed that it was "Sweet Home." And explained that he had a great time working on the series because he had been surrounded by actors who were at the same age as him, namely Lee Do Hyun and Go Min Si.

Song Kang shared that normally, during his day off, staying in bed and listening to music was his form of relieving stress. Due to his busy schedule, he admitted that he doesn't have enough time to take a break.

Sometimes when he finishes work, Song Kang goes to the gym and eats together with his friend. After that, the 27-year-old said that when he arrived home, he always had a cup of coffee with him.

Watching movies or zoning out the window are also his routine to release stress.

Song Kang as the Next Promising Korean Drama Actor

For two consecutive years, Song Kang has been working non-stop, he is one of the in-demand young K-drama actors today. With his stable and awe-inspiring acting, Song Kang is slowly making his way to becoming one of the promising Korean stars in and outside his country.

Meanwhile, he will star in JTBC's forthcoming romance series "Nevertheless" along with "The World of the Married" star Han So Hee. Various photo and video teasers were released, and their on-screen chemistry already excites both of their fans.

"Nevertheless" will be available on June 19 every Saturday at 11 p.m (KST) on JTBC. Be sure to watch it!

In Case You Missed It: 'Nevertheless' Teaser Displays Breathtaking Romance Between Song Kang and Han So Hee

Which among Song Kang's dramas/movies do you like the most and why? 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.
The American Legion of Ohio said Thursday it is investigating a Memorial Day incident in which a keynote speaker's microphone was turned off during part of his speech that touched on Black people's historical role in creating the national holiday.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter was speaking at the ceremony held by a local chapter in Hudson when his microphone was lowered for nearly two minutes during a portion of his 11-minute speech, according to a news release.

Video of the event from public access channel Hudson Community Television shows the microphone cutting out, Kemter tapping the microphone and then asking someone to address the sound problem. Kemter can be seen continuing on with his speech without the microphone.

"I assumed it was a technical glitch," Kemter told The Washington Post.

The American Legion of Ohio said it was "investigating this incident thoroughly," adding that the actions "of the individuals in question do not represent the beliefs of the American Legion Department of Ohio and its members nor will they ever be tolerated."

Kemter, in an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal, said he found it interesting that the Legion "would take it upon themselves to censor my speech and deny me my First Amendment right to (freedom of) speech."

"This is not the same country I fought for," Kemter added.

The speech was at Markillie Cemetery in Hudson, nearly 15 miles northeast of Akron. According to the American Legion of Ohio release, the event organizers asked Kemter to change parts of his speech before the event.

"Mr. Kemter did not adjust his speech and showed the speech to a Hudson public official, who advised Mr. Kemter to leave the speech intact," the release said. "These events culminated in Mr. Kemter's microphone being shut off by an unknown person during the portion of the speech event organizers requested be changed beforehand."

In a letter, Democratic state Rep. Casey Weinstein told Suzette Heller, the department adjutant for the American Legion Department of Ohio, that the "blatant act of censorship" was intended to scrub Kemter's reference to the role of freedmen in the Union Army and the subsequent establishment of Memorial Day.

"As a Hudson resident, a veteran of the United States Air Force, and the past Ranking Member of the Ohio House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee, I find the censorship of Lt. Col. Kemter profoundly alarming," Weinstein wrote.

National Commander James W. "Bill" Oxford assured that the Ohio American Legion would be conducting a full investigating.

"Regardless of the investigation's outcome, the national headquarters is very clear that The American Legion deplores racism and reveres the Constitution," Oxford said in a statement. "We salute LTC Kemter's service and his moving remarks about the history of Memorial Day and the important role played by Black Americans in honoring our fallen heroes. We regret any actions taken that detracts from this important message."
The United States has for decades enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with Russia that has often served as a powerful symbol of cooperation between the East and West in the post-Cold War era. But that cooperation could soon dissolve, and it has NASA's new chief, Bill Nelson, concerned.

Russian officials are threatening to pull out of the International Space Station, the orbiting laboratory that the US and Russia have jointly operated for two decades, as soon as 2024 in favor of operating an independent space station. Meanwhile, Nelson and the US government want to continue the ISS program through at least 2030.

"If Russia pulls out," Nelson put simply, "it would not be good."

Adding to the complexity of US-Russia relations is the fact that Russia has signaled that it's willing to cooperate closely with China on plans for deep space exploration. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to explore establishing a joint lunar base, while geopolitical tensions between the US and Russia and China are in deep crisis over human rights abuses, cyberattacks and a range of other issues.

NASA is also forbidden from opening up conversations with China about potential bilateral coordination because of the Wolf Amendment, a 2011 law that bans the US space agency from engaging in such discussions unless explicitly approved by the FBI or Congress.

"If Russia starts just depending on China, then, I expect we would have a whole new race to the moon with China and Russia against the US," Nelson told CNN Business' Rachel Crane in a Thursday interview. "For decades, upwards now of 45 plus years [we've cooperated with] Russians in space, and I want that cooperation to continue."

Still, Nelson said he is hopeful that a lot of talk from top Russian government officials is not reflective of the sentiment toward the United States within Russia's space agency, Roscosmos.

"I can tell you, whatever the politics is where we have a very strained relationship with Russia right now at the Putin level....I can tell you the workers, the space workers, they want to continue with the Americans," Nelson said.

On Friday, Nelson held his first phone call with Dmitry Rogozin, who has led Roscosmos since 2018.

When reached by phone on Friday, NASA Press Secretary Jackie McGuinness said Rogozin and Nelson discussed the future of the country's cooperation in space, but there were no firm promises made on Rogozin's end regarding how much longer it intends to remain a partner.

According to a statement from Roscosmos, Nelson did bring up his intention to continue operating the space station through 2030, and Rogozin expressed support for Nelson as well as addressed "several questions that had been initiated by the US side earlier and now are substantially hindering the cooperation."

The statement berated the sanctions "introduced by the American administration against the enterprises of the Russian space industry."

Rogozin also announced "a number of [research] initiatives" for joint Russian-American corporation, and "the parties agreed to activate talks in all fields, including the face-to-face meeting format."

In a separate statement from Nelson, he said the call was "productive" and that he looks forward to speaking with Rogozin further.

Rogozin does have a history of publicly bashing the United States, particularly US-based rocket businesses, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is a major NASA contractor and operates the only US spacecraft capable of shuttling US astronauts to and from the ISS. It was also Rogozin who told Russian state media in April that Russia would pursue operating its own space station that could launch in 2030, saying "the station must be national... if you want to do well, do it yourself."

But Roscosmos' actions have indicated that Russia and the US will continue to share responsibilities for keeping the ISS fully staffed and and stocked with supplies for the time being, NASA's McGuinness said. The country has, for example, planned needed repairs for the station and is still scheduling flights for Russian cosmonauts to and from the orbiting laboratory.

"Those are not signs that they're trying to pull out," McGuinness said.

She added that the Nelson's call with Rogozin was intended to express that the US government now has every intention of supporting the space station through 2030, an important point to reiterate since President Donald Trump's budget proposals consistently called for the space station to be retired by 2025.

Maintaining a strong relationship with Russia in space exploration will be key to keeping space a neutral territory. But, Nelson said, he's still optimistic.

"Your politics can be hitting heads on Earth, while you are cooperating" in space, Nelson said.
MEDFORD, Ore.  A Medford man was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 21 counts related to building or possessing explosive devices.

The investigation began in early 2021 after police received multiple reports of explosions around Jackson County. On January 22, a witness brought several devices to the Medford Police Department that were later found to be "live explosives," according to the Jackson County District Attorney's office.

MPD worked with the Oregon State Police Explosives Unit on the investigation, eventually identifying 23-year-old Brian Lighthill as a potential suspect. Surveillance video from homes near some of the explosions also showed that two vehicles were in the area on each occasion. The DA's office said that both vehicles were eventually linked to Lighthill.

On March 18, MPD and OSP served a search warrant on Lighthill's home, finding 23 completed explosive devices that were later diffused by OSP. Investigators also found chemicals for making homemade flash powder, fuses, grenade bodies, and other items for making explosives.

The DA's office said that Lighthill admitted to building the devices, but he said that he never intended to hurt anyone.

This week, Lighthill pleaded guilty on 12 counts of Unlawful Manufacture of a Destructive Device and nine counts of Unlawful Possession of a Destructive Device. On Friday, Judge Timothy Barnack sentenced Lighthill to 60 months in prison with three years of post-prison supervision.

Lighthill also pleaded guilty in a separate case for Unlawful Delivery of Heroin, but his 24-month sentence will run concurrent with the bomb-making sentence.
MEDFORD, Ore. -- PacifiCorp, the parent company for Pacific Power, has made new changes this year to better help prepare against wildfire impacts during the fire season.

Today, the company held a meeting to better explain some of the changes that that they've made since the 2020 fire season to help prevent possible fire risks to their equipment, that could help start or even spread a wildfire.

According to Allen Berreth, Vice President of Transmission and Distribution operations, the company has established several strategies for wildfire risk mitigation including developing a new risk model. This is includes identifying high risk areas and the consequences of a fire in that area, creating an enhanced inspection program, deploying covered conductors, to help stop debris from catching fire when it hits a power line, increasing rapid responses to fault events and enhancing vegetation management practices.

"We are constantly evolving and reviewing where we are deploying these tactics," said Berreth. "This is a multi-year effort. We are making progress to reduce the potential and reduce the possibility of wildfire risk."

Berreth stated that during this year's pre-fire season activity, the company began to use satellite imagery to better help identify areas of vegetation risk, to where wildfires could start, and remove the material.

Another big change, the company mentioned, is that PacifiCorp has added a new meteorology department.

According to Steven Vanderberg, the Manager of Meteorology for PacifiCorp, the company created a new meteorology department team to monitor weather conditions and provide detailed utility specific forecasts.

Vanderberg also claimed that the company is working on super-computing tech to create weather forecast models to better predict weather conditions and potential impacts on Pacific Corporation's electric transmission and distribution system.

PacifiCorp also stated Friday that they will be adding more alert wildfire cameras to help identify areas of risk and possible fuels that may be located near sensitive equipment.

"All of this is really just designed to help us better anticipate, prepare for and respond to extreme weather events whether that be a fire event or otherwise," said Vanderberg. "This really helps us be able to take the steps needed to mitigate and reduce the risks and weather related impacts."

If a wildfire does still start, even with all of these precautions taken, the company says that they will make sure to notify all customers and media, if a public safety power shut-off (PSPS) is required.

Between 72-48 hours, the company said that they will reached out to customers, emergency management agencies, state authorities and the media of the shut down. After that, the company said that they will continue to monitor the situation for the next 24 hours updating everyone, as listed above, if a PSPS is required.
Actress Blake Lively, shown here the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, will produce and star in a new Netflix drama based on a novella written by Marcus Kliewer, who grew up in Kelowna. The deal was struck in Hollywood last week.
The former Kamloops Indian Residential School is seen in Kamloops, B.C., on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. The remains of 215 children have been discovered buried near the former school. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Less: Just look at London, Ont.

Same: We hear more bad news.

More: Canada is on the right path.

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If you want to see all of the emails your mayor received and sent during the week of March 16-20, 2020, to find communications regarding the coronavirus outbreak, all you have to do is ask. Under state law, the mayor is required to retain these and provide them on request.

If you want to see the emails that flowed between a given school district and a former superintendent regarding a school-siting controversy from several years ago, again, these are supposed to be preserved and provided.

But if you ask your state senator or representative for something as simple as a copy of his or her schedule from, say, yesterday, you have no guarantee. If you even get a response, one of the lawmakers aides could say, Sorry, we deleted it at the end of the day. We have no record of it.

Thats because, several decades ago, lawmakers exempted any member of the legislature from the states record retention statute.

Recently, the Wisconsin Examiner reported that two Republican state lawmakers, state Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, and state Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, apparently used this loophole to destroy records regarding a proposed elections bill.
The charges stemmed from the Jan. 13, 2019 fire that burnt the Shakespeare theater in Stratford, the blaze two days later at the Southbury Training School, the Feb. 17, 2019 fire at West Havens former Bilco Co., the fire at Stratfords Good Earth Tree Care on March 9, 2019  which destroyed a truck  and the March 24, 2019 at Silver Sands State Park in Milford, according to the outlet.
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More than 36,000 aspiring physicians recently matched into residencies across the United States.

More than 7,500 earned their degrees at international medical schools. These newly minted doctors, many of whom are U.S. citizens who chose to study abroad, will play an outsized role in treating the underserved communities hit hardest by the pandemic.

Its well known that the United States faces a massive  and worsening  shortage of doctors. The country will be short up to 139,000 physicians by 2033.

The pandemic only exacerbated the shortfall by compelling a number of doctors to leave the profession. Nearly half of U.S. physicians are over the age of 55 and thus were at risk of complications if they contracted COVID-19. For them, going to work was suddenly a high-risk activity.

Further, stay-at-home orders and the need to focus public health resources on the pandemic kept people out of doctors offices. The average practice saw revenues drop more than 30 percent last year. For many doctors, retiring early was a wise financial move, too.

Rural areas and minority communities face especially severe shortages. Of more than 7,200 health professional shortage areas across the country, 60 percent are rural. Patients living in majority-Black zip codes are nearly 70 percent more likely to live in a primary care shortage area than people outside these zip codes.

Without ready access to care, the people who live in these areas experience worse health outcomes. Rural Americans are at higher risk of all five leading causes of death, including heart and respiratory disease, than urban Americans. Rural death rates from COVID-19 have long exceeded the mortality rate in more developed areas.

Meanwhile, Hispanic Americans are 50 percent more likely to die of diabetes than their white counterparts. Black and Hispanic Americans have been about twice as likely to die of COVID-19 as white Americans.

International medical graduates, or IMGs, are uniquely suited to address these disparities.

Nearly 70 percent of IMGs who practice outside city centers work in primary care shortage areas, according to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only 40 percent of U.S.-trained doctors in non-urban areas do the same.

Internationally trained doctors are also more likely to treat people from historically marginalized groups. In areas where the population is 75 percent non-white, IMGs account for nearly 40 percent of the physician workforce. And according to a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, IMGs often care for Medicare beneficiaries with more complicated needs than their domestically trained counterparts.

That trend is evident at the international medical school I lead, which is the largest source of physicians for the United States. This year, more than 1,000 of our students matched into residencies nationwide. Nearly three-quarters matched into primary care specialties, where the need for doctors is greatest.

After the pandemic subsides, expanding access to primary care will be crucial to erasing the health disparities that have plagued rural and historically marginalized communities. That will require educating more doctors and providing enough residencies they need to complete their training.

Securing a residency is the key to transitioning from a student to a doctor. Yet, the number of residency positions hasnt been keeping up with demand. Medicare is the largest source of funds for residency programs, but until recently, spending had been capped at 1997 levels. As a result, the number of available residencies has only increased 1 percent each year since 2002.

Congress finally lifted this spending freeze this past December as part of a COVID-19 relief measure. Lawmakers allocated funds for 1,000 more residency positions over the next five years. New legislation introduced in March would add 14,000 more Medicare-funded residencies over the next seven years.

These are great starts. But we cant wait until the next pandemic to expand opportunities for future doctors. Opening up more residencies would help a new crop of physicians  especially those trained abroad  to don their scrubs and help the communities most affected by COVID-19.

G. Richard Olds is president, St. Georges University.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Somethings wrong with Eddie.

In four words, my entire wedding day collapsed around me. Id just arrived at a beautiful Gothic chapel in a rented 1950 Rolls Royce, mom and dad on either side of me, prepared for a picture-perfect first look with my groom. As his mothers words echoed in my ear, I immediately thought of all the scenarios that could be easily remedied so we could move forward with our day. Perhaps he was having GI distress, maybe his shirt had torn, maybe just wedding day nerves. But soon, I would realize that it was much worse. Ten minutes later, he was in front of me, speaking words that made no sense. He thought it was Thursday. I told him how nice he looked in his tuxedo, and he thanked me, making no mention of how radiant I looked in my dream wedding gown. A short time later, it became obvious that there would be no wedding. I had no idea what was happening, but his family obviously knew that sleep would remedy the situation. So, he went to the hotel to sleep while 80 of our dearest friends enjoyed our reception one floor below. I spent the evening crying in my wedding dress on a friends screened porch, completely dumbfounded by what had just occurred.

A message from his ex-wife the following week simply said, You just married an addict. Watch your script pads. I wasnt surprised by this. After all, his ex-wife was a drug addict herself; a hospice nurse who had been apparently arrested for stealing narcotics and who had forged prescriptions in my husbands name. Hed explained that his background check would show court cases, and this was why.

Winter was difficult. My husband would often fall asleep at restaurants (he was obese, so I figured sleep apnea), say things that made absolutely no sense (he was tired, hed say), and do very bizarre things. One morning, I came downstairs at 6 a.m. to find that hed been awake all night reorganizing our kitchen drawers. He thought it was still evening and told me that hed come to bed soon. He was baffled when I told him that it was 6 a.m.

One week before Valentines Day, the morning after a major ice storm, I found my husband asleep, face-down, on our kitchen floor. I woke him to remind him that he had a job interview that morning. Seeing that it had apparently been a rough night, I encouraged him to text his recruiter to reschedule, with the ice storm as a convenient excuse. After watching him drift in and out of sleep for almost 20 minutes while trying to send this text, I offered to do it for him. He handed over his phone. I still have trouble wrapping my head around what I saw.

Im sorry I missed the meeting. My wife was in a terrible car accident and the sheriff was at our house, so my mind wasnt in the right place. Also, she is pregnant with our first child.

None of this was true. The message below, written but never sent, outlined my apparent injuries.

She has a concussion, two broken wrists, broken ribs and airbag burns.

What the hell is this? I asked.

For the rest of my days, I will never forget the nonchalant way in which he responded, What? I couldnt tell her that my alarm didnt go off.

That response suddenly made everything clear to me. If he could lie about that, he must have been lying about so much else during our relationship. It was as thought clouds parted to reveal a blue sky of clarity in my mind. I reached out to his ex-wife, and she shared with me his history of opioid abuse which started following bowel surgery. After our conversation, I got both a lawyer and a copy of his court records. Prior to the creation of prescription monitoring databases, my husband had forged more than 20 prescriptions for OxyContin, Klonopin, and Xanax. He pled guilty but never served time, likely (in my mind) because he is a middle-class white professional man. He was somehow able to have his records sealed so no future dates will have access to his history.

Things unraveled from there. I cant count the number of times Ive been asked, How did you not see that? Youre a doctor and you didnt recognize this?

Apparently, love really is blind. Also, Id never grown up around substance abuse. I had no idea what nodding off was. I took him to a neurologist, desperate for a medical reason for the strange things he was doing. I did everything I could to preserve his dignity when acquaintances asked what was going on.

If offered the chance, I would not change a thing. I learned to trust my gut when something doesnt feel right. I learned to see red flags. I learned to listen  truly listen  when my family and friends are concerned.

Many will read this and say, Wow, I cant believe she fell for that. Please feel free to judge me. I can promise that you will never judge me as harshly as I have already judged myself.

Lauren Roth is a family physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
During his testimony Thursday, Berry denied involvement in the fatal plot, which prosecutors said Friday was meant to get to the victims boyfriend, Jon Mitchell-Momoh, according to the outlet. Mitchell-Momoh, who was shot following the abduction, was at odds with Lyndon Wiggins, a former business associate and drug dealer, according to the Star Tribune.
EUGENE, Ore. -- The Eugene Police Department is implementing new use of force rules aimed at documenting race and other demographics in their reporting.

"Eugene Police will go live with significant additions to our Force Response reporting to include when a Taser, extended-range impact weapon such as 40 mm (less than lethal), or firearm is pointed at a person, or when a canine is used to gain compliance," the department said in a press release.

The changes are set to start June 14, and the information will be included in an annual report once the data is compiled.

"This data can subsequently be tracked along with demographics, including by race. The terminology Force Response Reporting has been updated from use of force reporting to reflect foundational changes to the system and philosophy of reporting," the press release continues.

KEZI 9 News spoke with community leaders to see how they interprate the changes, and many of them saw it as a positive, while others believe there is more work to be done.

"If you have more accountability where we're looking at how many times you pull your gun and those type of things, it's going to hold your standard of performance up," said Eric Richardson, the executive director for the local NAACP branch.

Senator James Manning said it's an important to identify how the departments are interacting with people based on their color.

"If you have consistently high numbers showing discriminatory practices against a certain segment of the population, then you have issues," Manning said.

They both said they believe the reports could help re-establish trust.

"Trust is something that has been missing for a long time. Especially when you start talking about BIPOC communities," Manning said.

City of Eugene councilor Greg Evans shared similar sentiments. He said it's likely due to the lack of representation within the departments.

"Law enforcement is mostly tied into the white community because who is law enforcement? They are white people," Evans said.

He also believes there's more work to be done beyond just these additions.

"There needs to be more focus and nuance training so that officers understand Black people are not a threat to you," he said.

As it stands, there's no public documentation for their use of force interactions.
The government is asking for another loan of $1 billion (Shs3.5 trillion) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the countrys economy, the Finance Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.

However, this comes a few months after the Auditor General (AG), Mr John Muwanga, warned that the countrys national debt had escalated and that it was becoming unsustainable.

The IMF yesterday said the Shs3.5t loan will help Uganda tackle the near-term impact of Covid-19 and its recovery by safeguarding macroeconomic stability and generating more inclusive growth.
Celebrity Cruises, a Royal Caribbean subsidiary, is set to launch the first U.S. cruise since the pandemic on June 26 from Fort Lauderdale. The voyage on the lines Celebrity Edge will have at least 95% of its passengers vaccinated, allowing it to bypass the test-sailing requirement. Celebrity also said 100% of its crew members will be vaccinated.
EirGrid, operator of the national electricity grid, will soon close its 14-week consultation on Shaping Our Electricity Future, a new initiative that details innovative approaches to developing the electricity grid in order to meet ambitious 2030 renewable energy targets.

The company, along with Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD, launched the initiative in March and has been seeking feedback as part of a nationwide public consultation that closes next Monday June 14th.

To date there have been numerous engagements across Kilkenny as part of the consultation, including a briefing for Kilkenny County Council and an Irish Rural Link Workshop. There has also been a three-day Deliberative Dialogue with 99 people from around the country. As well as this, EirGrid hosted a series of National Youth Assembly workshops and over 100 people participated in a Civil Society Forum in May.

Mark Foley, chief executive of EirGrid, said: The grid requires unprecedented change in the next ten years. This transition to clean electricity will affect everyone in Ireland and will unquestionably be difficult, however the benefits will be truly transformative at both a societal and an economic level. Because of this, we have been hosting a nationwide consultation to find an agreed approach to reach the 2030 targets. We want to collaborate with the public and all stakeholders.

EirGrid has been asked by the Government to transform the electricity system in anticipation of a future without coal, oil, peat and ultimately one with net zero emissions. Specifically, it must redevelop the grid to manage 70% of Irelands electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030.

Shaping Our Electricity Future comprises four approaches to achieving this, as well as meeting the projected increase in demand for electricity over the coming years.

1. Generation-Led: Government policy would influence where renewable energy is generated  favouring locations where the grid is already strong

2. Developer-Led: In this approach, we continue to connect new sources of renewable electricity as requested in any location

3. Technology-Led: This approach uses technical solutions to make the grid more resilient so it can better handle the variable nature of renewable energy

4. Demand-Led: Government policy determines where large energy users locate in Ireland

For the next 10 days, people can find out more about the public consultation and how to have their say in Shaping Irelands Electricity Future by visiting consult.eirgrid.ie
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa  Two men have been are sentenced for federal gun crimes in Winnebago County.

Timothy Retland and Matthew Ankeny pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm as a drug users.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Iowa says both men were users of methamphetamine. Retland was is accused of possessing a Remington 870 Express 16 gauge shotgun on May 19, 2019. Federal investigators also allege that on June 1, 2019, Ankeny possessed a Walther P22 pistol and Retland possessed a Walther P22 pistol, a Winchester 30/30 Model 94 lever-action rifle, an Arminius HW7T .22 caliber 8 shot revolver, an FN PS 90 rifle, a Ruger Super Black Hawk .44 caliber revolver, a Springfield Model 67 Series E 12 gauge shotgun, a Montgomery Ward and Co. Hercules Model 12 gauge double-barrel shotgun, an FNS SCAR Model 16S rifle, a Winchester Model 37 20 gauge shotgun, and a Winchester Model 270 .22 caliber rifle.

Retland has been sentenced to two years in federal prison while Ankeny has been given three years of supervised release.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A southern Minnesota man is finally sentenced for a 2019 traffic accident that nearly killed a 3-year-old girl.

Joshua Jacobson, 40 of Dexter, has been ordered to spend four years and three months in prison, with credit for 38 days already served. He pleaded guilty to criminal vehicular operation for the collision on November 4, 2019.

Authorities say Jacobson was driving under the influence when he blew through the intersection on 70th Avenue and 85th Street NE and struck another vehicle. A three-year-old female passenger in that vehicle had to be revived with CPR.

Law enforcement says Jacobson was originally to be sentenced on December 31, 2020, but fled and was only recaptured on May 20 in Ramsey County.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A man is pleading guilty to being found with meth and pot in Mason City.

Kevin Lynn Nitcher II, 36 of Mason City, was arrested on April 12 in the 600 block of S. Garfield Avenue. Law enforcement says he was found with 22 grams of methamphetamine and a zip lock baggie of marijuana.

Nitcher has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver meth and possession of marijuana-3rd of subsequent offense. His sentencing is set for August 23.
MOUNT VERNON -- We tend to think of dramatic things bringing down political careers: scandal, assassination, unpopularity.

But for Mount Vernon's Robert C. Kirk, disgrace was a lesson in self-deflation: His own pride did him in.

Robert Crothers Kirk was born in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, in 1821, and made strong strides in the early years of his business career, which saw him settling in Mount Vernon and operating a dry goods store that sold Kirk's own special-recipe elixir.

He became interested in politics, and worked his way up rather quickly to the elected post of Democratic state senator. But as the new Republican party began to emerge, Kirk  a strong abolitionist  changed his allegiance, causing the Mount Vernon Democratic Banner editor Lecky Harper to call Kirk a blustering, brainless demogogue.

The Republicans, however, were on the rise, and Kirk was rising with them. In 1859, he was put on the ballot with William Dennison, who won election as Ohio's governor, with Kirk as his lieutenant governor. It was a precipitous climb for Robert Kirk.

But Kirk's ambitions weren't done.

He circulated his name for diplomatic posts, and thus in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln selected Kirk for the post of Minister (what we today would call Ambassador) to Argentina. He managed to both engineer deals where Argentina repaid the U.S. for old debts dating back as far as 1814, while at the same time hitting it off personally with the Argentinian president, Bartolome Mitre.

Kirk's future as a diplomat looked promising.

Unfortunately, like many Republicans of the time, Kirk did not get along well with Abraham Lincoln's successor, the southern politician Andrew Johnson, and as his relationship with the home office grew rocky. Kirk was either dismissed from his post or voluntarily left. But Johnson himself didn't last long in Washington, D.C.

The unpopular president was swept out of office by the incoming war-hero president, Ulysses S. Grant.

Seeing his opportunity, Kirk threw his hat back into the ring, and by popular acclaim of many of Grant's advisors (including U.S. Senator John Sherman of Mansfield), and also apparently by enthusiasm in Argentina, Kirk was returned to his post, this time with a dual appointment also making him Minister to Uruguay, another South American nation.

At this point, Kirk's diplomatic career was thriving, and it would have been expected that he'd eventually be moved on to other, more prominent posts. This, however, was where Kirk's pride got in the way. When his Uruguay post was taken from him in 1870 and given to another diplomat named Stevens, Kirk was offended.

He decided to do something about it.

One of Grant's most trusted advisors was also a Mount Vernon man, Columbus Delano, who was serving as Secretary of the Interior under President Grant. Delano was a mover and shaker, a real power behind the thrones held by the Republican party in the 1860s and 1870s.

Indeed, he may well have been instrumental in getting Kirk noticed by Lincoln in the first place. Kirk wrote Delano and said that he wanted to resign his post in Argentina. He said he would prefer being appointed to a more distinguished post such as Brazil, or even Portugal in Europe.

Delano, Kirk wrote, every American in this part of S. America feels that the appointment of Stevens was an act of great injustice to me  and I can say to you, confidentially, that he has no influence whatsoever, and the Americans have no respect for him.

Instead of keeping it confidential, Delano forwarded Kirk's letter along to the Secretary of State, who had appointed Stevens. Delano must have been frustrated with Kirk not playing the political game of flattery and favors, so he simply forwarded the letter, noting Kirk's wishes, but not endorsing them.

To put Kirk in his place, the Assistant Secretary of State J.C. Bancroft Davis wrote him a frosty little letter:

The Secretary of the Interior has communicated to this Department a copy of the letter which you addressed to him under date the 10th of June, last, in which you offer your resignation to the office of Minister Regent to the Argentine Confederation. A copy of the letter was also communicated by Mr. Delano to the President, who directs me to say that your resignation is accepted.

And, just like that, Robert C. Kirk was out of the diplomatic corps.

He returned to Mount Vernon, chastened, and inquired about any other possible federal appointments. President Grant took pity on him and offered him a position as regional tax collector, a far fall from international diplomacy.

Kirk knew that he had shot his career in the foot.

In 1875, he appealed to Grant.

I am very grateful for what you have done for me, and I know I committed a great mistake, when I resigned my mission at Buenos Ayres! I ask you to give me the mission to Belgium.

"It is a small matter to you but it is so important to me. I know you have a warm heart, and when you can confer happiness, you will gladly do it. God knows I have always discharged my duties faithfully, honestly, and to the credit of my Government.

That last bit seems to be an indirect reference to the scandals that plagued Grant's second term in office. While the general himself was scrupulously honest, the same wasn't being said about many of the other people in his administration  Columbus Delano included.

As Kirk continues, his tone gets more desperate and he even talks about Grant's problems.

Oh! Mr President, I know the cares and duties which surround you, and I don't wish to importune you or annoy you, but I make this my last appeal, and ask you to grant my request.

But perhaps Grant already saw Robert Kirk as being too closely connected with Columbus Delano, despite their falling out. No appointment was forthcoming. No other diplomatic commission would ever be forthcoming for Kirk.

He lived out his days in Mount Vernon, dying in 1898. One wonders if anyone at that late date in Argentina remembered the American who brought the two nations closer together.

Robert Kirk's Italianate villa house still stands at the corner of Newark and Kirk.

The house was built in 1868 for Jonathan Weaver, then later passed to Percival Updegraff, a relative of Weaver's wife. Robert Kirk bought it in 1882 and lived the rest of his life there. The Kirk family sold the building to Harry Strodtbeck in 1924, then it came to the Dowds family in 1953, who opened it as a funeral parlor, still operating today.
In the week since the tragic discovery, investigators have sifted through hundreds of tips from states including California, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Nebraska and Iowa, homicide Lt. Ray Spencer told the Reno Gazette Journal. So far theyve uncovered little to help them identify the boy, prompting authorities to call on members of the community to come forward with information.
For copyright information, check with the distributor of this item, The Kansas City Star.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby points to a questioner as he speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, June 4. AP-Yonhap





The upcoming joint air force exercise with South Korea and Japan is routine training that is held "very frequently" and is aimed at enhancing their joint defense capability, a U.S. Department of Defense official said Friday (local time).







Department spokesman John Kirby also said the joint drill will highlight the importance of trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea.







"I'm not going to comment on the reaction by North Korean officials. I would simply add that this is an exercise that we conduct very frequently," the spokesman said in a press briefing.







His remarks came one day after a North Korean propaganda outlet denounced Seoul's decision to take part in the annual multinational air force Red Flag exercise to be held in Alaska.







The South said earlier that it would send dozens of planes and 100 air force personnel to take part in the military drill, slated to be held from June 10 to 25.







Kirby said about 300 military personnel, including those from South Korea and Japan, will take part in this year's Red Flag exercise.







Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, has said the exercise "shouldn't be seen as anything other than routine training."







"It is not, in any way, meant to be escalatory to the region or destabilizing to the region," he said in a telephone conference with journalists in the region Friday (local time).







Kirby highlighted the importance of the upcoming joint military drills as it will involve both South Korea and Japan for the first time in more than two years.







"You have heard the secretary talk about the importance of trilateral cooperation when he visited Japan and South Korea not too long ago, so this is an example of that," said the spokesman, referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's visits to Seoul and Tokyo in March.







"One of the things that he talked about in both places was the importance of trilateral cooperation, and these aren't just partners. These are allies of the United States. And so he always wants to look for ways to improve alliance interoperability and capability, and this exercise will provide us an opportunity to do that," he added. (Yonhap)


Tristyn was reported missing in the morning of May 9, having last been seen hanging out with friends the night before in Jacksonville, one county north of St. Johns. Her body was found the same day she was reported missing.
"We are going to be running at just about full capacity again this year after the pandemic last year," said Director of Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation PJ Holm. Read more
A Delta flight from Los Angeles to Nashville was forced to divert to Albuquerque after a passenger reportedly attempted to breach the cockpit.

A spokesperson at Albuquerque International Sunport said the flight landed around 2:20 pm Friday.

She said the suspect was detained by airport police, and taken into custody.

The unidentified passenger did not breach the cockpit and no one was injured.

The FBI will investigate the incident.

The flight went on to Nashville, after the passenger was removed.
LAUREL -- Sean Robinson appeared by video in Yellowstone County District Court Friday morning on two charges of felony aggravated animal abuse and theft. He's accused of stealing, strangling and decapitating cats in or around the area of the 1700 block of Duval Drive.

Senior Deputy County Attorney Ingrid Rosenquist called Robinson a danger to the community.

"We consider an extreme risk to the community, not only to animals but to humans. So we ask $100,000 with the existing conditions I outlined previously," said Rosenquist.

In addition to his $100,000 bond, Robinson must submit to GPS monitoring.

Robinson is also ordered to have no contact with an animal of any kind, including his own dog.

Court documents reveal individuals with personal knowledge of Robinson supplied several instances where they were aware of Robinson beating and/or killing cats and dogs. Court documents state in April 2021, Yellowstone County Animal Control officers began looking into the disappearance of neighborhood cats that were either given to Robinson or living in the surrounding area.

Court records state on June 1st, a drug related "no-knock" search warrant was executed on Robinson's residence. As the task force was preparing to execute the warrant, Robinson was observed driving away from his residence in a truck that matched the description of truck involved in the theft of a neighborhood cat. Court documents say inside Robinson's home, police found evidence of animals that had been tortured and killed.

If convicted, Robinson would serve a maximum of 2 years in jail and a fine not to exceed $2,500. Robinson is pleading not guilty to all three charges.
According to hook-and-ladder industry site The Firehouse, the flaming mess was under control by around 5 a.m. Its unclear what cause the crash itself. The trucks driver was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was hurt. Engineers were dispatched to examine the overpass, which may have sustained damage from the blaze.
UPDATE: June 8 6:00 p.m.

BOZEMAN, Mont. - The Gallatin County and Bozeman City Commission voted unanimously to approve Lori Christenson as the next Gallatin City-County Health Officer Tuesday.

Christenson will step into her new role as health officer immediately.

Previous Coverage:

BOZEMAN, Mont.  The Gallatin County Commission and Bozeman City commission will meet in two separate regular meetings on Tuesday to discuss and approve the next Gallatin City-County Health Officer.

Current Health Officer Matt Kelley is stepping down on June 6 from his position to become the first chief executive officer of the Montana Public Health Institute after leading Gallatin County through the COVID-19 pandemic and a decade of service before the crisis brought him to the almost daily public eye.

I wouldnt have gotten through it without our staff, and when I think about that I talk about that in terms of the incident command, the health department staff I just want to let them know I couldnt have done it without them, Kelly said

His list of thanks went on from the board of health, to the HRDC, as well as the county attorney, staff at the county emergency management team and even Bozeman Fire Departments Mike Maltaverne.

No matter what we decided we knew there was going to be significant numbers of people who were unhappy and werent going to think very highly of the decision, but we just tried to make the right decision, Kelley said.

The Gallatin City-County Health Board has recommended their current director of environmental health services, Lori Christenson, to take over as new health officer after already being appointed as the upcoming interim health officer once Kelley leaves.

Its hard to leave, Im sad to leave, but to be able to pass it off to somebody as capable and professional and smart as Lori really makes me feel better about it, Kelley said.

The Gallatin County Commission will vote on approving Lori Christenson at their regular meeting at 9 a.m. on June 8 followed by the Bozeman City Commission at 6 p.m.

The following is a bio of Lori Christenson from the Gallatin City-County Health Department:
The schools response was equally troubling, according to the mother. Instead of taking her complaints seriously, she said that Skidmore dismissed her concerns, adding that the teacher was the kindest, gentlest person, and she would never have given students such an assignment.
This is How Many People Work for the Government in New Hampshire
Evans reminisces on time at LU as presidency ends

President Kenneth Evans looks out at the campus from his office in the Reaud Building, following Tropical Storm Imelda, Sept. 24, 2019. Tuesday. UP photo by Olivia Malick

Lamar University President Kenneth Evans announced in January that he would retire at the end of June after almost eight years in the top job.

In March, Evans was named president of Oklahoma City University, ending his retirement plans and returning to a familiar community closer to his family.

As his time at Lamar draws to a close, Evans said he will miss the students the most.

Thats why I got into the business, he said.

Evans said his interactions with students has been hampered in the past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which might make it easier to leave.

I didnt really have close ties with a lot of the students that I was working with because I didnt see them for the last year, he said. Parting is always hard. Theres always a piece of you that you leave behind.

There are several accomplishments Evans said he is proud were achieved during his tenure, namely building and updating several facilities across campus.

The Setzer Center desperately needed attention, he said. The previous biology building was in horrible shape, so having the science and technology building provides them the support they need.

(That) was already on the books when I arrived here  I had design impact on it because we actually changed the design. Once I arrived, it went to a different structure. The (Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship) was also in the process of being built.

Evans said the recently opened Welcome Center was the hardest building of all to complete, even though it is the smallest, because of the difficulty removing the concrete plant from the lot, as well as negotiations with the Texas Department of Transportation to get freeway ingress and egress.

It took a long time to get that done, but Im proud of the way that turned out, he said. Its a nice entry to campus.

In addition to campus construction, Evans said hes also proud of the improvements made to several programs on campus, such as the Disability Resource Center.

The Disability Resource Center has gone from really a very meager presence on campus to now really giving students the license to, if they need help, feel comfortable asking for it, he said. There was an inherent resistance, understandably, for people to come forward and say, Ive got a learning disability, or, I have something where I need special attention to help me with testing processes, or whatever.

Kyle (Mutz) and his team have done an amazing job. Im proud of what hes done.

The Division of Global Diversity, Inclusion and Intercultural Affairs has advanced the campus attention to issues surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion, and is an important addition to the campus base, Evans said. He also noted the advancements the undergraduate research program has made and its positive reception from students and faculty.

Evans said hes proud of the accomplishments of his late wife, Nancy, that furthered Lamars presence in the Southeast Texas community through the Greater South Park Neighborhoods Partnership, and the Navigating Excellence Success and Triumphs program, which aims to provide an engaging learning environment for children K-5 interested in STEAM fields in the Beaumont Independent School District.

The NEST program she started has been transformed and well probably have all 11 K-5 BISD schools with a NEST setting, at least committed, in the next maybe 30 to 60 days, he said.

Nancy was also a lover of art, which spread into her work on campus, Evans said.

It has been very meaningful in terms of how the campus presents itself, he said. Its also a great educational opportunity for students, so they see more of how art is a part of our cultural milieu and I think thats important.

Evans said after Nancys passing in 2018, he knew it was time to move on from Lamar, but he didnt want to leave right away.

President Evans talks about his wife, Nancy, during a memorial service dedicating a bench in her memory at the John Gray pond, Jan. 29, 2019. UP photo by Abigail Pennington

I kind of said in my own mind that I wouldn't, I just couldn't, remain here much past three years after she passed away, he said. I think you need to be looked after, after somebody that's important to you passes away.

The second year, we had a number of projects underway and then, of course, the pandemic hit  it wasn't a good time to be making that decision. But the timings right now.

After overseeing thousands of students through Tropical Storms Harvey and Imelda, and now the COVID-19 pandemic, Evans said not only has his perspective on leadership and education changed, but so has he.

Im more compassionate, he said. We're unfortunately really good at managing crises  not necessarily wanting to have that education  but nonetheless it came to us.

There is no place on the planet with a community as resilient as that of Southeast Texas, and the incoming president should never forget that, Evans said.

Our students, to the extent that they're willing to receive it, gain as much an education from what it takes to rally as a community, and as a humanity to take care of one another during periods of crisis, as they do from whatever they get in the classroom, he said. I would argue that the value that our students offer wherever they go, is infinitely greater because of how complete they are as human beings.

Evans said he is excited to tackle new challenges in Oklahoma City, but hes still going to keep tabs on Lamar and the Southeast Texas community.

As for Evans legacy, he said hell leave it to others to write down.

For Nancy and me, it was always about making sure that this campus was an integral part of this community, he said. At the end of the day, its as much what youre able to give as what you take.

And I would argue that the legacy is more about what we gave and less about what we received.
BAGRAM, Afghanistan  Faced with an epidemic of deadly roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. military officials ordered up a fleet of V-hulled 16-ton armored behemoths in 2007 to help protect American soldiers and Marines.

At a cost of $1 million each, the ugly tan beasts known as MRAPS have saved countless lives and absorbed or deflected thousands of insurgent bomb blasts in teeming cities, desert flats and rutted mountain roadways. The lumbering vehicles are so beloved that soldiers have scrawled notes of thanks on their armor.

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So why would the U.S. military suddenly start chopping up as many as 2,000 of the vehicles and selling them as scrap? After all, just six years have passed since high-tech MRAPs were developed and 27,000 of them cranked out and shipped in a $50-billion production blitz.

As it turns out, the Pentagon produced a glut of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks. The military brass has now calculated that its not worth the cost of shipping home damaged, worn or excess MRAPs to bases already deemed oversupplied with the blast-deflecting vehicles.

As they are demilitarized, many of the MRAPs are sold as scrap metal to eager Afghan buyers.

It costs about $12,000 to crunch and dispose of a single MRAP here, said Mark E. Wright, a Defense Department spokesman. To ship one back to the U.S. and rebuild it to current standards would cost $250,000 to $450,000, he said. Selling the vehicles as scrap instead of shipping them home and refitting them will consequently save about $500 million, Wright said.

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Disposing of excess MRAPs in Afghanistan where there is no military or excess defense articles need is fiscally responsible, Wright said. Through Oct. 1, 938 MRAPs in Afghanistan had been turned into scrap, according to the Defense Logistics Agency.

The first to be crunched were older models and those damaged in bombings or wrecks. Next up were vehicles considered excess property, sold as scrap along with banged-up Humvees, pickups, treadmills, office chairs and air conditioners.

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MRAPs in good working condition are being offered for sale as-is to approved U.S. military allies. But they are not being offered to Afghan security forces because the Pentagon has concluded that they contain too much sophisticated computer technology for the still-developing Afghan military to operate. Maintenance of the vehicles is also too difficult for Afghan soldiers, more than half of whom are illiterate.

Afghan troops are not known for their dedication to maintaining equipment; they prefer to run vehicles rough and hard until they break down.

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There are few Afghan mechanics fully trained to repair relatively simple Humvees, Afghan commanders complain, much less a computer-dependent colossus like the MRAP.

The fire sale has attracted about 380 orders from partner nations so far, Wright said. But with 13,000 excess MRAPs available worldwide, its not likely that all those in Afghanistan will be sold. Its an as is, where is deal, Wright said, meaning buyers must also pay the cost of shipping MRAPs out of Afghanistan.

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Instead of MRAPs, Afghan forces are receiving armored MSFVs  mobile strike force vehicles  equipped, in military jargon, with an enhanced survivability package, at a total cost of $887 million. The vehicles have innovative protection design features to achieve MRAP level of blast protection, Wright said.

The Afghan military is also getting leftover American pickups, modular housing and portable toilets, not to mention military bases built with U.S. taxpayer dollars.

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Lt. Gen. William Faulkner, the Marine Corps deputy commandant, said in a speech in April that the military has too many of the hulking MRAPs.

The bottom line is, we dont need them, Faulkner said. But hed rather see an MRAP go to a partner nation than for the U.S. to actually cut it up into razor blades.

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MRAPs provide far more blast protection than the up-armored, or armor-enhanced, Humvees used by American troops here before the MRAP rush order, which circumvented the Pentagons sclerotic procurement process. The emergency order was pushed hard by then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates because of soaring U.S. casualty rates among troops in Humvees, who were being decimated by roadside bombs.

Gates predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld, had resisted deploying massive, heavily armored vehicles. He considered them inimical to his vision of a fast, light, maneuverable U.S. military in Iraq.

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In a notorious 2004 put-down of Iraq-bound National Guardsmen in Kuwait who complained of poor-quality equipment and of having to scrounge through landfills for hillbilly armor for their Humvees, Rumsfeld said, You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time. If you think about it, you can have all the armor in the world on a tank and a tank can be blown up. And you can have an up-armored Humvee and it can be blown up.

Those comments were viewed by some U.S. service members in Iraq as callous and demeaning.

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The subsequent rush to develop MRAPs was a clear repudiation of Rumsfelds strategy, which failed to anticipate the tenacious and lethal Iraqi insurgency. Rumsfeld stepped down in 2006 when President George W. Bush concluded that the war in Iraq was not working well enough, fast enough.

In 2011, Gates said that MRAPs had saved thousands and thousands of lives, and are 10 times safer than Humvees. A study published that year by the Pentagons Joint Program Office for MRAPs concluded that the vehicles saved 30,000 lives in Afghanistan and 10,000 in Iraq. The study was criticized by some security experts as exaggerated, but they agreed that MRAPs have prevented a significant number of deaths and injuries.

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MRAPs have a raised chassis, reinforced floors and suspended seats designed to minimize blast effects from explosions below. They are not a comfortable ride, especially on Afghanistans potholed roads and dirt tracks.

Even as 47,000 U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan prepare to return home by the end of 2014, MRAPs are still in use. They occasionally chug through Kabuls worn streets, infuriating Afghans as the vehicles hog narrow roadways.

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However, since U.S. troops have made the transition to a training role and Afghan forces have taken the combat lead, there are fewer MRAPs in action.

Disposing of excess MRAPs is part of an enormous $5-billion to $7-billion moving job that involves shipping U.S. vehicles, weapons, gear and equipment out of Afghanistan. By road and by air, the military plans to remove 35,000 vehicles and 95,000 shipping containers by the close of 2014, according to Army Maj. Gen. Kurt Stein. Excess equipment is being turned into scrap, sold or given to the Afghan military.

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The U.S. military denied a Times request to photograph MRAPs being dismantled. But no one stopped Ashton B. Carter, then the U.S. deputy defense secretary, from snapping a souvenir photo of an MRAP being chopped during a recent visit to Afghanistan. Carter told the New York Times he sent the photo to Gates.

Cant believe it, Carter said he told Gates. Theyre taking our babies apart.

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david.zucchino@latimes.com
Former president Donald Trump reacted to the two-year ban that Facebook imposed on him on Friday by saying that there will be no friendly dinners with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg the "next time" he's president.

As he hinted at another presidential run in 2024, Trump said the next time he is in the White House, "there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. It will be all business!"

According to The Guardian, there were reports this week that Trump believes he will be reinstated in the presidency by August.

In October 2019, the former president hosted a secret dinner for Mark Zuckerberg at the White House, NBC News reported.

Nick Clegg, the former British deputy prime minister who is now Facebook's vice-president of global affairs, announced the social media giant's ban on Trump until 2023.

The ban follows the recommendation of Facebook's Oversight Board. The former president has been banned from Facebook since January, when he allegedly incited supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol over alleged electoral fraud.

In a press release, Facebook said that Trump's suspension could get past the two years mark if the former president continues to be a "serious risk" to public safety, Washington Examiner reported.

RELATED ARTICLE: Trump to Use His Own Social Media Platform in Coming Months

Reports on Donald Trump's Return to White House

Jason Miller, a top adviser and spokesman to Trump, said that reports are not true about Trump's return to the White House.

Lara Trump, married to Trump's son Eric, appeared in an interview and cast doubt whether Trump has talked about being reinstated.

However, she did not exclude the possibility. She added that a lot of folks are getting a little worked up about something just because maybe there was not enough pushback from the Republican side.

Donald Trump had reportedly trying to recruit people to spread the news that he might be reinstated in the position this summer, according to The Week report.

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman said that Trump is trying to get conservative writers to publish in a more mainstream way that the election was stolen.

The Washington Post also reported that Trump has told allies that he could return to the White House this year.

Facebook Ban

Donald Trump said that the Facebook suspension was an insult to those who voted for him in "the rigged presidential election." He added that the platform should not be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing.

Facebook noted that the two-year ban provides a time period "long enough" to be a significant deterrent to Trump and other world leaders who might make the same posts.

The platforms also said that the time period is enough to allow a "safe period of time" after the acts of incitement, Vox reported.

Facebook said that it will review its ban after two years, whether there is still a risk to public safety and possible civil unrest.

Clegg noted that they know that any penalty they apply or choose not to apply will be controversial. He also said that the Oversight Board is not a replacement for regulation, and they will continue for a thoughtful regulation in the social media platform.

Last month, the board ruled that Facebook should not have banned Donald Trump indefinitely and would have to make a final decision within six months.

READ MORE: Controversial Social Network Parler Is Back From Its Abrupt Shutdown

WATCH: Facebook Will Keep Donald Trump Banned For Two Years - From Forbes






A Worcester police officer in Massachusetts died after drowning in Green Hill Pond Friday, June 4, while trying to save a boy who also did not survive.

The 38-year-old police officer was identified as Enmanuel "Manny" Familia, according to a CBS Local report. Police went to the pond after receiving 911 calls reporting three children struggling in the water. Five cops immediately jumped into the pond.

Witness Sheryl Lamonda said she saw two kids in the water trying to hold onto each other in the water when she arrived there. Lamonda noted that the kids were screaming that they could not swim.

A police officer came out of the water with two children he had rescued. The kids were transported to a nearby hospital. Lamonda said another officer was in the pond and people onshore were pointing him where the missing boy was.

READ NEXT: Scott Peterson Is off Death Row and Laci Peterson's Family Is Devastated

Worcester Police Officer in Massachusetts Dies

A dive team had pulled Familia from the pond. He was pronounced dead in a local hospital. The police officer was a five-year veteran of the Worcester Police Department. He leaves behind a wife, a son, and a daughter, according to an NBC Boston report.

Chief Steven Sargent said the Worcester Police Department had lost a brother, friend, and partner. Sargent noted that Familia will be remembered and will be honored for his selfless devotion to Worcester. He added that the city has lost a hero.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker offered his condolences over the deaths of Familia and the boy, Boston 25 News reported.

Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, on the other hand, said that Familia had died tragically in the line of duty doing what he was trained to do.

Petty noted that the Worcester police officer attempted to rescue the teenager without regard for his own safety. He said Familia was the kind of person who would lay down his life for someone else's child.

WCVB reported that a procession to bring the Worcester police officer's body from UMass Memorial Hospital to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Westfield is expected on Saturday, June 5.

Meanwhile, family members identified the 14-year-old boy who died as Troy Love. His family said that after the Love's girlfriend swam across, the teen and his siblings followed and then realized they would not make it.

Divers also pulled Love from the water. But he was pronounced dead in a hospital.

Deaths by Drowning

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, accounting for seven percent of all injury-related deaths. An estimate of 236,000 annual drowning deaths worldwide, according to the WHO's website.

The WHO reported that low-and middle-income countries account for over 90 percent of unintentional drowning deaths, with over half of the world's drowning occurs in the WHO Western Pacific Region and WHO South-East Asia Region.

Drowning rates are highest in the WHO Western Pacific Region. It is 27 to 32 times higher than those seen in the United Kingdom or Germany, respectively.

Drowning was deemed a major public health problem worldwide in 2019, with an estimate of 236,000 people dying from drowning.

Males are especially at risk of drowning, with twice the overall fatality rate for females. In addition, they are more likely to be hospitalized than females for non-fatal drowning.

Studies suggest that this is the case due to the male population's increased exposure to water and riskier behavior such as swimming alone or drinking alcohol before swimming alone and beating.

READ MORE: Jasmine Hartin, Daughter-in-Law of British Billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft, Set To Be Charged Over the Death of Belize Cop

WATCH: Worcester Police officer, 14-Year-Old Boy Die After Drowning During Pond Rescue - From WWLP-22News






A Florida couple has been charged with child neglect after their 21-month-old baby lost consciousness and breathing due to cocaine overdose.

Kaitlyn Van Dorn, and her partner, Blake Pavey, were issued with arrest warrants this week in relation to the January 8 incident when the child was found unconscious and not breathing.

Florida Couple on Toddler's Cocaine Overdose

According to WATE, the Sarasota County sheriff's deputies, who first responded to the incident, said that Kaitlyn Van Dorn told them that the toddler put something in his mouth while on a neighborhood walk.

Van Dorn noted that the toddler picked up an unknown object from the ground and placed it in his mouth. Afterward, the child started to stumble and became limp before losing consciousness.

The medical personnel, who responded to the emergency, administered three doses of Naloxone to the toddler. Naloxone is a medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Because of the medicine, the toddler quickly regained consciousness and became alert. The child was taken to the hospital afterward for testing.

Kaitlyn Van Dorn told the deputies that the toddler was picking up rocks around the neighborhood using a teal bucket. The 33-year-old woman said the child might have picked up a needle cap along the route that she crushed in his mouth.

Deputies returned to the home of Van Dorn in Venice, Florida, where they found the bucket behind a closed door. Inside the bucket was a silver spoon and a used tissue, both of the items were consistent with the ingestion of drugs.

The Florida Department of Children and Families visited the home of the Florida couple later that evening with deputies, who found a crack pipe during their search. The spoon tested positive for cocaine and Fentanyl, while the pipe tested positive for cocaine.

READ MOM: Top Sinaloa Cartel Money Launderer Extradited, Faces Charges in San Diego

Florida Couple Deny Wrongdoing

Blake Pavey told the deputies that he did not accompany his partner, Kaitlyn Van Dorn, during the walk but he supported her story that the toddler must have ingested something that he picked up in the neighborhood.

But the detectives launched an investigation regarding the incident. And after several months of trying to obtain hospital medical records related to the toxicity levels of the child, authorities have confirmed that the child had overdosed on cocaine, Fox News reported.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez said they were not able to recover any sign of a walk even taking place. So based on their investigation, Perez said they strongly believed that the child ingested those drugs inside the home of the Florida couple.

The 34-year-old Pavey told WFLA that it was "a horrible accident." However, he did not go into detail about how the child ingested the drugs.

Perez said her heart breaks for the child. She added that other detectives see things like this all the time, but it is particularly difficult when it involves a child.

"An innocent, helpless child who should not be in the environment that he has been forced to be in," Perez noted.

Blake Pavey was released on a $15,000 bond, while Kaitlyn Van Dorn remains in custody without bond concerning a charge for violating drug offender probation.

The Florida couple was taken into custody on Saturday, May 30, and the toddler has not been in the care of either parent since January.

READ MORE: Car Crash Leads to Discovery of Over $3M Worth of Cocaine

WATCH: Parents Deny Wrongdoing After Toddler Overdoses on Cocaine - From FOX 13 Tampa Bay
We have an option of a candidate who can center people, racial justice, economic justice, and climate justice, the second-term congresswoman said. (She) didnt just come up to run for mayor, but has experience, and has a lifetime of dedication to this.
Hong Kong: Local mutant strain case reported

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating one additional COVID-19 case involving a 17-year-old female student.

The case was reported on June 4 as a preliminary positive one involving the N501Y mutant strain.

Centre for Health Protection Communicable Disease Branch Head Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan noted in a press briefing this afternoon that the patients mother was identified as a preliminary positive case today.

Dr Chuang said: The mother of the COVID-19 patient has tested preliminary positive, so the mutant strain analysis is still ongoing. I suspect that her case is probably linked to her daughters case, so we will manage it as a case of mutant strain at the moment.

Were worried because the two patients had indeed been to various places. Because it is a case of mutant strain, it may be more infectious than the ordinary strain, so well quarantine even those who were not considered as close contacts before because were not sure whether the virus was transmitted.

The centre will trace all suspected close contacts to limit the spread of the virus, she added.

For information and health advice on COVID-19, visit the Government's dedicated webpage.

This story has been published on: 2021-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Check out our special section for the latest news on the critical 2021 elections in NYC. And to have the essential news and analysis sent to your inbox, sign up for our Campaign Diaries newsletter.
A major new project linking the conservation of medieval heritage and biodiversity has been launched by Laois and Offaly County Councils.

The three-year programme has been awarded 748,000 under the Just Transition Fund which aims to support innovative projects that contribute to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the Midlands and which have employment and enterprise potential.

The total budget for the project is 880,000.

Over the years Laois and Offaly County Council heritage officers have been working with a range of communities to care for their medieval churches and the surrounding graveyards. These sites are a direct link to our medieval past and often on sites of importance dating right back to the early Christian period. They are very special places for local communities, of interest to visitors, as well as being the burial grounds for so many families. With increased extreme weather events and the impact of climate change there is an acknowledgement that the work to conserve these sites is more important than ever.

This conservation programme has received a huge boost with the allocation of Just Transition funding which will be used to conserve three churches in each county over the next three years. There are several strands to Just Transition funding and this programme has received funding through the Community Resilience Strand. This uses the deep connection people have to their local heritage as a tool to build community capacity, working with local community organisations to develop their capacity to respond to changes in the environment, and raise awareness of greener, cleaner, healthier communities.

One church and graveyard has been selected in each municipal district in both counties. The work at all sites will commence with a comprehensive conservation plan which will be drawn up by a team including a conservation architect, conservation engineer, archaeologist and ecologist.

They will work with the community groups locally to plan works for each site to be delivered.

This will include examining options from the All Ireland Pollinator Plan guidelines to see how best the sites can support pollinators. The proposals will then be submitted to the National Monuments Service for approval before conservation work will commence. This programme runs for three years so it is anticipated the work in 2021 will focus on research and preparing the programme of works to commence in 2022 and 2023.

Catherine Fitzgerald, Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council welcomed the project.

We are delighted to be taking a lead on the Just Transition Fund project to work with communities at these important sites in Laois and Offaly. Churches and graveyards are such important places for heritage and also for the sense of place and identity of the local community. It is great news that there will be positive interaction with communities at a church site in each of the Municipal Districts, I look forward to seeing works progress over the next three years, she said.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD said he was delighted that funding has been finalised as it will bring significant benefits to Laois and Offaly.

Eoin Cahill is on the Dysart Gallen graveyard committee which has benefited.

I for one am very excited to know that this important historical site will now be preserved for future generations to enjoy, and explore, just like I have. The community are very proud of Dysart Gallen and are delighted it is getting the love and attention it deserves. The site itself is such a peaceful place to visit, which is something visitors from far and wide will experience for many, many years to come, he said.

Im delighted that funding of 748,000 has been finalised through the Just Transition Fund for this project, which will bring significant benefits to the Laois and Offaly region. Every funded project will play a key role in the Midlands successfully adapting to a Just Transition while also benefitting communities and individuals most affected by the move away from peat-harvesting.

 This project alone will create up to thirteen roles, both directly and indirectly. The conservation of these six medieval churches and their graveyards in Laois and Offaly is a terrific development for the communities around them. I am also delighted to see that action will be taken to promote biodiversity and pollinators at each site in partnership with the community.

My Department to date has issued grant agreements with 26 projects through both Strand 1 & 2 of the Fund, and I expect the remaining projects grant agreements to be finalized shortly. These innovative projects include establishment of supporting local business development and green enterprises, tourism and greenway infrastructure, heritage, regional business hubs, , re-skilling and training initiatives.

These projects have the ability to transform the Midlands region and its communities in the transition to a low-carbon economy. They will bring new, innovative, green energy enterprises with the potential to boost the economy in communities and create viable employment options for the region, said the Green Party leader.

Laois sites

In Laois the sites to be included are Kilmanman, near Clonaslee (in the Mountmellick - Borris in Ossory Municipal District), Dysart Gallen in Spink (Portlaoise Municipal District) and Clopook (Portarlington  Graiguecullen Municipal District).

Kilmanman

The medieval church of Kilmanman is on an early Christian site founded by St Manman. Urgent conservation work started at the Church in 2019 with support from Creative Ireland Laois, and work will continue under the Just Transition Project.

Dysart Gallen

The community at Dysart Galllen commissioned a Conservation Plan in 2020 with funding from the Community Monuments Fund of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This plan has set the priority area for action on the fragile chancel arch and West window of the Church.

Clopook

Clopook graveyard with its medieval abbey dedicated to the Blessed Virgin is located beside the Dun of Clopook, an impressive hillfort situated on top of high rock outcrop similar to the Rock of Dunamase with commanding views of the surrounding countryside in all directions. The place name Cloghpooke is annotated on the 1563 map of Laois-Offaly and this hilltop fortress or hillfort is traditionally associated with the OMoore/O'More clan.

The Offaly sites to be included are Kilmurry in Shinrone, Kilbride near Tullamore and Monasteroris near Edenderry.

For more information on any of the sites and progress with the Conservation and Pollination project over the coming years please see www.laois.ie/heritage and www.offaly.ie/heritage. If you are interested in being kept up to date or involved in any of the above sites please email ccasey@Laoiscoco.ie for the Laois sites or heritage@offalycoco.ie for the Offaly sites.



Just Transition Fund

The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a key pillar of the governments just transition plan for the Midlands region. A fund is available for projects focusing on retraining workers and proposals to generate sustainable employment in green enterprise in the region, and supporting communities to transition to a low carbon economy.

The objective is to fund innovative projects that contribute to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the Wider Midlands region and which have employment and enterprise potential. It will support projects that take a whole-of-Midlands strategic approach and complement other sources of public funding.

For more information on the Just Transition Fund see https://www.gov.ie/en/

publication/ed10d-just-

transition-fund/
Fire hydrants in Mountrath are in serious disrepair and are a health and safety issue, a Laois County Councillor has warned.

Cllr James Kelly raised the issue in a motion to the Mountmellick Borris-in-Ossory Municipal District Meeting in which he called on the council to survey the hydrants in the centre of Mountrath to see if extra hydrants are required, in the interest of health and safety.

He added that there are two fire hydrants outside of Michael Keegans butchers and outside of the former Walsh supermarket. He claimed both have been covered over with tarmac.

Its a serious issue, it was only highlighted there a while ago when there was a fire in the middle of Mountrath.

They were able to use a fire hydrant that was at the Portlaoise road, but the next hydrant is at the roundabout, the one at the Bank of Ireland carpark is in very bad repair, he said.

He added that Mountrath has many three-story buildings with some occupied and some vacant. Cllr Kelly argued that the fire hydrants must be reinstated as electrical maintenance is not carried out on such buildings.

District Engineer Mr Edmond Kelly responded that Mountrath Fire Crews carry out annual surveys of hydrants to familiarise the crews with their locations and condition.

He said the Mountrath crew last surveyed/inspected the hydrants in Mountrath and surrounding area in September 2020.

Cllr Kelly dismissed the response as government jargon.

This is too serious an issue for this sort of reply, God forbid something should happen, he said.

Cllr John King supported the motion, calling for fire hydrants to be serviced every six months.

I understand exactly what Cllr Kelly is talking about, I was a fireman for 15 years. There is nothing as bad as going to a fire and having no water. Its most important, I would suggest that LCC take full control of this and service it twice a year, he said.

Cllr King calling for the servicing of fire hydrants to be left to the county council solely, rather than Irish Water.

Cllr Kelly asked Mr. Kenny to arrange a meeting on site with Laois Chief Fire Officer Declan Power.
A father of three has been sentenced to four and a half years in jail for possession of drugs, 14 years after fleeing to Spain to avoid prison.

David Kilroy (40), of Heather Close, Rathfarnham, Dublin, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on charges of possessing 46,230 worth of cocaine for sale or supply in the Village Green area of Tallaght on July 4, 2006.

He pleaded guilty to the charges in 2007, but absconded from his bail before sentencing and started a new life in Spain, the court heard.

Detective Garda Conor Harrison told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that he and a colleague were on patrol in the Village Green area of Tallaght on July 4, 2006, when they saw the accused driving a black jeep.

Det Gda Harrison could see him speaking on the phone, and formed the view he was looking for someone. When he approached the jeep, he noticed the driver stuffing something away, and then identified himself as a garda and said he would search the car.

Kilroy immediately admitted he was carrying drugs, the court heard.

I have a grand and a half of coke in my tracksuit bottoms, Kilroy said.

He was arrested and brought for interview at Tallaght Garda Station, and a follow-up search of his home uncovered more cocaine.

A total 660 grams of cocaine were found during the two searches, which had a street value of 46,230 at that time.

Det Gda Harrison said Kilroy admitted being a user of cocaine when he was interviewed, and that he was to be paid 300 for holding the drugs.

Although Kilroy pleaded guilty to possession of drugs for sale or supply in 2007, he absconded from his bail before sentence was passed and started a new life in Spain.

The accused returned voluntarily on April 26, last, when he was made aware of extradition proceedings being brought against him, the court heard.

Kilroy didnt come on the radar of the drugs unit in Tallaght at the time, said Det Gda Harrison. He was just unlucky enough to drive into us.

He was candid to a fault in the interview, he said.

John Noonan, BL, defending, put it to Det Gda Harrison that Kilroy had left the country because he was afraid of coming to harm in prison.

[Mr Kilroy] was not our usual client, counsel said. He wouldnt thrive in a prison environment.

Mr Noonan added that Kilroy is a man with a long history of work, a long list of references, both in Spain and Ireland.

The court heard Kilroy worked as a mechanic and more recently in Spain as a seasonal barman and handyman. He has three children, a ten-month-old and a three-year-old in Spain, as well as an 18-year-old son who is estranged from him.

He has stopped drinking, has stopped smoking, hes stopped taking drugs, Mr Noonan said.

Judge Martin Nolan said it was clear to him Mr Kilroy became enmeshed in drug-carrying as a result of his cocaine habit at the time, and was inveigled or coerced into it.

At the time he pleaded guilty and was due to be sentenced, but it seems he was afraid of going to prison and the people he might meet there.

The law has caught up with him.

Judge Nolan said Kilroys guilty plea, co-operation with Gardai, clean record and long work history were all mitigating factors, and that he would have to take his long-term partnership and young family into account too.

He was an adult man who made a decision for his own reasons. He deserves a custodial sentence by virtue of his criminal act.

Judge Nolan sentenced Kilroy to four and a half years in prison, backdated to the start of his custody after returning from Spain on April 26, last.
Husband-and-wife team James and Aileen McCauley triumphed on BBC One Dragons Den last night as the couple secured the investment they were looking for.

Armed with The Wriggler  their anti-roll changing mat designed for babies who wriggle and writhe during nappy changes - and their life size 8-month-old baby doll who they affectionately nicknamed Sam, the couple enthralled the UK Dragons Sara Davies, Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden,Tej Lalvani and Theo Paphitis with their presentation, demonstration and product.

We were looking for an investment of 50k for a 25% stake in The Wriggler. Having done our research we had identified the two Dragons that we felt would be best for the business  Sara Davies who is a mum of young kids with great experience of bringing craft products to the market or Touker Suleyman with 40 years of retail and manufacturing experience in the baby space, commented Aileen.

From the get-go, their experience was full of twists and drama, including a bizarre offer from Touker which even surprised the other Dragons and had them rushing to the couples defence. In the end it was an offer of 50k for a 35% stake in the business from Sara Davies which they accepted. Sara has a wealth of experience of exporting products to international markets so is the ideal Dragon for the McCauleys to take The Wriggler worldwide.

In fact, none of the other entrepreneurs managed to secure investment in the episode, highlighting just how impressive the McCauleys pitch was.

Its quite bewildering to take in everything, number crunching, negotiating and having to make a decision in such a pressurised space knowing our every word and move was being scrutinised by the Dragons in front of a studio full of cameras, said James.

The Wriggler has been like our third child and like any parents, we want to give our children roots and wings. We feel weve given The Wriggler strong roots and doing a deal Sara will help to give it the wings it needs. We are delighted to have her onboard to guide us globally and bring the Wriggler to a worldwide audience. Were incredibly excited about the future, he said.

The Wriggler has already proved its popularity notching up awards and plaudits from some of the largest independent parenting review websites in the UK. Parents have called it a miracle mat and their sanity saver.
The 2021 edition of the annual Irish Military Seminar, which is normally held each June in the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, has been moved online due to the current public health guidelines.

The War of Independence, World War I, Strongbow and the extensive collections of the Military archives are among the topics that feature in the 2021 programme, which includes Zoom talks and some pre-recorded interviews with local County Kildare historians.

The seminar will provide a lively yet educational view on a broad range of themes and topics. All events are free, and everyone is welcome to join in and participate. The seminar is presented in conjunction with the programme of events for JuneFest 2021. Most of the events require registration on Eventbrite.com or via www.kildare.ie/ehistory.

The lineup for the Fifth Annual Irish Military Seminar is as follows:

l Tuesday, June 8  7.30pm: (via Zoom) The Military Archives Pensions Collections  Michael Keane (Military Archives).

l Thursday, June 10  7.30pm: (via Zoom) Representing the Last Moments of Irish Revolutionaries in Museums  Dr Siobhan Doyle (National Museum of Ireland).

l Saturday, June 12  7.30pm: Premiere of pre-recorded interview: The Life and Work of the War Cartoonist Bill Mauldin  Raphael Ryan in conversation with Margaret Rowe.

l Tuesday, June 15  7.3pm: Premiere of pre-recorded interview: Irish Servicewomen in the Great War: From Western Front to the Roaring Twenties  Dr Barbara Walsh in conversation with Margaret Scott.

l Thursday, June 17  7.30pm: (via Zoom) Book launch and talk: Remembrance: The World War I Dead of Co Kildare and talk by Ronan McGreevy (The Irish Times).

l Friday, June 18  7.30pm: (via Zoom) The Military Archives Oral History Collection  Noelle Grothier.

l Saturday, June 19  10am: (via Zoom) Strongbow and the Normans  Dr Conor Kostick.

l Saturday, June 19  11am: (via Zoom) Rows and Ructions: military-civilian violence in Irish garrison towns  Dr Aoife Bhreatnach.

l Saturday, June 19  12pm: (via Zoom) Guerrilla Warfare During The War of Independence  Lorcan Collins

Keep an eye out on our social media for further details.

www.kildare.ie/ehistory

www.facebook.com/ kildaredecadeof commemorations

@cilldara2016 Twitter account

Kildare Decade of Commemorations YouTube Channel

The Irish Military Seminar would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the following in holding the annual event: The County Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee, Kildare County Council, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-23 Initiative), JuneFest 2021, The County Kildare Federation of Local History Groups, National Gallery of Ireland.

For any queries contact: cilldara2016@gmail.com.
The wonderful family business, Jinnys Bakery, is looking to treat your family to a two night stay in their charming traditional Irish Red Door Cottages which are found overlooking Acres Lake and its floating boardwalk and the Shannon Blueway in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim.

Home to the best soda bread in Ireland, you will also be treated to a welcome pack of delicious goodies from Jinnys' Bakery and Tearooms on your arrival.

This family run business has much to celebrate at the moment and they want share a little of the joy with you!

Baking bread is a family thing and has been for generations of Irish families. Its something we did with our Mams and Nans and the scent of bread baking can transport us back to when we were knee-high to a grass hopper begging to be allowed to stir the bowl, knead the dough or have the first slice!

For Jinnys Bakery, baking bread certainly is a family thing. Run by husband and wife team  Pascal and Sinead (Jinny) Gillard, Jinnys bakery has grown to a team of 11 people supplying brands like SuperValu, Centra, Tesco, Gala and Independent retailers in 70 locations nationwide.

Great News for this Leitrim Bakery - For the second year running, Jinnys has been shortlisted for the Grow with Aldi programme in partnership with Board Bia. This means that from June 6th  19th, their delicious Jinnys Stout Bread Mix which proved hugely popular during the programme last year, will make its return. It will sit beside Jinnys brand new Porridge Oat Bread Mix which launches this week and will also be available in all 145 Aldi stores nationwide.

Like many small businesses Jinnys Bakery has had to think differently to get through Covid 19. Part of that adaption is diversifying their product so it can travel and have a longer shelf life  hence the focus and development of their Bread Mix range. Their stout bread was awarded the Best soda bread in Ireland at the Irish Quality Food Awards in 2019. John and Sally McKennas Irish Food Guide described us as one of the great Irish BakeriesJust try a slice of that Irish Stout Bread and succumb to its tartness, its subdued sweetness, its classy confidence.

If like many Irish people you were reared on home-baked bread but just cant seem to get it right or if you love that nostalgic and warm feeling of the scent of bread baking in the oven but dread the baking part? You will love the Jinnys Bakery Bread Mix packs. They take just 2 mins to prepare and when done, youll have 2 delicious home-baked loaves to share or silently devour! Jinnys bread mixes are wholesome with no artificial colours nor preservatives, they are naturally yeast free with no added sugar. And they will fill your home with the wonderful scent and warmth of home baking!

To Celebrate Jinnys Bakery would like to give you the chance to win a family staycation!

Jinnys Bakery and Tea Rooms are found on the site of the Red Door Cottages (https://selfcateringleitrim.ie/) also owned and managed by Sinead and Pascal.

To celebrate the launch of their new Porridge Oat Bread Mix and their success in being short listed for the Grow with ALDI programme there is a weekend staycation getaway to the charming Red Door Cottages, in beautiful Drumshanbo with delicious Jinnys Bakery welcome pack to be WON!

To enter: Follow Jinnys Bakery on Facebook (jinnys Bakery & Tearooms) or Instagram (jinnysbakery.tearooms) and privately message Jinnys with the name of the new Jinnys Bread Mix with is launching this week in your local Aldi store.

Terms and conditions

Subject to availability

Based on two adults + 2 Children sharing

No cash alternative

Valid June 2021-June 2022

Closing date Midnight Sunday, June 13

Prize includes, accommodation (2 nights) in the traditional Red Door Cottages and Jinnys Bakery and TeaRooms Welcome Pack on arrival.

For more information see the following links

https://www.instagram.com/jinnysbakery.tearooms/

https://www.facebook.com/JinnysBakery

The Red Door Cottages - https://selfcateringleitrim.ie/
The School of Home Economics, St. Angelas College is well established as a provider of quality Higher Education programmes with a 70-year legacy that has gone from strength to strength in an ever-changing landscape. A new and innovative Structured PhD (Home Economics) is now on offered through the recently launched National Centre of Excellence in Home Economics at the College, from September 2021 for those who wish to progress to doctoral level study (Level 10 NFQ).

The exciting new programme will attract Irish and international Home Economists who want to take the next step in developing their expertise and strengthening the research base upon which Home Economics is built, as well as welcoming candidates from aligned and cognate disciplines.

The Structured PhD (Home Economics) is offered on a full-time or part-time basis and candidates will work under the responsive supervision and mentoring of an expert academic faculty member availing of many research skills supports. Academic staff in the Centre are leading international experts in Home Economics with several staff holding positions on government advisory groups, Chair positions on internationally recognised committees and memberships of international research teams.

From this available expertise, PhD candidates will gain valuable insights and acquire transferrable skills enabling them to conduct research at the highest level in a reflective and critical way and to complete their selected research project making a unique and original contribution to the field of Home Economics / aligned research areas.

Helen Maguire, Head of School of Home Economics explains applications for the new Structured PhD are now open for studies in areas aligned to the research priorities of the School and full bursaries are available through the Kappeler Bursary. F

rau Kappeler was a Swiss Home Economist, passionate about the development of the discipline, who bequeathed in her will a philanthropic donation to St. Angelas College designated for the advancement of the field. Ms Maguire continues, this PhD will allow graduates to unlock future career opportunities at a high level in a broad range of public and private sector roles.

For further details / to discuss a potential PhD research study please contact Helen Maguire, Head of School of Home economics at hmaguire@stangelas.nuigalway.ie

Full details of the new Structured PhD (Home Economics) and Kappeler Bursary information can be found on the College website www.stangelas.nuigalway.ie
A NUMBER of students in Limerick will be unable to sit their leaving certificate examinations next week having contracted Covid-19 or having been identified as a close contact.

The Department of Public Health Mid West has confirmed a small number of students are among those affected by the recent surge in cases of the disease which has seen the incidence rate rise to above 400 (per 100,000 population).

A meeting took place this Friday afternoon between the Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holan and politicians from across the city and county. Representatives from Public Health Mid West also attended.

"I would like to extend my gratitude to the Minister and representatives in Limerick for their meaningful engagement on the current Covid-19 situation in Limerick this evening," said Dr Mai Mannix, Director of Public Health Mid West who added that a local lockdown is not currently on the agenda.

The Chief Medical Officer has made no recommendation to implement additional restrictions in Limerick following an extensive analysis of the widespread community surge in the region, which is largely connected to outbreaks in Limerick city. While this will be a welcome relief for many people, we now have a collective responsibility to be extra safe this Bank Holiday Weekend, so that we can curtail this large community outbreak quickly. If high-risk indoor activity continues, we will see an increase in cases and may find ourselves in a more troubling position," she commented.

Very constructive meeting with public reps and health officials on Covid in Limerick. Asking people not just in the county but all over the country to really stick to public health guidelines and we'll enhance testing and tracing in the coming days. We can all #holdfirm  Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) June 4, 2021

According to Public Health Mid West, the catalyst for the current surge is cases was indoor gatherings, including household visits, organised small to large social events, family and extended family gatherings, birthday parties and house parties.

"This has had a significant knock-on effect in the community, adversely affecting settings such as workplaces and schools. We are aware of a number of outbreaks that have led to local businesses and schools to temporarily close. These clusters have compounded active outbreaks in the community. Additionally, we are aware of a small number of Leaving Cert students who will miss out on examinations next week as a result of being a confirmed case and close contact," said a spokesperson.

Dr Mannix says the people of Limerick have shown immense resilience and resolve since the start of this pandemic and she is appealing to everyone to comply with the public health guidelines "to prevent an unmanageable surge in the community" over the coming weeks.

According to HSE Mid-West Community Healthcare data, more than 17,000 people have availed of free walk-in testing at the two Covid-19 centres in Limerick since May 16.

Following this Friday's crisis meeting, the Minister for Health confirmed that testing capacity at the pop-up clinic at St Joseph's Health Campus, Mulgrave Street, will be doubled from Saturday and that a second pop-up clinic will be set up in Limerick next week.

The test centre at Ballysimon Road also remains open.

It has also been confirmed that currently there is no evidence that any of the newer variants of Covid-19 are driving the increase in cases in Limerick.
According to the AP, the Venice Environmental Association, one of the groups against the passage of the ships, is demanding that port officials immediately ban ships from the lagoon. The group is also threatening criminal action, if nothing happens in the next 15 days.
EDDIE Sherin went into St Camillus Community Hospital to cover a porter heading off on holidays for two weeks - 45 years later he is still there!

Thoughts of retiring are the furthest from his mind. Eddie is one of  if not  the longest-serving HSE employee in County Limerick. Forty five years with one employer is practically unheard of these days.

I started when I was 19 in St Camillus. I went in for two weeks to cover a porter who was going on holidays and they kept me on. I must have done something half right, laughed Eddie.

Anybody who has been in hospital or a nursing home knows the importance of a kind word, as well as excellent care. And thats guaranteed with Eddie.

It is great to walk in in the morning and you know the residents by name. After a day or two they get to know your name and you become on first name terms. You build up great friendships with residents, said Eddie.

Rumour has it that some residents call Eddie to bring them for a spin down the corridors purely for a chat and a cheer-up.

As well as forging relationships with residents, Eddie has made great friendships with staff and management over his four and half decades in St Camillus.

Anybody would help anybody out in the hospital. Staff and management go above and beyond the call of duty, said Eddie.

And they certainly have during Covid.

Weve been very lucky with the Covid thanks be to God.

We are working very well with in it considering all the circumstances - hand washing, masks, social distancing, everything is done to the letter of the law, said Eddie.

Unfortunately, due to Covid, plans to celebrate Eddies 45th year in St Camillus have had to be postponed until restrictions allow. He marked it quietly at home with wife June. The couple have three children Susan, Mark and Kevin.

Coincidentally, June also gave great service to St Camillus.

I had met her before she started working there. She worked with me for 23 years. Were still together anyway! joked Eddie.

He has seen a huge transformation in St Camillus' which was first built in 1841 as a Limerick Union Workhouse.

Since I started things have changed very much. There was the change over from the nuns; more modern equipment and buildings over the years but one thing has remained the same and that is the patient or resident comes first, said Eddie.

And as for stepping back after 45 years service?

It is the last notion in my head at the moment. Im very happy working there, Eddie concludes.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya expressed his gratitude towards three coastal states for prioritising seafarers in their Covid vaccination programmes.

Apart from measures taken by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa have included seafarers in their priority list for vaccination, the minister said. There have been demands from many quarters to prioritise seafarers in the vaccination drive considering the global significance of Indian seafaring industry.

"India is committed to providing vaccines to seafarers! I am thankful to Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant for including Seafarers in State Priority List for vaccination," Mandaviya said in a tweet.

The union shipping minister also urged other states to follow in the footsteps of these three states and vaccinate sailors on priority in their respective jurisdictions.

Listing other measures in place to vaccinate seafarers, Mandaviya informed that six major ports across the country, including Mumbai Port Trust, Cochin Port Trust, Chennai Port Trust, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Kolkata Port Trust and Tuticorin Port Trust, have started vaccinating seafarers at their port hospitals.

A private hospital in Kerala has been roped in for vaccinating seafarers, he added. Seafaring unions and associations like MASSA, FOSMA and NUSI have also organised special camps for vaccination.

Mandaviya suggested that the seafaring industry should not be hampered due to lack of Covid vaccination. He also emphasised that all efforts should be made to get the seafarers vaccinated before they join their scheduled duties on board.

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The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday urged the government to provide enhanced and targeted policy support for exports taking advantage of the rising external demand for Indian goods.

With external demand strengthening, a rebound in global trade is taking hold, which should support Indias export sector. Global demand conditions are expected to improve further buoyed by fiscal stimulus packages and the fast progress of vaccination in advanced economies. Indias exports in March, April and May 2021 have launched into an upswing. Conducive external conditions are forming for a durable recovery beyond pre-pandemic levels. The need of the hour is for enhanced and targeted policy support for exports. It is opportune now to give further policy push by focusing on quality and scalability," RBI said in its latest monetary policy statement.

Indian exports stayed above $30 billion for the third consecutive month in May, after hitting a record $34 billion in March. Exports are expected to support growth in FY22 by providing cushion against sharp correction in domestic demand due to cautious consumer sentiment on the back of rising health costs during the ongoing second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sharad Kumar Saraf, president, Federation of Indian Export Associations agreed with the RBIs assessment holding that scalability could be attempted only if there are adequate profits in exports so that the same may be ploughed back in expansion and upgradation. However, at present the profit margins have been squeezed due to high input prices without corresponding hike in prices of exports and sky rocketing freight costs. A stable policy framework may be provided by notifying RoDTEP rates, releasing MEIS and SEIS rates, extending interest equalisation benefits and providing non fiscal facilitation," he added.

India Ratings and Research in a research report published on Wednesday said it expects Indian exports to show a gradual improvement over the next two to three years, driven by the combination of a pick-up in global demand and global players seeking to diversify supply chains while reducing reliance on China. Certain segments of pharmaceuticals, textiles, auto ancillary and chemicals are already benefitting from this trend, giving companies the confidence to embark on capacity expansions despite the risk of a possible slowdown in domestic demand. Given the predominant role played by China in global supply chains with its cost competitiveness and economies of scale, it however would remain a major supply hub for the foreseeable future while other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India will be explored over a period of time. Policy measures facilitating large-scale manufacturing operations and encouraging them to move up the value chain would be required for Indian companies to benefit from this shift," it added.

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Indian students remain positive about taking up their courses at UK universities this year despite the coronavirus lockdown and travel constraints, official data indicates.

According to UK Home Office statistics released last week, the number of study visa grants to Indian nationals in the year ending March 2021 increased by 6,391, marking a 13 per cent hike over the previous year.

It indicates that most students are keen to take up their courses as they are able to return to university since lockdown eased further from May 17.

"Welcoming our students back in person is an important milestone in the UK's COVID-19 recovery, and a positive sign for Indian students holding offers to study in the UK next academic year," said Vivienne Stern, Director of Universities UK International (UUKi), an organisation representing 146 UK universities.

"We are grateful to our member universities, and to all students, for their incredible work, patience and resilience during this time. Throughout this time, universities have put the welfare of their students at the heart of what they do, and have been flexible to enable students to pursue their dream of undertaking higher education in the UK safely," she said.

The UUKi said universities have done a lot of work besides switching to online learning, with a focus on students' health and wellbeing, including providing food parcels, hardship funding and wellbeing support.

International education specialists IDP Connect have been monitoring student attitudes and motivations towards university study during the pandemic through their International Student Crossroads Reports and their April research shows that 83 per cent of Indian students with an offer to study in the UK in the autumn expect to commence their studies as planned, around September.

Asked whether they would commence their studies if it meant travelling to the UK and then having their teaching delivered through a mixture of online and face-to-face sessions, an overwhelming 94 per cent of Indian respondents said they would commence their studies under such circumstances.

"Over the last few years many thousands more Indian students have chosen to trust UK higher education to build their career paths, and UK universities are looking forward to welcoming back their Indian students, as the country is now opening back up," said Barbara Wickham, Director, British Council India.

"As Indian students plan to travel back to the UK, we encourage them to connect with their universities; and follow the travel rules for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as applicable," she said.

Under current rules, Indians with a valid student visa can travel to the UK but must follow the "red list" travel requirement of a compulsory 10-day quarantine at a government-approved facility as part of measures to control the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

There have been calls for university accommodation to also be approved for this self-isolation purpose.

As part of several measures in place, university and health authorities have highlighted that Indian students arriving in the UK in the coming months will also be able to access vaccinations by registering with a local doctor when they arrive.

The coronavirus has so far claimed 128,075 lives in the UK, along 4,515,779 confirmed infections, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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KEPUMGODA, Sri Lanka (AP)  Sri Lanka's fishermen are already feeling the impact of an unfolding environmental disaster caused by the slow sinking of a fire-ravaged cargo ship that had been loaded with chemicals.

Fishing remained banned Friday along about 80 kilometers (50 miles) of coastline, as debris from the Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl  including tons of plastic pellets and burned fiberglass  continued to wash ashore.

Authorities were also on guard for the possible leak of oil and chemicals from the ship, which started sinking off the country's main port on Wednesday, a day after a fire that raged on the vessel for 12 days was extinguished.

A lone fisherman, Kinson Jayalath, was defying the ban Friday on Kepumgoda beach. He said he was trying to catch food for his family but was growing frustrated by the lack of fish in an area where he said there had been plenty just a week ago.

In a nearby village home to many people who depend on the fishing industry, Ajith Nelson said even before the restrictions were announced fishermen were having their nets ruined by huge chunks of cottonlike material that became entangled in them.

While fishing is still allowed in deeper waters, sales of seafood have plummeted because consumers fear chemical contamination, said Herman Kumara of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement.

As the the ship started to sink, crews tried to tow it into deeper waters away from the port but failed after the ships stern became submerged and rested on the seabed 21 meters (70 feet) below the surface. The ship was continuing to take on water Friday.

Shumel Yoskovitz, the chief executive of the ships operators X-Press Feeders, apologized for disaster Friday in an interview with Channel News Asia.

I'd like to express my deep regret and apology to the Sri Lankan people for the harm this incident has caused both to the livelihood and environment of Sri Lanka, Yoskovitz said.

The fire erupted on May 20 when the ship was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18 kilometers) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter the port.

X-Press Feeders have said the fire destroyed most of the ships cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals. It has said salvage experts were remaining with the vessel to monitor its condition and any pollution.

Colombo port Harbor Master Nirmal Silva said tons of oil in the ship's fuel tanks may also have burned out with the fire, but authorities were prepared to to deal with an oil spill.

Both the navy and coast guard have been preparing for a spill with assistance from neighboring India. India has sent three ships to help, including one specifically equipped to deal with marine pollution.

Sri Lankan police are probing the fire, and a court in Colombo on Tuesday banned the captain, the engineer and the assistant engineer from leaving the country. The government has said it will take legal action against the owners of the ship to claim compensation.

Kumara's fishing group along with other activist groups on Friday petitioned the Supreme Court to call on authorities to assess the long-term damage to the environment and marine life, possible hazardousness of eating fish and the health impacts. The petition called on the owners of the ship, their local agent and the state to pay compensation to those affected.

The petitioners told court that they obtained the list of the goods carried onboard the ship through a right to information law and the cargo included nitric acid, caustic soda, sodium methylate, plastic, lubricant oil, quick lime, sodium methodoxide, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, methanol, bright yellow sulphur, urea, and cosmetics.

Silva said that the ship captain had not concealed any information on the goods onboard nor was there was any breach of rules.

___

Associated Press writers Krishan Francis and Bharatha Mallawarachi contributed to this report from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Earth, Wind & Fire got the party grooving at the second annual Drive-In to Erase MS Gala at the Rose Bowl on Friday night in Pasadena, which raised $1.4 million for the cause.

Last September, the star-studded fundraiser adopted a drive-in model, with stars rolling over the orange carpet instead of walking it. This year, the event shifted to more of a hybrid model, with attendees encouraged to hop out of their car and enjoy the event from pop-up chairs on the lawn, as well as a livestream for those who could not attend.

Im just going to request that all future red carpets we do in the car, because that was awesome, Lance Bass quipped from the stage. Its now 28 years that weve been dealing with the terrible disease called multiple sclerosis. And who knew wed all be dealing with a new horrific disease that would make us socially distance for over a year.

Bass then introduced the Davis family and Race to Erase MS founder Nancy Davis. Davis was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991 at 31-years-old and has been raising awareness and money to find a cure ever since.

We have had a banner year of success despite so many charities not being able to continue funding, and we can only do this because of your continued generosity, Davis said, announcing that over the last year the FDA approved two more drugs to help stop the progression of MS, bringing the total number to 22. This is nothing short of a miracle. When I started this journey 29 years ago, as a young mom with three precious children I was told I would never walk again or be able to do more than operate the remote control on a TV set.

Tonight is a night of celebration as COVID is nearing the end and we are finally able to get an in-person safe event, Davis added, thanking attendees for driving up for a second year running. Unfortunately, we cant have everybody rush onto the stage like we usually do because of the CDC rules. But by next year, well all be back.

The evening kicked off with a fashion show for Stacy Bendets Alice + Olivia line. Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars Kyle Richards, Kathy Hilton, Sutton Stracke and Dorit Kemsley introduced the live auction led by auctioneer Letitia Frye where items including trips to Las Vegas, Maui, Costa Rica, Little Nell in Aspen and the Bahamas, as well as a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLS 63 AMG were sold for prices ranging from $2,500 to $116,000. One of the cutest items of the night, a labradoodle puppy, went to two little girls who raised their paddles and squealed their way through the auction, ultimately winning the pooch for $7,000.

Earth, Wind & Fire headlined the event  led by Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson  playing their first live show since the pandemic struck as attendees danced along to their biggest hits, including September, Boogie Wonderland, Lets Groove and Sing a Song. The band also played Davis favorite song, Shining Star, before launching into the events finale number, Lean On Me, during which they were joined by Siedah Garrett, David Osmond, Greg Phillinganes and the Davis Family.

Additional guests at the event included: Tyra Banks, Michael Campion, Victoria Justice, Keltie Knight, Access Hollywood host Mario Lopez (who introduced Earth, Wind & Fire with his son Nico), Natalie Alyn Lind, Loni Love, Shaun Robinson, Cassie Scerbo, Jodie Sweetin, as well as DWTS pros Alan Bersten, Gleb Savchenko and Keo Motsepe and more.

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Producer Suzanne Desrocher-Romero is in the process of completing her late husband George A. Romeros first attempt at filmmaking, which tells the story of an African American father and his son.

Although the horror pioneer is often dubbed Godfather of Zombies, the unnamed 21-minute silent short  thought to have been shot in 1961  remains ghoul-free.

The film got shelved, according to Desrocher-Romero, when the Night of the Living Dead directors commercials company Latent Image started getting more work and remained untouched.

Desrocher-Romero, who founded the George A. Romero Foundation (GARF)  dedicated to preserving the directors legacy  two years ago, is now in the process of knitting together a narration and some music for the film, which she hopes to release on the festival circuit later this year.

The narration comprises of a poem, Romeros Elegy (also now the films title), which was written by Romeros long-term collaborator Richard the Rev Ricci, who died last year. It will be narrated by Day of the Dead actor Terry Alexander.

Toronto-based Desrocher-Romero added that shes in the process of getting the soundtrack licensed, which comprises of old jazz that the boys were listening to at the time.

Romeros widow spoke to Variety ahead of an International Film Festival Rotterdam screening of her husbands 1973 public information film The Amusement Park, which is running in the festivals heritage sidebar Cinema Regained.

Romero was given free rein to make a film for the Lutheran Society for Senior Life designed to highlight ageism.

It features Lincoln Maazel (who would later appear in Romeros Martin) as a sprightly and enthusiastic older man who enters a Pittsburgh theme park only to be intermittently beaten, verbally abused, ignored, mocked, and robbed by the younger crowds throughout the course of the park.

The directors intentionally disturbing 57-minuter was considered too brutal for the Christian charity, who consigned it to the vaults, before it was unearthed for a Romero retrospective in Turin in 2017, three months before the directors death.

Desrocher-Romero added that she was shocked by its content when she viewed the copy a curator sent over. It was shot in three days on a budget of $37,000, but it was so edgy and had Georges footprint all over it  but hed just dismissed it as this little industrial film that hed made a long time ago, she says.

The restoration of The Amusement Park became GARFs first project as three magenta-hued Super 16mm copies were painstakingly restored to 4K by New York-based film preservation society IndieCollect.

Following a limited theatrical release in the U.S. two years ago The Amusement Park was picked up by art-house genre specialist Yellow Veil Pictures last June, which acquired worldwide rights.

The deal gave the lost film a further lease of life on AMC Networks horror streamer Shudder in the U.S., UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

According to Yellow Veil cofounder Joe Yanick, theatrical deals are also in place in France (Potemkine)  where it was released this week  as well as Germany/Italy (Koch Media) and Japan (King Records), with more deals set to follow this summer.

While it was reported this year that Desrocher-Romero is taking Romeros sixth and final zombie feature Twilight of the Dead to the screen  with a script penned by the late directors writing partner Paolo Zelati and screenwriters Joe Knetter and Robert L. Lucas  the producer adds that shes yet to find a director and an executive producer to get this last chapter off the ground.

Right now theres a buzz: Fans are excited about it, the media is excited about it but Im still looking for the right team  because its Georges last chapter and Im guarding it with my life  so until that happens its staying in my draw, she says.

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In her impressive narrative feature debut, Mexican actor-filmmaker Angeles Cruz examines the impact of migration and the difficulties women face in a small village in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Set in the fictional village of San Mateo (in reality Cruzs hometown of Villa Guadalupe Victoria), Nudo Mixteco (or Mixtecan Knot) weaves together the stories of three indigenous women dealing with love, sex, the struggle for empowerment and the legacy of child abuse in a community largely dominated by chauvinistic traditions.

Cruz, who also wrote and produced the film via Madrecine, the company she runs with partners Lucia Carreras and Lola Ovando, spoke to Variety about the pic, which features a mixed cast of professional and non-professional actors. Nudo Mixteco screens in the International Film Festival Rotterdams Harbour section.

The project initially began as three female monologues that reflected the experiences of people who return to their communities after having long ago left their friends and family, Cruz says. As she developed the script, however, the stories became more about the universal challenges that women face, particularly about the very limited space that women have to make decisions over their own lives and their own bodies.

In the first story, a young woman returns to her village for a funeral only to find herself ostracized by her family. She loves another woman, but cannot have that kind of relationship because of all the things that she is confronted with in the community, but also because of her own prejudice, Cruz explains.

The second chapter follows an estranged couple and highlights what is happening in our communities. People go to work elsewhere and leave their families for long periods of time, lose communication with them, but then return as if nothing has happened. For me its brutal because its the reality that we, the women, are living in our communities.

And the third story: there is this profound pain that I believe still exists in all societies, which is the sexual abuse of children and this repetition, this vicious circle.

Migration and its impact on family and community is a main theme that runs through the film, connecting the three chapters.

The people of our communities leave out of necessity, not because they are going on vacation, Cruz stresses. Its because of poverty, to search for employment that is better remunerated, to be able to study and get a more professional education.

With schools in rural communities reaching only secondary level, many migrate at a young age, she adds. Our migration is obligatory, its not out of pleasure.

Returning home after being away for a long time often makes things more difficult, she points out. How do we see ourselves? How do we see our community? Do we feel included or excluded once we have left? I think we remain in limbo. The people that migrate out of necessity, we are in limbo. We dont know where we belong. We think we belong to a town, but then we return to a town that we no longer recognize because weve been away.

This sensation of living in limbo is perceived very strongly in Nudo Mixteco in the sense that even though you wish to return to your hometown, you also dont belong there.

While her film is very much rooted in Oaxacas Mixtec community, the stories present timeless portraits of the human condition.

I think all human beings in this universe have had that frustration of not knowing who we are, of not having the space to decide, including decisions over our bodies, especially women, and more so women in these communities. That makes these themes universal in the sense that all women have experienced that moment where we have had to decide over our bodies.

She points out that in many countries, including Mexico, the question of abortion is still being debated. Other people are making decision over what I call our body territory, she says. We are just beginning to decide over our bodies.

This is something that many women around the world have experienced and thats where the story connects with other people  this feeling of desolation, of not belonging, or not being able to decide over ourselves. I think that is what makes it universal.

Cruz will again explore universal themes in her next feature, Valentina o la Serenidad, a story about a young girl dealing with the death of her father.

Its about the pain of a little girl, Cruz explains. I lost my father when I was 10 years old and it was very difficult for me to overcome that loss. I never wrote about it over the years but I have finally managed to do so now. Its a very personal story about childhood grief.

My protagonists this time will be a 7-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy.

Miami-based FiGa Films is selling Nudo Mixteco internationally.

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UTA has taken a number of measures to amplify and support queer voices both internally and externally. In addition to updating their logos on social media to celebrate pride month, UTA Proud hosted a series of internal events that recognized queer visibility, equality and freedom of expression.

Their latest virtual event on Friday  titled LGBTQ+ Partner Pride Panel  featured UTA partners Jacob Fenton, Keya Khayatian and Lucinda Moorhead. Moderated by UTA assistant manager, corporate communications Kyle Boulia, they discussed their individual journeys as queer people in the industry and various ways to further representation.

Moorhead said that there has been immense progress in terms of queer representation over the past decade. She said its important to not just remind people why queer stories are important, but that they are also good business.

Underrepresented people flocked to the shows and the films that include them, Moorhead said. Theyre going to pay for content where they feel like theyre seen.

Certain conversations are still evolving, such as whether or not queer actors should go for sexually ambiguous roles or ones they identify with. Fenton said he has an aversion to the argument that only LGBTQ+ actors should be cast in LGBTQ+ roles.

Theres a part of me that gets almost more excited when a straight person inhabits a gay character because I feel like its an experience they may not have otherwise understood until they walk in the shoes of a queer person by embodying that character, Fenton said.

Fenton said being part of the team that represents Elliot Page, who revealed in December that he is transgender, has been absolutely incredible as he embodies the power to help change the world.

Having the privilege to be a part of the team of someone like Elliot, who to me represents one of the bravest, most impactful voices of a whole generation and movement, is something I feel so incredibly privileged to be a part of, Fenton said.

June 5, 1981  40 years ago today  marks the date when the CDC issued its first report of a new disease that went on to be known as HIV and then AIDS. Moorhead said there is a dual narrative that exists around the conversation of AIDS, which has been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ stories for decades. I dont think we want to brush off something that is still an epidemic and still affecting so many people, Khayatian said. Yes, its something you can treat now and live with, but we should take the stigma away and we should take the memories that we have of these incredible people who were taken by this illness and honor those.

When asked by Boulia to give advice to the LGBTQ+ community, Fenton said try not to be scared when facing the challenges ahead of them and to not be afraid to ask for help.

Seek out those who can help you, who you trust and dont back down, Fenton said. There are many who stand at the ready to help guide you.

As for straight people who want to be supportive of their queer friends, Khayatian said that its important for them to educate themselves on issues that they may not know about and then pass that knowledge onto others.

If youre someone who has access and its behind closed doors where someone might be saying something thats homophobic, dont be afraid to correct them, Khayatian said.

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Making its European debut at International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Bright Lights section this week is The Day Is Over, the directorial debut of cinematographer Qi Rui (The Sunflowers), a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy.

The feature charts the futile attempts of a 12 year-old girl and her friends to escape from their beautiful but impoverished village and reunite with migrant-worker parents in the city.

Left in the care of inappropriate adults and bullied and humiliated by classmates, the film documents how the girls try to keep their heads above water, and then, when all else fails, why they choose to submerge themselves.

While the film is based on a real-life tragedy that happened in Anhui 14 years ago, the Hunan-born director has said that his approach was to not dramatize the story or the characters but to let the story unfold in a naturalistic, realist documentary style.

The film is part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Collection (a series of films that are curated and managed by the festivals industry arm) and repped by Hong Kong sales agent Good Move Media.

The feature won the Work-in-Progress Jury Award at the third Pingyao International Film Festival and shared top prize at this years HKIFF.

Here, the writer and director talks to Variety about his approach, the making of the film and pivoting from cinematography to directing.

Can you tell us more about the real life events that inspired the film?

Over the years, its become a vague memory. Several girls were bullied by boys and jumped into the villages river pond together. Two were rescued by villagers. When peopled asked them what happened the girls were vague and unclear. We were all left wondering Why?

The idea turned around in my head for many years. It is still unclear to me the exact relationship of the girls. How they were bound so tightly together. What message did they want to convey? But as my own life changed, I began to understand more clearly what their needs were, and I wanted to make this the theme of the story.

What approach did you take to the casting  and working with the non-professional child actors?

I wanted to understand them while keeping a distance. The entire time we were in the mountains, there was a small team taking care of everything, to give everything a natural feel. We made the crew as invisible as possible, so that they would quickly act like we werent there.

Before the shoot, I spoke with each of them for a long time: about school, about their family, about their future, and then I told them, little by little, about the narrative of the film while watching for their reactions.

I wanted them to feel like they werent performing, but to focus on themselves and to observe their own emotions. They were very smart, and spiritual. On the journey, they worked so hard. At this moment, theyve grown up and I miss them.

Where was The Day Is Over shot?

The film was shot in my hometown of Hunan, Xiangxi, at the crossroads between Guizhou and Hunan Provinces. From the closest county town, Furong, we would take a ferry for a few hours to bypass the mountains and land on the docks into the mountains, or take a direct bus from Panshan Road for four hours. Then, in the mountain village closest to the highway, we would stay for the night, and then hike into the mountains the following morning. By the time we got to the village we shot in, it was already the afternoon. The place was called Xiao Xi. My first impression was an overwhelming of my senses by the plants, and the feminine softness of the air.

Was the decision to shoot and edit the film as well an economic or an artistic decision?

Both. In the summer of 2018, Id been thinking about filming The Day Is Over after completing a commercial project. I put all my earnings from that work into making Day because I was unable to secure finance.

With limited funds, I tried to shoot in a simple way, using the natural light, a hand-held camera, amateur actors, a small crew, living in a peasant house and it worked. It was hard for the crew: It meant refusing my sound recordists request to bring in an assistant. They were so confused and wondered how I would film. But the imperfections and non-professional film style gave me freedom. Im free, my actors are free. Under this situation, everything spins around the story and the characters.

How did you find making the transition to director?

I started out as a cinematographer on documentaries, which have no rehearsals, no drama. They require the cinematographer to have the directors thinking, when shooting, to make accurate judgment, so slowly I began working towards directing. In 2004, I began working on fiction features and that helped me immensely in terms of finding my own direction, in writing scripts and in securing investment to make films.

Your work has been compared to the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. What other filmmakers do you admire?

Its a pleasure to be compared to Kiarostami, his films have such a power naturally. Andrei Tarkovsky was an early idol, followed by Wong-Kar Wai in later days, Michael Haneke, Asghar Farhadi, Cristian Mungiu, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Semih Kaplanoglu and his works Honey, Egg and Milk.

The common ground with all these filmmakers is that you wont come up with anything on a first viewing, but somehow you wish to watch again  those filmmakers are good at making story by controlling human emotions.

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Police got in the way of reporters doing completing their job, according to Joerg Reichelt, chief executive of the journalists union DJU in Berlin and Brandenburg. Reichelt was among the detainees who now faces potential charges.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP)  Fikret Grabovica wants to see at least some remorse from wartime Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic when U.N. judges deliver their final verdict for genocide and other war crimes committed during Bosnias 1990s ethnic carnage.

Grabovica's 11-year-old daughter, Irma, was among the 10,000 civilians killed in the relentless shelling and sniping that Serb troops under Mladic inflicted on the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

But an apology is unlikely from the general known as the Butcher of Bosnia for his ruthless campaigns of mass murder and expulsion.

Nearly three decades after Europes worst conflict since World War II, a U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands, is set on Tuesday to close the case against Mladic, the most notorious figure in the 1992-1995 war that killed more than 100,000 people and left millions homeless.

If only he would admit that he made a mistake, that he was wrong," said Grabovica. "But that wont happen.

The tribunal sentenced Mladic in 2017 to life imprisonment, after convicting him of masterminding crimes throughout the 1992-95 Bosnian War, including genocide in the eastern enclave of Srebrenica in 1995, where his forces murdered more than 8,000 Muslim Bosnian men and boys.

Mladic appealed, but the case has been repeatedly delayed by his ill health and, more recently, by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many hope the final ruling will bring closure for the victims' families and drive home the message that there is no impunity for war crimes.

Sofia Stolk, a researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Institute in The Hague, said the final verdict is important because it closes the tribunal's last key case and because it concerns genocide, the deliberate killing of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of its destruction.

Stolk said the reaction in the Balkans to this and other war crimes trials is predictably mixed.

It's both received as having an impact on transitional justice and to contribute to justice for the victims of the crimes committed there and  its also been regarded as a political trial ... mastered by the West, Stolk said.

Diametrically opposing views over Mladic's wartime legacy reflect deep ethnic divisions that still exist in Bosnia so many years after the war ended with a U.S.-brokered peace agreement. For Bosniaks, mostly Muslim, he is a villain and war criminal. Bosnian Serbs, however, still worship their wartime commander as a martyr and hero.

I cannot accept any verdict, said Serb war veteran Milije Radovic from the eastern Bosnian town of Foca. For me, he is an icon. And for the Serb people, he is an icon.

Nobody can convict him of anything, especially not The Hague tribunal, Radovic said. He is one of us. He is the victim of an international conspiracy by mafioso politicians. He is our man, a man from here, who respected the rules of war.

Posters, monuments and painted images of Mladic can be seen in the Serb-dominated half of Bosnia called Republika Srpska, where many believe Mladic's conviction is the result of fabrication and Western support for rival Bosniaks and Croats.

While charged with war crimes in 1995 by the Yugoslav war crimes court, Mladic went into hiding and evaded justice until 2011, when he was caught and handed over to The Hague from neighboring Serbia by its then-ruling pro-Western government.

Ahead of the final verdict, Mladic's lawyers have sought acquittal on charges that included orchestrating Europe's only post-WWII genocide in Srebrenica, and involvement in numerous other atrocities, including the siege of Sarajevo.

On the other hand, prosecutors weren't content that Mladic was convicted for genocide only in Srebrenica and not also in other areas where Bosnian Serb forces under his command tortured, imprisoned, killed and expelled non-Serbs.

One such location is Prijedor in northwest Bosnia, where residents last week commemorated over 100 children killed by Bosnian Serbs. At the time, Bosniaks and Croats were rounded up and forced to wear white ribbons before being sent to prison camps  scenes that reminded many of Nazi crimes.

Mladic's son, Darko Mladic, insisted in an interview with The Associated Press that his father is innocent and that his rights have been violated during the trial. The only legally appropriate decision would be to annul the initial conviction, he said.

If the law is to be respected, he should be set free to return home, Darko Mladic said. I never doubted him because I know him so well, I know his character.

Now 79 and in frail health, Mladic was known as a ruthless and fiery commander during the war, who personally led the Bosnian Serbs as they took control over large swaths of Bosnia to create a separate mini-state. Mladic remained defiant during the trial, lashing out at the tribunal as an anti-Serb instrument.

Standing by a monument for the 1601 children who died in the siege of Sarajevo, Grabovica said he could not understand such brutality.

That he would act like that, issue orders to kill innocent children who had just come into this world, who just started to dream their dreams, he said. My little girl was killed like that, who was only 11 and who could not have been guilty of anything,

In Srebrenica, thousands of white tombstones in Islamic tradition mark the graves of the massacre victims. who were rounded up by Mladic's troops when they seized the enclave that was under U.N. protection at the time. Their remains are still being excavated from dozens of mass graves.

If he could come here now to see these gravestones, everything would be clear to him," said Djulija Jusic, who lost her two sons and 33 other relatives in the massacre.

He should spend the rest of his life in prison. I dont wish to do him any harm myself. All I wish is that God may let him see the grave of his son as I am watching the graves of my two sons, she said.

___

Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, Aleksandar Furtula in The Hague, Netherlands, and Sabina Niksic in Sarajevo, Bosnia, contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Whatever or whoever they are, theyre still out there. U.S. intelligence is after them, but its upcoming report won't deliver any full or final truth about UFOs.

The tantalizing prospect of top government intel finally weighing in  after decades of conspiracy theories, TV shows, movies and winking jokes by presidents  will instead yield a more mundane reality thats not likely to change many minds on any side of the issue.

Investigators have found no evidence the sightings are linked to aliens  but cant deny a link either. Two officials briefed on the report due to Congress later this month say the U.S. government cannot give a definitive explanation of aerial phenomena spotted by military pilots.

The report also doesnt rule out that what pilots have seen may be new technologies developed by other countries. One of the officials said there is no indication the unexplained phenomena are from secret U.S. programs.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Findings of the report were first published by The New York Times.

The report examines multiple unexplained sightings from recent years that in some cases have been captured on video of pilots exclaiming about objects flying in front of them.

Congress in December required the Director of National Intelligence to summarize and report on the U.S. governments knowledge of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs  better known to the public as unidentified flying objects or UFOs. The effort has included a Defense Department UAP task force established last year. The expected public release of an unclassified version of the report this month will amount to a status report, not the final word, according to one official.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Sue Gough, declined Friday to comment on news stories about the intelligence report. She said the Pentagon's UAP task force is actively working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on the report, and DNI will provide the findings to Congress.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, when asked about the report, said of the question at first, Its always a little wacky on Fridays. But she added, I will say that we take reports of incursions into our airspace by any aircraft  identified or unidentified  very seriously and investigate each one.

The Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency have for decades looked into reports of aircraft or other objects in the sky flying at inexplicable speeds or trajectories.

The U.S. government takes unidentified aerial phenomena seriously given the potential national security risk of an adversary flying novel technology over a military base or another sensitive site, or the prospect of a Russian or Chinese development exceeding current U.S. capabilities. This also is seen by the U.S. military as a security and safety issue, given that in many cases the pilots who reported seeing unexplained aerial phenomena were conducting combat training flights.

The report's lack of firm conclusions will likely disappoint people anticipating the report, given many Americans' long-standing fascination with UFOs and the prospect of aliens having reached humankind. A recent story on CBS' 60 Minutes" further bolstered interest in the government report.

Luis Elizondo, former head of the Pentagons Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, said the one official's claim that there was no indicated link to secret U.S. programs would be significant. But he called on the government to be fully transparent.

"I think that our tax dollars paid for information and data involving UFOs," Elizondo said. And I think it is the U.S. governments obligation to provide those results to the American people.

But skeptics caution that the videos and reported sightings have plausible Earth-bound explanations. Mick West, an author, investigator and longtime skeptic of UFO sightings, said he supported the military looking into any possible incursion of U.S. airspace, especially by an adversary.

People are conflating this issue with the idea that these UFOs demonstrate amazing physics and possibly even aliens, West said. The idea that this is some kind of secret warp drive or its defying physics as we know it, there really isnt any good evidence for that.

The Pentagon last year announced a task force to investigate the issue, and the Navy in recent years created a protocol for its pilots to report any possible sightings. And lawmakers in recent years have pushed for more public disclosure.

Theres a stigma on Capitol Hill, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told 60 Minutes in May. I mean, some of my colleagues are very interested in this topic and some kind of, you know, giggle when you bring it up. But I dont think we can allow the stigma to keep us from having an answer to a very fundamental question.
Filmmaker Peter Young has been in the film and television industry for 30 years. He has credits for more than a hundred documentaries for networks such as BBC, Discovery and TVNZ. In 2012, he was named New Zealand Independent Screen Producer of the Year and, in 2020, he received the NZTV Awards Best Camerawork award for documentaries. His film Last Ocean sparked an international movement and was instrumental in creating the worlds largest marine reserve. Jonathan Killick spoke to Peter at his home in Point Wells about his travels as a documentary maker

Im a Taranaki boy from a family with nine brothers and sisters. Growing up, I always wanted to be a farmer so I left school at 17 and travelled to the South Island to work on Molesworth Station, New Zealands largest cattle station. For the first year, I learnt the ropes  I milked the house cow every morning, fenced, drove trucks, killed sheep and shod a horse  all those essential things in life. During that year I slowly built up a team of dogs and became a stockman. We were stationed out the back and lived in a historic accommodation house made of mud. I rode a horse pretty well all day, every day. We cooked all our meals on an open fire and our only contact with the outside world was through the weekly mail run. Letters were a real highlight and I wrote regularly to all my friends up north. We spent most nights in front of the fire, drinking beer, talking and writing to our friends. In hindsight, each of those letters were little stories, and maybe thats where the seed was planted for my later change in career. Molesworth was a simple but very rewarding life and an experience I draw from often. When I look at life for a 17-year-old today I feel for them and the complexity they have to navigate. Im sure my parents thought the same  but its just getting a little more intense.

After Molesworth, I spent the next seven years shepherding, shearing and contract fencing, and then got a job as a dishwasher at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. I had four months in the beautiful Ross Sea region and made a lot of American friends, so when it came time to do my OE, instead of taking the Aussie to England route, I turned right and headed to North America. Through friends of friends I got a job on a small family-run commercial fishing boat. We were long-lining for halibut and black cod in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. That was 1986 and the skipper had just bought a video camera. It was one of the very first to come out and I picked it up and made a home movie of our trip to Alaska. Thats when I thought, This is what I want to do.

When I returned to New Zealand, I put myself through broadcasting school and then got a job as a trainee director at the Natural History Unit in Dunedin. I worked for a show called Wildtrack and started telling stories about the plight of our native wildlife. After a few years directing I wanted to learn camera so I left the unit and got a job shooting for TV3 national news. Richard Langston and I spent two years doing the Otago and Southland round, and then I moved to Christchurch where I stayed for the next 25years.

One of the biggest decisions I ever made was to leave full-time employment at TV3 and start my own company, Fisheye Films. I was about 36, I had a young family and needed to borrow large amounts of money to buy my first camera. It was terrifying but I never looked back. Freelancing gave me all sorts of new opportunities. I loved the fact that you were only as good as your last job  it kept you on track and honest, and not long after I started Fisheye I was working on natural history documentaries around the world.

I filmed an episode for the BBCs Blue Planet Series 1, which looked at the state of the worlds oceans, and worked on two giant squid films. At the time, the giant squid had never been captured on film and there was a race between Discovery and National Geographic to be the first to film it. A Kiwi marine scientist Dr Steve OShea, who was one of the worlds leading giant squid experts, said the only way we would ever be able to film an adult giant squid was to catch a small one and grow it in captivity. Discovery backed that idea and I was asked to film it. Steve had figured out where Architeuthis (giant squid) bred and where to find the larvae in the ocean (off the South Islands West Coast and the Chatham Rise). He found the larvae but wasnt able to keep them alive, so I am actually the first person in the world to film a live giant squid, but the fact that it was only one-centimetre shouldnt diminish the accomplishment!

My partner Tracy and I met at the Natural History Unit when she was researching for a series called Wild Asia. They hired me to go to Siberia to film the salmon runs. We were based in Magadan, a city built to service the gulags of World War II. It was the early 2000s, the Russian ruble was very unstable and things were generally a little dodgy. A vessel was chartered to take us to the rivers where the salmon were running, but two days before departure, we found that it was actually a mail boat. The skipper, who looked very much like Russian mafia, said we could stop wherever we wanted as long as it was on the mail run. We didnt have much of a choice so handed over large amounts of cash for a gold-toothed smile and a couple of glasses of vodka. To add insult to injury, we were asked to stay beneath decks when we left port. This very expensive mail delivery was saved by the fact that we found one river where salmon were running and bears were feeding. It was so close to being a massive disaster, though.

Tracy and I crossed paths again a few years after, joined forces and have been working for Fisheye ever since. Our first series together was the popular food/adventure show, Hunger for the Wild, which we made with our friends Al Brown and Steve Logan. We spent the next seven years on various series roaming the country hunting, gathering and cooking the best produce in the country. Those guys remain good friends. The characters we met, like so many in hospitality, were fun, warm and generous  it was tele making at its best really. Throughout my career, I have filmed for Country Calendar. I started 23 years ago with a story in the Hakataramea Valley and I have loved every shoot since  Ive done over a hundred. Its a nod to my farming aspirations without doing the hard yards.

The greatest achievement for me personally would be the Last Ocean, an environmental campaign and a documentary, that centred around protecting the Ross Sea. It was a seven year project and began with three of us  a Colorado wildlife photographer, US ecologist and I agreeing to work together to try and protect the Ross Sea from commercial fishing. We had no idea where the project would go, but we felt compelled to do it. Filming wildlife in the Ross Sea was the easy part. The challenge was travelling the world trying to film a story that many didnt want to be told. We were up against the might of the fishing industry and nations with no interest in protecting the marine environment.

My latest project is Fight for the Wild, a four-part documentary series screening concurrently on RNZ and TVNZ. It looks at the predator-free initiative  why we needed something as big and bold as that, whether we will get there and if so, how? Essentially its about protecting our taonga species  and painting a picture of what it is really like for them out in the wild (not very good). I never know what project I will work on next  I dont go searching for them, they seem to find me. But what I have noticed is that each of them will close chapters in my life that were opened decades before.

I feel privileged to have found a career that keeps me engaged all these years later. My life has been full and interesting, but most of my joy these days comes from simply being part of a community.

Adventure doesnt need to be climbing the highest mountain  its anything that takes you out of your comfort zone and puts you on edge. When youre there, youre learning and life gets interesting. I think the most interesting stories are the simplest ones  a guitar and a voice, a heart-felt card or letter, a fire and a yarn.

Fight for the Wild episodes are released on Mondays on Radio New Zealands website and aired on TVNZ 1 the following Saturday.
Only 11 people in the Rodney Local Board area submitted views on an Auckland Council proposal for a new navigational safety bylaw, a board meeting heard recently.

The plans were publicly notified for feedback from mid-November to February 14 and included proposals to make all boaties carry at least two independent forms of communication and to increase the speed limit from 12 knots to 18 knots in Waitemata Harbour.

Board members said the small proportion of feedback from the Rodney area, despite it having the largest area of coastline in Auckland, could be down to three things  inadequate promotion of the feedback period by Council, contentment with the status quo or apathy.

They voted to express concern over the plan to make boat owners carry two methods of communication, saying it would be practically unenforceable by Council. Members also said it could cause financial hardship to people who used boats to gather kaimoana for the table, because items such as hand-held VHF radios could be prohibitively expensive.

Members also said the new bylaw was too restrictive, particularly for small boats.

They also expressed concern that there was no differentiation in some clauses between different types of craft, such as between a kayak and a launch, and said that a one-size-fits-all policy would not always be appropriate or applicable to every craft.

Deputy chair Beth Houlbrooke presented the Boards feedback to Councils bylaw panel last month, stressing that education may be better than regulation and bylaws are not worth the paper theyre written on if they cannot be practically enforced. She said the compliance team was already woefully under-resourced and without a harbourmaster based locally, there was little chance that the bylaw could be monitored or enforced.
Lockport, NY (14094)

Today

Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 79F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 58F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
And we want to work with you to address both the acute causes as well as the root causes in a way that will bring hope to the people of Guatemala that there will be an opportunity for them if they stay at home, she added.
If government chiefs had the capability to clone its archetypal public servant then Superintendent Jim Delaney would undoubtedly be it.

Hard working, assiduous and as genuine as they come, the Longford garda boss is bowing out next week from a role he has held for the past five years and more pertinently a profession he has spent the past three and a half decades rising through.

Its a tenure which has been as challenging as it has unblemished, taking in distinguished spells in close to half a dozen districts from Dublin to Sligo/Leitrim and more recently in Roscommon-Longford as the countys most senior officer.

But it is the Tullamore natives standout half a decade long stint in Longford for which he will arguably be most remembered for.

The least you can do is leave it no worse off than when you came and I can say I have tried my very best to enhance that and leave it in a far better place, he told the Leader this week as he prepared to dust down and empty a district office he has occupied since August 2016.

But its not for me to say if I have or havent achieved that objective. Thats for other people to make up their minds and judge whether Longford is a better place five years on.

One of the father of fours key mantras upon assuming the reins of office from predecessor Fergus Treanor was a determination to foster partnership between various state agencies while triggering a much closer relationship between the public and an organisation he had already dedicated more than half his life to.

By his own acceptance, the scope and depth of both State and non governmental bodies was something which had mushroomed from his time as detective sergeant in what was the then Longford-Westmeath Garda Division.

I was no stranger to Longford from a policing perspective but at a different area of policing, he said.

But managing a district comes with a whole different set of challenges. At that time my one focus was reducing the supply of controlled drugs and prosecuting offenders who were involved in that supply.

A district officers remit is far more broad. You have got the management of all the various people that work within the garda stations in the district and you are accountable for everything that goes on in the district. I was aware that there was a certain level of crime and it wasnt so much the type of crime, it was more its volume and consistency.

In a bid to address those anxieties, wheels were set in motion with former OPW Minister Kevin Boxer Moran to carry out a 2.5m upgrade of Longford garda station.

The fruits of those endeavours may still be in train, nonetheless its a lasting epitaph the outgoing Longford garda chief can hang his professional hat on.

If we were to deliver an excellence of service in the investigation of serious crime resources, logistical support had to be there for our members, said the Chelsea fanatic, just days after seeing his beloved side lift the Champions League trophy for the second time in the clubs history.

And while I wont see the final product I am happy that its well on its way and its a legacy I can put my name to.

Those same qualities equally apply to the inauguration of the Longford Joint Action Plan.

A cross agency initiative fronted by the Gardai and local authority, its genesis came in 2017 with a view towards tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in the greater Ardnacassa area of Longford town.

Just as his initial promise in delivering partnership had evoked, it had the Longford garda boss fingerprints all over it.

The best part of four years on and over 6,000 proactive policing engagements later, crime levels have plummeted, public order issues have nosedived and senior figures behind a number of criminal groupings have seen their operations significantly compromised.

Its a blueprint which last November saw Justice Minister Helen McEntee handpick Longford as one of only three locations nationwide to be chosen for pilot Community Safety Partnership schemes.

The mention of Longfords Joint Action Plan was a measure which spawned a string of equally robust and dedicated anti-crime initiatives at a time when the countys critical incidents rates were beginning to court not just local, but national headlines.

Operation Solstice saw gardai and law enforcement officials home in on a string of individuals involved in organised crime while other codenamed measures headed by Operations Valero, Cress and Stola played vital roles in helping to combat not just crime, but the proceeds garnered from it.

The latter was an invention drawn up by Jim and senior garda management in June 2019 to try and nullify as many as eight simmering feuds involving fourteen different families.

There had been pockets of it (feuding) and I had been aware of it as a detective inspector in Sligo/Leitrim, he said, when asked about the challenges that came with tackling heightening tensions between warring sections of Longfords traveller community.

This was a more pervasive feuding. And while we were managing it at the start it did need a radical overhaul.

It was a move which brought with it the almost daily presence of armed gardai on the streets of Longford town, a sight most, if not, the vast majority of the countys 40,000 plus population had never witnessed before.

Moves to target street dealing under Operation Valero drew impressive results at district court level while Solstice and more latterly Cress brought with it what many, including politicians at a local level had long been yearning for- the arrival of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

It was always my intention (to bring CAB to Longford) and while I welcomed the support and it was necessary for those public representatives to speak up and have a voice, they arent the people who prompted me to do it.

That was always the plan because I worked with CAB before both as a detective inspector and as a detective sergeant. I was probably one of the first to get 17 money laundering charges off the ground in Athlone when CAB first started so I was well aware of looking behind people and their criminality.

Jim, by his own admission, is a figure who lets facts and not ear catching soundbites do the talking for him.

More than 70 prosecutions, over 40 of which have been recorded in the more serious Circuit Court domains in connection to violent disorder and feud related activity, the seizure of hundreds of thousands euros worth of assets with social welfare, revenue and other proceeds of crime probes still ongoing is proof of that.

Not bad for a garda boss who, while being at the helm of one of the countrys busiest rural districts, managed to come top of his class in obtaining a first class honours Masters degree in Ethics (Corporate Responsibility) from DCU.

As for his reasons in taking early retirement at 57, the straight talking garda chief told of how a number of things came together at the one time, a factor he hopes his colleagues and the wider public will understand.

Behind the uniform and well oiled rhetoric that comes with nigh on 40 years of scrupulous policing is a loyal and dedicated father who is looking forward to spending more time with those closest and dearest to him.

I will definitely be doing that, he said, in telling how he intends to spend more of his time after 37 years of unstinting and loyal service to the State.

I just feel its the right time for me personally but Im not getting the pipe and slippers out. There is a lot of living in me yet and I hope people dont think I am running out on them because its an infinite game, its not about any one person.

If somebody asks: Was it a job well done? You can only do your best and if you have given it your best, thats all you can do.

And that you have Jim. The enduring trademark left by the name Supt Jim Delaney may not be etched in the annals of local history just yet, but its anti-crime shoots are already beginning to reap the richest of law-abiding dividends.

Take a bow Supt Jim Delaney because by crikey you've earned it.
A further 416 cases of Covid-19 have been notified by the Department of Health today.

This brings the total of cases in Ireland since the pandemic began to 264,185.

The number of people hospitalised for the virus now stands at 74, of which 29 are in intensive care (ICU).

The number in ICU is up one on yesterday, and there were ten new admissions to hospital in the past day.

The last time there were fewer than 75 patients hospitalised for the virus was September 19 last year.

The department said this number of cases may change due to future data validation

HSE chief executive, Paul Reid, said the figures come as the country's health system is in a "really strong position" for the bank holiday weekend.

"Notwithstanding some challenges, we head into the Bank Holiday weekend in a really strong position.

"We have achieved too much to let it slip now. Enjoy the weekend and let's keep our guard up."
Members of Longford County Council have offered their sympathy to the family of the late Kathleen Reynolds.

At the May meeting of Longford County Council, Cllr PJ Reilly said that he felt it was only right that the members offer their condolences following the recent death of the wife of former Taoiseach, the late Albert Reynolds.

Speaking to the Leader after the meeting, Cllr Reilly stated that Albert Reynolds held most high state position as Taoiseach, but he started as a councillor in Longford.
A big trend for summer 2021 is rattan furniture. This week I wanted to explain the difference between rattan and wicker and share with you some of the beautiful rattan furniture available locally.

Wicker is the word used to describe the method and style of weaving, whilst rattan is the actual material used to create the piece of furniture. Wicker furniture can be woven from other natural materials such as bamboo, reed or willow. Dating back to ancient Egyptian times, wicker weaves were used in baskets, chests and chairs, and saw a resurgence in the Art and Crafts movement at the end of the 19th century. Rattan is a strong fibrous plant harvested in Asia and Africa. It resembles thick vines and is both durable and flexible, whilst also a renewable material.

Currently, rattan furniture is right on trend and it is no wonder why, with its pretty weave and nostalgic vibe. Rattan furniture is both stylish and affordable and is a super choice for a variety of uses such as headboards, mirrors, lampshades, chairs, baskets etc.

A statement rattan chair indoors can add a natural element to your interior scheme.

Rattan can suit a variety of home styles such as coastal, boho, or rustic. In addition, it can also make a real statement when placed in a modern space where it is least expected. Heres a look at some of my favourite rattan products available locally

Sadie Ash and Rattan Lounge Chair from Meadows & Byrne

The Sadie ash and rattan chair from Meadows and Byrne is the essence of style and substance. Created from handwoven rattan with a solid ash frame, it is an investment piece that you can use both indoors and outdoors. Expertly made and beautifully designed its uniquely curves legs create a contemporary profile to enhance your decor. Size: 70 x 70 x 72cm, priced at 379 from Meadows & Byrne.

Helen James Considered Rattan basket from Dunnes Stores

Made from natural, durable and eco-friendly rattan, these baskets from Helen James are a great way to carry items around your home. Available in two sizes, it could be utilised for laundry, toys, firewood, shoes etc and would make a great addition to any home.

Brought to you by Irish designer Helen James, exclusively for Dunnes Stores. Priced small 40 and large 50 from Dunnes Stores.

BUSKBO Armchair Rattan from IKEA

Made of hand-woven rattan, a living material that makes each armchair unique. Airy but sturdy with an embracing feel makes it perfect to curl up in.

A great way to invite nature into your home. By using a renewable material like rattan in this product, IKEA avoid using fossil or finite materials. Priced at 140 from IKEA.

Rattan placemats from Meadows & Byrne

The natural round jute placemats are perfect for a casual dining setting. Perfect for a rustic or Scandinavian inspired dining setting where you want to add a natural element.

Dimensions: 38cm diameter. Priced at just 23.70 for a set of six from Meadows & Byrne.

Ball Wicker Hanging Lamp from Woo.Design

The ball wicker hanging lamp in size medium from Woo Design would make a great addition to any home. Available in natural or black from Dutch brand HK-Living. Nice above the dining table or nice in the hallway, ideal to combine with the different items from the HK-Living collection. Price at 299 from www.woodesign.ie.

Thanks for taking the time to read my interiors column. Remember if there is a topic that you would like covered in a future column then please drop me a line with your suggestions.

Louise is a former winner of TV3s Showhouse Showdown. Contact 086 3999926; email info@aspiredesign.ie; www.aspiredesign.ie.
(Adds Freeland's comments from press conference)

By Julie Gordon

OTTAWA, June 5 (Reuters) - A landmark deal by the Group of

Seven advanced economies to pursue higher global taxation on

large companies shows it is possible to end the "race to the

bottom" and will benefit Canada, Canada's finance minister said

on Saturday.

Chrystia Freeland spoke with reporters after a meeting in

London, where G7 countries agreed to back a minimum global

corporate tax rate of at least 15%.

"We've shown today that it is possible to end the global

race to the bottom on taxation," Freeland told reporters.

"Multinational companies need to pay their fair share of taxes.

Jurisdiction shopping allowed them to avoid doing that."

Freeland said the issue was of particular importance to

Canada as a "relatively high-tax country."

The measures will need to find broader agreement at a

meeting of the G20 - which includes a number of emerging

economies - due to take place next month in Venice. Important

details remain to be negotiated over the coming months.

When asked about the impact on Canadian companies, Freeland

said: "I'm not going to go into the specifics ... because I

think it's still a little bit too early," adding that details

need to be fleshed out.

Freeland said Canada will still move ahead with its own

planned digital services tax, similar to those already in place

in other G7 countries, as the group continues to coordinate on a

transition plan.

The G7 is compromised of the United States, Japan, Germany,

Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa

Editing by Mark Potter and Bill Berkrot)
President Biden cant win with Republicans intent on deep-sixing his plans to invest trillions in improving American infrastructure while upgrading the social safety net. When the job market is flagging, as it seemed to be last month, they blame his policies and demand a return to tax cuts and regulation-slashing. When employers are hiring at a more rapid clip, as they now are, with a healthier 559,000 jobs added in May, they claim that the economy is just fine, thank you, so who really needs the spending. Heads they win, tails the nation loses.
BANGKOK (AP)  Representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with Myanmars junta leader on Friday, six weeks after an emergency regional summit on the coup in the country drew promises of progress toward a solution but produced no tangible results.

State broadcaster MRTV showed Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing meeting with Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, but provided only a broad outline of their discussions.

Earlier this week, an Indonesian diplomat said the delegations purpose was to seek Myanmars approval of an ASEAN special envoy for the crisis, who is yet to be named. He said the choice of the envoy involved both sides, making progress slow.

Friday's meeting received a cool response from members of Myanmar's opposition shadow government. The National Unity Government said at a rare online news conference that ASEAN should meet with them as well, not just the military.

Any discussions, any meeting about the future of the people of Myanmar must include the people of Myanmar, (their) voices must be heard, said spokesperson Sa Sa.

The appointment of an ASEAN envoy was one of five points agreed at the regional summit in Jakarta in April, which Min Aung Hlaing attended over the objection of opponents who said the invitation legitimized his power grab. Shortly afterward, a spokesperson for the military government said it would only allow the envoy to visit after it had achieved security and stability in the country.

The military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, saying her partys landslide victory in elections last November resulted from massive voter fraud. It has not produced credible evidence to back its claim.

Security forces have brutally suppressed widespread popular protests against the military takeover, firing live ammunition into crowds and carrying out waves of arrests. As of Friday, 845 people have been killed in the crackdown, according to the independent Assistance Association of Political Prisoners.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric in New York highlighted the impact of violence on public health workers. He said there have been at least 212 reported attacks on patients, health workers, ambulances and health care facilities, resulting in at least 14 deaths and 51 injuries since the coup.

Our colleagues on the ground stress that hospitals are, and must remain, a place of sanctuary and unequivocal neutrality so that patients can seek care and health professionals can provide care safely and without fear, he said.

The Jakarta summit also reached an agreement to immediately end the violence and start a dialogue between the contending parties with the help of the special envoy.

Brunei is taking the lead in negotiating with the Myanmar junta because it currently holds ASEAN's rotating chairmanship. ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the online news conference, Sa Sa also said the number of peoples militias taking up arms against the military government is set to rise rapidly in response to what he called a reign of terror.

There will be so many more forces will appear in the coming months, he said. "It will be out of control. Thats why we say to the international community to help us to stop this coup. We need stability in Myanmar.

In recent weeks, civilian armed groups have appeared in several regions of the country, often using homemade weapons or old hunting rifles to engage the army and police, with some success.

Some groups of pro-democracy activists have fled to the jungles to receive combat training from battle-hardened ethnic armed groups who have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades.
The budding friendship between Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema is something that brings a lot of hope and excitement to Real Madrid fans.

Since the Real Madrid forward was recalled to the France squad, the pair have been getting on very well both on and off the pitch.

While reports suggesting that Mbappe is Los Blancos' No.1 transfer target are nothing new, the relationship between Benzema and the Paris Saint-Germain striker has supporters in Spain dreaming of seeing them team up in the capital.

"If he wants to leave PSG, then let him come to Madrid quickly," Benzema said in an interview with AFP, describing the idea of Mbappe joining him as being "ideal".

"All of the great players want to come to Real Madrid. He's agile, fast, efficient and knows how to do everything."

Meanwhile, Florentino Perez is undoubtedly rubbing his hands together in delight with Benzema playing the role of ambassador perfectly while working with Mbappe on a daily basis.
Rachel Harmon, a leading scholar on policing and laws that regulate police behavior at the University of Virginia Law School, confirmed in an email that indeed, police departments are often willing to look the other way or dismiss the seriousness of the previous firings: As for officers who have already committed misconduct, departments sometimes hire them because they do not adequately investigate, sometimes because they believe the officer deserves a second chance, and sometimes because small and poorly resourced departments have more limited options and an officer with training and experience can be hard to pass up.
Viola Caudill, 85, a resident of the Gowen Community passed away Thursday June 10, 2021 at home. A Graveside service will be held a 11:00 AM Monday June 14, 2021 in the Pavilion at Bache-Red Oak Cemetery. There will be a family and friends visitation on Sunday June 13, 2021 from 5:00pm to 7:
A recent Buckhead crime spree ended with one man being shot, another being injured in an incident where he was pinned against two cars and a s
With two of Fulton Countys three fixed COVID-19 vaccination sites closing this month, it is ramping up its strategy to send mobile units to t
Fulton County residents are concerned about the county development authoritys use of per diem expenses in which the authoritys members can c
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There have been a record eight candidates at the two official debates so far, which is way too many and means that they all talk in 45-second soundbites, with no time for following up. Even as the Democratic primary will functionally decide the next mayor here, the local Democratic Party is a hollowed-out shell with no power to cull the field. Meanwhile, a very generous campaign finance system that doubles as an employment act for political consultants along with a new ranked-choice voting system for primaries means none of those eight candidates have any reason to go away, so the race has stayed too crowded to make much sense as New Yorkers finally start tuning in with less than three weeks to go before the first June primary since 1973.
Adams joins most New Yorkers in wanting to reform rather than transform policing. The movement to replace many police responses with social service interventions is at best nascent, and the NYPD knows it. Like other sophisticated city agencies, its commanders know how to triangulate public opinion with their interests and the mayors politics. Police leadership will have a hard time overtly or covertly stoking fear over Adamss reform proposals, most of which seem reasonable to many between the far left and right.
Tiger King became a pandemic-era pop culture phenomenon last spring, making Exotic and the other cast of real-life characters household names. Schreibvogel is currently serving a 22-year prison stint for hiring a hitman to snuff out rival Baskin. Amid the increasing popularity of the Netflix true crime documentary, the 58-year-old convict publicly sought a full pardon from former President Donald Trump.
Meadville, PA (16335)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 80F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low 58F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Researchers from the Flinders University have proposed new guidelines for general practitioners to treat people with insomnia more effectively .



Chronic insomnia affects physical and mental health and wellbeing. Approximately 15% of the people with insomnia have it for years, if not treated. The most common treatment of choice is sedative-hypnotic medicines .

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps improve insomnia and overall quality of life. It could be more feasible than treatment with sedatives.





Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a type of intervention where strategies that alleviate mental health are adopted in the treatment of patients. The authors have crafted a clinical review for General Practitioners (GPs) that includes a step-by-step approach in using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) .



The highlights from the review are,



 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) can improve insomnia, mental health, overall quality of life.



 Brief Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (BBTi) program, a four-session cognitive behavioural therapy will be much more exclusive and cost-effective in treating insomnia.



Meanwhile, experts from Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health (AISH) and some other institutes have enrolled 2044 adult Australians to study further about complex cases of combined insomnia, and sleep apnoea (COMISA) . The findings of that study showed that those conditions are associated with increased medical and psychiatric co-morbidity, as well as poor general health.







Source: Medindia "We are aiming to provide GPs with more information, accessible guidelines, and tools, as well as referral and treatment options to manage insomnia with CBTi," says lead researcher Dr Alex Sweetman from Flinders University.Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a type of intervention where strategies that alleviate mental health are adopted in the treatment of patients. The authors have crafted a clinical review for General Practitioners (GPs) that includesin usingThe highlights from the review are, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) can Brief Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (BBTi) program, awill be much more exclusive and cost-effective in treating insomnia.Meanwhile, experts fromand some other institutes have enrolledto study further about complex cases of combined insomnia, and sleep apnoea. The findings of that study showed that those conditions are associated withSource: Medindia

A short course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy could help in treating insomnia, says guidelines published in the
Naagin actor Pearl V Puri has been arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly assaulting a minor two years ago. A case was registered against Puri by the victims father in 2019.

The victim identified the accused recently, and after recording her statement, the accused has been arrested. After the identification of the accused, we have taken him into custody for further investigation, said Sanjay Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Zone of Mira Bhayandar, Vasai.

The accused has been booked under Sections 376 AB (Punishment for rape on woman under 12 years of age) of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 4, 8, 12, 19 and 21 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

In Pearls defence, his co-star Anita Hassanandani took to Instagram and stood up for him. She said that it cannot be true as she knows him well and the truth will find its way. She captioned the post, "Woke up to some nonsensical news bout @pearlvpuri I know him! It is NOT true ... canNOT be true.... all lies. Im sure there is more to it. And the truth will be out soon. Love you @pearlvpuri #ISTANDWITHPEARL."

The actors fans have come to his rescue and are sure of the fact that he cant do such a thing. But there are others who went on to say that the minor is a victim till the time the judgement doesnt come and its too soon to draw any conclusions saying that the actor is innocent.

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On the work front, Pearl has featured in several serials including Phir Bhi Na Maane...Badtameez Dil, Naagarjuna Ek Yoddha, Naagin 3, and Bepanah Pyaar. Fans saw him last in Brahmarakshas 2, in which he essayed the role of Angad Mehra.



He made his television debut in 2013 with Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat. He also appeared in the second and third seasons of Bigg Boss as a guest.
Marijuana oil? Yes, you read that right. And no, were not kidding.

Cannabis-derivative supplements are making their way to Indias wellness market and there are all kinds of rumours floating around. Much like any other popular plant, its medicinal qualities are being more widely understood but its effects are being misunderstood. So here we are, debunking the common myths about CBD oil so no one ends up drinking a bottle of cannabidiol. Myth 1: CBD Oil Is Illegal The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) outlaws the recreational use of cannabis. However, the NDPS act doesnt apply to the leaves and seeds of cannabis plants. If the CBD is extracted from the leaves of the cannabis, its not illegal.

Myth 2: CBD Oil Can Get You High The short answer: No. The theory is that CBD oil contains little or no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) when its extracted from the hemp plant. THC is the primary psychoactive component in cannabis or marijuana that gives you the high. A study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that CBD has no potential for addiction or abuse.

Myth 3: CBD Is A Marketing Scam The wellness industry will do what all industries aim to do: try to make money. And CBD has potential. Some brands add popular ingredients in their products unnecessarily and the intention is to charge a few extra bucks. But this doesnt mean all the products are a part of the scam. A range of studies has shown the benefits of CBD. A 2014 study from Italy suggested that CBD inhibits the growth of cancerous cells in people with colon cancer. Another study from Brazil found that CBD can help people with anxiety. This doesnt mean that CBD is the best cure for cancer or anxiety but it is credible.

Myth 4: CBD = Marijuana Both CBD and marijuana are extracted from the different varieties of the cannabis plant but marijuana is high in THC and low in CBD. While hemp is low in THC and high in CBD. When CBD oil is extracted from the hemp plant, very small amounts of THC is found in it. And before its added to a product the legal limit is ensured.

Myth 5: CBD Puts You To Sleep The effects of CBD vary from person to person. The observed side effects of cannabidiol are minimal. But some users have reported upset stomachs and tiredness. CBD has a relaxing effect on the users but it certainly wont put you to sleep instantly.
Meridian, MS (39302)

Today

Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. Hot. High 94F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.
Spielbergs movie depicted a search for Frederick Fritz Niland upon military officials learning of the deaths of his three brothers, but it was actually two, not three brothers who died and there was no drawn-out search for Fritz. Fritz, the youngest brother, very much wanted to remain in combat  that was accurately portrayed in the movie  but because two of his brothers had been killed and the third brother, Edward, was missing in action and presumed dead, he was sent back to the United States.
Meridian, MS (39302)

Today

Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Hot. High 94F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds light and variable.
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In summer 2020, The New York Times coordinated a nationwide project to document the lives of Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved collaborating with 11 other local newsrooms around the U.S. The Messenger-Inquirer was the only newspaper from Kentucky in the collaboration. The resulting collection of stories was published Oct. 23, 2020, in the New York Times print edition and at nytimes.com/outofwork. The following list is the Messenger-Inquirer's local unemployment coverage from that time period; read more by clicking the "New York Times Project" header. Click on "Out Of Work In America" to go to the full
Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigerias leading opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) Friday rejected what it called "the unwarranted suspension of the social media platform, Twitter, by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government"
Ceke Port - located in Alashan League, a division of Chinas Inner Mongolia autonomous region - is a major port of entry on the countrys border with Mongolia.There were 1,143 new cases of Covid-19 in Mongolia on June 1, which took the total number of confirmed cases to 60,372, Mongolias health ministry said on Wednesday.

A total of 2.26 million tonnes of Mongolian coal entered China through Ceke Port in the first quarter...
Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel slab export, fob main port Brazil at a fresh all-time high of $980-1,000 per tonne on Friday, up by $10 per tonne from $970-990 per tonne a week before. Fastmarkets began assessing this price in July 2017.As previously mentioned by market participants, formal offers to the US for shipment in August were issued at $1,000 per tonne. The most recent deals, however, had been closed at $980 per tonne, a level most buyers were seeing as more feasible.

As a way for...
Fort Worth is electing a new mayor Saturday in a race that resembles a Texas battleground and could lead to key decisions over policing in one of America's largest cities as a former officer awaits trial over the 2019 fatal shooting of a Black woman.

The weekend runoff will decide the first new mayor in a decade for Fort Worth  Texas' only big city with a GOP mayor as Democrats have made inroads into the red state's most booming areas.

Although the race is officially nonpartisan, the feel of it is not: Deborah Peoples, a former Democratic Party county chairwoman who would become the citys first Black mayor, was the top-vote getter in a crowded 10-candidate field in May. She advanced to the runoff along with Mattie Parker, a former top aide of the outgoing mayor whose GOP backers include Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The Texas Democratic Party has endorsed Peoples, while Republicans have brought activists from around the state into Fort Worth in an effort to hold the line.

It's become a very partisan race, and unfortunately, that has become the reality of this election," said Rick Barnes, chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party.

The winner will take office just weeks before the scheduled August trial of a former Fort Worth police office charged with murder in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, a Black woman who was fatally shot through a window in 2019.

Jefferson had been babysitting her 8-year-old nephew at her mothers home when a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report that a door was ajar. Police have said that officer Aaron Dean opened fire from outside through a window after perceiving a threat.

Dean resigned after the shooting.

Outgoing Mayor Betsy Price called for a top-to-bottom review of the police department after the shooting and her successor could decide whether Fort Worth moves forward with establishing a civilian review board recommended by a race and culture task force. Parker has not committed to the idea, and Peoples has said the city had ignored recommendations put forward by its citizens.

Fort Worth, which is approaching 1 million residents, is about 40% white, 35% Hispanic and 19% black.

The people have spoken for years saying that we want independent community police oversight from Fort Worth," said Pamela Young, a lead organizer for United Fort Worth, which has pushed for policing reforms in the city.

Peoples lost her first run for mayor by double digits in 2019 to Price, who took office in 2011 and is the city's longest-serving mayor but decided not to seek another term. but Democrats are hopeful that an open seat and shifting trends are in their favor this time. President Joe Biden narrowly carried the surrounding county in November, four years after former President Donald Trump won there by more than 8 points.
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP)  A British man who told authorities that he wanted to work in the U.S. was stopped after swimming across a river between Michigan and Canada, police said.

The 47-year-old man, whose name wasn't released, told first responders that he didn't need help as he swam the St. Clair River near the Blue Water Bridge on Thursday, said Port Huron police Sgt. James Gilbert.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed a law establishing legislative district maps to govern elections for the next 10 years after promising as a candidate that he would veto maps drawn by politicians.

Pritzker said in a statement Friday that the lines drawn exclusively by Democrats who control the General Assembly preserve minority representation and follow the strictures of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Illinois strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government, Pritzker said. These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts.

The Democrat also signed laws to approve new districts for the Illinois Supreme Court  the first in more than half-a-century  and the Cook County Board of Review.

As a candidate for governor in 2018, Pritzker voiced support for an independent commission to draw maps and removing political considerations in placing the lines. He vowed to veto any map authored by politicians, such as these.

But this month, he backed away from the pledge, noting the independent process never materialized. He instead said he would nix an unfair map.

Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, called it a creation of political insiders using flawed data.

He (Pritzker) cares more about keeping power for his political friends than fair elections where the people of Illinois can pick their elected officials, instead of politicians picking their voters, the Republican from Hawthorn Woods said. He proved today that hes just another old-school, tax-raising politician who cannot be trusted.

Political lines must be redrawn after each decennial Census to reflect population shifts and preserve voting rights. But the data whose collection requires the remap won't be available year until late summer because of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Republicans and many activists with left-leaning philosophies criticized the maps and their creation because Democrats relied on outdated Census data. Democrats pointed to a June 30 deadline for the Legislature to produce maps, but that constitutionally set date merely marks the period after which Democrats would lose exclusive control over them.

Another piece of legislation adopted this week delays the March 2022 primary, which includes the race for governor, until June 28, in part because lawmakers will delay drawing congressional districts until after receiving the official Census data.

___

Follow Political Writer John OConnor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor
New York, US (PANA) - Heads of government, religious leaders, activists and artists joined the United Nations on Friday in a rallying cry to heal the planet, launching the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
There were three new coronavirus cases reported in the Upper Thumb and one case removed from Huron Countys statistics by the state June 4.

According to the state, with the adjustment Huron County has had 3,048 confirmed cases and 73 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

One new case was reported in Tuscola County, bringing its totals to 4,879 confirmed cases and 163 deaths.

Sanilac County saw two new cases reported, bringing its totals to 3,728 confirmed cases and 112 deaths.

The states test data June 3 showed an improvement in the statewide rate with a 2.2% positivity rate.

Huron County had its fourth consecutive day of 0% positivity with no positives out of 27 tests processed.

Tuscola County bounced slightly off 0%, with a 2.9% positivity rate based on two positive tests out of 69 processed.

Sanilac County saw an improvement in its positivity rate by dropping from 15% to 4% June 3, based on two positives out of 49 processed.

Statewide the numbers also continue to improve with only 446 new cases and 27 deaths being reported June 4, meaning the state is at levels it has not seen since September 2020.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Michigan, which was leading the nation in new cases a little more than a month ago, is now ranked 19th in the nation. Leading the nation is Florida with 11,602 new cases in the last seven days, followed by Texas with 7,084.

For more information on the coronavirus visit www.michigansthumb.com.
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Yo Gotti has released a new music video for Drop, his recent single featuring DaBaby.

Drop, which was produced by J. White Did It, boasts a hard-hitting beat, glitchy synths, and a no-nonsense chorus: Drop, shake your ass then/Stop, with your best friend. The accompanying clip, directed by Arrad, is a complementary blast of uncut summer hedonism as Yo Gotti and DaBaby preside over a wild pool party.

Drop marks Yo Gottis first solo single of 2021 and it follows his December 2020 holiday offering, Wish List. The Memphis rappers most recent album, Untrapped, was released last January. Yo Gotti also recently announced a partnership between his CMG label  which boasts recent chart-toppers Moneybagg Yo, and 42 Dugg  and Interscope Geffen A&M.

As for DaBaby, he released his most recent album, Blame It on Baby, last April, while earlier this year he dropped the solo single Masterpiece. DaBaby is gearing up for a handful of major festival sets as well, with performances scheduled at Austin City Limits Festival, Music Midtown, Governors Ball, and Rolling Loud Miami.
MIDDLETOWN  A couple arrested last week after police say they were found with a missing 4-year-old boy whose disappearance sparked an Amber Alert each have criminal histories, court records show.

Stephanie and David Fonda were arrested last Tuesday after they were found in the woods near a motel in Wethersfield with the missing boy, who has autism, police said.

David Fonda, 37, was charged with risk of injury to a child and reckless endangerment in connection with the missing child case. Stephanie Fonda, 39, was arrested on an unrelated warrant out of Rocky Hill on charges of third-degree identity theft, sixth-degree larceny and credit card theft.

Both remained in custody as of Friday, according to online court records, and neither has entered a plea to any of the charges.

Court records obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media stretching back more than a decade show a history of crime.

Stephanie Fonda, who has not been charged in the boys disappearance, was referred to in an arrest warrant for the childs uncle as a known drug addict.

Before marrying David Fonda, Stephanie Ramirez was a subject of an investigation into her future husband that led to him being sent to jail for a year and a half, court records show.

In 2012, David Fonda pleaded guilty to first-degree forgery and first-degree larceny, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after 18 months, with three years of probation. He was later convicted of violating his probation.

In that case, David Fonda became involved in conspiracy to cash stolen commercial checks where the payee line had been altered, an inspector with the U.S. Postal Service wrote in the warrant for his arrest. According to the warrant, the bank fraud involved cashing stolen checks, totaling more than $14,000 throughout the state.

Ramirez, who was Fondas girlfriend at the time, was a subject of that investigation, but its unclear if she was charged in connection with the crime.

During interviews with police, David Fonda told investigators the couple had been approached in New Haven by a driver of a Dodge Magnum who offered them easy money cashing legitimate checks, according to the warrant. Both were offered a 10 percent cut, the warrant stated.

The U.S. attorneys office later charged three men in 2014 suspected of running the scheme, NBC Connecticut reported at the time.

Three cases in which David Fonda was convicted in Middletown Superior Court have been sealed under statute, according to the court clerks office. Those cases involved domestic incidents.

In one case from 2016, Fonda allegedly went to a womans apartment where children were present in violation of a no-contact order, police said.

After he left, police said the woman found him hiding in the back of her SUV. The two got into an argument, and police said, Fonda dragged the woman out of the car by her legs and took her keys before she was able to escape. He was later convicted of violating a protective order and sentenced to one year in jail, according to online court records.

In 2019, David Fonda pleaded no contest to robbery, larceny and resisting arrest charges out of Hartford, after police said he attempted to walk out of a Stop & Shop with Tide Pods detergent bags under his coat. Police said a private duty officer stopped him, but Fonda wrestled free and ran through the parking lot before being apprehended when the officer pulled him off a fence by his shirt.

The warrant Stephanie Fonda was arrested on last week charges her with stealing a purse out of a motor vehicle last November.

The woman whose purse was stolen told police she suspected a $186 purchase at a gas station was made by the person who stole her debit card, the arrest warrant states. The manager at the Exxon station told police the attendant who rang up the transaction was suspicious of the man and woman making the purchase, according to the arrest warrant. The attendant wrote down the couples license plate on a copy of the receipt, according to the warrant.

Police traced the plates to Stephanie Fondas family member, who identified Stephanie and her husband David Fonda, the warrant states.

The warrant notes Rocky Hill police also requested an arrest warrant for David Fonda on the same charges, but its unclear if he has also been charged.

New Britain police have also charged the uncle of the missing boy after investigators said he left the child in Stephanie Fondas care, despite her being a known drug addict, according to the warrant for his arrest.

Mario Jenkins, 31, of Derby Street, New Britain, has pleaded not guilty to risk of injury to a child and has been released on $50,000 bond.

In an interview with police following the couples arrest, David Fonda told investigators they got high on cocaine and became paranoid, driving around for hours with the boy in the car before winding up at the motel, according to Jenkins arrest warrant.

The boys mother contacted Middletown police on Tuesday after Jenkins told her he was missing, later admitting to investigators he had not told anyone he left the boy in Stephanie Fondas care and allowed her to borrow his car, the warrant states.

Two 911 calls about 40 minutes after police put out an Amber alert led authorities to the Fifth Avenue Motel on the Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield, according to the incident report in David Fondas arrest. A woman there told police she saw a couple on the northeast side of the building in a wooded area, the report stated.

As officers approached the woods, they found Stephanie and David Fonda on the ground with a child crying next to them, the report said. The husband and wife were both covered in mud, according to the report.

I believe that David and Stephanie Fonda intentionally fled into the woods with the juvenile after seeing that police had responded to the motel to investigate the abduction, police wrote.
GREENWICH  For some, the stakes in the classroom could hardly be higher.

Critical race theory is an ideology predicated on the idea that American society was founded on racism, not liberty, Greenwich resident David Lancaster said during public comment at a recent meeting of the towns Board of Education.

For Lancaster and an increasingly vocal group of Greenwich parents, debate around curriculum has become about much more than whether or not to teach The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or To Kill a Mockingbird.

Its a fight for the soul of the country against forces seeking to indoctrinate students into communist and Nihilistic ideologies, the proponents of which have no use for Americas western, Judeo-Christian values, according to Lancaster.

But according experts on the subject, critical race theory is more nuanced than that and was created as a way of addressing discrimination while taking into account race, class and gender.

Critical race theory is having a moment  in Greenwich and around the nation. The academic concept took root in the 1970s and 1980s as a way of recontextualizing American history and its current systems of power through a racial lens. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man, at the hands of a police officer last year, critical race theory has exploded in popular culture and the mainstream media.

Buzzwords associated with the ideology, including anti-racism, white privilege and wokeness, have entered the countrys lexicon with a profoundly polarizing effect. And in schools, the debate is over how these concepts, as well as current events such as the Black Lives Matter movement, can be responsibly taught.

In 2019, Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill making Connecticut the first state to require schools to offer classes on Black and Latino studies. The state Board of Education approved the course requirement in December.

The goal was to fill the historical gaps, said Ingrid Canady, executive director of the State Education Resource Center who helped build the new required curriculum. But consensus on the topic has been elusive.

In Greenwich, an anti-bias survey distributed to some middle school students in March enraged some parents, who said their white children were shamed for their skin color. In Easton, residents erected signs that said MLK yes, CRT no, echoing a popular talking point of opponents of critical race theory, who often point to alleged contradictions between Martin Luther King Jr.s teachings and more recent thinking on racial issues. And in Guilford, nearly 500 people have signed a petition to put an end to racism and social justice indoctrination in the towns schools.

Nationally, legislatures in nearly a dozen states  Rhode Island and New Hampshire among them  have either passed or are considering laws to ban or limit the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. One website run by a conservative journalist  called What are they learning?  maps and catalogs reports of critical race theory taught in schools throughout the country.

Countless op-eds have been penned by upset parents. Educators have resigned or been fired over the issue of race and its teaching, all while the debate has raged over critical race theory nationwide in recent months.

The origins of CRT

Columbia Law School professor Kimberle Crenshaw is one of several academics credited with popularizing the term critical race theory in the 1980s. At its core, it was meant as a way of addressing discrimination and how it intersects with race, class and gender  intersectionality is a related, and similarly controversial, concept.

What critical race theory essentially said was, Lets listen to the people who are victimized by racism or claim to be victimized by racism and listen to what they have to say, said Gerald Torres, author of the 2003 book The Miners Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy and professor of a course on critical race theory at Yale Law School. It was about recentering the impact of race on things that we see in the world today and asking questions about the impact of the racial dynamics in our society  both the ones that are visible and the ones that are invisible.

Advocates say critical race theory encourages healthy inquiry into systems of power. But there is debate among academics about its utility in the classroom.

Coleman Hughes  a podcaster, fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and a vocal critic of critical race theory  said at a recent virtual discussion on the parent-led challenge to the ideology that it undermines objectivity and places undue emphasis on race and racism. Social and cultural standards become examples of white supremacy in disguise, Hughes said.

Where the Civil Rights Movement defined racism concretely, in terms of racist individuals, whose minds could be changed, and racist laws, which could be overturned, critical race theory defined racism abstractly, Hughes said. In critical race theory, white supremacy became an abstract society-wide skewing of opportunities. White supremacy, it alleged, is all around us. But were like the proverbial fish in water. Too close to see the racism right in front of our noses.

Modern application of critical race theory is imprecise, casts too wide a net and implicates too large a swath of the population as racist, which, in turn, ends productive conversation, some say.

Fights along these lines have flared up over the handling of allegations of racism at liberal arts colleges, over the work produced by the New York Times in its controversial 1619 Project and in national politics. In fall 2020, President Donald Trump issued a ban on efforts to indoctrinate government employees with divisive and harmful sex and race-based ideologies, effectively outlawing anti-bias training for government officials.

The shibboleth, in practice

The teaching of race in America is an emotional topic and recent calls for sweeping change have caused emotions to bubble over. And, increasingly, Torres said, the concept of critical race theory has become memeified, detached from its original academic meaning and convoluted by jargon.

It has, Torres said, become a shibboleth.

Its going to have different meanings in different localities, he said. Its largely going to be a critique of the current state of politics. Then, of course, the problem is it becomes like a rag-bag. Everything gets stuffed into it. At that point, to my mind, it actually loses some meaning and it becomes something that you oppose or something you support without being critical about what it actually is.

In Greenwich, eight residents spoke in public comment at the Board of Educations last meeting about critical race theory, many of whom made the connection between critical race theory and Marxism.

(CRTs) nothing more than repackaged Marxist orthodoxy, Lancaster said. With CRT, people are now classified according to the color of their skin rather than their economic status. White privilege is the new evil, like capitalism once was. And if you disagree with this, youre suffering from white denial, again, shutting down debate. ...

The ultimate goal is the same elimination of private property, free speech and the overthrow of a free society, starting with the drip brainwashing of the young, he told the school board and administrators.

Critical race theory is an offshoot of critical theory, a branch of social philosophy with ties to Marxism. But some, like author and cultural critic Helen Pluckrose say that critical race theory is more closely aligned with postmodern philosophy as illustrated in the works of French philosopher Michel Foucalt.

In addition to the Marxism charge, most parents offered only the anti-bias survey as evidence of critical race theory in Greenwich. But many also referenced Feminist Fridays, which were allegedly implemented in a class, or the assigning of a journalistic article on toxic masculinity, which was banned by the district after parents complained.

These examples dont explicitly relate to race. But, like critical race theory, theyre hateful, political in nature, rooted in anti-American ideas, intentionally divisive and are a waste of classroom time, some parents said.

We are raising an illiterate generation who cannot communicate effectively, said another speaker, Kerry Huxta. Perhaps if more time was spent in English on literature, grammar, spelling, writing, reading and less time on privilege surveys, TED talks on oppression and YouTube videos on Feminist Fridays, our children would be in a better place academically and emotionally.

The national discussion around race has recently become highly politicized and has started to flow into conversations about education at state and local levels, Board of Education Chair Peter Bernstein said in response to the public comments. While we certainly teach history as part of our social studies curriculum, critical race theory is absolutely not part of the Greenwich Public Schools curriculum.

And while critical race theorys presence in Greenwich schools may be up for debate, elsewhere critics say examples abound.

In a recent blog post, former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss listed examples of critical race theory in school in her home state of California, including an elementary school teacher asking a class of students to rank themselves according to power and privilege and a school-sponsored anti-bias training, during which white teachers were allegedly accused of spirit murdering Black students.

According to Weiss, these are flashpoints of a dangerous ideology run amok.

Bethel Superintendent of Schools Christine Carver acknowledges that change has come quick. In her district, which is about 40 percent non-white, books assigned in English classes were reviewed, to ensure that students were exposed to diverse perspectives. Staff members were asked  but not mandated  to read White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo, a popular book that has evangelized anti-racist ideas.

There was, undoubtedly, pressure to adapt to a changing cultural climate, both in Bethel and elsewhere.

In April, Stamfords Board of Education passed a new Equity and Diversity Policy. In Fairfield, Greenwich and Guilford, school district leadership and staff have been asked to participate in book groups based on anti-racist texts. And, per Lamonts December announcement, all Connecticut public schools have until fall 2022 to develop elective courses on African-American, Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino studies.

Whether those changes are consistent with critical race theory is up for debate. Torres said they are not, but critics say they are. But Carver said, many were beneficial and long overdue.

My firmest belief is that this shouldnt be a polarizing topic, Carver said. How do we come together to have honest conversations about real issues that my students experienced and have been pretty vocal about? How do we get back to the humanity of having the ability to have those conversations and teaching children to have those conversations in ways that move us forward?

To what end?

Much of the conversation around critical race theory comes back to intent  are changes part of an effort to indoctrinate or are they meant to broaden curriculum?

For the parents speaking at Greenwich school board meetings, and other opponents of critical race theory, the anti-bias survey and related teachings subvert norms and undermine long-held ideas about race and, more broadly, America.

The material distracts educators and students away from rigorous learning content, while also teaching ideas that undermine the value of individual liberty and Americas founding ideals and further embedding the concept of systemic racism in the public conscious, says a 2020 report from the conservative Heritage Foundation, titled Critical Race Theory, the New Intolerance, and its Grip on America.

But according to Torres and Canady, the goal is not to inculcate, but to evolve.

There are benefits to reviewing the literary canon, for example, Torres said. At their best, such exercises can highlight important and overlooked works in American literature, or American history as a whole.

The question you want to ask is: to what ends are these things being put? Torres said. If its to help people know what they dont know, thats one thing. If its too reward or punish, thats another. If its to valorize some perspectives against others, thats another thing entirely.

And while some critics of critical race theory, including Lancaster, said in practice the ideology ends dialogue, Canady said she has seen the opposite.

In drafting the state curriculum, Canady acknowledged that she and her partners drew on aspects of critical race theory, but did not base their work solely on the ideology. By centering the experiences of diverse groups of people, Canady said she believes critical race theory brings more people to the table and encourages a greater sense of belonging. Far from dividing, Canady said she sees changes in the way race and racism are taught as a path forward.

My personal hope is for us to pause and reflect on the history that got us to where we are right now, Canady said. And allow ourselves to understand and to move forward together. I think it is it is time for us to heal.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-482-2586
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislative leaders said Friday they're close to reaching a comprehensive understanding on a new two-year state budget that does not raise new taxes, yet makes major investments in education, health care, municipal aid, workforce development and rent relief.

The Democratic leaders, who control the General Assembly, said the tentative budget language would be presented Friday evening to both Democratic and Republican rank-and-file lawmakers in hopes of attracting bipartisan support. The General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its regular legislative session Wednesday at midnight.

We think we are very close to a comprehensive understanding. But of course there are a number of details that were discussed in concept that have to be verified in depth by the governor's and legislature's budget offices, said Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven.

Given the progress with negotiations, House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said the House would not be voting Saturday on a legislative budget, something he said earlier in the day was possible if an agreement couldn't be reached with Lamont in time for the legislature's deadline. Among other things, a compromise was reached on how much of the sales tax revenue that's supposed to be diverted to help cities and towns will be included in the budget.

Lamont said Friday he'd like to get the budget  a key priority  passed on time.

I think it's a budget that's incredibly bold. I think it's very progressive and it's balanced without new taxes, Lamont said. I think when you look at what we're doing for child care, when you look at what we're doing for schools, when you look at what we're doing for rent relief, when you look at what we're doing for the colleges, it's unprecedented.

The budget and the legalization of recreational cannabis are two of the last major bills that need to be voted on before the regular session adjourns. House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, said Friday that a pencils down agreement had been reached on the complicated bill that creates a new legalized system for cannabis sales.

We're done negotiating and taking all of the wonderful ideas that people have wanted to contribute to this piece of legislation, he said. Rojas said there was progress made in recent days toward making sure the bill is really open to a broad spectrum of individuals who want to become involved in the marijuana industry, rather than the large corporations with access to capital that have dominated the markets in others states.

Rank-and-file lawmakers were supposed to be briefed on the cannabis legislation as well. It remained uncertain when the legislation could come up for a vote.

Despite being from the same political party and historic amounts of federal coronavirus relief funds, it's been a challenge for Lamont and the Democrats to reach consensus on a new budget.

Members of the legislature's progressive caucus have pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy, arguing major investments are needed to address longstanding inequities long after federal funds run out  something Lamont, a former businessman and fiscal moderate, has opposed. While the legislature's Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee passed a tax package that included a new consumption tax and capital gains tax on higher income taxpayers, as well as other tax increases, tax proposals are no longer being considered in the negotiations.

This budget will not increase taxes, said Melissa McCaw, Lamont's budget director, who noted that Connecticut's revenue projections have been improving consistently as the state emerges from the pandemic. She said about $1.2 billion in federal virus funds will also be used to balance the budget.

Meanwhile, a contentious plan from Lamont to have Connecticut join the multi-state Transportation and Climate Initiative is no longer being considered this year, Democrats confirmed. The program, which the leaders of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., had also supported, involved raising money through wholesale fuel suppliers to ultimately pay for clean transportation investments. Critics said that would increase gas prices by 5 to 9 cents.

Lamont's proposal for a new mileage-based highway use tax on tractor-trailers, where the weight of the trucks determines the rate paid, won't be included in the budget bill, but could come up in a separate bill. Modeled after programs in New York and Oregon, the tax is projected to generate $90 million annually to help shore up the states financially troubled transportation fund.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Dr. Anthony Fauci has been a political lightning rod since the early days of the pandemic, lionized by the left and villainized by the right.

But with the release of a trove of Fauci's emails this past week, Republicans' political attacks on the nations top government infectious-diseases expert have gone into overdrive.

On conservative news channels, President Joe Bidens pandemic adviser has been baselessly pilloried as a liar who misled the American people about the origins of COVID-19 to protect the Chinese government. There's no evidence of wrongdoing, but Republican calls for his resignation have grown louder, as have demands for new investigations into the origins of the virus.

Given what we know now, I dont know how anyone can have confidence that he should remain in a position of public trust and authority, said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a potential presidential hopeful who is calling for Faucis resignation and a full congressional inquiry.

The political moves by Republicans represent a new effort to find a reliable foil in the first few months of the Biden administration, as they have struggled to turn public sentiment against the new president. So far, Biden has enjoyed widespread job approval, buoyed by the publics broad backing of his handling of the pandemic, which 71% of Americans support, according to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

Fauci, who has a security detail because of ongoing threats and who did not respond to a request for comment for this story, has repeatedly defended his work, saying he received thousands of emails and has never ruled out any theory.

I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human, but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak, Fauci said Thursday on CNN.

The doctors newly released emails, which span the early days of the pandemic and were obtained by BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post, show no evidence of any kind of coverup about the origin of the virus. Indeed, many of the discussions reflect the science at the time. But Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have seized on the emails as proof of a conspiracy to obscure the source of the virus.

In one email, from Feb. 1 of last year, Kristian Andersen, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute, wrote to Fauci, the longtime director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about ongoing efforts to decipher the origin of the novel coronavirus.

At the time, the lab leak hypothesis was largely dismissed by experts. It has recently gained traction, though the origins of the virus remain unknown.

The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered, Andersen wrote. He said he and his colleagues all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory. But, he added, we have to look at this much more closely and there are still further analyses to be done, so those opinions could still change.

By the next month, it turned out, they had. He and his colleagues published an article in Nature Medicine in which they concluded that it was improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of a related SARS-CoV-like coronavirus.

In another email, Fauci was thanked by the head of a nonprofit that helped fund research at Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology, for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin, which he said will help dispel the myths being spun around the virus origins.

Andersen, the scientist who wrote the engineered email, has tried to offer further explanation.

As I have said many times, we seriously considered a lab leak a possibility. However, significant new data, extensive analyses, and many discussions led to the conclusions in our paper. What the email shows, is a clear example of the scientific process, he tweeted amid the backlash.

Its just science, he later added. Boring, I know, but its quite a helpful thing to have in times of uncertainty.

The former president disagrees. While in office, Trump, who disdained the scientist's popularity, frequently flouted Fauci's recommendations on battling COVID-19 by playing down the severity of the pandemic and often touting unproven scientific remedies, including a malaria drug and even injecting disinfectant. And he frequently tried to undermine Fauci's credibility by refusing to acknowledge the evolution in scientists' understanding of the virus and how it spread, which informed guidance about policies like masking.

Trump went after Fauci again on Saturday night when he returned to the public stage in a speech in North Carolina. He sees the emails as further vindication that he was right about the doctor, according to an adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

Hes a great promoter, Trump said about Fauci. "Not a great doctor, but hes a hell of a promoter. He likes television more than any politician in this room.  But hes been wrong on almost every issue.

House Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise said on Fox Business Network on Thursday that Fauci needs to be brought in under oath to answer questions about the emails, while Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., now the No. 3 Republican in the House, blasted out a fundraising email with the subject line FIRE FAUCI.

Anthony Faucis recently released emails and investigative reporting about #COVID19 origins are shocking. The time has come for Fauci to resign and for a full congressional investigation into the origins of #COVID19  and into any and all efforts to prevent a full accounting, Hawley tweeted after recently voting along with Scalise and Stefanik to block a full congressional investigation into the origins of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

But the White House has made clear that it is standing with Fauci, despite the onslaught of criticism.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki this week praised Fauci as an undeniable asset in our countrys pandemic response, and Biden felt compelled to poke his head back into a room full of reporters hed departed Friday to say that he was, indeed, very confident in Dr. Fauci. In a sign of support, Fauci will join first lady Jill Biden for a visit Sunday to a vaccination clinic in New York.

Biden administration officials and allies point to polling showing that Fauci is still one of the countrys most trusted public health communicators. Privately, they see the GOPs focus on Fauci as a ploy to energize their base that likely will not resonate with moderate voters. And they are happy to compare Faucis record on public health with Trumps.

A note to Fauci critics, tweeted Andy Slavitt, Bidens outgoing senior COVID-19 adviser. For years, he has been working tirelessly on the development of the mRNA vaccine in anticipation of a potential major viral outbreak. And on Jan 11, 2020, his team downloaded the gene sequence & on the 13th began work on the vaccine.

So keep it down, he wrote.
JEKYLL ISLAND, Georgia (AP)  Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp drew jeers and boos at his state partys annual convention Saturday, laying bare the bitterness that remains among Republicans over his role in certifying Democrat Joe Bidens victory in the presidential race.

Kemps supporters tried to drown out the taunts and he pleaded for party harmony. Heading into his 2022 reelection campaign, the governor emphasized his accomplishments, especially an election overhaul that GOP state lawmakers pushed in reaction to Donald Trumps false assertions that he lost in November because of voter fraud.

We must be strong and courageous, Kemp said. He said of Democrats: Theyve got Hollywood. Theyve got billionaires in New York and California. ... That is why we have to be united as well and move forward together.

Yet Kemp never mentioned the former president who has bashed him for months and who returned to the political arena later Saturday with a speech to North Carolina Republicans. Nor did Kemp ever explicitly state that the 2020 election was fraudulent or inaccurately tallied, setting him apart from a parade of other speakers who took the stage, including one of his underdog primary rivals who received a rousing response.

Kemp maintained enough strength to easily beat back a resolution condemning his handling of the election. At least 15 local party conventions out of 159 counties and two congressional district conventions out of 14 adopted such resolutions. But the state partys resolutions committee shelved the matter, and Kemp opponents were unable Saturday to force a full convention vote.

But delegates censured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another Republican, for his more direct part in administering the 2020 elections. Raffensperger, like Kemp, is seeking re-election. Unlike Kemp, he did not attend his own partys convention.

The scene underscored Trumps iron hold on the Republican Party even in defeat and the potential peril for Kemp or any other GOP figure who crosses the former president, intentionally or not. And it left many Kemp supporters worried that Trump loyalists continued fixation on 2020 will doom the party in the coming midterm elections.

Im scared to death of these anti-Kemp Republicans, said James Hall, a 37-year-old delegate from Savannah.

Trump taped a video message for the convention in which he praised Georgia Republicans generally yet never mentioned Kemp. Trump also promised he'd return to Georgia for a rally in the very near future. It was reminiscent of his promise on Jan. 4, the day before Republicans lost U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia, to spend the 2022 race campaigning against your governor.

Hall predicted such divisiveness would ensure a repeat of the Senate runoffs, when Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff defeated Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. The Republicans lost votes from hardcore conservatives angry over Trumps defeat; and they lost votes among moderates turned off by the false claims that Bidens November victory was illegitimate. State elections officials of both parties and across the country have vouched for the results, and multiple courts have rejected Trump's election challenges.

If we keep playing these stupid games saying Kemp is not pure enough, were going to hand it over to the Democrats again, Hall said. Its just so counterproductive. He's the only Republican that can win in November.

The governors critics insist hes earned the opposition.

If you dont support Trump, you dont get to play, said Barbara Cunningham of Savannah, whos been involved with the state party for more than 50 years.

Kemp challenger Vernon Jones echoed that sentiment. A Black former Democrat who backed Trump and switched parties to take on Kemp, Jones played up his race and his former partisan affiliation, reminding delegates that Trump and Ronald Reagan were once Democrats.

Jones tagged Kemp, a lifelong Republican, with the Republican in Name Only moniker. The RINO leadership of this state sat on the sidelines as Trump lost, Jones said.

He dubbed Biden Jim Crow Joe and insulted Stacey Abrams, Democrats 2018 nominee for governor and likely nominee in 2022, as the Wicked Witch of the South.

What are they gonna do, play the race card? Jones asked, drawing laughter and roars from the overwhelmingly white delegate body.

Kemp first angered some of the GOPs right flank with his appointment of Loeffler, a wealthy businesswoman, to a Senate vacancy rather than elevating Trumps preferred choice, then-Rep. Doug Collins. That boiled over in November when Kemp followed state law by certifying Bidens Electoral College slate. He also declined to call a legislative special session to address  or attempt to overturn  the results.

Kemp could have helped him, but he didnt, Cunningham lamented.

Multiple recounts confirmed Bidens November margin of about 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast, making him the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Georgia since 1992. In the January Senate runoffs, Democrats margins widened. Ossoff defeated Perdue by 55,000 votes, while Warnock deposed Loeffler by more than 93,000 votes or about 2 percentage points. Both margins were beyond the thresholds that trigger recounts.

To be sure, Kemp remains a favorite for the GOP nomination.

He has delivered time and time again on what Republican voters want, whether its pro-life issues, fiscal issues, whatever, said Kevin Gough, a delegate from Glynn County, where the convention was being held.

Kemp certainly ticked through such a list: tax cuts, new abortion restrictions currently under court challenge, measured relaxing of pandemic rules to keep businesses open, opposition to critical race theory being taught in Georgia public schools.

The boos, Gough said, dont speak for the whole party.
FAIRFIELD  The bodies of two boaters, who were reported missing from the Long Island area late Tuesday night, were recovered Wednesday morning after a search that made its way to the waters off the shores off Fairfield.

Around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound said crews were searching for two elderly men, who were last seen leaving Geissler Beach Park in New York on a small watercraft. Both men were seen wearing life-jackets, the Coast Guard said.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  Afghanistan is battling a brutal surge in COVID-19 infections as health officials plead for vaccines, only to be told by the World Health Organization that the 3 million doses the country expected to receive by April wont be delivered until August.

We are in the middle of a crisis, Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Dastigir Nazari said this week, expressing deep frustration at the global vaccine distribution that has left poor countries scrambling to find supplies for their people.

Nazari has knocked on the door of several embassies, and so far, Ive gotten diplomatic answers but no vaccine doses, he said.

Over the past month, the escalating pace of new cases has threatened to overwhelm Afghanistans health system, already struggling under the weight of relentless conflict. In part, the increase has been blamed on uninterrupted travel with India, bringing the highly contagious Delta variant, first identified in India.

Also, most Afghans still question the reality of the virus or believe their faith will protect them and rarely wear masks or social distance, often mocking those who do. Until just a week ago, the government was allowing unrestricted mass gatherings.

The Delta variant has helped send Afghanistans infection rate soaring, hitting 16 provinces and the capital Kabul the hardest. This week, the rate of registered new cases reached as high as 1,500 a day, compared to 178 a day on May 1.

Hospital beds are full, and it is feared rapidly dwindling oxygen supplies will run out. Afghan ambassadors have been ordered to seek out emergency oxygen supplies in nearby countries, Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar said in a tweet Friday.

By official figures, Afghanistan has seen a total 78,000 cases and 3,007 deaths from the pandemic. But those figures are likely a massive undercount, registering only deaths in hospitals, not the far greater numbers who die at home.

Testing is woefully inadequate. In only the past month, the percentage of positive COVID tests has jumped from about 8% to 60% in some parts of the country. By WHO recommendations, anything higher than 5% shows officials arent testing widely enough, allowing the virus to spread unchecked.

At most only 3,000 tests a day are carried out, as Afghans resist testing, even after the country dramatically ramped up its capabilities to 25,000 a day.

Only recently, the government tried to take steps to clamp down to contain the surge. It closed schools, universities and colleges for two weeks. It also shut down wedding halls, which had been operating unhindered throughout the pandemic.

But it is rare to see anyone wearing a mask in the streets, and even where masks are mandatory, like in government offices, its rarely enforced. As many as 10 flights arrive daily from India, packed with Afghans, particularly students and people who had gone to India for medical treatment.

Nazari said banning flights was not an option since many Afghans cannot afford to be stranded in India and the government cannot prevent citizens from re-entering their own country.

For vaccines, Afghanistan so far has relied on a donation of AstraZeneca doses from India and then purchases of Sinopharm from China. About 600,000 people have had at least one dose, about 1.6% of the population of 36 million. But the number who have gotten a second dose is minute  so few I couldnt even say any percentage, Nazari said.

Last month, the ministry received a letter from WHO saying the expected shipment of 3 million vaccine doses will not arrive until August due to supply problems, Nazari said. With just 35,000 vaccine doses remaining in the country, the authorities were forced to stop giving first jabs to use remaining supplies to give second jabs, he said.

Poor countries around the world have been pleading for vaccines even as developed nations have been able to inoculate significant portions of their populations. COVAX, set up with U.N. help to try to prevent vaccine inequities, has struggled to fill the gap. It faced a major setback when its biggest supplier, the Serum Institute of India, announced last month that it would not export any vaccines until the end of the year because of the surge in that country.

Honestly speaking, I lost my faith in COVAX, Nazari said.

Unfortunately, there are countries who vaccinated more than their 50% or 60% percent of the population ... and there are countries who did not receive vaccines to even vaccinate 1% of their population.

At the Afghan-Japan Communicable Disease Hospital, Kabuls only hospital dedicated solely to COVID treatment, all 174 beds are full. The Health Ministry opened roughly 350 more beds for coronavirus patients in another three hospitals, but they too quickly filled up. This week, people were being turned away.

Each day three or four people die of COVID at the Afghan-Japan Hospital, said hospital administrator Dr. Zalmai Rishteen.

Doctors struggle with the publics refusal to take precautions and follow safety protocols. Our people believe it is fake, especially in the countryside, Rishteen said. Or they are religious and believe God will save them.

In the hospitals intensive care unit, Dr. Rahman Mohtazir said that only makes it more dangerous for him as he does his job. I am afraid I will catch it, but I am here to help, he said. I listen to people and they say its fake. Then they come here.

The Health Ministry has recruited clerics, prominent religious figures and local elders to encourage vaccination and anti-coronavirus precautions.

The worsening COVID situation prompted the U.S. Embassy on Thursday to issue a health alert warning of shortages of supplies, oxygen and beds at hospitals and urging American citizens to to leave Afghanistan as soon as possible.

___

Associated Press Medical Writer Maria Cheng in London and Associated Press writer Tameem Akhgar in Kabul contributed to this report.
The Navy welcomed its first female aviators in 1974. A mere 47 years later, it's giving pregnant pilots a flight suit that fits them.

The service quietly issued the first maternity flight suit to Lt. Cmdr. Jacqueline Nordan, a mobilization program manager in the Naval Air Force Reserve, as part of an early distribution program, officials said this week. Several other pregnant members of the command also received the uniform in a test run to determine its usefulness, Navy spokeswoman Amie Blade told Military.com.

The Navy also began issuing the flight suit more broadly in May via an Aircrew Systems Advisory to the fleet, Blade said.

"An Interim Rapid Action Change was drafted for the aircrew clothing maintenance manual informing the maintainers on the procedures for how to acquire a maternity flight suit," she said.

All pregnant Navy aircrew members are now eligible to wear the garment, which features adjustable side panels and provides a snugger, more professional fit as an aviator's pregnancy progresses.

Read Next: Civilian-Trained Pilots May Get Leg Up in Air Force Career Through New Program

"Prior to the maternity flight suit, pregnant aircrew have generally collected larger sized flight suits and gone up through additional sizes throughout their pregnancy, potentially needing three to five additional flight suits," Nordan, who has previously been assigned to an EA-18G Growler squadron, said in the release. "Wearing a larger-sized flight suit results in longer hems and sleeves, potentially presenting a safety hazard in the aircrew cleared to fly during pregnancy."

She added that baggy and oversized flight suits simply look unprofessional.

"Pregnant aircrew who are not flying are still conducting squadron business," she said. "They're still instructing classes, working in simulators, giving briefings, and representing their organizations. It makes a big difference to be able to continue to represent ourselves professionally in a well-fitting uniform throughout a pregnancy."

It was actually the safety hazard of the larger flight suits that prompted development of the maternity uniform, Blade said.

"A single adjustable flight suit can expand across multiple trimesters depending on each pregnancy, saving pregnant aircrew the added expense associated with purchasing multiple flight suits, as well as the cost of tailoring larger-sized flight suits historically purchased to accommodate the changing pregnant form," she said. "The expandable side panels allow aircrew to wear their usual length arms and hems, decreasing the risk of safety hazards."

But most pregnant naval aviators are still stuck on the ground. While the Air Force has moved in recent years to create policies allowing pregnant pilots to fly for a greater portion of their pregnancies if they choose, the Navy has yet to follow suit.

According to Navy guidance updated in 2017, pregnancy is considered a disqualifier for flying duties, although aircrew members may request a waiver requiring approval from a local board of flight surgeons.

"Designated Naval Aviators who are authorized to fly during pregnancy shall perform flight duties in a Medical Service Group 3 capacity only," the guidance states. That category refers to aviators limited to operating aircraft with dual controls and accompanied on all flights by a pilot or copilot with a less-restrictive medical qualification.

Single-pilot, ejection seat and high-performance aircraft that can pull more than 2 Gs are entirely off-limits, as are planes that conduct shipboard operations and those with cabin altitudes that exceed 10,000 feet. And after the third trimester begins, flying is banned entirely.

In 2019, the Air Force got rid of a medical waiver requirement for pregnant pilots who wanted to fly later into their pregnancies. It also expanded the standard flight-duty window for pregnancy by five weeks, allowing pregnant pilots to fly from weeks 12 to 28 if they choose. Later the same year, Lt. Col. Jammie Jamieson, a member of the Air Force Women's Initiative Team, said the service was evaluating the science with an eye to further reducing restrictions.

The Air Force has also taken steps to design and buy maternity flight suits, launching solicitation and test efforts in 2020. The initiative caught the attention of conservative pundit Tucker Carlson earlier this year. He featured a photo of an Air Force captain wearing one of the flight suit prototypes and scoffed, saying such efforts were making "a mockery of the U.S. military."

Military leaders from across the services were swift to condemn Carlson's attack.

"Women lead our most lethal units with character," Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston responded in a tweet. "They will dominate ANY future battlefield we're called to fight on."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

Related: Tucker Carlson Couldn't 'Be More Wrong': Troops Fire Back at Fox News Host's Claims of a Feminized Military
Welcome back pirates! As you make your return to campus The East Carolinian has created a forum that centers around topics within the community where readers can express their experiences and concerns. With the new guidelines set in place by East Carolina University do you feel as these precautions will keep you safe?

Survey
The Giants announced Friday that theyve designated right-hander Nick Tropeano for assignment. The move opens a spot on the roster for lefty Scott Kazmir to be reinstated from the restricted list. The 37-year-old Kazmir recently left the team to attend to a personal matter.

Tropeano, 30, has appeared in four games with the Giants and tossed six innings, holding opponents to just a run on four hits and two walks. Hes punched out two hitters as well. The former Angels righty was at one point a prospect of fair note, ranking well within both the Houston and Anaheim farm systems. Hes dealt with some injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, but at his best Tropeano has looked the part of a respectable fourth or fifth starter. From 2014-18, he pitched to a 4.15 ERA with a 21 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate in 203 2/3 innings.

San Francisco will have a week to either trade Tropeano, place him on outright waivers or release him. He has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency should he go unclaimed, at which point hed be able to seek new opportunities with another club  perhaps one with a more pressing pitching need. Then again, the Giants frequently shuffle their pitching mix, which could give Tropeano another opportunity before long if he opts to stick around.

As for Kazmir, he returned to the big leagues last month after a nearly half-decade absence from a Major League mound. The now-37-year-old veteran figures to continue to work out of the bullpen as he looks to channel Rich Hill and reestablish himself as a credible big league hurler. He got off to a nice start, holding the Dodgers to a run in four sharp innings during his Giants debut. Los Angeles got some revenge in their next meeting, however, tagging Kazmir for a pair of runs in an inning of work.
Ghanaian Hiplife legend Okomfour Kwadee celebrated his birthday yesterday in a gargantuan bash which was attended by top musicians including Samini, Yaa Pono, Joe Frazier, Paa Dogo, TH4 Kwages, Shortman, Quick Action, Kwame Adinkrah, Tordia Chicago and many others.

The birthday bash which was held at the Royal Lamerta hotel saw the musician performing all his popular songs with so much renewed energy to the amazement of his fans.

Before the birthday bash, Kwadee released a single titled Chess Game which features Jamaican Reggae artist KGenius and Ohemaa Woyeje mid-morning, show host of Angel FM Accra.

Kwadee also hinted in an interview with Attractivemustapha.com on adding another single titled Fa Wonsa Gu Woti as promised.

After the bash, his management team Etuate Dom Media Gang has sent a thank you message to all who supported the event and reiterated their earlier announcement of the monthly release of one track by Kwadee from their camp.
Huawei Ghana says its flagship Huawei ICT Training (HIT) program will train more than 10,000 Ghanaians in information and communications technology (ICT) within the next three years.

It says the training forms part of the company's commitment to building the capacity of people in ICT.

Huawei Ghana noted that ICT Training (HIT) Program will support Ghanas vision of becoming the digital hub of Africa.

Speaking at a media engagement in Accra, the Public Relations Manager at Huawei Ghana, Mr. David Appiah, said ICT skill development is crucial for industry and economic growth, therefore for any country to fully achieve a thriving digital economy, it's crucial for the ICT Skill capacity of citizenry to be developed as it serves as the bridge that connects a robust digital infrastructure and systems to the end-consumer."

He indicated that the country cannot transition to fully digital without skilled human resources to effectively manage the digital resources for quality delivery of services.

As countries and industries transition to go fully digital, the need for skilled human resources to effectively manage the digital resources for enhanced delivery of services and to enable the citizenry and/or end-users to enjoy the maximum benefits remains equally important. More so, for the end-user or the beneficiary to be able to enjoy digital services, basic ICT skills are required to enable them to navigate their way through the processes to enjoy these services, and that is why ICT Skill training cannot be done without in this regard, Mr. Appiah said.

About the Huawei ICT Training (HIT) program

According to him, the HIT program is in three segments namely the Hi-Class Program (Huawei Intelligent Ghana Hub Class), ICT Academy (University Talent Program), and the Technology-enabled Open Schools System (TOSS) which will benefit Public servants and Industry Professionals, Tertiary and TVET students and Basic Schools respectively.

As an industry leader, Huawei also offers professional ICT certification courses to bridge the ICT industry talent gap. Huawei will therefore offer training in the areas of trending technologies like AI, LTE, 5G, Quality of Service (QoS), and Digital Economy to relevant state officials and industry partners.

The company has also established a training facility in partnership with Mast Infrastructure Ghana to offer practical training in the areas of Equipment Installation, Fibre works, Height works and equipment configurations to field Engineers and Riggers.

Through the University Talent program, the ICT Academy has signed on about 15 top Ghanaian Universities as authorized partners and currently working with the Ministry of Education to expand the program which offers professional courses in the areas of Routing and Switching (Networking), DataComm, Cloud Computing, 5G among others to TVET institutions across the country.

This program is mainly aimed at bridging the gap between Academia and Industry while also growing Ghana's ICT Talent pool.

Finally, the TOSS project is being implemented in partnership with UNESCO as part of our TECH4ALL initiative to ensure that deprived (K12) or Basic School students get access to quality education through the use of innovative technologies.

The Ministry of Education has thrown its weight behind this project, which Huawei is funding with one million US dollars for the next three years.

At Huawei, we continue to work with the Government, Industry Partners, Customers, and Academia to offer ICT Skill Training, Workshops, and Seminars in relevant and trending industry courses and topics to contribute to Ghana's ICT Talent pool. In Ghana, our Huawei ICT Talent (HIT) Program has seen a lot of investment from our end, and we continue to invest in the nurturing of ICT talents through ICT skill training and has so far benefitted over 5000 Ghanaians. Mr. Appiah said.

During the event, the company revealed that they expect to sign a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Education to implement the HIT initiative.

Ms Jenny Zhou, the Director, Public Affairs of Huawei Ghana, told the media the Company had already trained 5,000 government officials, industry players and students from October 2018 to 2020 in ICT skills and that Huawei was committed to making Ghana an ICT hub.

She said in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Huawei University Talent programme and #TECH4ALL initiative would offer Huawei ICT Academy, seeds for the future and open school systems, among other things and called for support from stakeholders.

The Public Affairs Director said Huaweis target for this year under its cooperation with the Ministry of Communications was to train more government officials, site engineers and riggers, industry partners and support the Ghana IP Club.
Arla Foods, producers of the nutritious Dano Milk, on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, donated a truckload of Dano products to the New Life orphanage in Nungua, Accra, as part of activities earmarked for World Milk Day.

Senior Country Manager of Arla Foods, Mrs Fatoumata Doro, in her opening remarks, said World Milk Day is observed on the 1st June to recognize the importance of milk and dairy products in our lives, in the economy, in several industries and to educate people about its health benefits.

She elaborated that the donation was made to support the efforts of the management of the New Life Orphanage as part of the companys vision to create a future of dairy to bring health and inspiration to the world, naturally.

We believe that with adequate consumption of Dano Milk, the children will get the full benefits to stay healthy, strong, nourished to take life on. This is part of Arla foods sustainability agenda where we want to ensure that we make affordable nutrition to consumers accessible, she added.

Marketing Manager of Arla Foods, Mr. Wilson Agbeko, revealed that for the past 3 years, Dano has headlined the celebration of World Milk Day in Ghana, highlighting its position as a brand that is committed to the wellbeing of its consumers.

World Milk Day means a lot more to us than just a day to create awareness of the benefits of dairy. This is what inspired our resolve to take our milk consumption advocacy a step further this year, Mr. Agbeko explained.

Deloris Frimpong-Manso, Delay, who is Brand Ambassador for Dano Milk, used the occasion to encourage the children to dream big beyond the walls of the orphanage. Using her personal experiences as an example, she urged the children to tap into their inner strength to attain higher goals.

Nii Afotey Botwe, Founder of New Life Orphanage, received the Dano products cheerfully and was grateful on behalf of the Orphanage for the kind donation. He said currently the Orphanage provides shelter to some 92 orphans and homeless aged between 1 and 20, who were brought in by the Department of Social Welfare and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, and supports 337 disabled, 34 aged and 45 widows.

He appealed to individuals and other institutions to emulate the good works of Arla Foods.

The children at New Life Orphanage entertained the delegation from Arla Foods with music, dance, and other fun activities to show appreciation for the companys kind gesture.

World Milk day is a day established by the food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance of Milk as a global food and to raise public awareness of the crucial role milk plays in our lives.
French warnings about suspending military cooperation with Mali after the country's second coup in nine months came into effect on Friday, army officials in the fragile Sahel state said.

Malian strongman Colonel Assimi Goita, who already led a coup in 2020, ousted the civilian transitional president and prime minister on May 24.

The second putsch has sparked diplomatic uproar, prompting the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to suspend Mali.

France also said on Thursday that it would suspend joint military operations with Malian forces, and stop giving military advice.

The former colonial power has thousands of troops stationed in the Sahel to help fight jihadist violence that erupted in Mali in 2012 and now threatens the region.

Mali. By (AFP)

A Malian army official who declined to be named said the French warning had already taken effect on Friday.

A Malian military expedition in the centre of the country had returned to the capital Bamako because of a lack of cooperation with the French, he said.

The official added that a French-initiated international alliance of special forces has started refusing to work with Malian troops.

"The French are continuing on their own," he said.

France's defence ministry said the suspension was a "conservative and temporary measure" pending "guarantees" that the ruling military will stage elections in February 2022.

Mali's junta did not comment on the decision.

The country's armed forces are poorly-equipped in their fight with the highly mobile insurgents.

They depend crucially on airpower and surveillance provided by the 5,100-man Barkhane force.

The French mission has jet fighters and drones at a base near Niamey, the capital of neighbouring Niger, as well as access to French military satellites and intelligence provided by allies.

Opposition rally

Meanwhile, supporters of the opposition M5 movement were due to rally in the capital Bamako on Friday, in a demonstration that could offer hints of Mali's future political direction.

The rally is to mark the founding of the M5, the power behind mass protests last year.

Once distant, the military and the M5 now have a warmer relationship.

Malian strongman Colonel Assimi Goita is expected to be installed as president of the interim government on Monday. By MALIK KONATE (AFP/File)

Goita may name a leading M5 figure as his new prime minister -- a move that some argue could soften international criticism of the second coup.

The colonel is expected to be formally appointed as Mali's transitional president in a ceremony on Monday, which would pave the way towards naming a civilian prime minister -- a key international demand.

On August 18 last year, Goita led army officers in ousting elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, following mass protests over perceived corruption and the bloody jihadist insurgency.

Though driving those protests, the M5 was sidelined from Mali's post-coup administration.

This transitional government pledged to reform the constitution by October, and stage elections in February next year.

The M5 became a vocal critic, calling the transitional government a "disguised military regime."

There has been a rapprochement between the group and the army since the May 24 coup, however.

Mali's protest movement has put forward Choguel Maiga, centre, as prime minister. By Michele Cattani (AFP)

Goita has said he would prefer to name an M5 figure as his prime minister and the group put forward one of its cadres, Choguel Maiga, as a candidate.

But that choice has in turn raised questions about Mali's future, in particular concerning the potential role of religious leader Mahmoud Dicko, who is close to Maiga.

The influential imam was viewed as the figurehead of the M5 during the anti-Keita protests, but later distanced himself from the movement.

Maiga is also a vocal critic of the 2015 Algiers peace accord, a shaky agreement between the central government and several armed groups.

The deal, which has never been fully implemented, is seen as crucial to ending Mali's grinding conflict.
DR Congo's Mount Nyiragongo has ceased to rumble and Goma, the city that lives in its shadow, is in recovery mode.

But hundreds of parents are still frantically searching for children who became separated from them during the panicky flight to safer ground.

In Ndosho, one of Goma's poorer districts, relief that the threat from Nyiragongo appears to have receded is palpable. Songs and shouts echo among the wooden houses.

But in other households, there is despair.

Evacuees from Goma headed west, east and north to escape the volcano. By Patricio ARANA (AFP)

Many parents and children became separated when Goma was ordered to be evacuated on May 27, five days after Africa's most active volcano roared back to life.

About 400,000 residents out of an estimated 600,000 left the North Kivu provincial capital amid fears that after a brief one-day eruption, a potential catastrophe could be on the cards.

Some people began to come back last weekend and the return picked up speed in mid-week as the tremors died down.

On Thursday the authorities said they were studying the possibility of a "progressive return" of the population.

Pierrette Mihindano lost track of her three daughters in the rush to escape.

The search to reunite the family had a happy end.

Mount Nyiragongo roared back into life last month, forcing hundreds of thousands of Goma residents to flee. By Guerchom Ndebo (AFP)

On Wednesday, she ran towards a vehicle of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and her three little girls clambered out to throw themselves into her arms -- one so tiny that she can hardly walk.

'Find their tracks'

"I was in hospital when they ordered the evacuation of the city," Mihindano, who also has two boys, said between sobs.

"From that day on, I did not see my three daughters. After I left hospital, I was going crazy at home. I started rushing everywhere, to Sake, to Mungunga, I made appeals on the radio try to find them."

Reunited: Pierrette Mihindano and her children. By GUERCHOM NDEBO (AFP)

In the chaos of the evacuation, the three girls had washed up in Minova -- a village nestled in one of the bays of Lake Kivu southwest of Goma, and some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from their home.

"It was scary," said 12-year-old Paruis, the eldest of the girls. "I had a lump in my throat when I thought about my parents -- I couldn't eat."

For many other evacuees the nightmare of separation continues.

About 1,300 children are reckoned by child protection agencies to have been separated from their families, either during the May 22-23 eruption or during the May 27 exodus.

Help: Three-year-old Baraka Bahati gets a cuddle. By GUERCHOM NDEBO (AFP)

"We've been picking up children every day," Felicien Katenda, a member of the local Red Cross, said. His colleague Aline Bisimwa hugged a chubby little boy with a troubled look to her chest.

The lad gave his name as Baraka Bahati and said he was three years old.

"This boy was lost on the night of the eruption," Bisimwa said. "As you can see, I carry him in my arms and he doesn't cry."

Child protection agencies say that 978 children have so far been reunited with their loved ones.

'The last child'

Community aid networks in a region sadly accustomed to crises have facilitated their work .

"The Congolese public have shown extraordinary solidarity. Many families took in lost children," said ICRC protection officer Margot Champeix.

Six contact points have been set up by the ICRC in Goma and neighbouring districts where tens of thousands of displaced people have found temporary refuge.

"Host families come in with children they have taken in and have them registered. Then we search and with the grace of God, we find some of them," said Exode Banzo, a volunteer.

Unicef's representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Edouard Beigbeder, said that more than 300 children are still waiting to be reunited their families.

"It is really important to make sure that in coming days, with the return of displaced people to Goma, all reunifications are carried out, down to the last child," he said.

Psychological help: Red Cross counsellor Nelson Tumusifu. By GUERCHOM NDEBO (AFP)

Separation has been traumatic for many children and specially-trained counsellors are being brought in to help to help them cope.

"Our mission here is to bring these children back to a normal state. We help them psychologically. But sometimes I also get carried away by their experience," said one of the workers, Nelson Tumusifu.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is asking the Akufo-Addo government to refrain from muzzling free speech in the country.

According to the party, journalists and the entire citizenry must not be attacked for criticizing the government.

In an interview with Citi News during the 42nd Anniversary of the 'June 4 Uprising', the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, urged the government to desist from muzzling free speech.

A high level of unemployment and the virtual strangulation of free speech is becoming synonymous with what occasioned the June 4 revolution, so we are saying the culture of silence must be dealt with.

Individual Ghanaians must not be subjected to torture for criticizing the government. People must not be looked out for on social media and arrested and incarcerated by National Security, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo bemoaned.

He stressed that if Ghana has chosen democracy, Ghanaians must be able to voice their frustrations.

Anytime there is an attempt by the citizenry to demonstrate against the ills in society, every available means is found by the state authority to prevent them from demonstrating.

---citinewsroom
After a subdued ceremony to mark Bastille Day last year because of Covid-19, the traditional military parade on France's 14th of July national holiday is to take place this year as the pandemic recedes.

As long as the current dynamic continues, we should be able to stage a classic, beautiful 14th[of July]on the Champs Elysees, the military governor of Paris, General Christophe Abad, told journalists on Friday.

In 2020, the parade format was replaced by a limited ceremony on the Place de la Concorde, with a special tribute to the military and health workers who were mobilised during the health crisis.

It was the first time since the Second World War that the parade was cancelled.

Bastille Day Parade

This year, the stands are expected to accommodate around 25,000 people. The seated stands will be occupied without formal spacing, but social barriers and gestures will be mandatory. The stands that cater for people who will be on their feet will have one person every 4 m2. The general public is expected to be allowed on the Champs Elysee's.

The parade will consist of 5,000 participants, including 4,300 soldiers on foot, 71 aircraft, 25 helicopters, 221 vehicles and 200 horses of the Republican Guard.

This year's theme will be "Winning the future", a reference to both the country's collective capacity to overcome the difficulties linked to the health crisis , as well as the military's ability to take on more technologically sophisticated foes by developing its own technologically advanced strategies.

Takuba in the spotlight

The new light reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft (ALSR), used to collect intelligence, will take part for the first time in the traditional flypast opened by the Patrouille de France.

Among the troops in the spotlight will be the European special forces grouping Takuba, created by France to accompany Malian forces in combat and to which eight nations (Belgium, Estonia, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Sweden, and France) contribute.

However, its operations were suspended on Thursday, as were all joint Franco-Malian operations, in response to a second coup in Mali in nine months.

The Chad March Regiment (RMT) will open the Army's contribution to the parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the "oath of Koufra" by Colonel Philippe Leclerc to his troops of which the RMT is the heir.

The oath refers to the oath Leclerc in took in March 1941, which promised after capturing the Italian fort of Koufra in the middle of the Libyan desert, that he and his troops would continue the fight until the tricolour flag flies again over Paris and Strasbourg.

On the Navy side, the crew of the nuclear attack submarine (NAS) Emeraude will be honoured after an eight-month long mission in the Indo-Pacific region, including a passage in the South China Sea. The crew of the first new generation SNA Suffren, which will leave on a mission in the autumn, will also be invited.

The French Air Force will parade its new Space Command troops, along with airmen involved in the Skyros mission earlier this year, during which four Rafales, two A400Ms and an A330 Phenix tanker made stopovers in India, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Greece.

The parade, which will last about two hours, will end with music by a choir of 120 " engage young people": military high school students, members of the civic service, the volunteer military service (SMV) and adapted, volunteer firemen.
A look at some of the major small-cap movers this week

Companies tapping the market dont normally see their share prices rise but CyanConnode Holdings PLC (LON:CYAN) and Sareum Holdings PLC (LON:SAR) managed it this week.

CyanConnode shot up 62% to 13.5p after it raised 3.15mln through the issue of shares at 9.5p. At the time the shares were issued, that was a 2.2% premium to the prevailing share price.

The specialist in narrowband radio frequency smart mesh networks  thats smart meters to you and me  was a bit vague about what it intends to do with the money. The company said it will use the funds to increase working capital and allow the company to continue to take advantage of its significant growth opportunities and execute its growing order book and pipeline.

As for Sareum, it raised a more modest 900,000 by issuing shares at 2.8p a pop. On Friday, the shares were trading at 3.375p, up 35% on the week.

Sareum, a drug development company, was a bit more forthcoming about its plans for the money it raised. It said the money will be used to advance the company's SDC-1801 TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor drug development programmes as well as for working capital purposes.

The small molecule therapeutics company is targeting the completion of preclinical studies in the third quarter of this year, subject to successful progress. Clinical trial plans, including priority autoimmune indications and potential COVID-19 application, will also be developed in parallel, subject to additional funding being raised.

TomCo Energy PLC (LON:TOM), which uses innovative technology to unlock unconventional hydrocarbon resources, advanced 29% to 0.73p after it provided an update on its Greenfield Energy joint ventures work on Petroteq Energy's oil sands plant at Asphalt Ridge, Utah.

The rate of production has been increasing such that Greenfield anticipates that it will shortly reach the targeted production level of 250 barrels of oil per day.

Trading in the shares of Savannah Energy PLC (LON:SAVE) was suspended after the company announced it is in advanced exclusive discussions with US oil giant ExxonMobil about the proposed acquisition of Savannahs entire upstream and midstream asset portfolio in Chad and Cameroon.

Before they were suspended the shares had risen 27% this week.

Quantum Blockchain Technologies, the company formerly known as Clear Leisure, was the weeks top faller, shedding a third of its value at 1.3p.

A week ago the company updated investors on the current status of Clear Leisure 2017s legal action against Sipiem SpAs previous board and internal audit committee.

The AIM-listed firm said the hearing for the case at the Venice Court on May 27 has been temporarily suspended as a result of the verbal notification to the Judge, at the opening of the hearing, that one of the defendants has died.

Earlier this week, the company signed a service agreement with a UK-based international cryptography expert specialising in cryptocurrency mining blockchain optimisations as part of a research & development strategy for Bitcoin mining.

The AIM-listed company said there are tangible and disruptive optimisations that can be made within the Bitcoin mining process that could result in faster execution and energy savings. The first set of optimisations is expected to be ready for testing in the coming weeks.

Argos Resources Ltd (LON:ARG), the exploration company focused on the North Falkland Basin, tumbled 18% as its full-year results disappointed.

The company made a loss of US$299,000 in 2020, compared to a loss of US$401,000 the year before. The company has no revenue and is seeking partners to participate in drilling on its Falkland Islands licence and admitted that it may be some time before any expressions of interest are translated into commitments given the current challenging environment.

The clock is ticking as the licence runs out at the beginning of May 2022.

Full-year results from MyHealthChecked PLC (LON:MHC) also fell flat.

Shares in the home-testing healthcare company have had a great run this year, rising from 2p to 4.96p at the beginning of this week on the back of Boots stocking the companys 'Fit to Fly' test for outbound travel, and its Day 2/Day 8 tests for travel into the UK.

The shares were already drifting back towards 4p before the release of the results, which revealed the company's loss before tax widened to 3.76mln in 2020 from 2.15mln in 2019.
On May 19th, as part of the Geneva Lecture Series concepted and conducted by prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, numerous international affairs specialists, faculty fellows, practitioners and diplomats gathered for an event on the hard and soft security issues in the Mediterranean. The speech Hard and Soft Security Issues in the Mediterranean given by the President of the Republic of Malta, His Excellency George Vella, was the highlight of this highly mesmerizing two-hour event.

Opening the event, the University Rector of UMEF reminded the audience that the Countrys meaning, reputation and position is well beyond its physical size: Malta is European, island and Mediterranean country, yet at the very gate of Afro-Asia. Country is enriched by fascinating layers of millennial history (better to say histories), but also with a clear, dynamic and vibrant promise of inclusive and sustainable tomorrow for all generations of Maltese and Europeans. Hence, Malta (with its past) is a journey, but it is a (our common) destination, too.

During his lecture, President Vella gave a comprehensive analysis and explanation of the key current security issues in the Mediterranean, in which he discussed a variety of topics, such as: the hard security threats -especially Libya, the Middle East Peace Process, an assessment of the developments in Iran, and the matter of small weapons; soft security threats; horizontal issues; the launch of a new European Union Agenda for the Mediterranean, and the role that Malta has played in addressing these security issues in the Mediterranean. Here you may find a synopsis of these main topics discussed by the President of Malta in his speech during the conference.

President Vella began his intervention by stating that developments in the Mediterranean should not only be of concern only to Malta since the repercussions of what happens in the region expand to all other parts of the world. Along with this, the President affirmed that the region is very diverse and not as homogeneous as some may think. He made distinctions between Western, Central, and Eastern Mediterranean perspectives and the changing realities that drive them.

His Excellency then addressed the hard security threats in the Mediterranean through a political sphere, since there are no current military threats in the region.

He began by undertaking the situation in Libya caused by the instability in government leadership, which has caused hardship, uncertainty, and difficulties in managing irregular migration flows transiting in Libya and into Europe. The President stated that Following several comings and goings, meetings and conferences, lives lost, and constant meddling by external regional players for their own gains, we are now looking at a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. He also believes that The United Nations has admittedly saved the day through careful and patient negotiations, but we should think of a more visible and hands-on stabilising presence of the UN in the country. His excellency affirmed that it is time for the international community to engage with Libya to demonstrate support for the new transitional government, and the peace that it will bring along with it.

President Vella then proceeded to tackle the Middle East Peace Process in which he stated that as of now there is no peace and hardly any process to achieve it. The President addressed the current escalating conflicts between Israel and Palestine with much sorrow for the hardships of the populations involved. He observes that This is not the time for repetitive, weak statements that are of no substance and are shelved in the bottom drawer. He called upon the international community to act on this matter and in defense of the innocent lives that are being lost every day.

President Vella also briefly addressed the developments in Iran in which he underlined the importance for the new US administration to re-join the Iran Nuclear Deal (the JCPOA) to ensure its full implementation.

Moreover, he tackled the production, procurement, and distribution of light arms and small weapons and ammunitions which he described as the one of the biggest threats to the Mediterranean. He observed that major powers produce and supply weapons and ammunition instead of controlling their sales and flow. He sees this as imminent challenge because The proliferation of small arms and light weapons leads to conflict, displaced civilian populations, death of innocent people, while creating general instability and humanitarian crises.

President Vella then took on the topic of soft security threats which he began by affirming that these are just as dangerous and disruptive for the region as the hard ones. The main issues of this characteristic that were addressed by the President included: migration and human trafficking, terrorism and extremism, inequalities and economic disparities, as well as organized crime such as illegal trafficking of drugs, contraband of oil, and money laundering.

Touching upon the migration issues, President Vella urged the EU Member States for tangible solidarity in helping to mitigate them as this has not been the case so far.

Further on, he stressed the importance of economic reforms in the region that must owned by the countries themselves, and not outsiders, to promote educational opportunities in hopes to find solutions for these soft security challenges in the future.

Alongside this, His Excellency tackled the matter of horizontal issues which also pose threats to the Mediterranean and gave the examples of climate change and the preservation and protection of the marine environment, regarding which he stated that In order to address this wide range of challenges there has to be a comprehensive strategy that is also effective on the ground and with the population. He undertook these issues by affirming that they put even more pressure on the already scare resources and drive massive levels of migration in search for higher standards of living.

Additionally, the President of Malta called upon the launch of a new European Union Agenda for the Mediterranean. He stated that many of the already existing proposals have been discussed time and time again but have proven to be non-starters or have not had the expected results. It is imperative for goals set on paper to be actually transformed into actions that benefit the population.

Lastly, President Vella addressed the role that Malta has played in addressing these threats. He stated that regional and sub-regional initiatives such as the Union for the Mediterranean are they key to resolving this issue and describes the political climate as a laboratory for Parliamentary Diplomacy. Moreover, he affirmed that Malta participates in multiple fora as the 5+5 dialogue, the EU MED 7, and the commonly known Malta Initiative.

The President of the Republic of Malta, His Excellency, George Vella, closed his intervention by stating that the doors to dialogue must always remain open no matter what and that we must speak and listen to one another at all times no that there may be hope in resolving these issues.

About the author :

Isabella Maria Bello Arocha

Madrid-based junior researcher specialized in law and international relations. Covers International Institute IFIMES before the UNWTO and other Iberia-based international organizations.
Former President John Dramani Mahama is asking the Akufo-Addo led government to encourage fearless honesty among Ghanaians to imbibe hope and trust in government institutions.

He said the challenges facing Ghanaians including economic hardships, insecurity, and others are gradually leaving the citizenry in despair.

Insisting that these challenges have led to a crisis of confidence in political leadership, the former President wants leaders to urgently take steps to give the people hope.

In a post on the Facebook to make June 4th Uprising, he has urged government encourages fearless honesty in its dealings as pointed out in the countrys national anthem.

If we must get our people to hope again and to trust in our institutions and government, then we must encourage fearless honesty as enjoined by our national anthem, part of the statement on the occasion of June 4 commemoration reads.

The statement noted, We must embrace and be guided by truth, transparency, probity, and accountability  principles that have been bequeathed unto us, which are the bedrock upon which our nation, undoubtedly, will become great, strong, resilient, and prosperous.

We must encourage freedom of thought and expression rather than a culture of hypocrisy and silence.

Below is the full statement from John Dramani Mahama:

For the first time, the people of Ghana, comrades, supporters and sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), will commemorate the June 4 Uprising without the inspirational and arresting physical presence of the Founder of our party, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings (Rtd.), our former President, who departed from us last year.

He was a key influence on Ghana's history for the two decades straddling the late 70s till year 2000.

The June 4 Uprising was an epochal event that represents a major landmark in our nation's existence.

Together with its sister event, the 31st December Revolution, the two shaped the course of Ghana's history resulting in a turnaround in Ghana's economic fortunes and the advent of the 4th Republic.

Forty-two years on, our economy and democracy are in dire straits.

Economic hardship, insecurity, political and ethnic polarisation, deepening inequality, politicisation of our democratic institutions, corruption, serious problems in the education and health sectors are challenges Ghanaians are confronted with in our daily lives.

This has led to a crisis of confidence in the political leadership.

Ghana is a country with exceptional human talent.

Time is ticking fast and yet we can make things right if we work as one nation with a common destiny.

As I have said in the past, broad consultations and consensus building does not take anything away from a leader.

Broad consultations that bring the best and brightest together with stakeholders can forge consensus around issues such as economic recovery strategy, or implementational challenges of Free SHS in the national interest.

The values June 4 espoused some four decades ago, remain as relevant today as ever before in our nations democratic journey. June 4 engendered hope in our people that the ills of our society would be rooted out and replaced with values of virtue and honesty.

If we must get our people to hope again and to trust in our institutions and government, then we must encourage fearless honesty as enjoined by our national anthem.

We must embrace and be guided by truth, transparency, probity and accountability  principles that have been bequeathed unto us, which are the bedrock upon which our nation, undoubtedly, will become great, strong, resilient and prosperous.

We must encourage freedom of thought and expression rather than a culture of hypocrisy and silence.

May the spirit of our Founder live on!

I wish all our comrades a happy June 4 Anniversary!

John Dramani Mahama

Former President of Ghana
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Adaklu Constituency in the Volta Region, Hon. Kwame Agbodza wants Ghana to remember the sacrifices made for the countrys democracy on the occasion of the commemoration of the June 4 uprising.

He said peace can be enjoyed only when the citizens are happy and not the size of the military in the country.

Today marks exactly forty-two years since the uprising took place. The event that saw Ghanaians rise against corruption and other ills was led by former President Jerry John Rawlings.

It forms a key part of the countrys history especially after inspiring the democracy the citizenry enjoys today.

In the midst of public outcry on economic hardships, corruption and attacks on journalists, Hon. Kwame Agbodza insists that Ghana must be guided by the June 4 uprising.

As a people, we must never allow situations to degenerate to a level where established laws and institutions in our country no longer enjoy the support of the citizenry. After all, the State exists because of the people, part of a statement presented to Parliament by the Adaklu Constituency MP as part of the June 4 commemoration reads.

According to Hon. Kwame Agbodza, We must never forget the sacrifices that have been made for us to have our current democracy. President Rawlings is the architect of the sustainable democratic Ghana.

Charging Ghanaians to learn from the June 4 Uprising, the MP for Adaklu adds, We must all be reminded that, a country cannot achieve a sustain internal peace based on the size of the armed forces of the nature of the weapons they have. It is only a happy people that can guarantee sustainable peace and security.

Below is the full speech from Hon. Kwame Agbodza:

STATEMENT BY HON KWAME AGBODZA ON THE RELEVANCE OF JUNE 4TH TO THE CONTEMPORARY GHANAIAN DISPENSATION

Rt Hon Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to make this statement at plenary as a reflection on the events of June 4th 1979, popularly called The June 4th Uprising and its relevance to current dispensation of our country. The focus of this statement is to draw the attention to the fundamentals that led to that event, its impact on our Socio, Political and Economic trajectory and the lesson we should all take from that.

Mr. Speaker, the architects of the uprising cited a combination of issues including corruption, bad governance, frustration among the general public, indiscipline within the Ghana army and a general moral decadence among others. In the view of the leaders of the Uprising, the Supreme Military Council (SMC II) led by General Fred Akuffo was to blame for the woes of the country. The failed attempt of May 15th leading to the arrest and trial of the group only heightened public interest and exacerbated the frustration of the citizenry.

It also appeared to have deepen the uncomfortable relationship between the Junior and Senior Ranks of the Armed forces. On the night of the 3rd June 1979, some Junior officers organized themselves, together and broke into the jail where Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings was being held. They took him to the Ghana Broadcasting premises where he spoke to the Nation and asked that all Soldiers should meet at the Nicholson Stadium at Burma Camp.

Mr. Speaker, some of the excesses after June 4th led to some loss of life and property. These excesses were roundly condemned and those found to have misconducted themselves were duly punished. As a people, we must never allow situations to degenerate to a level where established laws and institutions in our country no longer enjoy the support of the citizenry. After all, the State exists because of the people.

Mr. Speaker, the events of June 4th 1979 are 42 years behind us. Many believe that event was the watershed of our current democratic dispensation. Those who led the Uprising never did that because they were necessarily interested in ruling the country , they were not the regular people who scheme to get access to state power to enrich themselves, they were simply the pinnacle that reflected the reaction of a Nation that was reeling under many unbearable conditions. Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings quickly handed over to a Civil Government as a proof that, he and his men only wanted to correct the ills of our society.

Events after that till the birth of the 4th Republic are there for us all to reflect on, indeed, the 1992 Constitution has become the bedrock upon which we currently exist as a State. We must never forget the sacrifices that have been made for us to have our current democracy. President Rawlings is the architect of the sustainable democratic Ghana. Ironically, it took a patriotic Ghanaian like President Rawlings and many of the people he worked with, politicians, Civil Servants and many Ordinary people to nurture what we have as a country today. His untimely death has robbed our Country of a Great Ghanaian, a Great African. May his Soul rest well, but may his spirit of Truth, Probity and Accountability forever stay with us.

Mr. Speaker, What lesson are there for us as we reflect on an even that took place 42 years ago? Events of June 4th 1979 was called Uprising, because it was not based on any political ideology. People from all sections of the Ghanaian Society took to the streets in support of the Uprising. In my view, they say this as an opportunity for a change. A change that will minimize the core issues they were unhappy about. Issues of corruption, Nepotism, abuse of state power, insecurity, attacks on basic freedoms and rights of Ghanaians.

Mr. Speaker, should we not condemn the excesses we see under a democratic dispensation than those under a military regime? We heard of Journalists maltreated under Military regimes, and we all condemned these acts. So how come we see these things happening even more under a democratic dispensation? The murder of Ahmed Suale, an investigative journalist is unacceptable, does it matter if this was under a military or civilian regime? We hear of journalists picked up by state security operatives and molested, we hear some journalists have to flee this country because they publish materials that government find unacceptable

Mr. Speaker, people lost their properties unlawfully under military regimes, those acts were condemned. We have a constitution we must all respect. Under this constitution, everyone is innocent until he is pronounced as guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. You are also entitled to your property until a court orders that property should be taken away from you. We all detest the activities of those unpatriotic people who do galamsey, but their punishment can only be determined by the courts. Why should the President of the republic totally ignore these provisions and order the destruction of properties of citizens, even before a court determines that? Is the president not setting aside the constitution? What is the difference this this particular action of the president and that which happens under military regimes?

Mr. Speaker, does the ordinary Ghanaian have confidence in the State and Institutions now? Does the ordinary person believe the Courts of the land may give him justice? Does the ordinary Ghanaian feel the Military, Police etc. will do their work fairly? Does the ordinary Ghanaian believe the Electoral Commission can conduct a Free and Fair elections? Does the ordinary Ghanaian believe parliament is independent and can make Laws that reflect the aspirations of the people?

Mr. Speaker, June 4th may stair passions, but we must all learn the lessons quickly and work to avoid the issues that precipitated the event. What shall we do to avoid falling into another June 4th situation? We must all be reminded that, a country cannot achieve a sustain internal peace based on the size of the armed forces of the nature of the weapons they have. It is only a happy people that can guarantee sustainable peace and security.

Thank you.
US-based Ghanaian professor, Stephen Kwaku Asare, affectionately called Kwaku Azar says the Judiciary cannot absorb itself from credible charges of partisanship if it does not stop it poorly reasoned rulings.

His comment comes on the back of a decision by the Chief Justice to haul Dominic Ayine to the General Legal Council (GLC).

The Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah in a letter dated May 25, 2021, petitioned the GLC to probe the former deputy attorney general over his criticism of the conduct of the Bench during the hearing of the 2020 election petition.

Taking to his Facebook page to react to the issue, Prof. Stephen Kwaku Asare says the judiciary is its own worst enemy.

According to the US-based Professor, it is the Judiciarys poorly-reasoned ruling, in cases such as Ayine v AG, its failure to assume jurisdiction in important constitutional cases, and its inability to rule timeously on time-sensitive cases that expose it to charges of partisanship.

Insisting that no amount of contempt trials or disciplinary actions will save the Judiciary from backlash and criticism, Kwaku Azar recommends that judges should truly and faithfully perform their functions without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and to at all times uphold, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

He believes that once that is done, no criticisms directed at the Judiciary will be taken seriously by the public.

Below is the full write-up on the Facebook wall of the US-based professor.

Akuritingayine is no threat to the judiciary.

The judiciary is its own worst enemy. It is its poorly-reasoned ruling, in cases such as Ayine v AG, its failure to assume jurisdiction in important constitutional cases and its inability to rule timeously on time-sensitive cases that expose it to charges of partisanship and that risks undermining the court's stature as an independent, impartial arbiter of the law.

The way forward, therefore, is not to silence those who merely offer their opinions, which the Constitution allows them to do.

The way forward is for the judges to truly and faithfully perform their functions without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and to at all times uphold, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

No criticisms directed at them will be taken seriously if they perform their functions as stated above.

Conversely, no amount of contempt trials or disciplinary actions will save them from credible charges of partisanship if they continue to issue unreasonable judgments.

Ghanafuo did not fight the AK 47 only to be silenced by the gavel.

#SALL is the cardinal sin of the 8th Parliament.

Da Yie!
One of Nkrumah's ardent supporters was Boakye Gyan.

As a student leader at the University of Ghana, Nkrumah had met Boakye Gyan, at the Flagstaff house, to explain his vision for Ghana and Africa to him.

Boakye Gyan became an ardent follower of President Nkrumah.

After the 1966 coup, Boakye Gyan joined Ghanas Military, and formed an organization: The Free Africa Movement (FAM)

The FAM was formed with one aim, to punish the Military leaders who overthrew the Nkrumah CPP-Government, to discouraging future military coups.

An off-shoot of the FAM later, toppled the second Military regime in Ghana on June 4, 1979.

June 4 1979

Captain Boakye Gyan was a military intelligence personnel, working with the 5th battalion.

His colleagues at the military intelligence informed him that there were plans to execute Rawlings and his friends on June 4,1979.

Boakye Gyan and Rawlings were friends. It was likely he would be executed with Rawlings.

The FAM operatives decided to act quickly by overthrowing the military Government during the early hours of June 4, 1979.

The junior Army officers had succeeded in arresting many members of the SMCII regime.

The coup plotters were advised by the staff of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) when they took over the radio station, to go for a commissioned officer to deliver the news to Ghanaians on the GBC radio.

A suggestion was made, to use Rawlings for the announcement.

Rawlings was an air force captain languishing in jail for an attempted coup on May15,1979. His subsequent court martial, monitored on Radio/Television, had made him popular with Ghanaians.

The coup makers then released Rawlings from Jail.

Rawlings took over the airwaves and announced the coup. He became the ceremonial head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) on June 4, 1979.

After experimentations with military regimes, Ghana eventually, settled for a constitutional Democracy in 1992. Ghana has been a stable country since 1992.

Culled from the book, Insights by Alex Sarkodie, MD.
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has urged government to take immediate steps to resolve the impasse between Eni and Springfield on unitising their fields.

A recent communique from the Ministry of Energy directed Eni and Springfield to unitise their fields.

This directive was based on GNPC's assessment of the petroleum system on the two fields, informing the corporation's conclusion that the Afina discovery straddles the SGN production field.

In a press release from ACEP, it has called for measures to be adopted to address all issues between Eni and Springfield.

Immediate steps are required to address the impasse between Eni and Springfield on the unitisation directive from the government in compliance with the acceptable industry standards and interpretation of the legal provisions on unitisation in a manner that adequately responds to the emerging risks in the industry, part of the release from ACEP dated June 3, 2021, has said.

According to ACEP, this is necessary because the future of oil in the country continues to be extremely dicey.

Meanwhile, the African energy policy think tank has described the exit of ExxonMobil from Ghana as a major setback to efforts to attract oil majors to enhance the development of the countrys oil industry.

ACEP wants tgovernment to deepen engagements with all stakeholders in the industry, including civil society actors, political actors, academia, etc., to enhance understanding of the industry and reduce occurrences of political and social controversies in the contracting process.

Below is the release from ACEP:

blob:https://web.whatsapp.com/23b2c5f3-8bc3-4111-a0ba-27027acf82c9
The European Union has decided to ban Belarusian airlines from entering its airspace, effective from 5 June. The decision was taken after Belarus hijacked a Ryanair plane in May, citing a bomb threat to arrest an opponent.

Friday's decision by the EU comes two weeks after the Belarusian authorities decided to divert a plane carrying dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

The ban primarily concerns the national airline Belavia.

"Other sanctions targeting entities and individuals will follow quickly," warned European Council President Charles Michel, renewing a call to "release all political prisoners in Belarus".

On Wednesday, European airlines had already been instructed not to fly over the ex-Soviet country for "security" reasons.

This retaliatory measure was denounced by the international association defending the interests of airlines, the IATA, which sees it as a "retrograde and disappointing development" that amounts to "politicising air safety".

"Two wrongs do not make a right. Politics should never interfere with the safe operation of aircraft and politicians should never use aviation safety as a cover to pursue political or diplomatic agendas," IATA chief Willie Walsh said in a statement.

EU condemns Belarus interview under pressure

Meanwhile, several politicians on Friday condemned an interview shown on Belarusian state television with the journalist Roman Protasevich, saying he was only speaking "under duress".

Germany said the interview, broadcast on Thursday was a "disgrace", while British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it was "disturbing".

Looking uncomfortable in the video, Protasevich said he had called for protests last year and praised Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Speaking during a visit to Warsaw, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said: "All such videos are shot under pressure."

"We should not believe any of the words of these people, including Roman Protasevich," said Tikhanovskaya, who ran against Belarusian strongman Lukashenko in an election last year.

"They are done after torture," she said.

Protasevich was arrested on May 23 along with his girlfriend Sofia Sapega when their Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius was diverted, intercepted by a Belarusian fighter jet and made to land.

Belarusian authorities accuse Protasevich of organising mass riots, a charge that could land him in prison for 15 years.
The Police Administration has created a Policing Counseling Unit (PCU) in response to the rising incidence of suicides among its personnel.

The action, according to a signal signed by COP Mrs. Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah and distributed to all formations of the Service, is in line with Service Instructions (SI 278).

The PCU will provide psychological services and assistance to police personnel and their dependants, and prepare personnel towards retirement among others.

The Inspector General of Police has already directed all commanders to notify their subordinates about the development.

He has also directed that commanders should refer distressed personnel to the PCU at the National Headquarters for assessment of the cases and the necessary psychotherapies.

Personnel have also been provided with phone numbers to contact when they notice strange behaviours from their colleagues, so the necessary intervention can be exacted.

The Ghana Police Service has been plagued in recent times with a high incidence of suicides among personnel.

The anomaly has not been limited to Other Ranks but to Senior Officers.

---Daily Guide
American actress and director Jodie Foster will receive the Honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and will be guest of honour at the opening ceremony on 6 July. It seems the stars are aligned for this year's extravaganza, clearly making up for lost time after the cancelled 2020 event with several new elements and a promise of more interaction with the general public.

The countdown is on. Organisers of the Cannes Film Festival got the ball rolling with several announcements this week, including the official selection of this year's films in and out of competition, and the news that Jodie Foster would be receiving the special prize for her contribution to cinema.

Foster is no stranger to the international film festival, and indeed has a unique relationship with France.

She came to the Croisette for the first time at age 13 in 1976 to showcase Taxi Driver alongside Robert DeNiro. The film, directed by Martin Scorsese went on to win the Palme d'Or  the coveted Golden Palm.

Cannes is a festival to which I owe so much, it has completely changed my life, Jodie Foster told organisers.

The two-time Oscar winner has had seven of her films screened at the festival over the years, including two that she directed: The Beaver in 2011 and Money Monster in 2016.

A way to honour artists

"Showcasing one of my films here has always been a dream...Cannes is a festival by auteur film-makers who honour artists."

"Jodie never ceases to reinvent herself," Festival General Delegate, Thierry Fremaux said.

"She questions with her piercing gaze, learns from others, and is willing to step back from her beliefs in order to forge new morals. Do what is fair. An idea that she strives to convey in the decisions she makes as an actress and director, and which makes her so precious during our confusing times. We will honour her with warmth and admiration!"

Past winners of the honorary Palme include Bernardo Bertolucci, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Agnes Varda and Jane Fonda.

Foster has maintained a strong connection to France and learnt the language as a teenager.

She spent nine months in France and starred in Moi, Fleur Bleue in 1977. She also appeared in Claude Chabrol's Le sang des autres in 1984 and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 2004 film Un long dimanche de fiancailles.

"I am flattered that Cannes thought of me and I am very honoured to be able to share a few words of wisdom or tell an adventure or two with a new generation of film-makers," she said in the statement.

It also seems timely that a woman with a full career both in front of and behind the camera has been chosen to receive the Honorary Golden Palm award.

Foster has been very vocal about parity in the film industry and made a speech at the 2016 Festival de Cannes during Women in Motion.

She featured as the narrator for the documentary Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache, by Pamela B. Green, dedicated to the first ever and long-forgotten French filmmaker who was secretary to Leon Gaumont, founder of the Gaumont Film Company.

She has also been active in a project to restore the work of Dorothy Arzner, exposing struggles surrounding class and gender.

New developments for 2021 edition

This year's festival 6-17 July, with a jury headed up by US director Spike Lee, has several new features and hopes to fully capitalize on the further lifting of Covid restrictions from 30 June.

As well as the Lumiere Theatre, a new 2,400 seat-complex will open in time for the festival known as the Cineum, in the La Bocca quarter. The festival will inaugurate four of the 12 auditoriums.

The Cineum backs on to a new audiovisual studies campus that will take in its first 900 students in September.

A special section has been created to showcase films focused on the environment, and a portion of each entry fee is dedicated towards 'green' initiatives such as waste reduction and use of recycled materials.

On top of the usual sections of the competition, organisers have made a new categories known as Cannes Premieres and the Midnight Screening.

The festival organisers have also stressed the importance of further opening up the event to the general public, to make the most of the summer holiday season, with beach screenings and other events.
Imagine life on earth without the living organisms that interact to give us air, water, food and everything we need to survive and thrive. Ecological systems or ecosystems also provide jobs or livelihoods and contribute up to half of the worlds GDP. Sadly, these valuable ecosystems are under massive threat. For example, every year, the world loses 10 million hectares of forests and approximately 30% of natural freshwater ecosystems have disappeared since 1970.

In Ghana, we are seeing vivid images of environmental degradation, from the destruction caused by unsustainable mining practices, to the alarming rate of deforestation, the pollution of river bodies and the depletion of fish stock in the ocean.

The theme for World Environment Day (WED) 2021 - Ecosystem Restoration - reminds us that we need to maintain the health of our ecosystems in order to sustain and improve peoples lives and reduce the long term impact of environmental destruction and climate change. The day coincides with the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which is a rallying call to restore, revive and protect ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature.

I am excited that this WED and the UN Decade give great prominence to the power that each citizen of the world holds to make a difference by joining the #generationrestoration. As individuals, we are called to join this global movement and do our part to reimagine, recreate and restore ecosystems. As an optimist, I believe that we are the generation to restore hope for the future generations. There are three ways we can all contribute and make a difference.

Reimagine

First, joining #generationrestoration gives us the opportunity to reimagine the relationship between humans and nature. Our UNDP Human Development Report 2020 demonstrates the need for a reorientation of social norms and values to expand human freedoms while easing pressure on the planet. A good example of creating a new generation of citizens that is empowered to restore ecosystems is the Green Ghana Project spearheaded by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Forestry Commission. The aim is to plant 5 million trees in 1 day on 11 June. The people of Ghana are called to be citizens and not spectators in the countrys resolve to reduce environmental degradation and promote sustainability. A simple action of planting 1 tree, once reproduced at scale by citizens, can make great impact. The same principle can apply to other green actions, from segregating our waste, to buying from local suppliers and favoring locally grown products.

Recreate

Second, joining #generationrestoration invites us to reverse environmental degradation by changing the way we do things. It provides us with the space to harness the tremendous potential for innovation within us. Abdullah Hamza is an example of a young social entrepreneur from the Northern Region who built a new business model for greening commodities with support from UNDP/Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme. His model is training and certifying farmers to produce and supply products at a premium price to businesses seeking to shift to sustainable sourcing of raw materials. Nelson Boateng emerged as one of the winners of the first edition of the UNDP-supported Waste Recovery Innovation Challenge of the Ghana Waste Recovery Platform. He and his team at Nelplast introduced a technology to transform plastic waste into pavement blocks and have now expanded their business to building affordable houses with discarded plastic for low-income workers. Nurturing these kinds of innovation and creativity is key to restoring our ecosystems.

Restore

Third, joining #generationrestoration demonstrates the power of many small actions to transform ecosystems. Many women, men, girls and boys across Ghana are already playing their part. Helena Agyekumaa from Osino in the Eastern region of Ghana planted trees and adopted sustainable practices on her farm in a degraded forest area. With support from UNDP in partnership with Mondelez and Ghana Cocoa Board she has increased her cocoa harvest from 3-4 to 7-8 bags. There are many Helenas who are inspiring others to act. With access to better tools, knowledge and technologies, more citizens can become active actors in environmental conservation.

On World Environment Day, I would like to invite us all to take action, to make smarter choices, and invest in restoring our ecosystems. Our very existence depends on how we balance our prosperity with nature.

By Dr Angela Lusigi, UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana on World Environment Day 2021
It was a short but active week for the small-cap oil and gas sector.

( )  the company formerly known as Bahamas Petroleum - revealed results from the top section of the Saffron-2 well have been in-line with expectations.

The well has so far been completed to a depth of 1,593 feet, on time and on budget, and has encountered the Upper Cruse and upper parts of the Middle Cruse formations. Logs for the sections are as prognosed and consistent with comparable logs from Saffron-1, the company noted.

Drilling will now progress deeper to evaluate the deeper Middle Cruse, and then the Lower Cruse.

Earlier in the week, Challenger confirmed the appointment of Eytan Uliel as its new chief executive.

s ( ) Egyptian venture has been granted approval for a development lease to cover the ASD-1X discovery, part of the Abu Sennan Licence, which allows production operations to get underway.

Production starts from the ASD-1X well at an initial gross rate of 1,295 bopd, which is 285 bopd net to United. Meanwhile, a separate programme to workover the ASH-1ST2 well has also boosted production numbers, adding just over 1,000 bopd gross or 220 net to United.

Cenkos again nudged up its valuation for ( ) as it marked an increase in production at the 22% owned Abu Sennan licence in Egypt, with analyst James Mccormack describing the update as the latest in a continual flow of success for the company.

( ) has awarded a contract for an airborne gravity and gradiometry survey over the EP 145 area, in Australias Amadeus Basin. Data acquisition is planned for mid-June  subject to NT government approval, which was applied for in May  and it is seen as a significant step in the exploration programme.

The company noted that it will be the first time that data acquisition will be undertaken across the whole permit, and, it will be used to identify focus areas for future programmes including seismic and potentially drilling.

( ) said it submitted a concept selection report to the UK Oil and Gas Authority, marking a significant milestone in delivering maximum value from the Greater Buchan Area (GBA) development project in the North Sea.

GBA is planned as a net-zero solution  with emissions estimated to be less than 1kg of CO2 per barrel of oil equivalent of production, which is substantially below the North Sea average of 22kg per barrel. The submission of the concept selection report represents a "significant milestone for JOG in our journey to deliver maximum value from the Greater Buchan Area, said Andrew Benitz.

WH Ireland sees huge upside to the Jersey share price as the stockbroker looks to a possible farm-out deal that will propel forward the Greater Buchan Area (GBA) oil field project in the North Sea. In a note WH Ireland, which acts as broker to Jersey, said it believes the company is progressing the GBA project apace towards first oil by late 2025.

i3 Energy PLC (LON:I3E, ) agreed to acquire a further 49.5% interest in the South Simonette oil property in Canada, doubling its stake to 99%. It is acquiring the stake from Anegada Oil Corp through a right of first refusal, and it will pay US$4.2mln along with US$580,000 to cover the costs of reactivating two suspended wells, with work slated for July.

The deal is expected to add 720 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of production, adding US$5.2mln of cashflow, following the July programme. It doubles the companys working interest in more than 70 potential development well locations across the South Simonette property.

Net production at South Simonette currently measures around 825 boepd, i3 noted, meanwhile, to the north the company has modelled a possible 38-well development which could yield 10,000 boepd.

s ( ) Greenfield Energy joint venture has now received a draft front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for its oil sands project in Utah. The study included test data for a number of items of additional equipment that could be utilised in a potential future commercial scale plant, plus other points of potential optimisation. It is expected that the FEED study will be finalised after a review, including, third-party verification, which anticipated by early July 2021.

TomCo also highlighted that following the recent resumption of operations at the POSP (Petroteq Energys oil sands plant) it is expected that the target production rate, 250 barrels per day, will be reached shortly.
World Vision Ghana is calling on all to help restore the ecosystem

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World Vision Ghana on the occasion of the World Environment Day which falls today June 5th joins the United Nations and other bodies both national and international to remind the world of the need to take care of the environment.

The day aims at creating awareness of the environment and the initiation of action towards its restoration.

This is more so as today marks the formal launch of the UN decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)

This years theme; "Ecosystem Restoration with Special Focus on Creating Good Relationship with Nature" implies that everyone has a role to play towards the restoration of our ecosystem.

Speaking during the occasion, Mr. Maxwell Amedi Food Security and Resilience Technical Programme Officer of World Vision Ghana said with one of our core values as stewards, we care for Gods creation hence we act in ways that restore and protect the environment."

He continued, We celebrate our achievements as an organization in ecosystem restoration through our Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) project model over the past decade.

On this day we advocate on behalf of most vulnerable children and their parents for greener environment/landscape for sustainable livelihood and renew our actions, commitments and choices towards a better ecosystem restoration.
IMANI Africa President, Franklin Cudjoe, has welcomed the ruling of the Accra High Court that ordered Achimota School to admit two Rastafarian boys, Tyrone Marhguy and Oheneba Nkrabea.

According to him, the ruling is a win for mankind and a giant step for the countrys constitutional dispensation.

Mr. Franklin Cudjoe, speaking on Citi TV and Citi FMs current affairs programme, The Big Issue, on Saturday, June 5, 2021, commended the lawyers of the students for the victory.

He also commended the media for giving a full coverage of the case.

For me, this is one giant steps again in our constitutional dispensation, and one giant lead for mankind. I am terribly happy, and I think that we need to congratulate everybody who was involved in the process. The media especially and ultimately the lawyers who did the fight.

Mr. Cudjoe further suggested that the case could have been avoided if the Ghana Education Service had stamped its authority by coming up with clear guidelines for all schools.

However, I think we shouldn't have gotten here if the policymakers had come up with clear guidelines for all institutions.

On the same ruling, the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, said it is a progressive one.

According to him, this is a victory for the right to education and the rule of law.

In any country where there are disagreements in relation to the position of the law, the last resort is to go to court. And so citizens going to court to pursue their fundamental human rights in the exercise of democratic rights should be encouraged.

I was honestly not expecting this ruling because I have seen previous rulings by other courts in Ghana on similar issues that suggested otherwise. When the parents of the two informed the school authorities of their intention to go to court, the school actually told them that they have handled such cases before, and it goes in their favour, so they are not the least intimidated. What did the court say?

Delivering the judgment on the case of the two Rastafarian boys, Justice Gifty Agyei Addo held that the Attorney-General failed to provide a legal justification as to why the students' right to education should be limited on the basis of their dreadlocks.

Messrs. Marhguy and Nkrabea were denied admission into Achimota School for refusing to shave off their dreadlocks, despite the fact that they had passed their qualifying examinations, and had been selected into the school through the computerized placement system.

The school, through the Attorney General, argued in court that allowing the students into the school would have dire consequences on the school's discipline, students' health, tradition, and community cohesion.

The Attorney General subsequently argued in court that the Rastafarian students had not even completed or returned their admission acceptance forms and thus, could not claim to have been denied admission.

But for the students, their parents, and lawyers, this was simply a case of a breach of fundamental rights on the basis of their religion and religious practices.

Justice Addo disagreed with the submissions of the Attorney General and granted all the reliefs separately sought by the students, except the relief of compensation in the case of Tyrone Marhguy.

According to Justice Addo, it was preposterous for the Attorney General to have even suggested that the two were not students in the first place. Consequently, she directed Achimota School to admit the two students.

---citinewsroom
In West Africa, particularly in Ghana, deforestation for cocoa production and other agriculture purposes is a concern, as smallholder farmers continue to cut down forests to establish new cocoa plantations and for other farming activities.

In a small village called New Apaso located in the Sekyere East District of Ashanti Region of Ghana live Moses Nkrumah and his wife Ama Konadu, who have been farming cocoa for the past 20 years. The couple currently own 23 acres of cocoa farm. Ama narrates the usual cocoa farming practices.

I currently have eight acres of cocoa farm and my husband has 15 acres. At first when we cut trees for farming, we were not replanting and most of the cocoa trees dont do well especially when it gets to the dry season. We were also just using chemicals anyhow for spraying and all these were affecting our yields badly, stated Ama.

Cocoa, according to research , has proven to produce higher yields under shade trees than when grown in full sun during wet and dry periods. So, farmers are often encouraged to grow shade trees to buffer cocoa plants from heat and water stresses. This is because it is projected that, rising temperatures and increasingly frequent droughts will turn large portions of cocoa-producing regions to savanna by 2050.

To help address the looming cocoa production crisis amidst changing climate, the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with funding from the Mondelez International Cocoa Life Programme, provided direct farmer trainings to over 35,000 farmers (38% females) and about 2,750 extension trainers on sustainable natural resource and ecosystem management practices. This is to prepare the farmers to adopt climate resilient production practices to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

The project under the Cocoa Life Programme also supported the farmers to plant over 1 million economic trees on their farms between 2014-2020. The farmers were also taught when to prune the trees and apply organic and inorganic fertilizers to promote healthy growth.

My yields have doubled from 8 bags to 16 when I harvest from my 8 acre-farm. I might say am financially independent, as I dont have to be asking my husband for everything. The good news is that, we have all our three children in the University, so am very happy, stated Ama.

The benefits of planting trees in their farms, according to Ama and the husband Moses, are enormous.

Nowadays, the weather is hot and the trees we planted have been providing us with shades. Otherwise, most of the cocoa trees will have died just like in the past. The Cocoa Life Programme has really helped us, Moses indicated.

Besides buffering cocoa plants, shade trees also enhance soil fertility due to leaf shedding and pruning residues. These enrich the soil in organic matter and recycle nutrients and reduce soil erosion.

The project interventions benefited about 271 communities in 12 Districts across Ghana and facilitated the establishment of two Community Resources Management Areas (CREMAs) in Asunafo North in the Ahafo Region and Wassa East in the Western Region which are empowering over 60 communities to manage and take decisions on natural resource usage within their enclave.

Ghana is the second largest global cocoa producer and cocoa is the main agriculture export product, sustaining the livelihood of more than 800,000 small-scale households across the cocoa growing region of the country.

It is therefore important to continue to support cocoa farmers to a dopt environmentally sustainable practices for improved livelihoods and to restore degraded landscapes.
BOZEMAN, Mont.  If you live in the Gallatin Valley, you might have noticed some fun and unique yard signs popping up across the area.

The Clark family, with two high school students and one middle school student in the Bozeman School District, were looking to bring some joy to the community with some fun signs.

Kristin Clark, the mother of the three kids, said the original idea was to teach all of her kids some important life lessons, especially her middle son Jack who has down syndrome.

My big picture for him always has been to be as independent as possible and so until hes able to get into you know more of a job-skill program I can help facilitate that you know, and this is one of the ways we can do that, Kristin Clark said.

The first couple of signs honored healthcare workers, teachers, anyone going through a hard time and now a class of seniors graduating who had one of their hardest years of school yet.

If you know a graduate or someone who needs a custom sign, you can find more information on Swaggy Sign Shop here.
BOZEMAN, Mont.  The Warriors & Quiet Waters Foundation will host its annual Warrior Taste Fest in-person this September with all proceeds going to their therapeutic recreational fly-fishing programs for post-9/11 combat veterans and their loved ones.

The Warrior Taste Fest will take place at Haynes Pavilion at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds and plans to host up to 600 people on Friday, Sept. 10.

People will be able to sample food, beer, and cocktails from over 30 of Montanas best restaurants, breweries, and distilleries.

While guests eat and drink, they can enjoy the work of 10 renowned artists as they quick-finish paintings and sculptures.

Artists Tom Gilleon, Troy Collins, Todd Connor, Jim Dolan, Thomas English, Terry Hall, Whitney Hall, Jennifer Johnson, Steve Lillegard, and Shirle Wempner will all be quick-finishing their art for the live auction.

The event will start with a VIP cocktail hour, where VIP ticket holders can taste specialty cocktails and menu items, meet the artists, hear live music and more.

It connects us to the community that has given us the support and the ability to do what weve done since 2006 supporting post 9-11 combat veterans," Executive Director Brian Gilman said. "Its our paramount annual fundraiser and it provides a significant portion of our annual operating budget that allows us to serve the warriors this year.

Warrior Taste Fest will open its doors for VIP ticket holders at 5 p.m. and doors open for general admission at 6 p.m. The live auction and programming will begin at 8 p.m.

You can find tickets for Warrior Taste Fest 2021 here.
UPDATE: June 8 6:00 p.m.

BOZEMAN, Mont. - The Gallatin County and Bozeman City Commission voted unanimously to approve Lori Christenson as the next Gallatin City-County Health Officer Tuesday.

Christenson will step into her new role as health officer immediately.

Previous Coverage:

BOZEMAN, Mont.  The Gallatin County Commission and Bozeman City commission will meet in two separate regular meetings on Tuesday to discuss and approve the next Gallatin City-County Health Officer.

Current Health Officer Matt Kelley is stepping down on June 6 from his position to become the first chief executive officer of the Montana Public Health Institute after leading Gallatin County through the COVID-19 pandemic and a decade of service before the crisis brought him to the almost daily public eye.

I wouldnt have gotten through it without our staff, and when I think about that I talk about that in terms of the incident command, the health department staff I just want to let them know I couldnt have done it without them, Kelly said

His list of thanks went on from the board of health, to the HRDC, as well as the county attorney, staff at the county emergency management team and even Bozeman Fire Departments Mike Maltaverne.

No matter what we decided we knew there was going to be significant numbers of people who were unhappy and werent going to think very highly of the decision, but we just tried to make the right decision, Kelley said.

The Gallatin City-County Health Board has recommended their current director of environmental health services, Lori Christenson, to take over as new health officer after already being appointed as the upcoming interim health officer once Kelley leaves.

Its hard to leave, Im sad to leave, but to be able to pass it off to somebody as capable and professional and smart as Lori really makes me feel better about it, Kelley said.

The Gallatin County Commission will vote on approving Lori Christenson at their regular meeting at 9 a.m. on June 8 followed by the Bozeman City Commission at 6 p.m.

The following is a bio of Lori Christenson from the Gallatin City-County Health Department:

Lori Christenson, MPH, RS is currently the Director of Environmental Health Services at Gallatin City-County Health Department in Bozeman Montana. Lori has over 12 years experience in Public Health, 7 of those at GCCHD, and has extensive experience in program and prevention management, community leadership and engagement, and emergency preparedness. Prior to joining the Health Department, she worked to address social determinants of health as manager of the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, helping to expand and strengthen programs to address hunger among seniors, children, and others in need. Lori has successfully led quality improvement projects and performance management activities that have resulted in significant process and programmatic improvements. She has extensive experience in community enhancement through the development and facilitation of community coalitions. Lori has managed grants, designed and implemented outreach and mass media campaigns for cancer and tobacco prevention. Lori has taken on leadership roles in the COVID19 pandemic response, using her skills to serve as the Public Information Officer at the start of the pandemic, managed reopening efforts during the pandemic and is currently serving as Planning Section Chief for the Gallatin County COVID19 response. Academically she earned her masters degree in public health through New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and a BS in Resource Conservation through University of Montana, and is also a State of Montana registered sanitarian.
(NAPSI)Global warming that caused glacial melting is likely the cause of a shift in the movement of the Earths poles in the 1990s, according to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, AGUs journal for high-impact, short-format reports with immediate implications spanning all Earth and space sciences.

Melting glaciers redistributed enough water to cause the direction of polar wander to turn, and accelerate, eastward, according to the new research.

The faster ice melting under global warming was the most likely cause, said Shanshan Deng, a researcher at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Changing Poles

The North and South Poles arent static, unchanging spots. The axis Earth spins around keeps moving.

The Earth spins around an axis kind of like a top, explains Vincent Humphrey, a climate scientist at the University of Zurich. If the weight of the top moves, the spinning top starts to lean and wobble. The same thing happens to the Earth as weight shifts from one area to another.

Changes in polar drift can occur for a number of reasons, including changes in water on land from melting glaciers and groundwater pumping.

Changing The Length Of Your Days

The change to the Earths axis isnt large enough that it would affect daily life, Humphrey added. It could change the length of day we experience, he said, but only by milliseconds.

While the melting glaciers were the main driver of polar drift in the 1990s, the groundwater contribution is also an important one, Humphrey said. The analysis revealed large changes in water mass in California, Texas, China and Indiaall areas that pump large amounts of groundwater for agricultural use.

Backward In Time

Researchers discovered a way to rewind modern pole tracking analysis to learn why the Earths poles shifted in the mid-1990s. The new research calculates the total land water loss in the 1990s.

The findings offer a clue for studying past climate-driven polar motion, explained Suxia Liu, a hydrologist at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Water Loss And Polar Drift

Using data on glacier loss and estimations of groundwater pumping, Liu and her colleagues calculated how the water stored on land changed. They found that the contributions of water loss from the polar regions was the main driver of polar drift.

I think it brings an interesting piece of evidence to this question, said Humphrey. It tells you how strong this mass change isits so big that it can change the axis of the Earth.

What It Means

Liu said the research has larger implications for understanding land water storage earlier in the 20th century. Researchers have 176 years of data on polar drift. By using some of the methods in this study, it could be possible to estimate how much land water was lost in past years.

Learn More

For more information and to read the study, visit news.agu.org.
A snapshot of some of the week's stories from the mining sector

( ) shares were boosted as it banked investment from Vision Blue Resources, named its next chairman and provided an update on its Balausa vanadium concentrate project in Kazakhstan.

Vision Blue has made a US$1.6mln investment in the company, taking its total investment US$3.1mln.

Sir Mick Davis has been appointed as chairman, due to start after June 3. The company noted that Davis was formerly head of Xstrata Alloys, one of the worlds largest vanadium producers.

PLC said it intends to list on Londons main market, having already applied to trading on the Moscow Exchange. The firm is a pure-play, internationally diversified gold producer with over 1mln ounces of production per annum and more than US$1bn of adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) in 2020.

( ) appointed the Western Australian Governments former Treasurer and Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Ben Wyatt, as the companys new non-executive director.

Imperial X PLC ( ), which describes itself as a natural resource project generator, has floated on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market today. The company raised 2mln via its initial public offering (IPO) of shares at 3p a share. The IPO was oversubscribed. The funds raised will be used to develop a portfolio of assets.

( ), the South African gold miner, renewed the mining rights to its Barberton mines complex for another thirty years. Official notification of the grant of the renewal was received on 1 June 2021.

( ) said it plans to demerge its gold assets in Cote d'Ivoire and Chad into a separate gold-focused listed company and hopes that this restructuring will unlock further value in its Cape Coast lithium portfolio.

( ) has approved the arrangement for the disposal of subsidiary Ilithas plant, assets and mining right. Ilitha, which owns the Stellite chrome mine in South Africa, is being acquired by WMA Chrome Mining and WMA Minmet Processing.

( ) chairman Michael Masterman highlighted an improved second half as the company reported full-year results ended December 31. Production was significantly higher in the second half, compared to the first, and progress on the La Parrilla tungsten and tin mine through the plant improvement plan continued to boost performance.

( ) acquired rights to a further 944 000 tonnes of platinum-rich tailings in the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. Earlier this month, Jubilee bought 255,000 tonnes of PGM-containing material in the Bushveld Complexs Western Limb.

Scotgold Resources Ltd ( ) said it has produced gold concentrate and gravity separated gold Dore from the Cononish gold project in Scotland following the previously announced resolution of various technical issues affecting the processing plant.

( ) has announced the start of exploration activities in Eastern Europe through its interest in Western Tethyan Resources (WTR). The AIM-listed exploration and development company will hold a 75% interest in WTR, following the commitment of at least 100,000 of exploration funding during the remainder of 2021.

( ) said extensive copper/silver targets have been identified on two prospecting licences at the LVR joint venture project in the Kalahari Copper Belt.

( ) said it issued US$3mln (2.1mln) of convertible loan notes, exceeding its initial target after the offer was oversubscribed, to fund potential future investment opportunities.

( ) has made a fresh investment in Aussie copper-gold explorer Artemis Resources Limited ( ), participating a well-supported share placing. The AIM-quoted firm has subscribed for 12.5mln shares in the Artemis placing, which was priced at 6 Australian cents per share.

( ) raised 1mln in a share placing as it continues to progress a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Zulu lithium project in Zimbabwe.

( ) said a magnetic survey over its Hope Copper-Gold licence block in Namibia has provisionally highlighted eight potential drill targets.

( ) said losses from continuing operations narrowed in 2020 helped by cost control measures and that the outlook for the company was "very promising".

( ) subsidiary Golden Metal Resources has taken out an option to acquire up to 100% of the Golconda Summit Gold property in central Nevada from GR Silver Mining.
Lansdale, PA (19446)

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Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Lansdale, PA (19446)

Today

Generally cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 76F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening. A steady rain arriving overnight. Low 61F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
June 05, 2021

UFO Reports Are Fertilizer For Military Budgets

Since December 2019 the United States has a Space Force as one of eight branches of U.S. Armed Forces. Each of those branches has lots of higher ranking officer positions. All people who are put into those want a lucrative board seat at some weapon manufacturer when they retire. They will only get one if they manage to create enough revenue for those manufacturers while they are still in uniform.

The new command therefore needs new weapons. Otherwise there will be no revenue for the weapon manufacturers and no lucrative board seats for retired officers. But spending tax dollars on weapons requires at least some nominal justification. There needs to be a threat that requires new weapons to counter it.

Thus we are presented with an onslaught of UFO rumors and silly grainy videos:

The idea of UFOs has gone mainstream. The dam broke with a New York Times story about a year ago on three declassified Navy videos. Last weekend, 60 Minutes did its own report, and The New Yorker has a nice long writeup of the history of the debate within the American government. The sightings involve objects that seem to defy the laws of physics.

...

Its the physics-defying aspects of UFOs that imply an advanced alien civilization. Although some suggest that Chinese or Russian drones could be behind what people are seeing, the idea of those nations being that far ahead of the United States can probably be dismissed.

From believing in alien UFOs to making laughable stupid claims is just a short step:

Josh Rogin @joshrogin - 2:23 PM  Jun 4, 2021 There are two theories about the UFOs. One is they are from another planet, one is that they are from another dimension. In other words, it could be humans from the future, not an alien species.

This reply is fitting:

Cheryl Rofer @CherylRofer - 3:24 PM  Jun 4, 2021 Today's lesson from Logic 101. If you have no explanation for an observation, it does not mean that any explanation is a good one. It does not follow that We can't explain some observations, so they must be aliens/ a directed-energy weapon/ a lab leak.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. There is none for either of Rogin's theories.

Many of the reports about Unknown Flying Object aren't even about flying objects but are based on natural light phenomenons, dirty lenses or long fingers which randomly create fuzzy blobs.



by XKCD - bigger

This is simple. UFO's aren't real:

Mick West has spent years debunking chemtrails, UFOs, and other conspiracies. This interview of him (vid), brought to my attention on Twitter, seems to conclusively show that the Navy videos can be explained with some basic trigonometry and an understanding of how cameras work. Hes even replicated some of the camera tricks to recreate images that resemble what we can see on the Navy videos. If youre interested in the topic, I highly recommend watching the interview. Heres a shorter video for those who want the basic idea.

...

As West points out in the first video above, there is nothing new about the latest UFO releases. All that has changed is that now the government has released its own footage, which is basically the same kind of evidence that he and other skeptics have debunked in the past, just with better resolution. But because the government now tells them its ok to believe something, people take that as a sign of credibility. Whats depressing about this, as someone who writes about foreign policy, is that the national security bureaucracy is apparently still considered credible.

So credible, we are told, that even obvious nonsense about extraterrestrial origin of UFOs must be taken somewhat seriously.

Caitlin Johnstone points that if there were extraterrestrials (there aren't) the military should be kept as far away from them as possible:

One of the disconcerting things Ive been seeing again and again from all the major players in this new narrative like Lue Elizondo and Christopher Mellon is the absurd assertion that not only is it entirely possible that the unknown phenomena allegedly being regularly witnessed by military personnel are extraterrestrial in origin, but that if they are extraterrestrial they may want to hurt us.

...

Ive sat through so much video footage on this subject, and I just get so frustrated listening to all these military-minded men talking about the need to know what the capabilities of these things are and how to prevent them from posing a threat to national security. If we are in fact not alone in this universe and are in fact being visited by other civilizations, these are the absolute stupidest questions we could possibly be asking ourselves about them. Not how can we contact them, not is it possible to communicate with them, not what could we learn from them, not where are they from and what is their story, but how can we kill them if we need to. I have no idea if we are being visited by ETs, but if we are the US military is literally the worst thing our species could possibly use to relate to them.

Despite all the UFO hype it will be difficult to explain to the public that the military needs more money to fight extraterrestrials which do not exist.

Thus, just in time, the campaign gets redirected. Now it must be the 'real enemies' who have caused the dirty lenses phenomenons. Caitlin in another piece:

The New York Times has published an article on the contents of the hotly anticipated US government report on UFOs, as per usual based on statements of anonymous officials, and as per usual promoting narratives that are convenient for imperialists and war profiteers. Together with one voice, the anonymous US officials and the "paper of record" which is supposed to scrutinize US officials assure us definitively that the mysterious aerial phenomena that have reportedly been witnessed by military personnel are certainly not any kind of secret US technology, but could totally be aliens and could definitely be a sign that the Russians or Chinese have severely lapped America's lagging military development.

...

Oh well if the US government has ruled out secret US government weaponry programs, hot damn that's good enough for me. Great journalism you guys.

...

"Intelligence officials believe at least some of the aerial phenomena could have been experimental technology from a rival power, most likely Russia or China," the Times reports. "One senior official briefed on the intelligence said without hesitation that U.S. officials knew it was not American technology. He said there was worry among intelligence and military officials that China or Russia could be experimenting with hypersonic technology."

None of the UFO sightings discussed recently is consistent with anything hypersonic.

Russia and China have developed hypersonic missiles to overcome U.S. missile defenses in a return strike after a U.S. first strike nuclear attack. They keep the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction alive even after the U.S. designed and deployed missile defenses to destroy it.

Hypersonic is defined as flying faster than Mach 5. It is one of those fields in which the U.S. military makes a joke of itself:

Steve Trimble @TheDEWLine - 7:46 PM  Jun 2, 2021 Speaking at live CSIS webcast, DOD hypersonic director Mike White says today that US hypersonic weapons now in development can hit targets 500 miles away in 10 minutes. If you do the calculation, that equates to an average speed of Mach 4 over the 10 minute period.

Mach 4 ain't above Mach 5.

On the other side of things the U.S. military defines about anything as a 'threat'. From a recent Wall Street Journal piece about Russia's northern coastline:

The [Russian] military has renovated other airfields across Russias northern coast and deployed S-400 air defense systems and state-of-the-art radar to complicate potential advances from North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.

...

The U.S. has recalculated its own Arctic strategy, pushing plans to put more fifth-generation fighters in Alaska than anywhere else in the country, in an effort to overwhelm the threat from Russias antiaircraft defenses.

Russia's antiaircraft defenses are as much a "threat" to the U.S. as UFO's are.

It is all propaganda. The U.S. military-industrial-media complex is creating a new cold war to justify spending for weapons that are not needed. As Caitlin concludes:

I have no idea what if anything is going on with these UFO phenomena, but I do know the world-threatening new cold war the US is waging against Russia and China is insane. There is no valid reason our planet's dominant power structures cannot at the very least cease brandishing armageddon weapons at each other and begin collaborating toward a better world together. Reject the propagandists and cold warriors, no matter how elaborate or bizarre their manipulations become. Keep an eye on these bastards, and help spread awareness of what they're about.

Posted by b on June 5, 2021 at 18:06 UTC | Permalink

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US Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas): I understand from whats been testified to the Forest Service and the BLM [Bureau of Land Management], you want very much to work on the issue of climate change. We know theres been significant solar flare activity, and so  is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moons orbit, or the Earths orbit around the sun? Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate.

Jennifer Eberlein, associate deputy chief for the National Forest System, responded that she would have to follow up with you on that one, after a brief pause.

Gohmert: Well, if you figure out a way that you in the Forest Service can make that change, Id like to know.
@MJ_JournalRick on Twitter

Richard Payerchin covers Lorain City Hall, business news and other interesting stories for The Morning Journal. Reach the author at rpayerchin@MorningJournal.com or follow Richard on Twitter: @MJ_JournalRick.
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French Creek Family YMCA in Avon is partnering with the Lake Erie Crushers to bring a summer filled with fun and T-ball to the youth of the co
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Courtesy, Southwest Airlines

In mid-May, a Southwest passenger decided to take advantage of the airline's no-fee bag policy and check a pool noodle on a flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Tampa. (Also, her family bet her $20 she wouldn't have the guts to do it.)

In this age of social media, the passenger, Sydney, naturally documented her pool noodle's journey from check-in to baggage claim, creating a delightful TikTok video that's racked up nearly 2 million likes.
The snail kite has been steadily increasing and has quickly developed longer bills to handle the non-native snail morphologically in only a short span of eight years.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed a law establishing legislative district maps to govern elections for the next 10 years after promising as a candidate that he would veto maps drawn by politicians.

Pritzker said in a statement Friday that the lines drawn exclusively by Democrats who control the General Assembly preserve minority representation and follow the strictures of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Illinois strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government, Pritzker said. These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts.

What theyre saying Some of the comments Friday from those who opposed legislative maps drawn by Democrat state lawmakers: "The governor's decision to approve partisan state legislative redistricting maps created by Illinois Democrats to preserve their political power is a slap in the face to every Illinoisan and good governance everywhere. With his signature, Governor Pritzker has shown Illinoisans that their priorities fall behind his personal interests." - Congressman Darin LaHood "As was evident from the final redistricting hearings and statements issued in response to the Illinois General Assembly's map proposals, diverse communities across the state - representing Black, Latinx, Asian-American, Muslim, Jewish, elderly, young, urban, and rural - rejected these maps. These maps do not give us equitable representation for the next 10 years." - Madeleine Doubek, executive director, Change Illinois "I'm extremely disappointed in Governor Pritzker for breaking his promise to the people of this state. These are partisan maps drawn by self-serving politicians who ignored the testimony from good government groups and communities of interest. During this entire process, there was no transparency, the people were ignored, and this was done in a way that was bad for our government." - State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield See More Collapse

The Democrat also signed laws to approve new districts for the Illinois Supreme Court  the first in more than a half-century  and the Cook County Board of Review.

As a candidate for governor in 2018, Pritzker voiced support for an independent commission to draw maps and removing political considerations in placing the lines. He vowed to veto any map authored by politicians, such as these.

But this month, he backed away from the pledge, noting the independent process never materialized. He instead said he would nix an unfair map.

Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, called it a creation of political insiders using flawed data.

He (Pritzker) cares more about keeping power for his political friends than fair elections where the people of Illinois can pick their elected officials, instead of politicians picking their voters, the Republican from Hawthorn Woods said. He proved today that hes just another old-school, tax-raising politician who cannot be trusted.

Political lines must be redrawn after each decennial census to reflect population shifts and preserve voting rights. But the data whose collection requires the remap wont be available year until late summer because of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Republicans and many activists with left-leaning philosophies criticized the maps and their creation because Democrats relied on outdated census data. Democrats pointed to a June 30 deadline for the Legislature to produce maps, but that constitutionally set date merely marks the period after which Democrats would lose exclusive control over them.

Another piece of legislation adopted this week delays the March 2022 primary, which includes the race for governor, until June 28, in part because lawmakers will delay drawing congressional districts until after receiving the official census data.
Tom and Jana Atkins are celebrating their 50th anniversary with a gathering from 3 to 6 p.m. June 12 at Nichols Park Pavilion.

They first met in the halls of Jacksonville High School before being married June 11, 1971, in Jacksonville. They have lived most of their married life in Jacksonville, where they raised their nine children  Elaine, Chrystal, Thomas, David, Robert, Richard, Daniel, Brian and Sarah. They also have been blessed with 30 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Watertown, SD (57201)

Today

Sunny. High around 90F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 57F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph.
NIAMEY, Niger (AP)  Gunmen killed at least 100 people in a northern Burkina Faso village, the government said Saturday, in what was the countrys deadliest attack in years.

The attack took place Friday evening in Solhan village, in the Sahels Yagha province, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement blaming jihadists. The local market and several homes were also burned down in the area toward the border of Niger, he said.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore called the attack barbaric.

This is the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the West African country was overrun by jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago, said Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

It is clear that militant groups have shifted up gears to aggravate the situation in Burkina Faso, and moved their efforts to areas outside the immediate reach of the French-led counter-terrorism coalition fighting them in the tri-state border region, he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Despite the presence of more than 5,000 French troops in the Sahel, jihadist violence is increasing. In one week in April, more than 50 people were killed in Burkina Faso, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist. More than 1 million people in the country have been internally displaced.

A local who did not want to be named, fearing for his safety, was visiting relatives in a medical clinic in Sebba town, approximately 12 kilometers from where the attacks occurred. He said he saw many wounded people enter the clinic.

I saw 12 people in one room and about 10 in another. There were many relatives caring for the wounded. There were also many people running from Solhan to enter Sebba.People are very afraid and worried, he told the Associated Press by phone.

The government has declared 72 hours of mourning.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the killings and offered the world bodys full support to authorities in their efforts to overcome the threats to the peace and stability in Burkina Faso according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

He strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to Member States in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll, Dujarric said in a statement.

Islamic extremists have been increasingly staging assaults in Burkina Faso, especially in the region that borders Niger and Mali.

Last month, gunmen killed at least 30 people in eastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger.

Burkina Fasos ill-equipped army has been struggling to contain the spread of jihadists. The government enlisted the help of volunteer fighters last year to help the army, but the volunteers have incurred retaliation by extremists who target them and the communities they help.

Mali also is experiencing a political crisis that has led to the suspension of international support. France has said it is ceasing joint military operations with Malian forces until the West African nations junta complies with international demands to restore civilian rule.

By SAM MEDNICK

Associated Press
DW, May 30, 2021

A mortar shell struck a wedding ceremony in northern Afghanistan overnight, killing at least six people and wounding four others, a police spokesman said Sunday.

Most of the dead were children, spokesman Shayeq Shoresh said.

The attack happened in the district of Tagab, in Kapisa province, which has seen intense clashes between Afghan government forces and Taliban militants.

Shoresh said the militants had aimed the mortar at an army checkpoint but the shell had missed and hit the wedding ceremony. The insurgents denied they were responsible, instead blaming government forces for the strike on the civilian house.

In a separate attack, six security forces were killed in a roadside bombing near a railway in the country's western Herat province on Saturday.

Meanwhile, at least four people were killed and 11 others injured after a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying students and university lecturers in the northern Parwan province. The so-called Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for that attack on Sunday.

In a separate attack, six security forces were killed in a roadside bombing near a railway in the country's western Herat province on Saturday.

Meanwhile, at least four people were killed and 11 others injured after a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying students and university lecturers in the northern Parwan province. The so-called Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for that attack on Sunday.

Uptick in violence as foreign troops exit

Fighting has intensified in Afghanistan since the US and NATO began withdrawing their troops. US President Joe Biden has said he would pull out all American troops by September 11, 2021, at the latest.

The decision to leave Afghanistan after a troop presence spanning 20 years has led to concerns the Taliban could retake control from the Western-backed government in Kabul.

Taliban insurgents carry out frequent attacks on government forces across the country, with civilians often caught in the crossfire.

Nearly 1,800 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in clashes in the first three months of 2021, according to the United Nations. That's a 29% increase compared to the same period last year.
India pursues fugitive high-end jeweler arrested in Dominica View Photo

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP)  A wealthy jeweler sought by Indian authorities for questioning in an alleged $1.8 billion fraud case in his native India remained under arrest Friday in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica following a brief hearing.

Mehul Choksi is accused of illegally entering Dominica in late May after leaving the nearby island of Antigua, where he had been living after fleeing India. The 62-year-old recently pleaded not guilty, although the case is ongoing and he faces another hearing scheduled for Monday.

His attorneys did not return requests for comment.

Indias federal investigators have been trying to extradite Choksi and his business partner, Nirav Modi, since they fled the country in 2018 and question them about an alleged $1.8 billion scam at a large, state-owned bank.

Modi, who ran an international jewelry empire that reaches from India to New York, with a string of high-end brands, is facing extradition proceedings in London. Modi, whose jewels once adorned stars from Bollywood to Hollywood, has been held without bail in London since he was arrested there in 2019. The two men are believed to have fled India in January 2018 before the alleged scam was discovered.

Indian bank officials say the scam appears to have begun in 2011 and occurred at one Mumbai branch of the enormous state-run Punjab National Bank. The official complaint regarding the $43 million fraud states that the two men worked with a pair of bank employees to get fake letters of understanding. Bank officials say the letters were sent to overseas offices of Indian banks, which made the actual loans. Numerous Indian news reports say the $43 million is just one part of the $1.8 billion fraud.

Choksis company, Gitanjali gems in India, has said Choksi has no connection to many of the firms listed in the $43 million complaint. In a statement, Gitanjali said Choksi has been falsely implicated in the first place.

Police in India raided the homes and offices of Modi and Choksi in 2018 and seized nearly $800 million in jewels and gold.

___

Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP)  Canadas official opposition party wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to use his time at the G7 Leaders Summit to take a stand against China and call for the 2022 Winter Olympics to be moved from Beijing.

Conservative Leader Erin OToole sent the letter Friday as Trudeau is set to convene with other world leaders in the United Kingdom next week.

As the leader of the host nation, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to focus the meeting on efforts to fight COVID-19 and making an economic comeback from the pandemic.

Working with allies on ways to stand up to the threat the Communist Chinese regime poses is one of the main tasks OToole outlines in his letter for the upcoming summit.

As the Prime Minister, I also implore you to also use your voice on the world stage to call for the relocation of the 2022 Winter Olympics out of Beijing, the letter reads.

Canada should not be sending its athletes to compete there while a genocide is being committed against Uyghurs, and two Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, remained detained.

Trudeau has said his government is working tirelessly to bring both men home.

He has also rebuked China for its arbitrary detention of the pair, which Trudeau views as an attempt to exert political pressure on Canada, following the 2018 arrest of senior Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou so she can be extradited to the United States to face fraud charges.
Before final verdict, Mladics bloody legacy divides Bosnia View Photo

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP)  Fikret Grabovica wants to see at least some remorse from wartime Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic when U.N. judges deliver their final verdict for genocide and other war crimes committed during Bosnias 1990s ethnic carnage.

Grabovicas 11-year-old daughter, Irma, was among the 10,000 civilians killed in the relentless shelling and sniping that Serb troops under Mladic inflicted on the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

But an apology is unlikely from the general known as the Butcher of Bosnia for his ruthless campaigns of mass murder and expulsion.

Nearly three decades after Europes worst conflict since World War II, a U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands, is set on Tuesday to close the case against Mladic, the most notorious figure in the 1992-1995 war that killed more than 100,000 people and left millions homeless.

If only he would admit that he made a mistake, that he was wrong, said Grabovica. But that wont happen.

The tribunal sentenced Mladic in 2017 to life imprisonment, after convicting him of masterminding crimes throughout the 1992-95 Bosnian War, including genocide in the eastern enclave of Srebrenica in 1995, where his forces murdered more than 8,000 Muslim Bosnian men and boys.

Mladic appealed, but the case has been repeatedly delayed by his ill health and, more recently, by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many hope the final ruling will bring closure for the victims families and drive home the message that there is no impunity for war crimes.

Sofia Stolk, a researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Institute in The Hague, said the final verdict is important because it closes the tribunals last key case and because it concerns genocide, the deliberate killing of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of its destruction.

Stolk said the reaction in the Balkans to this and other war crimes trials is predictably mixed.

Its both received as having an impact on transitional justice and to contribute to justice for the victims of the crimes committed there and  its also been regarded as a political trial  mastered by the West, Stolk said.

Diametrically opposing views over Mladics wartime legacy reflect deep ethnic divisions that still exist in Bosnia so many years after the war ended with a U.S.-brokered peace agreement. For Bosniaks, mostly Muslim, he is a villain and war criminal. Bosnian Serbs, however, still worship their wartime commander as a martyr and hero.

I cannot accept any verdict, said Serb war veteran Milije Radovic from the eastern Bosnian town of Foca. For me, he is an icon. And for the Serb people, he is an icon.

Nobody can convict him of anything, especially not The Hague tribunal, Radovic said. He is one of us. He is the victim of an international conspiracy by mafioso politicians. He is our man, a man from here, who respected the rules of war.

Posters, monuments and painted images of Mladic can be seen in the Serb-dominated half of Bosnia called Republika Srpska, where many believe Mladics conviction is the result of fabrication and Western support for rival Bosniaks and Croats.

While charged with war crimes in 1995 by the Yugoslav war crimes court, Mladic went into hiding and evaded justice until 2011, when he was caught and handed over to The Hague from neighboring Serbia by its then-ruling pro-Western government.

Ahead of the final verdict, Mladics lawyers have sought acquittal on charges that included orchestrating Europes only post-WWII genocide in Srebrenica, and involvement in numerous other atrocities, including the siege of Sarajevo.

On the other hand, prosecutors werent content that Mladic was convicted for genocide only in Srebrenica and not also in other areas where Bosnian Serb forces under his command tortured, imprisoned, killed and expelled non-Serbs.

One such location is Prijedor in northwest Bosnia, where residents last week commemorated over 100 children killed by Bosnian Serbs. At the time, Bosniaks and Croats were rounded up and forced to wear white ribbons before being sent to prison camps  scenes that reminded many of Nazi crimes.

Mladics son, Darko Mladic, insisted in an interview with The Associated Press that his father is innocent and that his rights have been violated during the trial. The only legally appropriate decision would be to annul the initial conviction, he said.

If the law is to be respected, he should be set free to return home, Darko Mladic said. I never doubted him because I know him so well, I know his character.

Now 79 and in frail health, Mladic was known as a ruthless and fiery commander during the war, who personally led the Bosnian Serbs as they took control over large swaths of Bosnia to create a separate mini-state. Mladic remained defiant during the trial, lashing out at the tribunal as an anti-Serb instrument.

Standing by a monument for the 1601 children who died in the siege of Sarajevo, Grabovica said he could not understand such brutality.

That he would act like that, issue orders to kill innocent children who had just come into this world, who just started to dream their dreams, he said. My little girl was killed like that, who was only 11 and who could not have been guilty of anything,

In Srebrenica, thousands of white tombstones in Islamic tradition mark the graves of the massacre victims. who were rounded up by Mladics troops when they seized the enclave that was under U.N. protection at the time. Their remains are still being excavated from dozens of mass graves.

If he could come here now to see these gravestones, everything would be clear to him, said Djulija Jusic, who lost her two sons and 33 other relatives in the massacre.

He should spend the rest of his life in prison. I dont wish to do him any harm myself. All I wish is that God may let him see the grave of his son as I am watching the graves of my two sons, she said.

___

Jovana Gec and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, Aleksandar Furtula in The Hague, Netherlands, and Sabina Niksic in Sarajevo, Bosnia, contributed to this story.

By ELDAR EMRIC

Associated Press
Far-right troll charged in Capitol riots avoids house arrest View Photo

A federal magistrate on Friday declined to order house arrest for a far-right internet troll charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol after court officials raised concerns about his recent encounters with police officers in Arizona.

U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey warned Tim Baked Alaska Gionet that he acted dangerously and came close to committing crimes while he videotaped himself arguing with a drunken friend and calling police twice. But the magistrate ultimately concluded that Gionet didnt violate any conditions of his pretrial release.

Gionet grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and had grown well known in right-wing politics through his social media appearances.

Gionet was arrested 10 days after the riot in Washington, D.C. He is charged with violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority.

After his arrest in Houston, Gionet initially was ordered to submit to electronic location monitoring, but the court lifted that condition of his release on March 31.

On Jan. 6, Gionet streamed live video that showed himself inside the Capitol and encouraging other protesters to stay. Investigators say Gionet also profanely called an officer an oathbreaker and chanted, Whose house? Our house!

His lawyer has said he only went to Washington to film what happened.

he Justice Department has arrested about 465 people in nearly all 50 states  an average of about three defendants arrested every single day, including weekends, since January 6th. Marine Corps officer, Christopher Warnagiris, the first active-duty service member arrested in the insurrection, was indicted Thursday on nine charges including assaulting an officer.

In Gionets case, a pretrial services officer had recommended imposing home detention and banning Gionet from posting videos to social media or other video sharing platforms. A federal prosecutor concurred with the recommendations.

Harvey rejected both recommendations, but chided Gionet for baiting his friend into fighting in a moving car.

You knew what you were doing, putting the camera in his face, he said. You wanted to get a rise out of him, and you did.

A video of Gionets contact with law enforcement in Arizona on May 26 was posted on YouTube, according to a pretrial services report. Gionet apparently called police that evening to report that a friend and fellow YouTuber had assaulted him, federal prosecutors said in a court filing.

After officers arrived, Gionet agreed to take his friend home. When the friend became belligerent in the car, Gionet called police again and was somewhat uncooperative with the second set of officers who respond, prosecutors said.

He also appears to threaten his friend, they wrote.

Defense attorney Zachary Thornley said Gionet didnt break any laws or violate any conditions of his release.

I really dont know why were all here today, he said during a remote hearing Friday.

Were all here because your client recorded all of this and put it up on YouTube, which a smart person might wonder if thats what you should be doing while youre under court supervision, the magistrate countered.

Prosecutors say the video appears to be a money-making vehicle for Gionet, a social media personality who was listed as one of the speakers at the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted in violence in 2017.

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

Associated Press
Protest erupts again over man killed by Minnesota deputies View Photo

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Protesters faced off with officers in Minneapolis early Saturday over the shooting death of a Black man by members of a U.S. Marshals task force.

Photos from the scene following a vigil for Winston Boogie Smith Jr., 32, showed dumpster fires in the street and a line of officers standing guard. It was the second night of protests in response to the fatal shooting Thursday in Minneapolis Uptown neighborhood.

Police said 27 people were arrested in the protest, with 26 accused of rioting and one facing a weapons charge. No injuries were reported. Some businesses sustained damage, police said.

Authorities said Friday that Smith was wanted on a weapons violation and fired a gun before two deputies shot him while he was inside a parked vehicle. Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were trying to arrest him on a warrant for allegedly being a felon in possession of a gun.

Family and friends described Smith as a father of three who was often harassed by police. They are demanding transparency in the investigation and have asked that anyone who might have video footage to come forward.

Police said some people vandalized buildings and stole from businesses after the shooting Thursday. Nine people were arrested on possible charges including suspicion of riot, assault, arson and damage to property.

The fatal shooting comes as Minneapolis has been on edge since the death of George Floyd just over a year ago, and the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by an officer in nearby Brooklyn Center in April.
Segregationist former Alabama Gov. John Patterson dies at 99 View Photo

Former Alabama Gov. John Patterson, who entered politics as a reformer after his fathers assassination but was criticized for failing to protect the Freedom Riders from angry white mobs, has died. He was 99.

He died Friday, his daughter, Barbara Patterson Scholl, confirmed. She said funeral arrangements are pending. He died very peacefully at home. His family and friends were with him, she said.

Pattersons involvement with state government spanned a half century, beginning with his election as attorney general at 33 after violence in Phenix City, and later as a judge.

A segregationist as governor, he drew criticism when Freedom Riders were attacked while in Alabama and Patterson did nothing to protect them. He later voiced regret for what happened. He ended his political career more serenely on the Court of Criminal Appeals, where he continued to write opinions into his 80s.

Patterson also was involved in the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, helping the CIA get Alabama Air National Guard members to train Cuban exiles. Some Alabama pilots died when the 1961 invasion of Cuba failed.

Patterson was born on his grandparents farm in the tiny Tallapoosa County community of Goldville, but finished high school in Phenix City, where his father, Albert Patterson, was a lawyer. After serving on Gen. Dwight Eisenhowers staff during World War II, Patterson returned home, got his law degree from the University of Alabama and went into practice with his father, Albert Patterson.

Albert Patterson ran for attorney general in 1954 on a platform of cleaning up the vice and illegal gambling that had turned his town into Sin City, U.S.A. He won the Democratic nomination to be the states top prosecutor, but was gunned down in Phenix City on June 18.

Democratic Party officials pressured his son to run for attorney general in his place. He did and won.

In a 2003 interview, Patterson told The Associated Press he had no interest in politics until his fathers death. If he hadnt been killed, I never would have run for public office. Nobody would have ever heard of me outside legal circles, Patterson said.

As attorney general, Patterson kept his fathers campaign promise to clean up Phenix City. He also fought civil rights groups in court. In one case, he got a restraining order to keep the NAACP from operating in Alabama. The restraining order remained until 1964, when it was lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Patterson ran for governor in 1958, beating Wallace in a Democratic primary that focused largely on Pattersons pro-segregation stand.

Patterson was the only person to beat Wallace in an Alabama election.

Four years later, Wallace successfully claimed the segregationist banner to begin his dynasty.

During Pattersons term, Alabama launched a $100 million school building program, increased old age pensions, returned the State Docks to profitability, and enacted a small loan law to curb loan sharks.

But his term also saw attacks on the Freedom Riders who were seeking to integrate bus waiting rooms and lunch counters. Patterson said later he mistakenly trusted police in Birmingham and Montgomery to protect the Freedom Riders, but they didnt.

I regret it, and it was bad for my administration, Patterson said in 2003.

Patterson said he knew segregation couldnt be maintained under the Constitution, but he wanted to delay its end. He said he felt Alabamians would accept integration without violence if change occurred slowly.

Exactly 50 years after the Freedom Riders were beaten by a white mob in Montgomery, Patterson welcomed 10 of them back to Montgomery on May 20, 2011, for the dedication of a museum honoring them.

It took a lot of nerve and guts to do what they did, Patterson said. In a 2009 interview, Sam Webb, co-editor of the book Alabama Governors, said Patterson was a brave and courageous governor on many fronts, but those accomplishments were overshadowed by race issues.

Unfortunately what will stand out in John Pattersons case is his vociferous opposition to civil rights and racial integration, said Webb, a historian at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

During Pattersons term as governor, the CIA began planning for Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and try to overthrow Fidel Castro. A CIA agent approached Patterson about getting members of the Alabama Air National Guard to help train the exiles. Patterson agreed after the agent assured him that President Eisenhower had approved the plan.

About 300 Alabamians helped train Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs invasion, which was not carried out until President John Kennedy replaced Eisenhower in the White House in 1961. On the third day of the invasion, as it was failing, Alabama pilots flew the last bombing mission, and four died.

Kennedy initially denied any U.S. involvement in the invasion, which was a shock to Patterson, who knew differently.

Years later, Patterson disclosed that he had tipped off Kennedy about the invasion plans shortly before the November 1960 presidential election. Patterson, a Kennedy supporter, flew to New York to tell Kennedy out of concern that the Eisenhower administration would carry out the invasion just before the presidential election to boost Vice President Richard Nixons chances of beating Kennedy.

Patterson couldnt seek a second term in 1962 because Alabama law then prohibited consecutive terms. He tried a comeback in 1966, but lost to Wallaces wife, Lurleen. He also ran unsuccessfully for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in 1972.

Patterson, who had been friends with Wallace before their bitter 1958 race, eventually renewed the friendship and helped Wallace in his later campaigns for president and governor. In 1984, Wallace appointed Patterson to a vacancy on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.

He won election to a full six-year term later that year and was reelected in 1990. In January 1997, he had to retire because the state constitution prohibits judges from running for another term after reaching 70.

Still, Patterson continued to work for the court by helping write opinions because he said he enjoyed being a judge more than any office he held.

Current Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey sent her condolences to the Patterson family Saturday.

I am sending my prayers to the family and loved ones of former Governor John Patterson as they mourn his passing, Ivey said in a statement.

___

Phillip Rawls, who retired from the Associated Press, contributed to this report.

By KIM CHANDLER

Associated Press
Democrat says Trump counsel recounted troubling events View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Friday that a nearly eight-hour interview with former President Donald Trumps top White House lawyer shed new light on several troubling events during his presidency, though it was unclear how Democrats would use the information long after investigations into Trumps ties to Russia have concluded.

The closed-door interview with Don McGahn, which came two years after House Democrats originally sought his testimony, was originally part of Democrats efforts to investigate whether Trump tried to obstruct Justice Department investigations into his 2016 presidential campaign. House Democrats sued after McGahn defied an April 2019 subpoena on Trumps orders.

McGahn appeared Friday after an agreement was reached in court to sit for a transcribed interview behind closed doors, with his answers limited to information that had already been publicly released in former special counsel Robert Muellers report on Trump and Russia. That report also came out in April 2019.

Even if the interview unearths new information, Democrats made clear that it was primarily for history, and to set a precedent that executive branch officials must comply with congressional subpoenas. Nadler said in a statement after the interview that it was a great victory for congressional oversight, although two years had been too long to wait.

Since Democrats first subpoenaed McGahn, Trump was impeached twice by the House and acquitted twice by the Senate. Neither impeachment centered on the Russia investigations, in which Mueller pointedly did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice but also did not recommend prosecuting him, citing Justice Department policy against indicting a sitting president.

Still, Muellers report quoted extensively from interviews with McGahn, who described the Republican presidents efforts to stifle the investigation.

In a statement released after the interview, which lasted almost eight hours, Nadler said he could not comment on McGahns testimony, but said McGahn was clearly distressed by President Trumps refusal to follow his legal advice, again and again, and he shed new light on several troubling events today.

Nadler said a transcript of the interview would be available at a later date, as laid out in the court agreement.

At a break in the interview earlier, Nadler said McGahn was being somewhat difficult at times. While the questioning was led by staff, a handful of members of both parties attended, including Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Matt Gaetz of Florida.

Gaetz, a close ally of Trump, said near the end of the meeting that weve learned nothing new.

As White House counsel, McGahn had an insiders view of many of the episodes Mueller and his team examined for potential obstruction of justice during the Russia investigation. McGahn proved a pivotal  and damning  witness against Trump, with his name mentioned hundreds of times in the text of the Mueller report and its footnotes.

McGahn described to investigators the presidents repeated efforts to choke off the probe and directives he said he received from the president that unnerved him. He recounted how Trump had demanded that he contact then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to order him to unrecuse himself from the Russia investigation.

He also said Trump had implored him to tell the deputy attorney general at the time, Rod Rosenstein, to remove Mueller from his position because of perceived conflicts of interest  and, after that episode was reported in the media, to publicly and falsely deny that demand had ever been made.

McGahn also described the circumstances leading up to Trumps firing of James Comey as FBI director, including the presidents insistence on including in the termination letter the fact that Comey had reassured Trump that he was not personally under investigation.

And he was present for a critical conversation early in the Trump administration, when Sally Yates, just before she was fired as acting attorney general as a holdover Obama appointee, relayed concerns to McGahn about new national security adviser Michael Flynn. She raised the possibility that Flynns conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak  and his subsequent interview by the FBI  left him vulnerable to blackmail.

Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean, a member of the committee who attended the interview, said McGahn brought to life the chaos that must have been the White House at that time, with a president in a panic over special counsel Mullers investigation.

She said it was a good day for democracy that McGahn finally fulfilled his obligation to testify.

Trumps Justice Department fought the testimony even after District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2019 rejected arguments that Trumps close advisers were immune from congressional subpoena. President Joe Bidens administration helped negotiate the final agreement.

____

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman and photographer Scott Applewhite contributed to this report.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and ERIC TUCKER

Associated Press
Ex-House member who resigned amid scandal hit with $220K fee View Photo

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Former California congresswoman Katie Hill has been ordered to pay about $220,000 in attorneys fees to a British tabloid and two conservative journalists she had sued after the publication of intimate photos without her consent.

The Democrat who briefly represented a district north of Los Angeles had accused them in a revenge-porn lawsuit of violating the law by publishing or distributing the compromising photos. The lawsuit was thrown out earlier this year on First Amendment grounds, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Hill resigned in 2019 after the publication of the photos and amid a House ethics probe into allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her congressional staffers, which she denied.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco awarded about $105,000 to the parent company of the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. Hill had called for a boycott of the tabloid on Twitter and sought donations for her legal costs.

A judge just ordered me to PAY the Daily Mail more than $100k for the privilege of them publishing nude photos of me obtained from an abuser, she tweeted. The justice system is broken for victims.

A spokeswoman told the newspaper that Hill plans to appeal the rulings that dismissed her lawsuit. An attorney for the Daily Mail did not respond to a request for comment.

The judge previously ordered Hill to pay about $84,000 to the attorneys of Jennifer Van Laar, managing editor of the conservative website Red State, and about $30,000 to lawyers representing radio producer Joseph Messina. Hill initially accused Messina of being part of a conspiracy to distribute the pictures, but dropped her claim against him earlier this year.

Krista Lee Baughman, an attorney representing Van Laar and Messina, told the Times that the ruling showed that those who file speech-chilling (intimidation) lawsuits must pay the price.

Hill, 33, gained national attention in 2018 when she was elected to Congress in a district long under Republican control. She was celebrated as the face of millennial change and was close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow California Democrat.

Less than a year later, as Hill was going through a divorce, Red State published stories alleging that she had an affair with a male congressional staffer and that she and her husband, Kenneth Heslep, had a previous relationship with a female campaign worker. The website and the Daily Mail also published provocative pictures.

Hill confirmed that she and Heslep had a relationship with the campaign worker, which she conceded was inappropriate because the woman was a subordinate.

In December, Hill sued the two media outlets, Van Laar, Messina and Heslep, arguing that they violated Californias revenge-porn law by distributing or publishing intimate images, including photographs that showed her nude.

The publications and Van Laar successfully argued that Hills lawsuit failed to meet the requirements of the revenge-porn statute. They also asserted that they had a First Amendment right to publish information about an elected officials behavior that is newsworthy.

The parent company of Red State has not sought attorneys fees, the newspaper said. Heslep has not filed any legal responses and does not have a lawyer on record in the case.

Hill later wrote a book about her experience and formed a political committee to support women and younger candidates, including those of color. She hasnt ruled out another possible run for public office.
A 21-year-old son of Christian missionaries has been sentenced to death by lethal injection for the double murder of a former boss and a woman in an apartment he mistook for his boss'.

Noah Espada apologized to the families of the victims Wednesday after being sentenced to death. He had been convicted Aug. 9 for the 2004 capital murders of Sandra Ramos, 29, and Luther "Luke" Scott, 30.

"Above all, I don't think words can express the meaning of the sorrow I feel. I want you all to know, though, that no matter what happens, I won't ever forget what I did. I won't ever look at myself in the same way," Espada said. "As a matter of fact, I hate myself the way you hate me. I have no excuse. I'm sorry."

Scott was Espada's former boss at a popular River Walk nightclub.

Espada said in confessions revealed during the trial that he killed Scott because he had been fired two weeks beforehand.

He said he killed Ramos two days earlier when he broke into the wrong apartment looking for Scott.

Scott's mother vented her anguish.

"I cannot tell you how much you have torn apart my family," said Alicia Scott-Abboud, of Annapolis, Md. "I just want you to know that, today, you are here because of the decisions you made. You'll never measure up to be half the man my son was."

Ramos' father, Julio, of Peachtree City, Ga., shared words of peace.

"There is nothing I can say that will bring back my daughter or that will bring back Luke. I am truly sorry for the suffering the Espada family will go through in the years to come. I can only hope that, through their faith and beliefs, they will come to have peace in their hearts," Ramos said.

___

Information from: San Antonio Express-News, http://www.mysanantonio.com
(Editors note: This project is a collaboration between the Plainview Herald and Saint Francis Ministries to showcase kids who are cleared for adoption.)

Johnny has recently found a new interest and talent in learning to cook. He enjoys helping and feeling like he is contributing to his surroundings.

The 15-year-old also enjoys participating in community events and activities. Johnny sees joy and happiness in small things, which other people may miss.

He loves music and playing on his iPad. Johnny has a sweet nature about him and enjoys laughing.

---

Johnny is one of the children listed on the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE) website. Visit https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Application/TARE/Home.aspx/Default for more details.

Saint Francis Ministries is a nonprofit organization and a community-based care provider for the Texas Department of Family Protective Services Region 1. This region includes 41 counties across the Panhandle and South Plains.

To learn more about fostering or adopting, those interested are encouraged to attend one of the monthly virtual meetings hosted by Saint Francis Ministries and other child placing agencies. The meetings provide information about how to get started, the basic qualifications and more, in addition to providing opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

Those interested can visit Saint Francis Texas on Facebook @SFMtexas to register for the online meetings, which can also be found below:

The meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month (Lubbock area  https://lubbock-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com) and the third Thursday of the month (Amarillo area  https://amarillo-area-foster-care-adoption.eventbrite.com).

For more information, please contact Erin Baxter at (806) 317-5631 or email texasinfo@st-francis.org. Visit Saint Francis Ministries online at https://saintfrancisministries.org.
Aljazeera, June 1, 2021

Three bombs rattled the Afghan capital Kabul killing at least 10 people and plunging the city into darkness, an Afghan government spokesman has said.

Two bombs exploded in quick succession in separate locations of a west Kabul neighborhood late on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding a dozen others, said deputy Interior Ministry spokesman Said Hamid Rushan.A third bomb heavily damaged an electric grid station in north Kabul, said Sangar Niazai, a spokesman for the government power supply department.

The initial two bombings, both targeting minivans, happened in a mostly ethnic Hazara area of the capital, said Rushan.

The first exploded near the home of a prominent Hazara leader, Mohammad Mohaqiq, and in front of a Shia mosque. Most Hazaras are Shia Muslims. The second bomb also targeted a minivan but Rushan said details were still being collected.

Police cordoned off the two areas and investigators were sifting through the rubble.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings. The ISIL (ISIS) affiliate operating in Afghanistan has previously declared war on minority Shia Muslims, who make up roughly 20 percent of the majority Sunni Muslim nation of 36 million people.

The ISIL affiliate previously claimed responsibility for several attacks in May on Afghanistans power supply stations in Kabul and in several other provinces.

On May 8, a car bomb and two roadside bombs exploded outside the Syed-al-Shahada girls school, also in a predominantly Hazara neighborhood, killing nearly 90 people, many of them students. No one has claimed that attack but the US blamed ISIL.

US withdrawal

The attacks come as the United States wraps up its longest war by withdrawing the last of its 2,500-3,500 troops along with 7,000 allied NATO forces from Afghanistan. The last soldiers are scheduled to be gone by September 11 at the latest, generating fears of increased chaos in a country already deeply insecure.

Violence has escalated in Afghanistan even as the US struck a peace deal with the Taliban in February 2020 under the previous Trump administration.The agreement called for the last of the US and NATO troops to be out of the country by May 1, 2021. Instead, the withdrawal began on May 1 after US President Joe Biden announced in mid-April that the country was ending its forever war. At the time, he declared armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL had been sufficiently degraded and it was no longer necessary to keep thousands of troops deployed to Afghanistan.

Stalemated peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are set to resume in Qatar, said a member of the Afghan government negotiation team, Nader Nadery.

The two sides have been meeting off and on since September but progress has been slight.

I do not see any sign yet of meaningful talks from the Taliban on key issues to end this senseless war, said Nadery.
May 28

Plainview police responded to the 600 block of W. 11th Street in reference to an assault. They arrested a 36-year-old man who allegedly assaulted a family member. He was also found to be in possession of marijuana. The man was charged with assault and with possession of marijuana.

Officers responded to the 1100 block of W. 9th Street in reference to a call about criminal mischief. The victim reported a damaged window on a vehicle.

An assault was reported at the 2600 block of Yonkers St. on May 28. An individual assaulted two family members  one was elderly and disabled. No arrests were reported.

Officers responded to the 3500 block of Olton Road in reference to a crash involving vehicle damage. No injuries were reported.

Police responded to the 800 block of N. Quincy Street in reference to criminal mischief. Vehicle damage was reported.

A burglary was reported at the 1200 block of W. 21st Street on May 28. A suspect entered an apartment through a torn screen door and stole a cellphone.

May 29

Police responded to the 600 block of N. Interstate 27 in reference to an assault. According to a police report, a man attempted to separate a fight at a bar and was punched and choked by other individuals involved.

Police arrested 27-year-old man at the 600 block of Joliet Street on May 29. The individual was charged with public intoxication.

A hit-and-run was reported at the 1300 block of W. 32nd Street on May 29. Vehicle damage was reported.

Officers responded to a location at W. 24th Street and Quincy in reference to a crash. Private property damage was reported.

Police responded to the 2100 block of Dimmitt Road in reference to criminal mischief. Damage to a vehicle  the back drivers side tire  was reported.

Police arrested 37-year-old Joe Daniel Luna on May 29 around 8th and Nassau. Officers responded to the location in reference to an assault. According to a police report, a vehicle was used during the assault. Luna was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which is a felony.

Sexual assault of a child was reported on May 29.

A crash resulting in an injury was reported at the 1100 block of W. 5th Street.

A crash resulting in an injury was reported at the 500 block of N. Columbia. A vehicle struck a motorcycle. Serious injuries were reported.

An assault was reported at the 1300 block of Jefferson Street on May 29. When police arrived at the location, a male subject had left the residence. A female reported minor injuries and denied medical attention.

May 30

Police responded to the 1100 block of Milwaukee in reference to a report of a stabbing. Upon arrival, a man was uncooperative and denied medical treatment. He also refused to cooperate with police so its unclear if he was injured. No charges have been filed in this incident.

May 31

A theft was reported at the 2400 block of N. Columbia.

Theft from a vehicle was reported at the 1200 block of W. 21st Street on May 31.

Officers responded to the 100 block of W. 9th Street on May 31 in reference to a threat. A victim said an ex made a threat against a family member of the reporting party.

Police arrested a 31-year-old woman on May 31 at the 1200 block of Portland. The individual had an active warrant for assault.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration said Friday it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change.

The reviews by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service are aimed at five Endangered Species Act regulations finalized by the Trump administration, including critical habitat designations and rules defining the scope of federal actions on endangered species. The Fish and Wildlife Service also said it will reinstate the so-called blanket rule, which mandates additional protections for species that are newly classified as threatened. Under former President Donald Trump, those protections were removed.

Habitat designations for threatened or endangered species can result in limitations on energy development such as mining or oil drilling that could disturb a vulnerable species, while the scoping rule helps determine how far the government may go to protect imperiled species.

Under Trump, officials rolled back protections for the northern spotted owl, gray wolves and other species, actions that President Joe Biden has vowed to review. His administration already has moved to reverse Trumps decision to weaken enforcement of the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which made it harder to prosecute bird deaths caused by the energy industry.

The decision on the bird law was among more than 100 business-friendly actions on the environment that Trump took and Biden wants reconsidered and possibly revised or scrapped. The reviews announced Friday follow through on that executive order.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to working with diverse federal, tribal, state and industry partners to not only protect and recover Americas imperiled wildlife but to ensure cornerstone laws like the Endangered Species Act are helping us meet 21st century challenges, said Martha Williams, principal deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The agency looks forward to continuing these conservation collaborations and to ensuring our efforts are fully transparent and inclusive,'' Williams added.

The reviews announced Friday will take months or years to complete. Many rules targeted by Trump originated with former President Barack Obama and took him years to undo, continuing a decades-old, back-and-forth between Democratic and Republican administrations with starkly differing approaches to environmental regulation.

Industry groups and Republicans in Congress have long viewed the Endangered Species Act as an impediment to economic development and under Trump they successfully lobbied to weaken the laws regulations. Environmental groups and Democratic-controlled states battled the moves in court, but those cases remained unresolved when Trump left office in January.

Noah Greenwald with the Center for Biological Diversity said the environmental group was grateful to see the Trump rules being canceled or changed, particularly a rule that would have denied blanket protections for threatened species.

We hope they move quickly so more species arent harmed, Greenwald said.

Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles, who was involved in legal challenges to the Trump rules, said Fridays announcement covered major changes under the previous administration that needed to be addressed. But Boyles said questions remain about what will happen while the new proposals go through a lengthy rule-making process.

These will take time, and in the interim we dont want the harm to continue, she said.

Jonathan Wood, a lawyer for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative law firm that advocates for property rights, said the Biden proposals could backfire by removing incentives for landowners to cooperate in helping imperiled wildlife.

There were some things in the Trump rules that were right, Wood said, citing regulations that he said offered needed flexibility and better incentives to recover endangered species.

This looks basically like a 180-degree reversal,'' he said. "Once again were going to yo-yo back and forth on what the rules are.''

The Biden administration said in January it was reconsidering a Trump rule that removed federal protections for wolves across most of the Lower 48 states, but officials so far have not backed away from the Trump rule and continue to defend it in court. Wildlife advocates have pressed to revive the federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies and Upper Midwest after Republicans in Idaho, Montana and other states made it much easier to kill the predators.

In the final days of the Trump administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service cut by one-third the amount of protected federal old-growth forest used by the spotted owl, a move that was cheered by the timber industry and slammed by Democrats and environmental groups.

The Biden administration has temporarily delayed putting the Trump-era rules into effect in order to review the decision.

Last week, the Biden administration proposed federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, saying its habitat across five states is in danger of becoming more fragmented, with a further toll expected from the effects of climate change and drought. The chickens habitat spans parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas -- including a portion of the oil-rich Permian Basin.

The administration said this week that an extremely rare wildflower that grows only in Nevadas high desert should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Tiehms buckwheat flower grows where an Australian mining company wants to dig for lithium.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
DJIBO, Burkina Faso (AP)  When the jihadis started coming to the town in northern Burkina Faso just to buy food  and not kill people  nervous residents didn't know what to think.

We dont know if it is a pause in fighting or if it will resume. We are just waiting, said one resident of Djibo, the arid, remote town regarded as the current epicenter of the country's extremist violence.

While Burkina Faso's government never confirmed negotiating with Islamic extremists, others said the lull in fighting earlier this year was a sign that a cease-fire of sorts had been reached with the militants blamed for thousands of deaths in recent years.

Now, though, there are growing signs that that truce might be short-lived.

While Djibo remains relatively calm, fighting has surged across the country. More than 50 people died in multiple attacks in a single week in April, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist. The attacks have continued in May.

Suspected jihadis killed 15 people attending a baptism near the town of Tin-Akoff, marking the fourth time this month that the area has been targeted by militants.

While some factions might be negotiating and sticking to the agreements, others are not and could torpedo these negotiations, said Assane Diallo, mediation advisor for The Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss-based organization.

Islamic extremist violence already has left thousands dead and displaced more than 1 million people in this landlocked country that had long been spared the kind of jihadi violence that destabilized neighbors Mali and Niger.

Before presidential elections in November, Burkina Faso's government began quietly negotiating with the jihadists wreaking havoc in the country, according to a diplomat, aid workers, security analysts and two men who say they were militants before the tentative cease-fire.

The secret talks with at least one faction of jihadists active in Burkina Faso  the al-Qaida-linked group known as JNIM  took place near Djibo, the current epicenter of the violence.

The deal included the jihadis allowing peaceful elections to proceed last year in exchange for the release of about 100 prisoners who had been detained for years on accusations of links to extremists. The arrangement also allowed for the militants to move freely in Djibo so they could visit the market and family members, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks.

Initially the tentative truce appeared to be paying off: There was a nearly 50% reduction in clashes between security forces and the jihadis from November to January compared to the three months prior, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Still, there were early signs that the government's mixed messages were undermining the deal. One man who said he'd fought alongside the jihadis said there was confusion about whether anything had really changed.

Even if we all put down the guns and come back to the community, we dont have anything to do. We dont have jobs. The same army might say that we are all delinquents and start arresting us again, said the 27-year-old, who spoke on condition that AP use his nom de guerre, Mohamed Taoufiq, citing fear of government recriminations.

The government army has been accused of committing human rights abuses against people perceived to be working with the jihadis, particularly the ethnic Fulani, who are dominant in Djibo.

While civilians and extremists have so far have been able to coexist in Djibo, the surrounding villages are controlled by jihadis who impose Shariah law on the population, forcing women to cover themselves and men to cut their pants. Women are buying so many veils to hide their faces, that the price spiked nearly tenfold this year, locals said.

The government's minister of reconciliation said earlier this year that the government would never negotiate with international terrorists," though was willing to take back the local Burkinabe fighters among their ranks.

Zephirin Diabre said it was the countrys responsibility to bring back children who were recruited, indoctrinated, influenced, which led to mistakes to take arms against their fatherland."

But there are no established systems to demobilize and reintegrate those who return. And communities said there was a limit to how far the negotiations could go from the start.

There are things well never agree on, like Shariah law. We can negotiate if were able to live like normal human beings, one Djibo resident told The Associated Press amid the lull in fighting.

Some of the jihadis themselves had said they regretted their actions and just wanted to come home.

After three years of working with JNIM, first as a fighter on the front lines and then as a spy, Abu Asharawi said he was relieved when his commanders told him to stop in October, because a deal had been reached. The AP was unable to independently verify that he was a former jihadi though others identified him as having been among the fighters' ranks.

I was so glad to hear the order to let down our guns, because thats what I was longing for. We were tired of fighting and seeing people killed. We did not know how to find the solution, he said.

Still, there have been early signs that not all the jihadis are ready to put down their weapons for good. In a propaganda video filmed in February seen by AP, some militants pledged to continue fighting the government. They promised civilians, though, they wouldnt be targeted so long as they dont help the military.

Let no one be afraid," said a jihadi in the video. "If you dont betray us, we will never deceive you.
Its a cloudy Monday morning when District 1 candidate Mario Bravo, 45, connects to our Zoom call from his backyard. Surrounded by trees and natural light, he gives me a quick tour of the cozy space through the lens of his device.

It got knocked out a little bit from the freeze, but I got a bunch of grapes growing up on the canopy there, he says, pointing toward the lush greenery in the background.

Bravo was one of six candidates who ran for the District 1 seat on San Antonio City Council. On Election Day, a total of 12,569 votes were cast in the downtown district. Councilman Roberto Trevino earned 44.9 percent of the tally (5,645 votes) and Bravo won 33.6 percent (4,225 votes), which resulted in one of five council runoffs that will take place on June 5.

READ MORE: District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino fights for a fourth term

This is Bravos second run for public office. In 2018, he ran for Bexar County commissioner, challenging the late Paul Elizondo for his long-held Precinct 2 seat. Though Bravo came in third in the Democratic primary, he says the experience helped refine the way he communicates with the voters.

It's also worth mentioning that a number of progressive candidates ran for office this election cycle. Bravo is one of three runoff candidates that fit this bill. Jalen McKee-Rodriguez of D2 and Teri Castillo of D5 also campaigned on progressive values.

In a world where spirited, but brief messaging is key to energizing the electorate, Bravos formula of listening to residents and welcoming their input has indeed been fruitful.

"We live in a representative democracy, and so at the end of the day, Im going to have to represent over 130,000 people, he says. It cant just be my ideas.

READ MORE: Rosella Coffee Co. reopens Jones location after months-long closure

Bravo, a project manager for the Environmental Defense Fund, says that Trevinos try-and-stop-me approach of working with the community has left some of his constituents hopeful for new representation.

"When I knock on doors across District 1, what I hear from the voters is,  Trevino listens to the people who agree with him, Bravo says.

Beyond his catalog of criticisms regarding Trevinos leadership , like his handling of the Alamo Master Plan, which Bravo says is "symbolic to so [many] of Trevino 's issues," lies an ardent passion for ethics reform. For example, a few years ago, he whipped votes to prevent a proposed increase in campaign contribution limits at City Hall.

If elected, he plans to move forward with meaningful progress to help solve downtown's homelessness problem. A first step to that, he says, is focusing on property tax relief for homeowners.

We need to stop taxing people out of their homes, he says. Thats the first thing in addressing homelessness.

He believes many residents qualify for a homestead exemption, but are not aware that they can ask for it.

"I believe there are people in low-income zip codes who are carrying a disproportionate amount of our communitys tax burden," he adds.

The climate and air-quality expert would also like to begin exercising checks and balances over CPS Energy, the city-owned utility he believes mismanaged Februarys winter storm by not having previously weatherized their power plants.

People deserve to see whats going on in their government, he says. If you cant see whats going on in your government, its harder to participate.

Bravos supporters come from across the spectrum, from those who want to reduce the influence of big money in local government by advocating for campaign finance reform to those who, in the age of COVID-19, appreciate his commitment to public health. As a leading voice in the environmental community, many activists would likely expect him to do more to comply with the Paris climate agreement, a council resolution that committed to reducing greenhouse emissions to improve air quality.

I feel like when you get in the neighborhood, people know what they want, its just getting our government to be more responsive to their needs, he says. People are busy in their lives. [They are] raising children. They have full time jobs. Theyre trying to make ends meet. How do we make it easier for people to have their voice heard in their government?

His answer is to increase accessibility to SAWS, CPS Energy, and council meetings, giving residents more opportunities for public input and more face time with their elected representatives.

"I want to change the culture of City Hall such that council members arent seen or treated as celebrities, but instead as public servants," he says.

Bravo seems pleased to have earned the endorsement of the Sierra Club and the Express-News Editorial Board, though he knows a solid day of block walking could have more of a bottom-line impact.

At the end of the day, the only endorsements that matter are the voters."
Its a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, and Im on the phone with Councilman John Courage, who is in the midst of a blistering runoff against conservative advocate Patrick Von Dohlen for San Antonio City Council, District 9. The North Side race, intended to be nonpartisan, has drawn plenty of attention for having become a microcosm for the nations deep political divide.

I think all of the people who voted back in May are faced with a very clear decision  myself or my opponent, says Courage, 70. I feel very strongly that they believe that my service [and] my community values are important to them...more so than my opponent.

On Election Day, a total of 25,170 ballots were cast in District 9 and 47 percent (11,853 votes) of voters supported Courage's re-election bid. Von Dohlen ended the night with 35.6 percent (8,978 votes), forcing the incumbent into a second and final round of voting on June 5.

Known for his hands-on approach to staying connected with his constituents, Courage has been criticized by Von Dohlen for a number of his progressive stances, including a moment last year when he raised his fist with nine other council colleagues to show solidarity with local activists police reform efforts after the death of George Floyd.

Historically, District 9 has leaned Republican, so it was a surprise to political observers when Courage defeated frontrunner Marco Barros in 2017.

Courage, who admits he would have preferred to win the contest outright, shares his theory about Von Dohlen's May Day success.

READ MORE: Candidate Rudy Lopez offers fresh ideas for District 5

He explains that having the ill-timed Proposition B on the May ballot, the measure to repeal the San Antonio Police Officers Unions collective bargaining power, tipped the scale in his opponents' favor.

I believe there were a lot of people that came out to vote just for that issue  and in my district its pretty obvious that they were voting against Prop B," he says. "So I think it helped create more votes for my opponents."

Courage didnt advocate for or against the ballot measure because the council is presently in negotiations with the police union about a new contract.

This wasnt the time to start talking about supporting or voting for or against the issue because we're negotiating in good faith with the Police Department," he says.

READ MORE: Some San Antonians have choice words for District 9 candidate Patrick Von Dohlen

On the campaign trail, Courage plans to continue letting people know that he supports the Police Department, which he always has.

In fact, during his days as U.S. Air Force police officer Courage proudly wore the blue.

"So I recognize, to a certain extent, what our San Antonio police officers do on a daily basis and I have the utmost respect and admiration for what they do, he says.

I think that the voters who voted for me, showed up to vote for me, not to vote for or against the issue, he says. I feel confident that many, if not all of them, will come out again and vote for me which will enable me to continue serving.

Still, Von Dohlen, who has lost twice to Courage, is clearly pulling out all stops to win this time.

This gentleman has run three times and hes been rejected all three times, Courage says. Its pretty easy to understand that the majority of the people in this district dont agree with a lot of his ideas, his idealism, or his politics."

Being in elected office is no doubt challenging, especially during troubling times. I ask him how he manages to remain so seemingly calm and centered on the dais.

Well, the first thing is to be a good listener, [and] not to go anywhere with an agenda or with my opinion first, he says in measured tones. Next, I want to make sure that I dont take things personally. He adds that people can often be very passionate about what they say to him, whether it be for or against an issue.

The third piece is his belief that all stakeholders have a seat at the table.

I want to hear all sides, he says. You cant make a reasonable or responsible decision from [hearing] just one side of an issue."

When I ask Courage to weigh in on District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino s endorsement of candidate Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, the runoff opponent of D2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan, he says it's a move he wouldn't have made.

I will tell you I have not endorsed and am not endorsing anyone on the council, he says. "I think its better for us to go ahead and make sure that were in good standing with every council member and every candidate for office because you never know who youre gonna work with.

Contentedly, he adds, I learned a long time ago  dont burn any bridges behind you.
Recently, while on the District 5 campaign trail, council candidate Rudy Lopez received first-hand experience about an unresolved city issue when he was pursued, then bitten by a roaming dog.

In hindsight, the neighborhood leader has a sense of humor about the incident. When youre walking, you shouldnt have to be running away from a dog that wants to attack you, right? Lopez says via phone, still chuckling.

I know that we need improvements with Animal Care Services, and some major education in [the district] about how to take care of your pets, he adds. Maybe some spay/neuter programs so there wont be so many loose animals in District 5.

Lopez, 51, is in a tense runoff against progressive Teri Castillo, an energetic housing advocate, for the District 5 seat on San Antonio City Council. The winner of this election will usher in a new era for the West Side district, as incumbent Shirley Gonzales has reached the end of her term limit.

READ MORE: Progressive Teri Castillo offers a new direction for District 5

On polling day, 11 candidates competed for the open seat and a total of 6,769 votes were cast in the district. Castillo captured 30.7 percent of the votes (2,077 votes) and Lopez trailed with 14.7 percent (991 votes). Because neither candidate surpassed the 50 percent threshold, the contest will be decided in a June 5 runoff along with four other council races.

Lopez, a retired City employee, has spent the last eight years honing his skills as a hyper-local community leader. In this role as the vice president, then president of the Thompson Neighborhood Association, he worked directly with Gonzales office throughout her tenure, establishing a working relationship with the councilwoman whose leadership he has since publicly praised. She later appointed Lopez to serve on three city commissions, which gave him the experience of collaborating with developers to bring more services to San Antonios geographically smallest council district.

One of the biggest things that everybody knows about...they cant miss it...is the Baptist Emergency Hospital at Cupples and 90, he says. That was a two-year project to bring that hospital into our community. Prior to that, we didnt have any emergency hospitals in District 5.

If elected, Lopez also plans to enhance senior services.

That [is a matter] I hold closest to my heart, he says tenderly. I take care of both my parents. Theyre in their late 80s already.

In District 5, weve got an aging group of people," he continues. "Senior services is first for me because I know how hard it is for seniors to get the services all of our seniors deserve."

Lopez reminds me that there are many grandparents in his district who are raising their grandchildren.

So we need to make sure we have good afterschool and youth programs so kids are not just hanging out at home or hanging out in the streets, he says.

READ MORE: 'It is a truly a 24/7 job:' Police spokeswoman reveals what it's like working for SAPD as a mom

Since I started walking in January for my campaign, one of the universal things that I heard out there, more than COVID-19, was public safety," he says, still surprised by these findings. "There are a lot of people out there in District 5 who think we need more officers  of course, we need better officers  and better response time."

According to Lopez, the failure of Proposition B, the ballot measure that was defeated by two percentage points, indicates that residents continue to be concerned about police reform.

We need some accountability with our officers as you would with any other public servant," he says. "We also need to make sure that we are putting out the best officers that we can put out, officers that are invested in the communities.

Lopez won Gonzales' endorsement, but makes it clear that, if he wins, his term in office would not be an echo of his predecessor's administration.

First of all, Im not Shirley Gonzales, he says. Im coming in with fresh thoughts and fresh ideas. Shirley knows me and so does her staff. If Shirley gives me an endorsement, its because she knows the work that Ive done.

Lopez also won endorsements from State Rep. Ina Minjarez and the San Antonio Police Officers Association.

Camp Lopez is very excited, he intones with enthusiasm. Camp Lopez is very unified.

The political newcomer describes his campaign as extremely grassroots. I started off walking by myself, he says.

Later, his family and friends joined in, meeting every weekend for a hearty breakfast at the Arizona Cafe, before a busy day of knocking on doors.

Its been really exciting and I know my family is very excited about helping me to get to this point, he says. It brought such joy to them and smiles to their faces to see me get to the runoffs."

Election Day is June 5.
Hero rat that sniffed out over 70 landmines retires The Hill

Fruit flies get hangry without food, study shows Sky News

Deliberately Patient Heisenberg Report. On Mays Job Report.

G7 set to strike deal on global corporate taxation FT

Self-Driving Cars Could Be Decades Away, No Matter What Elon Musk Said WSJ. As NC readers will not be surprised to learn.

#COVID19

Global trends in clinical studies of ivermectin in COVID-19 (PDF) The Japanese Journal of Antibiotics (peer reviewed, published by Japan Antibiotics Research Association). 52 pages, worth the pot of coffee. Or you can skip to 6. Conclusion:

The effective concentration of ivermectin against SARS-CoV-2 in an in vitro experiment by Caly et al. is as high as 2 M; in clinical practice, it is necessary to administer tens of times the normal dose in order to obtain such a blood concentration. Therefore, there are opinions from the IDSA98) and others that the therapeutic effect of COVID-19 cannot be expected by the administration of the normal dose of ivermectin. However, in actual medical practice, there are many study reports demonstrating that the administration of a normal dose does indeed show a clinical response. As of the 27th of February 2021, the results of 42 clinical studies worldwide have undergone meta-analysis and concluded that ivermectin is effective in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. In the UK, a consensus-based recommendation by 75 healthcare professionals from 17 countries around the world has been carried out and submitted to the WHO to further encourage the issuance of guidelines for the use of ivermectin in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. We must consider why such a discrepancy is occurring.

Indeed! Lots of good data on Merck, too. A continuing theme is that many of the small studies are doctor-initiated, and therefore lack the funding that enables a full-blown RCT. The article comments:

Although these doctor-initiated trial results may appear at first glance to be of a poor quality and biased (to eyes familiar with the results of company-oriented clinical trials in the clinical development of traditional anti-infective agents), physicians involved in these trials are enthusiastic about avoiding bias and need to understand the attitude of seriously assessing the efficacy and safety of a study drug. It must be appreciated that they are truly striving to treat and prevent the onset of COVID-19 in patients, for non-profit motives.

Oh, and if I search for Ivermectin on the iOS Twitter app, I get generic Covid hits only, and nothing on Ivermectin. Same with #Ivermectin. On the desktop version, I get Ivermectin hits as expected. This behavior seems curious. Can readers confirm?

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The Lab-Leak Theory: Inside the Fight to Uncover COVID-19s Origins Vanity Fair

The Groupthink That Produced the Lab-Leak Failure Should Scare Liberals Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine

Scientists fear future leaks as top-level labs proliferate FT

* * *

Anthony Fauci: Americas doctor under siege FT

Anthony Faucis Most Revealing Emails From FOIA Request The American Conservative

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The New COVID-19 Normal Is Not Good Mike the Mad Biologist

Patterns in COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage, by Social Vulnerability and Urbanicity  United States, December 14, 2020May 1, 2021 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. From the Abstract: Outreach efforts, including expanding public health messaging tailored to local populations and increasing vaccination access, could help increase vaccination coverage in counties with high social vulnerability. From the text: Outreach efforts, including expanding public health messaging tailored to local populations and increasing vaccination access , could help increase vaccination coverage in high-SVI counties. Interesting deletion.

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California Continues to Record Dozens of Workplace Covid Outbreaks Every Day Labor Notes

Paradigm Lost: Lessons For Long COVID-19 From A Changing Approach To Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Health Affairs

U.S. authorizes Regenerons COVID-19 antibody therapy for injection Reuters
(Natural News) What is happening in California right now is going to affect every man, woman and child in the entire country. Today, California has 24.6 million acres of farmland, and the state produces more of our fruits and vegetables than anyone else by a very wide margin. So if agricultural production is dramatically reduced because of the endless megadrought that currently has the state in a death grip, that is going to be a major problem for all of us. If you visit the official U.S. Drought Monitor website, you will see that nearly all of California is experiencing either extreme drought or exceptional drought right now. Things have been so hot and so dry for so long that Governor Gavin Newsom has decided to declare a drought emergency in more than two-thirds of the counties in the state

(Article by Michael Snyder republished from EndOfTheAmericanDream.com)

The state is facing yet another hot, dry summer ahead, and the governor has declared a drought emergency in 41 of the states 58 counties. More than 37 million Californians reside in these drought areas, according to the US drought monitor. This is without precedent, Newsom said at a news conference announcing the first two declarations in April, speaking from the bed of Lake Mendocino that had been reduced to arid, cracked clay. Not long ago, he would have been standing under 40ft of water. Oftentimes we overstate the word historic, but this is indeed an historic moment.

Newsom is not exactly known to be a straight shooter, but in this rare instance he is telling it like it is.

This isnt just a crisis. This is a major crisis of epic proportions that isnt going away any time soon.

Without enough water to function normally, many California farmers have already been faced with some absolutely heartbreaking decisions. For example, farmer Joe Del Bosque said that it was a sad day when he recently had to destroy 100 acres of organic asparagus

In Fresno and Merced counties, farmers are making tough decisions, abandoning thousands of acres of lower-value, high-water crops like almond and asparagus fields, for more valuable produce. Its a really sad day, Fresno Countys Joe Del Bosque told the Bay Area News Group, after destroying 100 acres of organic asparagus to divert precious water to more valuable melons. The water is so uncertain this year. We didnt think wed have enough to carry it through.

Del Bosque hasnt given up on this year completely yet. He is still hoping to salvage a melon crop, but he openly admits that he is taking a big risk by planting anything at all

Were taking a big risk in planting crops and hoping the water gets here in time, said Del Bosque, 72.

So what happens if the water never arrives?

For Del Bosque and countless other California farmers that have decided to risk planting crops, a potentially historic crop catastrophe could be looming.

In Fresno County, another farmer named Daniel Hartwig isnt taking any chances. He has pulled out nearly 400 acres of prime-production almond trees because there simply will not be enough water in the system to irrigate them

Were removing 15-year-old, prime-production almond trees, said Daniel Hartwig of Woolf Farming in Fresno County. Were pulling out almost 400 acres, simply because theres not enough water in the system to irrigate them, and long term, we have no confidence that there would be water in the future. Woolf Farming buys water from the Westlands Water District, a contractor of the federal Central Valley Project. Two consecutive dry winters, combined with environmental requirements on the CVP, led the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to allocate only 5% water supplies to Westlands and other contractors in Februaryand then to suspend even that amount a few weeks later.

California normally produces 81 percent of our almonds.

Needless to say, the price of almonds is going to go up.

A lot.

And it isnt just almonds that will potentially be in short supply. California produces 99 percent of our artichokes, 99 percent of our walnuts, 97 percent of our kiwis, 97 percent of our plums, 95 percent of our celery, 95 percent of our garlic and the list goes on and on.

Without a doubt, this is a crisis that is truly national in scope.

Over in Butte County, water levels in Lake Oroville have dropped dangerously low. The lake provides drinking water for 25 million California residents, but at this point the water is so low that houseboat owners are facing a mandatory removal order

Houseboats are being hauled out by the dozen as drought conditions are forcing big boat owners on Lake Oroville out of the water. Houseboat owners told CBS13 they got letters saying their boats would be removed no matter what. The lake is down to one of the last launch ramps at Bidwell Canyon Marina. Boaters are forced to descend lower and lower to keep up with water levels.

Any houseboat owner that did not willingly haul their boat away is being forced by the state to rent space in a nearby parking lot.

And those houseboat owners may not be able to return to the lake any time soon, because water levels are expected to be significantly lower by October

One boat owner said they were given the choice of either hauling their own boats away or paying the state to rent the parking lot. Many were seen standing on the lakes basin which would have been completely underwater just months ago. Forecasts indicate that by October, the reservoir, which provides drinking water to more than 25 million people, will see its lowest water levels for four decades.

The drought just continues to get worse and worse.

All over the state, you can find receding reservoirs with bathtub rings of newly exposed earth and crops withering in the fields as Dust Bowl conditions spread.

Without any hope that things will turn around any time soon, the California Department of Water Resources is warning that severe water restrictions may be instituted soon.

Of course California is far from alone. As you can see from the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, this megadrought has gripped much of the western half of the country.

Rivers and lakes are drying up, millions and millions of acres of agricultural production are at risk, and the dust storms are starting to get so large that you can literally see them from space.

For years, I have been warning that Dust Bowl conditions would return, and now it has happened.

This drought is one of the biggest news stories of the year so far in 2021, and we all need to monitor future developments very carefully.

Because food prices have already been rising at a very frightening pace, and this megadrought threatens to send them soaring even higher.

Read more at: EndOfTheAmericanDream.com and CaliforniaCollapse.news.
(Natural News) Revered scientific journal The Lancet has created a task force to investigate the origins of the coronavirus that caused a global pandemic, yet it has decided to employ as its leader the very guy who funded the dangerous gain of function research at the Wuhan lab and subsequently allegedly bullied other scientists into avoiding looking into the lab as a potential source of the outbreak.

(Article by Steve Watson republished from Summit.news)

In the wake of renewed scrutiny of the lab leak hypothesis, the Lancets task force will reportedly focus on analyzing data on all of the theories put forward on the origins of COVID, on the reasons why SARS-CoV-2 was able to break out of Wuhan and spread globally, and on the most plausible strategies to prevent future pandemics.

It also states that The Task Force will review thoroughly and objectively all publicly available evidence, particularly the peer-reviewed literature, and conduct interviews with key leaders in science, medicine, policy and civil society.

Objectively. Right.

Dr. Peter Daszak, who is heading up this task force, is perhaps the least suitable scientist on the planet to objectively analyse the data, given his track record.

Daszak, as President of the EcoHealth Alliance, shovelled at least $600,000 to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the past few years to play around with coronaviruses inside the lab through the now infamous gain of function research.

Daszak, who also works for the World Health Organisation, is on record admitting that he was involved with manipulating coronaviruses. Here is a video of him talking in DECEMBER 2019 about how good the viruses are for altering in a lab:

Daszak notes that coronaviruses are pretty good you can manipulate them in the lab pretty easily the spiked proteins drive a lot about what happens. You can get the sequence you can build the protein, we work with Ralph Baric at UNC to do this, insert into the backbone of another virus and do some work in a lab.

No wonder then that Daszak as lead investigator for the WHO investigation determined within 3 hours of visiting the Wuhan lab in February 2021 that there was nothing to see here?

Recently released emails now document that Daszak thanked Dr Fauci for dismissing the lab leak theory before any scientific research had been done on the possibility.

Daszak was later employed as an expert fact checker by Facebook when it was monitoring and removing misinformation about the origins of COVID on its platform, much of which was credible scientific research. Facebook has since reversed the policy of banning any posts containing information suggesting COVID-19 was man-made.

Daszaks Twitter profile is basically one long it came from bats not a lab thread, much to the annoyance of some other scientists:

Having approved the awarding of NIH funding to Wuhan Institute of VirologytwiceFauci has a massive conflict of interest on subject. Failure to disclose this conflict of interest represents journalistic malpractice.  Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) May 5, 2020

Why does this guy keep getting put in charge of investigations, task forces and fact checking, when its abundantly clear that he has the biggest motive to dismiss the lab leak notion?

As microbiologist Professor Richard Ebright has noted, Daszak was the contractor who funded the laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that potentially was the source of the virus with subcontracts from $200million [142million] from the US Department of State and $7million [5million] from the US National Institutes of Health and he was a collaborator and co-author on research projects at the laboratory.

Daszak has already lied about the type of research that was being conducted at the Wuhan lab, claiming, after the outbreak happened, that he didnt know if it was gain of function or not. His own previous statements, and the Fauci emails prove he knew full well what was going on in the lab.

In addition, as reported by The Daily Mail and other outlets, Daszak orchestrated a bullying campaign and coerced top scientists into signing off on a letter to The Lancet aimed at removing blame for Covid-19 from the Wuhan lab he was funding with US money.

Daszak used his influence to get the journal to publish the letter, which stated that to even suggest the lab leak theory had any credibility was equal to spreading fear, rumours, and prejudice.

It effetely shut down discussion among the scientific consensus of the lab leak potential for a whole year until intelligence findings brought the matter back to the attention of the mainstream media.

WHO scientific advisor Jamie Metzl described Daszaks letter as scientific propaganda and a form of thuggery and intimidation.

By labelling anyone with different views a conspiracy theorist, the Lancet letter was the worst form of bullying in full contravention of the scientific method, Metzl added.

The letter further stated that We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid-19 does not have a natural origin, and even had the audacity to state that We declare no competing interests.

Indeed, Daszak had made sure that the letter would be devoid of any link to EcoHealth, and even considered leaving his own name off it, emails released via the Freedom of Information Act have revealed.

To make matters worse, the other members of The Lancets task force are practically all minions of Daszak, some of whom helped him draft the letter that unequivocally stated the lab leak theory was dangerous, and others who either worked with him on fact checking for Facebook, or were cited as sources during that activity.

Taking all this into account, it is obvious what the outcome of The Lancets inquiry will be, and it should not and cannot be used as credible evidence against the lab leak theory.

Read more at: Summit.news and Conspiracy.news.
TOLO News, June 4, 2021

By Khaled Nikzad

Mina Khairi, a presenter at Ariana News, and her mother are among the victims of Thursday afternoons blast in Kabul that killed four people, the head of the Ariana News, Sharif Hassanyar, confirmed.

Minas sister was wounded in the incident.

She went home from the office on Thursday and then went outside with her mother and sister to buy food. They took a minivan and were on their way home when the blast happened.

The blast happened at around 1:45 pm local time in Chahar Qala area Kabuls District 6, targeting a small bus.

Six more civilians, including two women and a child, were wounded in the explosion.

Four more civilians were killed in another in the west of Kabul on the same day. Five more civilians were wounded in the blast.

Mina Khairi, 23, worked for Ariana and Ariana News for five years.

She studied. She made efforts and wanted to serve her country But the fate of these youth is under the control of those who claim to do jihad in this country, said Yusuf, Minas uncle.

We will continue our activities. Freedom of speech was a red line for Mina Khairi and was one of her wishes and we will continue her path, said Sharif Hassanyar, head of Ariana News.

Three members of another family were also killed in the two blasts west of Kabul on Thursday.

It is impossible to tolerate this pain. What was the sin of the two innocent children and the woman who were killed (in the blasts)? asked Fraidoon, brother of a victim.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Mohaqiq, a senior presidential adviser, said on a Facebook post that the president has rejected a national and people-oriented plan for the security of the west of Kabul.

But the Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danesh said the recent killings in the west of Kabul are organized, reiterating that the security agencies should either the plan prepared by the people for the west of Kabul or they should prepare a proper plan to ensure the safety of the residents of western Kabul.

Security agencies and those who are in the government are directly responsible for ensuring the safety of the people. They must act promptly against the repeated killings and the genocide in the west of Kabul and they should be responsive for the people, Danesh said.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission also called for an end to the killing of civilians.

We call on the international community to fulfill its moral and legal responsibility towards the protection of the rights of Afghan citizens and end of the war so that human rights are not violated anymore, said Zabihullah Farhang, head of the media office of the commission.

This comes as TOLOnews anchor Nemat Rawan was killed in an attack by unknown armed men in Kandahar on May 7.

According to a recent report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, at least 11 human rights defenders and media workers were killed in targeted attacks in Afghanistan from September 2020 to January 31, 2021.

A total of 65 human rights defenders and media professionals were killed in the period from January 1, 2018, to January 31, 2021, the report said.
(Natural News) Residents of nursing homes where Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines have been widely administered are suddenly coming down in droves with Chinese Virus infection, which the mainstream media is already referring to using the word outbreak.

Even though every resident and worker, in many cases, had already gotten jabbed, new cases of the Wuhan Flu are reportedly emerging like wildfire all across the country. This has caused many Branch Covidians who believed the injections would save us all from the scourge of Chinese Germs to scratch their heads in confusion.

If the government is to be believed, then getting injected with a Wuhan Flu shot should have cured everyone already and brought about the new normal. Instead, there is now more disease than ever before in many elderly care facilities where Chinese Virus needles have already been plunged into every arm.

The mainstream media, of course, is already trying to blame the unvaccinated for these outbreaks, even though every individual coming down with and spreading Chinese Disease was already vaccinated. This must be the bizarre new logic that goes along with the new normal.

According to the official numbers, 472 nursing home deaths that occurred during the first two weeks of May are being attributed to covid. This is down from 10,675 covid deaths in the same population during the first two weeks of January.

The medical establishment is struggling to come up with some kind of narrative for this anomaly, refusing to acknowledge the fact that Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines  and more specifically, the spike proteins they contain  are what is spreading this new wave of Chinese Disease.

CDC blames unvaccinated for vaccine-induced injuries and deaths

As expected, the government is trying to make the case that unvaccinated people are somehow responsible for all the sickness and death spreading among the vaccinated. Ironically, this claim, if true, only proves that covid vaccines do not work as claimed.

If they did, then vaccinated people would not be contracting the Chinese Virus from the unvaccinated because they would already be immune to it. And we also wonder: Why are unvaccinated people not also getting sick?

The Associated Press (AP) cites a claim from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that suggests unvaccinated visitors to nursing homes are spreading illness to vaccinated workers and elderly residents. How does this even make sense?

Would not these unvaccinated visitors also be sick? And why are only vaccinated people getting sick with the Chinese Virus? These and other questions are never even addressed by the fake news media, let alone answered.

Anyway, you can expect to see increasingly more articles from the lying media claiming that unvaccinated people are magically spreading disease to the vaccinated. Those running this whole scheme apparently think the vaccinated masses have been dumb-down enough to believe such pseudoscientific tripe.

Also notice that they always use the elderly, the young and other vulnerable groups as the emotional, heart-tugging bait to push the next stage of medical fascism. In this case, they want us all to feel sorry for the old people dying from covid that we all rush out to get injected again, and again, and again until the media tells us that herd immunity has been reached.

Youd be better off signing up for sitting on death row rather than take the jab, a commenter at Natural News wrote. You would grow to a ripe old age going thru all the appeals, in comparison to this speedy death sentence.

Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections are unsafe, ineffective and are spreading more disease. To keep up with the latest, check out ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

APNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The recently released emails from White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci show that he colluded with Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to fearmonger about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) before the 2020 election.

The emails were obtained through several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made by mainstream news agencies like Buzzfeed News and the Washington Post.

Zuckerberg leveraged the coronavirus pandemic

In one email sent by Zuckerberg on March 15, 2020, the social media giant asked Fauci if the latter would be willing to appear in a question-and-answer-style video where the doctor would answer common questions people at the time had regarding the coronavirus.

Zuckerberg said it would be useful for him if Fauci appeared in the video because people trust and want to hear from our experts rather than just a bunch of agencies and political leaders.

The video would be highlighted by Facebooks centralized COVID-19 hub. This is the system the gargantuan social media network uses to filter what it has determined to be facts and misinformation regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

This isnt public yet, but were building a Coronavirus information Hub that were going to put at the top of Facebook for everyone (200+ million Americans, 2.5 billion people worldwide) with two goals (1) to make sure people can get authoritative information from reliable sources and (2) encourage people to practice social distance and give people ideas for doing this using internet tools.

Along with the question-and-answer video with Fauci, Zuckerberg said he will also do a series of livestreamed question-and-answer videos with other supposed health experts. He would leverage his large following on the platform  his personal Facebook page has over 100 million followers  to provide what he called authoritative information on the coronavirus. (Related: Email: Researcher who funded Wuhan lab admitted to manipulating coronaviruses, thanked Fauci for dismissing lab leak theory.)

On March 17, Fauci replied to Zuckerbergs proposal very positively.

Your idea and proposal sound terrific, the doctor wrote. I would be happy to do a video for your hub. We need to reach as many people as possible and convince them to take mitigation strategies seriously or things will get much, much worse.

Zuckerberg staffed his company with veteran Democrat operatives. For the 2020 election, he used his immeasurable wealth to fund critical election infrastructure. He poured around $400 million into election processes across the country. The details of how the tech giant spent his money remain unknown. Experts speculated that Zuckerbergs funding gave Democrat-leaning counties massive spending advantages, especially in battleground states.

This, combined with Zuckerbergs exchange with Fauci regarding COVID-19, leads to more questions regarding the integrity of the 2020 election, which is already marred with allegations of fraud and corruption.

Fauci and Zuckerberg talked about the coronavirus vaccine

This was not Fauci and Zuckerbergs only conversation in the released emails  nor was it the first.

In one message from Feb. 2020, Zuckerberg emailed Fauci with an offer to help the federal government potentially accelerate the development of coronavirus vaccines. Zuckerbergs offer of aid included a proposal to donate a lot of money and resources through his foundation.

If we start in April (~6-7 weeks from now) with a phase 1 trial of 45 subjects, it will take another 3-4 months to determine safety and some immunogenicity. The next step is phase 2 for efficacy, replied Fauci. We may need help with resources for the phase 2 trial if we do not get our requested budget supplement. I believe that we will be OK. If this goes off track, I will contact you. Many thanks for the offer. Much appreciated.

This email and several others between Fauci and Zuckerberg included details regarding lucrative financial deals. But these were redacted as a FOIA b(4) exemption. This allows government agencies to redact information that they consider trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person which is privileged or confidential.

Little information is known about these deals because of the heavy censoring. In one email, Fauci called it very exciting.

Courtney Billet, an official in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  which Fauci leads as the director  described the censored proposal as an even bigger deal than Faucis question-and-answer-style video deal with Facebook.

Billet and Fauci exchanged several emails talking about the best way Zuckerbergs proposal could be brought to the attention of the higher-ups in the then-Republican controlled White House.

Within days of Billets email to Fauci, reports emerged that Facebook had struck up a deal with the White House to provide the federal government with location data of social media users.

Learn more about how federal officials like Fauci and social media giants like Zuckerberg influenced the 2020 election by reading the latest articles at VoteFraud.news.

Sources include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

Breitbart.com

LifeSiteNews.com

TheFederalist.com
HARTFORD  Legislative action is fast and furious in the waning days of the 2021 session. Here are some brief recaps of legislation from the state Capitol on Friday.

The Senate voted 26-9 to allow the state attorney general to pursue cases of civil rights violations. It heads to the House.

Attorney General William Tong hailed the bipartisan vote in the Senate as an historic step forward for civil rights enforcement in our state.

The vote comes just days after the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, amid a rise in anti-Asian violence, bigotry and acts of antisemitism, and as authorities investigate heinous nooses hanging from an Amazon construction site. Those are reminders, Tong said, that we can never take our civil rights and liberties for granted.

Solitary confinement bill goes to the House

The Senate also voted 26-10 Friday to pass a bill that would prevent the Department of Correction from ordering solitary confinement for more than 72 hours within a 14-day period. The bill, which now heads to the House of Representatives, would require the DOC to first de-escalate crisis situations and use less-restrictive measures on the incarcerated.

It culminates a multi-year effort by state Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, who brought in boxlike rooms to the Capitol building for passersby to sit inside for a simulation of solitary confinement  complete with an eerie soundtrack.

I have spent hours in the cell and I have to tell you then, in not too long a period of time  I became disoriented, Winfield said in the Senate debate. Its impossible to keep track of time. You lose sense of things that are important to have as a human being. This is about the way in which we treat people who have done things to land in prisons, but are still human beings.

Law based on Dulos case wins final approval

Heading to Gov. Lamonts desk is a law to expand the criminal definition of domestic violence to include non-physical violence or "coercive control." If signed into law, the expanded definition of domestic violence, which includes a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating acts that harm a person and deprive them of their freedom, autonomy and human rights, will apply to restraining orders, divorce and custody cases.

The bill also establishes a new program to provide legal representation for victims of domestic violence who apply for restraining orders. And if a victim receives a restraining order, and rents her home, she now has the right to change her locks to keep her home safe. The bill also allows someone to be charged for a hate crime if they assault a person "in substantial part" because of their race, religion, country of origin or sexuality.

The bill was inspired in large part by the high profile case of New Canaan mother Jennifer Dulos who vanished in May 2019 and whose estranged husband was charged in her death and disappearance before his own death. The couple had been engaged in a lengthy divorce battle.

Lets not think about one victim of domestic violence or even two victims of domestic violence, but as been said, this is an issue that affects so many in so many communities around our state and have for so long, said Rep. Steve Stafstrom, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, prior to the 134-8 House vote.

Red-flag legislation heads to Lamont

After little debate, the Senate adopted a measure strenthening Connecticuts so-called red flag legislation. First adopted more than 20 years ago, the measure would make it easier for law enforcement to obtain court orders and seize firearms as well as other deadly weapons from people whose family members or medical professionals fear could harm themselves or others  before a crime is committed.

The vote was 23-12 on party lines, with Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, absent. The House has already approved the measure, which now goes to the governors desk.

John Kissel, R-Enfield, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said ample laws regarding gun regulations and rules already exist in Connecticut and the bill, as proposed, is an encumbrance on individuals constitutional rights.

On balance, I just think that lawful gun owners have done more than their fair share over the past couple years, Kissel said. I dont see any need at this point in time for new gun laws.
Connecticuts top educators make more than $29 million combined, with three Fairfield County superintendents bringing in more than $300,000 each per year.

Staff at Hearst Connecticut compared 153 superintendent contracts received under Freedom of Information requests in February, March, April and May, specifically looking at salary, mileage reimbursements and vacation, sick and personal time for the 2020-21 school year.

Seventy-one public school superintendents in Connecticut make more than $200,000 per year in salary, with tax sheltered annuities and bonuses for doctorate degrees included.

Salaries range from $150,000 to $315,000 for full-time superintendents and from $40,000 to $125,000 for part-time superintendents. The average salary for a superintendent in Connecticut is $191,000 per year; among full-time superintendents, its $209,000 annually, or nearly $60,000 more than the salary for the Connecticut governor, which is set at $150,000 by state statute (although Gov. Ned Lamont has declined to take the salary).

DATABASE: How much is your superintendent making?

The top five highest paid superintendents all work in Fairfield County, the wealthiest county in the state: Bryan Luizzi, New Canaan ($315,058); Alan Addley, Darien ($307,125); Tamu Lucero, Stamford ($300,500); William McKersie, Weston ($297,465); and Thomas Scarice, Westport ($295,000). Those five are closely followed by Alexandra Estrella, Norwalk ($290,000); Kathleen Greider, Farmington ($274,959); Alan Bookman, Glastonbury ($270,717); Toni Jones, Greenwich ($267,240); and Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, Hartford ($265,434).

Stamford, Norwalk and Hartford are among the largest school districts in the state, with the superintendent overseeing more than 10,000 students. However, the superintendents in New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Danbury  who also oversee more than 10,000 students  all made less than $250,000 for the 2020-21 school year.

If you take a look at the role of a superintendent and the number of stakeholders that they have, it is a huge position with incredible amounts of responsibility, said Fran Rabinowitz, president of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents and a former school superintendent. Whats more important than educating our students?

Demographics and a districts ability to pay have a lot to do with how much a superintendent will get paid, Rabinowitz said. The school district budgets for the five towns with the top highest paid superintendents for the 2020-21 school year are $81.1 million (New Canaan); $103.5 million (Darien); $285.5 million (Stamford); $54.8 million (Weston); and $131.4 million (Westport). For comparison, Hartfords education budget is $426.9 million a year; Bridgeports $256.5 million and New Havens $269 million.

Overall, Fairfield County pays its superintendents the highest annual salary for a full-time superintendent, on average $253,312 with tax sheltered annuity and doctorate stipends included. The average salary in New Haven County is $209,005; in Middlesex County, $206,759; and in Litchfield County, $186,579.

See perks Connecticut superintendents get

To qualify to work as a superintendent, a person has to successfully complete a certification program that has been approved by the Connecticut Board of Education. A doctorate degree is not required, but most districts will pay a superintendent extra if he or she has a Ph.D. Most districts will also reimburse the superintendent for doctorate level classes if he or she is in the process of obtaining the degree.

Most contracts call for an annual review of the superintendent by the members of the board of education. These reviews are usually conducted in executive session, but any votes on increasing the superintendents salary must be done in public under state open records laws.

One of the challenges for local school districts - and a reason why compensation is high - is the high turnover.

Rabinowitz said CAPSS did a survey a few years ago among superintendents and found that the average length of stay in one district was four years.

And that was a bit higher than the national average, she said.

Oftentimes, the better the relationship between the school board and the superintendent, the longer the school chief will stay, she said.

Those relationships can become strained at times, Rabinowitz said. Responsibilities need to be spelled out.

Thats why it has become increasingly common to include a provision for mediation in contracts, according to Thomas Mooney, a Shipman & Goodwin attorney and partner who has helped school districts craft superintendent contracts for more than 40 years. A mediator can help come up with a solution that works for both parties and can help a superintendent remain in the district.

Superintendent turnover is not good for education, Mooney said.

It costs money and is burdensome for the local school districts to start a new search process, which is why districts usually want to help an existing superintendent succeed. So while most contracts have a provision spelling out a potential termination process for a failing superintendent, that provision is rarely used, Mooney said.

If a board and a superintendent no longer have that mutual confidence, theres a negotiation and the superintendent leaves, he said, sometimes with a significant amount of money.

While the pandemic brought on incredible challenges, most top educators vowed to stay in their districts until things got better, Rabinowitz said. Now that plans are in place and schools are reopening, some superintendents are considering retiring or moving on, she said.

This means several Connecticut districts are in the midst of a search process, or will be soon. For one town, that process started months ago with requests for proposals from outside consulting firms, interviews with six different firms and the selection of Ray and Associates to help conduct the superintendent search. But that was just step one.

The firm arranged for a community survey, held 16 meetings with community stakeholders and hosted four community forums, according to the Seymour school districts website. It will also assist with background checks of candidates, checking credentials on resumes and setting up multiple steps of interviews, expected to happen this summer.

Its a long process, said Seymour Board of Education Chairman Ed Strumello. Its hard.

Ultimately, the board will make the decision on who the best person is to lead the district, he said.

Survey results showed the top wish is for the new superintendent to be a strong communicator  someone who is good at speaking, listening and writing.

You would want that for any leader, Strumello said.

Ideally a new superintendent would be someone who could accentuate our positives and improve our weaknesses, he said.

Anyone who doesnt say you have both is fooling themselves, Strumello said.

The community also indicated it would want someone who fosters a positive, professional environment with mutual trust and respect among faculty and staff, he said. Having classroom experience is important as well, he said. Having a list of things to look for is good, but Strumello stressed that the superintendent search is a tough process  for both sides.

The thing that people dont understand is that (the superintendent candidates) are taking a chance too, he said.

Superintendent contracts are limited to three years under state statute. They can be extended for up to three years at a time with an amendment. Some districts write a new three-year contract before the old one expires.

If a candidate leaves the teaching ranks for an administrative position, they leave the safety of a union and other protections behind, Strumello said. For example, a person hired may end up working with a brand new board of education after a local election, and then they may be out of a job.

The hardest part is the public. The public is tough, Strumello said. Youre going to be questioned on your moves - if you cant answer respectfully, then maybe this isnt a job for you.

While a district is looking for a new superintendent, it may also sign a shorter contract with an interim superintendent. Eight districts currently have acting or interim superintendents, including Bozrah, Lebanon, Monroe, New Milford, Plymouth, Region 8, Sterling and Windsor. Seymour may have to hire an interim as well to fill the gap between when its current superintendent leaves  June 30  and when the board hopes to have a new superintendent in place  by September. There isnt much chance to do it sooner since interviews of top candidates are scheduled for the end of June and a candidate may have to give 90-days notice in their current jobs, Strumello said.

There is no law requiring a superintendent to have a contract, but state law says a school district shall provide one if the superintendent requests one. As of June 1, East Granby Superintendent Melissa Bavaro-Grande is the only schools chief Hearst Connecticut reached out to who said she does not yet have a contract.

Requests for superintendent contracts were emailed out Feb. 22. Thirty-two contracts were received that same day, while the rest were sent out later that week or as late as April and May after multiple reminders. The last two contracts were received June 1.

Some districts said the requests got caught up in school district spam filters, while others explained that staff had been out of the office for an extended period of time. Fourteen districts had the superintendents contract posted for the public on their websites. Three school districts  Ashford, Monroe and North Branford  sent contracts in the mail, while the rest were submitted electronically.

Hearst Connecticut asked for comment from all 153 school superintendents. Manchester Superintendent Matthew Geary said he did not have a comment. Colebrook Superintendent Robert Gilbert pointed out that he is retired and his position is 40% of full-time. A Meriden school district official wanted to note that Superintendent Mark Benigni is entering his 12th year with the district. Two superintendents expressed interest in the project but did not provide comment. Five school districts sent contracts again instead of providing comment. The remaining 144 superintendents had not provided a comment by June 4.

Correction: The name of the Meriden superintendent has been corrected. The first name of the Weston superintendent has been correct.


Facebook announced Friday that former President Donald Trumps accounts will be suspended for two years, freezing his presence on the social network until early 2023, following a finding that Trump stoked violence ahead of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

At the end of the suspension, the company will assess whether Trump's risk to public safety has subsided, Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, wrote in a blog post. He said Facebook will take into account external factors such as instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.

Facebook also announced that it would end a contentious policy that automatically exempted politicians from rules banning hate speech and abuse, and that it would stiffen penalties for public figures during times of civil unrest and violence.

The former president called Facebooks decision on the suspension an insult. The two-year ban replaced a previous ruling that ordered Trump to be suspended indefinitely.

They shouldnt be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our Country cant take this abuse anymore! Trump said in a news release.

Social platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become indispensable tools for politicians to get their messages out and to raise small-dollar donations. Without the megaphone of Twitter and the targeted fundraising appeals his campaign mastered on Facebook, Trump could be at a serious disadvantage relative to other politicians.

Trump has teased running for president again in 2024. His aides say that he has been working on launching his own social media platform to compete with those that have booted him, but one has yet to materialize. A blog he launched on his existing website earlier this year was shut down after less than a month. It attracted dismal traffic.

On Facebook, Trumps suspension means that his account is essentially frozen. Others can read and comment on past posts, but Trump and other account handlers are unable to post new material. Twitter, by contrast, has permanently banned Trump from its service, and no trace of his account remains.

What theyve done here is shield themselves from potential presidential rage with a reassessment of Trumps account in two years, said Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University communications professor.

In a color-coded chart on its blog post, the company said public figures who violate its policies during times of crisis can be restricted from posting for a month (yellow) or as long as two years (red). Future violations, it said, will be met with heightened penalties, up to and including permanent removal.

The policy that exempted politicians from rules on hate speech and abuse was once championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The company said it never applied the policy to Trump, but on Friday backtracked to say it did use it once, in 2019 for a video of a rally on his Facebook page.

The social media giant said it will still apply the newsworthiness" exemption to certain posts it deems to be in the public interest, even if they violate Facebook rules. But it will no longer treat material posted by politicians any differently than other posts. In addition, Facebook said it will make public whenever it does apply the exemption to a post.

The announcements are in response to recommendations from the companys quasi-independent oversight board. Last month, that panel upheld a decision by Facebook to keep Trump suspended, but the board said the company could not merely suspend him indefinitely. It gave the company six months to decide what to do with his accounts.

In its decision last month, the board agreed with Facebook that two of Trumps Jan. 6 posts severely violated the content standards of both Facebook and Instagram.

We love you. Youre very special, Trump said to the rioters in the first post. In the second, he called them great patriots and told them to remember this day forever.

Those comments violated Facebooks rules against praising or supporting people engaged in violence, the board said. Specifically, the board cited rules against dangerous individuals and organizations that prohibit anyone who proclaims a violent mission and ban posts that express support for those people or groups.

The two-year suspension is effective from Jan. 7, so Trump has 19 months to go.

A group calling itself the Real Facebook Oversight Board, which is critical of Facebook and its oversight panel, said in a statement Friday that the ban brings Trump back just in time for the 2024 presidential election and shows no real strategy to address authoritarian leaders and extremist content, and no intention of taking serious action against disinformation and hate speech.

Due to its sheer size and power, Facebook's decision has broad implications for politicians and their constituencies around the globe. Chinmayi Arun, a fellow at Yale Law Schools Information Society Project, said its good that the company laid out a standard for when it will suspend political leaders and for how long.

Whats tremendous is that Facebook took the oversight boards recommendation to reevaluate the real-world context and the offline tensions, while deciding what to do with a politicians online speech, she said. But she remains concerned that suspensions cannot be reviewed unless Facebook asks.

For years, Facebook gave the former president special treatment and free reign to spread misinformation and threats on the platform. Outside critics and even Facebook's own employees called for the company to remove Trump long before the Jan. 6 comments.

Last summer, for instance, Zuckerberg decided to leave up posts by Trump that suggested protesters in Minneapolis could be shot, using the words when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Trumps comment evoked the civil-rights era by borrowing a phrase used in 1967 by Miamis police chief to warn of an aggressive police response to unrest in Black neighborhoods.

While Facebook put labels on many of Trump's election posts, he did not face penalties such as suspension for repeatedly and falsely claiming victory in 2020.

In Friday's post, Clegg anticipated criticism from both sides of the political aisle.

We know that any penalty we apply  or choose not to apply  will be controversial. There are many people who believe it was not appropriate for a private company like Facebook to suspend an outgoing President from its platform, and many others who believe Mr. Trump should have immediately been banned for life, he wrote.

Facebook's job, he said, is to make a decision in as proportionate, fair and transparent a way as possible, in keeping with the instruction given to us by the Oversight Board.

But by staying in the middle, some experts said Facebook had once again punted the decision instead of taking a firm stance.

Its the wait-and-see approach, said Sarah Kreps, a Cornell professor and director of the Cornell Tech Policy Lab. I think theyre hoping this can just resolve itself with him not being kind of an influential voice in politics anymore.

___

Associated Press writers Tali Arbel, Matt O'Brien and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
New Castle, PA (16103)

Today

Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 56F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Hampton - Douglas M. LaPorte, 63, of Hampton, passed away on Sunday, June 6, 2021 at his home. He was born in Albany, NY on October 6, 1957 a son of Earl LaPorte and Rosemary (Pomakoy) Snyder. Doug was a volunteer firefighter in NY in his younger years and went on to work for various Walmart
Bismah Malik By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: In the midst of job losses and sliding GDP growth, the upward trajectory shown by stock markets and start-up investments have brought some cheer.

Data shared by Venture Intelligence with this publication revealed that venture capitalists have poured in $10 billion so far this year into the tech start-up ecosystem across 304 deals.

Leading the pack of heavy fundings was New York-based Tiger Global and Japans Softbank, placing their bold bets on unicorns as well as disruptive start-ups.

The two investment giants have put in nearly $2.7 billion during 2020-21 with more funding on the way.

Sources said that Tiger Global may lead a $100 million funding round in ClearTax at a $1 billion valuation whereas Softbank will back Flipkart with a mega $600-700 million funds raise this year.

Flipkart like Zomato, Paytm , Delhivery is looking to raise significant capital before listing on stock exchanges.

Both Softbank and Tiger Global have announced a $30 billion and a $6.7 billion funds corpus, respectively for writing cheques for companies across the global tech ecosystem.

Softbanks Vision Fund 2 unlike its earlier $100 billion Fund1 is a self investment vehicle, bullish on creating billion dollar startups.

Vision Fund 1 which had 50 per cent stake from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi suffered setbacks on the back of huge losses reported by portfolio firms including WeWork, Uber and OYO.

However, Softbanks Vision Fund 2 is in the thick of the investment game again by leading a $260 million funding raise in banking tech platform, Zeta, a $300 million investment into Meesho and $75 million round in Nykaa.

Tiger Global has alone helped six start-ups attain unicorn status this year including social networking firm Sharechat, Groww, credit cards payments firm Cred, B2B marketplace, Saas start-up

Innovacer and business messaging platform, Gupshup.

A recent note by Credit Suisse said that India may see the birth of 100 new unicorns by 2025 attributing it to innovation in new-age companies, friendly regulatory environment and widespread internet penetration.

$1.2 bn Softbanks FY21 investment.

$1.5 bn Tiger Global FY21 investment.
Pajwak Afghan News, June 4, 2021

By Basher Ahmad Nadim

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): A police woman was among three people killed in targeted attacks in southern Kandahar province on Friday, officials said.Former Dand district police chief Abdullahs brother and a civilian were also killed in the three separate attacks in the province  birthplace of the Taliban movement.The first incident of targeted killings took place in the Baloch Kalacha area of the 5th police district of the provincial capital, police said.Jamal Nasir Barakzai told Pajhwok Afghan News an unidentified motorcyclist shot dead a woman police officer named Zakira.Based in Panjwai district, the female police officer had come to Kandahar City on Friday  weekend holiday. She was killed by militants, Barakzai said.The police spokesman said the attacker managed to flee the area but police had mounted a search for him.In another incident, a brother of former Dand district police chief Abdullah was killed in a militant attack in Mianjoi area at around 10am.Separately, a civilian was killed in the border district of Spin Boldak at around 7am. A security source said the civilian was gunned down in the district bazaar.He said the motive behind the incident was not yet known. Police had launched an investigation into the gun attackTargeted killings have long been going on in Kandahar. The attacks often target security officials, tribal elders and, more recently, the Baloch tribespeople.
Anuradha Shukla By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Despite the second wave dragging down the pace of the governments aggressive divestment plan, the Centre will divest its stake in Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation Ltd (MMTC) and Hudco for the next round of divestment.

There is some disruption in the process, but the divestment plan is on track. The next in line is the initiation of the divestment process of MMTC and Hudco. We expect to complete the process by next fiscal year, a senior official from the finance ministry told TNIE.

Officials said that for MMTC, the Expression of Interest will be invited by the second half, depending on the pace of recovery.

The government plans to offload 49.78 per cent equity shareholding in MMTC. For the HUDCO, the government may take the Offer for Sale route.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had already given in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment in Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation Ltd (MMTC), along with National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in January 2020.

However, the Covid-led lockdowns stalled the whole divestment process and eventually the government missed its target of achieving Rs 2.1 lakh crore and it failed to hit even the revised target of Rs 32,000 crore.

This year also, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a divestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore during the Union Budget.

While the initial process started aggressively, the second wave has again put a pause in the works. There is already a delay in privatisation of PSUs like Air India, BPCL and Shipping Corporation, the divestment process of which has already started.

Even when the government has reiterated its resolve to conclude the process by this fiscal year itself, they admitted that the process is likely to get back on track from September onwards.
Ashwini M Sripad By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: On World Environment Day, Bengalureans may have something to cheer about. The city is all set to get more lung spaces soon with three tree parks almost ready to be open. Similar to Cubbon park and Lalbagh, these green zones are likely to be thrown open to the public after the lockdown.

Earlier this year, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had announced that three forest-turned-eco-parks will come up in Turahalli (400 acres) in the South, Kadugodi (102 acres) in the East and Machohalli (98 acres) by June. The government had started developing the parks, but the Covid crisis and the subsequent lockdowns threw a spanner in the works. Forest officials are now saying that the work will be taken up when the situation gets better.

Deputy Conservator of Forests (Bengaluru Urban) Ravishankar S S told The New Indian Express that they have developed the existing tree parks at Turahalli and 24.7 acres at Kadugodi. Both these tree parks are ready to be open. The Machohalli tree park is 94 acres and is under development. Saplings were planted there two to three years ago. We took up the actual work just a few weeks back, he said.

To provide infrastructure like drinking water, toilets, walking tracks and benches at these parks, the Forest Department has joined hands with a few corporate houses and NGOs. The Kadugodi park has over 8,000 trees of 34 major species. The Turahalli forest has 10,000 trees and Machohalli, at present, has over 6,000 plants. We are also constructing insect houses in each of the tree parks, Ravishankar said.

An interesting feature of the parks is that visitors can learn the details of trees by just scanning the QR code with their smartphones. The Forest Department has developed an in-house software with the support of the Environmental Management Policy and Research Institute (EMPRI) for this. We have created QR codes for each species. Users can access every single detail of a species. This will be ideal for students. At present, we have completed this at Kadugodi, and it will be taken up for the remaining tree parks in the next few days, Ravishankar said.
Sudarsan Maharana By

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Less than one per cent of the Capital city's population in the 18-44 age group have been able to get the two doses of vaccine so far even as the inoculation drive for this category has been continuing uninterrupted since May 1.

According to reports of the Health and Family Welfare department, due to shortage of Covaxin only around 0.20 per cent (pc) people in the 18-44 age group in the city have received their two doses of Covaxin in the last one month.

The number of beneficiaries in this age group who have received their first dose stands at around 31.5 pc (1,62,873 people) compared to 104 pc in the 45+ age group.

Sources in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said though the civic body has set a target to vaccinate 5.17 lakh people in the age group, a little over 900 citizens had completed their two rounds of vaccination till June 3.

"Of the 9.74 lakh doses of Covaxin received for the Capital, we have already used 8.43 lakh doses. Around 95 pc of the remaining 1.31 lakh doses are meant for vaccination of 45+ age group," said a senior BMC official dealing with the vaccination programme in the city.

With the vaccine stock depleting, less than 400 doses are now being administered to beneficiaries of the age group in the city, he said. Though we are expecting fresh supplies by June 8, we are not sure of the quantity of doses we will receive, he said and added that as many of the beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group have already completed their 28-day minimum lock-in period, inadequate supply may create a huge backlog.

To reduce the backlog, BMC has decided to launch a special drive to administer the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine to beneficiaries in the age group who had received their first dose on May 3, 4 and 5. The two-day drive has been planned to be carried out on June 8 and 9, informed BMC Additional Commissioner Laxmikant Sethi.
SV Krishna Chaitanya By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Vandalur Zoo on Saturday said two lions, out of eight that were tested positive, are responding slowly to the treatment.

"All the lions, which have tested positive, are under close observation and on prescribed treatment regimen by the in-house veterinary team in close coordination with an expert team from TANUVAS. Out of the eight lions, two aged lions are responding slowly to the treatment," said a press statement.

The New Indian Express had already reported that two lioness -- Kavitha and Bhuvana, aged 23 and 19 years respectively -- are in critical condition.

A team of doctors from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary University and in house Veterinarians are continuously monitoring and treating the animals as per the protocol.

ALSO READ | Covid-19: One lioness dies, eight others test positive at Chennai's Vandalur Zoo

Dr. Srikumar, Professor and HoD (Wildlife Department), Dr. Baranitharan, Assistant Professor, Internal Medicines, Dr.Bothiappan, Assistant Professor, Clinical Medicines, and in house Veterinarians

Dr. Thayasekhar (Veterinary officer), and Dr.Sridhar Veterinary (Assistant Surgeon) are continuously monitoring the health of lions.

S Yuvaraj, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HoD), has reviewed the health condition of the lions and other animals at Vandalur Zoo on Saturday. He instructed Debasis Jana, director of Vandalur Zoo, to follow the treatment protocol suggested by the Central Zoo Authority and Tamil Nadu Veterinary University.

After the death of lioness Neela on Thursday evening, the Vandalur Zoo has 12 lions.

ALSO WATCH |
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Three days after arresting a man with Rs 28 lakh unaccounted cash, Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Friday held another person with unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs 35.3 lakh. During a special drive against smuggling of liquors by trains, RPF team headed by V Anjaneyan, Assistant Sub-Inspector, RPF (Crime Intelligence Branch) checked passengers of Hyderabad-Chennai Special Express on Friday.

RPF ASI K Rajendran and head constable V Sivakumar apprehended a 35-year-old man, a native of Padmasaliya Bazaar, Chinakakani, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. He carried the reserved ticket for sleeper class in the Express.

During the inquiry, the man was found in possession of a travel bag in his hand which contained currency notes of 500, 100 and 2000 denominations totalling Rs 35.3 lakhs cash. As he did not have any valid documents, the man and the cash was handed over to the Income tax department for further inquiry, an official said.

Postal staff help passenger

Meanwhile, postal staff at Egmore helped a passenger secure his travel bags which he lost in a train on Friday. The passenger who travelled in Tiruchy-Chennai Egmore special express deboarded at Tambaram at 4.20 am, but failed to collect his five travel bags including two laptop bags. He was accompanied by his brother who is physically challenged.

When informed by Tambaram station, postal staffs Vikki, G Saileela and Asirva in Chennai Egmore rushed to the train and secured five bags, said a railway police official.
Toby Antony By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Underworld don Ravi Pujari has admitted to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) that he targeted actor Leena Maria Paul believing that she had over Rs 100 crore in assets. It is learnt that Pujari has also confessed to his involvement in some other extortion incidents in the state during interrogation as part of the probe into the bullets being fired at Leenas parlour at Panampilly Nagar in Kochi in December 2018.

According to sources, Pujari and his gang had been monitoring Leena since 2015 after she and her partner were booked in a cheating case. Somehow, he came to know that Leena owned assets worth over `100 crore. Believing it, he directed his gang to monitor Leena. He thought that with a mere death threat, he could extort money from the actor. He never thought that the police would intervene in the matter, a source said.

Ravi Pujari

According to ATS, Pujari operated a Mangaluru-based gang that helped him in extortion activities. The gang operated in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka, mainly extorting money from businessmen and celebrities. It was through the Mangaluru-based gang that Pujari came to know about Ajaz who was given the quotation to threaten Leena. Ajaz hired Bilal and Vipin who fired the bullets. Monayi arranged the pistol for the purpose.

Bilal and Vipin were given practice in using the pistol at an isolated place in Kalamassery. Members of the Mangaluru-based gang are yet to be identified. Monayi also has links with criminal gangs in North Kerala and Mangaluru, the source said. Already, lookout notices have been issued against Ajaz and Monayi who managed to leave the country before agencies started their search. Both are suspected to be in the UAE and attempts are being made via the Indian Embassy there to trace them.

It was on December 15, 2018, two bike-borne assailants fired bullets at the salon owned by Leena. Later, Pujari claimed responsibility for the incident and demanded a sum of `25 crore from her. Pujari who had been hiding in Senegal using a fake identity was extradited and arrested by the Karnataka police last year.
By PTI

MUMBAI: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in Malvani area of north Mumbai after she attended the birthday celebration of her boyfriend, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place on Tuesday night and six persons have so far been arrested and search was on for a seventh accused, an official said.

"The girl left to attend her boyfriend's birthday party after bolting her house from outside so her kin could not stop her. The next day she complained of stomach pain and told her family about the gang-rape. Her complaint names seven people, six of whom have been arrested till Friday night," she said.

All seven have been charged with rape, criminal intimidation, extortion among other offences, the Malvani police station official added
By PTI

MUMBAI: Producer Ekta Kapoor and actors Anita Hassanandani and Krystle D'Souza on Saturday extended support to Pearl Puri, who has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor.

Puri, known for starring in "Naagin 3" and "Bepanah Pyaar", was arrested by the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Friday after a complaint against him was lodged by the minor victim and her family members.

An FIR against him was registered at Waliv police station in Vasai and the 31-year-old actor has been booked under IPC section 376 (rape) and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Kapoor expressed shock over Puri's arrest and said the actor was being falsely framed by the girl's father.

"Will I support a child molester or a molester of any kind? But what I witnessed from last night to now was the absolute low in human depravity," she captioned the post, along with a photo of her and Puri.

The producer, who has worked with the actor in the hit show "Naagin 3", said the girl's mother told her that Puri was innocent.

"After various calls with the child's/girl's mother, who openly said that Pearl was not involved and it's her husband trying to create stories to keep her child and prove that a working mother on a set cannot take care of her kid," she said.

Kapoor also said it is incorrect to frivolously use the #MeToo movement for personal gains.

"If this is true then it is wrong on so many levels! Using an extremely important movement like 'Me Too' frivolously, to get your own agendas met with and mentally torturing a child and making an innocent person guilty."

The producer said even though the judiciary will take the final decision in the case, her opinion is formed from the conversation she has had with the girl's mother.

"It is very very sad if people are using various tactics to prove working mothers are unable to take care of their children, because there are predators on the set," she said.

"If by chance, Pearl is proved innocent, I request people to look more deeply into how the important & much needed movements in today's time, are being used unfairly reducing the gravitas of the situation. May justice prevail! #MayJusticePrevail," Kapoor added.

She said she has all the voice notes and messages exchanged between her and the child's mother.

Puri's co-stars Hassanandani and D'Souza too stepped forward to show their support.

Hassanandani said the news is "nonsensical".

"Woke up to some nonsensical news bout @pearlvpuri I know him! It is NOT true. canNOT be true. all lies. I'm sure there is more to it. And the truth will be out soon. Love you @pearlvpuri #ISTANDWITHPEARL," she wrote.

Terming the allegations baseless, D'Souza said the truth will come out.

"I know @pearlvpuri and he is one of the nicest boys I've met in our tv industry. A thorough gentleman. Please don't jump to conclusions on baseless allegations. Let's wait for the truth to come out. #istandwithpearl #PearlVPuri," she wrote.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Police have arrested TV actor Pearl Puri from Mumbai for allegedly raping a girl, an official said on Saturday.

The Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police arrested him on Friday night with the help of the personnel of Amboli police station, he said.

The complaint against Puri, known for his roles in "Naagin 3", "Bepanah Pyaar" and "Brahmarakshas 2" serials, was lodged by the minor victim and her family members, he added.

Based on the complaint, an FIR against him was registered at Waliv police station in Vasai, the official said.

The actor has been booked under IPC section 376 (rape) and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police said.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: On World Environment Day 2021, Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana reminisced his trip to the Northeast to shoot for 'Anek'. He called his visit 'an eye-opener' because he witnessed first-hand what living in harmony with nature could help achieve.

Ayushmann shot all across the northeast for the first time in his career. He also visited the Kaziranga National Park in Assam and shot in the picturesque Shillong.

Speaking about his trip, the actor said, "I will never ever forget the beauty of nature in its full glory that I witnessed at the Kaziranga National Park and Shillong when I was shooting for ANEK. As a lover of nature, I was bewildered to see the beauty that exists in our country. It was breathtakingly beautiful."

The star added, "My trip to northeast was an eye-opener of what can be achieved by being in harmony with nature. I have loved every minute of my time there. As a wildlife enthusiast, it was a dream come true for me."

ALSO READ | Whenever I'll get to do this again, I will probably cry: Ayushmann Khurrana is nostalgic, here's why!

Ayushmann urged everyone to be more conscious about saving the environment and thus our planet.

He said, "I have always believed that we will have to find solutions to live in harmony with nature. The future of humankind depends on co-existing with nature and preserving it. Look all around us, things that have never happened before are happening now because we have pushed nature to a tipping point."

The 'Vicky Donor' actor added, "We aren't realising that we won't survive if we continue on this path. We have to protect and nurture what we have for future generations. This planet has provided abundantly for all of us and we should take care of it."

The upcoming film 'Anek' is being helmed by ace filmmaker Anubhav Sinha. 'Anek' marks the director's second collaboration with Ayushmann after the critically-acclaimed 2019 film 'Article 15'.

'Anek', which is being bankrolled by Anubhav and Bhushan Kumar under Benaras Media Works and T-Series, is slated to release on September 17, 2021.

Meanwhile, Ayushmann, who made his Bollywood debut with the 2012 film 'Vicky Donor', has delivered a string of hits in the past couple of years.

Apart from 'Anek', Ayushmann currently has 'Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui' and 'Doctor G' in the pipeline.

The actor was last seen in Shoojit Sircar's 'Gulabo Sitabo', alongside megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
VOA News, June 4, 2021

By Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD - The Taliban seized a district in southern Afghanistan Friday without facing any resistance from Afghan government security forces, bringing to seven the number of districts the insurgents have overrun since the United States and its NATO allies began withdrawing their troops from the country a month ago.

Separately, an overnight roadside bombing of a vehicle in the national capital, Kabul, killed a young female Afghan television anchor and her mother, and wounded her sister. Mina Khairi was working for the Ariana News channel for the past three years, her employer said.

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee said, AJSC is deeply saddened to hear Mina Khairi, TV presenter at Ariana News and her mother are among the victims of yesterday's blast in district 6 of Kabul city. We strongly condemn the attack & call on the government to seriously investigate the case.

Sharif Hassanyar, the head of Ariana news, said in a video statement: While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Mena Khairi, Ariana News will not back away from freedom of the press and will continue its work for the freedom of the press in Afghanistan. He says freedom of the press is a red line for his channel.

Afghan Second Vice President Sarwar Danish said Friday the security agencies and those directly responsible for providing security in the government are obliged to act as soon as possible and be accountable for the repeated killings and genocides west of Kabul city.

The Thursday night blast killed a total of four people and injured several others, including Khairis sister. There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

A security official in southern Zabul province told VOA on condition of anonymity that Taliban fighters entered the embattled Shinkay district early Friday morning after government forces retreated from there to a nearby Afghan National Army base.

Provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Wait Samemi would not confirm the alleged retreat, telling VOA that Afghan forces were still inside the district and fighting was ongoing.

Taliban spokesman Yousaf Ahmadi said in a statement its fighters also captured security personnel, but he would not say how many, nor could his claim immediately be verified from independent sources.

Pro-insurgent social media outlets published photos of the Shinkay district center, with Taliban fighters marching in the streets.

Deadly clashes continued elsewhere in Afghanistan amid concerns the foreign military drawdown would fuel chaos and violence.

U.S. President Joe Biden directed the remaining about 2,500 American and roughly 7,000 NATO troops in mid-April to leave the country by September 11. The decision stemmed from the February 2020 agreement Washington negotiated with the Taliban to end the U.S. involvement in nearly 20 years of Afghan war.

The U.S. military announced earlier this week that almost half of its troops and equipment had been sent home or destroyed since the drawdown formally began on May 1.

Fridays insurgent advances came a day after the United Nations warned that the Taliban appeared poised to take by force what they do not get through negotiations once foreign troops complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The U.N. sanctions monitoring team for Afghanistan issued its assessment Thursday, noting the Taliban are still technically in compliance with the terms of their agreement with the United States.

But the insurgents, it said, have tightened their grip on power, exercising direct control over more than half of the country's district administrative centers, while contesting or controlling up to 70% of Afghan territory outside of urban areas.

"Taliban rhetoric and reports of active Taliban preparations for the spring fighting season indicate the group is likely to increase military operations for 2021, whether or not a spring offensive is announced," the U.N. report said.

The U.S.-Taliban pact also opened direct peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government in Qatar last September, but the process mostly has stalled.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored Friday the need for both of the Afghan adversaries to engage in productive talks.

We urge Afghan leaders and the Taliban to accelerate progress toward a negotiated political settlement and permanent and comprehensive cease-fire to bring an end to over 40 years of conflict and create the conditions that will allow refugees to return to their homes safely, Blinken said.

He also announced more than $266 million in new humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, bringing total U.S. humanitarian aid to the country to nearly $3.9 billion since 2002. The assistance will help international humanitarian partners of the U.S to provide support to some of the estimated 18 million people in need in Afghanistan, including more than 4.8 million Afghans who have been internally displaced.
Unnikrishnan S By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second wave of COVID has started showing signs of waning. But its impact on children is likely to increase in June and July in the form of multisystem inflammatory disorder in children (MIS-C), a severe inflammatory disease that requires expert treatment. It typically appears two to six weeks after the coronavirus infection as an overreaction.

The increase in the number of children contracting COVID in April and May has made doctors to expect an increase in MIS-C cases in the coming weeks. More children could be affected because COVID infection among them often goes undetected because of their asymptomatic nature.

The Union Health Ministry has also asked the state to look out for MIS-C. "A lot of children were infected in the second wave compared to the previous wave. So, an increase in MIS-C cases is likely in two months," said Dr Balachandar D, former state secretary of Indian Academy of Paediatrics. In children, MIS-C is considered much more serious than the Covid infection itself.

Though the condition is serious, doctors say the survival chances are good for MIS-C patients. Over 300 cases, including a death, had been reported in various hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram till a month ago.

"MIS-C is the problem as far as COVID infection among children is concerned. The proportion of children affected by it rises when the absolute number of cases increases," said Dr A Santhosh Kumar, former deputy superintendent of Sree Avittam Thirunal (SAT) Hospital and a member of the Lancet- COVID India Children's project, which aims to develop the protocol when kids are affected. MIS-C results in widespread inflammation in organs and tissues such as the heart, kidneys, brain, digestive system, blood vessels, lungs, skin and eyes.

According to Dr Balachandar, diarrhoea is the most common symptom he has found in MISC- affected children. "Unlike other causes of diarrhoea, the gastrointestinal manifestation due to MIS-C results in faster dehydration. Not all MIS-C cases are serious to begin with, but the health condition of a majority can deteriorate quickly," he said.

Often, parents bring their child to a hospital with gastrointestinal problems such as stomach ache, loose motion and high fever.

The other issues include cardiac problems and seizures. Doctors have been given guidelines to rule out other possibilities for the symptoms before confirming an MIS-C case. An antibody test will be conducted to determine whether the child has COVID.

If the antibody test facility is unavailable, an RT-PCR or antigen test will be done. The recent history of contact with Covid-infected patients will be probed to determine the chances of Covid infection.

VACCINE REGISTRATION

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: All people in the 40-44 age group will be given COVID-19 vaccines. They can register on Cowin portal www. cowin.gov.in and take online appointment. Spot registration will not be allowed for this age group, Health Minister Veena George has informed.

Earlier, people in this age group were given vaccines only if they fall in the priority category. Those who attain the age of 40 on January 1, 2022, and those aged above will be eligible. Priority vaccination for people in the 18-44 age group will continue as usual.

There is no change in the vaccination guidelines for those above 45 years of age.
By PTI

AURANGABAD: Out of the total 1,604 villages in Nanded district of Maharashtra, as many as 1,179 have become coronavirus-free, while 271 others have not reported even a single infection case during the second wave of the pandemic, an official said.

Nanded district has so far recorded over 90,000 coronavirus positive cases and more than 1,800 people have died due to the viral infection till now. The district has 1,604 villages across 16 tehsils. Of these, 1,179 villages have become COVID-19-free and as on June 4 there is not a single positive case there, the district official said.

Apart from them, 271 villages remained untouched by the pandemic during its second wave, the official added. Nanded Zilla Parishad's CEO Varsha Thakur attributed this encouraging scenario to the team work. "The village gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, members of the ZP, anganwadi workers, health department staff of the district administration and ZP worked together to break the chain of the virus. The villagers contributed by following the protocols," she said.

"However, the pandemic is not over yet and the villagers should be more alert," she added.

Seventy-seven of the 271 villages in the district that did not report even a single case are from the tribal- dominated Kinwat tehsil. "This tesil is surrounded by Yavatmal district in Maharashtra and Adilabad district in neighbouring Telangana state, which witnessed a spike in cases during the second wave," another official told PTI.

Apart from Kinwat, 42 villages from Hadgaon, 39 from Kandhar, 22 from Loha, 16 from Bhokar, 17 from Mahur, 15 from Mudkhed, 12 from Nanded, nine from Himayatnagar, seven from Degloor, four each from Ardhapur, Dharmabad, Umri, two from Mukhed and one from Biloli are away from the infection, the official said.

Then there are villages that have set examples in terms of vaccination and treating the patients at the local level. Shelgaon village in Naygaon tehsil has achieved the target of 100 per cent vaccination, while Bhosi village in Bhokar taluka treated patients in the village itself, the official said.
Sumi Sukanaya Dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Among those fully vaccinated, the rate of breakthrough infections of Covid-19 was found to be 1.6 % in the largest such study from India so far while another one by top government agencies has found the B.1617.2 variant to be causing a large number of such cases in Delhi.

A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine is administered.

The study had been carried out at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science and Research, Chandigarh and has been published in the prestigious The New England journal of Medicine. It followed 12,248 health care workers, 7170 of whom had received the first dose of vaccine, with 3650 subsequently receiving the second dose.

A total of 5078 health care workers were unvaccinated while the rest had all received Covishield.

The researchers found that a total of 184 of the 7170 health care workers (2.6%) tested positive after receiving at least one dose of vaccine and the median time between receipt of the first dose and the positive test was 44 days.

ALSO READ | AIIMS Delhi found 63 breakthrough infection cases among staffers in April-May, but no deaths

A total of 72 of the 3650 health care workers (2 %) on the other hand tested positive after the second dose and the median time from receipt of the second dose to the positive test was 20 days.

Among the health care workers who received both doses and completed at least 14 days of follow-up after the second dose, the incidence of breakthrough infection was 1.6% (48 of the 3000 health care workers) and the median time from receipt of the second dose to breakthrough infection was 29.5 days.

These findings come soon after cases of 47 breakthrough infections -- at a rate of 0.5 % -- were reported from a hospital in the US among healthcare workers who were fully vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccines either by Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.

Back home, in a separate scientific research carried out by the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology and the Academy for Scientific and Innovative Research in the national capital to understand the Covid-19 second wave genomically, a total of 27 cases of breakthrough infections were seen.

Among these cases, B.617.1 lineage was seen in 8 % of the breakthrough infections and a whopping 76 % cases were caused by B.1.617.2 -- the variant now considered far more transmissible and capable of evading immunity than other variants of the Covid virus.

ALSO READ | 'In debt and skipping meals': Survey finds Covid second wave has hit the poor hard

"It is noted that when compared to population prevalence, B.1.617.2 was over-represented and B.1.1.7 was not even detected in vaccination breakthroughs, suggesting a higher breakthrough risk of B.1.617.2 compared to B.1.1.7," the researchers noted in their paper Genomic characterization and Epidemiology of an emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant in Delhi, India.

Despite a Covid19 vaccination drive underway in India with two vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin --there have been some concerns against their potential to protect people from Covid-19, especially in the wake of new variants of the virus in circulation.

ALSO WATCH :
Pranab Mondal By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: The buzz that BJP national vice-president Mukul Roy may return to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has grown louder since Wednesdays visit by TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee to the hospital where Mukul's wife is undergoing COVID treatment.

According to sources, Abhishek enquired about her health and wished her a speedy recovery. Though Mukul's wife, Krishna, was admitted to the hospital on May 14, no BJP leader had bothered to pay her a visit. Abhishek's visit, understandably, has set the alarm bells ringing in the saffron camp.

Within two hours of his visit, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh changed his schedule and rushed to the hospital. The following day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself dialed Mukul and enquired about his wifes health.

Amid all this, some political observers in the state have linked Abhishek's visit with one of the statements Mamata made while campaigning for the election, in which she compared Mukul and Suvendhu Adhikari. "Mukul is facing injustice by them (BJP). He has been fielded in the constituency which is far away from his hometown. What I can say he (Mukul) is much better than him (Suvendu)," she had said.

If one reads that statement and Abhisheks hospital visit together, the panic in the BJP is understandable. "Abhishek's visit to the hospital was enough to scare the BJP leaders about a possible re-run of the defection episode. And this time, the exodus would be from the saffron camp. If a national vice-president of BJP changes his political allegiance, it will definitely send a wrong message to the electorate and will damage the partys image nationally," said Bishnupriya Dutta Gupta, a political science professor.

"Though we have differences, his (Abhisheks) courtesy is exemplary," said Subhrangshu, Mukul's son, who joined the BJP last year.
By PTI

KOLKATA: A seven-member central team will arrive in West Bengal on a three-day visit to make an on-spot assessment of the damage caused by cyclone Yaas, a senior official said on Saturday.

The inter-ministerial team headed by SK Shahi, joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs, will take stock of the situation in South 24 Parganas district upon its arrival on Sunday, and Purba Medinipur the day after, he said.

It is scheduled to complete its assessment in three days and leave for Delhi on June 9, the official said. "After reaching Bengal on Sunday morning, the team will head to the affected areas of South 24 Parganas district. There, it will hold a meeting with officials. On Monday, the central team will be visiting Digha and Mandarmani in Purba Medinipur, where officials will give a presentation on the damage caused by Yaas," he said.

According to government sources, the inter-ministerial team is also likely to hold a meeting with finance department officials during its three-day visit. Cyclone Yaas struck the coastal belts of Odisha and Bengal on May 26, dumping rain, flooding homes, and leaving behind a trail of destruction.
By PTI

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: With COVID cases declining, Delhi will see further relaxation in lockdown, including reopening of markets and malls and resumption of metro services, from June 7 while Maharashtra will implement a five-level plan to ease curbs based on weekly positivity rate and occupancy of oxygen beds in districts.

Even as the COVID situation has relatively improved in most of the northern and western states, southern and eastern parts of the country are still reporting a high number of cases.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced the extension of the lockdown by a week till June 14 with some easing of restrictions from Monday, except in 11 districts where the number of new cases reported was still high.

Earlier, neighbouring Karnataka had extended the lockdown till June 14.

Himachal Pradesh and Goa also extended the 'Corona curfew' till June 14.

In Goa, shops selling essential items are allowed to operate between 7 AM and 3 PM every day.

Himachal Pradesh had earlier eased curbs including those related to the opening of shops, restaurants and eateries.

Almost all states and Union Territories have extended the curbs which they first started imposing in mid-April as the second COVID wave hit the country, though some have begun to cautiously ease restrictions in June.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced relaxations in the coronavirus curfew in Bareilly and Bulandshahr districts from Monday, allowing shops and markets outside the containment zones to open for five days a week.

With this, the number of districts where the restrictions have eased as the count of active cases has fallen below the 600-mark has reached 67, out of the 75 districts.

In the national capital, where the 'unlock' process began from May 31, the Delhi Metro will operate at 50 percent capacity and markets and malls will open on an odd-even basis from June 7, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

The lockdown in Delhi, which was to end at 5 AM on Monday, will be extended further but several relaxations will be allowed, Kejriwal said during an online briefing.

Government and private offices will be allowed to reopen with 50 percent attendance.

Markets and malls will be allowed to open on an odd-even basis from 10 AM to 8 PM, he said.

In the worst-affected Maharashtra, cities and districts, which have a positivity rate of below five percent and the oxygen bed occupancy of less than 25 percent, will open up completely, according to a government notification.

But restrictions of varying degrees will remain in cities and districts where the positivity rate is five percent and oxygen bed occupancy is 25 to 40 percent, where the positivity rate is five percent to 10 percent and the oxygen bed occupancy is more than 40 percent and where positivity rate is 10 to 20 percent and oxygen bed occupancy is more than 60 percent.

In the fifth category, where the positivity rate is more than 20 percent and the oxygen bed capacity is more than 75 percent, only essential shops will remain open till 4 PM and office attendance will be 15 percent.

The Rajasthan government also issued guidelines on Monday to start the "unlock" process by easing certain restrictions from June 2.

India reported 1,20,529 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in infections in 58 days, taking the infection tally to 2,86,94,879, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 3,44,082 with 3,380 new fatalities, while the number of active cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the fifth consecutive day.

India reported more than 88.82 lakh coronavirus infections in May alone during the raging second wave of COVID-19, accounting for 31.67 percent of the over 2.8 crore cases reported in the country so far and making it the worst month of the pandemic.

The month of May also saw 1,17,247 fatalities due to the disease, which is around 35.63 percent of the total 3,29,100 deaths recorded so far.

The daily cases peaked on May 7 when the country registered 4,14,188 infections in a span of 24 hours, while daily deaths were the highest on May 19 with India reporting 4,529 fatalities due to COVID-19.

The active cases had peaked on May 10 at 37,45,237.

Here is a look at coronavirus-induced restrictions/lockdown imposed by states and union territories:

*Delhi will continue with lockdown with second phase of easing of restrictions from June 7.

*Haryana has extended lockdown till June 7 with some easing of restrictions.

*Punjab has extended the coronavirus restrictions till June 10.

*Uttar Pradesh has eased restrictions in 67 districts.

Night curfew and weekend lockdown to remain in the state.

*Bihar has extended lockdown till June 8.

*Jharkhand has extended lockdown till June 10.

* Odisha has extended lockdown till June 17.

* West Bengal government extended ongoing COVID-19 restrictions till June 15.

*Rajasthan has extended lockdown till June 8 but has eased some restrictions.

* Madhya Pradesh has extended corona curfew with eased restrictions till June 15.

The state has announced separate unlock guidelines for districts.

*Gujarat has extended night curfew in 36 cities of the state for a week from June 4, with further relaxation in timings.

*Chhattisgarh government has on May 31 extended lockdown till further orders.

*Kerala has extended lockdown till June 9 with some concessions.

*Tamil Nadu has extended the lockdown till June 14.

*Puducherry has imposed lockdown till June 7.

* Lakshadweep administration has extended lockdown till June 10.

*Karnataka has announced an extension of lockdown till June 14.

*Telangana has extended lockdown till June 9.

* Andhra Pradesh has extended curfew till June 10.

*Goa government has extended curfew till June 14.

*Maharashtra has extended the lockdown-like restrictions till June 15, though they will be eased from June 7.

*Assam has extended the restrictions till June 15 though on June 4 it increased the curfew relaxation by one hour.

*Nagaland has extended the lockdown till June 11.

*Mizoram has extended the lockdown, which was imposed in Aizawl and other district headquarters, till June 6.

*Arunachal Pradesh has imposed complete lockdown in Anjaw, Dibang Valley, Lower Subansiri, Lohit and Tawang districts and the Capital Complex Region till June 7.

*Manipur government has imposed curfew in seven districts of Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Ukhrul, Thoubal, Kakching and Churachandpur till June 11.

* Meghalaya extended lockdown in the worst-affected East Khasi Hills district till June 7.

*Tripura government has extended corona curfew in Agartala Municipal Corporation areas and urban areas in the state till June 10.

*Sikkim has imposed lockdown till June 7.

*Jammu and Kashmir administration has eased restrictions but night curfew and weekend lockdown will remain.

*Uttarakhand has extended COVID curfew till June 8.

*Himachal Pradesh government has extended the coronavirus curfew till June 14 with some relaxation.
By Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that Seuj Kumar Senapati, a young doctor who was brutally beaten up recently by a group of people after a Covid patients death, would be allowed to serve in a health institute of his choice."

CM Himanta met Senapati at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital on Saturday, where the latter is undergoing treatment.

Visited #GMCH to inquire about health of Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati, who was brutally assaulted by family members of a deceased patient on Tuesday. Also assured his family that Dr Senapati would be allowed to serve in a health Institute of his choice, when he resumes services, Sarma tweeted.

ALSO READ | Doctors in Assam boycott OPD services protesting assault on colleague, 24 assailants arrested

He further wrote: GoA stands firmly with doctors & medical fraternity who are leading from front in this pandemic with remarkable dedication. @assampolice has already initiated action against perpetrators. There will be zero tolerance against any assault on our doctors & healthcare workers.

So far, the police have arrested 26 people in connection with the incident which took place in Hojai district. The accused, who had also vandalised the hospital, are the family members and relatives of the deceased Covid patient, Giasuddin.

The National Human Rights Commission, based on a complaint, has asked for the action taken report from the Assam Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police.

Visited #GMCH to inquire about health of Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati, who was brutally assaulted by family members of a deceased patient on Tuesday.



Also assured his family that Dr Senapati would be allowed to serve in a health Institute of his choice, when he resumes services. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/voPVHIZURO  Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 5, 2021

Meanwhile, Dr Senapatis family has refused to accept the monetary support of Rs 1 lakh offered by Lok Sabha member and All India United Democratic Front chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal.

Ajmal had condemned the incident and requested the government for speedy trial. He had also said that the guilty must be given exemplary punishment.
By PTI

PANAJI: The Goa education department on Saturday directed its affiliated academic institutes in the state to provide information about the students, who have lost either one or both their parents due to COVID-19.

Director of education, D R Bhagat, issued a circular to this effect, asking the institutes to compile a data of such students and submit it to the department by Monday.

"Due to the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases recently, many children have been orphaned or have lost either of their parents due to the pandemic," the circular said.

"The service providers might find it challenging to support children in institutions with psychosocial and mental health care needs. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in New Delhi has asked the department to submit the information to be uploaded on the 'Baal Swaraj Portal'," it added.

The coronavirus case count in Goa till Friday evening was 1,58,423, while the death toll was 2,727.
By PTI

BHOPAL: The stand-off between some 3,000 junior doctors and the Madhya Pradesh government continued into the sixth day on Saturday with the former refusing to back down despite the High Court calling their stir illegal.

On Saturday, the state government sent eviction notices to the doctors, who had resigned in protest following the HC order on Thursday, to vacate their hostels.

"Our peaceful protest will continue. They have asked us to vacate the government hostel in Bhopal, and also pay bond fees (which runs into several lakh rupees".

When they can serve us eviction notices, why not release a written order increasing our stipend," Madhya Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (JUDA) secretary Ankita Tripathi told PTI.

She said JUDA functionaries had tried to resolve the issue by seeking an appointment with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

While Tripathi said there was no plan as of now to approach the Supreme Court against the MP HC order, some others said it was an option.

Meanwhile, MP Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang told PTI the state government had given a stipend hike of 17 per cent but the doctors were adamant it should be 24 per cent.

"The High Court has termed their strike illegal and asked them to return to work within 24 hours. We are ready to hold talks to settle the issue. We have accepted most of their demands," he told PTI.

Junior doctors in six medical colleges across MP have been protesting for a stipend hike as well as free COVID-19 treatment for them and their kin.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: A mob of dozens of villagers torched two Assam Rifles vehicles and four weapons in Manipur after the paramilitary force had shot dead a civilian.

The incident occurred in Kangpokpi district on Friday night. The deceased was identified as Mangboilal Lhouvum, a daily wage labourer from Chalwa village in the district. He was seriously injured and succumbed to his injuries later.

A road opening party of 44 Assam Rifles, based at Banglabung village, was travelling to adjoining Chalwa village when the incident occurred. The police have taken an Army Major, who is on deputation with the Assam Rifles, into their custody.

After the incident, the locals vented their ire outside the Assam Rifles camp by resorting to arson. They also tried to attack the Major while he was being taken away by the police.

It was not immediately known what led to the incident. The police refused to share any details stating that they were getting various narratives of the incident. The Assam Rifles too did not share anything.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Harpreet Bajwa and Richa Sharma By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday met the three-member panel set up by the Congress high command to find a solution to the infighting in the party's state unit.

Sources said that as part of reconciliation efforts, Congress MLA and former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu could be brought back to the state cabinet. Sources said that during the three-hour meeting Amarinder gave a "report card" on the performance of his cabinet colleagues.

There are rumours that a few of them may be dropped and replaced by new faces.

Amarinder reportedly did not oppose Sidhu's return to the cabinet and chances are that he would be given an important portfolio. Discussions were also held on appointing a Dalit as the new deputy chief minister, keeping in mind the states large Dalit population.

There are also speculations that Sunil Jhakar may be replaced as the state Congress president. The meeting also saw discussion on the issue of justice in the sacrilege case. Sidhu and other Congress leaders have raised complaints that the government is doing nothing to bring the culprits to justice.

Amarinder reportedly assured the panel that a Special Investigation Team was investigation the case and the law will take its course.

Talks were also held on governance issues and ways to revamp the state party unit ahead of next years Assembly elections. Discussion were also held on the complaints raised by party MLAs that ministers are not listening to them.

A number of MLAs had told the panel that they want Amarinder as the partys chief-ministerial face in 2022, but complained that he is not very accessible to them. The panel started its work on Monday. It has by now met most of the party MLAs and ministers. It will submit a report to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi over the weekend.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: The Congress high command has sought a report after a fierce skirmish broke out between Rajasthan's Urban Development minister Shanti Dhariwal and the state Congress president and Minister of State Education Govind Singh Dotasra.

According to sources, the skirmish is a result of the intense competition for the post of Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief, after Sachin Pilot was removed from these posts last year.

In a meeting of the Council of Ministers headed by CM Ashok Gehlot, Dotasra spoke about involving the ministers in-charge in submitting a memorandum to the President on June 4 regarding the demand for free vaccination on behalf of the Congress high command.

Dhariwal protested this, saying why the minister in-charge would go to submit a memorandum to the collector. The dispute escalated to the extent that both leaders started verbally abusing each other. Dotasra warned that he would complain to the party National President Sonia Gandhi.

It is being said in the political circles that the skirmish between Dhariwal and Dotasra is about status. Shanti Dhariwal is a senior minister in the government, and after the removal of Sachin Pilot as deputy CM, he is seen as number two to Gehlot.

However, Govind Dostara has become powerful after assuming the chair of the PCC chief. Many government stalwarts, including Dhariwal, are unable to digest Dotasras rise.
By PTI

HAMIRPUR: Frustrated over the marriage of his girlfriend, a 20-year-old man allegedly died suicide by hanging himself from a tree in Lalpura Police Station area of the district, officials said on Saturday.

Laxmi Prajapati, a resident of Jakhedi village of Rath Kotwali area, took the extreme step on Friday night.

His body was found on Saturday morning and sent for post mortem examination, SHO Lalpura Police Station Omprakash Yadav said.

In the preliminary investigation so far, it has come to light that the man used to work in a private company in Rajasthan and was in a relationship with a woman belonging to Mahoba district, the SHO said.

While he was returning to his village from Rajasthan on Friday, he got the news about his girlfriend's marriage, police said.

He got down from the bus, took a selfie with a noose around his neck and sent it to his family and friends before committing suicide, the SHO added.

(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call AASRA's 24x7 Helpline: +91-9820466726 for assistance.)
By Express News Service

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government is mulling to extend some relaxation in curfew restrictions in five districts from June 8 which have shown improvement in terms of Covid situation.

"Any such decision is likely to be taken on the basis of Covid situation in the districts. We are monitoring the situation closely," Subodh Uniyal, state cabinet minister and spokesperson of the government said.

The districts of Bageshwar, Champawat, Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar recorded a test positivity rate of below 5% in the past week.

ALSO READ | Curbs eased further in Delhi; Tamil Nadu, Himachal, Goa extend restrictions till June 14

Officials told that more shops are likely to be permitted to open in these five districts and curfew timings are likely to be relaxed. The government is also planning to permit the plying of public transport vehicles with a two-third occupancy.

Meanwhile, the business community and stakeholders in the tourism industry have urged the government for some relaxation.

Ved Sah, spokesperson of the Nainital Hotel and Restaurants Association said, "The first wave also struck at the time of peak tourism season. Everyone was hopeful that now the pandemic has settled and there will be some respite but then a second wave hit us. Most of us have depleted our reserves and won't be able to sustain ourselves."

Meanwhile, with 619 fresh patients, active caseload in Uttarakhand reached 17305.


By PTI

PANAJI: The Goa government on Saturday announced that it would create 100 new water bodies in its forests for wild animals as part of its measures to reduce human-animal conflict. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, in a video message released on the occasion of World Environment Day, also said the state forest department will plant five lakh fruit-bearing trees in the forests.

In a separate video message on Friday, he had said that the state government was working on reducing the incidents of human-animal conflict. A total of 250 youths have been trained as nature's guide to inform people about the rich biodiversity of forests, he said in his message on Saturday. "There are 50 'vaidya mitra', who harvest different herbs that are available in our forests," Sawant added.

The state government has been organising special events like bird festival, turtle Conversation event and others to create awareness about the forests. He said that eco-tourism has been promoted through bio-diversity parks while new nurseries have been set up at Harvalem (North Goa) and Dharbandora (South Goa).

The state government has paid a total of Rs 10 lakh compensation to farmers, who suffered losses due to human- animal conflict, he said.
Sugata Srinivasaraju By

Earlier this week, the Kannada media went to town celebrating the silver jubilee of H D Deve Gowda taking oath as prime minister (1 June 1996). It was a retrospective moment of pride because 25 years ago, the local press that pretended to be torn between Gowda and Ramakrishna Hegde had quietly pushed the Hegde line on nearly all stories and, after Gowda had stepped down as prime minister 11 months later, had hastily written his political obituary.

Now, 17 years after Hegdes death in 2004, when Gowda is still politically relevant, there seems to be a remorseless correction. With the distance of time and in the context of virulent nationalism, a new generation in Karnataka has learnt to reconstruct regional pride and posit sub-nationalism in a different manner. Gowda has become one of its symbols. He has also become an alternative to the hubris of all that is national (read national parties), because he is presented as an epitome of the federal idea. An excessive centralisation of governance in the last seven years has added lustre to his rediscovery.

Anyway, despite reams of newsprint and airtime celebrating Gowda, there may be a few larger things that need to be placed in perspective. What needs to be told right up is that Gowda was not an accidental prime minister. He was part of our political system for over four decades by the time he came to occupy the highest office in the nation. He had been everything by then, from a taluk board member to MLA and opposition leader to minister and chief minister, when he was chosen to head the United Front coalition government. Except for those who are born to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, none can assume growing up that they are born to be prime ministers. The others can aspire but cannot assume that the chair is meant exclusively for them. Therefore, anybody who has become or becomes a prime minister in our parliamentary system is indeed an accidental prime minister.

This holds true for Lal Bahadur Shastri, another prime minister who was sworn in 57 years ago, again in June. From many published accounts, he was not a frontrunner. Interim prime minister Gulzarilal Nanda, Morarji Desai and Indira Gandhi were the options before the Congress party. Desai, it is said, was preferred by the right wing of the Congress and by leaders like Biju Patnaik, D Sanjeevayya, Jagjivan Ram and Mohanlal Sukhadia. The left wing of the party tried to push Indira Gandhis name. Shastri belonged to neither camp but was favoured by the powerful syndicate, which K Kamaraj, the Congress president, controlled. Therefore, Shastri was as accidental a prime minister as Gowda.

Later, Morarji Desai in 1977, V P Singh, Chandra Shekhar, I K Gujral, P V Narasimha Rao, A B Vajpayee (who was preferred over L K Advani) and Manmohan Singh (who took Sonia Gandhis place) were all accidental prime ministers. Gowda, who led the largest contingent of MPs after the Left parties, had been democratically chosen after V P Singh and Jyoti Basu declined the post. Until Narendra Modi and the BJP converted the prime ministerial selection process into a presidential contest in 2013-14, which placed the individual over the party, most of the prime ministers in our parliamentary system were accidental.

Before Gowda, Morarji Desai, V P Singh and Narasimha Rao too had been chief ministers. In fact, Gowda had greater grassroots experience than all of them put together and that distinguished him as a prime minister because he was instantly able to connect with the problems of India. From this point of view, he was eligible to be prime minister as much as anybody else. He was very involved and empathetic in the chair and the access that he gave to not just his ministers, politicians and partymen, but also to ordinary people, was extraordinary. His Janata Darshans were well known. This urge to be in direct physical contact with people was the nature of his mass politics. Now, it has been substituted by virtual social media accounts, and mass politics has been substituted by a majoritarian one.

Many prime ministers have preferred to rule through coteries, kitchen cabinets, technocrats and a select bunch of officers. For instance, Indira Gandhi ruled through her coteries that changed from time to time. She was seen by her sycophantic partymen as an empress, so the distance and the connect was that limited or cut off. Gowda too had a dedicated team of officers led by the likes of Satish Chandran and T S R Subramanian; he had a bunch of experts always advising him; he himself was a qualified engineer; but he never adopted a technocratic governance model. He always preferred to be an interface between the people and his officers and experts. He followed the Nehruvian model here. The technocratic model that we have been witness to since 2014, which bypasses the political process and the Cabinet, does not help the cause of democracy.

When Gowda became prime minister, it was a celebration of our democracy. If a complete outsider to the Delhi establishment like him could occupy the chair, it created hope. Many people intuitively understood that our democracy had not been rigged or captured by elites and dynasts, and there was indeed space in our political system to rise. No other prime minister had been able to give this assurance to the common man in India. Nehru, Indira and Rajiv were elites. Shastri, Charan Singh, V P Singh, Chandra Shekhar and Vajpayee were from the Hindi heartland. Morarji and Rao were upper caste men who had become part of the Delhi establishment for decades. Except for Charan Singh, who was a Jat and an Arya Samajist, Gowda was Indias first Shudra prime minister who faced Parliament. This should also largely explain the kind of resistance and hostility he faced despite the work he was able to accomplish in a short period.



Sugata Srinivasaraju

Senior journalist and author

(sugataraju@gmail.com)
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that the government is ready to face any number of Covid waves and extend medical services to all the patients, Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das said the cooperation of philanthropists will come in handy to provide better services to people.

The CS addressed the media after receiving Rs 3 crore worth medical equipment, including 100 oxygen concentrators and ventilators, donated by Singapore Red Cross Society. The society handed over the equipment to the Chief Secretary through Indian Red Cross Society State President Dr A Sridhar Reddy, here on Friday.

Thanking the society for helping the state during a pandemic, the CS said even NATA, TANA, American Association of Physicians and more others donated medicine kits, pulse oximeters and other useful equipment. Stating that the government has prepared an action plan to face and tackle the Covid waves, he said steps like enhancing the number of oxygen beds, expedition of vaccination drive and others are being taken.

CS administers oath to new info commissioners

Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das administered the oath of office to U Hariprasad Reddy and K Chenna Reddy, who were appointed as state information commissioners in AP Information Commission recently, at a ceremony at the Secretariat in Velagapudi on Friday.

Congratulating the new officials on behalf of the government, the CS exuded confidence that the duo will strive for better implementation of the RTI Act. Chenna Reddy, who hails from Kadapa, is an advocate and practiced for 15 years in the HC and other courts. Hariprasad is a senior journalist with a career spanning over decades.
By PTI

BENGALURU: Ridiculing the concerns of the BJP led government in Karnataka for cows, JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday said it 'lacked enthusiasm' in handling the situation arising out of the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) among cattle in the state.

In a series of tweets, the former Chief Minister rued that the dairy farmers were in distress due to the outbreak of this disease.

"The BJP government, which showed eagerness in bringing about the Anti-Cow Slaughter Act, appears not to be showing similar enthusiasm and commitment in handling the FMD," Kumaraswamy alleged.

It is a matter of concern for the farming community that there is an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) for cattle in the state now. Media reports have stated that even Ramanagara is one of the districts where this viral disease has been reported.

1/5  H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) June 5, 2021

Seeking to know whether any meetings were held on FMD, the JD(S) leader alleged that the Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan is yet to address the fear gripping the dairy farmers over spread of the disease.

The dairy farmers are in a tough situation already due to reduction in milk procurement prices and increase in cost of cattle feed. In such a situation, there is a fear that outbreak of FMD may turn dairy farming into a loss-making venture.....  H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) June 5, 2021

"It is a matter of concern for the farming community that there is an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) among the cattle in the state now."

According to Kumaraswamy, FMD is a serious disease and it can turn out to be fatal for the cattle.

Noting that the disease has the potential to reduce milk yield, fertility and cause chronic health problems for cattle, Kumaraswamy said this will further deteriorate the financial condition of farmers.

... This can upset the entire rural economy if preventive measures are not taken immediately as farmers are heavily dependent on animal husbandry for their livelihood.

3/5  H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) June 5, 2021

The former CM also said the dairy farmers were already in a tough spot due to reduction in milk procurement prices and increase in cost of cattle feed.

To compound their woes, the outbreak of FMD may turn dairy farming into a loss-making venture, he added.

Kumaraswamy warned that the FMD can upset the entire rural economy if preventive measures were not taken immediately as farmers are heavily dependent on animal husbandry for their livelihood.

Pointing to the shortage of vaccines for FMD at the private pharmacies, Kumaraswamy said the state government should immediately take measures to ensure supply of vaccines.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: All those above 40 will be given one dose of Covid vaccine before July 15, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. The CM was speaking at the Covid review meeting on Saturday.

The state will receive 38 lakh doses this month. Fifty lakh people above the age of 45 are yet to receive the first dose.

The CM directed the departments concerned to undertake coordinated measures with people's support on a war footing to face the third wave. Gene sequencing will be done in cases of breakthrough infections and infections among children to deal with the third wave. Results of the genetic sequencing will be analysed on a weekly basis. Mutations are reported from different parts of the world. The state will keep a tab on new mutations.

ALSO READ | 'In debt and skipping meals': Survey finds Covid second wave has hit the poor hard

Shops buying and selling raw rubber for industrial purposes will be allowed to function. Industries and shops selling related raw materials can function. LSGs and district administrations have been asked to take strict action on complaints of not getting food from community kitchens.

Mentally -challenged people will be included in the priority category for vaccination. Secretariat officers, including those working in ministers offices will be included in the priority category.

The validity of the Kisan Credit Card of farmers is due to expire this month. The CM directed the chief secretary to take steps for extending the validity.

Frequent covid tests will be conducted in places where a large number of people work, especially among migrant labourers in the construction sector.

As many as 85 lakh families will be given free food kits by June 15. The kits will be prepared by June 10. Tendering procedures have been completed for 35 PSA oxygen plants which have the sanction of the central government. The plants will be commissioned in October.
By Express News Service

COIMBATORE/TIRUCHY: The district administration of Coimbatore and Tiruchy have suspended inoculation camps scheduled for Saturday due to unavailability of vaccines.

Stocks in Madurai will last for two days, sources said. Coimbatore received 48,000 doses of vaccines on June 2, which included 40,000 doses of Covidshied and 8,000 doses of Covaxin.

All of these was used on June 3 and 4. With no stock available, the health department has decided to suspend the camps on Saturday.

It may be recalled that Vaccination in Coimbatore was suspended for three days from March 31 due to similar reasons.

As far as Madurai is concerned, the district has a stock of 6,670 doses, which will last for a couple of days. On an average 3,500 to 4000 people are being vaccinated in Madurai.

No special camps in Tiruchy today

Citing shortage of vaccines, Tiruchy Collector S Sivarasu said in a statement that there would be no vaccination camps in urban and rural areas on Saturday.

Tiruchy received 18,000 doses on June 2 and has only 500 doses left. Vaccination will be resumed once stock arrives, he said.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday announced the cancellation of Class 12 board examinations in view of the pandemic situation. Chief Minister, MK Stalin ordered the cancellation stating students' safety concerns.

The CM has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to cancel the conduct of all national level entrance exams like NEET, citing the same reasons.

A high-level committee headed by the school education department has been constituted to formulate a method based on which marks will be awarded to students. The committee will be headed by the school education department secretary and will include the Higher Education secretary, Madras University VC and school headmasters. They will discuss and soon submit a report suggesting methods to award marks or scores to the students.

Based on these marks or scores, college admissions to professional, arts and science courses will happen, stated Stalin.

The second wave has affected scores of people and the government is making all efforts to curb the spread. Against this backdrop, students safety is the primary concern of the government, the CM said.

Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Saturday held a high-level meeting with 13 legislature party representatives and consulted doctors, parents, students, mental health experts and teachers to discuss the class 12 Board examinations.

Whatever the opinions were, everybody was firm that the mental and physical health of the children must be the priority. Since the second wave has been very severe and health experts also suggest a third wave, it has been decided to cancel the examinations.

Also, only those above 18 years of age are eligible for vaccination at present. Experts suggested that these students who are below 18 might be a potential risk as they might become super spreaders if they gather in one place to write the exam.

Welcoming the move, PK Ilamaran, state president of Tamil Nadu Teachers Association said, "It is good that the government chose to keep students health in priority. There will definitely be complications in this exam if conducted, as 8.45 lakh students will be out there. Also, Government must ensure there are no entrance tests to engineering and art colleges just like NEET for medical college."

The second wave of Covid has affected children and youth more than the first wave. More fatalities and infections were reported this year.


By PTI

KATHMANDU: Nepal on Thursday rejected a UK tabloid report claiming the emergence of a "Nepal variant" of coronavirus, categorically denying its existence in the country and urging all not to spread such disinformation.

UK tabloid Daily Mail on Wednesday published a story, saying a coronavirus variant that is being linked to Nepal has been found in more than 20 people in the UK and is a mutated version of the strain identified in India.

Experts have alerted ministers to the new virus which has apparently also spread to several European countries, the tabloid said in a report.

"The report in some international media regarding the detection of the Nepal variant of coronavirus is not true," Dr. Krishna Prasad Poudyal, spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population told PTI.

There are only three variants of coronavirus, namely Alpha, Delta and Kappa found in Nepal so far, Poudyal said.

The World Health Organisation too in a tweet on Thursday said it is not aware of any such variant.

"WHO is not aware of any new variant of SARS-CoV-2 being detected in Nepal. The 3 confirmed variants in circulation are: Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) and Kappa (B.1.617.1). The predominant variant currently in circulation in Nepal is Delta (B.1.617.2)," the world health body said.

Reacting to the development, Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population issued a press release categorically denying the existence of any such variant in Nepal, The Himalayan Times report said.

"Among the many variants of concerns as declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Alfa and Delta are the only known active strains in Nepal," the ministry said.

"No other variant has been known to be active in the country," it said.

The ministry also urged all not to spread such disinformation without acquiring adequate information and verification from relevant agencies.

The news gained widespread attention in Nepal after the BBC posted a link of the news on its Twitter handle and the flow of responses to the tweet got "Nepal Variant" trending on the microblogging site throughout the day, the report said.

According to the Daily Mail, Nepal is currently on the UK Government's 'red list' for travel, used for countries with high infection rates, troubling variants and which lack the capacity to spot new mutant strains.

Last month, India objected to the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an "Indian Variant" in media reports with the Union Health Ministry pointing out that the WHO has not used the word "Indian" for this strain in its document.

Nepal's Health Ministry on Thursday confirmed 6,828 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally to 576,936.

Meanwhile, 5,904 patients have been discharged after recovering from the disease in the past 24 hours.

With this, 81 per cent (467,467 people) of the total infections have recovered from the disease. The total number of deaths in the country reached 7,630 after 75 people died of the disease. The ministry said there are currently 101,839 corona active patients undergoing treatment across Nepal.
By PTI

KABUL: Afghanistan is battling a brutal surge in COVID-19 infections as health officials plead for vaccines, only to be told by the World Health Organization that the 3 million doses the country expected to receive by April won't be delivered until August.

"We are in the middle of a crisis, Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Dastigir Nazari said this week, expressing deep frustration at the global vaccine distribution that has left poor countries scrambling to find supplies for their people.

Nazari has knocked on the door of several embassies, and so far, "I've gotten diplomatic answers" but no vaccine doses, he said.

Over the past month, the escalating pace of new cases has threatened to overwhelm Afghanistan's health system, already struggling under the weight of relentless conflict.

In part, the increase has been blamed on uninterrupted travel with India, bringing the highly contagious Delta variant, first identified in India.

Also, most Afghans still question the reality of the virus or believe their faith will protect them and rarely wear masks or social distance, often mocking those who do.

Until just a week ago, the government was allowing unrestricted mass gatherings.

The Delta variant has helped send Afghanistan's infection rate soaring, hitting 16 provinces and the capital Kabul the hardest.

This week, the rate of registered new cases reached as high as 1,500 a day, compared to 178 a day on May 1.

Hospital beds are full, and it is feared rapidly dwindling oxygen supplies will run out.

Afghan ambassadors have been ordered to seek out emergency oxygen supplies in nearby countries, Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar said in a tweet Friday.

By official figures, Afghanistan has seen a total 78,000 cases and 3,007 deaths from the pandemic.

But those figures are likely a massive undercount, registering only deaths in hospitals, not the far greater numbers who die at home.

Testing is woefully inadequate.

In only the past month, the percentage of positive COVID tests has jumped from about 8 per cent to 60 per cent in some parts of the country.

By WHO recommendations, anything higher than 5 per cent shows officials aren't testing widely enough, allowing the virus to spread unchecked.

At most only 3,000 tests a day are carried out, as Afghans resist testing, even after the country dramatically ramped up its capabilities to 25,000 a day.

Only recently, the government tried to take steps to clamp down to contain the surge.

It closed schools, universities and colleges for two weeks.

It also shut down wedding halls, which had been operating unhindered throughout the pandemic.

But it is rare to see anyone wearing a mask in the streets, and even where masks are mandatory, like in government offices, it's rarely enforced.

As many as 10 flights arrive daily from India, packed with Afghans, particularly students and people who had gone to India for medical treatment.

Nazari said banning flights was not an option since many Afghans cannot afford to be stranded in India and the government cannot prevent citizens from re-entering their own country.

For vaccines, Afghanistan so far has relied on a donation of AstraZeneca doses from India and then purchases of Sinopharm from China.

About 600,000 people have had at least one dose, about 1.6 per cent of the population of 36 million.

But the number who have gotten a second dose is minute  "so few I couldn't even say any percentage," Nazari said.

Last month, the ministry received a letter from WHO saying the expected shipment of 3 million vaccine doses will not arrive until August due to supply problems, Nazari said.

With just 35,000 vaccine doses remaining in the country, the authorities were forced to stop giving first jabs to use remaining supplies to give second jabs, he said.
By Associated Press

LONDON: The world's richest countries signed a landmark agreement Saturday committing them to confronting corporate tax avoidance and making sure that giant tech companies pay their fair share, Britain's treasury chief said.

Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, said finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations signed the pact on the second and final day of meetings in London.

"I'm delighted to announce that G-7 finance ministers today, after years of discussions, have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and crucially to make sure that it's fair, so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places," Sunak said in a video message posted on Twitter.

The G-7 ministers agreed in principle to a global minimum tax rate of 15 per cent for multinational companies in each country they operate in.

The G7 Finance Ministers have made a significant, unprecedented commitment today that provides tremendous momentum towards achieving a robust global minimum tax at a rate of at least 15%.  Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) June 5, 2021

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who attended the London meetings, said the agreement "provides tremendous momentum" towards reaching a global 15 per cent rate that "would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the US and around the world."

The meeting of finance ministers came ahead of an annual summit of G-7 leaders scheduled for June 11-13 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. The UK is hosting both sets of meetings because it holds the group's rotating presidency.

The G-7 has also been facing pressure to provide vaccines for low-income countries facing new surges of COVID-19 infections and to finance projects to combat climate change.

International discussions on the tax issue gained momentum after US President Joe Biden backed the idea of a global minimum 15 per cent corporate profit tax rate.

The proposal also found support among other major economies such as France and Germany.

Nations have been grappling with the question of how to deter companies from legally avoiding tax by resorting to tax havens typically small countries that entice companies with low or zero taxes, even though the firms do little actual business there.

They've also been trying to solve the related problem of taxing internet-based companies doing business in countries where they have no physical presence and thus pay little or no tax.

The endorsement from the G-7 could help build momentum for a deal in wider talks among more than 140 countries being held in Paris as well as a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice in July.
By Associated Press

RICHMOND: Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.

The escalating havoc caused by ransomware gangs raises an obvious question: Why has the United States, believed to have the worlds greatest cyber capabilities, looked so powerless to protect its citizens from this kind of criminals operating with near impunity out of Russia and allied countries?

The answer is that there are numerous technological, legal and diplomatic hurdles to going after ransomware gangs. Until recently, it just hasnt been a high priority for the U.S. government.

That has changed as the problem has grown well beyond an economic nuisance. President Joe Biden intends to confront Russias leader, Vladimir Putin, about Moscow's harbouring of ransomware criminals when the two men meet in Europe later this month. The Biden administration has also promised to boost defences against attacks, improve efforts to prosecute those responsible and build diplomatic alliances to pressure countries that harbour ransomware gangs.

Calls are growing for the administration to direct U.S. intelligence agencies and the military to attack ransomware gangs' technical infrastructure used for hacking, posting sensitive victim data on the dark web and storing digital currency payouts.

Fighting ransomware requires the nonlethal equivalent of the global war on terrorism launched after the Sept. 11 attacks, said John Riggi, a former FBI agent and senior adviser for cybersecurity and risk for the America Hospital Association. Its members have been hard hit by ransomware gangs during the coronavirus pandemic.

It should include a combination of diplomatic, financial, law enforcement, intelligence operations, of course, and military operations, Riggi said.

A public-private task force including Microsoft and Amazon made similar suggestions in an 81-page report that called for intelligence agencies and the Pentagons U.S. Cyber Command to work with other agencies to prioritize ransomware disruption operations.

Take their infrastructure away, go after their wallets, their ability to cash out, said Philip Reiner, a lead author of the report. He worked at the National Security Council during the Obama presidency and is now CEO at The Institute for Security and Technology.

But the difficulties of taking down ransomware gangs and other cybercriminals have long been clear. The FBIs list of most-wanted cyber fugitives has grown at a rapid clip and now has more than 100 entries, many of whom are not exactly hiding. Evgeniy Bogachev, indicted nearly a decade ago for what prosecutors say was a wave of cyber bank thefts, lives in a Russian resort town and is known to enjoy boating on the Black Sea, according to the FBIs wanted listing.

Ransomware gangs can move around, do not need much infrastructure to operate and can shield their identities. They also operate in a decentralized network. For instance, DarkSide, the group responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack that led to fuel shortages in the South, rents out its ransomware software to partners to carry out attacks.

Katie Nickels, director of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Red Canary, said identifying and disrupting ransomware criminals takes time and serious effort.

A lot of people misunderstand that the government cant just willy-nilly go out and press a button and say, well, nuke that computer, she said. Trying to attribute to a person in cyberspace is not an easy task, even for intelligence communities.

Reiner said those limits do not mean the United States cannot still make progress against defeating ransomware, comparing it with America's ability to degrade the terrorist group al-Qaida while not capturing its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over after U.S. troops killed Osama bin Laden.

We can fairly easily make the argument that al-Qaida no longer poses a threat to the homeland, Reiner said. So short of getting al-Zawahiri, you destroy his ability to actually operate. Thats what you can do to these (ransomware) guys.

The White House has been vague about whether it plans to use offensive cyber measures against ransomware gangs. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that were not going to take options off the table, but she did not elaborate. Her comments followed a ransomware attack by a Russian gang that caused outages at Brazils JBS SA, the second-largest producer of beef, pork and chicken in the United States.

Gen. Paul Nakasone, who leads U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, said at a recent symposium that he believes the U.S. will be bringing the weight of our nation, including the Defense Department, to take down this (ransomware) infrastructure outside the United States.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who is a legislative leader on cybersecurity issues, said the debate in Congress over how aggressive the U.S. needs to be against ransomware gangs, as well as state adversaries, will be front and center of the next month or two.

To be honest, its complicated because youre talking about using government agencies, government capabilities to go after private citizens in another country, he said.

The U.S. is widely believed to have the best offensive cyber capabilities in the world, though details about such highly classified activities are scant. Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the U.S. conducted 231 offensive cyber operations in 2011. More than a decade ago a virus called Stuxnet attacked control units for centrifuges in an underground site in Iran, causing the sensitive devices to spin out of control and destroy themselves. The cyberattack was attributed to America and Israel.

U.S. policy called persistent engagement already authorizes cyberwarriors to engage hostile hackers in cyberspace and disrupt their operations with code. U.S. Cyber Command has launched offensive operations related to election security, including against Russian misinformation officials during U.S. midterm elections in 2018.

After the Colonial Pipeline attack, Biden promised that his administration was committed to bringing foreign cybercriminals to justice. Yet even as he was speaking from the White House, a different Russian-linked ransomware gang was leaking thousands of highly sensitive internal files  including deeply personal background checks  belonging to the police department in the nations capital. Experts believe its the worst ransomware attack against a U.S.-based law enforcement agency.

We are not afraid of anyone, the hackers wrote in a follow-up post.
By AFP

ABUJA: Nigeria's government said on Friday it was suspending Twitter's operations indefinitely, two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari's account for violating its rules.

Twitter was still working in Africa's most populous country soon after Friday's statement, which triggered immediate criticism from rights groups and analysts about freedom of expression.

Nigeria's information ministry said Twitter was "suspended, indefinitely," because of "persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence".

When asked about the decision, ministry special assistant Segun Adeyemi told AFP: "I can't answer technicalities... operations will be suspended indefinitely."

The ministry also announced the suspension on its own Twitter account though it gave no details on when the decision would take effect or what form the suspension would take.

"The announcement made by the Nigerian Government that they have suspended Twitters operations in Nigeria is deeply concerning," the company said in a statement.

"Were investigating and will provide updates when we know more."

The ministry did not give details about what activities were threatening Nigeria.

But Twitter on Wednesday deleted a remark on Buhari's account for violating regulations, after he referred to the country's civil war in a warning about recent unrest in the southeast.

The 78-year-old president, a former general, referred to those "misbehaving" in recent violence in the southeast, where officials blame separatists for attacks on police and election offices.

Minister of Information Lai Mohammed on Wednesday accused Twitter of ignoring violent messages from a separatist leader and also referred to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's support for the #EndSARS protests last year in Nigeria against police brutality.

Friday's decision was swiftly denounced by rights groups.

"This repressive action is a clear attempt to censor dissent & stifle the civic space," Human Rights Warch researcher Anietie Ewang said on Twitter.

'Muzzling freedom of expression'

Amnesty International called for Nigeria to immediately reverse the "unlawful suspension".

"This is the height of muzzling the freedom of expression that can only happen in dictatorships," Bulama Bukarti, an analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said on Twitter.

"It will go down in history as one Buhari's biggest mistakes and PR disasters."

Nigeria in 2019 had announced it would tighten regulations on social media to fight fake news and disinformation, but the proposal sparked concerns over freedom of expression.

Several countries including China and Turkey have come under fire for putting restrictions on social media platforms like Twitter.

In February Twitter condemned Myanmar's move to block access to its platform as part of a crackdown on social media, days after a coup that saw Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders jailed.
By PTI

LONDON: Moderna and Pfizer have released data suggesting that their vaccines are well tolerated in adolescents and highly effective in preventing COVID-19.

Canada, the US and the EU have already authorised the Pfizer vaccine in children as young as 12. And the UK has just approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children aged 12 to 15. But there may a case for holding out on an immediate rollout, for several reasons.

Whether a vaccine is beneficial for someone depends on three things: how likely they are to become seriously ill from the infection, how effective the vaccine is, and the risks of vaccination.

Children have less severe COVID-19 than adults. A recent study across seven countries suggests that there were less than two in a million COVID deaths in children. Even if the vaccine is highly effective in children, it can only eliminate an already tiny risk.

Of course, there are other problems, such as long COVID, but we don't know yet how common this is in children. We also have to weigh the benefits against vaccine side effects.

So far, trials are reassuring, but those studies only gave the vaccine to about 3,000 young people (aged 12 to 17). They are not large enough to identify rare events.

For example, the blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine were not seen in the much larger initial adult trials.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is looking into reports of heart inflammation in teenagers and young people who have received COVID vaccines.

We don't know whether these are indeed related to the vaccines, what a true rate might be or if this relates to children.

Because of residual uncertainty about the safety profile and the relatively small benefit in a low-risk population, we cannot be sure that COVID vaccines will overall be in children's best interests.

The moral questions As well as direct benefit, vaccines have an important indirect benefit: they reduce the spread of the virus and stop other people from being infected.

If you can help others in a significant way, at little personal cost, risk or burden, you have an ethical duty to do so a so-called duty of easy rescue.

Vaccinating children could help to achieve herd immunity and protect older adults. For this reason, some ethicists advocate targeting flu vaccination programmes at children.

There is data to suggest that adults living with children may be at increased risk of infection and hospital admission.

There is also some concern that a large number of cases of new variants may be occurring in younger people. Meanwhile, evidence is emerging that the COVID vaccines do prevent transmission of the virus.

However, vaccine-induced herd immunity may not be possible if virus variants are able to evade antibody protection. Next, a duty of easy rescue only applies if an intervention is low risk.

It applies to tried-and-tested vaccines, such as flu, but we don't know that for sure about COVID vaccination in children.

Also, despite their low risk from COVID itself, the pandemic has had a huge toll on children's mental health and educational development.

It may not be fair to impose further duties on them, given the sacrifices they have already made for older people.

If herd immunity is indeed possible, it can potentially be achieved by vaccinating 60% to 70% of the population. In the UK and many other countries, that would be possible without vaccinating children.

But there is a final, even more important reason why, at the present time, vaccinating children would be wrong. There are massive inequalities in global vaccine distribution and access.

For example, last month Nepal suspended its vaccination programme because of lack of vaccine supply, despite a massive surge in cases.

Only 2.5% of its population have been fully vaccinated so far. Peru, which recently recorded the highest number of COVID deaths per capita in the world, has only fully vaccinated 4% of its population.

Given current data, 13 million vaccine doses (enough to vaccinate all of the UK's children) could prevent many thousands of deaths in a country like Peru.

This argument is partly altruistic. The UK, for one, should be giving vaccines to adults at high risk of serious illness in countries in urgent need of vaccine, rather than to low-risk populations, such as children within its own borders.

But it is also in the UK's interests. As others have highlighted, the emergence of more transmissible coronavirus variants in countries with low vaccination rates means that the UK may be facing a particularly dangerous phase of the pandemic.

In the short term, we urgently need to achieve widespread vaccination of the vulnerable in countries at greatest need.

If the virus is allowed to rage in countries unchecked, there will be a risk of further waves of coronavirus even in countries with high rates of vaccination. These concerns are likely to change.

Greater evidence will lead to greater confidence that vaccinations are safe in children and young people.

Greater international distribution of the vaccine would mean that doses for young people in developed countries will not come at the cost of those in poorer countries at a much higher risk of dying.

But for the coming months, and possibly longer, COVID vaccination campaigns in high-income countries should not include children.
By PTI

PETERSBURG (Russia): As Indian companies get ready to manufacture Russian-made Sputnik V anti-COVID vaccine to meet the staggering demand in the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said Russia is the only country in the world that is ready to transfer technology and to expand production abroad, and noted that the vaccine was being sold in 66 countries.

The remarks by the Russian president came a day after the officials in New Delhi said that Serum Institute of India has received preliminary approval from the country's drug regulator for manufacturing of Sputnik V.

Already Indian pharma company, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, in April 2021 received the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Russian vaccine. Also, Panacea Biotec in collaboration with Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF has begun the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in India.

Rejecting allegations over Sputnik V vaccine's efficacy, the Russian president during a virtual interaction with senior editors of major international news agencies, including the Press Trust of India, the Associated Press and Reuters, said that the delay in getting the vaccine registered in Europe was due to a "competitive struggle'' and "commercial interests" there.

With China being blamed by some countries, especially the US, for the COVID pandemic, Putin said too much has been said about the subject, and emphasised that the crisis should not be "politicised". He was replying to a question on the cause of the COVID pandemic.

Last week, US President Joe Biden announced that he had ordered further intelligence investigation into the origins of COVID-19 amidst allegations that coronavirus originated from a laboratory in China's Wuhan city with former US president Donal Trump calling for imposing a fine on the Asian country for the "death and destruction" it has caused.

"Too many things have already been said on this subject, so it seems to me that making more comments about this would be pointless. I don't think that I can say something new or intriguing," Putin said through a translator.

Noting that there was a competitive struggle against Sputnik V, Putin said, "in 66 countries, we are selling our vaccine, it is a huge market for us. I am pretty sure the allegations are due to commercial reasons but we are following humanitarian reasons."

He further asserted that "it is recognised by international experts, the vaccine is efficient, its efficacy is 97.6 per cent. We are the only country in the world who is ready to transfer technology and is ready to expand our production abroad." Putin also expressed hope that challenges created by the novel coronavirus pandemic would spur countries to remove politically motivated restrictions against each other.
By AFP

SAN FRACNCISCO: Former US president Donald Trump said Friday his two-year ban by Facebook was an "insult" to voters, as he signalled he sees himself making a return to the White House.

"Facebook's ruling is an insult to the record-setting 75M people, plus many others, who voted for us in the 2020 Rigged Presidential Election," Trump said in a brief statement, renewing his false claims that last November's race was stolen from him.

"They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win. Our Country can't take this abuse anymore!"

Trump was kicked off the world's largest social media platform in January, when Facebook accused the Republican leader of stoking a deadly riot that month at the US Capitol.

Other media websites like Twitter also blocked him, but Facebook's two-year ban means the brash billionaire could be back on the platform by January 2023, early in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.

Trump, 74, has repeatedly teased the prospect of another White House bid, despite being impeached by the House of Representatives -- and acquitted by the Senate -- for inciting the January 6 insurrection.

But in his Friday statement he directly portrayed himself as returning to the presidential mansion -- one of the clearest signs yet of his ambition to return to power.

"Next time I'm in the White House there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife," Trump said of Facebook's chief executive. "It will be all business!"

While Trump has flirted with a fresh election bid, New York Times political reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted Tuesday that Trump has been telling confidants that he expects to be "reinstated" by August following a series of election audits in states like Arizona and Georgia.

There is no provision in the US Constitution that allows a defeated president to be reinstated after a certified election.

Trump's core base has largely refused to believe that President Joe Biden was legitimately elected, despite a lack of evidence suggesting otherwise.
By PTI

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday announced to convene a meeting of the foreign ministers of Muslim nations in Islamabad next year to highlight the issue of Kashmir and get their support.

He was addressing a gathering of political workers of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party in his home town of Multan.

"If God grants me time, then in March 2022 I will invite the foreign ministers of the Islamic world to Islamabad and try to rally them on the Kashmir issue," he said.

India has repeatedly said Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the country is capable of solving its own problems.

India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.

India has said the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.

Qureshi also warned Afghan leaders to stop issuing insulting statements against Pakistan otherwise the country would stop even talking to them.

He took strong exception to the remarks of Afghan National Security Advisor who had called Pakistan a brothel house.
After nearly two months of strict lockdown-type restrictions, the Maharashtra government has decided to cautiously initiate a five-phased Unlock 2.0 from Monday (June 7), starting with 18 of the state's 36 districts, officials said here on Saturday.

In the first phase, it will take effect in: Aurangabad, Bhandara, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Jalgaon, Jalna, Latur, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Parbhani, Thane, Washim, Wardha and Yavatmal districts.

The decision comes after detailed deliberations of over a week by state Disaster Management Unit with all other concerned departments and stakeholders, as per a detailed notification issued by the CMO early on Saturday.

The state has been divided into 48 units as per districts and municipal corporations, and five levels, depending on the positivity rate and occupancy of oxygenated beds.

Both, Mumbai and Pune, among the worst-affected do not figure in the list yet.

Suburban local trains will not be thrown open for the general public in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad.

Districts with a case positivity rate of 5 per cent or less and occupancy of hospital beds is less than 25 per cent will come under Level 1.

These districts shall be completely unlocked with all activities continuing normally including transport, shops, restaurants, malls, theatres, cultural events, sports, industries, government and private offices, construction activities, weddings and funerals, as in the past.
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SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (AP)  Committing to the pilgrims path has for centuries been a source of renewal for those willing to put their lives on hold and spend days, weeks or even months crossing Spain along the Camino de Santiago, a journey that takes hikers to the reported burial place of the apostle St. James.

But after a year of being kept off the Way of St. James due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, soul-searchers hoping to heal wounds left by the coronavirus are once again strapping on backpacks and following trails marked with a seashell emblem to the shrine in the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Some travelers taking to the Camino are like Laura Ferron, whose marriage ended during Spains lockdown and who fears she might lose her job because the bank she works for plans massive layoffs. She and two lifelong friends flew from their homes in Spains North Africa enclave of Ceuta to spend a week walking the final 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the pilgrimage route.

This helps you let it all go. This pandemic has taught us to give more importance to what we have and to take a good long look at yourself, Ferron, 33, said while resting on a climb near Arzua. The village in the green hills of northwest Spain is about two days away from the medieval cathedral in Santiago that is the traditional ending point.

The Camino de Santiago is actually a series of paths that fan out beyond the Iberian Peninsula and spread across Europe. Whichever route one takes, they all end at the Santiagos baroque cathedral, where believers can visit what is said to be the tomb of James, the apostle who, according to Catholic tradition, brought Christianity to Spain and Portugal.

The pilgrimage has its roots in the alleged discovery of the tomb in the 9th century. Pilgrims have come to Santiago for a millenium, but the number of both believers and non-believers making the trip boomed in recent decades after regional authorities revived the route.

It is now supported by a wide network of religious and civic organizations and served by public and private hostels at prices for all pocketbooks.

Over 340,000 people from all over the world walked El Camino in 2019. Only 50,000 walked it last year, when Spain blocked both foreign and domestic travel except for during the summer months.

Before a state of emergency that limited travel between Spains regions ended on May 9, only a handful of Spanish pilgrims were arriving in Santiago each day and registering with the Pilgrims Reception Office to receive their official credential for having completed the pilgrimage.

Now that travel is again permitted, more people from Spain and elsewhere in Europe are walking the ancient path, although many of the hostels that cater to pilgrims them are still closed. A few hundred arrive in Santiago each day, compared to the several thousand exhausted pilgrims swinging their walking sticks along the citys cobblestone streets during a typical summer.

Spains Health Ministry has reported the deaths of over 79,000 people from COVID-19. As it did around the world, the disease took its biggest toll on the countrys oldest residents.

For old people, one year of pandemic has felt like five, Naty Arias, 81, said while walking the Camino with her 84-year-old husband and two of their daughters. And like my husband says, we dont have that much time left anyway, so we have to make the most of it.

The numbers of pilgrims arriving in Santiago over the next year-and-a-half will be boosted after Pope Francis extended the 2021 holy year dedicated to St. James through 2022. For Roman Catholics who take part in the pilgrimage, walking it during a Jubilee Year gives them the chance to receive the plenary indulgence, which grants them the full remission of the temporal punishment for their sins. The last Jubilee Year for the trail was in 2010.

Santiago Archbishop Julian Barrio said he is cautiously optimistic that some 300,000 pilgrims could turn out this year, as long as the pace of Spains vaccination program and the health situation worldwide continues to improve. He expects many to come seeking solace from the pain of the pandemic.

The Way of St. James, in this sense, can help us. It is a space that helps us recover our inner peace, our stability, our spirit, which without doubt we all need, given the difficulties that we have in facing the pain and the ravages of the pandemic that sometimes leave us speechless, Barrio told The Associated Press.

Daniel Sarto, 67, joined three friends on the trail, looking to relax after months of stress from seeing his Barcelona-based trade show company bring in zero revenue.

It has been a very, very, very hard year. Psychologically, it is very sad constantly thinking that this is going nowhere, about what will happen to our employees, Sarto said. This is a relief being here, without a doubt. My wife told me that I had to get out of the house. I had to come.

Mental health experts agree that the pilgrimage can lead to emotional healing for both faithful Roman Catholics and the large number of non-Catholics who are drawn to make one. Dr. Albert Feliu, a health psychologist and lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said preliminary results from a survey of 100 pilgrims point to a reduction of stress and depression that surpass those seen after regular vacations.

The survey was part of a multi-year study of the benefits of walking the Camino de Santiago being done by clinical researchers from universities in Spain and Brazil. Manu Marino, the director of Quietud Mindfulness Center in Santiago, is also involved in the research. He has gone on the pilgrimage 24 times.

The Way of St. James is a very good place to help us realize that suffering forms part of life, and that our suffering depends on how we relate to what we are experiencing, Marino said. You learn to live with just what is necessary, which means exactly what you can carry in a backpack.

Vladimir Vala, a 25-year-old university graduate in business, came to Spain to walk for three weeks before returning to the Czech Republic to get married. For Vala, the pandemic has one positive facet among all the misery, that he feels dovetails with the experience of walking, mostly by himself, day after day through the countryside.

People were alone and they had to face themselves (during the pandemic), Vala said after visiting the cathedral. And I think the Camino is (about) facing yourself in its meaning. So it comes together really close. Its beautiful and hard.

The newly divorced Ferron had a similar assessment.

The trail is good for your mental health because all this can drive anyone crazy, being locked up, the fear, the psychosis, she said. Some climbs are really hard, but at the end of the day you reach your goal and then you have the reward of a cold beer, which is divine.

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Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Alexis Webb, new youth theater director for the Champaign Park District, makes herself at home Friday at the studio the program uses at Springer Cultural Center in downtown Champaign.
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Lakeland Community College has announced it will hold a virtual commencement for spring 2021 on May 8.
Painesville will be building one of these salt storage facilities over the summer after the city's former salt shed was deemed beyond repair earlier this spring after over 35 years of use
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Congress General secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday once again slammed the government for declaring early victory over Covid, asking -is Prime Minister's new residence and new Parliament building more important than health facilities?

Questioning the government under her "Who is responsible" campaign, Priyanka Gandhi said that during the second wave of the Covid in India people faced acute shortage of ICU beds, hospital beds and oxygen.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandhi, who is Congress in-charge for Uttar Pradesh said, "The Prime Minister was engaged in fake publicity of victory over Covid when people of the country faced acute shortage of oxygen, ICU, Ventilator and hospital beds. But the government did not focus on that."

Lashing out at the government, Priyanka Gandhi said that the Prime Minister in September last year had said that India has 2,27,972 oxygen beds. But it reduced by 36 per cent to 1,57,344, she said.

The Congress leader said that during the same period ICU beds witnessed a decline of 46 per cent from 66,638 to 36,008 and ventilator beds were reduced to 23,618 from 33,024, witnessing a decline of 28 per cent.

Citing the example of the national capital, she said that in July last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had inaugurated ITBP's temporary medical centre with 10,000 beds. The ITBP centre was closed on February 7 this year.

She said, during the second wave of Covid, this medical centre was restricted but with only 2,000 beds.

Slamming the government, Priyanka Gandhi said that the Standing Committee of Parliament on Health had warned of the Second Wave and also recommended to focus on hospital beds, oxygen availability. "But the focus of the government was somewhere else," she said.

Highlighting the hardships of the people during the second wave of Covid pandemic, which hit India hard, Priyanka Gandhi said that lakhs of people were complaining of bed shortage with the government and at that point of time, the applications like Aarogya Setu and other databases proved useless.

Taking a potshot at the government she said that at the time when government declared victory over Covid, it was unable to provide proper data of the availability of hospital beds on Aaroya Setu app. People had to run from pillar to post for hospital beds.

She also questioned the seriousness of the government with regard to the health sector and said, "After coming to power in 2014, the BJP government slashed the Health budget by 20 per cent and also announced to construct 15 new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)."

She said, none of the 15 new AIIMS are functional as of date.

In 2018, a Parliament committee highlighted the lack of teachers and health workers to the government, but it didn't pay any heed to it.

Firing salvos, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Despite having a year's time to prepare for Covid, why government announced a false victory over the pandemic and decreased the number of hospital beds instead of increasing it?"
The first evidence of a genetic link explaining why some people who catch Covid-19 don't become sick has been discovered.

A scientific and medical team led by Newcastle University, UK, has demonstrated that the gene, HLA-DRB1*04:01, is found three times as often in people who are asymptomatic. This suggests that people with this gene have some level of protection from severe Covid.

The study, funded by Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency, compared asymptomatic people to patients from the same community who developed severe Covid but had no underlying illnesses, and is published in the HLA journal.

The study team believe this is the first clear evidence of genetic resistance because this study compared severely affected people with an asymptomatic COVID group and used next generation sequencing to focus in detail and at scale on the HLA genes which are packed together on chromosome 6. Other studies have scanned the whole genome but that approach is less effective in the tissue typing complex.

Genome wide studies can be likened to a satellite image. The high density and complexity of the histocompatibility complex and variation in different populations means significant variation can be overlooked. For example, different alleles or versions of the same gene could have opposite effects on the immune response. This study was much more focused and compared symptomatic to asymptomatic in the same population revealing the "protective" qualities of the allele.

It is known that the human leukocyte antigen gene identified, HLA-DRB1*04:01, is directly correlated to latitude and longitude. This means more people in the North and West of Europe are likely to have this gene.

This suggests that populations of European descent will be more likely to remain asymptomatic but still transmit the disease to susceptible populations.

Dr Carlos Echevarria from the Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University who also works as a Respiratory Consultant in the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is a co-author of the paper says: "This is an important finding as it may explain why some people catch Covid but don't get sick.

"It could lead us to a genetic test which may indicate who we need to prioritize for future vaccinations."

"At a population level, this is important for us to know because when we have lots of people who are resistant, so they catch Covid but don't show symptoms, then they risk spreading the virus while asymptomatic."

The effect of genes being linked to geolocation is an accepted scientific concept and it is well known that HLA genes develop over generations in reaction to disease-causing pathogens.

Study author, David Langton, whose company ExplantLab helped fund the study through an Innovate UK research award, added: "Some of the most interesting findings were the relationships between longitude and latitude and HLA gene frequency. It has long been known that the incidence of multiple sclerosis increases with increasing latitude. This has been put down in part to reduced UV exposure and therefore lower vitamin D levels. We weren't aware, however, that one of the main risk genes for MS, that is DRB1*15:01, directly correlates to latitude.

"This highlights the complex interaction between environment, genetics and disease. We know some HLA genes are vitamin D responsive, and that low vitamin D levels are a risk factor for severe COVID and we are doing further work in this area."

The study used samples from 49 patients with severe Covid who had been hospitalised with respiratory failure, samples from an asymptomatic group of 69 hospital workers who had tested positive through routine blood antibody testing and a control group from a study into the relationship between HLA genotypes and the outcomes of joint replacement surgery.

The research used next generation sequencing machines to study the different versions, or alleles, of the HLA genes in depth which was combined with a variety of expertise and modelling. The work was limited to samples from North East England during the first lockdown, this reduced variation in the study groups but more studies will be needed in the UK and other populations as there may be different copies of the HLA genes providing resistance in other populations.

The work was a collaboration between Newcastle University, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as well as the James Cook University Hospital and North Tees and Hartlepool Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

SARS Cov-2 is one of the greatest threats Mankind has faced. The more we understand why some people become sick, the better we can defend ourselves against this virus and others like it in future." Sir John Burn, Co-author, Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University
The first Juneteenth in Franklin had a total of 100 people and it consisted of teaching about the holiday as well as pushing for Black Lives Matter. This year, it has been expanded to be a 5k and family walk and live music and refreshments.
Donna M. Seifried, 78, passed away on Friday, June 11, 2021, at her home surrounded by family. She was a receptionist at Price Waterhouse Coopers, a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and a native of Salina, KS. She is survived by her husband William "Bill" Seifried of Jeffersonville, I
(Newser) 

The daughter of a California firefighter shot and killed on Tuesday graduated from high school only two days later. Joslyn Carlon walked across the stage to collect her diploma in her capand her fathers coat. Instead of her dad cheering when her name was called, 300 of his colleagues cheered instead, People reports. When she arrived at the ceremony, the Saugus High School senior walked between rows of her dads colleagues standing at attention, and was escorted into the venue by an LA County firefighter, per CNN
(Newser)  The building has stunning Manhattan skyline views, its spa offers deep-tissue massages, and the fancy restaurant off the lobby serves prime steaks. Best of all, many apartments at the Trump World Tower are selling at a deep discountassuming the buyer doesn't mind the name over the door. "Fifty percent of the people wouldnt want to live in a Trump building for any reason ... but then there are guys like me," said Lou Sollecito, a car dealer who recently bought a two-bedroom unit with views of the Empire State Building. "It's a super buy." The purchase price was $3 million, nearly a million less than the seller paid in 2008. Bargain hunters are swooping in to take advantage of prices in Trump buildings that have dropped to levels not seen in over a decade, the AP reports, a crash brokers attribute to a combination of the former president's polarizing image and the coronavirus pandemic. Its a stunning reversal for a brand that once lured the rich and famous willing to pay a premium to live in a building with Donald Trump's gilded name on it.

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An AP review of more than 4,000 transactions over the past 15 years in 11 Trump-branded buildings in Chicago, Honolulu, Las Vegas, and New York found prices for some condos and hotel rooms on the market have dropped by one-third or more. That plunge outpaces drops in many similar buildings, leaving units in Trump buildings to be had for hundreds of thousands to up to a million dollars less than they would have gone for years ago. Just how much the Trump name is to blame is impossible to say. Many units are in cities hit hard by the pandemic or in hotels that had to shut down or in buildings much older than their competitors, making comparisons difficult. Still, Trump's rhetoric and policies haven't helped. Within a year of his inauguration, hotels and condo buildings in Panama, Toronto, and Manhattan that paid millions to use his name started stripping it off their facades. After Trump was accused of whipping up the mob that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, things got worse. Several brokers say many potential buyers won't even look at Trump buildings now. "I have never seen buildings plummet so dramatically," said an employee of CityRealty. But a New York buyer said: "Ten years from now people will forget about him. The name will mean less." (The name on the building did bother Keith Olbermann.)
(Newser)  Friday was the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in China, which means lots of people headed online to peruse articles and pictures of the incident that led to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protester deaths. One photo that interested parties in several countries couldn't initially find, at least if they were using Bing: a most famous one of "Tank Man," the individual who stood defiantly and all alone in front of a line of government tanks on June 5, 1989. Reuters and Vice report that users in the US, UK, Germany, and Singapore, among others, received the message "There are no results for tank man" when they initiated the search on the "images" and "videos" tabs of Microsoft's search engine. The Wall Street Journal notes that searching for "tank man" on Bing's main page did turn up "hundreds of thousands of results." Users also had trouble finding related images on Yahoo and DuckDuckGo, which license results from Microsoft.

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This all led to cries of censorship, though on Friday, Microsoft insisted that wasn't the case. The lack of search results for "tank man" was due to "an accidental human error," the company said in a statement, adding, "We are actively working to resolve this." Per the Guardian, online references to pro-democracy protests in China are often stifled, but this time, the country's "great firewall" expanded outside its own borders. An ex-Microsoft employee tells Reuters that a good number of Bing workers"including some who work on image-recognition software"are based in China. The Guardian notes Bing is one of the few outside search engines that China permits, as the company has allowed censorship of such terms as "Dalai Lama" and "Tiananmen Square." When Nicholas Kristof wrote a New York Times column in 2009 of running into apparent censorship when searching for those terms using simplified Chinese characters, a Microsoft rep blamed "a bug." (Read more Microsoft stories.)
(Newser)  A federal judge Friday overturned California's three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, ruling that it violates the constitutional right to bear arms. US District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled that the state's definition of illegal military-style rifles unlawfully deprives law-abiding Californians of weapons commonly allowed in most other states and by the US Supreme Court, per the AP. "Under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive," Benitez said. He issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law but stayed it for 30 days to give state Attorney General Rob Bonta time to appeal. In a statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom called the decision "a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period." California first restricted assault weapons in 1989, with multiple updates to the law since then. Similar assault weapon restrictions have previously been upheld by six other federal district and appeals courts, the state argued.

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In a preliminary ruling last fall, Benitez said the state's complicated legal definition of assault weapons can ensnare otherwise law-abiding gun owners with criminal penalties that can strip them of their Second Amendment right to own firearms. The state argued the weapons can still be usedjust not with modifications that turn them into assault weapons. Further, a surge in sales of more than 1.16 million other types of pistols, rifles, and shotguns in the last year show the assault weapons ban hasn't kept law-abiding citizens "from acquiring a range of firearms for lawful purposes, including self-defense," the state said in a March court filing. In his ruling, the judge said modern weapons were overwhelmingly used for legal reasons: "Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment." That comparison "is a slap in the face to the families who've lost loved ones to this weapon," Newsom said.

(Read more California stories.)
(Newser)  On Wednesday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari saw one of his tweets removed, after he threatened to punish secessionists in the region. Two days later, the country's Federal Ministry of Information and Culture put up its own tweet, with an abrupt announcement. "The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria," the ministry posted, with agency chief Alhaji Lai Mohammed noting the suspension took place due to "the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence." When pressed for details on the move, a ministry aide told Reuters, "Wait and see how things will turn out."

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The news outlet notes that users on certain mobile carriers in Nigeria couldn't access Twitter as of Saturday morning, though the platform's website and app continued to work for others. Representatives from at least two of the nation's largest mobile carriers either didn't respond to calls or messages seeking comments from Reuters, or declined to comment further. BBC reporters had similar struggles trying to get onto Twitter. NPR reports on the varying reactions of locals to the news, with some shrugging their shoulders at the announcementthey say they'll just use virtual private networks to gain access to the social media platformwhile more than one person made fun of how the announcement was circulated. "You're using Twitter to suspend Twitter? Are you not mad?" one wrote. In a statement, Twitter says it's investigating the "deeply concerning" suspension and "will provide updates when we know more," per Reuters. (Read more Nigeria stories.)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Saturday announced the cancellation of Class 12 state board examinations due to the Covid-19 spread.

In a statement, Stalin said discussions were held with experts and cross sections of the society on holding the exams for 12th standard students.

While there were differing views, all were of the unanimous view that the student's health should be safeguarded.

The Central government has recently cancelled the Class 12exams for students studying under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) stream and several state governments have also cancelled the exam in their states, Stalin said.

He said medical experts had opined that the Covid-19 spread is huge in the state and there is also the risk of a third wave.

Further the vaccination is available only for those who are above 18 and not for the school students who are of lower age and asking them to assemble to write the exams will increase the chance of infection, Stalin said.

According to the Chief Minister, a committee of experts will decide on calculating the marks to be awarded for the students based on which admissions for other courses will be made.

Referring to entrance exams like NEET, Stalin said owing to Covid-19, holding of such exams will not be appropriate and a letter has been written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regearding the same.
(Newser)  Jimmy Allen Ruth had just started driving for Trailways in 1961 when a group of Freedom Riders wanted a bus to take them from Nashville to Jackson, Mississippi. Every driver turned the assignment down but the 23-year-old Ruth, who was white. "He agreed to drive the students and never asked any questions although he was aware of the risks involved," a family statement said. "Ruth was willing to aid in the cause for freedom and justice at all cost." He died Wednesday in a hospital in Bartlett, Tennessee, the Tennessean reports. He was 83. Along with local Freedom Riders, Ruth was honored on the 50th anniversary by Nashville's NAACP for their courage in advancing the cause of civil rights. The Tennessee State Museum displays his driving memorabilia.

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The riders set off from Washington, DC, partly to put pressure on President Kennedy's new administration to act on civil rights. Bombings and beatings by white mobs sometimes met the riders, per the AP, and many Black and white riders were jailed. The movement helped desegregate public transportation in the South. The late US Rep. John Lewis and CT Vivian were among the riders who left Nashville for the Deep South that summer. Ruth's family said he considered his role a small part but learned of its significance later. He wanted to make a difference in someone's life, he said. When he was asked to drive the Freedom Riders, the statement said, he decided to do it because "if they were going to die, I was going to die with them." (Read more obituary stories.)
(Newser)  Several thousand people rallied Saturday in Hungary's capital against plans by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to host a Chinese university in Budapest. A strategic agreement that Hungary signed with Shanghai-based Fudan University envisages opening a branch in the city's 9th district. Plans call for the Budapest campus to be completed by 2024, the AP reports. It would enroll international students and represent the school's only foreign outpost, as well as the first Chinese university campus in the 27-nation European Union. The protesters marched from Heroes' Square toward the Hungarian parliament building, defying a pandemic ban on gatherings of more than 500 people. The crowd carried banners reading 'No Fudan," flags, and posters.

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Budapest authorities have opposed the university branch idea. They argue the $1.9 billion project would place a huge burden on taxpayers and send the wrong political message because of the alleged human rights abuses in China. Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony had a huge photo of a protester facing a tank in Beijing's Tiananmen Square projected behind him during the demonstration; Chinese troops opened fire on protesters in the square in 1989, killing hundreds and perhaps thousands. Orban, a right-wing populist, has fostered closer ties with Russia and China as he faces EU criticism for his authoritarian ways and anti-immigration stand. Hungarian officials have insisted that Fudan, ranked among the top 100 universities in the world, will help raise higher education standards in Hungary. But the university's links to China's Communist Party have sparked outrage.

(Read more Hungary stories.)
Four people have died after a horror crash in Ashburton on Friday.

Emergency services were called to the scene on Cochrane Rd and Wakanui Rd at 9:30am after a van collided with a truck.

Police said the van appears to have gone through a controlled intersection at a time when a fully laden truck was going past.

"The van had six occupants, of which four have unfortunately died," Police Area Commander Inspector David Gaskin told media.

The people in the van were a group of adults who are believed to have travelled to the area from the North Island, he said.

He said three people died at the scene while the fourth passed away after being taken to Christchurch Hospital.

One other person has critical injuries and another is in a serious condition.

The driver of the truck was not seriously hurt in the crash.
Hipkins said he believes it exists, and has "to regularly reflect on that and say, what are the assumptions? What are the biases that I have that are informing this decision?" But he thinks there's a better way to reach those who are sceptical.

"We have to acknowledge there are still people who were raised in that culture 30 or 40 years ago and we have to bring them on a journey. I think we have to do that in a way that builds them up, rather than tears them down."

Elsewhere in the interview, Hipkins said he wouldn't be making te reo Maori a compulsory subject in schools, but would like it available to any kid who wants to learn it.

"I would like to see te reo Maori available in every school. I would like to see all Kiwi kids given the opportunity to learn te reo Maori - I didn't have the opportunity to learn it when I was at school. I hope my kids will."

There are workforce constraints at present, he said.

"We need fluent te reo Maori [people] to come forward and train to be teachers. We just don't have enough people doing that."

It's not as simple as just training existing teachers either, Hipkins saying good teachers have confidence in their abilities.

"If you fast-forward 20 years to the future, the majority of people who are teaching 20 years from now are already teaching today. So we've got to have professional development for them so that they have the opportunity to get confident in te reo Maori."

In a separate interview aired on Saturday morning, National MP Paul Goldsmith told Newshub Nation 'white privilege' was a "stereotype".

"There's privilege across New Zealand.... There are certainly New Zealanders of European origin who are privileged, and there are New Zealanders of European origin who are not privileged, who are struggling.

"If you focus on the things that actually make a difference in the education context, get them to school, make sure that at school that teaches literacy and math and they are well prepared to succeed in the 21st century and a global universe, then that's more important.".

Hipkins rejected that, saying international rankings show countries that focus on "the basics" are sliding faster than New Zealand, which hasn't been performing particularly well in the past 20 years.

"Some other countries are getting better, and that's not a bad thing. But New Zealand's mean scores - just our results taken on their own - have been trending downwards... What we also know from the international literature though is that countries that say 'we're just going to focus on the basics - literacy and numeracy' - they're often the countries whose numbers slide the fastest. You've got to have kids engaged in a rich curriculum."

Watch Newshub Nation 9:30am Saturday/10am Sunday on TV3, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Newshub Nation is supported by NZ On Air.
In a statement on Monday, Dr Smith acknowledged a confidential inquiry and its details had been leaked to the media for release on Tuesday, and that he regretted the incident.

"I apologised at the time and I apologise again today. I have decided the best course of action for the parties involved, the National Party, my family and myself is to retire now."

But no details of the investigation have been reported since.

Announcing his shock resignation earlier this week, Dr Smith said he had decided to retire after losing his Nelson seat at the 2020 election, but that investigation had prompted him to leave sooner.

The MP, who first entered Parliament in October 1990, and has been in Parliament ever since as the longest consecutively-serving MP.

Dr Smith is entitled to a "gold-plated" superannuation scheme, according to NZ Herald, and will receive about $87,000 a year for the rest of his life.

This scheme closed to newcomers in 1992, but MPs already in the scheme were able to stay in it.

The median income in New Zealand is about $53,000.

National MP Simon Bridges admitted "there's a whole lot I don't agree with the guy on", but he hopes Smith gives a valedictory speech.

"I hope he gives a valedictory," Bridges told The AM Show on Friday.

"He's had 30 years. I've had massive barnies with Nick over the years, there's a whole lot I don't agree with the guy on, but he's made a massive contribution."
What are the trends?

The first  as illustrated by the list above  is the concerted effort to balance out China-friendly statements with more critical ones that will placate Western allies.

Another trend  closely related to the first one  is a love of theatre.

This week's carefully orchestrated and choreographed summit in Queenstown  and the joint statement issued by the Australian and NZ leaders  recalled Ardern's carefully scripted words at the China Business Summit last month.

After several weeks of surprisingly vicious and sustained criticism in response to Mahuta's remarks on the Five Eyes, Ardern's speech on May 3 stressed "differences" with Beijing. It was an address carefully designed to give the appearance that New Zealand had been listening  and was now tacking back towards the West.

In reality, Ardern's remarks were mild. Nothing of substance had actually changed.

In this sense, this week's Queenstown meeting was merely another act in 2021's Sino-New Zealand stage play.

On this point, perhaps the shrewdest analysis came from China itself. An analysis published in the Global Times  a forum for Beijing to express its views more unofficially  observed that "the joint statement between Canberra and Wellington did not really exceed the previous position of New Zealand regarding China-related issues." If New Zealand's position did seem a little harsher in tone, this was about "showing some respect and support for Australia's feelings", rather than any indication that New Zealand was "blindly joining an anti-China chariot".

These very short-term trends are important.

But so are the longer-term ones.

One is New Zealand's growing enthusiasm for the "Indo-Pacific" geopolitical concept.

Indo-Pacific  a substitute for the more common Asia-Pacific  was initially used by an Indian academic in 2007, before being co-opted by Japanese and Australian policymakers from around 2011.

But it was the Trump administration  and especially Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  that truly popularised the concept and brought it into the diplomatic mainstream.

The unstated but unsubtle aim behind "Indo-Pacific" is to deemphasise China's centrality in the region.

It comes as no surprise that Winston Peters  a China sceptic known for his pro-US stance  became a big fan of the term during his time as foreign minister.

But it might seem surprising that Nanaia Mahuta and Jacinda Ardern  hardly the biggest fans of the Trump administration  have continued to embrace the term after Peters' departure.

If anything, the Labour government has become even more enthusiastic about it  as shown by the use of Indo-Pacific in this year's Budget documents.

To be fair, New Zealand is still largely shying away from using the extended and even blunter version of the phrase often used by the US and its closest allies: a "free and open Indo-Pacific'.

But even this may only be a matter of time. Labour's enthusiasm for the Indo-Pacific shows the term's popularity crosses party lines.

The inspiration to do so may well come from across the Pacific: despite largely repudiating all things Trump, the Biden administration has itself wholeheartedly adopted the Indo-Pacific rhetoric and pressure on China that the Trump administration started.

Examples of this continuity are not hard to find. In March, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary chose to travel jointly (in itself a highly unusual move) to Japan and South Korea for their symbolic first foreign trip. And in the same month, the Quad, a relatively new grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the United States that exemplifies the Indo-Pacific concept, held its first summit, in virtual form.

In diplomatic terms, the symbolism of these Indo-Pacific meetings  and their early timing  is something of a sledgehammer.

And it is this last trend  continuity and consensus across administrations of very different political persuasions  that may turn out to be the most important one of all.

Democracy Project

Geoffrey Miller is an international analyst at the Democracy Project. He has lived and travelled extensively in the Middle East and is a fluent Arabic speaker.
Our teens spend 42 hours a week online on average - more than double what they spent in 2012. Its some of the heaviest internet use in the OECD, behind only Denmark, Sweden and Chile.

Over the past 18 years New Zealand's international test scores have been slipping in reading, science and math - the most significant slip 2009 to 2012.

This slip coincides with the wide-scale adoption of screens in Kiwi homes and the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

And while grades have been dropping, students have also been reading less for enjoyment. New Zealand's chief education science adviser Stuart McNaughton says it's difficult to point to a single cause but social media and other devices could be a factor.

"Whether that is indeed an interference effect by the highly attractive use of social media and digital tools at home directly is as yet unclear. But it's certainly a possibility."

Heavy social media use is also correlated with an increase in depression and anxiety, and the more time young people spend online the more likely it becomes they will see something they shouldn't have. Theres also an opportunity cost - its time that could otherwise be spent reading, outdoors, or with friends.

Point England School had been an early adopter of technology in the classroom. Principal Russell Burt says parents need to know that in the end, they're in charge.

"Parents need encouragement to know that they can tell their children, 'You've done enough, and you should unplug now and go and run around and do something different."

We can't be sure what effect screen time is having. But McNaughton's optimistic it can be balanced out.

"It can be mitigated by good teaching in classrooms."

Teaching like this video game project created entirely by Austin Laulu, a 12-year-old student of Pt England, over the course of two months. However McNaughton says unequal access to digital resources in schools can affect the quality of the learning done using screens and deepen inequities.

"Those schools who have a lot of access to curriculum resources through the digital environments can capitalise on that and provide complex, challenging, well-designed material and other schools are less able to do it. And as I say, the rich get richer."

Point England teacher Andrea Tele'a is a parent of four children; the oldest in their 20s, the youngest just three. She says at home, it's important to know what your child is up to on their device and to set limits.

"You almost feel like [you] can't look at it, as if it's the diary, but it's not the diary. It's their tool for school, so treat it in that way. And just like you would rip open the exercise book to see what you're up to, you have every right to do that."

"The caregivers in the house need to say, 'Actually, you're really tired tonight, and it's time to go to sleep. And I'm going to take that off you.'

The Ministry of Health recommends less than one or two hours of non-school screen use a day for children over five, one hour max for two to four year-olds and none for under-twos.

But while too much screen time is bad for young people, no screen time for teens is a negative too - it can socially isolate them.

While they come with the challenge of setting and enforcing screen time limits, at Pt England, Burt sees screens as an opportunity for his kids to prepare for the future.

"I want them to be the people who can be controlling the movement of stock, not just unloading a conveyor belt, but writing the code that tells the box we are going to be delivered to somebody. I want them to be in charge. I want them to be employed. I want them to have self efficacy and to be empowered as citizens of Aotearoa."



Watch Newshub Nation 9:30am Saturday/10am Sunday on TV3, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Newshub Nation is supported by NZ On Air.
"In addition, the government has also initiated the Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environmental Sustainability (CHSE) certification program throughout the tourism sector in Indonesia."

Indonesia - home to 270 million people - has recorded 1.83 million positive cases and 50,000 deaths.

But case numbers are actually on the rise.

Indonesia reported 2385 COVID-19 cases on May 15. Two weeks later, that figure doubled to more than 6565.

The Conversation published an article this week saying Indoneisa "may be on the cusp of a major COVID spike" and questioning how reliable its testing is.

"The country will not fare well if predictions of an even bigger outbreak fuelled by new variants of the virus come true," it says.

"If this happens, the government may well find itself facing a looming health catastrophe, rising social unrest and perhaps serious political tensions, too."
Shamokin, PA (17872)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 74F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.
ARISS contact is scheduled with students at College Maurice Genevoix, Couzeix, France

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact with astronauts.

ARISS is the group that puts together special amateur radio contacts between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on the International Space Station (ISS).

This will be a Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio between the ISS and students from College Maurice Genevoix. Students will take turns asking their questions of ISS Astronaut Thomas Pesquet, amateur radio call sign KG5FYG, during the ARISS radio contact. French is the language expected to be used during the contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the ARISS radio telebridge station.

ARISS team member Jan Poppeliers, in Aartselaar, Belgium using radio call sign ON4ISS, will serve as the ARISS relay amateur radio station. Each student asking a question on the ARISS radio will be conferenced in from home or social-distanced at school.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for June 7, 2021 at 3:07 pm CEST (Couzeix, France) (13:07 UTC, 9:07 am EDT, 8:07 am CDT, 7:07 am MDT, 6:07 am PDT).

College Maurice Genevoix (699 students in grades 6 to 13) is located near the city of Limoges, in central western France. In preparation of this ARISS contact, course curricula were supplemented to link aspects of space habitation and space exploration with the existing courses. The school has partnered with members of the Amateur Radio Club of the University of Limoges who have helped the students prepare (and become licensed) for the contact and will support them during the contact.

View the livestream of the upcoming ARISS radio contact at: https://live.recreasciences.com/.

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. Comment gerez-vous le stress pendant une sortie dans l'espace?

2. Pourquoi as-tu voulu etre astronaute? Qu'est-ce qui tattirait le plus?

3. Qu'est-ce que vous aimez dans votre aventure dans l'espace en particulier?

4. Avez-vous deja rencontre de graves disfonctionnements lors d'une de vos expeditions?

5. La preparation des missions est-elle compliquee et eprouvante?

6. Quelle est la place de la femme dans l'aventure spatiale?

7. Est-ce genant de dormir debout dans l'ISS?

8. Quelles sont les experiences que vous allez faire dans la Station Spatiale Internationale?

9. Comment faites-vous pour manger et boire?

10. Quest-ce que ca fait de partir dans l'espace pendant longtemps?

11. Quelles sensations ressens-tu au niveau du decollage et dans l'espace?

12. Est-ce facile de s'adapter a l'apesanteur?

13. Est-ce que la pratique du judo vous a aide dans la preparation de la 1ere mission?

l4. Comment fait-on a manger dans lespace? A quelles nourritures avez vous droit?

15. Sous quelle forme est conditionnee la nourriture?

16. Quand vous etes alle pour la premiere fois dans l'espace, aviez-vous eu le vertige, quels etaient vos sensations/vos sentiments?

17. J'imagine que cela n'a pas ete facile de sentrainer chaque jour sans relache, est-ce que vous aviez deja eu envie d'arreter?

18. Est ce que ton gout est-il affecte par l'apesanteur?

l9. Pouvez-vous respirer sans casque dans une fusee?

20. Est-ce que la terre ferme vous manque?

21. Comment fais-tu pour revenir sur terre?

22. Combien de temps allez-vous passer dans l'espace?

23. Comment faites vous pour manger et boire?

Translation

1. How do you deal with stress during a spacewalk?

2. Why did you want to be an astronaut? What attracted you the most?

3. What do you like about your adventure in space in particular?

4. Have you ever encountered serious malfunctions during one of your expeditions?

5. Is the preparation of missions complicated and stressful?

6. What is the place of women in the space adventure?

7. Is it embarrassing to sleep standing up in the ISS?

8. What are the experiments you are going to do in the International Space Station?

9. How do you eat and drink?

10. How does it feel to be in space for a long time?

11. What sensations do you feel during take-off and in space?

12. Is it easy to adapt to weightlessness?

13. Did the practice of Judo help you in the preparation of the 1st mission?

l4. How do you eat in space? What foods are you entitled to?

15. How is the food packaged?

16. When you first went to space, were you dizzy? What were your sensations / feelings?

17. I guess it wasn't easy to train tirelessly every day: have you ever wanted to give up?

18. Is your taste affected by weightlessness?

l9. Can you breathe without a helmet in a rocket?

20. Do you miss dry land (the earth)?

21. How do you get back to earth?

22. How long will you spend in space?

23. How do you eat and drink?

ARISS  Celebrating 20 Years of Amateur Radio Continuous Operations on the ISS

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, and NASAs Space communications and Navigation program.

The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR
Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community.

Submit here
The sign at the main entrance to the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus is seen Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, in Fairbanks. Caitlin Miller/News-Miner
Bahrain to get new FM station

Bahrain to get new FM station

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Ministry of Information Affairs announced auctioning its FM Radio channel at 89.2 MHz frequency for five years.

The contract comes with all rights to operate and manage the FM channel Radio Studio 24x7 in the Kingdom.

The winning contractor, the ministry said, must provide FM Transmitter, Transmission Line, Pie Rack and connectivity to Pie Rack from the auctioneers Radio Studio.

A tender launched on 19th April attracted two bidders, said the Tender board in a statement.

Group Plus for Advertising, which quoted BHD 327,625.000, was the highest bidder.

The other bidder, Rami Productions Middleeast, quoted BHD 299,250.000, according to Tender board documents.

Stations by frequencies Some of the other Radio stations in Bahrain by frequencies are Radio Sawa (89.9MHz) Deutsche Welle / Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya (90.9 MHz), Emarat FM (92.3 MHz), Sawt al-Khaleej (94.4 MHz), Sawt el-Ghad (94.8 MHz), BBC World Service in English (101.0 MHz), Panorama FM (103.0 MHz) and BBC World Service in Arabic (103.8 MHz).

Most of the radio stations in the Kingdom are state-owned, except for Radio Mirchi (104.1FM), which is a privately-owned radio station broadcasting in Hindi and Malayalam.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain yesterday marked World Environment Day by pledging its allegiance to the United Nations in the battle to reverse the climate crisis. The day observed worldwide on June 5 provides us an opportunity to re-affirm commitment to protecting the environment, said HH Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, HM the Kings Personal Representative and President of the Supreme Council for Environment. He added: It also an opportunity to pledge to exert utmost efforts to restore and preserve the ecosystem to the fullest.

Bahrain, he said, is paying utmost attention to protecting the ecosystem and supporting international efforts to preserve biodiversity. Marine reserves set up by the Kingdom had helped it achieve 21% of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which calls for the establishment of conservation plans for species threatened with extinction, he stressed.

The Tubli Bay, the Mashtan Island, the Hawar Islands, the Dawhat Arad, the Northern Hayrat, and the Hayr Bulthamah are the six reserves in the Kingdom. Bahrain also has one wildlife sanctuary in the form of Al Areen.

There are about 323 species of wild birds in the Kingdom, of which 40 are Bahrain specific or 12.4% of the total number of registered species. The Supreme Council for Environment, he said, had implemented several strategic initiatives and projects to protect and preserve the ecosystem here, which includes the various laws to protect endangered species.

Bahrain is looking forward to enhancing its cooperation with the UN Environment Programmes Regional Office for West Asia in its studies and projects to confront the environmental crisis, added Shaikh Khalifa.

The focus is on addressing high rates of animal and plant extinction, and continued rise in global temperatures, especially in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. Bahrains celebration of the world event, HH Shaikh Abdulla said, is in line with the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The initiatives and projects implemented by the SCE enjoy the support of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and are consistent with the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, he added. The theme of World Environment Day this year is Reimagine. Recreate. Restore. The United Nations launched the day in the early 70s. This year, the United Nations wants each nation to pledge for reversing the mindless practices that are polluting our cities, coasts and forests.

Natural Reserves in the Kingdom:

Al Areen

Al Areen Wildlife Park, established in 1976, covers an area of 5.4 km 2. It is the first project of its kind in the region and aims to preserve endangered rare Arab animal species.
Indian Embassy in Bahrain and BICAS kick start International Day of Yoga 2021

TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com The International Day of Yoga 2021 celebrations was held in Bahrain virtually based on the theme Holistic Approach to Yoga for Immunity. It was organised by the Bahrain India Cultural and Arts Services (BICAS) under the patronage of the Indian Embassy in Bahrain.

A number of Bahraini and Indian yoga enthusiasts and members of various Indian associations also participated in the event. Dr Sahasrabuddhe congratulated the Indian Embassy and BICAS for organising the event.

He said that Yoga was completely non-denominational and holistic.

It was traditional and equally modern, an ever-evolving science of human well-being.

Dr Sayed highlighted the importance of yoga for the global community and its benefits particularly in these challenging times of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Mr Srivastava congratulated BICAS for organising the event in a befitting manner and thanked all Indian associations and yoga enthusiasts, in association with whom the embassy will be holding series of events for The International Day of Yoga 2021 celebrations throughout this month.
Brazils Amazon deforestation reaches record level for May

RIO DE JANEIRO | Preliminary government data released Friday has raised concern that the coming dry season will see even more deforestation of Brazils Amazon than last years surge of cutting.

The area deforested in May, determined based on satellite images, jumped 41% compared to the same month in 2020, according to daily alerts compiled by the National Institute for Space Researchs Deter monitoring system.

That data is considered a reliable leading indicator for more complete calculations released at year end.

May marks the beginning of the dry season in the Amazon, when deforestation tends to spike. Deforestation in the month reached 456 square miles, the most for any May in at least five years. April and March figures also topped all prior readings for those respective months since the 2015-2016 start of the data series.

The data comes as President Jair Bolsonaros government faces heightened scrutiny and skepticism regarding his recent pledges to rein in deforestation, and as officials including his environment minister are under investigation for possibly facilitating the export of illegally cut timber. A separate probe is investigating whether Environment Minister Ricardo Salles obstructed an operation to seize illegal timber; he has denied wrongdoing in both cases.

The Climate Observatory, a network of environmental nonprofits warned that the data released Friday marks a worrisome start to the dry season that is worst between June and August.

If the trend continues over the next two months, the official deforestation rate in 2021 could end with an unprecedented rise, the group said in a statement. Deforestation last year surged to a level unseen since 2008.

The annual deforestation tally, compiled with a more accurate system called Prodes, uses at least four different satellites to capture images. This helps to eliminate error caused by cloud cover in the satellite images of the monthly preliminary data.

Low rainfall in some parts of the Amazon from November to April complicates the outlook for destruction in the Amazon, where often trees are felled and then burned to clear land for pasture. Some regions, particularly those along the biomes southern edge, have received 60% of their historic average rainfall, international environmental group WWF said in a statement.

May deforestation data show an extremely critical situation, Mauricio Voivodic, WWFs executive director for Brazil, said in the statement. In an environment with deforestation encouraged by federal government rhetoric and complete weakening of environmental regulation, this years drought added to the very high deforestation rates creates a situation conducive to big burnings.

Trudeau wants Vatican apology

for church-run school abuses

TORONTO | Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he is deeply disappointed the Roman Catholic Church has not offered a formal apology and made amends for its role in Canadas former system of church-run Indigenous boarding schools after the remains of 215 children were located at what was once the countrys largest such institution.

Trudeau called on the church to step up and take responsibility after years of silence.

As a Catholic, I am deeply disappointed by the position that the Catholic Church has taken now and over the past many years, Trudeau said.

When I went to the Vatican a number of years ago I directly asked His Holiness, Pope Francis, to move forward on apologizing, on asking for forgiveness, on restitution, on making these records available, and were still seeing resistance from the church, possibly from the church in Canada.

But Trudeau said the church is silent and not stepping up.

Its not showing the leadership that quite frankly is supposed to be at the core of our faith, of forgiveness, of responsibility, of acknowledging truth, Trudeau said.

He said the government has tools it can use if the church itself doesnt release documents.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 First Nations children in Canada were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools as an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society. The Canadian government has admitted that physical and sexual abuse was rampant in the schools, with students beaten for speaking their native languages.

Trudeau said Catholics across the country should reach out to bishops and cardinals on this issue.

We expect the church to step up and take responsibility for its role in this and be there to help with the grieving and healing including with records, Trudeau said. Its something the United Church and others have done. Its something we are still waiting for the Catholic Church to do.

The Vatican spokesman did not respond to requests for comment this week about demands for a formal apology from the pope.

Former Pope Benedict met with a group of former students and victims in 2009 and told them of his personal anguish over their suffering, a meeting that was termed an expression of sadness and solidarity.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops announced in 2018 that the pope could not personally apologize for residential schools, though he has not shied away from recognizing injustices faced by Indigenous people around the world.

The archbishop of Vancouver, however, apologized on Wednesday.

The United, Presbyterian and Anglican churches already have apologized for their roles in the abuse, as has the Canadian government, which has offered compensation.

Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tkemlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia has said the remains of 215 children were confirmed last month at the school in Kamloops, British Columbia, with the help of ground-penetrating radar. So far none has been excavated.

Casimir said her nation wants a public apology from the Catholic Church. She adds that the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which ran almost half of Canadas residential schools, has yet to release any records about the school.

Casimir said the nations findings are so far preliminary and she expects a final report, including technical details, will be ready by the end of the month.

This is not a mass grave site but rather unmarked burial sites that are to our knowledge also undocumented, she said.

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was Canadas largest such facility and was operated by the Roman Catholic Church between 1890 and 1969. The federal government then ran it as a day school until 1978, when it was closed. Nearly three-quarters of the 130 schools were run by Catholic missionary congregations.

A papal apology was one of the 94 recommendations made by a government-established Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Trudeau asked the pope to consider such a gesture during his visit to the Vatican in 2017.

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said that in his rebuke, Trudeau didnt point out that residential schools were created and funded by the government. The Catholic Church ran most of the schools but devoted few of its own resources to them beyond personnel paid for by the government, Wiseman said.

Turkey says its made a new

natural gas find in Black Sea

ANKARA, Turkey | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that a 135-billion cubic meter natural gas reserve has been discovered in Black Sea waters, which could help the energy-dependent country cover its needs in the years to come.

The announcement follows one last year that another 405 billion cubic meters of natural gas were found in the Black Sea.

Our Fatih drilling ship has made a 135-billion cubic meter new natural gas discovery in the Sakarya gas fields Amasra-1 borehole, Erdogan said at the opening of a new port in the Black Sea coastal province of Zonguldak.

Our total gas discovery in the Black Sea has now reached 540 billion cubic meters, he said, adding that more gas discoveries in the region were possible.

The government says it plans to extract and use the gas by 2023, in a bid to decrease its dependence on energy imports from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan.

Erdogan said authorities would work day and night to achieve that target.

Turkey has increased its search for offshore hydrocarbon resources. Last year, it sent vessels into the eastern Mediterranean, touching off a maritime border dispute with neighboring Greece and Cyprus.

Afghan army: 20 die in hit

on Taliban, including civilians

KABUL, Afghanistan | An Afghan airstrike on Friday that targeted Taliban fighters inside an abandoned army base in southern Helmand province killed at least 20 people, including some civilians, reports said.

There were conflicting accounts about the site of the strike and the number of casualties, adding to concerns that as the U.S. military and NATO forces complete their pull out from the war-battered country, Afghanistan would sink into more violence and turmoil.

The military said its air force and troops struck the Taliban in the provinces Nahr Saraj district as they were looting weapons and ammunition from the base. It said 20 Taliban fighters and a few civilians who were looting with the insurgents were killed.

The Taliban claimed they overran the base, located along a west-south highway linking the cities of Kandahar and Herat, late Thursday.

The insurgents said the death toll on Friday stood at 30 killed, and that all the fatalities allegedly are civilians. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the Afghan army of conducting airstrikes against civilians.

Both the Taliban and government forces routinely blame each other for attacks in Afghanistan. The assailants are rarely identified and the public is seldom informed of the results of investigations into the many attacks in the capital.

A resident of the area who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussion from both the government and the Taliban, said only civilians were inside the base that had been abandoned by the army, taking some of the items.

He claimed over 80 people had gathered around the base  allegedly all civilians and passersby  and watched from the highway when the strike happened. He said several trucks and oil tankers caught fire in the strike.

Adding to the controversy, provincial council member Abdul Majid Akhund said the victims were all civilians. However, Helmand council chief Attaullah Afghan said they were unarmed Taliban members.

Officials could not be reached in remote Nahr Saraj district as phone lines with the area were not working.

The United Nations has repeatedly demanded both sides take more precautions to protect civilians. In the first three months of this year, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said that 1,783 civilians had been killed or wounded in Afghanistan, an increase of 29% over the same period last year.

From AP reports
A Missouri Western State University graduate was awarded his own Auntie Annes franchise Friday as part of a business ownership course.

Hayden Glaubius, who graduated last month, was among 14 students who competed in the senior-level course.

The course is designed to walk (students) through what its like to own and operate a business, Pam Klaus, director of the center for franchise development at Missouri Western, said.

Friday was the last competition, where two finalists presented their business plans to a panel of judges.

Presenters had to show they understand what its like to lead people, how to handle the financial aspect of a business and how they find and make improvements, Klaus said.

Glaubius was announced the winner and will have complete ownership of an Auntie Annes location based on a loan that will be paid back, according to Klaus.

Glaubius said he had his eyes set on this goal since he was a sophomore at Central High School.

I joined the high school of business ... a three-year course that dives into all aspects of business management, ownership, and Pam (Klaus) actually came out and spoke about this opportunity, Glaubius said. Then moving forward, it was always in the back of my head. Seven years later, here we are today.

Glaubius was challenged with balancing time for the course and competition with the rest of his school career and graduation. He encouraged others to take advantage of the opportunity.

Its not like any other class that youll sign up for, and really theres nothing else like it, Glaubius said. Its a great opportunity not just to step out with your own business, but to learn some new skills that you can use for the rest of your career.

This is the 12th year the course has been offered and the 32nd store to be awarded.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Jefferson City man is charged with a June 4 shooting.

Leandre Williams is being held in the Cole County Jail for armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and felon in possession of a gun.

Court documents say officers saw him leaving the scene of a shooting near east McCarty and Lafayette Street around 2:30 Friday morning.

After pulling him over, police reportedly found multiple bullet casings in the trunk of the vehicle.

Six other people inside the vehicle were taken to the police department for questioning for the shooting.

Lincoln University police assisted in the investigation.

No bond was given to Williams.

Williams will be arraigned Monday.
RASA meets with Australian regulator re licence changes The Radio Amateur Society of Australia (RASA) President Glenn VK4DU conducted a teleconference with Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) managers and staff recently to discuss RASAs position on the ACMAs proposed changes to amateur radio licencing.



The following issues were discussed.



Interference protection



RASAs view is that ACMA must maintain their current position as an impartial arbiter for interference issues.



ACMA advised that the level of interference protection provided under any proposed class licence would effectively be the same as the current apparatus licence arrangements.



Definition of terms in the Class Licence



The term Maximum power spectral density needs to be defined in the proposed class licence.



ACMA agreed that this would be considered.



Sector liaison



RASAs view is that, if the licencing changes are implemented, there needs to be a sector representative committee created and that it needs to meet with ACMA on a scheduled basis.



ACMA advised that they are considering alternatives.



Callsign database



RASA made the point that some form of online amateur callsign database is required if a class licence is implemented.



ACMA are aware of this view. They are looking at options, which may involve the current Register of Radiocommunications Licences or some other form of online arrangement. This will need to be consistent with privacy requirements for the handling of personal information.



1 kW for advanced licencees



RASAs view is that there are no EMC or EMR reasons to prevent an increase of output power for advanced licencees to 1 kW PEP, and that this could be done concurrent with licencing changes.



There is strong support for this across the amateur sector.



ACMA noted that their FYSO commitment is to investigate the feasibility of higher power amateur operation and consult with the amateur community on options in Q2 2022.



50-52 MHz for Standard class amateurs



Similarly, RASA made the point that there is strong sector support to resolve the anomaly preventing Standard class amateurs from accessing the entire 50-54 MHz band.



ACMA are aware of the sector view and will consider the issue. However, they noted that noted it did not form part of the scope of the review consultation.



Beacons and repeaters



RASAs view is that assignment of repeater and beacon frequencies is not working well and needs to be streamlined by translating the repeater bandplans into Radiocommunication Assignment and Licencing Instructions (RALI)  as used by commercial land mobile services.



ACMA agreed in principle. They are planning to develop draft Frequency Assignment Procedures (simplified versions of RALIs) for comment in the 3rd quarter this year.



Next steps



ACMA advised that they will update the amateur community, via in an ebulletin in the next couple of weeks, on progress of their consideration of the review submissions. The ACMA will engage further with the amateur community on the outcomes of the review and future licencing changes in the next few months.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County judge won't let the attorney for Lynlee Renick to question a Boone County prosecutor handling the case of a key witness.

Judge Kevin Crane denied the request to interview a Boone County assistant prosecutor about any potential deals made between it and Brandon Blackwell. Crane said Renick's attorney, Tim Hesemann, did not need to bring in the prosecutor for a deposition, but could question the existence of any agreement between Blackwell and law enforcement during trial.

Blackwell is a major part of the Missouri State Highway Patrol's case against Lynlee Renick, who is accused of killing her husband Ben Renick in 2017 at their Montgomery County farm. The patrol interviewed Blackwell in January 2020, who said Lynlee Renick confessed to him years earlier that she killed Ben. Blackwell said he and Lynlee Renick were romantically involved with one another during her marriage to Ben and even had a child together.

Blackwell faces his own criminal case in Boone County. Prosecutors charged him with violating a protection order that Lynlee Renick took out against him in 2019. Hesemann pointed out that Blackwell was in jail without bond until three days after he spoke with the patrol about the Renick case. Both sides of that case agreed to let him out on bond with several conditions following his interview.

Both assistant attorney general Kevin Zoellner and assistant Boone County prosecutor Jennifer Rodewald said they had made no deals with Blackwell to testify in Renick's case in exchange for a favorable treatment in his criminal case. Blackwell's attorney Jeff Hilbrenner did not respond to a request for comment.

Hesemann also asked the court to get a hold of medical records Blackwell filed in his criminal case concerning a "traumatic brain injury" he suffered in September 2019. The letter he wrote to the court said the injury made it difficult for him to remember events in the short term. Crane said Hesemann would need to petition the judge in that case to get the records.

Crane said he still planned to set a trial August date for the Renick case. A jury will come from Clay County to hear the case in Boone County. Whiel Zoellner said he expects the trial to last three days, Hesemann expected it to last a week. Hesemann asked the judge consider delaying the trial past August as he continues to review evidence.
In the hopes that we can all find it in our hearts to pray for peace for everyone who lives in Jerusalem, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, for the next several weeks, the Forum on Faith will be featuring religious perspectives on the importance of Jerusalem in different faith communities,

How can I describe what Jerusalem is to Jews?

Jerusalem, the ir shalom, the City of Peace, is the Jewish spiritual and religious center and home. We face east toward Jerusalem when we pray, and we place beautiful ornaments called mizrachim on the eastern walls of our homes to orient ourselves towards Jerusalem. We pray for the peace and well-being of Jerusalem in every prayer service. Jerusalem appears 669 times in the Hebrew Bible.

Jerusalem is golden. Its buildings are made from a variety of pale limestones, and the buildings shimmer in the golden sunlight. To see Jerusalem from the distance is to see the glow of the entirety of Jewish history, to know that there has been a Jewish presence in Jerusalem for thousands of years. Jerusalem is the most magnificent place on earth. Especially on Friday evenings and Saturdays  the Jewish Sabbath  Jerusalem glimmers with restorative peace, calm and hope.

Walking the streets of Jerusalem, especially in what we call the Old City, is to be overwhelmed by the noises and the aromas of countless religions that coexist in Jerusalem. Its hearing the muezzins calling the times for prayer and the vendors haggling prices as they sell their wares in the shuks (markets) that line the main Jerusalem streets. It is breathing in the aroma of exotic spices, breads, and sweets, and arguing where the best falafel can be found. Its watching Jews shop on Thursdays for Shabbat and then scurry home on Friday as Shabbat begins. Its seeing Christian faithful pour into and out of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, maintaining a peaceful coexistence for a thousand years. Jerusalem is where Muslims, Christians and Jews try to find common ground.

It is witnessing the waving masses of Jewish men and women as they stand in front of the Western and Southern Walls that are the remnants of the 2nd Holy Temple. Standing at those Walls offers a visceral reminder that Jewish prayer started as priestly sacrifice. You can imagine the men and women standing there as they brought their offerings of animals, flour, or oil in the hopes of achieving atonement for their various transgressions or their praising or thanking God for the blessings in their life. I have stood at the Wall on Tisha bAv, the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, remembering the Babylonian destruction of the 1st Temple and the horror of their desecrating that beautiful city. You are aware that the Temple will be rebuilt. You are reassured that while many Jews were exiled across the globe, many remained in the holy city. When we were denied the right to live there, we never stopped praying that we would be able to return.

As a Jew, Jerusalem to me is forever. Jerusalem is a dream of peace that remains waiting to be fulfilled.

Cantor Penny Kessler is a spiritual leader with the United Jewish Center in Danbury. She can be reached via email at cantor@unitedjewishcenter.org.
One of Janet Kuzmas four elementary school-aged sons came home a few weeks ago, telling her he couldnt wait until he no longer had to wear a mask at school and could see his friends smile again.

That comment tugged at her heart, she said. Now, Kuzma and others are advocating for the district to implement mask choice this fall, allowing students and parents the option for wearing a mask at school. Several parents spoke up for the choice at a recent Newtown school board meeting.

I really do think we are at a good place where we should allow our kids to be kids again, Kuzma said. Kids should be given the choice whether or not they want to wear them.

The push for giving parents and students an option to wear a mask as COVID-19 infection rates drop comes as businesses and other establishments nationnwide eliminate a mask requirement for people who have been vaccinated against the virus.

The effort isnt limited to the Newtown school district. A group of parents under the name, Mask Choice for ER9 students are proposing a similar choice to the Easton-Redding-Region 9 district, as are parents in other Danbury-area towns to their school boards.

Lorrie Rodrigue, Newtowns superintendent of schools, said the district is awaiting guidance from the state before formulating a plan for the fall, but that she hopes to see a return to normalcy. Other area school districts including Danbury, Brookfield and Bethel have said they will follow state guidance for their masking practices.

As it stands, the state Department of Education in conjunction with the Department of Public Health requires students to wear masks inside of schools but, permits children to take them off when outside unless in a crowded space per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DPH and CSDE are currently working together to come up with appropriately protective guidance for in-person learning in CT schools in the fall, Maura Fitzgerald, a DPH spokeswoman said.

Undoubtedly, that work will continue by staff in both agencies throughout the summer. As we have done throughout the pandemic, DPH will rely heavily on the expertise and guidance of CDC to inform our planning and guidance, and we expect CDC to release updated guidance for K-12 schools in the coming weeks, she said.

The states education department officials have asked school districts to evaluate input from community stakeholders about how they would like to see the next school year unfold.

The department gave districts a survey to distribute with the intention of honing communities feedback so it can shape a plan for the federal government  due by Monday  detailing how it will address students needs using money from the American Rescue Plan.

After receiving 154 responses from the survey administered to families, Bethel Superintendent Christine Carver said she noticed many said the district should be back to normal in some capacity and that mask-wearing should be a parental choice.

But in the sea of answers, she noticed some confusion.

I think that theres a perception that the school district makes the rules or has any choice in the rules and this is just the furthest thing from the truth, Carver said.

The guidance, its not even guidance, the mandates that we get come directly from the state Department of Education and Department of Public Health. Whatever the guidance is, its something we dont have a choice in following, she added.

The argument for and science behind mask choice

Jenn Larkin, a mother of two Newtown elementary school students, is a believer in choice, like Kuzma because although shes seen how unhappy masks have made her children, she acknowledges some people feel more comfortable and protected with them on.

Neither Kuzma nor Larkin expect a big change to happen overnight, they are hoping to see some flexibility where it benefits our kids.

Larkin commended Rodrigue for being great, responsive and transparent, but still thinks it would be wise to reevaluate the mandate based on where we are today, referencing to the lower COVID-19 infection rate.

The scary part is behind us and its time to move on, she said.

The children are a low-risk population that are being affected by the virus, for the most part [who] dont tend to have complications if they do get COVID, she added, stating that perhaps there could be more implications for childrens social and emotional well-being otherwise.

Albert Ko, a Yale department chairman and professor of epidemiology who has advised the states pandemic response, said he thinks relieving the mask mandate for children ages 12 and older who are eligible for the vaccine sounds fairly reasonable, granted evidence shows the vaccine is effective in safeguarding them from severe disease while blocking transmission.

However, he thinks its too early to tell what should be done for younger children not yet eligible for a shot and are universally susceptible to the virus.

My own personal judgment is that for those children who arent being offered the vaccine, we should protect them by having them wear masks, he said, despite the risk of contracting a harsher form or complications from COVID-19 being smaller for that group.

In Kos opinion, its imperative to students mental health and development for schools to be open and offering in-person classes. But, it makes sense to remain cautious, trying to control transmission and reduce exposure for the sake of teachers, staff, students and the overall community.
To some, a hangmans noose may seem like a rope with a knot formed to make a loop that tightens under pressure. But for others, especially people of color, the hate symbol cuts much deeper.

The NAACP records indicate there were 4,743 people  73 percent of them were Black individuals  lynched in the United States between 1882 and 1968.

The Greater Hartford NAACP said the noose serves as a symbol of Americas dark history of racial violence. But with more than half a dozen recent incidents of nooses found at an Amazon site under construction in Windsor, that history doesnt feel so distant for some.

This is old. It is a very prominent part of America from Americas founding, said Dr. Robert A. Sanders, an associate professor and chair of national security at the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice & Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven.

The eight incidents at the Amazon site have heightened awareness to the issue. At Central Connecticut State University, a construction crew hung an American flag from a looped crane cable ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Concerns were raised that the loop resembled a noose and the cable was lowered.

Sanders, a retired U.S. Navy officer and attorney, said a noose symbolizes a threat.

Historically, Sanders said a lynching victim would often be publicly degraded and pieces of their body would be taken by those in attendance. Massive groups gathered to watch lynchings. Sometimes, it would end with the body being burned, Sanders said.

When you talk about a noose, thats what a noose constitutes, he said. A noose is telling someone ... this is what we want to do to you.

Sanders said the nooses found at Amazon can easily serve as intimidation to workers at the site not to aspire to employment or leadership at this location.

Its a message, Sanders said. The goal of these people is dominance and supremacy.

Hate crimes nearly doubled in Connecticut last year, according to data from the Anti-Defamation League.

Sanders said to move beyond the incidents at the Amazon site, law enforcement must find and charge those responsible.

Find the perpetrators and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, Sanders said. The state of Connecticut and the local officials ... need to send a message of rule of law, constitutional authority  state and federal  and intolerance for activities that violate that rule of law and those constitutional principles and protections that American citizens have.

Local, state and federal authorities are involved in the Windsor investigation, which began in late April. More than 100 employees at the construction site have been interviewed and a $100,000 reward is being offered for anyone with information that leads to those responsible.

Windsor Police Capt. Andrew Power said authorities are looking at these as potential hate crime incidents.

Work has twice been halted at the site for law enforcement investigations. Additional security measures, including installing surveillance cameras and increased police patrols, have been launched. Officials have not responded to repeated requests for comment about whether the latest noose, found after additional security was added at the site, was captured on camera.

Amazon and the site development team have cooperated with the police investigation, Power said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Windsor police at 860-688-5273.
Do healthy ecosystems make healthier human beings?

The flip side of the question, in turn, would be: Do degraded ecosystems become less healthy places, where disease can spread more easily from animal hosts and humans? (Think pandemics. Think Covid)

These arent just wastelands or wet markets or giant stockyards. On a smaller scale, it can also be the suburban landscape that dominates Connecticut.

We have, in fact, created deer parks, with lots of edges where deer can browse freely and where generalists  whether they be white-foot-mice or robins and blue jays  are thriving. So are tick-borne disease and West Nile virus

Were missing a lot of predators, Mitch Wagener, professor of biology at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury said of the burgeoning deer herd in the state.

Two scientists at the Cary Institute of Ecosystems Studies in Millbrook, N.Y.  Felicia Keesing and Richard Ostfeld  have now taken a detailed look at the issue of biodiversity and human disease.

Their study  Impacts of Biodiversity and Biodiversity Loss on Zoonotic Diseases  was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in April.

The paper contradicts what had been a common assumption  that the more species around, the greater the chance of some disease jumping from creature to human. Biodiversity  which goes hand-in-hand with a healthy ecosystem  has its downside, the argument ran.

It was this truism that people believed, said Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute.

Previous studies supported this idea. In 2008, one report found that from 1940 to 2004, 72 percent of the emerging infectious diseases afflicting humans were zoonotic  coming from animals.

But Ostfeld said this truism wasnt supported by any scientific data. Gathering that data, he and Kessing, found the truism needed revising

Its just flat-out wrong, he said.

Their study shows that a healthy ecosystem with a thriving diversity of animals and insects may, in fact, prevent future pandemics, while reduced biodiversity may increase the risk of disease jumping to humans.

Thats because not all animals are not the same.

In general, Keesing and Ostfeld found that longer-living animals are less likely to pass new pathogens on to people. The species more responsible for spreading pathogens are rodents, bats, other primates, cloven-hoofed mammals like pigs, sheep and cattle, and carnivores.

Often, these are species that have a short life span and breed early on, with lots of offspring. Theyve evolved to have less immune responses to infectious disease, simply because they dont need it.

They live fast and die young, Ostfeld said.

These animals can also be generalists that can thrive in different habitats and in degraded environments. They also tend to be common.

Ostfeld said we can see this happening in our own backyards. White-footed mice are plentiful in the suburbs. So are white-tailed deer. So are black-legged ticks. This combinations allows tick-bitten humans to be in increasing danger of getting a variety of tick-borne disease

Common backyard birds like robins and bluejays are reservoirs of the virus that causes West Nile disease. Mosquitoes can bite a bird, pick up the virus and then spread it to humans.

Ostfeld said that in the future, people writing environmental reviews of large projects that involve major changes in land use may have to consider the issue of biodiversity and human health in their reviews.

People are starting to think of biodiversity on a small scale, creating pollinator pathways to ensure a healthy habitat for pollinating insects.

This spring, Redding artist and lepidopterist Victor DeMasi took the radical step of not mowing his lawn.

I found seven different insect species on the dandelions, DeMasi said. Pearl Crescent butterflies are now happily feeding there.

What biodiversity that exists in the state may also be altered by climate change  another reason to pay attention to it.

Tim Abbott, regional conservation and Greenprint director for the Housatonic Valley Associations in Cornwall, has been a contributor to the Governors Council on Climate Change, which issued its latest report in January.

The states Northwest Corner, he said, is rich in biodiversity. But as the climate warms, some species may head north, while southern species move in and generalists stay and proliferate.

Because of those changes, he said, its increasingly important to preserve substantial parcels of open space and the corridors that can connect them. Again, biodiversity starts at home.

If you secure larger, more intact habitats, theyll be able to withstand these changes, Abbott said.

Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.com
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create stress and anxiety for many Canadians, particularly those who do not have ready access to their regular support networks. Through the Wellness Together Canada online portal, people of all ages across the country can access immediate, free and confidential mental health and substance use supports, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

OTTAWA, ON, June 5, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, I challenge people in Canada of all ages to get out and get moving in honour of National Health and Fitness Day. I hope that this day, celebrated every year with the goal of making Canada the world's fittest nation, inspires you to look for ways to incorporate movement practices into your day. There are many ways to get physically active, from walking, running, or taking leisurely bike rides, to choosing to take the stairs or dancing to your favourite tunes at home.

No matter who you are, physical activity is an important choice you can make for your health. Research has shown that exercise can provide a diverse range of benefits like strengthening your body, supporting brain health, reducing risk of chronic diseases, and reduce risk of injury. Physical activity can decrease stress and improve mood by releasing endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are natural mood boosters. Exercise is also important for healthy growth and development in children and we know that physical activity of parents can help encourage activity in children. Find out more in Canada's 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth. Remember that physical activity can be adapted to fit your own needs. Try choosing something you enjoy doing, or getting active as a family.

The past year has been challenging and has had an impact on the mental health and wellbeing of many people across the country. Increasing your activity level is one way to promote positive mental and physical wellbeing. Canada, get ready to #ShowUsYourMoves  use this hashtag, as well as #NHFD2021, on social media to share your favourite activity for healthy living.

This is also an opportunity to join the 2021 ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge, a national physical activity initiative that aims to find Canada's Most Active Community, taking place throughout the month of June.

As COVID-19 activity continues in Canada, we are tracking a range of epidemiological indicators to monitor where the disease is most active, where it is spreading and how it is impacting the health of Canadians and public health, laboratory and healthcare capacity. At the same time, the Public Health Agency of Canada is providing Canadians with regular updates on COVID-19 vaccines administered, vaccination coverage and ongoing monitoring of vaccine safety across the country. The following is the latest summary on national numbers and trends, and the actions we all need to be taking to reduce infection rates, while vaccination programs expand for the protection of all Canadians.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,389,508 cases of COVID-19 and 25, 679 deaths reported in Canada; these cumulative numbers tell us about the overall burden of COVID-19 illness to date. They also tell us, together with results of serological studies, that a large majority of Canadians remain susceptible to COVID-19. However, as vaccination programs expand at an accelerated pace, there is increasing optimism that widespread and lasting immunity can be achieved through COVID-19 vaccination over the coming weeks and months. As of June 4, provinces and territories have administered over 25.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

As immunity is still building up across the population, public health measures and individual precautions are crucial for COVID-19 control. Thanks to measures in place in heavily affected areas, the strong and steady declines in disease trends continues. The latest national-level data show a continued downward trend in disease activity with an average of 2,339 cases reported daily during the latest 7 day period (May 28-June 3), down 31% compared to the week prior. . For the week of May 23-29, there were on average of 78,089 tests completed daily across Canada, of which 3.8% were positive for COVID-19, compared to 4.7% the week prior. Until vaccine coverage is sufficiently high to impact disease transmission more broadly in the community, we must sustain a high degree of caution to drive infection rates down to a low, manageable level, and not ease restrictions too soon or too quickly where infection rates are high.

With the considerable decline in infection rates nationally, the overall number of people experiencing severe and critical illness is also declining. Provincial and territorial data indicate that an average of 2,344 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period (May 28-June 3), which is 19% fewer than last week. This includes, on average 1,006 people who were being treated in intensive care units (ICU), 14% fewer than last week. Likewise, the latest 7-day average of 34 deaths reported daily (May 28-June 3) is declining, showing a 21% decrease compared to the week prior.

Canada is continuing to monitor and assess genetic variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including impacts in the Canadian context. Overall, variants of concern (VOCs) represent the majority of recently reported COVID-19 cases across the country. The World Health Organization has established new simplified labels for variants of concern using letters of the Greek alphabet. Four VOCs (B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), and B.1.617, which includes B.1.617.2 (Delta)) have been detected in most provinces and territories, however, the Alpha variant continues to account for the majority of genetically sequenced variants in Canada. Evidence demonstrates that the Alpha and Delta variants are at least 50% more transmissible. As well, the Gamma, Beta, and Delta variants each have certain mutations, which may have an impact on vaccine effectiveness, although the evidence is still limited. Nevertheless, we know that vaccination, in combination with public health and individual measures, are working to reduce spread of COVID-19.

As vaccine eligibility expands, Canadians are urged to get vaccinated and support others to get vaccinated as vaccines become available to them. However, regardless of our vaccination status, it is important to remain vigilant, continue following local public health advice, and consistently maintain individual practices that keep us and our families safer, even as we're beginning to see the positive impacts of COVID-19 vaccines: stay home/self-isolate if you have any symptoms, think about the risks and reduce non-essential activities and outings to a minimum, avoid all non-essential travel, and maintain individual protective practices of physical distancing, hand, cough and surface hygiene and wearing a well-fitted and properly worn face mask as appropriate (including in shared spaces, indoors or outdoors, with people from outside of your immediate household).

For more information regarding the risks and benefits of vaccination, I encourage Canadians to reach out to your local public health authorities, healthcare provider, or other trusted and credible sources, such as Canada.ca and Immunize.ca. Working together, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, Canada's Chief Medical Officers of Health and other health professionals across the country are closely monitoring vaccine safety, effectiveness and optimal use to adapt approaches. As the science and situation evolves, we are committed to providing clear and evidence-informed guidance in order to keep everyone in Canada safe and healthy.

Canadians can also go the extra mile by sharing credible information on COVID-19 risks and prevention practices and measures to reduce COVID-19 in communities. Read my backgrounder to access more COVID-19 Information and Resources on ways to reduce the risks and protect yourself and others, including information on COVID-19 vaccination.

SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada

For further information: Media Relations, Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]
While some states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh have given priority to students going abroad regarding inoculation and have started special vaccination drives, students in many states are yet to get clarity over the issue

As the world struggles with a striking vaccine inequity, India is among the countries facing a dire situation of shortage of vaccines. The land, which is considered the largest producer of vaccines, is now grappling with a crippling shortfall of the life-saving doses. This situation has left numerous students planning to fly abroad for higher studies in a chicken and egg situation.

While some states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh have given priority to students going abroad regarding inoculation and have started special vaccination drives, students in many states are yet to get clarity over the issue. Universities that have made vaccination compulsory have stated that the immunization done will be validated only if WHO-approved vaccines are administered. As many as 360 public and private universities in the US require students to get vaccinated before joining classes.

Also Read: Indias 2nd dose Covaxin shortage: No vaccination available for 18-44 age group

The population of India is being administered mainly two vaccines  COVISHIELD, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and the indigenous COVAXIN, manufactured by Bharat Biotech. COVAXIN is still not approved by WHO, which has put many students in a state of confusion and worry. For example, on the Canadian Government Website, COVISHIELD is recognized and approved in Canada, but there is no mention of COVAXIN whatsoever.

While some students have got at least one dose, many students from states like Delhi and Rajasthan are yet to get the first dose as the states have halted the vaccination drive for the age group 18-44 due to the unavailability of vaccines. Another glaring issue is the increase in the gap between the two doses. The interval between the doses of COVISHIELD, which is approved in many nations, is now 12 weeks. This is concerning for students as the admission season (fall season) is about to start in countries like the US, which is considered a hotspot for international students.
Nigeria has banned Twitter indefinitely after it deleted Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari's tweet on punishing militants. Twitter had flagged the particular tweet as breach of its "abusive behaviour" policy.

Nigeria is the very first nation to impose a ban on a social media giant, which means Twitter will no longer be used in Nigeria. This action was taken after the 2 days Twitter removed Nigeria President Muhammadu Buharis abusive civil war tweet. In reference to the 1967-70 civil war, the president had tweeted, Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand. The particular tweet meant that Nigerias President warned to punish militants in the countrys southeast area, whom authorities have blamed for deadly attacks on government property.

As per Twitters policy, it said that the particular tweet has breached its abusive behaviour policy. Consequently, the Presidents handle was disabled for 12 hours.

According to the Nigerian Government, Twitter was prohibited because it was being used for purposes that were capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence. Following the governments statement, Twitter was still operational in Nigeria, to this Ministry Special Assistant Segun Adeyemi said I cant answer technicalities..operations will be suspended indefinitely.

As per Reuters, on early Saturday certain mobile carriers in Nigeria were unable to access Twitters website. However, its website and app were functioning on other networks.
With ashes of conflicts still flying, Palestinians now desperately need health aid

17:38, June 04, 2021 By Dennis Meng ( People's Daily Online

A Palestinian boy, who was wounded in Israeli airstrikes, lies at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on May 20, 2021. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

Nearly 200,000 Palestinians are currently in dire need of health aid in Gaza, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in a press release on June 2, adding that the situation is volatile and staggering.

Since the latest episode of the IsraelPalestine crisis, which has killed 278 Palestinians and damaged around 30 health facilities, WHO has rushed to provide essential medical supplies to over 2,000 injured people in need of trauma care and ambulance services in the region.

Unfortunately, the hard-won ceasefire between Israel and Hamas hasnt brought a respite to the health crisis in Gaza, as medical personnel are still struggling to treat the parallel medical emergencies brought about by the ferocious conflict and the coronavirus pandemic.

In the dual crisis, Palestinian civilians have been left behind in the global vaccination effort, even prior to the Israel-Hamas clash. In fact, Jerusalem represents a microcosm of the unfair vaccine distribution that has tilted towards the rich world: as Israel boasts a miraculous 63% vaccination rate, Palestinians, many of whom are displaced, have found it hard to get a shot.

Throughout the crisis, the U.S. hasnt fulfilled its responsibilities. It fueled the fire by selling arms and vetoing the UNs statement on a ceasefire. And the superpower has not lent any helping hand to Palestinians to tackle the health crisis.

Palestinians lives are deteriorating; many of the people affected by the conflict are in urgent need of aid and face other health threats like COVID-19, said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, Head of Office WHO of the Palestinian territories.

On May 20, WHO called for 7 million dollars to support Palestines health operations in the next six months, with a focus on trauma and emergency care as well as COVID-19 relief.

China, among other nations, meanwhile, has acted quickly to ameliorate the unfolding health crisis. On May 21, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian announced that China would donate one million U.S. dollars and 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Palestine. A week later, 100,000 doses of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China arrived in the region.

It is the latest move to implement both the important consensus reached between the two heads of state and the solemn commitment by Chinese President Xi Jinping to provide COVID-19 vaccines as a global public good, said Guo Wei, head of the Office of the People's Republic of China to the State of Palestine, at the handover ceremony.

As of May, only 69,000 Palestinians have received their first dose of the vaccine, and around 7,600 people have had both shots, according to a Palestinian health ministry statement.

A worker unloads Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines in Salem village, east of the West Bank city of Nablus, March 29, 2021. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Du Mingming)
Stephen Satterfield (right) explores a Benin marketplace with Dr. Jessica B. Harris, author of High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America in the opening episode of a four-part Netflix series which details the impact that African and African American culinary heritage has on American cooking.
BEIJING (AP)  A deadly knife attack in eastern China on Saturday killed at least five people and left 15 injured, according to local police.

Authorities in the city of Anqing in Anhui province received a report Saturday afternoon that a man had stabbed pedestrians on the street with a knife, according to a statement by an Anqing district police station on its Weibo social media account.
NEW HAVEN  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a motion to compel Yale New Haven Hospital to turn over dozens of cognitive exams that were required of older doctors, as it pursues a lawsuit against the institution for alleged age discrimination.

In the motion, filed June 1, government attorneys Caitlin Brown, Kirsten J. Peters, Kimberly A. Cruz and Markus L. Penzel argue the hospital is required to turn over the specific tests in question.

The hospital previously denied the request, arguing the tests were protected by peer review privilege, the attorneys said in a brief supporting their motion.

The EEOC attorneys argue peer review privilege does not apply in federal civil rights cases, as previously established in judicial precedent, and, even if it did, the public interest in the provision of the records would outweigh confidentiality concerns.

The EEOCs motion to compel first was reported by Law 360.

Further, the attorneys contend, the documents would be shared under a protective order, guarding them from improper consideration.

Attorneys for Yale New Haven Hospital argued that the request for the tests was improperly vague, according to the brief.

The hospital also said the tests were in the possession of a doctor, and it could not be compelled to produce them as he is a Yale University employee, according to the brief.

The EEOC attorneys contend the hospital has practical control over that doctor , paid part of his salary and has relied on him in the case, including offering to have him step forward for a deposition.

The tests themselves are essential evidence, according to the EEOC attorneys.

The EEOC filed the lawsuit against Yale New Haven Hospital in February 2020, charging the hospitals policy that medical staff age 70 and older undergo cognitive testing violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Late Career Practitioner Policy required medical professionals who had turned 70 years old to undergo a battery of cognitive and ophthalmologist tests in order to earn reappointment to their positions.

Hospital staff have said that 141 individuals were tested, 125 of them physicians, and that 18 retired as a result.

Dr. Leo Cooney, a geriatric specialist at the hospital, and Dr. Thomas Balcezak, chief medical officer for the hospital, wrote a report on the program for the JAMA Network in its Performance Improvement series.

A spokesman for Yale New Haven Hospital said in an email in response for a request for a comment, YNHH does not generally comment on pending litigation, but will be filing its opposition papers which will be accessible at a later date.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  Several thousand people rallied in Hungary's capital Saturday against plans by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to host a Chinese university in Budapest.

A strategic agreement that Hungary signed with Shanghai-based Fudan University envisages opening a branch in the citys 9th district. Plans call for the Budapest campus to be completed by 2024. It would enroll international students and represent the schools only foreign outpost, as well as the first Chinese university campus in the 27-nation European Union.

The protesters marched from Heroes Square toward the Hungarian parliament building, defying a pandemic ban on gatherings of more than 500 people. The crowd carried banners reading 'No Fudan," flags and posters.

Budapest authorities have opposed the university branch idea. They argue the $1.9 billion project would place a huge burden on taxpayers and send the wrong political message because of the alleged human rights abuses in China.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony had a huge photo of a protester facing a tank in Beijing's Tiananmen Square projected behind him during Saturday's demonstration. Chinese troops opened fire on protesters in the square on June 4, 1989, killing hundreds and perhaps thousands.

Lets make it clear whom we are not protesting against, Karacsony said. "We have our problem with dictators.... And we are not in the least protesting against Chinese people who live together with us peacefully in this marvelous city.

What we want is the student city," Karacsony added. "What we dont want is the 500 billion forint ( 1.45 billion euro; $ 1.6 billion) Chinese elite university paid from the taxpayers money. It is as simple as that.

Orban, a right-wing populist, has fostered closer ties with Russia and China as he faces European Union criticism for his authoritarian ways and staunch anti-immigration stand.

Hungarian officials have insisted that Fudan, ranked among the top 100 universities in the world, will help raise higher education standards in Hungary. But the university's links to China's Communist Party have sparked outrage among liberal-minded Hungarians.
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)  A Massachusetts police officer who drowned trying to save a teenager at a pond was honored with a procession by his fellow officers Saturday morning.

The procession of police vehicles from across Massachusetts accompanied the body of Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel Manny Familia as it was taken from the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester to the state medical examiners office in Westfield.

City and state officials also ordered flags flown at half-staff in his honor Saturday.

The 38-year-old Familia was one of five officers who entered the water at Green Hill Park, the city's largest, on Friday afternoon to try and save a drowning teenager.

Familia and the 14-year-old teen were later located by divers and rushed to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The teen hasn't been identified by police, but family members said his name was Troy Love.

Joseph Guy, Love's 21-year-old brother, told NBC Boston that his sibling knew how to swim and had been trying to swim across the pond.

But he said Love started having trouble in the middle of the pond and called for help. Guy said he and Love's girlfriend jumped into the water to try to rescue him but he went underwater.

Police meanwhile said Familia was a five-year police department veteran with a wife and two teenage children.

He'd also served as a campus police officer at Quinsigamond Community College and Clark University before joining the Worcester police.

This is the type of person Manny was; someone who would lay down his life for someone elses child, Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty said Friday.

Police Chief Steven Sargent said the city has lost a hero.

We will remember and honor his selfless devotion to Worcester and his ultimate sacrifice to save someone he didnt know," he said.
MILFORD  For 20 years, Cindy Wolfe Boynton has been searching for her truth. Now, she may be just weeks away from finding it.

Boynton is one of about 38,000 adult adoptees in Connecticut who are barred from accessing their original birth certificates. This year, the General Assembly passed legislation giving people like Boynton the right to see their birth documents.

The bill goes before Gov. Ned Lamont next month.

Boynton said the bill is an attempt to right a long-time wrong and create a new beginning.

This bill is saying, You know what, Im sorry. Lets right the wrong, she said. And every time you say youre sorry, you get an opportunity for a fresh start.

State Sen. James Maroney, D-14, one of the bills most vocal supporters, said the legislation aims to end decades of denial of important  sometimes life-impacting  access to adoptees own information. It would amend state statutes to allow all adopted individuals and their children and grandchildren to obtain their original birth certificates. Currently, Maroney said, state law only allows individuals born or adopted after Oct. 1, 1983, to access their original birth certificates.

Numerous organizations submitted testimony in favor of the bill, including the North American Council on Adoptable Children, which endorsed the legislation under the statement that every adopted person has the right to receive personal information about their birth, foster and adoption history, including medical information, educational and social history.

Boyntons birth certificate has her place of birth, when she was born, how much she weighed and the doctor who was in the delivery room. But the parent information on the document contains falsehoods, she said.

All this part in the middle is 100 percent untrue, she said. These are my parents, the people that raised me, but they are not the people that conceived me, and its not the mother who gave birth to me.

In addition to advocates like Boynton, and legislative backers like Maroney, the bill has its opponents. Eight senators and 28 state representatives voted against it. And Catholic Charities, which facilitated adoptions in Connecticut from the 1960s into the 1980s, has consistently been opposed to such legislation.

The organizations position is that women who gave their children up for adoption should have their privacy respected.

We are not in favor of breaking promises to birth parents who were promised anonymity, said John Noonan, director of development and communications for Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Hartford. These promises were made when birth parents came to our agency during the most vulnerable and difficult time of their lives.

State Sen. Eric Berthel, R-32, who voted against the legislation, said mothers who gave up their children did so for many reasons, but they did so under a promise of anonymity. He said he had heard arguments for and against the bill from these women during public testimony.

Some of these mothers inevitably chose to disclose their identity to their child, he said. This decision is their choice, based on these protections put in place years ago. It is wrong to undo these protections and create another mandate from Hartford.

Boynton said the promises of anonymity were made in a different time, under conditions that no longer exist.

It was the time in our society where being unmarried and pregnant was just about the worst thing that you could do, she said. For the woman to keep the child, she had to have the support of her family. At that time, there was tremendous shame cast upon the woman and her child.

Boynton said a woman couldnt get a credit card or rent an apartment without her father or husbands signature, and support for single mothers was scarce.

The majority of families didnt support their daughters to keep the babies because, again, it was scorn on the family, she said. When women were allegedly sent to live with their aunts for several months or sent away to school, they were really sent to maternity homes. There were maternity homes all around the country.

In Connecticut, adult adoptees could get their original birth certificate until 1975, when a change in the law closed adoptees original birth documents. Those wishing to see their original birth certificates had to petition the court and provide a compelling reason. Boynton herself started the legal process in 2000. She eventually found her birth parents, but said she still had not received her original birth certificate, which is on file with the state Department of Children and Families.

The state receives about 20 inquiries each month from adoptees looking for their birth parents or records. For those born before Oct. 1, 1983, those requests usually go unfilled.

For Boynton, the first step was to reach out to a representative from the adoption agency. She also had to send a notarized letter to the state saying she wouldnt sue if she received traumatizing information. For a $250 filing fee, she received non-identifying information.

I got one sentence ... that said your parents met in college, your birth father didnt want to get married, your birth mother didnt want to give you up, and thats all I knew, she said.

After she received the non-identifying information, Boynton paid another $250 and sent another notarized letter to conduct a records search.

The search allows a few hours of searching time, she said. I was fortunate that my biological mothers mother still lived in the exact house in Berlin. So my social worker contacted my biological grandmother, who then contacted my biological mother, and a date and time were set up for my biological mother to call me.

Boynton found her biological father 10 years later after extensive searching.

My biological mom was in New Hampshire, and my biological dad was living in California, she said. Im very fortunate that I have a wonderful extended family now, and I went from being the only child to being the oldest of seven.

With the advent of in-home genetic testing, Boynton said the promise of secrecy was essentially obsolete.

We have all this genetic testing thats available out there. You spit in a tube, you send it in, and all of a sudden online, you get matched with anyone that has your DNA, she said.

Such a search would be far less private than simply giving adults access to their birth records, she argued.

When you have access to the birth records, you see the name, you can find that person yourself, and you can go straight to them. Its very private, said Boynton.

But Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-21, took the opposite approach, saying that technology made it easy enough for people to find their own genetic information so there was no reason to renege on a promise of privacy.

I think what we should be looking at here is a process that would look and balance these interests, which I think is what we have under current law, said Sen. Kelly. Rather than deciding that one interest, one of a child, is more important than that of a mother.

For Sen. Heather Somers, R-18, the situation boiled down to the rights of adopted children being in direct conflict with the rights of their birth parents.

Who is the one who wins here? Who is the one that has the right to either secrecy or the right to information? she said. I feel for both sides.

She said she understands the adoptees who want to reach out and want to know who they are and what their family history is. Sometimes, a reunion between a birth mother and child can be a joyful event. But it should be a decision left up to the birth mother, she said.

They have a right to be able to consent to that and have a right to say, yes, things have changed and Im OK with giving that information out. I do want to meet the child I gave away, Somers said. I also feel they have the right to say no.

Somers said she was swayed by a story from one constituent who wanted the details of her decision to give her child up for adoption to remain private.

Her husband and her children do not know, and the last thing she wants is to have somebody knock on her door or call her or have this information exposed, she said. She went into it with a guarantee she wouldnt have to face this situation and not be exposed. I do believe in many cases the birth mother has already paid a huge price that she will carry for her entire life.

Boynton said she and her fellow adoptees considered Maroney a hero for his efforts to advance the bill.

When James Maroney gave his testimony, every one of us was crying in (a group text) saying how great he was, how much passion he spoke with, and how he was bringing it home, she said. He was really incredible, and all the legislatures were incredible who spoke for the bill.

Should Lamont sign the bill, the new law would go into effect July 1. Boynton said she, and many others, would be ready.

I will be at Norwalk City Hall on July 1, she said. I will be first in line. I will sleep out if I have to. I know adoptees all over the state who will be doing the exact same thing.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  A federal judge has overturned Californias three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, calling it a failed experiment that violates people's constitutional right to bear arms.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled on Friday that the states definition of illegal military-style rifles unlawfully deprives law-abiding Californians of weapons commonly allowed in most other states and by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive," Benitez said. He issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the law but stayed it for 30 days to give state Attorney General Rob Bonta time to appeal.

Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the decision, calling it a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period."

In his 94-page ruling, the judge spoke favorably of modern weapons and said they were overwhelmingly used for legal reasons.

Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle," the judge said in his ruling's introduction.

That comparison completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families whove lost loved ones to this weapon," Newsom said in a statement. Were not backing down from this fight, and well continue pushing for common sense gun laws that will save lives.

Bonta called the ruling flawed and said it will be appealed.

California first restricted assault weapons in 1989, with multiple updates to the law since then.

Assault weapons as defined by the law are more dangerous than other firearms and are disproportionately used in crimes, mass shootings and against law enforcement, with more resulting casualties, the state attorney generals office argued, and barring them furthers the states important public safety interests.

A surge in sales of more than 1.16 million other types of pistols, rifles and shotguns in the last year  more than a third of them to likely first-time buyers  show that the assault weapons ban has not prevented law-abiding citizens in the state from acquiring a range of firearms for lawful purposes, including self-defense, the state contended in a court filing in March.

Similar assault weapon restrictions have previously been upheld by six other federal district and appeals courts, the state argued. Overturning the ban would allow not only assault rifles, but things like assault shotguns and assault pistols, state officials said.

But Benitez disagreed.

This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of Second Amendment protection. The banned assault weapons are not bazookas, howitzers, or machine guns. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes," his ruling said. Instead, the firearms deemed assault weapons are fairly ordinary, popular, modern.

The judge said despite California's ban, there currently are an estimated 185,569 assault weapons registered with the state.

They were grandfathered in before California's evolving definition of an assault weapon.

This is an average case about average guns used in average ways for average purposes," the ruling said. One is to be forgiven if one is persuaded by news media and others that the nation is awash with murderous AR-15 assault rifles. The facts, however, do not support this hyperbole, and facts matter."

In California, murder by knife occurs seven times more often than murder by rifle," he added.

He also called the ban a continuing failed experiment which does not achieve its objectives of preventing mass shootings or attacks on law enforcement officers.

In a preliminary ruling in September, Benitez said Californias complicated legal definition of assault weapons can ensnare otherwise law-abiding gun owners with criminal penalties that among other things can strip them of their Second Amendment right to own firearms.

"The burden on the core Second Amendment right, if any, is minimal, the state argued, because the weapons can still be used  just not with the modifications that turn them into assault weapons. Modifications like a shorter barrel or collapsible stock make them more concealable, state officials said, while things like a pistol grip or thumbhole grip make them more lethal by improving their accuracy as they are fired rapidly.

The lawsuit filed by the San Diego County Gun Owners Political Action Committee, California Gun Rights Foundation, Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition is among several by gun advocacy groups challenging Californias firearms laws, which are among the strictest in the nation.

It was filed on behalf of gun owners who want to use high-capacity magazines in their legal rifles or pistols, but said they cant because doing so would turn them into illegal assault weapons under California law. Unlike military weapons, the semi-automatic rifles fire one bullet each time the trigger is pulled, and the plaintiffs say they are legal in 41 states.

The lawsuit said California is one of only a small handful states to ban many of the most popular semiautomatic firearms in the nation because they possess one or more common characteristics, such as pistol grips and threaded barrels, frequently but not exclusively along with detachable ammunition magazines.

Brandon Combs, the president of the Firearms Policy Coalition, said in a statement that the ruling held what millions of Americans already know to be true: Bans on so-called assault weapons are unconstitutional and cannot stand.

A gun control advocacy group called the judge's ruling alarming and especially insulting because it was handed down on National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

Too many families across the nation have lost loved ones in shootings carried out with assault weapons. They can attest to the reality that these weapons are not like Swiss Army knives nor are mass shootings only a very small problem, said Robyn Thomas, executive director of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a group led by Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot and wounded in a mass shooting 10 years ago.

The state is appealing Benitezs 2017 ruling against the states nearly two-decade-old ban on the sales and purchases of magazines holding more than 10 bullets. That decision triggered a weeklong buying spree before the judge halted sales during the appeal. It was upheld in August by a three-judge appellate panel, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in March that an 11-member panel will rehear the case.

The state also is appealing Benitezs decision in April 2020 blocking a 2019 California law requiring background checks for anyone buying ammunition.

Both of those measures were championed by Newsom when he was lieutenant governor, and they were backed by voters in a 2016 ballot measure.
As Yale University was trending on Twitter this weekend amid criticism for hosting a provocative speaker in April, the school responded with a statement.

The Yale School of Medicine released a statement Saturday that addressed profanity and extreme hostility in a non-affiliated guest speakers lecture titled The Psychopathic Problem of the White Mind.

Dr. Aruna Khilanani, a New York-based forensic psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, gave a talk on April 6 as part of the schools Grand Rounds program  a program where medical clinicians and professionals lecture students and faculty. Several faculty members raised concerns about the lecture, according to the statement.

Yale recorded and posted the conversation with limited access, providing the link only to community members who had access. But the audio was posted online Friday on the Substack page of former New York Times columnist and editor Bari Weiss, who tweeted a link to her page to her 293,500 followers.

Weiss page also included a Q&A with Khilanani conducted by writer and podcast host Katie Herzog, along with an image of the poster promoting the lecture at Yale.

The lecture surrounded the topic of addressing discussions about race with white people, during which Khilanani shared some of her personal experiences with racism throughout her career.

In the recording, Khilanani is heard saying white people make her blood boil.

I had fantasies of unloading a revolver into the head of any white person that got in my way, burying their body and wiping my bloody hands as I walked away relatively guiltless with a bounce in my step. Like I did the world a (expletive) favor, she said.

In its statement, Yale said it found the tone and content antithetical to the values of the school.

The Grand Rounds talks are usually posted online but in considering Yales commitment to the right of free expression, university officials determined further review was warranted before its release.

We weighed our grave concern about the extreme hostility, imagery of violence, and profanity expressed by the speaker against our commitment to freedom of expression, the statement read.

The video was eventually posted with a disclaimer saying the ideas expressed by the speaker conflict with the core values of Yale School of Medicine, according to Yales statement.

Yales disclaimer read: This video contains profanity and imagery of violence. Yale School of Medicine expects the members of our community to speak respectfully to one another and to avoid the use of profanity as a matter of professionalism and acknowledgment of our common humanity. Yale School of Medicine does not condone imagery of violence or racism against any group.

Khilananis remarks generated interest on social media. Weiss tweet  shared at 11:13 a.m. Friday  had 1,897 retweets and 4,400 likes after of mid-Saturday afternoon. Many were calling on Yale to release the recording publicly. Khilanani also said Yale promised it would release the video.

Khilanani has also posted several videos  mostly shared on TikTok and Twitter  addressing the issue while asking Yale to release the video of her lecture. In one video posted on May 21, Khilanani read Yales disclaimer and responded to it.

I began my talk by saying that if I start talking about race in this way, Im going to be seen as the crazy, psychotic one and white people just followed my (expletive) textbook like a (expletive) script, she said.
Niagara Falls, NY (14301)

Today

Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High around 80F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 59F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
File photoNiagara County health officials issued a warning Tuesday about residents in Niagara Falls possibly being bitten by a rabid dog and a woman who handed out baby raccoons that may have been rabid at a store on Pine Avenue in the city.
A northern group, Arewa Mandate Initiative, has expressed readiness to support a southern candidate for the 2023 Presidency. The gro...

A northern group, Arewa Mandate Initiative, has expressed readiness to support a southern candidate for the 2023 Presidency.

The group said it is committed to the idea of rotating the Presidency between the North and South.

It also listed 11 candidates it will be willing to support should any of them run for President.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Coordinator, Muhammed Mubarak, and Secretary, Aminu Muhammed, in Abuja. It was titled, The North Is Ready For Power Shift To The South In 2023.

The group said after consultations across numerous political groups, especially on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in the north, it concluded that the next President of Nigeria emerged from the southern part of the country.

The statement partly read, While the North looks forward to the south to put forward the best and most acceptable material for the office of the President, the Arewa Mandate Initiative, had conducted a survey of the likely personally that could be said to possess the credentials needed to occupy the exalted office of the country.

Among those that the North might be looking out for, include, the current Minister of State, Petroleum, Chief Timipriye Sylvia, from Bayelsa State, the current Minister of Transport, Chief Rotimi Amechi, from Rivers, and Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, a former Senate Leader and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, from Cross River state, all from the South-South.

For the South-East, names like the former Governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, the current Minister of Science and Technology, Dr.Chris Ogbomnaya Onu, current Governor of Ebonyi, David Umahi and the former Senate President, Dr, Ken Nnamani, are listed as front runners for the plum job.

In the South-West, the Arewa may be looking at names like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Leader of APC, current Governor of Ekiti, John Kayode Fayemi, current Minister of Works, Mr. Raji Fashola and current Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as likely materials with the requisite qualification for the office of the President.

The current President, Muhammadu Buhari, who hails from Katsina State, in northern Nigeria, will complete eight years in office by May 2023 and many Southerners have been agitating that power should shift to the South.
At least 88 people have been killed in Kebbi, following an attack by gunmen in Danko-Wasagu LGA of the state. Nafiu Abubakar, police p...

At least 88 people have been killed in Kebbi, following an attack by gunmen in Danko-Wasagu LGA of the state.





Nafiu Abubakar, police public relations officer (PPRO) in Kebbi, confirmed the attack on Saturday.

He said the attack  earlier reports put the casualty figure at 66  occurred in eight villages in the LGA on Thursday.

Actually, not 66. Its 88 now. We have gotten addition, he said.





The police spokesperson said the state command has dispatched mobile police officers to trail and arrest the culprits.

We are combing the area in order to arrest the perpetrators of such ugly incident, he said.

Right now, they are combing the bush with the aim of arresting them. It was on Thursday, that is 3rd June, 2021, at about 3:30pm.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks carried out by gunmen in the north-west.

The development also comes about four weeks after nine police officers including a divisional police officer (DPO)  were killed by bandits in Sakaba LGA of the state.
The Catholic church has banned Ejike Mbaka, spiritual director of Adoration Ministries Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), from commenting on partisan pol...





The Catholic church has banned Ejike Mbaka, spiritual director of Adoration Ministries Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), from commenting on partisan politics.

In a letter to Mbaka, Callistus Onaga, Catholic bishop of Enugu diocese, also converted the adoration ministry to chaplaincy.

Unlike in the past where Mbaka solely oversees the activities of the ministry as its spiritual director, making it chaplaincy brings it under the control of the Enugu diocese and gives the bishop the power to appoint a chaplain to oversee its operations.

Although the bishop said Mbaka still leads the chaplaincy, he added that he (bishop) can appoint any ministerial officer to assist the chaplains to oversee the pastoral activities of the ministry.





There shall be no partisan politics either by way of active engagement or by prophetic naming of candidates for position of power, he said.

The letter, which is dated June 3, contains the diocesan directives and guidelines for the conduct of the adoration ministry.

The directives were announced just as Mbaka is set to resume activities of the ministry which was suspended following his one-month private retreat.





The priest went on the retreat after the controversies that trailed his recent clash with the presidency.

He had demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari should resign or be impeached over bad governance.

The presidency responded with an accusation that he is angry because his demand for government contracts was rebuffed.

Mbaka admitted that he once discussed the contract with Buhari during a meeting.

He, however, said he had gone to hand over three foreign nationals who had said, they had the platform to end insecurity in this country under one month.

Mbakas temporary absence amid the controversy caused a violent protest during which his supporters destroyed some of the churchs assets at the bishops house.

The Catholic church declared one week of prayer over the incident while the priest apologised for his mistakes.

Even in all that I said, where I didnt say it well, I pray for forgiveness. I am on your (the worshippers) behalf, kneeling down for the church and I tell the church, forgive, he had said.
Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo, says he has reluctantly agreed to allow the process of constituting a board for the Nige...

Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo, says he has reluctantly agreed to allow the process of constituting a board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) till the end of June.





President Muhammadu Buhari had, in 2019, ordered a forensic audit of the NDDCs operations, which uncovered allegations of mismanagement of funds.

Kemebradikumo Pondei, acting managing director of the commission at the time, was eventually sacked, and in December 2020, the president appointed Effiong Akwa as new head of the agency.

However, a new board is yet to be constituted for the commission, following the dissolution of the previous one in January 2020.

Akpabio had visited Delta state to plead with Tompolo over a seven-day ultimatum issued in May for President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute the NDDC board or face a complete breakdown of law and order in the south-south region.

After the visit, Akpabio disclosed that the meeting was fruitful and promised to commence and fast-track the process.

In a statement on Saturday, Tompolo said that he got involved in the matter because of his love for the region and Nigeria.

I welcomed the consultative meeting of our revered traditional rulers from the region, Delta State Government, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) led by its President, Professor Benjamin Okaba, leaders from the Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ndokwa and other Nationalities with the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Akpabio in attendance, at the traditional headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oporoza town on Thursday June 3rd, 2021, he said.

Tompolo said Akpabio had promised to constitute the board immediately, adding that the minister had asked that the process be allowed till the end of June to be completed.

Tompolo said he had reluctantly agreed to this in order to maintain peace in the region.

The outcome of the meeting has been made known to the public by the Minister. He promised profusely to start the process of the constitution and inauguration of the substantive board of the NDDC immediately (from Friday, June 4th, 2021), and that he should be allowed to drive the process to an end on or before the end of June 2021, the statement reads.

As it stands now, I have accepted the outcome of the meeting reluctantly. It is pertinent to state at this juncture that I do not want anything to disrupt the relative peace we are enjoying in the region.

It was on this premise that I accepted the outcome of the meeting. The ultimate goal in this issue is for the Minister to abide by the promise he has made to start the process of constituting the NDDC board now. Government shenanigans must be put away in this matter, as constituting the NDDC board is very dear to the heart of the people of the region.

He thanked everyone who played a part in the resolution, saying it is my prayer that the needful be done to develop the Niger Delta region as seen in advanced climes.
The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) has confirmed the death of former Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau. ISWAP confirmed that S...





The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) has confirmed the death of former Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

ISWAP confirmed that Shekau blew himself up after refusing to surrender following the invasion of his hideout on May 19, 2021.

This was contained in a message from Abu Musab Habeeb Bin Muhammad Bin Yusuf al-Barnawi, born Habib Yusuf, leader of the terrorists.

According to HumAngle, al-Barnawi, in an address on Friday, described Shekau as the leader of disobedience and corruption.

He said Shekaus fighters rejoiced over his death, adding that the former terrorist leader, who took over after the death of Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, was apprehended in the most humiliating manner.

Speaking in Hausa, al-Barnawi said: This was someone who committed unimaginable terrorism. How many has he wasted? How many has he killed? How many has he terrorised? But Allah left him alone and prolonged his life. When it was time, Allah set out brave soldiers after receiving orders from Amirul Muminin (leader of the believers).

ISWAP, which broke away from Shekaus Boko Haram faction in 2016, disagreed with the late extremist leader over his excessive use of force, especially on Muslims in areas under his influence.

He stated that the interim leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ordered them to take action on Shekau for deviating and killing believers.

ISWAP fighters then took their arms, travelled through the Sahara, went into Shekaus enclave, and engaged in a gun battle with his followers.

Shekau preferred to be humiliated in the afterlife than getting humiliated on earth. He killed himself instantly by detonating an explosive, he said.
The Amalgamation of Northern Woman Associations in Nigeria has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to hold a referendum on the agitation for ...

The Amalgamation of Northern Woman Associations in Nigeria has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to hold a referendum on the agitation for a Biafran state.

Speaking with journalists on Saturday at the Unity Fountain in Abuja before they embarked on the demonstration, Hadiza Adamu, coordinator of the coalition, said women in the north are at the receiving end because their husbands and brothers have been allegedly killed in the south-east.

Adamu said people should be allowed to belong to a country or leave, adding that their agitation should not end in war.

We are the amalgamation of northern women from all parts of the north, north-central, north-west and north-east. We as mothers are always at the receiving end of any war, insurrection, killings, and acts of terror, she said.

It is for this reason that we come together today and say we dont want another war, another insurrection.

When our men were killed, we were raped and our children rendered orphans, we have nowhere to run to. Nigerian history has shown that women carry the heavy burden of war and acts of insurrections and terrorism.

We have gone through it from 1967 to 1971, our men died and left us with the children to cater for out of nothing, other men that survived simply moved on, but we never moved on.

INEC offices and other symbols of democracy in the country are being destroyed on a daily basis, our husbands that go to do business in the south-east no longer return home safe, our political leaders who travel to the south-east on national assignments are assassinated in broad daylight.

It is in the light of the above that we are saying enough is enough and let Mr. President allow for a referendum that will make Igbos realise their long term dream of being a Biafra nation. No more killing of northerners, no more killing of police officers, no more profiling of northerners and attacking their businesses.

Let Igbo have their independent nation away from the rest of Nigeria.

The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been agitating for a secession of the south-east from Nigeria.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has blasted President Muhammadu Buhari for suspending Twitter indefinitely in Nigeria. The Federa...

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has blasted President Muhammadu Buhari for suspending Twitter indefinitely in Nigeria.

The Federal Government had on Friday suspended Twitter indefinitely in Nigeria.

In a statement released on Twitter by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, government attributed the suspension to what it called the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

The Minister said the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria, added Segun Adeyemi, the Special Assistant To The President (Media).

Twitter had come into the crosshairs of the Buhari government after its police deleted two tweets and a video, in which President Buhari threatened to invoke civil war treatment to arsonists, separatists and insurrectionists destroying public assets.

He spoke at a meeting with INEC officials who had complained of losing 42 properties to arson.

Buhari tweeted: Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War.

Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand, the president said.

Reacting to the ban, Soyinka said he just heard the news of Buharis ban on Twitter an hour or so after sending off TO SHOCK AND AWE to the print media.

He said he said he lacked surprise at this petulant gesture, unbecoming of a democratically elected president.

According to Soyinka, if Buhari has a problem with Twitter, he is advised to sort it out between them personally, the way Donald Trump did, not rope in the right to free expression of the Nigerian citizen as collateral damage.

In any case, this is a technical problem Nigerians should be able to work their way around. The field of free expression remains wide open, free of any dictatorial spasms!
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has mocked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for suspending ...

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has mocked the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for suspending Twitter in Nigeria.

Recall that after Twitter deleted a controversial tweet by the president against the southeast region, Information Minister Lai Mohammed announced that the microblogging site would no longer be accessed in Nigeria.

He had said the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence was the reason for the suspension

Reacting, Nnamdi Kanu in a tweet on Friday, said the Buhari government has lost it and they have exposed their intolerance.

He tweeted, They have finally lost it. Fulani Terror Caliphate have exposed their venomous underbelly Intolerance, Hubris

@UKinNigeria, @USinNigeria, @EUinNigeria & others; imagine what these terrorists & Jihadists ruling #Nigeria are doing with all the deadly weapons you supplied them with?
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), says the decision of the Federal Government to suspend Twitter shows that the President, Muham...

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), says the decision of the Federal Government to suspend Twitter shows that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, has suspended Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution.

Falana said this during a chat with PUNCH shortly after the Federal Government announced that it had suspended Twitter indefinitely.

The human rights lawyer argued that the suspension is also at variance with the Freedom of Information Act which seeks to expand information and access to it.

The senior advocate said he was sure that Buharis regime would soon ban international news networks like CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera.





Falana said, This act has confirmed the suspension of Chapter IV of the constitution. Very soon, Nigerians will be restricted to NTA and the FRCN as the only source of information. Media like Channels TV and others have been fined for embarrassing the government and they may be proscribed soon.

The decision of the NBC to impose fines on media houses based on an illegally amended code of the Broadcasting Code. It is a rehearsal of the imminent proscription of local media organisations that publish anything considered defamatory or seditious by the government.

With what has happened to Twitter, other media houses like CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera will also be suspended.
Luckys, which also sold locally grown produce, expanded too fast into locations that werent always good fits for its organic for the 99% theme, analysts said when the chain went bankrupt. Still, the chain developed a cult following during its short Florida tenure and broke hearts of customers and employees alike after its primary investor, supermarket giant Kroger, pulled out and forced the company to close all 21 of its stores.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Mostly sunny. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms. Low around 60F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Extras are needed in the New Orleans area this summer for a new film starring Will Smith.

Central Casting Louisiana is looking for men, women and children to work on their latest project, "Emancipation."

The movie, directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced for Apple Studios, was moved from Georgia to New Orleans "based on the voter laws that were passed in Georgia recently," said City Hall spokesperson Beau Tidwell during a press conference.

Will Smith film 'Emancipation' moving to New Orleans from Georgia due to voting law A film starring Will Smith set to be filmed in Georgia that was pulled over concerns about a controversial new voting law there will instead b

Smith and Fuqua announced that they would move their production to a different state, saying that they could not "in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access."

The movie will tell the story of Whipped Peter, an enslaved man who escapes terrible conditions on a Louisiana plantation. He was a key figure in exposing the brutality of slavery and served as a solder in the Civil War.

Central Casting has worked on locally-filmed projects including Jurassic World, Logan and Deepwater Horizon.

"Emancipation" will be filmed in the greater New Orleans area, including Bush, from July through September.

Central Casting is looking for men 18 and older to work 10 days from July 12 - 20, weekdays only, to potray enslaved men. Workers are not required to work every day.

A mid-nasal COVID test is required at least 48 hours prior to each filming day and costume fitting. Tests will be administered in New Orleans and Covington.

Extras will be paid $125 per film day-- about 12 hours per day-- $100 per COVID test and a $31.25 for a 2-hour costume fitting in New Orleans. An additional $40 for gas with a toll bump will be provided per day for those coming from the South Shore.

The casting company also noted that the hair department will make adjustments to hair to make it look more Civil-War era appropriate. Cuts or styling may be required. Hair must be a natural color with no highlights or strong cuts.

Fittings for men start June 16th.

Those interested can fill out this form or email movie@centralcasting.com with answers to the the following questions:
All four had injuries that FHP described as non-life threatening. Troopers arrested Devona Keon, 32, and James Dasher, 30, on charges of grand theft, driving without a license and fleeing and eluding. Dasher, an Opa-locka resident, has a Broward County warrant after his failure to appear in court for a 2018 traffic criminal case for speeding and driving with a suspended license. Online court records say Dasher owes Broward $383.
Leave it where it is and renovate the building

Move into the Municipal Auditorium in Treme

Listen to Treme residents and find another location

Put it in Plaza Tower, if financing becomes available

Vote

View Results
Students, faculty members and employees at St. Tammany Parish public schools will no longer be required to wear face masks on campuses under a recommendation that recently won preliminary approval from a School Board committee.

Meeting as a committee as a whole on June 3, the board voted 11-0 in favor of Superintendent Frank Jabbias recommendation to lift mask requirements put in place last year to stem the spread of COVID-19 in district schools. The issue will get a final vote at the boards regular meeting on June 10.

The board committees action follows Gov. John Bel Edwards announcement late last month that he was dropping the statewide mandate that students wear a mask at school. The governor left the decision whether or not to mandate masks with individual school districts.

Edwards also said last month he was canceling nearly every remaining coronavirus restriction in Louisiana in the midst of a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases and ongoing vaccination efforts. His announcement followed a retooling of CDC guidelines announced May 13 that said people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances.

Although St. Tammany public school students and employees will not have to wear masks on campus, students will be required to wear them on school buses, which will be allowed to operate at 100% seating capacity. The mask requirement on buses, which is in step with the governors guidance for all types of mass transit, will also apply to bus drivers and bus attendees. Students in pre-K to second grade will be exempt from the mask requirement on buses.

Jabbia said the school system will also do away with single-point entry for all campuses and school offices. Daily morning temperature checks and screening sessions will also cease.

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While the mask mandate will be lifted, Jabbia stressed that the CDC and other health agencies strongly encourage those who have not been fully vaccinated to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing. And, school officials said those who continue to feel the need to wears masks on campuses can do so.

The superintendent said administrators will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 cases in conjunction with medical experts and will make adjustments accordingly.

As always, our goal is to provide a safe environment for our students and our employees, Jabbia said. We are definitely trending on an extremely positive note. Its time that we move forward.

Also at the meeting, Jabbia introduced eight new school principals for the coming school year. They are:
A former deputy at the New Orleans jail filed a sexual harassment lawsuit Monday in federal court against the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office and a deputy with whom she once had a romantic relationship.

Christine Conner alleges she was demoted in retaliation for filing a sexual harassment complaint against the other deputy and that the abusive workplace environment eventually forced her to quit.

Conner was one of several current and former deputies who spoke out about what they called a culture of sexual harassment at the jail in a New Orleans Advocate/WWL-TV investigation last year.

They treat them like they're candy. They pass them off to each other, Conner said of the way male deputies treat female colleagues. They get in groups and talk about who's going to get after who first. It's disgusting.

The lawsuit, which was filed by attorney Danatus King, seeks back wages and unspecified financial damages for Conner.

In the lawsuit, Conner alleges that she became pregnant by Sgt. Clemont Griffin after they began a sexual relationship in 2016. When their relationship became caustic, she attempted to end the relationship, according to the suit.

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Conner says she was subjected to sexual harassment and threatening telephone calls, and one morning was the victim of an assault and battery.

When Conner complained to her supervisors, they did nothing, the suit alleges. In January 2018 she decided to leave the Sheriffs Office, she says.

Conner says she filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and received a right to sue letter in October.

Griffin has declined to comment on his relationship with Conner in the past, and he could not be reached for comment this week.

An attorney for the Sheriffs Office declined to comment.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Judge Carl Barbier.
Seven weeks after her broken body was cut free from the mangled wreckage of a deadly Avondale car crash, 11-year-old Demya Sibley is battling back to full health, one day at a time.

"I'm focused on getting better," said Demya, who recently traded her wheelchair for crutches.

But that's not the rising sixth-grader's only feat.

The road rage crash she survived  a head-on, high-speed collision  killed three others, including her best friend, DeZerra Wright, 11, and DeZerra's mother, Raish-Nia Wright, 31.

The first responders who worked the accident say they've been haunted by the grim scene and the tragic deaths. Chris Landry, acting captain of the Bridge City Volunteer Fire Department, called it the worst crash he's ever worked.

But Demya's survival and her fight to recover have given Landry and his co-workers hope, a bit of joy that cuts through the darkness of that day.

In a way, she is rescuing her rescuers.

"It helps so much to see her progress," Michael Richoux said Wednesday as Demya and her family paid a visit to the Bridge City firehouse to finally meet some of the people who saved her life.

I want to say thank you for caring and helping me, Demya said before pausing briefly, "well, helping us.

Road rage

On the evening of April 17, Demya was tagging along with DeZerra, whose mother was taking her to have her hair braided. As Wright drove the girls west on Louisiana 18, Paul Ferrara, 49, of New Orleans, was driving east on roadway, his Dodge Durango speeding behind a pick-up truck, State Police said.

When the two-lane road widened to four near River Road, investigators say Ferrara, in what they described as road rage, sped alongside the truck and then hit the vehicle. The impact spun Ferrara's vehicle into the westbound lanes, where it crashed head-on into Wright's vehicle, according to authorities.

+14 At site of violent Avondale road rage crash, family 'still in shock' over loss of mom, daughter When first responders arrived at the scene of what would later be described as a violent and deadly road rage crash on River Road in Avondale,

The wreck was so violent, the vehicles so crumpled, that first responders didn't think anyone could possibly have survived. Wright, DeZerra and Ferrara were dead at the scene.

"It was smashed up pretty good," Bridge City Fire Chief Gary Girard said. "I really thought we were going to be in recovery mode. I didn't expect anyone to survive this."

But then Richoux noticed something inside what was left of Wright's car.

"I saw an arm moving," he said.

Firefighters descended on the vehicle and overheard Demya's moans. Those moans turned to screams as the crew carefully cut through the top of the vehicle to pull her out, according to the firefighters.

Demya was in shock and pain. She had a brain bleed from a skull fracture, a broken right arm, a broken pelvis and shattered left leg, and deep gashes on her face, according to her mother Britney Torres, 34.

But first responders could tell the girl had a fighting spirit.

"She was fighting me all the whole way to the hospital," laughed West Jefferson Hospital paramedic Gilbert Andry.

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Healing

Demya had surgery and spent just over two-and-a-half weeks at Children's Hospital in New Orleans. She was released May 4.

"She's doing a whole lot better. She's out of her wheelchair, now," Torres said.

Next up is physical therapy for her left leg, which was pieced back together with several rods and screws. Demya has taken an active role: she's been searching online, compiling lists of therapists and handing them to her mother.

An award-winning track star, a cheerleader and a dance team member before the crash, Demya can't wait to be able to run again. But she admits she's a little frightened to begin therapy, which will require re-learning to bend her long-immobilized leg.

"I'm just scared of the pain," Demya said.

The crew of Bridge City firehouse told Demya that if she ever needed any help in physical therapy, they'd be there in a heartbeat to cheer her on. On Wednesday, Girard handed her a firefighter's badge.

"You're part of our family now," he said.

Their hero

In the days after the crash, Girard said he realized his firefighters needed a way to process the trauma that they were suffering after handling such a grisly scene.

"I've been in the fire service for 44 years," he said. "Before, you just had to suck it up. It opened my eyes that we need to have some type of debriefing."

The department brought in a priest and a team of people who specialize in trauma, including a therapist, to allow the crew to vent.

Kim Thomas, a West Jefferson Hospital EMT who drove Demya's ambulance, has kept in contact with her family, checking in on Demya's progress.

There are unhealthy ways to cope with the stress of the work first responders do, Thomas said. But she called Demya's recovery a healthy coping mechanism for them all.

"She truly is my hero," Thomas said. "Her outcome is a gentle reminder of why I love serving my community."

Firefighter Adam Shields responded to the crash and visited with Demya two days later in the hospital. On Wednesday, Shields and the other firefighters beamed at Demya, how much healthier and happier she seemed than the last time most of them had seen her.

"We see the worst of it, and that's it," Shields said. "We bring them to the hospital, and we don't hear any more about them. It's very rare that we get to see this side. It really helps."

Step by step

Demya is strong-willed and determined, her mother said. But she's had moments of depression. Over the Memorial Day weekend, the family attended a party with a bounce house and other games for children. Demya was in tears.

"I felt kind of sad because I saw all of the people and kids playing on the bouncy houses and running around," Demya said. "Normally, I would get up and play with my cousins, but couldn't. All I did was sit around."

In those moments, Torres said she tries to encourage her daughter and remind her that her time is coming.

"Well get back there, one day, one step at a time," Torres said.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration is scaling back its plans to move the seat of New Orleans' government into the Municipal Auditorium, and will now aim to keep the project entirely within the confines of the historic building by cutting the number of people working there and abandoning a proposed multi-story parking garage.

Vincent Smith, the administration's head of capital projects, said Friday that the city could reduce the amount of needed construction and renovation at the site by making permanent many of the remote work policies in place during the pandemic.

The move is a retreat from more ambitious proposals sketched out as officials have considered the plan and comes amid growing opposition from neighbors. Smith said the city's latest planning would involve no changes to the exterior of the historic building.

It also wouldn't include any additional buildings in Louis Armstrong Park, though ideas brought up the past included separate facilities for Orleans Parish Civil District Court and other structures, he said.

Currently, the city is seeking bids for a project manager that would oversee the entire process and an architect that would actually design the site. The work from the firms hired through that process will provide greater details on what the renovations will entail and the timeline.

Overall, the goal would be to have the project complete by 2024 or early 2025, Smith said.

Efforts to reduce the scope of the planned move of City Hall, which is still in the early stages, come as Treme residents have criticized the move while citing conceptual plans that included extensive government buildings throughout the park.

Opponents of the plan say the details are swamped by what they described as the audacity of the plan's very existence. For longtime organizers in Treme, the proposal amounts to yet another attempt to take something from the citys first Black neighborhood, which has already lost much  including the former residential blocks on which Armstrong Park now sits.

We dont need a governmental entity in the neighborhood, period, said Cheryl Austin, with the Greater Treme Consortium. It was the government that destroyed the 10 square blocks over there, it was the government that displaced those families and destroyed the Black economic area.

Others said that the administration should have first consulted with neighbors before they began to put the wheels into motion.

For you to even engage in a conversation that destroys a place of reverence, destroys generational memories, totally disrespects the families that were dislocated or relocated, this says a lot about who you are, said Sabrina Mays, with the New Orleans Black Mardi Gras Indians Cooperative.

City officials have long sought to move out of the current City Hall, with the former Charity Hospital being a chief contender under former Mayor Mitch Landrieu. That plan fell through and the hospital is now being converted to a mix of residential units, space for Tulane University and commercial tenants.

The idea of using the Municipal Auditorium was first floated early in Cantrells term and the administration has pushed the plan in the years since. City officials have repeatedly pointed to $38 million in FEMA funding to fix damage the building sustained during Hurricane Katrina  enough to get the ball rolling but not enough to fully restore it  as a key factor elevating the site over other properties the city owns such as the old Veterans Administration building downtown.

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That money, opponents argue, should be used to restore the Municipal Auditorium to its former use, or to turn it into a cultural or civil rights museum.

On Friday, Smith said that the administration hasn't changed course in wanting to make the move, but hopes to address neighbors' concerns about preserving the building and the park.

As were visioning this, the space being an opportunity to memorialize and exhibit the history of the auditorium but the history of Armstrong Park as well, Smith said. We feel like converting the building to City Hall is the best way to keep it as a public space where the public has free access.

Officials have said that by selling the existing City Hall property, enough money could be generated to pay for much of the rest of the cost of restoring Municipal Auditorium. But that plan nevertheless has run straight into the fraught history of the Municipal Auditorium and the park as a whole.

While the legacy of the Municipal Auditorium is of a public gathering place, for Austin and some other residents of Treme, the citys decision to bulldoze the Black neighborhood around it in the 1960s to make way for what would become Armstrong Park remains a searing betrayal.

Its really disheartening that we even have to fight this fight because the history shows this community has been fighting this fight for the last 60 years, Austin said.

Smith acknowledged the sins of the past, but said bringing the auditorium back into use was important for the community as well.

As a Black man, its painful to read the history of the park and how the families were displaced, thats horrible, Smith said. But, he added, Its not helping the community leaving the auditorium in its current condition.

Keeping city government within the confines of the existing building would be accomplished by dramatically scaling back the number of city workers who come into the office each day.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, roughly a third of the 1,500-person workforce in City Hall and other government offices has been doing their jobs from home. A post-pandemic remote work policy has not yet been finalized, but Smith said it would probably involve only slightly more people coming into the office, with extra space worked into the plans for shared workstations and conference rooms.

That reduced workforce could eliminate the need for a large parking garage that had been included in earlier plans and which has drawn the particular ire of some residents. Smith said the new proposal would likely only require the existing parking on site, possibly supplemented by shuttles to take workers from the city garage near the current City Hall to its new location.

The renovations to the building would also include a space for public access and education, Smith said.

You might have the building and there are exhibits, there could be culture bearers sharing the history," Smith said. "You come through that and maybe come out to Congo Square, for a time of reflection."

"Theres so many ways we can make it work, he said.
The New Orleans City Council will soon consider plans to build 43 new apartments in the Hollygrove-Dixon neighborhood, a project praised as key to city officials' effort to expand affordable housing in the city.

The City Planning Commission in May approved developer Paul Irons' proposal to build a community called The Grove on the corner of Earhart Boulevard and Monroe Street. That plan now heads to the council and will likely be considered June 17, a council staffer said.

Affordable housing advocates and preservationists praised it as a way to ensure families of lower incomes can continue to afford to live in New Orleans.

"This project will bring back to occupancy an entire block, based of now blighted, historic doubles," said Nathan Lott of the Preservation Resource Center. "This is a win for Carrollton and Hollygrove and powerful example of synergy between our city's preservation and housing goals."

+3 To slow 'doubles to dorms' trend, New Orleans might keep Uptown parking restrictions The New Orleans City Council came a step closer Thursday to permanently changing parking rules in the university area Uptown, a move designed 

New Orleans has struggled in recent years to build enough affordable housing to meet demand. The waitlist for subsidized homes is now 20,000 people, and the city isn't on pace in its effort to build 33,600 more affordable units by 2025, according to reports by housing advocacy group HousingNOLA.

That's meant that all too often, residents have been forced to live away from reliable bus lines, jobs, and retail stores. Some are priced out of the city limits entirely.

To encourage affordable homebuilding, the City Council passed rules in 2019 that loosened zoning restrictions for developers who lowered their rents. Irons is seeking council approval through that "planned development" process.

He seeks to build nine one-bedroom, one-bath units, 20 two-bedroom, one-bath units and 14 two-bedroom, two-bath units at the site.

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A community green space would be created, and the site would have 43 off-street parking spaces.

The units would be reserved for up to 99 years for residents who earn significantly less than the area median income, which in 2021 is $70,100 per year. Rents will range from $263 to $853 per month.

"We believe this is a catalytic project for the neighborhood, and it's needed. It's been blighted for a long time," Irons said at the CPC's meeting.

Irons said in documents to the CPC that once his project is approved, his team, New Orleans Restoration Properties, would start work within eight months. Construction would last roughly a year. The project will cost Irons' team about $11 million, an amount that will be funded with a combination of debt, city grants and other sources.

Councilmember Joe Giarrusso, who represents the neighborhood, called it crucial for both the purposes of housing and for the revival of a stagnant area. Part of the site was once home to Church's Chicken restaurant that has been closed for years, he said. Other two-family residences on the site have long stood vacant.

"Old blight will be replaced with long-term affordable, quality housing with access to transit," Giarrusso said. "I'm proud to have worked on turning this into a planned development that allowed for even more neighborhood engagement with a final affordable component in the heart of District A."

After compromise, New Orleans City Council approves Bywater affordable housing deal In a win for advocates of affordable housing, the New Orleans City Council on Thursday approved plans for a mixed-income housing development i

Ruth Kennedy, the president of the Hollygrove Neighbors Neighborhood Association, said while there have been some concerns from neighbors about the size of the development and who it would serve, her concerns were soothed when she saw the plan's schematics.

Kennedy, 83, has lived in the neighborhood for 69 years, and said the site has been empty since Hurricane Katrina. Only within the past few years was the old Church's that used to sit on the site torn down.

"I'm sick and tired of looking at that square, because I have to pass it going and coming into my immediate block," Kennedy said. "I am in total agreement with what they are trying to do."
Norman, OK (73070)

Today

Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 68F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
Mansfield, Pa. - Thanks to contributions from First Citizens Community Bank and Citizens and Northern (C&N) Bank, Mansfield University will begin offering its Early Start Program tuition-free to Pennsylvania residents beginning in Fall 2021.

"We are very fortunate to have such supportive community partners as First Citizens and C&N Bank in our region," said Dr. John M. Ulrich, Mansfield's provost and vice president for academic affairs.

"Our community partners are strongly committed, as is our university, to providing affordable access to higher education for high school students here in the Northern Tier and elsewhere in our Commonwealth. Together, we can make sure students have an opportunity to get an early start on their college education while still in high school."

First Citizens committed $50,000 and C&N $20,000 to support the Early Start Program.

Dr. Ulrich also announced that high school seniors who enroll in Mansfield's Early Start Program during the Fall or Spring semester of their senior year will automatically receive general admission to the university. Certain academic degree programs may require additional application materials for consideration.

Mansfield's Early Start Program (ESP) enables qualified high school students to enroll in courses taught by Mansfield University faculty-via face-to-face or online instruction and earn college credits while still in high school.

The program has grown dramatically since its inception in 2018. Starting with just five school district partners and 32 enrolled high school students, the University now has agreements with more than 40 school district partners, and during the Spring 2021 semester, the University enrolled more than 200 high school students.

While the University was already providing a tuition discount to its ESP students, the generous support from First Citizens Community Bank and C&N Bank will now subsidize the rest of the fee so there will be no tuition cost to the student.

In addition, the University has recently added another ESP option for students in the form of a concurrent enrollment pilot program, enabling high school students to take Mansfield University courses taught by qualified high school teachers on site in their high school.

The high school teachers must first be approved by the relevant Mansfield University faculty.

Currently, the University has concurrent enrollment agreements in place with a limited set of districts in the Northern Tier, including Athens, Northern Tioga, Southern Tioga, Troy, and Wellsboro.

Students enrolled in such concurrent enrollment courses will also have their tuition subsidized, so there will be no tuition cost to the students.

For more information on Mansfield's Early Start Program.
Williamsport, PA (17701)

Today

Cloudy this morning with thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 77F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.
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Deck Cheatham has been a golf professional for more than 40 years. He lives with his family in Dalton. Contact him at pgadeacon@gmail.com.
Sara Roahen writes, edits and teaches in San Luis Obispo. She wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.
WASHINGTON  Dan Crenshaw had to take a break from making skydiving videos as he continues to recover from surgery on what hes called his half a good eye. If you go above a thousand feet, your eye explodes, the Texas Republican said. Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, is easily identifiable by his eye patch. Its a constant reminder of the roadside bomb blast in 2012 that destroyed his right ...
Records show the GPS device that Stacey was accused of using was an Optimus 2. The device, sold online for about $40, boasts hundreds of four- and five-star customer reviews (some of the negative reviews are tongue-in-cheek, such as the one-star review from a customer who complained that the device was no match for the hammer her husband took to it when he found it on his truck).
The federal indictment alleges Chauvin violated Floyds right to be free from unreasonable seizure and from unreasonable force by a police officer. Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyds right to be free from unreasonable seizure by not intervening to stop Chauvin as he knelt on Floyds neck. All four officers are charged for their failure to provide Floyd with medical care.
Feeding South Florida contends errors by some of the evaluators who did the scoring tipped the outcome to Farm Share. For example, Feeding South Florida president and CEO Paco Velez said some reviewers said the application didnt have information about the fleet of trucks or how it educates organizations it work with  while other reviewers saw the information was present. It asked the state Agriculture Department to re-examine and redo the scoring; the agency said no.
Counterpoint has produced a bill of materials (BoM) analysis for the Apple Watch Series 6 and has estimated that the cost is just over a third of the official price of the popular smartwatch. The most expensive parts of the 2020 Apple Watch are the processor and memory, with Cupertino cutting costs by removing Force Touch.

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The market research experts at Counterpoint have come up with a BoM analysis for the Apple Watch Series 6 that gives some idea of how much money Cupertino makes out of each smartwatch sale. Although the estimate could be marginally inaccurate and there would be other costs involved as well (such as research and development), its still a healthy sum per unit going into Apples coffers.

The analysts came up with a total of US$136 for the bill of materials, which is just over 34% of the official price for the Apple Watch Series 6 at US$399. Most of the expense is put into the CPU, sensors, display, and casing, with Counterpoint reckoning that these parts amount for around 68% of the total bill. The rest of the outlay goes on things like the packaging, assembly, and software. Costs were reduced by not including Force Touch in the Watch Series 6.

Fans will hardly be shocked by this sizeable difference, especially as Apple is far from being the only technology brand that places a considerable profit margin on its products. Samsung has also been noted for adding huge mark-ups on its Galaxy-branded devices. But the Apple Watch Series 6 is much cheaper than an iPhone 12 or Galaxy S21, so the US$263 difference between the BoM estimate and official RRP will be harder for buyers to swallow.

Buy the Apple Watch Series 6 on Amazon
If the State Board for Community Colleges approves, Lord Fairfax Community College will be called Laurel Ridge Community College.
Developers, planners and property owners have been left concerned and frustrated after far-right party Vox blocked the approval of Andalucia's long-awaited new land planning law, the LISTA, last week.

The new Law of Sustainable Land Regulation, one of the Junta's most important new policies, fell victim to Vox's recent withdrawal of its support for the two-party Junta de Andalucia government, formed by the Partido Popular and Ciudadanos. Its announcement that it would no longer vote for policies other than those already agreed came in response to the Junta's decision to take in 13 unaccompanied minors from Ceuta, to assist the authorities there with handling the migrant crisis.

The regional MPs for Vox abstained in the vote, preventing the LISTA from being approved.

This has caused considerable concern in Malaga province, where the authorities were keen for it to come into force because it would facilitate new projects and provide legal certainty for investors. This is seen as essential for economic recovery.

By blocking the new law, Vox has achieved exactly the opposite. There is now uncertainty and insecurity among business owners, town planning technicians and politicians, because nobody knows what will happen next.

The LISTA would have marked a new start for urban planning in Andalucia because it would replace the LOUA, which was approved in 2002, and the LOTA, which dates back to 1994. It is based on the principles of simplifying bureaucratic procedures, protecting urban planning models against the effect of judicial sentences, and providing greater flexibility regarding construction on rustic land, among other aspects. For the moment at least, all of these benefits have been put on hold.

The Association of Builders and Developers of Malaga (ACP) says it is irresponsible for political groups to stop a law which the Andalusian government has been working on for several years. This began during the previous term of office, when the socialist PSOE party was in power.

"We are extremely disappointed. It just goes to show that politics is not always based on what is good for the people," said Violeta Aragon, the general secretary of the ACP. "Urban planning at the moment is like an obstacle race with no finishing line, and this law would help to simplify it. It is so frustrating to have to go backwards instead of forwards."

KEY POINTS OF THE LAW SIMPLIFICATION The new law contains measures to simplify and speed up applications for urban planning projects GROWTH It eliminates general restrictions and considers each municipality on an individual basis RUSTIC LAND It provides more possibilities to build and legalise homes in the countryside

She also pointed out that the legal uncertainty created by this situation will influence decision-making. "Malaga province has more activity in the real estate sector than anywhere else in Andalucia. This will affect us more than anyone else," she said.

Delicate situation

For Vicente Segui, president of the Teatinos Association of Planning Studies, "It is a shame that the process has been paralysed, and it puts us in a very delicate situation," after the efforts made in recent years. "This means we have to go back to the old legislation. It is a big mistake to have stopped the new law going through the parliamentary process," he said.

He stressed that Marbella will be especially affected, because it is still waiting for a solution for its PGOU town masterplan.

"If this law doesn't go through, Marbella will be in a very difficult situation," he said. This expert in urban planning also said the move by Vox has left developers, businesses, technicians and civil servants in a state of shock.

"This creates far more confusion for town halls and it frustrates investors' expectations," he pointed out. In his opinion, although the LISTA is not perfect and could do with some amendments, it is still better than the present regulations.

"I would rather have a law even though it is not as good as it could be, than have nothing. We were looking forward to seeing what positive aspects there were to the LISTA and focusing on a new way of working and understanding how things should be done, and all of a sudden everything has come to a halt," said Segui.

This situation is also creating a climate of legal uncertainty which benefits nobody in the current economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

"Lawyers, professional companies and entrepreneurs are asking themselves what happens now. We have no idea, and that is not a good thing," he said.

He explained that the Teatinos Association had contributed by making suggestions and proposals when the new law was being drawn up, although some of them were not accepted by the Junta.

The blocking of the LISTA has occurred when workshops and conferences were already taking place to educate professional groups about its content. In fact, only last week the regional government's Ministry of Public Works and Land Regulation issued an explanatory video, which the College of Architects in Malaga distributed to its members. The head of the College, Francisco Sarabia, said this rejection by the Andalusian parliament is very unfortunate.

"This move has done absolutely nothing to help urban planning in Malaga province return to normal," he said, and this will lead to a paralysis in town halls in the province because they have been waiting for the new law to be approved in order to revise or approve their own planning. "In a situation like this, nobody is going to dare to take that step," he said.

36 municipalities affected

Francisco Oblare, a member of the Malaga provincial authority with responsibility for Development, said 36 municipalities are in a difficult position because of this situation, because they will not be able to benefit from the faster processes which would have been the case under the new law.

"This is a law which would help to revive small villages and combat depopulation," he said.

Meanwhile Raul Lopez, Malaga's city councillor for Land Regulation, said the suspension of the new law "is not a good move because it is a law that aims to make bureaucratic processes easier, promote private initiative and tackle the problem of illegally built homes. It would put an end to the present legislation, which is now completely obsolete and full of holes," he said.
Lakeshore PBS, Northwest Indiana's local Public Broadcasting System affiliate, won four national Telly Awards, including PBS' highest honor.

We are thrilled that our work  showcasing some of the great stories to come out of Northwest Indiana and Chicago  has been recognized with these prestigious national awards, said Lakeshore Public Media President and CEO James Muhammad. Receiving a Gold Telly Award is truly a great honor.

Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards honor the best in television and video. The Merrillville-based PBS station won Telly Awards from among 12,000 entries from 50 states and five continents.

To be nominated against stations and production companies from all across the county validates our efforts and our long-running commitment to serve our audience with quality, Muhammad said. We are so incredibly proud of our team and the work they do every day.

Lakeshore PBS won a gold award in the Television-Public Interest/Awareness category and a bronze award in the Television-History category for a segment from "Friends & Neighbors" about the old Joliet prison. It also won a silver award in the Television-Cultural category for an "Eye on the Arts" segment showcasing Reddel Memorial Organ in the Chapel of the Resurrection at Valparaiso University.
"It's the same everywhere," owner and Chief Barbecue Officer Brent Brashier said. "We've increased wages significantly, but still have trouble getting people in the door. I could hire another 100, 150 applicants today."

The barbecue chain is operating with fewer than half as many employees at each location, sometimes just a third as many workers. It's advertised extensively for job openings.

"We've done open houses. We've posted on social media channels. We've done everything," he said. "Some people blame it on the unemployment (benefits), but workers just got jobs at places like Amazon. A study in Milwaukee estimates that 38% of those who lost their downtown restaurant jobs there during the pandemic left the restaurant industry altogether. You can get a $17 an hour warehouse job with pretty good benefits filling boxes. A lot of our longtime employees moved on, selling cars, working for the health department or going back to nursing school. They found other jobs."
Dancin'  choreographer Bob Fosse's tribute to the art of dance  is hoping to make its sleek and sexy return to Broadway under the guidance of a veteran Fosse dancer.

A new production of the musical is aiming for a Broadway bow during the 2022-23 season, according to producer Joey Parnes and Nicole Fosse, the late choreographer's daughter.

What I really love about it is its so celebratory. And coming out of this pandemic, we have cause to celebrate, right? Nicole Fosse, the artistic director of The Verdon Fosse Legacy dance training program, told The Associated Press.

The revival will be directed by Tony Award-winner Wayne Cilento, who was in the original company of Dancin' and also was in Fosse's last show in his lifetime on Broadway, Big Deal. Cilento calls the chance to helm the revival an honor.

I get the opportunity to represent Bob and put him back on the boards on Broadway in the 21st century. Its mind- blowing and its so exciting, Cilento said. Hes such an incredible artist and it was an honor to sit on the stage and in the studio anywhere with him just watching his artistry.
In his homily, McClory recalled Jesus service side, washing his apostles feet at the Last Supper. He encouraged the newest deacons to know when mercy and compassion are needed and be ready to serve.

Taken from the Greek diakonia, meaning service, the order of Roman Catholic permanent deacon has three essential functions: proclaiming the Gospel, service of the liturgy, and administration of charitable acts.

Once ordained, deacons may baptize, witness the exchange of marital vows and bless marriages, distribute Communion to the faithful and bring Viaticum to the dying, officiate at funerals and burials, and administer some of the sacraments.

Unlike a Catholic priest, deacons may not absolve sins in the sacrament of Reconciliation, celebrate Mass, or administer the sacraments of Anointing of the Sick or Confirmation.

The ordination rite included presentation of the seven candidates to the bishop, who accepted their promises of obedience to him and his successors.

After the candidates lie prostrate as a sign of humility, McClory laid his hands on each man as a sign of deacons being called to particular work in the faith community.
CROWN POINT  Lawyers are working to resolve a consumer fraud case against the owner of a shuttered St. John appliance store.

Erik W. Schneider, 43, of Lowell, appeared Friday in Lake Criminal Court for an initial hearing on a newly amended charge of theft and corrupt business practices.

He is accused of bilking 32 customers of Hometown Appliances, 11130 W. 93rd Ave., St. John, out of a total of $85,765.

Crown Point defense attorney Joshua S. Malher said Friday he welcomes the new charges, which he expects will consolidate about 18 criminal cases now pending against Schneider, making a negotiated plea agreement more likely.

Deputy Prosecutor Jovanni Miramontes told Senior Judge Kathleen Lang said he expects his office expects to dismiss the remaining charges now pending against Schneider.

Lang set a new court hearing for Aug. 20 to update the status of those negotiations.

Schneider case is still set for a jury trial to take place the week of Sept. 13.

Prosecutors say Schneider did business is St. John between 2018 and 2019 under the name Hometown Appliances, offering a discount to customers who agreed to pay cash, but never delivering the goods.

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He noted that specific markets, including the Chicago area, have been hit particularly hard.

Locally, carjackings have increased so much to the point drivers fear they'll be targeted at any hour of the day, said Teddi Burgess, an IDG representative who organized the fundraiser for Schelstrate's family.

Sanchez and Burgess both said they've been threatened with violence while on the job  Burgess verbally, and Sanchez with a gun.

Burgess said her son has asked her to stop driving for ride-hailing companies, telling her, "I don't want to lose my mom," she said.

It comes as a hard call for Burgess, as she typically loves the work and the flexibility it offers.

"I know several drivers who stopped during the pandemic and aren't going back," she said. "It's a very vulnerable time for individual drivers."

Sanchez and Burgess called on ride-hailing companies and city officials to do more to protect drivers.

In an email statement, Uber said it has taken several recent measures to increase drivers' safety, including a feature that provides an extra verification layer for riders using anonymous forms of payment, such as prepaid cards, gift cards or Venmo.
This is a big project for Burns Harbor and Portage, Lynch said. Without this Next Level Trails program, we wouldnt be doing it.

Portages section of the trail will include a boardwalk through wetlands inside Indiana Dunes National Park and a pedestrian bridge over Salt Creek.

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, applauded those in Northwest Indiana who make the connections that make projects like the trail happen.

Its important to recognize a collaborative effort for the quality of life for our region, he said. Its important to have like-minded people coming together to overcome obstacles.

Labovitz stressed the importance of the trail for more than just stretching your legs.

The pandemic showed us how important our public spaces are. Our parks and our trails arguably saved us all, he said.

This is for future generations as well, he said.

Mitch Barloga, who has been pushing for expansion of trails for 15 years on behalf of the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, called this project another great step.
Salvation Army officials made the rounds with square doughnuts Friday in Portage to thank first responders for their service.

Meanwhile in Michigan City, first responders filled up on the pastries in a doughnut-eating contest to raise money for The Salvation Army.

Family Express donated 30 dozen donuts to be distributed to first responders  including police, firefighters and health department workers  Friday to celebrate National Donut Day. The public health workers were added last year because of their efforts to fight COVID-19.

The tradition dates to World War I, when The Salvation Army sent lassies overseas to offer doughnuts to American troops, said Lt. Chris Nicolai, who runs the Porter County unit along with his wife.

National Donut Day was established in Chicago in 1938 to recognize the female Salvation Army volunteers who went to France and set up huts near the front lines to offer the troops clothes, supplies and baked goods.

Two of the women began frying doughnuts in soldiers helmets, according to Salvation Army lore, and the morale boost was immediate. The Salvation Army volunteers were there to offer spiritual aid and comfort, but the doughnuts were an instant hit.
Many settled in northern Lake County, where steel mills and other industries were hungry for the immigrants labor.

Mrvan said, My grandfather was a teenager when he came over between 1911 and 1913. He was on a train to Chicago, but accidentally got off in Whiting. With nowhere to stay, he walked over to a pool hall to apply for a job and found two of his cousins. He ended up working at Inland Steel for 53 years.

Robert Deliget and Ed Mayersky, who have been members of the Slovak Club since the mid-1980s, said their families left villages in Slovakia about the same time to move to Garys Tolleston neighborhood, where many worked at U.S. Steel and went to church at St. Michaels in the 1200 block of Madison Street.

Javorcik said he has connected with Slovak communities in New York, Pittsburgh and in Iowa, but I didnt expect such a large club of you in Indiana.

He said his embassy is a resource for ethnic Slovaks to trace their family trees back to their origins in his country, and even to claim Slovak citizenship.

He said he is impressed with how Indiana has bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and he hopes Indiana and his country can work together to educate each others coming generations to continue manufacturing with new technology.

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Local and state officials celebrate opening of new geotrail

jcorcino / Jeff Corcino PennDOT officials celebrate opening of geotrail District Traffic Engineer Erik Brown of the state Department of Transportation spoke on PennDOTs commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities within 30 years at yesterdays ceremonies commemorating the opening of the Clearfield County Traffic Safety Geotrail held at the Riverwalk Amphitheater in Clearfield. jcorcino / Jeff Corcino Yesterday, state and local officials celebrated the opening Clearfield County Traffic Safety Geotrail. Pictured is Community Traffic Safety Project Coordinator Josh Woods of the Highway Safety Network who started the new geotrail. jcorcino / Jeff Corcino Pictured is the reward coin participants receive for completing the Clearfield County Traffic Safety Geotrail.

The state Department of Transportation, the Highway Safety Network and Visit Clearfield County celebrated the opening of the new geotrail in Clearfield County at Clearfields Riverwalk amphitheater yesterday morning.

The new Traffic Safety Geotrail was started by Traffic Safety Coordinator Josh Woods of the Highway Safety Network as a way fun activity to educate the public about traffic safety, even during the pandemic.

It is the first traffic safety oriented geotrail in the state, Woods said

Over the winter Woods worked with Executive Director Josiah Jones of Visit Clearfield County and PennDOT to develop the trail and it officially opened yesterday morning.

Geocaching is something anyone can go out and do, Woods said. Whether you are 6-years-old or 60-years-old, you can go out and geocache.

Woods said it is an activity that families can do together.

This is a great way for the public to go out and get some traffic safety education and do so in a safe manner, Woods said.

To participate in the geotrail, participants can get a free passport book at the Visit Clearfield County office along Plaza Drive in Clearfield, which is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are 20 caches hidden in Clearfield County and their coordinates can be found at www.visitclearfieldcounty.com and on geocaching.com.

Woods said in each cache there is a brochure containing information on a different traffic safety topic such as impaired driving, distracted driving, seatbelts, bicycle safety, etc.

Also in the brochure is a keyword that participants record in the official passport book. Once all 20 keywords are recorded, the passport book is then returned to the Visit Clearfield County office where they will receive a geocoin as a reward, Woods said.

The geortrail is a part of PennDOTs multi-faceted approach to eliminating traffic fatalities within 30 years, which includes engineering improvements and outreach and education, according to PennDOT District Traffic Engineer Erik Brown.

Last year in Pennsylvania there were more than 100,000 crashes that resulted in 1,129 highway fatalities, Brown said.

Even one fatality on our highways is too many, Brown said.

On the engineering side, Brown said PennDOT has invested in numerous safety improvements to reduce serious crashes. For example, studies showed more than half of fatal and serious injury crashes occurred due to lane departures so PennDOT invested in installing edge line and center line rumble strips, cable median barriers and high friction pavement, which has significantly reduced the number of these types of crashes.

PennDOT also invested heavily in education and outreach programs to educate motorists to improve driving behaviors, according to Brown.

They all play an essential role in reducing the number of fatal and serious injury crashes, Brown said.

He said PennDOTs approach to highway safety appears to be working as the state has had record lows in fatalities in 2016, 2017, 2019.

Jones said Visit Clearfield County operates several geotrails and when Woods approached him about starting another he said they jumped at the chance.

I thought it was an awesome idea, Jones said.

He then got the geocache team involved to help develop and set up the trail.

Without them I dont know if this would have been possible, Jones said of the geocache team.

No taxpayer funds were used to start the geotlail, the passport booklets, the geocoins and geocache boxes were paid for by State Farm Insurances Good Citizenship Company Grants.

Keith Folmar of State Farm Insurance in Philipsburg said as the countrys number one auto insurer, it was excited to participate in the creation of the geotrail because it not only promotes traffic safety but encourages people to get out and enjoy all the beautiful sites in Clearfield County.

And the great thing about this project is how it involves families, Folmar said.
The video, originally posted to TikTok, features a woman claiming that after she received both shots of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, "a couple months ago," she received a personal letter in the mail warning her to get screened for cervical cancer. "They said that there's 1,500 women that have cases of cervical cancer now, so they have invited me in to get the screening done again to make sure that I don't have cervical cancer now due to the COVID vaccine," the woman says while flashing the letter in front of the camera.

An AP analysis of the text in the letter revealed it matched the text of a form letter sent by Cancer Care Ontario, a division of Ontario Health in Canada. The letter goes out to women across the province to remind them to get regular Pap tests. "Several months ago we sent you a letter to invite you to get screened for cervical cancer with a Pap test," the letter reads. "Women should have Pap tests once every three years until age 70. This year, cervical cancer will be found in about 1,500 women in Canada and at least one woman will die every day from this disease. The good news is you can take steps to protect yourself from cervical cancer by having regular Pap tests." The letter does not draw a connection between cervical cancer diagnosis and COVID-19 vaccines.
In a further sign that a deal with Capito was seeming increasingly less likely, the White House said Biden told Capito that he would continue to engage a number of Senators in both parties in the hopes of achieving a more substantial package.

For weeks, the president has been engaged in talks with GOP senators trying to strike a compromise on Bidens top legislative a priority, the big infrastructure investment package. While the two sides appear to have narrowed the price gap between his initial $2.3 trillion proposal and the GOPs $568 billion opening bid, they remain far apart on the scope of the deal and how to pay for it.

Biden wants to raise corporate taxes to generate revenues for the infrastructure investments, a nonstarter for Republicans. The GOP senators propose tapping unspent COVID-19 relief aid to pay for the roads, bridges and other projects, an idea rejected by Democrats.

Earlier in the day, after the release of a modest May jobs report, Biden made the case for his robust investment package to push the economy past the COVID-19 crisis and downturn, and into a new era.
And the lack of a sustained, coordinated effort by good government groups and community organizations to put pressure on Democratic lawmakers made the passage of a partisan map a mere formality.

What about the energy bill?

The one major item still hanging out there is an omnibus clean energy bill, but that does not look too far behind with stakeholders agreeing in principle on a framework.

Despite their relative inexperience, Welch and Harmon mostly held their extremely diverse caucuses together when it mattered most.

In some ways, they lived up to their promise of a new day in Illinois politics. In others, it looked like more of the same.

Welch said there will be time for him to reflect on his first session as speaker this summer. After taking up energy this month, lawmakers are not expected back in Springfield until veto session this fall.

"When you engage in something as big as session, there's an end date like today, (and) what you should do when it's all over is take some time to rewind, debrief, (ask) what can you do better, what did you do well (and) what do you want to continue to do," Welch said. "That's just a good business practice."
Other changes altered the laws governing divorce and inheritance for non-Emirati citizens.

Divorces in the Emirates will now follow the law in the country where the marriage was conducted, the paper reported. Previously, divorces for non-Muslims followed the laws in the husbands home country, and divorces between Muslims were carried out according to Shariah.

Under the new laws, inheritance will be governed by the laws of the deceaseds home country. Previously, inheritance for Muslims was carried out according to Shariah, which usually allots female heirs half of what male heirs get, and non-Muslim heirs could petition to have their home countrys laws applied.

The National also reported that drinking alcohol, attempting suicide and the cohabitation of unmarried women and men would be decriminalized.

But it was not immediately clear how the new legal regime would be enforced, since local judicial authorities of the countrys seven emirates have considerable leeway in applying the laws, with the ability to determine, for example, where alcohol can be legally sold.

Some of these reforms are quite important, said Rothna Begum, senior womens rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, specifically mentioning the decriminalization of attempted suicide and the removal of lenient sentences that allow men to kill and harm women in the name of honor.

But she had not seen the actual texts of the new laws, making it hard to judge their scope.

The changes to divorce laws did not apply to Emirati women, leaving them subject to laws Ms. Begum called discriminatory. And it was not clear whether the changes that allowed cohabitation of unmarried couples removed so-called indecency laws used to punish extramarital sex, she said.

Those laws had disproportionately been used against migrant women, she said, and allowed women who reported being raped to be prosecuted for adultery.
Milloni Doshi, a 25-year-old student from India who is supposed to start her masters degree this fall at Columbia University in New York, has received two doses of a Covid vaccine. But her inoculation was with Covaxin, a vaccine made by an Indian manufacturer and widely used in India.

That vaccine is not approved by the World Health Organization, as required by the university. So Columbia has told her that she must be inoculated with a different vaccine once she arrives on campus, even though no one can say for sure whether it is safe to do so.

I am just concerned about taking two different vaccines, she said. They said the application process would be the toughest part of the cycle, but its really been all of this that has been uncertain and anxiety inducing.

Since March, more than 400 colleges and universities in the United States have announced vaccine mandates that require students to be immunized against Covid-19, but the rules have been designed primarily with domestic students in mind. They have access to the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, three of the eight authorized by W.H.O., according to a spokesman for the health agency.
Patrick Sky, who established himself as part of the Greenwich Village folk scene of the mid-1960s with smooth guitar-picking and a Southern twang that could be melodic or sassy, then became adept at playing, and making, the notoriously difficult instrument known as the uilleann pipes, died on May 26 in Asheville, N.C. He was 80.

His wife, Cathy Larson Sky, said the cause was cancer. He died at a hospice center and lived in Spruce Pine, N.C.

Mr. Skys best-known song was probably Many a Mile, a weary-traveler lament that opened his debut album, titled simply Patrick Sky, in 1965. It was covered by others, including Buffy Sainte-Marie, his girlfriend early in his career. He was also skilled at sardonic, satiric rags and blues, as The New York Times put it in 1965, and as his career advanced, those elements of his repertoire became more caustic.

That aspect of his music culminated in what fRoots magazine called the most politically incorrect folk album ever, a 1973 release titled Songs That Made America Famous. The track titles  Vatican Caskets and Child Molesting Blues among them  convey the tenor of the record.
Recipes for microwave lemon curd have been around since the 1980s. But it took an Instagram post in 2021 to get me to try it.

Actually, it was many posts, most of them from the chef David Chang. A committed microwave enthusiast, he didnt make curd, but he did demonstrate other dishes  like kimchi jjigae, mashed potatoes and chawanmushi  that you wouldnt expect could be made in a microwave.

Think of your microwave as an energy efficient steamer, Mr. Chang wrote about cooking rice.

Of the 1.7 million or so times Ive used a microwave, Id never thought of it as a steamer. To me, it was a convenient way to reheat leftovers, melt chocolate and cook hot dogs straight from the freezer  my longtime emergency meal for my daughter.
One day at the market, the scallops were so fat and glistening and beautiful that I bought a pound to make a huge portion of these sea scallops with brown butter, capers and lemon. I cooked them over high heat, fast, so they seared hard on one side, and then I got them out of that environment so they could rest. You dont want to overcook scallops. You dont want to come close. Then I made the sauce over lower heat and spooned it over the meats, and that made for such a good dinner that I did it again the next night with straight butter and only a little squeeze of lemon. I was looking for pure scallop flavor. I found it. SAM SIFTON

Recipe: Sea Scallops With Brown Butter, Capers and Lemon
Every April, thousands of elegant terns migrating from Central and South America nest in the sands of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, one of the last remaining protected coastal wetlands in Southern California.

This year, however, their refuge was no sanctuary. On May 13, a drone crash-landed on their nesting ground, scaring off about 2,500 of the terns. Left behind were about 1,500 eggs, none of which were viable after they were abandoned.

In my 20 years of working with wildlife and in the field, I have never seen such devastation, said Melissa Loebl, an environmental scientist and manager of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, which encompasses more than 1,300 acres of mud flats, saltwater and freshwater marshes, dunes and other habitats in Huntington Beach, Calif.

My gut is wrenching, Ms. Loebl said. Its awful to see.

Nicholas Molsberry, an officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said no one had come to claim the drone in the three weeks since it crashed into the colony.
Mr. Wrays comments came on the heels of the Biden administration warning businesses on Thursday that they needed to take urgent steps to improve their cybersecurity and defend against ransomware attacks. One such attack this week on a meat processor, JBS, forced the shutdown of nine beef plants and disrupted poultry and pork production. Last year, a spate of ransomware attacks on hospitals caused widespread concern.

A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May ultimately prompted the company to shut down one of the nations largest fuel pipelines, creating gasoline shortages across the East Coast. Immediately after that attack, American officials said Colonials cyberdefenses were far from adequate and that it had done too little to defend itself.

Ransomware is a form of malicious software that encrypts an organizations data, rendering it unusable until money is paid to cybercriminals. Colonial Pipeline paid millions of dollars to free its data.

While most ransomware attacks are carried out by criminal networks, some Russian and Chinese groups operate with the implicit blessing of their governments. In return, some criminal groups do work for those countrys spy agencies and take steps to make sure local companies are not affected.

Mr. Wray told The Journal that Russia was harboring some of the most dangerous ransomware groups.

If the Russian government wants to show that its serious about this issue, theres a lot of room for them to demonstrate some real progress that were not seeing right now, Mr. Wray said.
Xi Focus: Toward people-nature harmony, Xi leads China's green action

Xinhua) 09:28, June 05, 2021

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 23, 2018 shows greenways across Donghu Lake in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- This year's World Environment Day falls on Saturday. China's theme is harmonious coexistence between people and nature.

"We should protect nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes, and endeavor to foster a new relationship where people and nature can both prosper and live in harmony," said Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In 1985, when serving as Party chief of Zhengding County in north China's Hebei Province, Xi directed the formulation of the local economic and social development plan which included this remark: "(We) would rather not be affluent than allow pollutants." At the time, China's decades-long economic take-off had just started, and sustainable development was yet to become the go-to option for most countries.

As Xi gained more experience serving the country and the people, his hallmark green development speeches later included, "We want both GDP and green GDP," and what has become a maxim in China, "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

Aerial photo taken on Aug. 9, 2020 shows the scenery in Saihanba National Forest Park in Chengde, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo by Liu Mancang/Xinhua)

"We owe so much to the ecological environment. If we don't do a solid green work from now on, we will pay a higher price in the future," said Xi during his first inspection trip out of Beijing in December 2012, less than a month after he was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Xi's ideas about ecological progress were nurtured and developed during his work in various posts from the county level to the national level, taking into account domestic and global issues, according to Yang Kaizhong, director of a research institute on Xi's thought concerning ecological progress under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

"As the world's biggest ruling party, the CPC is exploring a development pattern that balances economic development and environmental protection, which may provide a model for other developing countries," he said.

Over the past five years, under the guidance of Xi's thought concerning ecological progress, China has made historic achievements in environmental development, said Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu.

Between 2016 and 2020, China managed to significantly reduce its number of days with heavy air pollution, according to the ministry. The safety of drinking water was guaranteed. Black and odorous water bodies were generally eliminated in cities.

In 2018, China for the first time incorporated ecological advancement into its Constitution.

A blueprint for the country's social and economic development over the next five to 15 years, adopted in March this year, demands the all-round green transformation of social and economic development and the construction of a Beautiful China.

Aerial photo taken on March 15, 2021 shows the scenery of cherry blossoms in Gui'an New District, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

Zhang Yongsheng, director of the CASS institute of ecological civilization, said that China has completely abandoned the traditional development model of "pollution before treatment," and that ecological environment protection is becoming a new driving force for economic development.

As Xi once said, the development model of "killing the hens for eggs" and "draining the lake for fish" has reached a dead end. The future will be illuminated by eco-friendly development that is in accordance with the rules of nature.

China has taken the global lead in both the vision for and the practice of harmonious coexistence between people and nature, and has become a pathfinder for, contributor to and leader of better green development, said Zhang at a seminar on Xi Thought concerning ecological progress.

"China is the number one provider of environment technology in the world" and an important provider of solar energy, said Erik Solheim, former executive director of the UN Environment Programme, adding the country is also leading the world in areas such as electric vehicles, wind energy and hydrogen.

Xi pledged that China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 -- a much shorter time span than many developed countries would spend.

China has taken the initiative to do that, instead of doing it passively, said Xi, adding that actions speak louder than words.

During the 2021-2025 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.

The country is also planning to put in place a special law on climate change as it accelerates its formulation of top-level design and industry-specific policies to further clarify its roadmap toward carbon neutrality.

The country is drawing up an action plan to peak carbon emissions by 2030 while working on specific plans for various industries and sectors including power, steel, petrochemicals and transportation, said Jin Xiandong, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission.

Plans to develop low-carbon technologies and build up China's carbon sink capacity are also being studied, Jin added.

China's commitment to reaching net-zero carbon no later than 2060 is one of its most important moves since the beginning of reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, said Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun.

"When China is committed to doing something, it will just do it," said the bank's chief at the International Finance Forum 2021 Spring Meetings in Beijing on May 29.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Clearfield, PA (16830)

Today

Rain showers in the morning with thunderstorms developing for the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 80F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 59F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The letter this week disclosing the seizure of phone records involving the Times reporters  Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau and Michael S. Schmidt  had hinted at the existence of the separate fight over data that would show whom they had been in contact with over email.

The letters said the government had also acquired a court order to seize logs of their emails, but no records were obtained, providing no further details. But with the lifting of the gag order, Mr. McCraw said he had been freed to explain what had happened.

Prosecutors in the office of the United States attorney in Washington had obtained a sealed court order from a magistrate judge on Jan. 5 requiring Google to secretly turn over the information. But Google resisted, apparently demanding that The Times be told, as its contract with the company requires.

The Justice Department continued to press the request after the Biden administration took over, but in early March prosecutors relented and asked a judge to permit telling Mr. McCraw. But the disclosure to him came with a nondisclosure order preventing him from talking about it to other people.

Mr. McCraw said it was stunning to receive an email from Google telling him what was going on. At first, he said, he did not know who the prosecutor was, and because the matter was sealed, there were no court documents he could access about it.

The next day, Mr. McCraw said, he was told the name of the prosecutor  a career assistant United States attorney in Washington, Tejpal Chawla  and opened negotiations with him. Eventually, Mr. Chawla agreed to ask the judge to modify the gag order so Mr. McCraw could discuss the matter with The Timess general counsel and the companys outside lawyers, and then with two senior Times executives: A.G. Sulzberger, the publisher, and Meredith Kopit Levien, the chief executive.

We made clear that we intended to go to court to challenge the order if it was not withdrawn, Mr. McCraw said. Then, on June 2, he said, the Justice Department told him it would ask the court to quash the order to Google at the same time that it disclosed the earlier phone records seizure, which he had not known about.
Microsofts Bing search engine briefly blocked images and videos of the famous tank man of Tiananmen Square on Friday, the anniversary of Chinas massacre of pro-democracy protesters in 1989, in what the company said was an error.

Users outside China reported that the search engine had returned text results for tank man  as the unknown person, carrying shopping bags, who blocked a line of tanks in central Beijing after the killings has become known. But Bings video and image tabs displayed no references to the event.

It was unclear how geographically widespread the filtering was.

The tank man images are routinely blocked within China, as are other references to the militarys crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protesters, which left hundreds or more dead.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said in a statement that the filtering was due to accidental human error and that the company was working to resolve the problem. By early Saturday, the site was once again returning the video and image results.
The Food and Drug Administration is on the verge of announcing one of its most contentious decisions in years: the fate of an Alzheimers drug that could be the first treatment approved after nearly two decades of failed efforts to find ways to curb the debilitating disease.

On Monday, the agency will rule on the drug, aducanumab, which aims to slow progression of memory and thinking problems early in the disease. If approved, it would be the first new Alzheimers medication since 2003 and the first treatment on the market that attacks the disease process rather than just easing symptoms.

It would become a blockbuster drug within several years, analysts predict, costing tens of thousands of dollars annually per patient and bringing a windfall to its manufacturer, Biogen.

Patient groups, desperate for treatments, are pushing for approval. But greenlighting the drug would fly in the face of objections from several prominent Alzheimers experts and the F.D.A.s independent advisory committee.
WASHINGTON  There are plenty of unexplained phenomena here on Earth.

What kind of mentality does it take for Mike Pence to dip his toe in the 2024 presidential waters while abasing himself before the president who seemed content to have him hanged?

Why are Donald Trump and Republicans so desperate to turn Anthony Fauci, one of the good guys of the pandemic, into one of the bad guys?

Does Barack Obama not hear how condescending he sounds when he goes on a media tour and portrays the Biden administration, which is off to a bigger and leftier start, as finishing the job?

Who on Earth wanted a Friends reunion, and why in heavens name doesnt anyone from the Biden White House return my calls?
Alexandra Paul

Pacific Palisades, Calif.

The writer is on the advisory board of World Population Balance.

To the Editor:

Im a sophomore in college. My generation has grown up with doom and gloom on the global climate horizon. Constantly. And its not uncommon for such dire predictions of the future to cite population growth as a strong contributing factor.

So when I saw the headline about population decline, I clicked. Im paying attention not because Im worried about how this will affect the economy, but because I would love to have a child. Or children! When Im older, of course, but its something I think about time to time. I love kids.

But when I talk to people my age about having children, we dont talk about whether or not we like kids, or whether or not we would be able to support them. We talk about the moral implications of putting more people on this earth to consume more resources. And we talk about not wanting our kids to live in the terribly uncertain future, one in which they could be facing a world of climate change disasters. We ourselves are already facing it, in many places.

I felt this was downplayed in the article. Right now, my plan for the future is to adopt, or have no kids. But I hate the limiting of my choices.

So if the U.S. government decides it has a stake in my giving birth, it needs to start fixing the atmosphere. That, not gifts for newborns and pink seats on subways for pregnant women, as South Korea is doing, might convince me that I should.

Astrid Braun

Cleveland

To the Editor:

I am not going to join the doomsday reaction to the news that the world population growth rate is slowing down. Growing up in the 1950s in southern Italy in a family with seven children, I started panicking about the world population as soon as I learned multiplication. How could Earth possibly support so many people? Would we all starve?
In National Review, Charles Cooke recently wrote a takedown of her under the headline: The Democrats Have a Kamala Harris Problem. The New York Post editorial board panned her commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy, calling it Naval gazing. Clever. Also gratuitous  and a sign of how deeply under her opponents skin she gets.

Those attacks coincide with the upsizing of the tasks that Biden has assigned her. Having asked her last March to work on stemming migration across the southern border, he identified her on Tuesday as the administrations lead on voting rights. Thats huge. The issue is a defining one for many Democrats, a top legislative priority for the party and a furiously argued point of contention between them and Republicans.

Its going to take a hell of a lot of work, Biden said when he made the announcement about her newest responsibility in Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday.

Success is iffy, but acrimony is certain.

If I was Vice President Harris and President Biden kept giving me the toughest assignments, Id be like, Whats up, dude? David Chalian, CNNs political director, said on the CNN Political Briefing podcast on Wednesday. Add this now to her plate with immigration and shes got some truly tough political battles ahead.

Shes now in charge of overseeing the passage of the For the People Act, Chalian added, referring to the voting-rights bill that passed the House but looks to be doomed in the Senate. Not even all the Democrats are on board. Even if she gets them there, theyd need to junk the filibuster and shed have to cast a tiebreaking vote in order to put the legislation on Bidens desk. Republicans demonization of her would be boundless.

And yet she asked for the voting-rights lead, according to an article in The Times on Thursday by Katie Rogers and Nicholas Fandos. Thats gutsy. Its also a bold retort to the narrative that she has been tiptoeing through the vice presidency.

She continues to retreat behind talking points and platitudes in public, Edward-Isaac Dovere wrote in an assessment of her in The Atlantic last month. He noted that her critics see her vice presidency so far as a collection of unconnected set pieces. Harris arrives somewhere with the plane and the motorcade and the Secret Service agents, makes a few mostly bland statements, then tells whomever shes meeting with about how shes going to bring their stories back to Washington. Then shes quickly out of sight again.
A federal judge in California on Friday overturned the states three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, which he called a failed experiment, prompting a sharp retort from the states governor.

California prohibited the sale of assault weapons in 1989. The law was challenged in a suit filed in 2019 against the states attorney general by plaintiffs including James Miller, a California resident, and the San Diego County Gun Owners, a political action committee.

The judge, Roger T. Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, wrote that sections of the states penal code that defined assault weapons and restricted their use were hereby declared unconstitutional and shall be enjoined.

But the judge said he had granted a 30-day stay of the ruling at the request of Attorney General Rob Bonta, a move that would allow Mr. Bonta to appeal it.
For at least a year, Gabriel Taye, 8, was severely bullied at his elementary school in Cincinnati.

Gabriel, a third grader who dreamed of joining the military and liked to dress up in neck ties, was punched, beaten and mocked repeatedly by students at Carson Elementary School, according to a federal lawsuit.

On Jan. 24, 2017, a student yanked him to the floor in a restroom, knocking him unconscious, the lawsuit said.

Video footage shows Gabriel on the floor, unconscious, for at least seven minutes as other children walked by, some kicking him, others pointing fingers. His mother, unaware of what had happened, sent him back to school two days later.

Gabriel was bullied again. When he went home that afternoon, he took one of his neckties and hanged himself from his bunk bed.
Ms. Psaki also emphasized the change in policy.

While the White House does not intervene in criminal investigations, the issuing of subpoenas for the records of reporters in leak investigations is not consistent with the presidents policy direction to the department, and the Department of Justice has reconfirmed it will not be used moving forward, she said.

Mr. Bidens seemingly unequivocal vow never to let the Justice Department go after reporters records in leak investigations has made some veteran national security officials, including from Democratic administrations, uncomfortable.

Mary McCord, who led the Justice Departments national security division late in the Obama administration and into the first part of the Trump administration, argued that there should be flexibility to do so under certain circumstances, if all other methods of gathering information had been exhausted.

If there is a risk that a person could leak something again that would cause troops to be ambushed, people to die, a ship to be attacked, I would not hesitate to use that authority if thats the only avenue left to potentially stop a person from disclosing that level of information, she said.

Still, the Justice Departments statement that it will no longer permit seeking source information from reporters who are doing their jobs may have left some wiggle room, depending on how prosecutors define what counts as a legitimate news-gathering activity.

Separately, the Justice Department informed USA Today on Saturday that it was withdrawing a disputed subpoena seeking information about who had read an online article about a February shootout in Florida in which two F.B.I. agents were killed. USA Today, which had fought the subpoena on First Amendment grounds, said the department explained that it had been able to identify the person it was hunting through other means.

The Justice Department has not responded to questions about who inside the agency knew about the fight with Google and the gag order imposed on Times executives  and when.
WASHINGTON  In Donald J. Trumps final weeks in office, Mark Meadows, his chief of staff, repeatedly pushed the Justice Department to investigate unfounded conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, according to newly uncovered emails provided to Congress, portions of which were reviewed by The New York Times.

In five emails sent during the last week of December and early January, Mr. Meadows asked Jeffrey A. Rosen, then the acting attorney general, to examine debunked claims of election fraud in New Mexico and an array of baseless conspiracies that held that Mr. Trump had been the actual victor. That included a fantastical theory that people in Italy had used military technology and satellites to remotely tamper with voting machines in the United States and switch votes for Mr. Trump to votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr.

None of the emails show Mr. Rosen agreeing to open the investigations suggested by Mr. Meadows, and former officials and people close to him said that he did not do so. An email to another Justice Department official indicated that Mr. Rosen had refused to broker a meeting between the F.B.I. and a man who had posted videos online promoting the Italy conspiracy theory, known as Italygate.

But the communications between Mr. Meadows and Mr. Rosen, which have not previously been reported, show the increasingly urgent efforts by Mr. Trump and his allies during his last days in office to find some way to undermine, or even nullify, the election results while he still had control of the government.
Mr. Donovan was a member of the electrical workers union and also worked in the insurance business until 1959, when he joined the Schiavone Construction Company, then a small, three-year-old New Jersey concern. Becoming executive vice president in 1971  a position in which he oversaw labor relations and negotiated with the unions  he helped expand Schiavone into a major heavy-construction company. He and the founder, Ronald A. Schiavone, owned 90 percent of its stock.

Mr. Donovan married Catherine Sblendorio in 1957. She survives him, along with their daughter, Mary Ellen Stewart; two sons, Ken and Keith; nine grandchildren; a great-grandson; and two of his siblings.

A Democrat early on, Mr. Donovan said he became a Republican when he found himself more in tune with its principles. Reagan nominated him for labor secretary after Mr. Donovan had been a major fund-raiser and a New Jersey campaign leader for him in the 1980 presidential election.

His confirmation hearing in the Senate was rocky. It unearthed allegations by underworld informers that Mr. Donovan and his company had been involved in payoffs to union extortionists to obtain labor peace, and that they had engaged in both business and social activities with organized crime figures. The F.B.I. said it could not corroborate the allegations, and the Senate approved the nomination in February 1981.

But the following December, a special prosecutor was appointed to take a new look at Mr. Donovans construction company activities after an allegation surfaced that had not been passed on to the Senate at the time of the hearing.

The accusation was by an informer who said that he was with Mr. Donovan and other Schiavone company officials at a Queens restaurant in 1977 when one of the officials handed an envelope containing $2,000 to the president of a local construction union. Mr. Donovan responded that not only had he not witnessed any payoff, but that he had also never in his life been in that restaurant.

After a six-month investigation  which also re-examined the former allegations of Donovan ties to crime figures  the special prosecutor, Leon Silverman, said he had found no corroborating evidence of the payoff or of the lunch. Overall, he said, there was insufficient credible evidence to warrant prosecution of Secretary Donovan on any charge.
Richard L. Rubenstein, the leading Jewish voice in the theological groundswell of the 1960s known as the Death of God movement, who argued that the Holocaust had invalidated the idea of an omnipotent, benevolent deity who safeguards Jews as the chosen people, died on May 16 in Bridgeport, Conn. He was 97.

His daughter, Hannah Rubenstein, said he had been treated at a Bridgeport hospice and died of sepsis.

In the 1960s, as the world seemed to grow increasingly secular, several Protestant theologians began to undermine traditional conceptions of an all-powerful God who manipulates human behavior like a puppeteer wielding marionettes. Drawing on the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and the Harvard philosopher Paul Tillich, theologians like Thomas J.J. Altizer, Gabriel Vahanian, Paul van Buren and William Hamilton more or less concluded that a view of a God who manages human history deprives humans of their free will.

Dr. Rubenstein, a Conservative campus rabbi and academic who had studied at Harvard Divinity School as well as at Reform and Conservative Jewish seminaries, took this conversation to a starker level. In 1966, in the seminal book After Auschwitz: Radical Theology and Contemporary Judaism, he also challenged the notion of a cosmos-controlling God, but he did so principally by raising the specter of the six million Jews, one million of them children, killed by the Germans and their collaborators.
NAIROBI, Kenya  Paul Rusesabagina, the prominent dissident who was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated movie Hotel Rwanda, is being denied food and medicine in a prison in Rwanda where he is being held on terrorism-related charges, according to his family, lawyers and foundation, even as the 66-year-old has complained of poor health.

Mr. Rusesabagina told family members that prison officials informed him that they would cut his access to food, water and medicine starting Saturday.

His family and lawyers believe the move by Rwandan authorities was an attempt to pressure him to return to his trial, which he stopped attending in March after saying he did not expect to receive justice. Mr. Rusesabagina, the former hotelier whose efforts to save more than 1,200 people during the countrys genocide were depicted in Hotel Rwanda, later became a critic of the government of President Paul Kagame.

The Rwanda Correctional Services tweeted later on Saturday that it treated all inmates equally and that Mr. Rusesabagina had access to meals and a medical doctor.
Armed assailants killed more than 100 people in an attack on a village in northern Burkina Faso, the government said on Saturday, burning houses and leaving many more injured in one of the deadliest assaults the West African nation has seen in years.

The attackers struck early Saturday morning, first at a gold mine near the village of Sobha, near the border with Niger, according to Rida Lyammouri, a Washington-based expert, before then going after civilians. They also attacked the village market, the government said in a statement.

Its definitely one of the deadliest attacks in Burkina Faso in years, said Mr. Lyammouri, a senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Burkina Faso and its neighbors have faced a resurgence of extremist violence in recent years, much of it carried out by jihadists linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Most of the attacks have been in the southeast, which declared itself the Republic of Biafra in the 1960s and fought a devastating war for secession. Mr. Buhari, who has 4.1 million followers on Twitter, was a commander on the side of the Nigerian government during the war.

Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War, he wrote in the now-deleted post. Those who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.

Some saw his words as a threat of genocide against the Igbo ethnic group that is in the majority in Nigerias southeast. Twitter said the tweet violated its abusive behavior policy.

Mr. Buhari came to office in 2015 in the countrys first peaceful transition of power between two parties, but his previous stint ruling Nigeria was as a young general in the 1980s after he took power in a coup. Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has undergone many decades of repressive military rule.

Nigerian Twitter users have played an outsize role in trying to hold their government to account. The platform was one of the key forms of communication and publicity for protesters in EndSARS, a youth-driven movement that began with calls to abolish an abusive police unit and which led to much wider demands for better governance in West Africas biggest democracy.
It was a rainy evening in April when Marlies Pinksterboer, an Amsterdam-based jewelry designer, was startled by a loud, rumbling sound. It was as if a part of a building had come crashing down, she said. It was crazy.

It was too dark to see what had happened, but when she opened the curtains in the morning she saw that the street on the other side of the canal had been cordoned off. A large sinkhole had appeared, and an antique lamp post next to it had fallen down. A shopping cart, devoured by the gaping pit, glittered in the hole.

Had it happened during the day, she said, someone could easily have fallen in.

Thats when Ms. Pinksterboer started worrying about the 17th-century canal house she lived in. Will that one day come crashing down, she wondered, half serious, while standing on one of the ancient brick and mortar walls that line the canals in her neighborhood of Groenburgwal, one of the oldest areas of Amsterdam.
BERLIN  Five years ago, the nationalist Alternative for Germany sent the countrys traditional parties scrambling when it finished just behind Chancellor Angela Merkels conservatives in the regional vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, an ominous portent of the far rights growing allure.

This Sunday, voters in Saxony-Anhalt will be back at the polls, and the result of this state election, coming just three months before a national one, will be scrutinized to see whether a nationally weakened AfD can hold on to voters in one of the regions where it has proved strongest.

While much about the Saxony-Anhalt contest is unique to the region and heavily focused on local issues about schools and economic restructuring, a strong showing by the AfD  which rode a wave of anti-immigration sentiment in 2016  could cause headaches for Armin Laschet, the leader of Ms. Merkels Christian Democrats. Mr. Laschet, who is hoping to replace her in the chancellery, has struggled to gain traction in the former East German states.
While indoor dining has resumed, most groups larger than six are prohibited, and nightclubs, music venues and large events remain shuttered, leaving many hospitality businesses still reeling. The British government has long targeted June 21  freedom day, in the parlance of the tabloids  as the date when it hoped to remove all legal limits on social contact.

The critical issue is whether a recent rise in Covid cases will accelerate and translate into a surge of severe illness, something that depends in part on how quickly people are given their second doses. Scientists reported this past week that Pfizers vaccine elicited a weaker antibody response to the Delta variant than the original virus, especially among older people, raising the prospect of a booster shot being needed.

There are reasons to be hopeful  were not seeing a big trend in hospital admissions  but its early days, Professor Naismith said. If we dont see anything by June 14, we can exhale. We dont need to hold our breath.

Other scientists argue that widespread vaccinations have changed the reopening calculus. While only half of British adults are fully vaccinated, that includes nearly all of the most vulnerable. And 76 percent overall have gotten one shot. As a result, some scientists say, upticks in new infections are tolerable so long as the vast majority do not lead to serious illness or death.

This variant is going to find it hard to spread, because its limited to younger people and limited to certain parts of the country, Professor Spector said.

He said the government needed to help the neighborhoods where it was spreading and, beyond that, encourage people to keep working from home and socially distancing when possible. But delaying the easing of restrictions, he said, was not necessary.

We need to get used to the idea there will be a few thousand cases every day and that this is a part of our life, Professor Spector said. Those cases will be milder.
Nearly 20 years after I started surfing, I finally have a core group of mostly Black women I surf with.

By Gabriella Angotti-Jones Ms. Angotti-Jones is a documentary photographer based in Southern California.

I was 9 when I got my first surfboard. I took my new hot pink shortboard down to the pier, and an old head in a beat-up tank top walked up to me and asked, You gonna ride that thing? I nodded.

I remember sitting on the beach, staring at the waves. I was the only girl, let alone Black person, with a board.

I grew up in a biracial family in Capistrano Beach, Calif. We were among the handful of Black or mixed-race families in the neighborhood. I didnt have much in the way of a community on land, or out in the water then.

I felt at home in the

oceans glittery

troughs

and clouded depths. My race and gender

melted

with the tide, and I was

one

with the oncoming swell. I was blinded by the sun, and

nothing else mattered.

I was too young to understand why at times I felt unwelcome in the lineup. I began to doubt myself, and on particularly bad days, where all I could do was wipe out, I felt as if the ocean didnt want me, either.

I now have a core group of friends who look like me and also share my reverence for the ocean. I can always spot them bobbing in the water  their heads topped with a poof.

Autumn KitchensRockaway, N.Y. Nina StoufferJacksonville, Fla. Kimiko Russell-HaltermanSanta Cruz, Calif. Sharon SchafferPlaya del Rey, Calif. Jessa WilliamsManhattan Beach, Calif.







Autumn Kitchens grew up between Long Island and Rockaway, N.Y. She started surfing after taking a lesson when she was 15, and she has been surfing and living in the Rockaways for the past seven years. Nina Stouffer is a self-described soul surfer from Jacksonville, Fla. She feels free in the water. All your worries disappear, she told me. And especially with my friends, I always enjoy going out there and being with them, bonding. Kimiko Russell-Haltermans love of the ocean is rooted in her Japanese ancestry. Her grandmother is from Okinawa and believes that one of her ancestors was an ama, a celebrated female free-diver. Growing up mixed-race  Black, Japanese and white  Ms. Russell-Halterman juggled multiple identities at once. Surfing, she told me, made her realize Im not a pie that you like to slice up and dish out: I am Black. I am a woman. I am ocean. I am Japanese. Its the whole pie. Sharon Schaffer is the first female African American professional surfer. She is also an accomplished actress, a poet and a musician. I feel like its my responsibility to bring joy and love to the water, she said. I really want to lift people up and make sure they have a healthy relationship with Mother Ocean and those they share it with. Other surfers sometimes approach us to say hello when were together; they ask how long weve been at it. But not everyone is so welcoming. Last December, Jessa Williams was called a racial slur by a white male surfer at El Porto in Manhattan Beach. His friends just sat by and watched.

But despite how uncomfortable it may make some, we will continue to suit up and paddle out. Indeed, many organizations devoted to teaching young people of color how to surf are led by Black women. Im heartened to see a little more variety in gender, ethnicity and race in the lineup when Im out in the water these days.

My friends and I charge for waves. We scream when one of us scores, and dance to Megan Thee Stallion while peeling off our wetsuits. I finally found the community I longed for all those years ago, when I first looked out at the ocean with my brand new surfboard.
A fresh appeal for help from the public has been made as medical costs for an Irishman seriously injured in South America last year exceed $90,000.

Eoghan de Cleir, a member of the well-known de Cleir family - who run the last remaining shop in Kinnitty - was on life-support in an induced-coma after falling from a second-floor balcony during a visit to Colombia.

Family, friends, and neighbours of the 40 year old have been supporting a Go-Fund-Me campaign which has successfully raised over $33,000 to date. However, the costs around Eoghans care are currently in excess of $90,000, and rising still. Eoghans mother, Ira, has given up her job to be with her son, spending her life-savings and borrowing extensively from friends and family to cater for Eoghans medical needs in the process.

In addition to the medical and financial pressure Eoghans family are under, the political unrest and protests in Columbia are adding another severe challenge for the de Cleirs. Even normally straightforward administrative tasks such as renewing visas are nearly impossible with roadblocks now commonplace in Colombia, and ambulances often the only vehicles allowed through.

Eoghans recovery is steady but slow. While he is now able to slowly feed himself some basic meals and can communicate a little by writing, spoken conversation is not yet possible. The extent of Eoghans recovery to this point would not have been possible at all without the support of family, friends, and the general public.

Sean de Cleir, Eoghans uncle offered the following update on Eoghans current condition, He is still not in rehab as much more surgery is needed, from major procedures to physical therapy, laser vocal treatments, and speech therapy. This meant he had go back to private healthcare as he needs day and night nurses, and other medical resources. Once he has recovered further, rehabilitation will be possible. It is really stressful for Ira trying to look after him, and at the same time deal with the emotional and financial pressures of ensuring the best treatment possible for Eoghan.

In addition to all of the above, Covid 19 is still causing fundraising challenges as traditional events remain largely impossible. Mr de Cleir continued, Under normal circumstances we would already have held a number of activities, from head-shaves, to raffles at event days in Kinnitty, and in Whitegate where Eoghan grew up. But at the moment, such events simply arent possible.

A Facebook page - REX KINNITTY - is acting as an online focal-point for the campaign. Anyone wishing to donate will find the Go-Fund-Me link there, together with regular updates on Mr. de Cleir's progress, as well as information about possible future fundraising endeavours.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RexKinnitty

Go FundMe https://bit.ly/eoghandecleir
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Cameron Munster said Queensland needed to make Jarome Luai realise how hard the Origin arena is. The NSW debutant is only too happy to accommodate them.
LOS ANGELES (AP)  Former California congresswoman Katie Hill has been ordered to pay about $220,000 in attorneys fees to a British tabloid and two conservative journalists she had sued after the publication of intimate photos without her consent.



The Democrat who briefly represented a district north of Los Angeles had accused them in a revenge-porn lawsuit of violating the law by publishing or distributing the compromising photos. The lawsuit was thrown out earlier this year on First Amendment grounds, the Los Angeles Times reported.



Hill resigned in 2019 after the publication of the photos and amid a House ethics probe into allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her congressional staffers, which she denied.



On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco awarded about $105,000 to the parent company of the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. Hill had called for a boycott of the tabloid on Twitter and sought donations for her legal costs.



A judge just ordered me to PAY the Daily Mail more than $100k for the privilege of them publishing nude photos of me obtained from an abuser, she tweeted. The justice system is broken for victims.



A spokeswoman told the newspaper that Hill plans to appeal the rulings that dismissed her lawsuit. An attorney for the Daily Mail did not respond to a request for comment.



The judge previously ordered Hill to pay about $84,000 to the attorneys of Jennifer Van Laar, managing editor of the conservative website Red State, and about $30,000 to lawyers representing radio producer Joseph Messina. Hill initially accused Messina of being part of a conspiracy to distribute the pictures, but dropped her claim against him earlier this year.



Krista Lee Baughman, an attorney representing Van Laar and Messina, told the Times that the...
The Speaker strategy was previously touted by Steve Bannon, who told a group of Boston Republicans that Trump should run for Congress in 2022.
Oman's Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) has announced that its board has approved new projects for Sur Industrial City.

These include setting up of a township for the integrated workforce by the private sector in a bid to enhance the offered services and boost business environment in Sur Industrial City.

Also it won board approval for a shipyard project which will also house a factory for modern fishing vessels along with a ship maintenance facility and repair centre, among other related services.

This was announced during its fourth meeting this year chaired by Dr Saleh bin Said Masan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, and Chairman of Madayn's Board of Directors.

According to Madayn, these new projects will get special incentives that were announced earlier this year including a two-year exemption from rental rates followed by a reduction in the rental value for a period of three years by 50 per cent for contracts concluded during the period from 2021 to 2024.

In addition to this, Madayn will also cut all other fees listed in Annex of the Investment Regulations by 50 per cent during the same period.

All these efforts from Madayn will help play a key role in creating an attractive environment for promising projects in the sultanates fisheries sector. The total volume of investments in Sur Industrial City has surged to RO1.5 billion ($3.88 billion) by the end of 2020.

The announced incentives come within the efforts made by Madayn to mitigate the economic consequences resulting from Covid-19 pandemic and the global drop of oil prices.

The incentives also support Madayns vision to enhance Omans position as a leading regional centre of manufacturing, ICT, innovation, and entrepreneurship excellence..-TradeArabia News Service
The bolstered security followed rioting in a Moroccan border town as police there tried to block hundreds of migrants from crossing..

Al Jazeera STUDIO 20 May 2021
Eurasia Review 04 Jun 2021

The Chinese government should acknowledge and take responsibility for the massacre of pro-democracy protesters in June 1989,..
A thick layer of "sea snot" thought to be the largest on record has hit the Turkish coast, endangering marine life and fishing trade.
A judge in San Diego has slammed a 1989 ban on assault weapons as unconstitutional and said Americans should have the right to own semi-automatic rifles. He compared an AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army knife.
British tourists fully vaccinated against coronavirus and with proof of a negative test will be able to enter France without needing a "compelling reason".
On this US politics edition of Encounter, John Fortier, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and Jim Kessler, senior vice president for policy at Third Way, discuss with host Carol Castiel the status of US President Joe Bidens ambitious agenda and the challenge of passing at least part of it, like infrastructure legislation or police reform, with bipartisan support.
A chemical-laden cargo ship which is slowly sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka is being monitored for environmental damage by salvage experts.
The popular social media site had removed a post by President Muhammadu Buhari threatening secessionists in the southeast of the country.
Islamists in the West African state have killed scores of civilians and set fire to their homes and businesses, according to the government.
Belfast Telegraph 10 Jun 2021

Rory Burns top-scored as England battled out an evenly-poised first day of the second Test against New Zealand, but was more..
Dhaka, June 5 (UNI) Some 43 more people died from coronavirus in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 12,801, a health directorate communique informed on Saturday.

During the period, 1,847 more people were diagnosed with the virus, raising the total infection to 8,09,314.

Of the total patients, 7,49,425 recovered, with 1,667 made recovery in the last 24 hours.

The daily count came from a test of 13,115 samples in the past day.

Bangladesh first reported its COVID-19 cases on March 8 last year. Since then the country has been struggling to limit the spread of the highly contagious virus.

Coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year and then spread to newer countries and territories.

To date, the epidemic infected 173,366,912 people and killed 3,728,805 across the globe, according to Worldometer, a website that compiles the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths from it.

However, the total number of people who recovered from the coronavirus pandemic reached 156,138,175 across the world.

UNI MAZ RHK1801
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the UN's COP26 summit in November must deliver "concrete measures" to tackle climate change. She used her weekly podcast to highlight World Environment Day.
ROME (AP)  Dozens of tourists will have to pay dearly for their souvenirs from Sardinias pristine beaches.



Italian media on Saturday said customs police on the Mediterranean island issued fines of up to 3,000 euros ($3,600) to 41 people who in recent days tried to leave the island with a total of 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of sand, seashells and beach rocks.



The LaPresse news agency said in some cases tourists had put the beach booty up for sale on the internet, feeding a flourishing, illicit market for such souvenirs, including from swank resort areas along the Italian island's Emerald Coast.



Bags of sand, shells and stones were seized at Sardinias airports and ports in keeping with a 2017 regional law that established fines ranging from 500 euros ($600) to 3,000 euros. The seized sand was brought back by authorities to the beaches when possible.



The law aims to prevent the cumulative effect of removing sand and shells by the millions of tourists who flock each year to the Mediterranean island, which is renowned for long stretches of pristine sandy beaches.
Vice President Harris is heading to Mexico and Guatemala next week on her first trip to the region. She's been tapped to oversee as migration from Central America and Mexico to the U.S. surges.
President Joe Biden said on Saturday he will raise the cap on the number of refugees admitted this year to the United States, a day..

Reuters - Politics 18 Apr 2021
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul said his family has received death threats for being outspoken in his criticism of chief medical advisor to President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday urged the Catholic Church to take responsibility and release records on indigenous residential schools under its direction, after the discovery of remains of 215 children in unmarked graves. And he warned that his government was prepared to take stronger measures, possibly including legal action, to obtain the documents []
Draped in white-red-white Belarusian opposition flags, exiled Belarusians protested on Saturday at the Polish frontier, calling for President Alexander Lukashenko to lift a border closure. Europe: Its time for action!, Impose Sanctions Please! read some of the placards, as dozens of protesters lined a road clogged with hundreds of trucks waiting to go through border []
It is a lifetime since she left, but Evelyn Camilles throat tightens as she returns to her old indigenous boarding school in western Canada to honor the 215 pupils whose bodies were discovered in a mass grave. Many children tried to run away from here, she recalls, the memories of abuse rushing back as she []
As of today, 25 US states are dropping out of the federal unemployment benefits programs. Under the American Rescue Plan, the government had authorized an extra $300 a week in jobless aid and extended pandemic unemployment assistance for the self-employed, with a formal expiration date of September 6. However, with half the states canceling their jobless []
A baby deer was saved by a local fire crew after it found itself stuck in an uncomfortable spot in Canada on June 1.

CBS4 Miami 04 Jun 2021
PA - Press Association STUDIO 01 Jun 2021

Nicola Sturgeon has announced that Covid-19 restrictions will be eased in parts of Scotland on Saturday, but much of the country..
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Reuters - Politics 04 Jun 2021

The Group of 7, representing some of the world's richest nations, are within touching distance of a historic deal to close the net..
The Duke of Cambridge has hailed television as a collective beacon of light during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Home Office is investigating an incident in which migrants attempting to cross the English Channel were reportedly picked up in French waters by the UK Border Force and taken to Dover.
Fox News Chris Wallace gave CNNs Jake Tapper somewhat of an eye-roll on Friday, dismissing the other anchors moral posturing when it comes to booking  or not booking  certain Republicans as cable news guests.



The two actually went back and forth in Fridays Politico Playbook.



I dont think moral posturing goes well with newsgathering, Wallace told the outlet after finding out Tapper admitted to having a philosophy against giving airtime to GOP representatives who push conspiracies about the 2020 election. Tapper confirmed his stance in a podcast interview with the New York Times Kara Swisher last week.



Wallace went on, There are plenty of people I would like to have on Fox News Sunday that voted to challenge the election  House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy for one. And I dont have any rule about what the first question has to be. I have asked plenty of guests about voting to challenge the election and about Trumps role in the January 6 insurrection. But I cover the news, wherever that takes me.



Playbook didnt just publish Wallaces pushback, but took it straight to Tapper for a response.



This isnt a policy, its a discussion I think everyone in the news media should be having, he replied. Should those who shared the election lie that incited the deadly attack on the Capitol and that continues to erode confidence in our democracy be invited onto our airwaves to continue to spread the Big Lie? Can our viewers count on these politicians to tell the truth about other topics? This isnt an easy conversation for some folks  especially for journalists who work for organizations where the Big Lie was platformed  but thats all the more reason to have this conversation.



Tappers attack on Fox News is rooted, of course, in the fact that Wallaces employer is currently facing a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems that accuses some of their on-air talent of promoting fraud conspiracies. Lawyers for Fox News moved to dismiss the suit in May, writing in a filing, There are two sides to every story. The press must remain free to cover both sides, or there will be a free press no more. The freedoms of speech and press would be illusory if the prevailing party could obtain billions of dollars from the press because it provided a forum for the losing side.
Sky News UK Studios 25 May 2021

The UK and EU have banned flights in Belarus airspace in response to the arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich.
The European Commission Friday proposed a framework for a European Digital Identity which will be available to all EU citizens, residents, and businesses in the EU.



Citizens will be able to prove their identity and share electronic documents from their European Digital Identity wallets with the click of a button on their...
"I would like to see the medical records of the three people who are reported to have got sick in 2019," Fauci said.
CBS 13 Sacramento 11 Jun 2021

Survivors of the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in Stockton are speaking out after a federal judge struck down California's..
They were killed mercilessly by snipers. Alfred Ludo and Patrick Bo Reh were two young Burmese Catholics who brought food and humanitarian aid to the internally displaced in the city of Demoso, Kayah state. In this city located in eastern Myanmar, in the territory of the Diocese of Loikaw, the clashes between the regular army and the peoples defence forces, which arose spontaneously in resistance to the military oppression, are intense. But there is a notable inequality of forces in the field: the artillery of Tatmadaw (the regular Burmese army) indiscriminately bombs the city, hitting houses, churches, including two Catholic, hospitals, and displacing thousands of people.

Since early February, Alfred and Patrick were among those young people who had chosen non-violent protest against the military junta that came into power with a coup d'etat. The two youths, like thousands of their peers, saw their dreams shattered and the ideals of a prosperous and democratic future suddenly vanish. Saint Josephs Church, which was struck by mortar fire, is where Alfred and Patrick grew up, came to know and love the Gospel and received the sacraments. And, in the enthusiasm of their 18 years, they decided to stake their youth to follow Christ, the way, the truth and life. Thus, they did not hesitate when the parish got them involved with the volunteers who now aid and feed the displaced. It was precisely as they were making their way to the church by motorbike, to coordinate aid services, that they were hit by bullets that left no way out. They knew it was risky to move about but they said it was their fiat to bring urgent aid to the defenceless, needy, suffering people who had been welcomed into convents, parish halls, chapels and schools.

Their sacrifice has left a deep mark on the community that celebrated their funerals on Saturday, 28 May. They are martyrs, said Joe Thein, a local Catholic, to LOsservatore Romano. Moses M. Chanmon, a teacher, said we cant help but praise and follow the example of these heroes. A relative of Alfred remarked, we are very saddened by the loss of two of our young people, but we are proud of them. They gave their lives for their neighbour, after Jesus example.

The military targets young people, cracking down on opponents, resulting in thousands of teenagers being arrested, tortured, disappeared or killed across the country. unicef sounded the alarm, reporting that at least 53 youths under 18 have been killed in Myanmar since the army took over, and at least one thousand have been arrested without access to lawyers or their families. The generals governing the nation fear them in particular due to their attachment to democratic ideals and human rights. The sniper killings are meant to intimidate them but, according to Catholics in Demoso they will have the opposite effect. Alfred and Patricks deaths will make young Burmese people even more united. They will find greater strength and determination within themselves for the fight for a future with justice, peace and democracy, said local priest Fr Philip Aung Nge.

Paolo Affatato


AGENCY [mdash]MaryAnn Wanner, 75, of Agency, died at 4:45 a.m. June 9, 2021 at Ridgewood Specialty Care. She was born February 18, 1946 in Lake City, IA to Lubbert and Erma DeVries. She married Martin Joseph Wanner and he preceded her in death on March 18, 2021. MaryAnn had worked as a beaut
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After years of working together, Midland scuba shop Underwater Antics has acquired another local scuba diving business, Seaquatics, in an amicable venture.

Underwater Antics co-owners Tim Middleton and Cheryl Roggenbuck closed the deal with Seaquatics Lou Mercier on May 19.

Seaquatics began operating in Midland in 1971 under the direction of Tom DeGrow and ownership eventually passed to Mercier.

Middleton and Roggenbuck have a long history with Seaquatics since the two of them met through a diving class hosted by the business and Roggenbuck went through the divemasters program with Mercier.

Both Middleton and Roggenbuck came to work at Seaquatics about 20 years ago.

Middleton got into scuba diving out of a desire to get into underwater metal detecting. Once he took the required scuba classes, his interest switched course to diving. He has since gone on to dive in the Great Lakes, Florida caves, smaller regional lakes, and quarries.

Ive been in water my entire life, Middleton said. Ive either been drilling water wells or doing drinking water systems. Ive been treating wastewater for 18-19 years, so waters all Ive ever done.

Roggenbuck aspired to be a marine biologist, as she enjoyed observing ocean life. She ended up becoming a biologist instead, but her passion for marine activities has not wavered; she received her divers certification in 2002.

As a kid, I just always loved Jacques Cousteau, any of the ocean shows that were on TV. I always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, Roggenbuck said.

Middleton began Underwater Antics in 2007 during his time as a private diving instructor. He and Roggenbuck opened a brick and mortar store at 639 W. Isabella Road (M-20) in 2016.

With Underwater Antics and Seaquatics being about five miles apart from each other and having a shared history, each of the two stores agreed to provide any items that the other store didnt have.

A recent conversation between Roggenbuck and Mercier about a needed item led to a talk about Underwater Antics acquiring Seaquatics. For now, the new shop will operate from the former Seaquatics shop at 4021 Isabella Road (M-20) and under both shops' names for a short time.

Seaquatics certainly has name recognition, so we kept the name with the business, Middleton stated.

Middleton sees running a scuba shop as a social and recreational business but takes the matter seriously along with Roggenbuck.

In addition to acquiring Seaquatics, Underwater Antics bought its Aqua Lung and Fourth Element product lines, will provide Scuba Schools International (SSI) training, and will allow several of the instructors and dive masters to continue classes.

Middleton and Roggenbuck plan to expand the stores hours, combining Seaquatics morning and early afternoon shifts with Underwater Antics late afternoon hours. Services will include summer charters around the Great Lakes, while a trip to Bonaire in the Caribbean is planned for March 2022.

Middleton is looking forward to growing the local dive community, meeting the people, getting everybody integrated and involving the diving community. Roggenbuck believes one way to achieve this is through local fun dives, which are more of a social venture.

Some people dont have somebody else to dive with. It gives them the opportunity to group up with other divers, to meet other divers, to get out, dive, and enjoy the time. It becomes very social, Roggenbuck said.

To contact Underwater Antics, call 989-832-4149 or 989-835-6391 or visit its Facebook page.
LANSING, Mich. (AP)  The Michigan Republican Party filed a complaint with the state on Friday over Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's reelection campaign paying for her use of a private jet to visit her ailing father in Florida.

The law lets elected officials use political funds for incidental expenses incurred while carrying out government work.

The Governors trip to West Palm Beach was indisputably not a trip for official business, as evidenced by the Governors own admission that the trip was to visit her father, GOP executive director Jason Roe wrote to the elections bureau, which is in Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's department.

The March flights were valued at about $27,000. The governor will reimburse her campaign the equivalent of the cost of first-class commercial airline tickets for herself and her two daughters, who flew on the return leg. Whitmer was joined by her security detail on the plane provided by Detroit-based PVS Chemicals.

Whitmer's campaign says commercial flights were not reasonable for security reasons and the governor also worked during the four-day trip. It contends that security costs can be covered by candidate committees, citing recent secretary of state guidance allowing officeholders to buy bulletproof vests and home security systems as long as they would not have done so as non-elected officials.

But Roe said payments for private travel are not necessary expenses and Benson never considered whether private planes can be deemed security expenses. Whitmer and her campaign, he said, are desperately attempting to convolute Michigan campaign finance law in order to justify paying for the Governors personal travel.

Brandon Hall, a Republican activist who is trying to impeach the governor, filed a similar complaint Tuesday. Benson could levy a fine if she finds a violation.

Last week, a lawyer said Whitmer's campaign would pay for the flights after he learned PVS could not accept payment from a nonprofit fund tied to Whitmer because the company is not authorized to provide charter flights.

Michigan Democratic Party spokeswoman Rodericka Applewhaite called the complaint bogus and accused the GOP of neverending obstruction" as the governor combats the coronavirus pandemic.

___

Follow David Eggert at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00
Senate Bill 458, Require governor notify legislature when traveling out of state: Passed 20 to 16 in the Senate

To require that when leaving the state and on return, the governor must notify the lieutenant governor, and require this person to notify legislative leaders in writing within 12 hours.
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, it made it harder and harder for some people to put food on their tables.

With the mix of the pandemic and historic flooding, many people in Midland County faced the increased strain of food insecurity, among other financial burdens. Some communities were affected more than others, and local food pantries saw an increase in service demands.

While these pantries and soup kitchens are starting to see less demand for their services as the pandemic winds down, their leaders are growing concerned about a surge in food assistance needs as government programs come to an end.

COVID-19 and flooding exacerbate the issue

Even before the pandemic, Midland County residents requested more food assistance in the Tri-City area.

Samantha McKenzie is the President & CEO of Hidden Harvest, a food rescue non-profit that works with community partners to deliver food to food-insecure people primarily in Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties.

McKenzie said she used to be able to sit down and speak with the people they serve and hear their stories. The pandemic unfortunately took away her ability to do so, making it harder to learn about what they need at an individual level.

There are more people than ever who need those connections, and it is harder to do that during a takeout meal versus sitting down with someone, McKenzie said.

In 2019, Hidden Harvest delivered 448,399 pounds of food to Midland County, McKenzie said. In 2020, it skyrocketed to 662,388. Over 6,500 calls were made to 211 last year from Midland County requesting food assistance as well, more than the number of such calls from either Bay or Saginaw counties.

A study from the Food Bank Council of Michigan shows that 15.8% of Midland Countys population is food-insecure. This is similar to Michigans overall food insecurity rate, which is at 19.1%. McKenzie said food insecurity in the Great Lakes Bay Region saw a 138% increase in 2020.

Hidden Harvest was not the only organization who saw an increase in service. The Open Door, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in the city of Midland, saw fewer visits to its physical location since it could not open its dining room for most of the year.

However, Open Door Executive Director Renee Pettinger said more people from community distributors were coming to pick up food for others who needed food assistance during the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, the soup kitchen would serve 100-120 meals a day. In 2020, this amount shot up by 48% with a total of 71,000 meals served in 2020, Pettinger said.

Like many organizations, Open Door and Hidden Harvest gave away thousands of meals and pounds of food last spring during the 2020 dam failures and flooding. Of the 71,000 meals served by The Open Door that year, 10,000 of them were for people displaced by the flood, Pettinger said. McKenzie said Hidden Harvest had never made a trip to Sanford before the flood.

Another trend noticed with many of these organizations is the amount of new people they served. Pettinger said new faces were popping up because of those community deliverers.

Holly Miller, President & CEO for the United Way of Midland, said 211 received a huge influx of first-time callers last year.

ALICE reports are conducted by United Way to help define a part of the population that struggles financially yet are above the federal poverty line. For Midland County, the ALICE report for 2019 shows that 28% of the population is under the ALICE threshold, which is among the lowest rates in all Michigan counties. The numbers for 2020 are still being researched, she said.

However, the low ALICE rate is not representative of all experiences of its communities.

Coleman

Nestled in the northwest corner of the county, Colemans poverty rates are far high than other municipalities in the county. The town has been suffering with this a lot longer than COVID-19 has been around.

In 2019, 63% of Colemans population was below the ALICE threshold, with nearby Warren Township at 42%. In 2015, about 70% of Colemans population was below the ALICE threshold.

Andrea Secrease is the executive director for the Greater Midland North Family Center and Coleman Family Center, which helps with after-school programs, clothing needs and emergency food assistance. In 2020, the centers have seen an increased need in food distributions, as many groups across the county did.

This rate of poverty could have many factors to it. Secrease said lack of transportation can make life much harder for people living in rural areas to get to work, further an education, or get food. The distance can make assistance programs and services more difficult to access.

Secrease said Coleman was classified as a food desert until very recently. This means access to groceries is difficult due to a lack of grocery stores and a lack of transportation to reach stores farther away. The nearest grocery store to Coleman is 12 miles away, Miller said.

If something is five miles away, and you don't have a vehicle, it may as well be 500 miles away, Secrease said. Either way, you are not getting there.

Current successes and future concerns

Halfway through 2021, many of these organizations have seen a dropoff in the number of people they are serving. Open Door and Hidden Harvest are starting to see their previously normal numbers again.

On top of that, Coleman is technically no longer a food desert with the opening of Coleman Community Market earlier in the year. It is a grocery store that offers shelf-stable foods, fresh produce, dairy items and meats. Secrease said this store is a partnership with United Way and foods are bought at wholesale and sold for a dime more.

But the town still has a long way to go.

There is still a significant need for support in Coleman around the meaning of basic needs for families and individuals, Secrease said.

Food organizations are not out of the clear, either. In fact, many of them are preparing for a huge influx of demand for their services soon, once federal and state programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic come to an end.

McKenzie said many state and federal programs were created to provide food assistance and other needs during the pandemic.

As these start to be phased out due to the pandemic winding down, the concern is that many people will be left without support and will need to turn to places like Open Door and Hidden Harvest.

This is why United Way and Hidden Harvest are working together on the Summer Stock Up food drive from June 1-28 help stockpile food for the impending "cliff," as McKenzie puts it.

There are a lot of programs out there to help people right now, McKenzie said. What we do not want to see is all those programs come to an end and all the people who are relying on them fall off this cliff. So, we are really trying to make sure that our partners that we have are strong.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP)  State licensing officials have ordered a southeastern Michigan company to stop performing cremations after an anonymous complaint of improperly stored bodies, heavy smoke and leaking bodily fluids on the premises.

A cease and desist order was issued Friday against Tri-County Cremation Services in Ypsilanti and its listed owners, according to Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

The company is accused of operating a crematory without a registration under the Cemetery Regulation Act. The company also has been ordered to provide proof that ONeil Swanson II no longer owns, operates or has a controlling interest in the business, the agency said.

Swanson declined to comment Friday on the order.

An investigation into the company was started after the state received an anonymous complaint of heavy smoke issuing from the chimney, bodies stored improperly while awaiting cremation, and bodily fluids leaking onto the facilitys floor.

The Swanson Funeral Home in Flint was closed in 2017 after maggots were found in a garage where unrefrigerated bodies were being stored. Officials later determined prepaid funeral contracts were sold without a proper license.

Swanson of West Bloomfield pleaded no contest in 2019 to two felonies. A no-contest plea isnt an admission of guilt but is treated as such at sentencing.

His mortuary science and mortuary science establishment licenses were revoked, meaning he is ineligible to hold a controlling interest in a cemetery or crematory, according to Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

The licensing agency and Michigans attorney generals office are attempting to identify bodies awaiting cremation at the Ypsilanti facility, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Detroit.
DETROIT (AP)  The University of Michigan will keep the name of a prominent Michigan Republican on a campus building despite his description of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and two other Democrats as witches.

President Mark Schlissel said he shares the disgust over Ron Weiser's misogynistic and violent comments. But he also noted that Weiser has done much good and that the naming of a building was part of a donation agreement.

It is important to all those who enter into agreements with the university that we maintain our reputation for honoring our contracts, Schlissel wrote in a Thursday letter to people who want Weiser Hall to be renamed.

In addition, were we to decide to violate the contract and remove his name from a building, we would be obligated to return the associated gift, Schlissel said.

Weiser is chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, a philanthropist and an elected member of the university's governing board.

In March, he called Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson witches during a meeting of Republican activists. He said the GOP would prepare for a burning at the stake in the 2022 election.

Weiser later said his words were "poorly chosen. Democrats, who are a majority on the university's Board of Regents, issued a censure or formal statement of disapproval.

In his letter, Schlissel said peoples' lives are complex and sometimes even contradictory.

Weiser and his family have demonstrated extraordinary support for the academic mission of our university, including a broad array of initiatives ranging from research into democracy and diplomacy to food allergies, diabetes, and student support on all three U-M campuses," Schlissel wrote.

___

Follow Ed White at https://twitter.com/edwritez
UPDATE Saturday 4:30 PM:

The 32-year-old man was reported to be overdue from an overnight hiking trip Wednesday in the area of Hessie and Fourth of July trailheads and was determined to have been located and safe Saturday.

Search teams determined there was a miscommunication between the hiker and his family, the Sheriff's Office said .

Previous Story:

Search and rescue crews in Colorado are continuing a search early Saturday for an overdue hiker, according to Boulder County Sheriff's Office.

The overdue hiker reportedly set out from the area of Hessie and Fourth of July trailheads and supposedly hiking to Jasper Lake, the Sheriff's Office said.

The hiker is a 32-year-old man, described as wearing a black hat and using hiking poles. Authorities did not release the hiker's name pending notification of family.

The man reportedly arrived at the trailhead Wednesday to embark on an overnight hike to Jasper Lake and was supposed to return Thursday. The man was reported missing by family to Boulder authorities Friday at about 2:45 p.m., the Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies found the man's vehicle parked at the trailhead Friday and a search party was launched. Members of Boulder County Emergencies Services Unit, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Front Range Rescue Dogs, and the Boulder Emergency Squad are included in search efforts. As of 11 p.m. Friday, the missing hiker has not been found, the Sheriff's Office said.

Search efforts continue Saturday and will be assisted by aircraft. Parking for Hessie and Fourth of July trailheads may be impacted while crews continue the search.

The missing hiker reportedly does not have medical issues or medical problems and it is unknown if he has any supplies or equipment with him, the Sheriff's Office said.

The Hessie and Fourth of July trailheads are located west of Nederland, Colorado.

Backcountry rescues are on the rise in Colorado, with call-outs for help doubling over the last two years.

By purchasing a CORSAR card or by making a donation, you can help reimburse search and rescue teams for costs, such as fuel and equipment, that are incurred while providing help to lost and injured hikers, mountain bikers, skiers, hunters, and more. Read more here about how you can help fund Search and Rescue efforts in Colorado.
Palestine, TX (75801)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 95F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable.
Listen, I dont blame you for ignoring travel industry news during the pandemic. Who cares if Hilton went bankrupt (it didnt) or Alaska Airlines joined some alliance (it did) when you arent traveling?

If it wasnt my job, I would've tuned out that stuff, too.

However, many under-the-radar changes did significantly alter the travel landscape in 2021. Beyond the obvious  more cleaning, more masks  other updates rippled throughout the industry, including smaller fees and new credit card perks.

Anyway, its good to have you back. Heres what you missed.

1. Airline change fees (almost kinda sorta) disappeared

Believe it or not, airlines seem to have done us a solid on this front. Many not only waived change fees early last year, but also removed them from most fares indefinitely.

2. Rental cars got bizarrely expensive

This is a weird one, but it could have a major impact on your summer travel plans and expenses. A combination of supply issues and demand spikes have led to the so-called rental car apocalypse, driving costs through the (sun)roof in many popular destinations like Hawaii and Glacier National Park.

3. Your travel credit card had a midlife crisis

Travel credit card perks were rendered moot last year, and these cards scrambled to offer new benefits and features that made some semblance of sense during a global pandemic.

Some American Express credit cards offered perks for streaming services like Netflix, then a $30 PayPal credit every month. Other Chase bank credit cards offered bonuses on grocery spending instead of airfare and hotels. Basically, every premium travel credit card became a premium living-your-life credit card.

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4. Other stuff that happened

Alaska Airlines joined American Airlines in the Oneworld Alliance. Most travel companies got huge federal checks in order to stay afloat. The cost of flights dropped when nobody was paying attention. Now, theyre climbing back up.

Some airlines handled the pandemic in a customer-friendly way (hat tip Delta), while others did not. Ditto hotels.

Read the full story:

Check out more of the week's best money reads from NerdWallet, Forbes and The Motley Fool.

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As Illinois enters phase five, we check in with six residents The Pantagraph has been profiling since the start of the pandemic. What does lif
BLOOMINGTON  A spokesman for Jimmy John's said the sandwich chain isnt responsible for a series of food-borne-related illnesses reported among Illinois State University students this year.

"The franchise team has been in continuous contact with the local health department throughout its investigation and has not received any notice that this location was the source of the community outbreak," said spokesman Jack D'Amato, in a statement.

The McLean County Health Department investigated an outbreak that happened the week of April 5 after multiple ISU students and others reported symptoms consistent with norovirus after eating Jimmy John's food.

The specific store wasn't named in county or Illinois Department of Public Health documentation.

D'Amato did not respond to a question about why the chain was mentioned in the report. He also said an independently operated location closed around that same time period "out of an abundance of caution."

Eric Jome, a spokesman at ISU, said there also were reports of food-borne illness among people who attended an event on the quad in early April. That event was put on by a "university-sponsored student organization, he said.

"In working with the McLean County Health Department at the time, it was determined the source of the illness was not connected to any food prepared by an on-campus residential or retail dining facility," he said.

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Officials for the county health department declined to comment for this story, but provided more than 70 pages of documents about the outbreak. The reports indicate ISU students and others had test results that showed the presence of norovirus after eating at the campus event. Others had eaten at a Jimmy Johns store, according to the documents.

While most sandwiches ordered included meat, a few people sickened had ordered vegetarian sandwiches, documents show.

An ambulance was called to treat one student who became ill, the report said. Symptoms reported by those affected included severe weakness, severe abdominal pain, fever and other gastrointestinal symptoms.

The investigation included interviewing store employees as well as those who reported being sickened, according to the documents.

D'Amato said while several people surveyed who displayed symptoms of norovirus indicated they had eaten sandwiches from the shop, the evidence is inconclusive as to whether the store's food is to blame.

"Jimmy John's is committed to the highest levels of hygiene and food safety standards, and it will continue to keep an open dialogue with the local health officials to help ensure guest safety, he said.

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Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who as a candidate vowed to veto any partisan redistricting plan for the legislature, signed into law Friday new partisan-drawn districts for the General Assembly and state Supreme Court designed to maintain his partys control in Illinois.

Pritzker, who only a day earlier indicated that he was still reviewing the final lines of the legislation, said he was satisfied that they preserved racial and ethnic minority representation in line with the federal Voting Rights Act.

Illinois strength is in our diversity and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government, Pritzker said in a statement.

These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts, which help to ensure our diverse communities have electoral power and fair representation, he said.

The once-a-decade redrawing of the states legislative districts is one of the most political acts of the General Assembly, timed to coincide with population changes as a result of the federal census.

But this year, due to the pandemic and unsuccessful efforts by the Trump administration to block the counting of noncitizens, the actual census results are delayed until at least mid-August.

As a result, Democrats opted to use population estimates from the American Community Survey, a product of the federal Census Bureau that is less accurate than the granular census count. The use of estimated data to draw map lines is expected to be part of any legal challenge to the new boundaries. Lawsuits on redistricting are inevitable.

Democrats opted to use the less specific data because of a provision in the state constitution that requires a legislative redistricting map be signed into law by June 30, much earlier than the arrival of the hard census count. Failure to meet the end-of-June deadline would have set in motion a process that would have given Republicans a 50-50 chance to take control of the maps for the next decade.

Democrats, who have one-party control of state government in Illinois, have a 73-45 majority over Republicans in the House and a 41-18 advantage over the GOP in the state Senate.

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Republicans were sidelined in the mapmaking process, largely complaining about a lack of transparency and the use of estimated data, and urged Pritzker to uphold his campaign pledge to veto the Democratic product.

Pritzker had said he favored an independent-style commission to draw new map lines to try to remove partisanship from the process but said lawmakers had failed to move to submit the question to voters. Instead, he said he would only veto an unfair map.

Senate Republican leader Dan McConchie said, This incredible flip-flop is sad, but not surprising.

The new maps, aimed at further enshrining Republicans as a superminority in the General Assembly, set up at least seven one-on-one contests of House GOP incumbents pitted against each other based upon where their homes are located.

Today was a win for the people of this great state, said Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, a Democrat from Hillside. With Gov. Pritzkers signature, people of Illinois can be confident in a legislative map that is reflective of the diversity that we see in every corner of our state.

Pritzker also signed into law the first redrawing of Illinois Supreme Court boundaries since they were established in 1964, a move by Democrats to try to maintain their 4-3 majority on the states highest court.

Democrats contended the move to redraw the boundary lines for the Supreme Court districts was an attempt to reflect decadeslong changes in population which resulted in a largely collar county district having more than 3.1 million people while two Downstate districts each had a population of about 1.2 million.

But the population imbalance had lasted for years, and the Democrats move came after Democrat Thomas Kilbride of Rock Island last year became the first Supreme Court justice to ever lose a retention election to remain on the court.

Kilbrides district, like much of Downstate, has turned steadily Republican and Democrats faced the potential of seeing a GOP court majority next November without redrawing the boundaries.

Under the state constitution, three justices are assigned to Cook County and one each to districts outside the county. The three judges from Cook County largely have helped Democrats maintain their high court majority. The new boundaries also were drawn from estimates.

Pritzker also signed into law new boundaries for the Cook County Board of Review, which reviews assessment complaints from property owners.

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CHICAGO  The Illinois General Assembly passed a sweeping immigration bill that would close all immigrant detention centers in the state and severely restrict how local law enforcement can collaborate with federal immigration agents. The bill now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's desk for his signature.

Under the bill  known as the Illinois Way Forward Act  cities and counties in Illinois would be prohibited from entering into contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to "house or detain" immigrants in ICE custody at local jails. The state already restricts private immigration detention centers, so if Gov. Pritzker signs it into law, it would rid Illinois of all existing ICE detention centers by Jan 1, 2022.

A spokesperson for Pritzker's office did not respond to a request for comment Friday. And an ICE spokesperson said the agency "does not comment on specific proposed legislation."

The bill would limit how police across the state cooperate with the immigration enforcement agency. Local law enforcement agencies would be prohibited from asking anyone in their custody about their immigration status. Police would also be barred from transferring anyone they arrest into ICE custody and from collaborating with ICE on deportation raids and other enforcement actions without a federal judge's order.

Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which has advocated for the bill, said it would bring the entire state in line with Chicago's 'Welcoming City' ordinance.

"If this is good enough for the city of Chicago, it should cover the rest of the state," Tsao said.

State Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, who represents parts of Chicago's Northwest Side and western suburbs, introduced the bill in February. Since then, half of the other 40 senate Democrats have co-sponsored the bill, including Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood.

The bill passed the Senate 36 to 19, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting no. Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Lake Zurich, did not respond to a request for comment about his opposition to the bill. It passed the House late Monday, 68 to 47.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police opposed the bill. The organization's president, Chris Southland, said local law enforcement should aid federal authorities in apprehending immigrants with criminal records.

"Why would we not want to work with the federal authorities to make sure violent, illegal immigrants are not released (from local law enforcement custody) within our communities?" Southwood said.

An analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University showed that four in 10 immigrants detained in ICE custody last year had any criminal convictions on their records. An even smaller share  just under 11%  had been convicted of what ICE considers serious (or "Level 1") offenses like assault, sexual crimes, or murder.

If the bill becomes law, Illinois would join a small group of states  including California and Washington  that enforce statewide sanctuary laws and prohibit counties from contracting with ICE to operate detention centers. ICE could still directly operate its own detention centers, but the agency does not currently have any facilities in Illinois.

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Tsao said the bill "could be a model for other states that want to extend further protections to their immigrant communities."

Tsao said the Illinois Way Forward Act takes its name from the New Way Forward Act, which Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, a Chicago Democrat, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in January. Garcia's bill, which has stalled in committee, would phase out the use of private detention centers and county jails to hold immigrants in federal custody and restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE, among other provisions.

An ICE spokesperson said the agency currently has contracts with three Illinois counties  Kankakee, McHenry, and Pulaski  to detain immigrants at their county jails. ICE pays Kankakee County $90 a day per detainee and McHenry County $95 per detainee, according to officials in both counties. Officials in Pulaski County did not respond to requests for comment.

Tsao said closing detention centers would put an end to "profit motives for counties and private companies to just make money off of locking people away." It would also send a message to the federal government that holding immigrants in jails for alleged immigration infractions is wrong, he said.

But closing the detention centers doesn't mean that immigrants detained there would be released. ICE could transfer them to one of more than 100 other detention centers it operates or contracts nationwide, an ICE official said.

On May 18, the McHenry County board of commissioners voted down a proposal to cancel its ICE contract, following a year-long campaign from dozens of activist groups. Some board members argued at the meeting that the country shouldn't forgo that revenue since ICE will detain immigrants anyway. The contract netted the county more than $3 million per fiscal year from 2016 to 2020, according to a report from the county board.

But Amanda Hall, an educator and co-founder of the Coalition to Cancel the ICE Contract in McHenry County, said the ICE contract with the county jail "terrorizes" immigrants in the area because they're "scared of police officers and being pulled over" and then put in ICE custody.

Those fears materialized for Kristin Glauner, 39, a mother of five who lives in McHenry County. Her husband, Cesar Elizarraraz, has been in immigration detention at the county jail for nearly two years, after local police arrested him for allegedly selling a used car without a permit, she said. Elizarraraz did not have proper documentation to live in the U.S., and Glauner suspects the Crystal Lake Police Department handed him over to ICE. The police department did not respond to emails or calls for comment.

Under the Illinois Way Forward Act, the Crystal Lake police would've been barred from asking about Elizarraraz's immigration status, transferring him to ICE, or informing the agency that he was in their custody.

Glauner wants the McHenry County detention center to close, even if it means that her husband would get transferred out of the state.

"I don't think counties should be profiting off of people's misery," she said.

The nonprofit news outlet Injustice Watch provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News.

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SPRINGFIELD  When House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside, spoke with Lee Enterprises in late January  just weeks after succeeding House Speaker Michael Madigan to become the first Black person to hold that title  he identified four major issues that needed to be addressed this legislative session: COVID-19, the budget, ethics reform and redistricting.

Any one of the four is big for someone in a session, I got to deal with four of them, Welch said, reflecting on the tasks before him and his colleagues.

Four months later, when the Illinois General Assembly gaveled out of its spring legislative session on Tuesday, action had been taken on all items listed  and then some.

They also completed the once-a-decade state legislative redistricting process, sending Gov. JB Pritzker a map that will be modeled nationwide, Democrats claim, for reflecting the diversity of the state.

And with the cloud scandal looming over the General Assembly with the indictment of several Madigan allies in a bribery scheme involving utility giant Commonwealth Edison, ethics reform legislation will hit Pritzkers desk as well.

I think we had a very successful session, Welch said. I think this has been probably one of the most successful sessions around here for the longest time.

Durkin: 'They did just the opposite'

Democrats can tally up a lot of wins this legislative cycle. But it was not all smooth-sailing as fissures between the House and Senate bubbled to the surface, resulting in some issues remaining unresolved.

And many question whether Welch lived up to his promise of shepherding in a new day in Illinois after decades of iron-fisted rule from Madigan.

Welch followed through on arguably his biggest promise: term limits for legislative leaders, a major priority after Madigan's 36-year reign.

Included in the new House rules approved in February are a 10-year limit on serving as House speaker or minority leader. Legislation codifying legislative term limits into law passed the House in April, but hasn't been considered in the Senate, which also has 10-year leadership term limits in its rules.

But reflecting on the legislative session Tuesday morning, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said he expected more from Welch. But instead, it was more meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

This was no more clear than in the legislative redistricting process. Democrats, holding supermajorities in both chambers, completely controlled the process and drew a map that appears to maximize their opportunities while putting Republicans at a structural disadvantage for another 10 years.

"Pardon my French, the Republicans were screwed on the map," Durkin said. "Illinois citizens were led down a road of good government, transparency, and 'we're going to get out of the business of drawing maps, were going to be fair.' They did just the opposite."

Durkin said the way the map was handled was right out of the 65th and Pulaski playbook, referring to Madigans district office on the Southwest Side of Chicago.

Sadly though, we saw gerrymandered maps passed by the majority party, drawn behind closed doors with absolutely no transparency and with flawed data, Durkin said. When we are in the midst of the worst scandal in Illinois history, don't you think our citizens would want more from us? They desperately want honesty in government, and they did not get it.

Pritzker told reporters Tuesday he hasn't had a chance to review the proposed district lines.

The ethics reform question

Another pillar of Welch's agenda was ethics reform, an imperative given the ongoing scandal that has ensnarled people in Madigan's orbit and ultimately cost the longest-serving House speaker in American history his gavel.

The votes on ethics reform were bipartisan, but many Republicans criticized the package as inadequate. Many Democrats acknowledged it was just a first step.

The legislation mandates a greater level of financial disclosure from lawmakers and prevents them from lobbying other units of government if the firm also lobbies the General Assembly.

It also seeks to address the "revolving door," banning lawmakers who leave mid-term from lobbying for six months or until their unexpired term is complete, whichever is first. Republicans fought for a one-year ban, but ended up splitting the baby.

The legislation is considerably weaker than even the provisions the city of Chicago, which is exempted, has on the books.

If we are going to show the public that they can have a renewed sense of trust in state government weve got to do something a whole heck of a lot better than this watered-down, diluted and I think in some instances really deceptive ethics reform, said state Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville.

Still, Republican complaints are to be expected. Their superminority status in the legislature often renders them spectators sidelined from participating in the governing process by the majority party.

Democrats made no bones about pushing their priorities.

Beyond the "big four" Welch identified, the party passed an elections bill that moves the state's 2022 primary from March to June, thus allowing them to delay the Congressional redistricting process until U.S. Census data is available later this year.

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Other major wins include:

Some of those got Republican votes, but it was by-and-large a wish list of Democratic priorities. Still, the majority party did not get everything it wanted.

Disagreements between the House and Senate prevented legislation reforming the state's Firearm Owner Identification card renewal system from moving forward.

The House barely passed a version that would have mandated applicants and those renewing to provide fingerprints. The Senate passed a version that made fingerprinting optional. Though some were trying to whip votes in the House for the Senate proposal, it did not come to fruition.

Another flop was gaming legislation, which would have allowed in-person betting on Illinois college teams and permitted a sportsbook at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

It easily passed the House but was not taken up in the Senate due to lack of coordination between the point persons for gaming in each chamber.

Internal disagreements manifested nowhere more than over clean energy legislation. Pritzker and utility Exelon came to an agreement late Monday on subsidies for three of the company's nuclear power plants, considered the lynchpin of a broader clean energy package.

Pritzker and Welch were ready to move forward that evening, but Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, put on the brakes, saying he had to touch base with his members, some of whom registered concerns over 2035 retirement deadlines for certain coal-fired plants, before signing off.

By mid-day Tuesday, Harmon was on board with Pritzker's position and it appears energy legislation could be acted on in the coming weeks, with lawmakers returning for a special session.

Lack of experience a new factor

Many eyes have been on Pritzker, Harmon and Welch  who assumed their roles in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Governors come and go with regularity, but the lack of experience among state legislative leaders is a new phenomenon.

Harmon, asked about there being daylight between him and Welch, said they "get along well personally and professionally," and that any differences were nothing abnormal.

"We're both new to the job and we both took the job in the middle of a pandemic," Harmon said. "There are always miscues between the House and the Senate  it's just part of the structure."

Welch, at an earlier press conference, agreed, adding that diversity, whether within the House Democratic Caucus or between the House and Senate caucuses, was a strength.

"We're not going to always agree. Sometimes we disagree, and that's because of our great diversity," Welch said. "And we have to be proud of that."

Despite some misfires, Democrats have a lot to be happy about this session. They landed the plane on most of the things they had to do, most notably the budget and redistricting.

Pritzker prescribed a budget of pain and sacrifice in February, but it became less so due to better-than-expected revenues coming into state coffers along with billions in ARPA funds.

And despite incredibly bad optics, Democrats had no problems pushing through their remap. Republicans tried to make an issue of it seemingly every day this legislative session. They were quite convincing.

But, it reminded me of an anecdote from President Barack Obama's 2016 speech before the Illinois General Assembly.

Obama recalled speaking on a bill as a member of the Illinois Senate. He thought he made some pretty good points. Then-Illinois Senate President Pate Phillip walked over.

Kid, that was a pretty good speech," Obama recalls Phillip saying. "In fact, I think you changed a lot of minds. But you didnt change any votes.

In the case of the remap, Democrats had the votes and Republicans didn't, even if they were right on the issue.

And the lack of a sustained, coordinated effort by good government groups and community organizations to put pressure on Democratic lawmakers made the passage of a partisan map a mere formality.

What about the energy bill?

The one major item still hanging out there is an omnibus clean energy bill, but that does not look too far behind with stakeholders agreeing in principle on a framework.

Despite their relative inexperience, Welch and Harmon mostly held their extremely diverse caucuses together when it mattered most.

In some ways, they lived up to their promise of a new day in Illinois politics. In others, it looked like more of the same.

Welch said there will be time for him to reflect on his first session as speaker this summer. After taking up energy this month, lawmakers are not expected back in Springfield until veto session this fall.

"When you engage in something as big as session, there's an end date like today, (and) what you should do when it's all over is take some time to rewind, debrief, (ask) what can you do better, what did you do well (and) what do you want to continue to do," Welch said. "That's just a good business practice."

"At some point we're going to look back on this session ... and see if there are any things we can do better," he said. "I'm sure we're gonna find some things that we can."

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The state of Illinois announced Friday that it will officially enter Phase 5 of its reopening plan next week on schedule, marking the end of 15 months of capacity restrictions and mandates brought on to help defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. JB Pritzker said in a press release that with hospitalizations and caseloads declining, not to mention having more than half of the population vaccinated, the time was right to commence the move to full reopening on June 11.

"After a tremendously challenging year, Illinois has now reached a defining moment in our efforts to defeat COVID-19," Pritzker said. "Thanks to the hard work of residents across the state, Illinois will soon resume life as we knew it before  returning to events, gatherings, and a fully reopened economy, with some of the safety guidelines we've adopted still in place."

The new guidance means that businesses, sporting events, conventions, theme parks and other events can return to full capacity and attendance, with vaccinated people being allowed to go without their masks, a sign of a return to normalcy that so many across the state have been waiting for.

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Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said that thanks to the vaccine, life is returning to normal across the state and Phase 5 was achievable.

"The vaccine is giving us our freedoms back and allowing us to move to Phase 5," Ezike said. "This pandemic has robbed us of many of our freedoms such as going to ball games and concerts, celebrating graduations, weddings, and birthdays, going to dinner with friends, and even sharing a hug with loved ones we don't live with. Let's keep the vaccination momentum going so we can put this pandemic in the rearview mirror and not look back."

The state has provided 11,427,833 vaccinations, with 5,347,362 people having been fully vaccinated, representing 41.97% of the population. More than 67% of all adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 51% of them having been fully vaccinated.

Those numbers have helped to facilitate the move to Phase 5, while also providing for the return of big events like conventions, not to mention a return to regular summer travel. Sylvia Garcia, acting director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said that the reopening, along with the new state budget that provides for funding to help with business grants and tourism, will be a big step toward full recovery for the state.

"The state's move to Phase 5 next week marks a significant milestone in our efforts to bring businesses and workers back safely and will play a key role in getting the economy back on track," Garcia said. "New investments in the Governor's budget will ensure that the state continues to play a vital role in aiding in the emergency response, while laying the groundwork for a sustained economic recovery."

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CHICAGO  Recently, Carlos Millan had a conversation with a man who was worried about the COVID-19 vaccine.

The man had read somewhere that it could have an impact on his sperm, so he was reluctant to be vaccinated. After their conversation, recalled Millan, who completed the city health departments Vaccine Ambassador Course training, he feels a lot better.

Outreach to communities that are hesitant to get the vaccine, or have less access to it, will be a major focus this summer and fall as the city moves forward through this pandemic.

The University of Illinois at Chicago was recently selected by the National Institutes of Health as the main site for a multicenter collaboration to research and create outreach to communities disproportionality affected by COVID-19. The group aims to improve access to testing, treatment and clinical trial opportunities. The university will receive a $1.4 million NIH grant to increase vaccine confidence.

Black and Latino communities have been heavily affected by the pandemic. Meanwhile, state data shows that Black and Hispanic people in Illinois have been vaccinated at half the rate of white residents.

The UICs Dr. Molly Martin, associate professor of pediatrics at the College of Medicine and principal investigator on the NIH grant, said the researchers hope to use their understanding of access to the vaccine and information sharing through communities to go beyond COVID-19. For example, Black women face major health disparities, and what researchers find out about connecting with communities of color could help approach those issues as well.

Were really excited to be joining this national group, she said.

NIH is funding groups in multiple states through the Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19 Disparities.

Martins team hopes to encourage vaccine confidence in Black and Latino neighborhoods. It includes researchers from Loyola University, Northwestern University, Rush University Medical Center and the University of Chicago, as well as groups like Sinai Urban Health Institute and Equal Hope, a nonprofit working to eliminate health disparities.

Already, Martin said, theres been an enormous amount of partnership among health care systems in Chicago.

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They hope to begin by evaluating different programs and efforts around vaccines to learn what works and where gaps might exist.

Looking ahead to the fall, when schools will reopen, getting information to families and vaccines for children will be important, she said. She is also monitoring whether or when people might need boosters, another moment when information will be key. People might question whether the vaccine was effective if they need a booster, even as health experts have said this is a likely possibility.

How do you help people to understand and trust the science enough to protect themselves? Martin said.

Lack of vaccination does not only reflect hesitancy, she said.

There are fears and there are concerns about vaccination but also sheer access issues, Martin said. The solution is not simple.  It really has to come from that level of understanding.

Thats why community groups and connecting with unvaccinated people are so important.

In May, to boost confidence in the vaccine, the city created the Vaccine Ambassador Course, which provides free online training to help people become educated about the vaccine and to share that with their communities. The training is offered in English and Spanish through the Malcolm X Colleges Continuing Education Department. Participants learn about the background of COVID-19, the history of mistrust and causes of vaccine hesitancy.

When talking to people, Millan shares that he has been vaccinated and I dont have another head growing out of me, he said. It helps when I told them my mother was also reluctant. She took her time to get vaccinated. You dont pressure people into now, now, now.

The man who was worried about the vaccine affecting his sperm, for example, seemed to hear what Millan said when Millan was patient and curious, he said.

He added, I think its better if it comes from someone that looks like him, or someone that lives in the community, than a stranger with a medical degree, even though we trust medical doctors.

Martin hopes what they learn through the grant will translate to other ways some communities are hit harder by health issues than others.

Its really thinking creatively, out of the box and not pushing what works for one mindset onto everyone, Martin said. Our goal is to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to get fully vaccinated, and that they do.

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Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 96F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 73F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
A Cross-River Crime Task Force led by Madison County law enforcement officials expects to begin its first patrols later this month.

The task force, which was formed with the hopes of curbing crime committed in the metro-east by St. Louis perpetrators, adopted a charter Thursday afternoon, Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine announced at an afternoon press conference.

"There is going to be an intentional effort to reduce crime flow into and through Madison County," Haine said. "That means reducing the flow of crime across the river. We can see it everyday in the streets and we can see it through the crimes we're prosecuting in my office.

"There is a cross-river crime problem, that's just the reality."

The task force was launched in April in response what Haine described as a "crime wave" that's taking place in St. Louis and bleeding over into Madison County. Haine listed five different cases where St. Louis or Missouri residents committed crimes in Madison County.

"It's a tragedy that St. Louis  that is a wonderful, wonderful city  is undergoing a historic crime wave. And Madison County is doing whatever it can to make sure criminals do not cause problems in Madison County," Haine said.

Haine said in December, two St. Louis residents committed an armed robbery at a Glen Carbon Walmart. The next month SIUE student Moneer Damra was killed in a shooting involving two St. Louis residents near Interstate 270. And in February a St. Louis man was charged with the shooting of an Alton resident.

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Patrols are expected to begin within the month, using license plate readers to identify individuals with outstanding warrants or vehicles that are believed to have been involved in criminal activity. A commander to lead the task force also is expected to be selected in the coming week.

The patrols will be voluntary and will take place monthly with the commander choosing a time and place for patrols, Haine said.

"We're going to use the tools that have been proven effective in law enforcement to make sure we can track individuals that we know law enforcement has a reason to know their whereabouts, arrest criminals and ensure Madison County is a safe place for everybody," he said.

Haine stressed the technology used by the task force are not "red light cameras" and won't be used to issue traffic citations. He added that the task force wouldn't be prioritizing people with Missouri license plates and stressed that Missouri residents won't be "profiled."

He also said the task force is focused on protecting the "privacy and fairness" of all residents and said racial profiling and bias has no place in the task force's efforts.

"We have no tolerance for facial profiling or any degree of racial bias in this effort. We believe enforcing the law fairly and strongly makes everyone safer," Haine said. "It makes every neighborhood and community safer."

Collaborating with St. Louis and Missouri-based law enforcement may come in time, Haine added, but no connections have been made as of yet.

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A point of view that defines America from the air is the goal of a long-term project that employs the use of drones and video at Lee newspapers across the country.

As part of this effort, The Pantagraph is launching the first of a three-part project called Uniquely Illinois, with publication of a three-minute video documentary. Lincolns Ride to Destiny is at at pantagraph.com.

Jeff Carney, Lee Enterprises senior manager for video and audio, said the acquisition of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, at many of the companys 75 daily newspapers, including The Pantagraph, allows photographers to define what makes each state unique across the country. Lee newspapers are in 26 states.

Lincolns Ride to Destiny examines the Illinois countryside, the people and the communities where Abraham Lincoln practiced law and ultimately led to his becoming, who some say today, maybe Americas greatest president.

The three-minute-long Pantagraph video looks at Lincolns 8th Circuit ride that spanned the years from 1837 to 1858 across 14 counties in Central Illinois.

The video relies on the work of Lincoln historian Guy Fraker, a Bloomington attorney who has spent the last several years researching Lincolns legal practice. Fraker has published two books, Lincolns Ladder to the Presidency: The Eighth Judicial Circuit and Looking for Lincoln in Illinois: A Guide to Lincolns Eighth Judicial Circuit.

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In the video, Fraker puts Lincolns practice into perspective, showing how the 500-mile-long circuit rides allowed him to make friends with people like Bloomingtons Judge David Davis, who was ultimately responsible for helping Lincoln become president.

Fraker said Lincolns circuit ride by horseback gave him the time to think about the great problems facing America in the mid-1800s.

The great thinkers in our country, some of the great presidents, Jefferson and Madison, were slave owners, Fraker said.

They had the time to think because they had these guys working in the fields. Lincoln had no such backup to do his work.

Lincoln, one of the great thinkers in the history of our country, had the time to think and mull these ideas over while riding those endless miles on the circuit, he said.

Besides this springs Lincoln video, two other Illinois drone video projects are planned. Illinois, Fun on the Water will be published this summer and Illinois, Americas Breadbasket," which will be published later this fall.

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100 years ago

June 5, 1921: A Northwestern University professor unveiled the latest crime-fighting gadget. Its a poison gas mounted in tubes behind the door of a safe. The tubes would break if the door is violently opened. The gas produces tears, coughing and sneezing for nearby safe blowers.

75 years ago

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June 5, 1946: A devastating fire claimed 58 lives at Chicagos La Salle Hotel. Many of the deaths were attributed to panic in the early morning hours. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Bean of 1408 E. Grove St. were guests at the La Salle and took refuge on the balcony of their room.

50 years ago

June 5, 1971: Steve Vogel will join the news staff at WJBC, where he will host the popular Problems and Solutions call-in show. He once worked at this paper, and only this week he finished his masters degree at Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism.

25 years ago

June 5, 1996: Clinton Mayor Carl Troxel abruptly resigned the other night after the city council would not make John Warner Hospital exclusive provider of certain medical services. Troxel mentioned that and council back-biting as his reasons for leaving. Clinton is in shock.

Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com.
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Today, the Group of Seven rich nations struck a landmark deal to close cross-border tax loopholes used by some of the worlds biggest companies including big tech such as Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook. The next phase could advance the tax rate at the next G20 meeting set for October 30-31.

Rishi Sunak, UK Finance Minister and Meeting Host

"After years of discussion, G7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age."

Asked for an estimate of how much the agreement could raise for Britain, Sunak replied: "This is the first step, this is agreement reached at the G7, we still have to go to the G20 and reach agreement with a broader group of countries so its hard to say where the final deal will land."

Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary

"The G7 Finance Ministers have made a significant, unprecedented commitment today that provides tremendous momentum towards achieving a robust global minimum tax at a rate of at least 15%.

That global minimum tax would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world.

The global minimum tax would also help the global economy thrive, by leveling the playing field for businesses and encouraging countries to compete on positive bases, such as educating and training our work forces and investing in research and development and infrastructure."

Olaf Scholz, Germany's Finance Minister

"The seven most important industrial nations have today backed the concept of minimum taxation for companies. That is very good news for tax justice and solidarity and bad news for tax havens around the world.

Companies will no longer be in a position to dodge their tax obligations by booking their profits in lowest-tax countries. Stable tax revenues are important for making sure states can carry out their duties. This will be even more urgent after the coronavirus pandemic."

Bruno Le Maire, France's Finance Minister

This is a starting point and in the coming months we will fight to ensure that this minimum corporate tax rate is as high as possible.

Chrystia Freeland, Canadian Finance Minister

Multinational corporations need to pay their fair share of taxes and the G7 has just outlined a path to make this possible. This is good news for Canadians and Canadian businesses, and will ensure a fair and level playing field for them in the global economy.

Amazon Spokesperson

"We believe an OECD-led process that creates a multilateral solution will help bring stability to the international tax system. The agreement by the G7 marks a welcome step forward in the effort to achieve this goal.

We hope to see discussions continue to advance with the broader G20 and Inclusive Framework alliance."

Google Spokesperson

"We strongly support the work being done to update international tax rules. We hope countries continue to work together to ensure a balanced and durable agreement will be finalized soon."

There was no official word from Apple on this today. For more global reactions, see the full Financial Post report.
A special police swoop has led to the arrest of 339 suspected criminals including 12 women from various parts of the Accra metropolis.



The exercise, which was conducted in 13 out of the 14 police divisional commands under the Accra Regional Police Command, led to the impounding of 102 unregistered motorbikes. Those arrested were within the age range of 13 and 62 years.



Apart from the motorbikes, items retrieved from them included substances suspected to be Indian hemp in various quantities, packets of tramadol, assorted mobile phones, laptops, machetes and kitchen knives.



Breakdown



Giving a breakdown, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mrs Effia Tenge, said in the Amasaman Divisional Police Command, five suspects were arrested; 11 at Nima, 22 at Madina and 25 suspected criminals each at Adentan and Baatsona.



In the Cantonments Divisional Police Command, 28 suspected criminals were arrested during the swoop while in Accra Central and Dansoman 21 and 28 suspects were picked up respectively, with Odorkor registering 30.



The Tesano Divisional Police Command arrested 32; while Kpeshi arrested 30 suspects, with the Kaneshie Divisional Police Command arresting 34.



The Weija Divisional Police Command is yet to undertake its swoop.



Mrs Tenge said out of the 30 suspects arrested by the Odorkor Divisional Police Command, there were 29 foreign nationals.



At Pokuase, an area under the Amasaman Divisional Police Command, she said when the police team arrived at the suspected criminal den the place was deserted.



" So the makeshift structures used by the criminals were demolished and burnt," she said.



Rationale



Mrs Tenge said the exercise, which was ongoing, was aimed at clamping down on street robberies and the use of unregistered motorbikes for criminal activities.



"Our records show that from the beginning of this year, there have been increasing cases of street robberies and the use of motorbikes for robberies. So we started this special exercise by targeting those who use unregistered motorbikes for suspected criminal activities and we impounded hundreds of motorbikes. We have since put those arrested before the courts," she said.



She said the modus operandi of the suspected street robbers was to attack their victims during rush hours when the victims were either going home after work or on their way to work.



"They attack innocent citizens and snatch their handbags, mobile phones and other personal items. We want to clamp down on their activities, that is why we have increased police patrols and police visibility teams and we are also using intelligence lead swoops," she said.



Those arrested, she said, were being screened by the various divisional police commands and profiled by analysing their data against existing criminal data to find out if they had any criminal records.

On the 29 foreigners arrested during the swoop, she said, the police were collaborating with Ghana Immigration Service to verify their resident permits and immigration status.













Source: graphiconline.com









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Mozambique has received the third batch of Covid-19 vaccines, a donation from China.



Some 60,000 doses have been donated to the Mozambican armed forces from their Chinese counterparts.



Defence Minister Jaime Neto said the vaccines will benefit the military that is fighting insecurity in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.



Health Minister Armindo Tiago and the Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Wang Hejum witnessed the vaccine delivery ceremony.



This is the second time that China has donated Covid-19 vaccines to Mozambique.



In February, China donated 200,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines for use by health workers and people with chronic diseases.



Mozambique received 384,000 Astra-Zeneca vaccine doses through the Covax initiative in March, and another 100,000 Covishield doses as a donation from India.



Another batch of 2.4 million doses was expected to reach the country by the end of last month but there have been delays.

Source: BBC









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Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has been criticized for refusing to confirm the appointment of six judges.



The six are among 41 judges who had been recommended for appointment by the country's Judicial Service Commission (JSC) two years ago. One of the judges has since died.



Mr Kenyatta had rejected the JSC recommendations despite two court orders requiring him to do so.



On Thursday, the president confirmed the appointment of 34 judges and left out the six - including two who had been part of the five-judge bench that recently overturned the president's attempt to amend the constitution.



Kenyan legal experts say the president cant change the list of nominees or reject the recommendations and has no choice but to confirm all the JSC's appointments.



Mr Kenyatta recently accused the judiciary of "testing constitutional limits" after the high court blocked the government's plan to change the constitution.

Source: BBC









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The McCarthy Hill Residents Association has protested against the siting of a cement factory in their area.



They said they would not sit aloof and allow the siting of a Cement factory that would be too hazardous to their health and well-being at McCarthy Hill, Tetegu, Mallam, Gbawe and Weija.



Mr Eddie Quaynor, the President of the McCarthy Hill Residents Association said this during a news conference to protest against the siting of the cement factory named Empire Cement'-next to Pambros salt at South McCarthy Hill along the main road leading to Weija.



He said the dust from the cement whether it was crushed on-site or brought in to be bagged on site would affect the lungs of residents, adding, Many residents want to enjoy a peaceful and serene environment, free of constant cement dust particles in the air.



The wind direction blows over the cement factory area in the direction of the catchment areas mentioned.



Mr Quaynor said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had confirmed in its' correspondence to Empire Cement that edible salt and a cement factory do not mix and that the two land-uses were mutually exclusive and must be completely separated.



He said the Pambros salt was consumed in Ghana and served as a source of foreign exchange earner for Ghana as the salt was exported to many African countries and siting the cement next to Pambros salt was like destroying one precious industry conducive to the environment for another that is detrimental to human settlement.



Mr Quaynor said the Ownership of Empire Cement had Chinese ownership with a Ghanaian partner, Nana Obokomatta IX and that they knew what some Chinese were doing to the water bodies as a result of their galamsey operations.



He said many were not in the least concerned about the hazard the factory would cause to residents of McCarthy Hill and its environs.



He said the Factory owners had disregarded several warnings from the EPA to cease operations and instead were working day and night to speed up the construction of the factory and that they had installed three aluminum silos so far and were excavating and filling up the low-lying areas.



He said McCarthy Hill residents supported the one district, one factory concept and would welcome the creation of jobs in Ghana, and good initiatives for building factories according to well-thought-out land-use planning and law.



He added that Proper land-use planning would ensure that the health and safety of the residents were protected.



Mr Quaynor however, said the air pollution from the cement factory would blow and contaminate the regional hospital at the lower McCarthy Hill, and across Upper McCarthy Hill, Mallam, and the immediate environs.



He said their major concern was that the factory was being built even though there was no preliminary approval from (EPA) the statutory body in charge of assessing, granting approval, and monitoring such factories that impact the environment negatively.



Mr Quaynor said Cement factories by their nature were classified under heavy industry as they generated heavy-duty air pollution that required sitting in heavy industrial area, away from heavily populated or densely residential areas.



He said the production process of packaging cement disclosed in a document from Empire Cement involved Four Big Warehouses with each Warehouse carrying separate projects namely, Clinker, Gypsum, Pozzalana, and Cement Grinding Aid.

The President said the above production processes pointed to heavy industry which must be in a heavy industrial zone, away from the densely populated residential areas mentioned.



He said the Empire Cement owners had avoided any engagement with the residents about the health hazards on residents, especially children and the elderly and they were shocked to see the extent of construction that had occurred without their knowledge.



Mr Quaynor said the Cement particles which resulted from bagging 100 metric tons of cement per month, was a major environmental concern to the health of residents at McCarthy Hill and its environs.



He said they want the factory project to be terminated as soon as possible to curtail the monstrosity and related health dangers the factory posed to the community.

Source: GNA









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China donates 50,000 face masks to help Zambia's university fight COVID-19

Xinhua) 09:49, June 05, 2021

The University of Zambia Vice-Chancellor Luke Mumba (L) receives the donation from the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie during a handover ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia, on June 4, 2021. China on Friday handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

LUSAKA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19.

The face masks comprise 30,000 from Jilin Province and 20,000 from the Chinese Embassy in Zambia.

Li Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, who handed over the face masks during a ceremony, said with the third wave reported in the country, the donation was China's commitment to supporting the university to combat the pandemic.

The Chinese envoy said since the emergence of the pandemic the two countries have stood together, with Zambia giving support when the pandemic hit the Asian nation and China responding through the provision of medical supplies when Zambia was hit by the pandemic.

He added that Chinese enterprises in the African country have made donations to help the country deal with the pandemic.

Luke Mumba, the university's Vice-Chancellor, commended China for the donation, saying it will go a long way in helping protect the university community and control the spread of the pandemic among students and staff members.

The donation, he said, was timely as it comes at a time when the country has been hit with the third wave of the pandemic which has resulted in a surge in cases.

"It is a continued demonstration of our very warm strong ties with the people of China," he said.

Zambia's cumulative cases currently stood at 98,376.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, (NDC) Samuel Ofosu Ampofo has called on Ghanaians to rise up and speak against the ills in society.



At a ceremony to commemorate the June 4th uprising at the Dr. Bannerman Park at Korle Gonno, in Accra, he insisted the current government has failed in its mandate reemphasising the similarities in the current happenings to what led to the uprising in 1979.



For the first time, the NDC celebrated the day without the founder Jerry John Rawlings following his demise last year.



Samuel Ofosu Ampofo described his absence as it invokes emotions. He said the last time it was celebrated with the founder, he admonished the party to keep the principles that necessitated to the June 4th uprising emphasising on the need to stand for probity and accountability and social justice.



He said there is every indication to rise up to ask the government to fix the country because the difficulty citizens are going through cannot be different from what led to the uprising in 1979.



For her part, Member of Parliament for Korley Klottey , Dr. Zenator Agyemang Rawlings, re-echoed the similarities of the difficulty the country is going through to the days of the revolution.



The MP said the Akufo-Addo administration has failed to set its priorities right leading to the economic difficulties in the country.



She described the absence of the founder, Jerry John Rawlings, on the day as a reminder that no one lives forever but principles do.



She added, the day should be a reminder of of what the day stood for stressing the June 4th uprising and similar events elsewhere did not happen in a vacuum but circumstances led to the development.



She said the principles in developing a country are set out already, so the government has no excuse to fail the people.



The June 4th Revolution[1] or June 4th Uprising was an uprising in Ghana in 1979 that arose out of a combination of corruption, bad governance, frustration among the general public, and lack of discipline and frustrations within the Ghanaian army.







Source: 3news.com









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Vehicles pass the Pathside Building, in Jersey City, NJ, on Friday, June 4, 2021. State local and museum officials on Friday announced a partnership between Paris' Pompidou Center and New Jersey's Jersey City to transform a gutted industrial building into a satellite museum in the heart of a transportation hub for thousands of commuters that is not far from where the Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor. (AP Photo/P. Solomon Banda)
Conservative MP Rachael Harder rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Friday, June 4, 2021. An attempt by the Trudeau government to speed up controversial legislation to regulate online streaming services brought the House of Commons to a virtual standstill Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Union Coffee Co. was recently named the restaurant of the month by Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat. Carlat, third from left, congratulates barista Aaron Hough, left, roaster Jon Runion, and owners Kristin and Brian Frey.
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Paducah Police Investigate Two Overnight Shootings

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - Police are investigating two overnight shooting incidents in Paducah.Friday night, officers with the Paducah Police Department were called to an apartment building on Roell Circle. Upon arrival, officers learned that 21-year-old Tyus D. White and 24-year-old Kiante D. Vaughn had been shot.Both men were taken to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries. White was later transferred to an out-of-state hospital.Authorities say they have no information about the shooter other than he was wearing a ski mask.Early Saturday morning, an officer was on patrol near the Cardinal Point Apartments on Joe Clifton Drive when he reportedly heard four gunshots.While investigating, officers located a vehicle and three apartments in the complex damaged by bullets. No one was injured in the incident.Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call the Paducah Police Department at 270-444-8550. Information can be provided anonymously through West Kentucky Crime Stoppers by texting WYK and your tip to 847411 or by downloading the WKY Crime Stoppers app.
"Edi0908" Wins the 888poker XL Spring #17 - $30,000 DeepStack ($5,880)

June 05, 2021 Jason Glatzer

Friday, June 4 was DeepStack day in the $1 million guaranteed XL Spring Series at 888poker with players in all three events starting with 30,000 in chips instead of the usual 20,000 in chips featured in most of the other events.

Germany's "Edi0908" was the biggest winner of the day after shipping the XL Spring #17 - $30,000 DeepStack for $5,880, while "averygrande" and "Farzi1279" also won XL Spring Series titles on Friday.

Check out the results from the sixth day of the XL Spring Series at 888poker.

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XL Spring #17 - $30,000 DeepStack

Buy-in Date Entries Prize pool $55 June 4 643 $32,150

The XL Spring #17 - $30,000 DeepStack attracted 643 entries for a $32,150 prize pool to smash the $30,000 guarantee.

After nearly nine hours of play, Germany's "Edi0908" bested "dothehessel" (second - $4,263) in heads-up play to win the title which came with a huge $5,880 top prize.

Canada's "8vincent8" was also on the podium after finishing in third place for $3,090 while "Lisa.1989" (fourth - $2,257), "Constagram" (fifth - $1,662), and "Mabd90" (sixth - $1,222) also managed to add four-figures to their 888poker account in this event.

XL Spring #17 - $30,000 DeepStack Final Table Results

Place Player Prize 1 Edi0908 $5,880 2 dothehessel $4,263 3 8vincent8 $3,090 4 Lisa.1989 $2,257 5 Constagram $1,662 6 Mabd90 $1,222 7 TestU888 $903 8 kfkain $672 9 pavkom $502

XL Spring #18 - $15,000 Mini DeepStack

Buy-in Date Entries Prize pool $16.50 June 4 1,053 $15,795

The XL Spring #18 - $15,000 Mini DeepStack also surpassed its guarantee of $15,000 after 1,053 entries generated a $15,795 prize pool.

It was a grand win for Canada's "averygrande" after this player bested Brazil's "TMAZOLLI" (second - $1,783) to claim the $2,446 top prize.

Brazil's "luish64" was the only other player to win a four-figure score in what was a nearly nine-hour event after finishing in third place for $1,311.

XL Spring #18 - $15,000 Mini DeepStack Final Table Results

Place Player Prize 1 averygrande $2,446 2 TMAZOLLI $1,783 3 luish64 $1,311 4 NL_Basmach $971 5 flyingbeton $719 6 griura $537 7 boxyfox $404 8 J8888J $306 9 thejackal302 $234

XL Spring #19 - $10,000 Late DeepStack

Buy-in Date Entries Prize pool $33 June 4 464 $13,920

The XL Spring #19 - $10,000 Late DeepStack was another success story for 888poker with 464 entries creating a $13,920 prize pool to smash the $10,000 guarantee.

This event was quicker than the previous two lasting less than 7 1/2 hours from start to finish. The event ended after "Farzi1279" defeated "ravenbyrne" (second - $1,846) to win the top prize of $2,546.

Matthew "ProPriced" Price joined this duo on the podium and was the only other player to win four-figures in this event after taking home the third-place prize of $1,338.

XL Spring #19 - $10,000 Late DeepStack Final Table Results

Place Player Prize 1 Farzi1279 $2,546 2 ravenbyrne $1,846 3 Matthew "ProPriced" Price $1,338 4 Qparadabensa $977 5 sssiiixxx $720 6 Holly_Grail $529 7 mp5610 $391 8 Mastermindz9 $291 9 AMG_people $217

2021 888poker XL Spring Schedule

Date Time (GMT) Event Buy-in Guarantee May 30 6 p.m. XL Spring #1 - $50,000 Opening Event $55 $50,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #2 - $25,000 Mini Opening $16.50 $25,000 6:30 p.m. XL Spring #3 - $10,000 Micro Opening $5.50 $10,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #4 - $15,000 Late Opening $33 $15,000 May 31 6 p.m. XL Spring #5 - $20,000 R&A Event $33 $20,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #6 - $8,000 Mini R&A $5.50 $8,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #7 - $8,000 Late R&A $11 $8,000 June 1 6 p.m. XL Spring #8 - $50,000 High Roller $320 $50,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #9 - $25,000 Mini High Roller $55 $25,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #10 - $20,000 Late High Roller $109 $20,000 June 2 6 p.m. XL Spring #11 - $30,000 PKO $109 $30,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #12 - $15,000 Mini PKO $16.50 $15,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #13 - $10,000 Late PKO $33 $10,000 June 3 6 p.m. XL Spring #14 - $40,000 PKO 8-Max $160 $40,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #15 - $15,000 Mini PKO 8-Max $22 $15,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #16 - $15,000 Late PKO 8-Max $55 $15,000 June 4 5 p.m. XL Spring #17 - $30,000 DeepStack $55 $30,000 5 p.m. XL Spring #18 - $15,000 Mini DeepStack $16.50 $15,000 7 p.m. XL Spring #19 - $10,000 Late DeepStack $33 $10,000 June 5 6 p.m. XL Spring #20 - $30,000 6-Max $109 $30,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #21 - $15,000 Mini 6-Max $16.50 $15,000 8 p.m. XL Spring #22 - $15,000 Late 6-Max $55 $15,000 June 6 5 p.m. XL Spring #23 - $500,000 Main Event $250 $500,000 5:30 p.m. XL Spring #24 - $50,000 Mini Main Event $33 $50,000 6 p.m. XL Spring #25 - $15,000 Micro Main Event $5.50 $15,000

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Pugh Jury Trial Set for Monday

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - A man charged with the rape and assault of an elderly woman appeared in court Friday.Thirty-nine-year-old Gary Pugh appeared for a pretrial conference. The McCracken Circuit Court Clerk said a jury trial was scheduled for June 7.Pugh was arrested on July 20 after an 80-year-old woman told police he arrived at her home and asked to pray with her. Authorities say he then forced the woman into a bathroom where he physically and sexually assaulted her.He faces charges of rape first-degree, sexual abuse first-degree, assault second-degree, and unlawful imprisonment first-degree.
Alexandra Koch has joined the Aiken Standard newsroom as a crime and courts reporter.

Koch lived outside of Chicago for most of her life and moved to Wilmington, N.C., during her high school years. Koch interned at the Wilmington Star News while still in high school and served as the yearbook editor-in-chief during her senior year.

During college at the University of South Carolina, she graduated with honors in journalism. She was a member of the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity and served as the webmaster chair and member of the communications committee.

Koch also has bylines with Cola Daily, InterCom and Columbia-based nonprofit Serve and Connect. She freelanced and held many student editorial positions throughout her collegiate journalism career.

She is looking forward to continuing to build connections in South Carolina.

I liked that (the Aiken Standard) was in South Carolina because spending the last four years at USC, I really fell in love with this state and wanted to stay here, minus the palmetto bugs, Koch said with a laugh.

I love going to new places and meeting new people, Koch said. Thats one of the reasons why I love journalism so much is every day is different. You dont know who you are going to talk to.

In her free time, Koch spends her time with her 1-year-old miniature dachshund, Hudson. She started a side business creating embroidered pet apparel, which is available for purchase on Etsy.

She is excited to join a newsroom where she can continue to grow as a journalist.

When I interviewed with the editors , they were super welcoming, she said. I knew that if I was offered a job here that I would be welcomed and treated like part of the family.
For the first time, aerospace giant Boeing Co. released data this year about the demographics of its workforce  information the company says it will continue to release annually as a way to build in accountability for its own goal of making its labor force more diverse.

The report points to Boeing's South Carolina operations where, earlier this year, the 787 Dreamliner program was consolidated, as a place where Boeing sees a unique opportunity to develop more diverse talent.

With the release of the inaugural set of diversity data, CEO Dave Calhoun put out a statement describing the initiative as a "business imperative" for Boeing. The data were being shared "because transparency will help drive shared accountability," Calhoun said in the statement. Those metrics shared were the rates of representation by gender, race and ethnicity and veteran status.

The data in the report were described as "incomplete" in that some aspects of diversity were not measured. There wasn't a metric, for example, of how many employees identify as LGBTQ+.

Calhoun wrote that the newly-released demographic data show Boeing is "on par with the aerospace industry," a sector that's long been largely White and male, and the company is not where it wants to be.

Tommy Preston, National Strategy and Engagement Director for Boeing, told The Post and Courier in an interview that the data in the report didn't surprise him, but what was surprising to him was "how aggressive the company was willing to go to address" diversity and inclusion-related issues.

"We've been talking a lot internally about not just settling for status quo, not just saying that we are on par with others in the industry," said Preston, who's a South Carolina native and serves on Boeing's Racial Equity Task Force. "We know we need to do better."

Diversity data

One measure  the representation rate for Black Boeing employees in the U.S.  has been tied to a specific numerical commitment made by Boeing leaders. The manufacturer set a goal of increasing that rate 20 percent by 2025. As of this first report, about 6.4 percent of Boeing's U.S. employees are Black.

Other breakdowns had similar or higher representation rates for Black employees. For example, 6.5 percent of executives are Black, and 8.3 percent of new hires are Black. One exception was engineering. That group has a representation rate for Black employees of 4.4 percent.

If that goal for overall representation for Black employees is achieved, the share of Boeing employees who are Black will be less than 8 percent.

Close to a third of Boeing's workers in the U.S. are minorities, but minority employees make up a smaller share of executives and managers, about 21 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Boeing's workforce is predominantly male. Women make up about 23 percent of the company's total workforce and 17 percent of engineers.

The aerospace sector as a whole still has a long way to go in providing a more welcoming environment for women, according to a 2020 survey commissioned by the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter. Roughly half of women surveyed working in aerospace said they felt they had been treated differently due to their gender. For males, that dropped to roughly a fifth.

Data for Boeing's report was gathered in December 2020. By that time, Boeing's workforce had already significantly shrunk after waves of coronavirus pandemic-induced layoffs last year.

When Boeing updated site-by-site worker headcounts early this year, it had shed more than 20,000 jobs since the previous annual tally. South Carolina's total was down by more than 1,160 employees, a roughly 17 percent decline that knocked Boeing out of its No. 1 spot among the largest private sector employers in Charleston County.

Identifying challenges

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Boeing's facilities in Philadelphia, the Puget Sound and North Charleston were highlighted in the diversity report, each with a specific "challenge" they're dealing with related to diversity and inclusion.

In Philadelphia, Black and female representation was below average in several areas, the report said. In the Puget Sound, the survey showed employees' "perception of support for diverse talent" was below the company average.

The North Charleston site was described as offering "opportunities to develop diverse talent."

Given how comparatively young Boeing's South Carolina operations are, there's a desire to "do things a little bit differently" than at other Boeing sites, Preston said. The planemaker has been around for more than a century, but its presence in the Lowcountry only dates back to 2009.

South Carolina's demographics also favor Boeing's goal of improving the representation of Black employees within the company more than other states where it operates. Roughly 27 percent of the Palmetto State's population is Black. In Washington state, Boeing's largest employment center, just 4.4 percent of the population is Black.

Boeing's South Carolina site outperforms companywide diversity averages in a few areas. Those include the representation of female executives and engineers and racial and ethnic minorities' representation in manufacturing and management, a spokesperson said in a statement. A few areas they're working on improving at the North Charleston campus are the rates of women working in manufacturing and racial and ethnic minorities holding executive roles.

"We are diverse, and, in addition to the fact that we are currently diverse, we are constantly thinking about the future," Preston said of Boeing's local outpost.

Holding Boeing accountable

Along with efforts to improve representation rates, the report addressed a need to make the company's culture more inclusive and to "confront racism head-on."

Surveys of workers companywide showed significant differences in how Black and White employees perceived the company's "efforts to advance diverse candidates," the report said.

Calhoun also disclosed this spring that 65 Boeing employees were fired and 53 more were disciplined companywide for "being a part of racist, discriminatory or otherwise hateful conduct" from June 2020 through mid-April 2021. The report did not break out such disciplinary actions by location.

Back in June, in a statement about the death of George Floyd, the chief executive had promised a "zero tolerance" policy for "bigotry of any kind."

The aerospace giant has been confronted with complaints of discrimination in the workplace, including a report in 2019 from a Black employee at the North Charleston campus who said co-workers hung a noose over his desk. A racial discrimination suit was filed in connection with the incident but later dismissed.

Boeing acknowledged that a noose was found in the aft-body section of the factory but denied all other allegations made in the case. The worker found responsible was fired.

The Racial Equity Task Force, which Preston described as a kind of "long-term think tank," is focused on things like retention, addressing racial bias and improving work experiences for Black employees. A lot of the work of the last year has been having direct conversations with workers about race, racism and their experiences at the company, he said.

Those talks will continue, Preston said, and, next spring  and every year after if Boeing follows through on its pledge  the company will post a publicly available check-in on how it's doing.

"I think that is what's encouraging about this entire process is that people a year from now will be able to see whether or not we lived up to our expectations and whether or not we did what we said we were going to do," he said.

That's a level of accountability people haven't seen from Boeing before, he said.
Of the many heartening signs of Charleston's reopening, the flurry of local visual arts happenings may be the most inspirational sight for sore, screen-weary eyes.

In some ways, the timing is uncanny. A typical cultural year in Charleston often boasts new summer shows in local galleries and arts venues that are strategically timed to ride the arts-centric groundswell of Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto.

Like the festivals, the visual arts hubs are coming back, too  and in a significant creative splash set to shore spirits through a good chunk of a Charleston summer.

Informed and at times even enriched by their pandemic isolation, artists and arts practitioners are demonstrating that they are more than ready to reengage with the Charleston community.

The 'whys'

At Redux Center for Contemporary Art this week, Executive Director Cara Leepson was in full pre-show mode, working with a team to line up dozens of divergent works along the wall of the center's main gallery space, getting back on track for "Creative Corridors," their annual exhibition that displays new pieces by Redux's studio artists.

"We plan the studio artist exhibition every year to be on view during Piccolo Spoleto to have that local element to it. I think it's a great time to have our resident artists showcased in the front gallery," she said, noting that the soft reopening last year in June also featured studio artists.

"It's sort of a full-circle moment for us, coming out of the pandemic really strong," she said.

For the studio artist show, the featured work relates to a specific prompt given to the artists by Leepson. This year, that prompt asked artists to consider the "why" behind their individual artistic practices, offering them an opportunity for reflection on a work's intention.

Artist Celeste Caldwell, for instance, created a series inspired by the desire to connect, with each piece depicting an everyday, intimate moment.

"I hope my artwork relates to the quirks of a viewer's exterior life and emotional environment," she said.

Connor Lock created a piece that is an extension of his "LOVE MORE" art series exploring and questioning what we want to love more of in this world.

"The found object that I painted upon is a steel music disc from an 1800s Polyphon music box. Drawing inspiration from how this disc plays music with a series of patterned tabs, I explored a lettering pattern with my brush to send a visual message to the viewer," he said, adding that the process places him into a deeply focused, reflective state.

The exhibition represents the creative output, "whys" and all, of Redux's approximately 40 current resident artists in works that are then curated as a group show in the art center's main exhibition space.

According to Leepson, the work out of the Redux studios has been flowing.

"We had a really tough year, like everyone last year," she said, explaining that in terms of Redux's three-fold mission of a gallery, education programming and resident artist program, the former two slowed intensely, but the resident artists who had access to the 38 on-site studios never swayed.

"They really kept the place alive," she said. "And you saw that energy of the artists here working as testament to that connection that people were having with art and the ability to survive as a living artist."

'Tiger Strikes Greenway'

A new public art project, "Tiger Strikes Greenway," was created in partnership with Piccolo Spoleto. An installation of three works by Southern artists are mounted in white wooden gallery boxes on the West Ashley Greenway between Coburg and Timmerman roads.

The inaugural trio of artists includes two locals, Camela Guevera and Jonathan Rypkema, as well as Atlanta-based artist Rebecca Rodriguez.

The project is part of TSAGVL, a regional arts collective with members in Charleston, Asheville and Greenville that is part of the national collective Tiger Strikes Asteroid.

It evolved from last summer's outdoor show Yardwork, which shared socially-distance works of art in yards concentrated in Charleston's North Central neighborhood. The boxes were inspired by similar structures in Greenville's Yardwork.

"What I love about these boxes is that they are beautiful creative spaces, but out in the open for anybody to stumble across," said Hirona Matsuda, an artist and member of the group who worked with artist Susan Klein on the project. "I also think it is a great way to engage kids in the arts. We purposely made them short enough that most of them can peek in easily."

"When the conversation started about doing another public outdoor art exhibition, we decided to ask the city if they would let us install on the Greenway," said Matsuda, then reasoned it would make sense to install them during the approaching Piccolo Spoleto festival.

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"The support from the city was wonderful and the Avondale neighbors we've met were extremely supportive of more public art in their area," she said.

Two Halsey shows

The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art has regularly launched summer shows by kicking them off with the two festivals. On May 14, it opened two concurrent exhibitions.

"Both have radically altered their respective galleries, which is an exciting way for us to welcome and encourage visitors back to the Halsey Institute," said Katie Hirsch, director of the Halsey, who devised the plan with curator Bryan Granger, the Halsey's director of exhibitions and public programs.

"Dan Estabrook: Wunderkammer," which was originally intended to be exhibited in spring 2020, was delayed due to the pandemic, which the Halsey said enabled the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artist to work through lingering questions and create a few new works that have been included in the exhibition.

Using antiquated forms of photography, such as salt prints and tintypes, Estabrook explores the objecthood of photography and its ability to represent the truth.

In "Jibade-Khalil Huffman: You Are Here," the artist uses the moving image to offer an immersive and multi-sensory experience for viewers.

"Huffmans work has been on our radar for a couple years and we were thrilled that he accepted our invitation to create all new work for 'You Are Here,' " said Kirsch.

The two shows inform one another. "We felt that Huffmans exploration of truth through video and new media was a fruitful contrast to Estabrooks own subversion of the idea of truth in photography," said Hirsch.

Into the summer

When the festival staff strikes their sets, walls throughout Charleston will remain rich in new art.

Many exhibitions will remain up for weeks into the summer, offering locals and tourists an aesthetic pick-me-up  not to mention a temperature-controlled respite as the heat settles in.

The Redux "Creative Corridors" exhibition and both Halsey shows will be up through July 17.

Tiger Strikes Greenway will also go the distance, and it may even be the beginning of a more expansive effort moving forward.

"If this is well-received, we are hoping it is something we can carry on doing with different artists and guest curators down the road," said Matsuda. "We would love the opportunity to create more boxes on other stretches of the Greenway or maybe the Lowline."

At the Halsey, the team is eager to once again to be included in the daily lives of those here in Charleston.

"I would love for a visit to the Halsey Institute to be added in as a regular 'habit' for Charlestonians," Hirsch said. "We look forward to the day when we can all gather again in person to celebrate the work of the artists featured in our space."

Of course, no one is more energized by the public shows than the artists themselves.

"While thoughtful alone time is important to the creative process, community engagement is paramount," Caldwell said, noting that Redux provides a platform for artists to interact with each other and the greater Charleston area, which in turn allows their artwork to be much more meaningful, diverse and well-informed.

"I see the opening of 'Creative Corridors' as an opportunity to transition back towards this state of community, as we begin to feel more comfortable spending dedicated time with each other," she said.

Lock said that for him, community is key.

"There has been a dump truck full of different emotions swirling in and around the hearts and minds of people since COVID-19 ran us over in 2020."

One positive was the time he had to slow down and recalculate, resulting in the new work at Redux focusing on the "LOVE MORE" concept.

"Going into this new year, ask yourself, 'What will you love more?'  he said.

For his part, the artist hopes that we all get to love more art exhibitions heading out of the pandemic.
GEORGETOWN  For Georgetown County to grow and move forward, it is going to have to add more affordable housing, county economic development director Brian Tucker said.

And a county-funded study by Bowen National Research backs this claim, pointing out that the county's poverty rate stands above the national average and more than 12,000 people commute to work outside the county each day.

But Georgetown County Council voted against a 90-unit affordable housing development just outside Wedgefield Plantation on May 25, going against the county planning commission's unanimous recommendation and even county council's own previous 4-2 vote for the development.

The would-have-been developer, Tony Cates with Foursix Housing, said council's shooting down of this development could make it harder for Georgetown County to attract affordable housing developments like his moving forward.

"In one vote, (council) have made a statement for all affordable housing developers who have the potential to come to Georgetown that they're not interested," Cates said. "A developer's not going to be willing to spend the tens of thousands of dollars to do this because they saw they don't have (council's) vote."

Many cite the Wedgefield community's vehement disapproval of the development for traffic concerns as the reason behind the council's rejection, while others say it is for other reasons like racism and classism.

The rezoning

Georgetown Memorial Hospital originally bought 64 acres off Wedgefield Road and North Fraser Street in 2008 to build a medical facility, but after the project fell through, the hospital then began looking to sell 16 acres of it to Foursix Housing and Blue Line development for an affordable housing complex.

Housing prices and demand throughout Georgetown County have gone up over the past five years, according to Madison Cooper, vice president of government affairs with Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors.

Georgetown County median home sales have risen by 38 percent in the past five years to $317,500, according to data collected by the Realtors association.

Cooper said Georgetown County is seeing a lot of young professionals buying homes that are two or three times the size  and price  that they require because they cannot find more suitable, affordable, and smaller housing.

The proposed apartments would have been restricted to families with low income  a family of four, for example, could make no more than $38,700 a year if they wanted to live there, based on median household income in the county.

Tony Cates with Foursix said rent at the proposed units would have been between $400 and $975 a month, depending on the income of the residents and how many bedrooms were in a unit.

Based on the most recent census data, the average household income in Georgetown County was just above $48,000 per year. This makes affordable rent in the county no more than $1,200 a month, or 30 percent of income.

On April 12, Foursix and Blue Line held a community meeting with Wedgefield residents to dispel misinformation Cates said he had seen circulating about the project.

Cates told residents at this meeting Foursix and Blue Line would work with the community on the design of the development to ensure minimal impact, and residents expressed concerns over how it would be funded.

"We get a tax credit from the state of South Carolina of which we sell to a corporation," Cates said. "We don't make money from the tax credit, the tax credit is the instrument that finances it, it is not a way that we make money."

The low-income housing tax credits provide an incentive to construct or rehabilitate affordable rental housing for low-income households.

The federal government issues low-income housing tax credits to state governments, and state housing agencies then award the credits to private developers of affordable rental housing projects through a competitive process.

Despite this April 12 meeting, Wedgefield residents showed up to April's Georgetown County Planning Commission and all three Georgetown County Council meetings where the rezoning was discussed to protest it. Residents said building affordable housing outside its gates would cause a medley of problems, including a dip in property values and increased traffic flow.

In 2008, a traffic study was done to accompany the hospitals purchase of the land, and that study recommended adding two coordinating stoplights: one at Wedgefield Road and S.C. 701, and another at S.C. 701 and S.C. 51.

Since 2008, the population in the area has grown substantially, and residents said they worried adding more people to the area would only add more traffic and make turning onto S.C. 701 from Wedgefield Road harder than it already is.

County planning director Holly Richardson said if the rezoning was approved by council, a new traffic study would have been done, as the previous studys recommendations are likely not accurate now, 13 years later.

As far as Wedgefield property values, Tucker said the administration and the planning commission do not believe the development would adversely impact that.

Planning commission unanimously approved the rezoning to county council April 15, county council gave an unanimous initial approval April 27 and then gave a key vote of 4-2 in favor of the rezoning May 11, with one member of council. Everett Carolina, abstaining.

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Because Georgetown County Council operates on a three-reading ordinance system, the second reading is usually the most informative and important, with the first and third often being formalities.

But council's third reading on the rezoning May 25 was anything but a formality, as it died in third reading by a 3-3 vote. Carolina rejoined the vote, but council chairman Louis Morant recused himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest.

Why was it denied?

Cates, the developer, said he thinks Wedgefield residents' issues with the project are rooted in negative view of people who would be living in affordable housing.

"It's their perceived opinion of crime and property values that a person making an honest person's wage will bring, and that's just not true," Cates said.

Wedgefield resident George Hanson, who moved into Wedgefield 30 years ago when he retired from the New York Police Department, said he did not have issues with affordable housing residents, but was worried about the potential increased traffic.

"The traffic down here is getting worse and worse every day, and that would have only added to it," Hanson said.

Another Wedgefield resident Stan Earnhart was against the rezoning, and felt there was a perception that he and his neighbors were racist for being against it.

Jackie Williams, a Black woman who spoke at a May 11 county council meeting, said the denial of the affordable housing development was about who was likely to live there.

"One lady said that this is not about race, she is absolutely correct. This is not just about race, this is about race and classism at its best," Williams said.

Her comments at the meeting were met with shouts and interruptions from others in the crowd, including one resident who said, "White people are poor, too."

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2021 Affordable Housing Gap Analysis, Black, Native American, Latino, and Asian households are more likely than white households to be low income renters.

Homeownership continues to be the main way most families build wealth in America, according to Urban Institute, and yet it found in 2017 there is a 30-percentage point gap between Black homeownership and White homeownership.

Moving forward

Some councilmembers like Steven Goggans, who voted for the rezoning, recognize the need for affordable housing and that it is often a misinterpreted concept.

"I think a lot of (council members) equate (affordable housing) with low income subsidized housing, and a project, if you will," Goggans said.

Morant, the chairman, said he wants to set up a meeting with his colleagues to establish a plan on how they will work together to bring much needed affordable housing to the county.

Bob Anderson and Raymond Newton who voted against the development directed The Post and Courier Myrtle Beach to Carolina.

"This is a pretty complex subject, so (Anderson and I) are going to have Everett Carolina give you a call. ... He's more knowledgeable concerning the finer details of everything that we're doing and that we had to deal with," Newton said.

Carolina did not return several messages left over the past week.

How Georgetown County Council voted on the rezoning Key vote on May 11 (4-2) Thomas  for Anderson  against Carolina  abstained Johnson  for Newton against Goggans  for Morant  for Final vote on May 25 (3-3) Thomas  for Anderson  against Carolina  against (change from May 11) Johnson  for Newton against Goggans  for Morant  abstained (change from May 11)

Tucker, the county economic development director, said it is inevitable that this rezoning denial will come up in conversation with future affordable housing developers, but he hopes that explaining the full story of why it was denied will help future developers see how their projects are different from the Wedgefield proposal.

"This was an exercise in us determining what our housing policy needs to look like and what our housing efforts need to look like," Tucker said. "There were some very specific issues raised with this project in this location, so for my purposes I say, 'OK, well, we're not going to try do the same thing in the same place.'"
Former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy has a new national television gig, and he is doing it all from Spartanburg.

Gowdy, 56, told The Post and Courier he will be filming the current events and opinion show live from a studio in his hometown, with most of his guests appearing via video link. Expect a decidedly South Carolina flavor, he said, and a lot of visits from Democrats.

"I live in the same house I lived in before I even ran for solicitor," Gowdy said. "And I will be there until my wife tells me that that I need to leave. So far that has not happened."

The Upstate Republican, who represented South Carolina's 4th District in Congress for eight years before stepping down in 2019, launches his new show, "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy," June 6 at 7 p.m. on Fox News.

Gowdy, the son of a doctor, grew up in Spartanburg and graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1982. He attended Baylor University and was an attorney by age 24. His first foray into politics was as 7th Circuit solicitor in his mid-30s in Spartanburg County, a post he won in 2000 and held for 10 years before beating former Rep. Bob Inglis in a four-way race for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in 2010.

But his earliest brush with politics, and reaching across the aisle, was bagging groceries for former state senator and U.S. Rep. Liz Patterson, a Democrat from Spartanburg.

"No one has ever heard me say a negative word about Liz Patterson," Gowdy said. "All I ever do is compliment her. Even though we didn't agree on a whole lot. She was standing in the parking lot when I was a bag boy and talking politics with me."

Decades later, avowing he was fed up with partisanship, Gowdy's last day in U.S. Congress was Jan 3, 2019. He was hired later that month as a contributor to Fox News. In October 2019, he left the network to join former President Donald Trump's legal team. By January 2020, that had not panned out, and he was back with Fox News in April 2020 with a weekly podcast, "Tuesdays with Trey." In early 2019, he was also hired on to the Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough law firm in downtown Greenville. He has since left the firm, wrapping up a legal practice, he said, that suffered without his full-time attention.

The podcast features a mix of long-form interviews and political commentary. He took a similar approach on "Fox News Primetime," where he guest-hosted for a couple weeks earlier this year and will do the same on his own Sunday show. Gowdy will have fewer guests and longer, more in-depth conversations.

"I get to look back at the interesting things that happened in the week, the past, and I get to look ahead," Gowdy said. "And there's a certain tranquility and serenity associated with Sunday nights, at least in South Carolina, and probably across the country."

On his podcast Gowdy has pressed his brand of reasoned if ardent conservatism  one that seeks a grounding in "facts and evidence" and the "rule of law." He repeated these themes this week, saying they would feature largely on his show. He also reiterated why he left Congress in 2019.

"You have to reach the right result in the right way," he said. "And that's the system I'm used to. I'm not used to a system where the only thing that matters is winning. And I think in politics, too much of that has seeped in, that the end justifies the means. And that's not what I am. And I actually think there is an appetite for fairness in the country."

Gowdy was in Colorado Springs on June 4 standing alongside his friend Sen. Tim Scott at the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Scott, co-author with Gowdy of the book "Unified," will be Gowdy's first guest on Sunday Night in America.

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"Timmy and I, excuse me, Sen. Scott and I are speaking tonight, and I'll be on a plane first thing in the morning, coming back home," he said.

Scott was among Gowdy's closest friends during his time in Washington, D.C., along with former Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe, who stepped down as Director of National Intelligence in January, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Gowdy named all as potential guests on his new show.

"It think it is fascinating because UFOs are being discussed much more openly than I ever recall, and he was Director of National Intelligence," Gowdy said of Ratcliffe.

Gowdy said he would welcome guests from across the political spectrum on his show. He said he worked with 600 to 700 people during his years in the U.S. House and retains a good relationship "with 99 percent of them." Expect a heavy lean toward South Carolina, he said, with guests such as former Gov. Nikki Haley, Rep. Jim Clyburn and Sen. Lindsey Graham but also former Louisiana representative, and current advisor to President Joe Biden, Cedric Richmond, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.

"If you have the best ideas, and you have the facts on your side, you should not be fearful of talking to anyone," Gowdy said.

This includes Nancy Pelosi.

"Welcome. I'd love to have her on," he said. "Well, that would probably be the seventh day of the Apocalypse, but people are welcome."

While often defending Trump and calling into question the Russia investigation  Devin Nunes was a notable early guest on his podcast  Gowdy has also held the farthest right wing of his party to account. On his Jan. 12 podcast, the first episode to air after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Gowdy delivered a 41-minute political sermon, exclaiming "we can only be destroyed from within." Gowdy, who does his own writing, told listeners that political parties would let them down, false allegations would mislead them, ends do not justify the means and people who set unrealistic expectations should be ignored.

Gowdy, who also said at the time that he no longer knew what his party stood for, said he had watched every word of Trump's speech about the "stolen election" prior to the march on the Capitol.

"My reaction as I sat there ... as the president was speaking was this, 'If the facts really are as you state them, then why aren't you winning in court?'"

Being a prosecutor, delivering arguments to undecided juries, Gowdy said this week, was his "dream job." Similarly, he said, he would lean on the art of persuasion to draw in viewers from across the political spectrum.

"The easiest thing in the world to do is to ratify or validate what people already believe," Gowdy said. "I mean, anybody can do that. What's hard is to get people to think, or kind of reevaluate where they are based on the facts and the evidence."
South Carolina had 178 confirmed cases of coronavirus on June 5, with an additional 111 probable cases reported.

Sixteen deaths from the virus were also reported to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

DHEC additionally said 45.3 percent of the state's residents have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Statewide numbers

New cases reported: 178 confirmed, 111 probable.

Total cases in S.C.: 492,194 confirmed, 101,754 probable.

Percent positive: 2 percent.

New deaths reported: 16 confirmed, 0 probable.

Total deaths in S.C.: 8,593 confirmed, 1,159 probable.

Percent of ICU beds filled: 67.9 percent.

S.C. residents vaccinated

DHEC's vaccine dashboard shows that 45.3 percent of the state's residents have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Hardest-hit areas

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York County (23), Richland County (22) and Greenville County (15) saw the highest totals of newly confirmed cases.

What about the tri-county?

Charleston County had 14 new cases on June 5, while Berkeley had six and Dorchester seven.

Deaths

Eight of the new confirmed deaths reported were patients 35 to 64, and eight were patients age 65 and older.

Hospitalizations

Of the 232 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of June 5, 69 were in the ICU and 31 were using ventilators.

What do experts say?

Rates of hospitalization in young people are lower than those in adults sick with COVID-19, but cases of severe disease, including those requiring ICU admission or mechanical ventilation, have been documented in adolescents ages 12 to 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reports that fully vaccinated adolescents are also at a low risk of symptomatic or severe infection and are less likely to transmit the virus.

To find a COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina, go to vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov or call 866-365-8110.
The National Weather Service is warning Lowcountry residents that a thunderstorm is expected to drop torrential rain in the region, causing flooding.

Officials initially issued a flood advisory from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. June 5 for Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester counties.

The advisory was extended until 6:30 p.m. because of ongoing light and moderate rain, which continued to impact already flooded areas.

Doppler radar indicates thunderstorms extending from Knightsville and Givhans east to Huger and Goose Creek will drop as much as 2 to 3 inches of rain, causing flooding in several communities in the region, as well as at Mount Pleasant Regional Airport.

The storm dropped up to 2 to 4 inches of rain and quarter-sized hail in the early afternoon, the NWS reported, accompanied by 60-mile-per-hour winds.

On social media, residents posted pictures and videos showing flooding in Goose Creek, including the Boulder Bluff, Crowfield Plantation and Foxborough neighborhoods.

Residents are urged to avoid flooded roads.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
Calloway Deputies Seek Help Locating Fugitive

By West Kentucky Star Staff

CALLOWAY COUNTY - The Calloway County Sheriff's Office is requesting the public's help with locating a fugitive.Deputies say Nicholas R. Miller is wanted on multiple warrants related to violations of protection orders and felony possession of drugs.He is 5'11" tall, weighs approximately 250 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Calloway County Sheriff's Office at 270-753-3151.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
Note: We've recently updated our online systems. If you can't login please try resetting your password. You must login with an email address. If you don't have an email associated with your account email circulation@postregister.com for help creating one.
@montcocourtnews on Twitter

Carl Hessler Jr. is a multi-media reporter who writes about crime and justice from the Montgomery County Courthouse for 21st Century Media Newspapers Greater Philadelphia area publications. Follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews
commentary

U.S. consumers need country-of-origin labeling on the internet
After the mostly-peaceful demonstrations in Washington last January 6, Facebook and Instagram suspended President Trumps accounts. He appealed to Facebooks Oversight Board, which upheld the suspension but said it should have a time limit. Today Facebook responded by decreeing that Trump is off its platforms for two years, and after that, they will see.

Facebooks suspension was based on two posts that President Trump did on January 6. Both called for peace. This is the first:

At 4:21 pm Eastern Standard Time, as the riot continued, Mr. Trump posted a video on Facebook and Instagram: I know your pain. I know youre hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it, especially the other side, but you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We dont want anybody hurt. Its a very tough period of time. Theres never been a time like this where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us, from me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we cant play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. Youre very special. Youve seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel. But go home and go home in peace.

This is the second:

At 6:07 pm Eastern Standard Time, as police were securing the Capitol, Mr. Trump posted a written statement on Facebook: These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love in peace. Remember this day forever!

Those are pretty mild comments by todays Facebook standards. But this is what the Oversight Board said about them:

The Board found that the two posts by Mr. Trump on January 6 severely violated Facebooks Community Standards and Instagrams Community Guidelines. We love you. Youre very special in the first post and great patriots and remember this day forever in the second post violated Facebooks rules prohibiting praise or support of people engaged in violence.

Really? Havent a great many Democrats praised Black Lives Matter and even Antifa when they engaged in riots, arson and violence far more destructive than the Capitol intrusion of January 6, which was actually invited by some Capitol guards, and which was almost entirely peaceful? They certainly have, as I enumerated here.

Democratic politicians have posted many encomiums to left-wing rioters, looters and arsonists on Facebook, yet none, to my knowledge, has resulted in any sanctions. The idea that the rioters cant quite be congratulated but certainly do have a pointthe exact perspective expressed by President Trumpis common among Democratic politicians like Kamala Harris:

Theyre [I.e., the BLM rioters of last June] not going to stop. Theyre not going to stop. This is a movement, Im telling you. Theyre not gonna stop. And everyone beware because theyre not gonna stop. Theyre not gonna stop before Election Day and theyre not going to stop after Election Day. And everyone should take note of that. Theyre not gonna let up and they should not.

Facebook is a Democratic Party platform, so it is unconcerned by sympathy expressed for rioters that comes from the Left.

The Facebook Oversight Board found a second basis for suspending President Trumps account:

The Board found that, in maintaining an unfounded narrative of electoral fraud and persistent calls to action, Mr. Trump created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible.

That is the Democratic Partys line, of course. But allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election are by no means unfounded. Extensive fraud occurred and has been documented. But the nature of intentionally lax voting procedures is such that fraud is largely impossible to prove fraud after the fact. Once the ballots are cast, it is usually too late. That is why the Democrats consistency favor lax processes.

The debate over election integrity continues, but the idea that claims of voter fraud are unfounded is ridiculous.

The serious questions are how extensive the fraud was, and whether President Trump would have been re-elected absent such fraud. I dont have an opinion on the second question, but will say with confidence that the Democratic Party tried hard to steal the election by, among many other things, engaging in collusive litigation with partisan Secretaries of State that resulted in safeguards to election integrity being vitiated in something like 15 states, so that the Democrats could easily engage in fraud. I think it is reasonable to assume that a party will only go to such lengths to enable fraud if it thinks cheating may be necessary to win the election.

But such issues, although vital to our democracy, apparently may not be discussed on Facebook. At least, not by a former president with tens of millions of followers.

It is not hard to understand what is going on here. Facebook, like Twitter, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and other Big Tech companies, has thrown in its lot with the Democratic Party. Facebook will do everything it can to help Democrats win elections. To some extent, this is a natural affinity when it comes to rich Silicon Valley liberals.

But there is a more sinister aspect. Facebook has, in legal terms, a monopoly in the space in which it and its subsidiary Instagram compete. That status is inherently threatening to a corporation that basically prints money, as it controls access to billions of consumers. The Trump administration was not in thrall to Silicon Valley leftists, so it brought an antitrust enforcement action against Facebook that sought to compel the divestiture of Instagram so as to enhance competition in social media.

Threatened by that lawsuit, Facebooks economic interests were clearly aligned with the Democratic Party. Not surprisingly, in 2020 Facebook did everything possible to support the Democrats and turn the Trump administration out of power.

No doubt the payoff will come at some point during the Biden administration. Slow Joe will probably never know it, but his Department of Justice will dismiss the case against Facebook, or else, more likely, settle it for essentially nothing.

So Facebooks treatment of President Trump needs to be seen in the context of a great deal of corruption and of enormous economic interests that, to your detriment, will be protected by the Biden administration.
I correctly named Winston Boogie Smith as the decedent in Minneapoliss police-involved shooting Thursday afternoon. Smith was the target of an arrest operation conducted by the Joint Law Enforcement Fugitive Task Force in the parking ramp adjacent to Calhoun Square in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis. Picking up where I left off yesterday morning, I want to add the following notes to update the story.

 The Star Tribune reported last night at 7:19 pm: Thursday nights protests were relatively small in comparison to the widespread demonstrations that followed Floyds death but still occasionally veered into vandalism and arson.

 Veered represents a creative choice of verb for rioting. The subject of the verb is demonstrations. The verb takes no object; its use here is intransitive. What we have is the Star Tribune version of crime without a perpetrator or a victim. That is really well done.

 Students of ancient history may recall the demonstrations that veered into vandalism and arson all around the Twin Cities a year ago. The ruins serve as a reminder.

 The Star Tribune wants badly to present Winston Boogie Smith in the obligatory sainted form to which we have become accustomed. The Star Tribune lets on, however: Court records show the warrant was issued after Smith failed to appear for sentencing May 19 in Ramsey County District Court. He had been charged with two felonies in November 2019 when officers found him at a White Bear Lake apartment with a loaded handgun in his car. As a felon, he was prohibited from owning a gun. At that time, he had a Hennepin County warrant for violating the terms of his probation for an aggravated robbery conviction for a 2017 incident involving his ex-girlfriend.

 And this: Officers arrested Smith at the apartment and found a 9mm handgun with a round in the chamber under the drivers seat of his Camaro, the complaint said. Smith also faced a felony charge of fleeing police that was scheduled for trial in September.

 And this: A year ago, Bloomington police tried to arrest Smith on the two warrants after recognizing him in a Mall of America parking lot. When Smith saw the officers, he took off at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour with multiple police cars chasing him with lights and sirens activated, according to court documents. When Smith entered Hwy. 494 driving in the wrong direction, police ended the pursuit because of public safety concerns. He was charged with fleeing police, a felony.

 Smith was something of a one-man crime wave. Otherwise, however, he was just another solid citizen  a family man and a comedian with a killer sense of humor (see below).

 The Star Tribune separately reported at 8:48 pm: A protest held near the site where Smith was fatally shot by members of a U.S. Marshals Service task force went late into the night Friday; as of 11 p.m., it remained peaceful. In other words, the protest did not veer into anything.

 And yet: Activists blocked traffic at busy Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street during the Friday evening rush hour. Minneapolis police officers on bikes moved in to try to take control of the busy intersection, but protesters later blocked Lake Street again with a makeshift barricade of motorcycles, bike racks and dumpsters. There were some standoffs between protesters and officers through the night, but as of 11 p.m., no arrests had been reported.

 Smith was a comedian, said his sister Tiesnia Floyd. So this doesnt sound like him. He had a criminal record, but was trying to improve his circumstances, she said.

 CNN summarizes the background this way: A warrant was issued for Winston Smith in late May after he failed to appear at a hearing after pleading guilty to a possession of a firearm charge in Ramsey County. Smith first appeared in court on the charge in December 2019, a court docket shows. In November 2020, on the eve of trial, he pleaded guilty to a single charge of possession of a firearm in a plea agreement, according to the docket. On May 19, 2021, a warrant was issued for failure to appear at a hearing in the case and he was ordered to be held without bond or bail, the docket shows.

 The shooting is under investigation by Minnesotas Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The BCA has issued a statement on its findings so far.

 The statement provides this information: Law enforcement serving on the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were alerted to the whereabouts of man who had a warrant for a felony firearms violation. They made contact with him in an attempt to take him into custody. According to the preliminary investigation, at one point a Hennepin County sheriffs deputy and a Ramsey County sheriffs deputy serving on the task force discharged their weapons, striking the man. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

 And this: Evidence at the scene indicates that the man fired his weapon from inside the vehicle. BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun as well as spent cartridge cases from inside the drivers compartment.

 Unfortunately: The U.S Marshal Service currently does not allow the use of body cameras for officers serving on its North Star Fugitive Task Force. There is no squad camera footage of the incident.

 What they call unrest will continue. In order to quiet things down in the Twin Cities, we should probably suspend all law enforcement activity. Just to be on the safe side.
The Washington Post reports that the current U.S. Senate is the oldest in American history. Dianne Feinstein turns 88 this month. Charles Grassley turns 88 in September.

Richard Shelby is 87. James Inhofe is 86. Patrick Leahy is 81. Twenty-three senators are in their 70s. The average age of senators at the beginning of this year was 64.3 years.

It may be that being 88 now is like being, say, 78 a few decades ago. So despite being the oldest, this might not be the most age-impaired Senate in our history. Robert Caros book about the Lyndon Johnson-dominated Senate makes it clear that more than a few solons of the 1950s were rendered largely useless by age and/or drink.

Dianne Feinstein and some of the other Senators cited in the Posts article insist they are still as sharp as a tack. But there must be a few who are losing it. A local pharmacist said in 2017 that he routinely sends Alzheimers medication to Capitol Hill.

In reality, its likely that most, if not all, of the Senators in their 80s and late 70s arent nearly as sharp as they used to be. To me, the interesting question is whether they realize this.

Most people I know in their 70s are constantly on the lookout for signs of mental impairment. Im 72 and freak out if I cant remember the fifth starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Senators seem to be different. Maybe its because they are surrounded by staffers whose livelihoods, and in some cases mini-empires, depend on the boss believing hes still fully fit to serve as senator. Thats one theory, anyway.

Its not optimal to have a Senate with age-impaired members. Such a Senate denies fully effective representation to certain states and may function less fluidly than a Senate with 100 competent members.

The main effect, though, may be to give more power to leadership. That was the case with Lyndon Johnsons Senate, although Johnson (who was then in his 40s) would have dominated the Senate in any event.

Whether extra power in leadership is desirable depends on the identity of the leaders. Whether a fluidly functioning Senate is desirable depends on the leaderships agenda.

What should be done about Senate senility? The obvious answer is a constitutional amendment imposing term limits. But term limits are anti-democratic. They deprive voters of the ability to elect Senators of their choice. And Id hate to see Tom Cotton limited by law to two terms, or even three, if it came to that.

In the end, its up to the opponents of very old Senators to make the case that they are age-impaired, and up to voters to evaluate the evidence and decide whether such Senators should remain in office. If we end up with only 80 or so fit Senators, the Republic should still be okay.

Or so it seems to me.
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Tuesday through Friday, Nigerian equities posted minimal gains, helping the week return 1.23 per cent, but growth for the quarter and for the year so far remains negative, with investor confidence in the market too low to bring back activity to its pre-pandemic levels.

Foreign investors interest in Nigerian stocks substantially wore out in 2020 as Aprils record oil crash staunched the flow of petrodollars into Africas biggest crude producer, which relies on the commodity for about 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings, making it hard for international investors to cash out.

Foreign capital inflow to the Nigerian bourse last year added up to N247 billion against N419 billion, according to the Nigerian Exchange data. That same year, foreign transactions touched their three-year low, sinking to just about a third of the turnover as the forex liquidity crisis kept investments from abroad at bay.

As rebound of Nigerian stocks shapes up slowly, traders greater focus will be on the half-year earnings of companies which will be due by the end of June, expecting that good results will stoke share value.

All the key market performance indicators improved this week. Market breadth was neutral as the bourse reported 33 gainers and laggards apiece.

The all-share index and market capitalisation simultaneously rose by 1.23 per cent, the former closing at 38,726.10 points and the latter at N20.185 trillion.

Trade volume of 1.082 billion shares estimated at N9.548 billion was recorded in 17,933 deals, relative to the 1.037 billion shares worth N9.471 billion that were traded in 17,577 deals the previous week.

The financial services sector led the activity chart, with 767.001 million shares valued at N4.356 billion and traded in 9,447 deals. It added 70.86 per cent and 45.63 per cent to the total equity volume and value respectively.

The oil and gas industry followed, trading 83.528 million shares estimated at N1.454 billion in 1,118 deals. The conglomerates sector was third, trading 72.813 million shares priced at N356.723 million in 781 deals.

Regarding index movement, all indices rose except the NSE Oil and Gas, NSE Consumer Goods and NSE Sovereign Bond, which dipped 0.79 per cent, 0.37 per cent and 0.74 per cent in that order. The NSE Growth and NSE ASeM indices did not budge.
Deputies Seek Help in Theft Investigation

By West Kentucky Star Staff

LYON COUNTY - The Lyon County Sheriff's Office is requesting the public's help with a theft investigation.On the morning of May 30, someone stole a white 1999 Chevrolet Astro van from the parking lot of Eddy Creek Resort & Marina.Authorities believe the same suspects burglarized two storage units at Lakeway Storage and two storage units at 93 South Mini-Storage. A Yeti cooler, a Mud Buddy boat, and a motor was reportedly stolen from Lakeway Storage. The boat was later recovered but the motor had been cut off.Deputies say the suspects were driving a white Ford F250 or F350 4x4 crew cab with a two-tone bottom rocker and a long wheelbase. Authorities believe there are at least three suspects.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kentucky State Police at 270-856-3721 or the Lyon County Sheriff's Office at 270-388-2311 or 270-388-0911.
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The national body of telecommunications providers in Nigeria says it is currently engaging stakeholders to resolve the ban on Twitter, a microblogging platform.

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), in a statement signed by its President, Ikechuckwu Nnamani, said the move is to ensure a speedy resolution of the current suspension of Twitter activities in Nigeria.

Mr Nnamani stated that while the association and its member-companies understand the position of the federal government, it is pertinent that the issue is resolved soon in the interest of all.

He emphasised that the OTT (Over The Top) platforms, such as Twitter, is an integral part of the digital economy that the federal government is promoting.

According to him, when an unfortunate disagreement arises with respect to the user policies, it is good that it is resolved in a timely manner.

Nigerias information minister Lai Muhammad, on Friday, announced the ban and a federal government directive ordering National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.

Following the ban, which was effected by telecommunications operators, Nigerians have been denied access to the microblogging platform and can only access by bypassing domain restrictions through alternative mediums.

The suspension is a backdrop of Twitters deletion of President Muhammadu Buharis controversial tweet about the civil war after some Nigerian users found it offensive.

The government, in its response, accused the platform of meddling in Nigerias internal affairs and undermining Nigerias corporate existence.
When President Muhammadu Buhari took office in 2015, he promised to diversify Nigerias oil-denominated economy by investing more in agriculture and encouraging farming. The government aimed at food self-sufficiency and increased foreign exchange earnings.

The president launched the Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP) which expired December 2020 to succeed the Agricultural Transformation Agenda policy launched in 2013 by his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan.

Like the ATA policy, Mr Buharis APP was designed to ensure the provision of the required legislative and agricultural framework, macro policies, security, infrastructure and institutional mechanisms to allow farmers access essential inputs, finance, information, agricultural services and markets.

The administration clocked six on Saturday, May 29, and has two more years to complete a maximum allowable two four-year terms.

Available data shows that despite its professed commitment to developing the agricultural sector, and indeed investment in the sector, agriculture has grown at the weakest rate under the Buhari administration than any other government since the return of democracy in 1999.

The sector grew at an average of 15 per cent in the past five years of the government, an analysis of the countrys gross domestic products by Statisense, a data analysis platform, shows.

By comparison, the sector grew by 133 per cent under the Obasanjo administration; 19.1 per cent under President Musa Yaraduas short tenure and 22.2 per cent under Mr Jonathans government.

In terms of agricultural sectors contribution to the GDP, the Buhari administration has so far done better than only the Jonathan administration, based on an analysis by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Data evaluated by PTCIJ shows that the sector contributed an average of 27.5 per cent under President Obasanjo, 25.6 per cent under President Yaradua, 21.75 per cent under President Jonathan and 21.90 per cent under President Buhari.

Buharis Agriculture Investment

The Buhari government has invested substantially in agriculture, and the sector remains the biggest employer of labour in the country.

The slow sectoral growth implies the governments intervention has not been effective enough to yield required outcomes, and analysts say a major impediment may be poor implementation.

We have good policies, but implementation is the problem, said Steve Okeleji, the founder of Aquatic Hub Afrique Network (AHAN), an aquaculture capacity building firm.

He said there is need for the government to deliberately include the private sector in project implementation, especially project tracking so as to record impact.

Since his emergence as president, Mr Buhari has repeatedly spoken about Nigerians being able to produce what we eat, and eat what we produce. A few months after assuming office, the government launched the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) in November 2015, to boost agricultural production and reverse Nigerias negative balance of payments on food.

The programme targets those cultivating cereals (rice, maize, wheat etc.) cotton, roots and tubers, sugarcane, tree crops, legumes, tomato and livestock. Loans are often disbursed to the beneficiary farmers through banks. Upon harvest, the farmers repay by taking their harvests to anchors who pay the cash equivalent to their banks accounts.

A bright spot of the governments effort has been in rice and maize production, as data shows both increased significantly, and Nigerias yearly production figures have been highest in the last five years.

This streak of high production between 2014 and 2020 has taken Nigeria to the first and second spots among rice paddy and maize producers in Africa respectively.

Despite the increase in production, the prices of these commodities have skyrocketed significantly when compared to previous years.

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The national presidents of Maize Growers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria, Uche Edwin, and Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Aminu Goronyo, attribute the rise to investment in agriculture by the Buhari administration through the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP).

Just for 2020 alone, the ABP has been able to empower over 150,000 farmers in advancing loans, inputs and cash to farmers, Mr Edwin said. It has helped in advancing technology and mechanisation with a view to support smallholders farmers.

The Central Bank of Nigeria said under the ABP, over 3.1 farmers have been financed so far.

The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) of the Buhari administration launched on December 14, 2017, has produced over 30 million bags of 50kg fertilizers in four years, according to the latest Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) annual report.

Within this period, the countrys fertilizer blending plants have increased from seven to over 50 functional plants located at the different regions of the country.

While Nigeria has recorded progress in boosting the production of affordable fertilizer necessary for agriculture activities through the PFI programme under the watch of the NSIA, efforts to increase the supply and reduce the cost of the commodity were in some cases undermined by middlemen.

By implication, a large number of farmers lament that they could not access or purchase the products at the government-approved rates. As of December 2020, the federal government announced that it has registered five million farmers and their farms for fertiliser subsidy through the PFI so far.

Amidst the upsurge of COVID-19 pandemic, the president directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and other relevant agencies to distribute relief materials in the form of necessary farm inputs to farmers across the country.

The cost of food under the administration has been at the highest levels ever, leaving millions struggling to buy food.

No doubt, the biggest failure of the Buhari administration in the sector is its inability to deal with insecurity that has kept farmers off their farms and has destroyed investments in the sector.

The government has failed to end attacks by armed herders on farmers, and comprehensively resolve challenges besetting the countrys livestock sector.

Mr Okeleji lamented that the administration has failed to tackle insecurity. He said he cannot visit some of his farms anymore without paying for security escorts, which increases the cost of business.

There are some of my farms I cant visit without security. Its expensive to sustain, Mr Okeleji said, adding that the government should help fix the issue of insecurity, build farmers capacity and ensure private sector integration into policy implementation.

Oyewumi Bello, an irrigation engineer, said there are other positives, pointing to how agriculture has moved from the traditional subsistence method towards more commercial orientation across scales in the past five years.

He said Many people are now viewing agriculture not as a last resort occupation or as a side job, but rather as first choice investment and business opportunities. For example, there is a proliferation of poultry and fishery businesses in the country. If this trend is sustained, the next agricultural revolution in Nigeria will be underway.

He said agricultural policies in the last five years ranged from farmer-assisted schemes, subsidies and other forms of direct as well as indirect interventions, and that agricultural subsidies have continued to be the main intervention measures stipulated by government policies during these years.

Apart from these, the agricultural credit schemes inherited from 2015 have also been revitalised and expanded in scope. The CBNs Anchor Borrower Scheme is a good example, he said.
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The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), an industry group, says it had received directives from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator, to suspend access to Twitter.

The President of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, on Saturday.

The action is connected with Fridays indefinite suspension of Twitters operations by the federal government, two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general.

The government had announced the suspension barely 48 hours after the microblogging site deleted a controversial post by Mr Buhari referencing the countrys civil war, and threatening to treat those attacking government buildings with the language they understand. Mr Buhari fought during the civil war that claimed over a million lives.

His comments had received condemnation from Nigerians.

ALTON

Mr Adebayo noted that the association wished to confirm that its members had received formal instructions from NCC, the industry regulator, to suspend access to Twitter.

ALTON has also conducted a robust assessment of the request in accordance with internationally accepted principles.

Based on national interest provisions in the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and within the licence terms under which the industry operates; our members have acted in compliance with the directives of NCC.

We will continue to engage all relevant authorities and stakeholders and will act as may be further directed by the NCC,  Mr Adebayo said.

He said the association remained committed to supporting the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and upholding the rights of citizens.

He, however, said as an industry, ALTON endorsed the position of the United Nations that the rights held by people offline must also be protected online.

He noted that this included respecting and protecting the rights of all people to communicate, to share information freely and responsibly, and to enjoy privacy and security regarding their data and their use of digital communications.

(NAN)
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Despite the widespread condemnation of the Nigerian governments ban on Twitter operations in the country, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Saturday, issued an order for its enforcement.

The minister, in a statement by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, ordered the prosecution of violators of the suspension of the operations of Twitter in Nigeria.

This comes as an expression of the resolve of the government to clampdown on those bypassing the Twitter ban. The ban has attracted global and local condemnation as an attack on Nigerians civic rights, including rights to freedom of expression.

The government through the information minister, Lai Mohammed, announced an indefinite suspension of Twitter operation in Nigeria on Friday.

This came two days after Twitter took down a controversial tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari which the microblogging site said violated its rules and many Nigerian viewed as a veiled threat of violence against the Igbo ethnic group.

But since the ban on Twitter, many Nigerians have been using various Virtual Private Network (VPN) applications to remain active on the microblogging site.

Reacting to the development in a statement by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, on Saturday, Mr Malami ordered the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Umar Muhammed, to begin the prosecution of those bypassing the ban.

He directed the DPPF to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Commission (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of the offenders without any further delay.

The statement reads, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has directed for immediate prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria.

Malami directed the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF) at the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to swing into action and commence in earnest the process of prosecution of violators of the Federal Government De-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria.

Malami directed the DPPF to liase with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Communication (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of offenders without any further delay.

Before now, the Nigerian government has been struggling to impose regime of regulations of the social media space which has proved to be an effective platform for Nigerians to hold their leaders accountable.

In Fridays announcement of the ban on Twitter, the government directed the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation to begin the licensing of Over The Top (OTT) and social media applications.

The ban on Twitter and the move by the government to restrict Nigerians access to social media bring back the memory of Mr Buharis dictatorial regime as the head of state between 1984 and 1984 which saw widespread clampdown on the media and violation of the rights of citizens.
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The police have said 88 people were killed on Thursday by bandits in attacks on some communities in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State.

The police said they feared that the death toll may rise as many people remain unaccounted for.

The police spokesperson in Kebbi, Nafiu Abubakar, disclosed this to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday.

He said the police had deployed more officers to the affected areas

Mr Abubakar said the attack occurred late Thursday in the communities at the states boundaries with Zamfara and Niger states.

He identified some of the affected communities as Koro, Kimpi, Gaya, Dimi, Zutu, Rafin Gora and Iguenge all of which he described as difficult to access from Kebbi State.

Mr Abubakar said many persons were yet to be accounted for as many fled during the attacks to nearby communities for safety.

The official said following the recent invasion of parts of the state by armed bandits from neighbouring states, the police in Kebbi launched Operation Ganuwa to forestall attacks on vulnerable communities.

He said the bandits have no known enclave in Kebbi State, but usually came from Zamfara and Niger states and flee back to their bases after carrying out attacks.

Mr Abubakar said security agents were doing the necessary to protect communities at the borderlines, despite the difficult terrain.
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Nigerias ruling party, APC, has declared its support for the ban on Twitter by the Nigerian government.

The ruling party alleged that the social media giants support for divisive views threatens Nigerias sovereignty and national interest.

We are a democratic and independent nation, citizens should defend our sovereignty by supporting the federal governments Twitter suspension. It is in our national interest, the partys interim national secretary, John Akpanudoedehe, said in its reaction issued on Saturday.

The APCs stance comes 24 hours after the Buhari administration announced the ban on Twitter in Nigeria. The implementation of the ban commenced on Saturday with mobile telecoms operators blocking access to Twitter for all their users, based on a government directive.

Many Nigerians have been using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to bypass the ban, which has been condemned by many Nigerians and civil society organisations. The ban has been described as an attack on freedom of expression by human rights groups and activists including Amnesty International.

Following the ban, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, announced that the government plans to prosecute Nigerians still using Twitter despite the ban.

In its reaction, the APC said Nigerian youth should see the ban as an opportunity for a homegrown social media network.

Russia has VKontakte (VK), China has Weibo, among several homegrown social media platforms. The APC believes that the country has the potentials and talents that can develop alternative and competitive applications to existing platforms in the world. Twitters suspension will undoubtedly serve as a positive trigger to unleash the creative potentials of Nigerians in the global digital space.

This is a challenge to our vibrant youths with such talents. They will get support in the exercise from relevant federal government agencies as well as the numerous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training and research establishments in the country, the ruling party said.

The APCs official position is expected to fact criticism from Nigerians as the party maximised the use of social media including Twitter to galvanise support against the former ruling party, PDP, in 2015.

Many APC leaders, including Mr Buhari, had acknowledged the role of social media in their electoral victory in 2015, the first time an opposition party would win a presidential election in Nigeria.
The presidency says the ban on Twitter in Nigeria is not just a retaliatory reaction to the social media platforms recent deletion of a controversial tweet posted by President Muhammadu Buhari.

It also says Twitters suspension is temporary. The information minister, Lai Mohammed, had announced the ban as indefinite on Friday.

The suspension was a censoring of the company that had all the while escaped accountability for spreading misinformation and fake news, a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, stated in a statement late Saturday.

The temporary suspension of Twitter is not just a response to the removal of the Presidents post. There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences. All the while, the company has escaped accountability.

Nevertheless, the removal of President Buharis tweet was disappointing. The censoring seemed based on a misunderstanding of the challenges Nigeria faces today, the statement read in part.

It was the presidencys first reaction to the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria, an act that has drawn outrage locally and internationally since it was announced on Friday.

On Saturday, more Nigerians, activists, lawyers, local and international bodies, reacted in anger after the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, ordered the arrest and prosecution of Nigerians still using Twitter in defiance to the ban.

Mr Malamis combative statement appeared to be a reaction to the noticeable defiance to the ban by Nigerian Twitter users who remain active on the social media platform using various Virtual Private Network (VPN) applications.

#TwitterBan

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the ban on Twitter was announced by the information minister two days after Twitter deleted a controversial post by Mr Buhari.

Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand, Mr Buhari had posted on Tuesday.

Twitter deleted the post on Thursday, saying it violated its rules even as many Nigerians viewed it as a veiled threat of violence against the Igbo ethnic group.

Not a knee-jack reaction

Insisting that the ban on Twitter was not just a reaction to the deletion of Mr Buharis tweet, Mr Shehu said tech companies could not be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives.

He said Mr Buhari had been warning against social medias disruptive and divisive influences, adding that the ban on Twitter was therefore not a knee-jack reaction to the deletion of his post.

Major tech companies must be alive to their responsibilities. They cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives. This could tear some countries apart.

President Buhari has therefore been warning against social medias disruptive and divisive influences and the governments action is not a knee-jerk reaction to Twitters preposterous deletion of his tweet which should have been read in full, Mr Shehu stated.

Presidents statement not a threat

In the presidents defence, Mr Shehu said his tweet was a statement of fact and not a threat.

He added that the tweet was not a promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens right to freedom from harm.

In reference to violent activities in the South-east region, Mr Shehu said the government could not be expected to capitulate to terrorists.

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The tweet was not a threat, but a statement of fact. A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.

When the President said that they will be treated in a language they understand, he merely reiterated that their force shall be met with force. It is a basic principle of security services response world over.

This is not promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens right to freedom from harm. The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.

IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country.

Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our countrys civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy, he stated.

Shrinking civic space under Buhari

Many Nigerians outraged by the ban on Twitter view it as an attack of the citizens rights to freedom of expression, and a step closer to the actualisation of the long-existing plan by the Buhari-led administration to impose strict regulations on social media in the country.

The social media has proved to be an effective platform for holding Nigerian leaders accountable, in an era when government is quick to deploy state forces to disperse physical protests.

Soldiers, acting on the instruction of the government, shot at a protesting crowd of youths during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests at Lekki Tollgate in Lagos. A yet-to-be-ascertained number of protesters were either killed or brutally wounded in the attack.

Attacks, dispersal, arrest and detention of peaceful protesters have become a recurring feature in the Buhari administration, bringing back the memory of the horror of his stint as a dictator between 1984 and 1985. The period was known for vicious attack on free press and rights violations in Nigeria.

READ PRESIDENCYS FULL STATEMENT BELOW

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT ON TWITTER SUSPENSION IN NIGERIA

The temporary suspension of Twitter is not just a response to the removal of the Presidents post. There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences. All the while, the company has escaped accountability.

Nevertheless, the removal of President Buharis tweet was disappointing. The censoring seemed based on a misunderstanding of the challenges Nigeria faces today.

The President in his address at the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA in 2019 said the world was shocked and startled by the massacre in New Zealand by a lone gunman taking the lives of 50 worshippers.

This and similar crimes which have been fueled by social media networks risk seeping into the fabric of an emerging digital culture.

Major tech companies must be alive to their responsibilities. They cannot be allowed to continue to facilitate the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages capable of inciting whole communities against each other, leading to loss of many lives. This could tear some countries apart.

President Buhari has therefore been warning against social medias disruptive and divisive influences and the governments action is not a knee-jerk reaction to Twitters preposterous deletion of his tweet which should have been read in full.

The tweet was not a threat, but a statement of fact.

A terrorist organisation (IPOB) poses a significant threat to the safety and security of Nigerian citizens.

When the President said that they will be treated in a language they understand, he merely reiterated that their force shall be met with force. It is a basic principle of security services response world over.

This is not promotion of hate, but a pledge to uphold citizens right to freedom from harm. The government cannot be expected to capitulate to terrorists.

IPOB is proscribed under Nigerian law. Its members murder innocent Nigerians. They kill policemen and set government property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across the country.

Twitter does not seem to appreciate the national trauma of our countrys civil war. This government shall not allow a recurrence of that tragedy.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

June 5, 2021
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The National President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria under the Partnership for Advocacy in child and family health At Scale, Minnie Oseji, has lamented the decision of the United Kingdom to withdraw the annual 3 million into the basket fund for Family Planning (FP) commodities of Nigeria.

Mrs Oseji, in a statement issued to journalists in Abuja, asked the Minister of Finance and Nigerias federal government to step in and fill the gap to prevent the negative consequences that poor funding of family planning can cause in an already overpopulated country with dire demographic challenges.

Between 2012 to 2020, the UK government pledged and paid into the Nigeria FP commodities basket fund a total of 21million pounds for the procurement of FP commodities. UK government support contributed to saving the lives of millions of Nigerian women who would otherwise be unable to delay pregnancies and be at risk of maternal death, she said

She, however, lamented that the same Conservative Government which pledged to save lives of women in the developing world has beaten a retreat from this commitment, signaling that the UK will no longer be paying the annual 3 million into the basket fund for FP commodities of Nigeria.

Nigerian women could only expect one-fifth of this sum for 2021, with no certainties about future funding. So, Nigeria is facing an 80 per cent cut from the UK governments contribution to the procurement for FP commodities. This is coming at a time when families are increasingly unable to meet the out-of-pocket expenditure for commodities, cannulas, and cough syrup, she added

Mrs Oseji revealed that several experts in the Nigerian maternal health space have questioned the timing and merit of this decision because, according to her, the withdrawal of family planning funding in Nigeria will undoubtedly have a harmful impact on the UK government flagship Lafia health project, a project with FP as one of the three most significant components. In addition, financial savings gains may well lead to programmatic failure for the UK.

We the 23 civil society organizations of the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health at Scale project, join with the maternal health community of Nigeria to call on the UK government to rethink this ill-timed and harmful decision to Nigerian women. We also recognise the opportunity in the moment for the Nigerian Government, she appealed.

Reports indicate that the decision of the UK government to cut funding for maternal health comes at a time when the Federal Government of Nigeria launched a new Family Planning Blueprint (2020-2024) on October 12, 2020. The blueprint is Nigerias roadmap for safe motherhood through the healthy timing offered by modern FP commodities. The blueprint is a clear and operational document with targets, performance indicators, and an accountability mechanism for CSOs to track and assess implementation performance. But to implement the blueprint, substantial cash backing is needed. Cash backing will ensure adequate commodities and equip health workers with the skills and practices to provide quality services. In an advocacy visit to the Federal Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, by the Nigerian Medical Women, a leading CSO partner in the Partnership for Advocacy for Child and Family Health at Scale project, the minister on March 26, 2021, promised to make good on governments commitment to family planning and to release withheld funding for this line item. With the UK governments reduced financing of commodities, the Nigerian government must prioritize adequate funding for family planning. This is a golden moment for the government to keep its promise of delivering maternal health for Nigerian women of reproductive age. With the UK stepping back and beating a retreat, Nigerian health sovereignty is the true moment to benefit the nations women.
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Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, has asked the federal government to reverse the suspension of Twitters operations in the country.

Mr Makinde, in a statement Saturday, said that the federal governments action was an emotional reaction and not well thought out.

As leaders, the governor said, We should go beyond emotional reactions to issues and think about how our actions will affect the people we lead and our international ratings socially and economically.

Twitter has become the platform for young people and indeed all Nigerians to exercise their fundamental right to express and publish an opinion.

They use the platform to complain, argue and give feedback to the government and its agencies who in turn, use these to improve policies, he added

This, he said, is a fundamental point that should be kept in mind as we debate the necessity of this suspension.

We should also remember that Twitter has gone beyond a source of communication for many of our hardworking youths in Nigeria. It has become a source of livelihood for many, irrespective of their political affiliations or religious leanings. Nigerian youths and digital communications organisations earn a living from being able to use the platform to post communications on behalf of their clients, the governor added.

Others who may not have physical stores also rely on Twitter to give visibility to their products and services.

Furthermore, I believe the Federal Government should be actively interested in how certain policies and actions will affect investor confidence. I, therefore, use this medium to appeal to the Federal Government to reverse this suspension for the greater good of Nigerians, Mr Makinde said.

The ban

The Nigeria government on Friday announced the indefinite suspension of Twitters operations, saying its activities are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

The decision came barely 48 hours after Twitter deleted a controversial post by President Muhammadu Buhari referencing the countrys civil war, and threatening those who attack government buildings with the language they understand.

Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand, Mr Buhari warned in the tweet that was taken down.

After condemning the deletion of the post by Twitter, the government on Friday then announced the suspension of the social media platform in Nigeria.

By Saturday morning, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), an industry group, confirmed it had received a directive from the government to suspend access to Twitter across the country. ALTON said its members have implemented the directive.

Many Nigerians and since condemned the governments action.

Twitter said in a statement on Friday that it was investigating the deeply concerning suspension of operations, and would provide updates when we know more.
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The has said that it seized 34,950 capsules of Tramadol and Diazepam in Lagos meant for delivery to insurgents in Borno.

The agencys Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, in Abuja.

Mr Babafemi said that a 25-year-old suspect, Mohammed Isah, recruited to move the drugs from Lagos to Borno was arrested on Tuesday, at a motor park in Agege, Lagos.

He added that the suspect was arrested with 12, 390 capsules of Tramadol (4.8kg) and 22,560 tablets of Diazepam (14kg).

Under interrogation, the suspect said he came to Lagos in 2013.

He said when he got to Lagos, he started riding commercial motorcycle (Okada), then tricycle (Keke Marwa) and currently drives a township bus plying from Ikeja to Ojota.

He said that on May 28, one Kakali Abubakar invited him to Ezekiel Street, Ikeja, and gave him the assignment of transporting the drugs to Maiduguri and offered to pay him N50, 000, which he accepted.

He said that Kakali advised him to either board a tanker or trailer from Lagos to Maiduguri, to avoid being caught.

Mr Babafemi added that the suspected confessed that rather, he travelled in a bus operated by SD Motors from Lagos to Kano and then take another vehicle to Maiduguri.

The suspect claimed that he accepted the offer because of the financial strain on him as his wife and three children, displaced by Boko Haram activities, are currently in an IDP camp in Maiduguri.

Mr Babafemi said investigations revealed that before Mr Mohammeds arrest, Mr Kakali had travelled from Lagos to Maiduguri, to await the arrival of the consignment.

He quoted the NDLEAs Chairman, Buba Marwa, as commending operatives of the agencys Lagos State command, for their vigilance in blocking such volume of drugs from getting to Borno, currently the nations hotbed of insurgency.

(NAN)
Gilbertsville Man Arrested for DUI After Crash

By West Kentucky Star Staff

LYON COUNTY - A single-vehicle collision Friday afternoon led to a Gilbertsville man's arrest on numerous charges.Lyon County deputies were dispatched to a single-vehicle collision near Timber Lane, approximately five miles south of Kuttawa.At the scene, authorities located a vehicle in a ditch and resting on a mailbox post.Deputies say the driver, 59-year-old Deno C. Pitt of Gilbertsville, was intoxicated.Pitt was arrested and charged with DUI and third-degree criminal mischief.He was lodged in the Crittenden County Detention Center.
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The management of Twitter, popular microblogging platform, has reacted to the ban on its activities by the Nigerian government.

In a short statement posted via its Public Policy handle, the social media platform says it is concerned about the blockade, promising to restore access to Nigerian users.

We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria. Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society, the organisation said.

We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn.

Nigerias Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Muhammed, on Friday, announced the ban and a federal government directive ordering the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.

Following the ban, which was effected by telecommunications operators, Nigerians have been denied access to the microblogging platform and can only access it by bypassing domain restrictions through alternative mediums.

The suspension is a backdrop of Twitters deletion of President Muhammadu Buharis controversial tweet about the civil war after some Nigerian users found it offensive.

Amid pushbacks from human rights advocates and organisations, the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, ordered thevprosecution of those using the app against the governments directive.
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The International Press Institute (IPI) has asked the federal government to reverse the suspension of Twitters operations in Nigeria and engage in meaningful dialogue with the social media outfit on issues of concern.

In the same vein, the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), says the suspension is wrong and an overreaction.

The action would not win us friends as closure of public space limits public discourse and democratic advancement. It is a futile exercise in any case, as other platforms are more likely to suspect Nigerias intentions towards democratic tenets and act adversarially towards Nigeria, said NPAN

According to IPI, the action is detrimental to the free press in Nigeria which uses twitter as a major platform.

The Institute urged Twitter and other social media platforms to pay attention to contents they promote, noting that the Nigerian government has concerns on the use of social media to propagate hate speech and fake news.

Nigeria should not play into the hands of the enemies who are relentless is seeking to destroy and ostracise her. Banning Twitter is regressive and should be rescinded in favour of dialogue, it said.

Following the deletion of the Presidents controversial tweet by Twitter on grounds of noncompliance with the rules of the platform, the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, on Friday announced the suspension of the platform which took effect almost immediately.

With Twitter suspended in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buharis administration is now poised to regulate other social media platforms.

Already, mobile telecommunication operators have said they have complied with the directive of the government to ban subscribers from accessing Twitter.

The federal government through the ministry of information said in a statement Friday that it has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.

With Twitter out of the way, the proposed plan to licence social media operations and Over The Top (OTTs) (which refers to any streaming service that delivers content over the internet) has rattled Nigerians.

OTTs include YouTube, Zoom, Googlemeet, WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Signal among others.

If successful, it means the long sought social media regulation the government has mulled for years is underway.
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The Nigerian government on Friday announced it has indefinitely suspended the operations of Twitter in the country.

This decision came two days after Twitter deleted a controversial post by President Muhammadu Buhari referencing the countrys civil war, and threatening those who attack government properties with the language they understand.

The federal government based its decision on the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

However, authorities did not clarify how and when the ban would start, but on Saturday morning, many Nigerians are unable to access new information on the microblogging site.

This action by the government has left many Nigerians no choice but to engage the services of Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers as an alternative option to access Twitter and other social media networks

A VPN is a secure tunnel between your device and the internet. VPNs protect you from online snooping, interference, and censorship.

Here are some VPN providers you can pick from;

Ranked No 1, by Toms Guide, for its intuitive apps, great speeds, reliability and wide device support. You can also use Toms Guide offer to claim 3-months Free usage.

The app is nice and intuitive, and offers one-touch connection to the best server. Its got all the essential features like a kill switch, a selection of protocols and auto-connect.

Offers a fast, effective mobile VPN experience with a simple yet powerful interface and great connection speeds.

Nords apps are a sound choice for those looking to stay secure on the go and will make sure you are safe when connecting to public Wi-Fi. Check out NordVPN review for more info.

A VPN choice for beginners with a configurable interface, which makes it an ideal client for those who are interested in learning how to understand what a VPN does under the hood. It also has multiplatform flexibility.

While free VPNs are a popular option for discount shoppers, it is advisable to pay for reliable technologies that encrypt your data while you browse online. If you absolutely must use a free VPN, use the free trial deals or introductory versions of paid VPN services.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appealed to developed countries to donate 250 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to protect the frontline workers and most vulnerable people in low-income countries.

The UN health agency said two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been distributed globally, but only 0.5 per cent had reached low-income countries where frontline health workers and the elderly have yet to receive a shot.

Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, said that of those two billion doses, over 75 per cent had gone to just 10 countries, notably China, U.S. and India.

This trio account for about 60 per cent of those doses, said Mr Aylward, also Head of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) Hub, speaking via Zoom.

He said: At the other end of that spectrum, only about 0.5 per cent of doses had reached the lowest income countries, which account for about 10 per cent of world population.

This had led increasingly to a two-track recovery, characterised by the successful rollout of vaccines to high-risk populations and even younger populations in higher income and vaccine-producing countries.

By contrast, in the lower income countries, theyre still struggling to get sufficient product, just to be able to vaccinate the healthcare workers.

They are also struggling to get sufficient vaccine for older populations, who are really the key to getting out of the health, societal and economic crisis that were in the midst of.

Mr Aylward, therefore, made an urgent appeal for 250 million doses to protect the frontline workers and the most vulnerable people.

The call is for a quarter of a billion doses through the period through end of September to be donated, at least 100 million of those in June and July  thats what we need to get the system going.

He noted that on Thursday the U.S. had helped to kick start the appeal and bolster the UN-partnered equitable vaccine distribution scheme COVAX with the announcement that it intended to donate up to 80 million doses, including an initial 25 million shots, this month.

Thats an important start, but we need many other countries to be joining, and important for the U.S., crucially, is they said these doses are going to come in June.

It was absolutely ridiculous that some countries were still unable to protect their key workers amid escalating epidemics, though vaccines had been available for six months.

This week, well probably pass the two billion doses  if we have not already passed itin terms of number of doses of these vaccines, these new COVID vaccines that have actually been developed.

And these have been distributed now in over 212 countries, he said.

Briefing

Briefing reporters in New York on Friday, the UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, welcomed the announcement made by Joe Biden administration that it would be sharing millions of vaccine doses with both the COVAX facility as well as bilaterally with countries in particular need.

He said UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, was extremely grateful to the U.S. Government for the inclusion of UN personnel and Member States delegates serving in the U.S., in its national vaccination programme.

The secretary-general is grateful to U.S. for the generous offer to provide vaccines for UN frontline personnel serving in the most challenging and dangerous locations around the world.

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The Secretary-General renews his call to the international community to come together to address the unprecedented challenge of this pandemic.

Also, for countries to share vaccines, particularly with those that are struggling to cope with new surges and variants, he said.

(NAN)
The long-running row between the Nigerian federal government and social media giant, Twitter, reached a crescendo Friday with the West African country suspending the activities of the company indefinitely.

The suspension is seen by many activists and other Nigerians as a step towards the actualization of the governments resolve to regulate social media.

This move followed President Muhammadu Buharis controversial tweet about the civil war which was deemed as inciteful by Twitter.

The government accused the platform of meddling in Nigerias internal affairs and undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

By early Saturday morning, the suspension had taken effect and Nigerians had begun to shop for alternatives to bypass the domain restriction.

The government now appears set to launch a crackdown on other social media platforms; a move that reflects the mindset of a government, at both legislative and executive levels, that has mulled regulation of social media for months.

Information minister Lai Muhammad said in a statement that the Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.

According to Adjusts Mobile Marketing Glossary, OTTs stands for Over The Top and refers to any streaming service that delivers content over the internet. The service is delivered over the top of another platform, hence the moniker.

Licensing the services means that YouTube, Zoom, Googlemeet, WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Signal and other OTTs/social media could be suspended or banned when the government deems it fit.

There are some palpable fears that the government may come for the press too, and critics say it may be a reincarnation of the crackdown on speech typical of the military era.

The fear is further fueled by President Buharis history as a dictator who wielded absolute powers as a former military head of state in the early 1980s where he jailed journalists and critics.

At the time, Mr Buharis draconian Decrees two and four prohibited journalists from writing articles that were factual but insulting to public officials.

The governments Twitter suspension has the fingerprints of the era of decrees because in a democracy you do not rule by fiat, Adeboye Adegoke, a senior programme officer at Paradigm Initiative, said.

What rule was used to come to the decision of suspending twitter? he asked. The ban is a breach of the fundamental rights of Nigerians. It is a flagrant abuse of peoples rights.

Twitter is a corporation. It has its own rules. I see the ban as an emotional reaction. I feel their ego was bruised and Lai Mohammed feels too big, he added.

Mr Buhari had once decried democratic checks and balances as unnecessarily cumbersome even though he had no choice but to respect them in order not to jeopardise the countrys nascent democracy.

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In 2019, he longed for those military days.

Aware that Nigerians may doubt that he could ever sheath himself of authoritarian tendency to embrace democratic ethos, Mr Buhari came into office in 2015 by saying he was a reformed democrat. Not so much, however, has shown that to be true of the retired general.

Mr Adegoke said he doubts that the Nigerian government has the technical know-how for digital censorship and the control of online information from the top.

The suspension, however, will take effect by the government restricting access by ordering internet service providers (ISPs) to limit access to their subscribers, the digital rights advocate added.

Already, the mobile telecommunication operators say they have been directed by the government to ban their users from accessing Twitter and they have complied.

The latest crackdown on Twitter means that the voices of a slew of Nigerians have been blacked out. The incessant arrests and clampdown on protesters also mean Nigerians have limited medium to protest.

It also means that the surging number of digital entrepreneurs who use Twitter as their e-shop may see a dip in their revenue. More so, citizens who rely on Twitter feeds to stay on top of information may have been disenfranchised.

Known for its tepid communication with the citizens, it is unclear how government agencies, particularly the presidency, intend to keep citizens informed about its activities.

Edged by only WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and FB Messenger, Twitter is the sixth most used social media platform in Nigeria as of the third quarter of 2020 with 61.4 per cent of internet users in the country using the platform, according to data tracker Statista.

There were 104.4 million internet users in Nigeria in January 2021.

Nigeria now joins a league of eight infamous countries that have banned the use of Twitter either temporarily or permanently. Russias internet and media regulator, Roskomnadzor, in April threatened to block access to Twitter from within Russia.

Uganda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Togo, Burundi, Chad, Mali and Guinea also restricted access to the internet or social media applications at some point in 2020.

According to Access Now, an independent monitoring group, there were 25 documented cases of partial or total internet shutdowns in 2019, compared to 20 in 2018 and 12 in 2017.

Anyone can access Twitter through VPN services (Virtual Private Network), Mr Adegoke said as a way forward for Nigerians.

But more than that, he added, we need to push back in terms of litigation. The challenge is that the courts are not on session.

In the meantime, there needs to be more awareness on how the average citizen can circumvent this Twitter ban as well as on digital security.

Nigerias occupation of the infamous list has drawn stiff pushback from Nigerians, the Nigerian Bar Association, opposition leaders as well as diplomats.

All Nigerians have the right to freedom of speech and the responsibility not to misuse that right. Any action taken by (the) Government must be measured, proportionate and not (suppress) basic freedoms, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Atkinson, wrote on Twitter.

Freedom of speech, used responsibly online and offline, and access to reliable information are fundamental human rights protected by #Nigerias constitution and a cornerstone of democratic life around the world,, the High Commissioner of Canada in Nigeria, Nicolas Simard, also tweeted.

"Freedom of speech, used responsibly online and off line, and access to reliable information are fundamental human rights protected by #Nigerias constitution and a cornerstone of democratic life around the world" @NicolasJSimard. (1/2)  Canada in Nigeria (@CanHCNigeria) June 4, 2021
The ban on Twitter by the Nigerian government has been condemned by some supporters of the ruling party, APC, while others have declared support for it. The ruling party is, however, yet to make its official position known on the matter.

The social media has been agog since Friday following the decision of the Nigerian government to indefinitely suspend the operations of Twitter in the country.

Nigerias information minister, Lai Mohammed, claimed that Twitter is being used for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

The government also said it has ordered the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all social media operations in Nigeria.

The development comes barely two days after Twitter deleted a controversial post by President Muhammadu Buhari referencing the countrys civil war, and threatening to treat those attacking government buildings with the language they understand.

Many Nigerians saw Mr Buharis statement as a veiled threat against the Igbo ethnic group who suffered the most casualties during the war.

The aftermath

For Twitter, Mr Buharis post violated one of its rules and it deleted the controversial post.

In reaction, Nigerias information minister, Mr Mohammed, said the platform chose to ignore the inciting messages from the proscribed secessionist group, IPOB, but was quick to enforce its rules on the president.

Twitter may have its own rules, its not the universal rule. If Mr President, anywhere in the world, feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views. If an organisation is proscribed, it is different from any other which is not proscribed.

Two, any organisation that gives directives to its members to attack police stations, to kill policemen, to attack correctional centres, to kill warders, and you are now saying that Mr President does not have the right to express his dismay and anger about that?

I dont see anywhere in the world where an organisation, a person will stay somewhere outside Nigeria, and will direct his members to attack the symbols of authority, the police, the military, especially when that organisation has been proscribed. By whatever name, you cant justify giving orders to kill policemen or to kill anybody you do not agree with, Mr Mohammed said then.

On Friday, two days after that statement, Mr Mohammed announced the suspension of the social media platforms operations in Nigeria.

Reactions

Many Nigerians have reacted negatively to this, accusing Mr Buhari of high-handedness.

Those who have condemned the ban include supporters of the ruling party, APC.

Kayode Ogundamisi, a supporter of the APC, described the governments reaction to the ban as the culture of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging, he wrote.

Of all the options available, of every free advice given from different sources, legitimate cases turned into a spectacle. The culture of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory continues. Oro yin su mi  the activist wrote on Twitter.

"if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging". Of all the options available, of every free advice given from different sources, legitimate cases turned into a spectacle. The culture of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory continues. Oro yin su mi.  Kayode Ogundamisi (@ogundamisi) June 4, 2021

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Gbenga Olorunpomi, a former aide to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi and an APC youth leader, condemned both the ban and the use of Twitter for hate crimes.

FYI: It is okay to say the decision to suspend Twitter is terrible on one hand and accept that Twitter may one day destroy Nigeria on the other. Both can be very correct, he said in one of his tweets.

FYI: It is okay to say the decision to 'suspend' Twitter is terrible on one hand and accept that Twitter may one day destroy Nigeria on the other. Both can be very correct.  Gbenga 'Gld' lrunpomi (@GbengaGOLD) June 4, 2021

In another tweet, he declared support for the decision of the Nigerian Bar Association to sue Mr Buhari.

Dont threaten sue. I want the FG to face as many lawsuits on this matter to either legitimise it or force it to reverse course. Either way, we are all better informed about the limits of the governments power.

He also attacked Twitter for deleting Mr Buharis tweet.

Took Twitter more than 5 years of watching Teump spread hate and racism to take action. But, to delete a video that was of no harm to anyone, they took less than 48 hours. Not enough reason to suspend Twitter but @jack needs to look himself in the mirror.

Took Twitter more than 5 years of watching Teump spread hate and racism to take action. But, to delete a video that was of no harm to anyone, they took less than 48 hours. Not enough reason to suspend Twitter but @jack needs to look himself in the mirror. https://t.co/l585keFwNX  Gbenga 'Gld' lrunpomi (@GbengaGOLD) June 5, 2021

For Adamu Garba, a known supporter of President Buhari who appeared on Channels Television on Friday, the federal governments decision was accurate.

Im very happy about the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria. The most stable in the countries in the world, like China, are the ones that control social media, the former APC presidential aspirant said.

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The ruling party, APC, has yet to make its official position known on the suspension. The partys spokesperson Yekini Nabena, did not respond to calls and text messages by this reporter.

Meanwhile, major opposition parties and right groups have criticised the governments action.

As mobile telecom operators enforced the governments order Saturday morning, many Nigerians could no longer access Twitter directly. Many have, however, turned to Virtual Private Network (VPN) as a means of accessing Twitter.

A VPN is a secure tunnel between a device and the internet. VPNs protect users from online snooping, interference, and censorship.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has written President Muhammadu Buhari, alleging a breach of the agreement it signed with the Kaduna State government to end its warning strike last month.

It said the state, as against the outcome of the meeting brokered by the federal government, has started to sack its workers.

Your Excellency, Mr. President, may recall that the first conciliatory meeting between the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Kaduna State Government took place on May 20, 2021.

A major outcome of that meeting was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Kaduna State Government.

The MoU specifically provided that there should be no further victimisation and harassment of workers and trade union leaders in the state, especially workers who participated in the warning strike.

The Nigeria Labour Congress was also expected to maintain the suspension of the strike action while negotiations continued, the letter signed by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, read.

Mr Wabba said the Kaduna State Government has gone ahead to impugn all the clauses in the agreement freely entered with the Nigeria Labour Congress.

He said the state has started sacking workers for participating in the warning strike, adding that this is in violation of the no victimisation clause in the signed agreement.

Mr Wabba informed the president that the Labour Union might reactivate the suspended strike action owing to the state governments breach.

Your Excellency, Mr. President, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the NLC on May 25, 2021 resolved that in case the Kaduna State Government remain adamant and recalcitrant or continues to pursue the path of war, threat and punitive actions against workers and their interests, that it had given the National Administrative Council (NAC) the power to re-activate the suspended industrial action in Kaduna State and also call for the withdrawal of services of all workers in Nigeria without any further notice.

Background

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the workers union downed tools for two days in protest against the Kaduna State governments move to lay-off civil servants.

The state government had earlier complained about the fiscal burden payment of salaries has posed, noting that it gulps 80 per cent of its share of the monthly federal allocation.

The resolve of the government to embark on rightsizing its workforce led the labour union to declare a five-day warning strike, shutting down major sectors.

The state government, in its reaction, threatened to lay off the protesting workers and not to back down from the planned mass disengagement.

But two days into the industrial action, the federal government waded in and called both parties for negotiations in Abuja.

At the conciliatory meeting, the federal governments team, led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, reprimanded both parties.

Mr Ngige blamed the Kaduna State Government for not negotiating with workers before announcing such action as contained in the Labour Act on redundancy. He also blamed the Labour Union for acting based on a fake document insinuating that the government had commenced disengaging workers, when it had not.

He then instructed them to go back to the negotiating table after the union agreed to suspend the strike.

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PREMIUM TIMES however gathered that the state government has begun laying off workers in the state after the meeting with the federal government

Meanwhile, Governor Nasir El-Rufais spokesperson, Muyiwa Adekeye, was yet to respond to this newspapers enquiries as of the time of filing this report.
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The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has described the ban on microblogging site, Twitter, by the federal government as a violation of freedom of speech of Nigerians.

The lawmakers, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately reverse the suspension, so as not to exacerbate the already tensed situation in the country.

The caucus, in a statement on Saturday, by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, said the suspension is obnoxious and unjustifiable.

The Ministry of Information and Culture on Friday announced the suspension of Twitter for undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

Twitter recently deleted a tweet by President Muhamadu Buhari. The civil war tweet according to Twitter, violated the rules of the social media platform.

In the statement announcing the suspension, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, also announced that all social media platforms are to be registered to operate in Nigeria.

This is the latest move by the government to regulate social media after several legislations had been rejected by Nigerians.

In 2019, the protection from internet falsehood and manipulation bill was introduced to the Senate. The bill was sponsored by Musa Sani (APC, Niger).

Nigerians on social media used the #SayNoToSocialMediaBill to campaign against the bill. The bill is currently in some form of hibernation, as it has neither been rejected nor slated for further legislative action.

In 2015, the Frivolous Petitions (Prohibition) Bill 2015 was introduced in the 8th Senate, but the bill was rejected by Nigerians.

The Federal Governments action on Friday suggest it is ready to go ahead to regulate social media with executive fiat, instead of waiting for the National Assembly to pass the law.

Decision infringes on rights on Nigerians

Our caucus rejects this thoughtless decision of the Federal Government which amounts to a clampdown and a direct infringement on the rights of Nigerians to free speech as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended)' the statement said.

It further shows the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration as one that is unwilling to listen to Nigerians but ready to use any means to suppress and subjugate its citizens.

The Minority Caucus is disturbed that the suspension of Twitter in the country came after the social media platform deleted President Muhammadu Buharis tweets.

Such response by the Federal Government has raised further concerns over the APC-led administrations disturbing rating on issues of political intolerance, abuse of rights and violation of rules in our country.

The minority caucus cautions that the development is capable of leading to further restiveness among Nigerians and worsen the situation in the country.

Moreover, this action of the Federal Government, coming at a time the National Assembly is conducting its public hearing towards the amendment of the constitution, may constitute a major setback capable of diminishing public confidence in the exercise as well as other processes genuine efforts by the legislature to strengthen democratic tenets in the country.
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The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Saturday ordered the prosecution of Nigerians defying the governments ban on Twitter, but did not state the specific law that is being violated.

Asked which law the AGF intends to invoke to prosecute alleged offenders, his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, told PREMIUM TIMES that the alleged violators would get to know in court.

We will invite journalists at the time of prosecution, and they will know which laws are used to prosecute. The point is Twitter has been banned. Anybody should not try to use Twitter.

At the time we are gathering them and assembling them in court, they will get to know which law they are violating, Mr Gwandu told our reporter after he issued the statement announcing Mr Malamis prosecution order on Saturday.

When pressed further on the need to tell Nigerians which particular law they are violating by continuing using Twitter, Mr Gwandu said it was the the federal government laws.

Tell Nigerians that the government has banned Twitter and anybody who uses it will be penalised. The point is they violated the ban. They are violating the federal government laws, he said.

#TwitterBan

The government through the information minister, Lai Mohammed, had on Friday, announced an indefinite suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria.

This came two days after Twitter took down a controversial tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari which the microblogging site said violated its rules and many Nigerias viewed as a veiled threat of violence against the Igbo ethnic group.

The ban has been widely condemned by many within and outside Nigeria.

For a government that has been nursing the ambition of imposing a regime of strict regulation of the social media for years, the ban on Twitter is seen as part of a broader plan of the Buhari-led administration to restrict access to the social media space which has proved to be an effective platform for holding leaders accountable.

It also brings back the memories of the human rights abuse of Mr Buharis stint as a military dictator between 1984 and 1985. The period was known for vicious attacks on free press, freedom of expression, arbitrary arrests and detentions, among other forms of rights violation.

But since the ban on Twitter, many Nigerians have been using various Virtual Private Network (VPN) applications to remain active on the microblogging site.

Prosecution order

Reacting to the development in a statement by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, on Saturday, Mr Malami ordered the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Umar Muhammed, to begin the prosecution of those bypassing the ban.

He directed the DPPF to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, National Communication Commission (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of the offenders without any further delay.

Concerns

Many have raised concerns about which law is being violated by those who continue using the microblogging site.

This is in light of the provision of section 36(12) of the Nigerian constitution which prohibits the conviction of anyone based on any law not prescribed in any written law.

Subject as otherwise provided by this Constitution, a person shall not be convicted of a criminal offence unless that offence is defined and the penalty therefor is prescribed in a written law, and in this subsection, a written law refers to an Act of the National Assembly or a Law of a State, any subsidiary legislation or instrument under the provisions of a law, the constitutional provision reads.
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The Nigerian governments recent Twitter ban undermines freedom of expression and sends a poor message to citizens and investors, the U.S. government has said.

In a statement posted on its Twitter handle, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria advised the Nigerian government to consider a different path to secure Nigeria.

The U.S. added that the governments ban of Twitter portrays Nigeria in bad light before its citizens, potential investors and business owners.

It noted that by banning the platform, the Nigerian government was stifling the voices of its citizens and undermining their rights to freedom of expression.

Nigerias constitution provides for freedom of expression. The Governments recent #TwitterBan undermines Nigerians ability to exercise this fundamental freedom and sends a poor message to its citizens, investors and businesses, the statement read.

Banning social media and curbing every citizens ability to seek, receive, and impart information undermines fundamental freedems.

As President Biden has stated, our need for individual expression, open public conversation, and accountability has never been greater. The path to a more secure Nigeria lies in more, not less communication, alongside concerted efforts toward unity, peace, and prosperity.

The Nigerian government suspended Twitters activities in the country on Friday after the social media giant deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari which it deemed as inciting violence.

Activists said the crackdown was undemocratic, but the Nigerian government said it was to protect the corporate existence of the country.

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said violators of the ban who continue to use Twitter will be charged to court.

Asked under which law potential violators, will be charged, the minister said they will know when they get to court.

Opposition leaders, the Nigerian Bar Association and diplomats have criticised the government for the ban and some rights groups have threatened to press charges.

The British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gill Atkinson, said in a tweet that All Nigerians have the right to freedom of speech and the responsibility not to misuse that right. Any action taken by (the) Government must be measured, proportionate and not (suppress) basic freedoms.

Her counterpart at High Commissioner of Canada in Nigeria, Nicolas Simard, also said Freedom of speech, used responsibly online and off line, and access to reliable information are fundamental human rights protected by #Nigerias constitution and a cornerstone of democratic life around the world.
Bank of England Governor deposits advice to North Wales students during virtual lesson

Students credited leading finance figures and thanked them for depositing sound advice during a virtual lesson.

Economics and Business learners at Coleg Cambria Yale in Wrexham enjoyed an online discussion with Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey.

Mr Bailey was joined by the Bank of Englands Agent for Wales Stephen Hicks, and Deputy Agent for Wales, Ian Derrick.

They held a Q&A with students and presented on fundamental economic concepts, the role of the Bank and challenges facing the UK and global economies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.





We are so thankful to them for joining us as we know how precious their time is, said lecturer Jane Fellows.

The students really enjoyed the conversation and received some enlightening and insightful feedback on many subjects  it was a great session.

The Bank of England was founded as a private bank in 1694 to act as a banker to the Government. Today, it is the UKs central bank.

For more on Economics and Business at Coleg Cambria, visit www.cambria.ac.uk
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Nearly 24 hours after the Nigerian government announced a ban on the activities of Twitter, the popular microblogging platform has deleted inciting tweets from Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group agitating for the Republic of Biafra.

In the controversial tweet, the IPOB leader vowed to unleash terror on Nigerian soldiers deployed to the South-east. He also used derogatory words to describe some government officials.

Its not for the living to respond to the dead but given the lack of reasoning prevalent in the #Zoo Nigeria, I wish to assure @GarShehu (Garba Shehu) , the Jihadi midget @elrufai (Nasir El-Rufai) & that Fulani lapdog Femi Adesina that any army they send to #Biafraland will die there. None will return alive, Mr Kanu wrote via his handle on Wednesday.

Messrs Adesina and Shehu are both presidential aides while Mr El-Rufai is the current Governor of Kaduna State and a member of Nigerias ruling party, APC.

The tweet was deleted on Saturday with the social media platform saying it violates its rules.

The deletion was done a day after the federal government suspended the activities of Twitter in Nigeria accusing it of undermining the countrys corporate existence.

Announcing the ban on Friday, Nigerias information minister, Lai Mohammed, ordered the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing social media platforms in Nigeria.

Following the ban, which was effected by telecommunication firms based on a directive by the government, Nigerians have been denied access to the microblogging platform and can only access it by bypassing domain restrictions through alternative mediums.

The suspension of Twitter was announced two days after Twitter deleted President Muhammadu Buharis controversial tweet about the civil war which some Nigerians found offensive.

Mr Mohammed accused the social media giant of bias against the president and deliberately overlooking inciting statements from the IPOB leader.

Despite the widespread criticism of the governments action, the justice minister, Abubakar Malami, said the government would prosecute those using the app against the governments directive.

But Twitter disclosed on Saturday that it is working to restore access to its platform.

We are deeply concerned by the blocking of Twitter in Nigeria. Access to the free and #OpenInternet is an essential human right in modern society.

We will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on Twitter to communicate and connect with the world. #KeepitOn.
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With Twitter suspended in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buharis administration is now poised to regulate other social media platforms.

Already, mobile telecommunication operators have said they have complied with the directive of the government to ban subscribers from accessing Twitter.

The government has since doubled down on the crackdown with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, saying defaulters of the order will be charged to court.

When asked under what provision of the law this will be done, the minister said the violators would know when they get to court.

The federal government through the ministry of information said in a statement Friday that it has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT and social media operations in Nigeria.

With Twitter out of the way, the proposed plan to licence social media operations and Over The Top (OTTs) (which refers to any streaming service that delivers content over the internet) has rattled Nigerians.

OTTs include YouTube, Zoom, Googlemeet, WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Signal among others.

If successful, it means the long sought social media regulation the government has mulled for years is underway.

Many Nigerians have criticised the move, accusing Mr Buhari of reenacting his authoritarian past.

The plan to license social media platforms has also drawn fears among citizens as many say that their only medium to freely express their views could be clamped down on at the discretion of the government.

There have already been reports of security operatives opening fire at protesters and dispersing them. This has made physical protests more challenging; hence, the resolve of many Nigerians to online protests.

Opposition leaders, diplomats and Nigerians alike have asked the government to rescind its suspension of Twitter with the Nigerian Bar Association threatening to press charges against the government.
Nigerian senators have not publicly commented on Fridays decision by the federal government to ban a microblogging site, Twitter, from operating in the country.

Members of the House of Representatives, of the ruling party  APC, have also kept mum on the ban.

The deafening silence from the lawmakers comes amidst condemnations by many within and outside Nigeria.

Many have also asked the federal government to rescind its decision on the ban.

Over 30 lawmakers who were contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, did not respond to calls and text messages. This includes the Senate spokesperson, Ajibola Basiru.

Of all the senators contacted, only the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, responded and said he stands with the position of the Poeples Democratic Party (PDP).

I stand with the PDPs position. Freedom to receive and disseminate information is enshrined in our constitution, he said in a text message.

The PDP had in a statement on Friday, described the #TwitterBan as a vexatious, condemnable and barbaric move to muzzle Nigerians, particularly the youths, ostensibly to prevent them from holding the overtly corrupt, vindictive and divisive Buhari administration accountable for its atrocities, including human right violations, patronizing of terrorists and outright suppressive acts against innocent Nigerians.

The party also accused President Muhammadu Buhari of seeking to break its own poor record of press and media rights violations.

PREMIUM TIMES got the same silent reaction from APC members of the House including lawmakers who have been vocal on the floor, during plenary sessions.

Some of them include Shina Peller (APC, Oyo), Akin Alabi (APC, Oyo), Tajudeen Adefisoye (APC, Ondo) and Mansur Soro (APC, Bauchi).

These lawmakers have not only been outspoken; they have been very active on twitter as well.

Lanre Lasisi, the spokesperson for the Speaker of the House, had said a statement will be released in that regard but none was sent at the time of this report. The Senate Presidents media office declined comment.

The minority caucus of the House has, however, described the #TwitterBan as a violation of freedom of speech of Nigerians.

They asked Mr Buhari to immediately reverse the suspension, so as not to exacerbate the already tense situation in the country.

#Twitterban

Nigerians are still condemning the indefinite suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria, as announced by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, on Friday.

The announcement came two days after Twitter took down a controversial tweet by the president. Twitter had said the tweet violated its rules and many Nigerians viewed it as a threat of violence against the Igbo ethnic group.

Many have described the #TwitterBan as an attempt to gag the media, an attack on press freedom, freedom of expression and attempt to pass the controversial Social Media Bill.

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However, since the ban on Twitter, many Nigerians have been using various Virtual Private Network (VPN) applications to remain active on the microblogging site.

Nigerias Attorney General, in reaction, ordered the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Umar Muhammed, to begin the prosecution of those bypassing the ban.

He directed the DPPF to liaise with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other relevant government agencies to ensure the speedy prosecution of the offenders without any further delay.
Barely two months before Kyari clocks two years on the saddle, he has delivered on the promise of galvanising and bringing together NNPCs contractor parties to agree to the much anticipated full term agreement, which finally creates a certainty for the desired brighter future in the nations upstream sector.

Mother nature has a way of depositing its vast treasures wherever it pleases. In the wonderful world of hydrocarbons, these resources are either placed onshore (on land) or offshore (in water). Beneath the hidden depths of the worlds seas, ranging from a few hundreds to several thousands of feet (called deepwater), therein lies vast fortunes of oil and natural gas resources. These resources have the capacity to boost world economic growth and play a vital role in the future of the rapidly changing global energy mix.

It is on record that Nigeria is fortunate to have its own fair share of the worlds deepwater endowments. Data shows that the country produces almost 10 per cent of the global deepwater oil in recent times. Moreso, the deepwater terrain has become extremely significant in Nigerias energy space, representing almost half of the nations oil production and holding about 35 per cent of the countrys oil reserves.

As an evidence of the significance of this hugely prolific terrain, six out of the eight international oil companies, which control about 75 per cent of the worlds deepwater space, all have some presence in Nigerias deepwater. Suffice to say that deepwater has become a critical hydrocarbon landscape which the nation cannot afford to lose or manage with kids gloves.

The strategy deployed to resolve the conflict in the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 Bonga PSC is expected to serve as a benchmark for resolving the remaining PSC deepwater disputes. The Bonga PSC was thus the gateway to the resolution of the industry-wide disputes that have hamstrung the potential in the deepwater terrain over the years.

As critical as Nigerias deepwater terrain is, it happens that this high-volume environment has been plagued by protracted dispute between the International Oil Companies (IOCs) contractors and the host nation, Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) . The disputes have, over the years, been rooted in entrenched differences in the interpretation of the provisions of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and its associated laws.

Since commencement of production in 2005, these disagreements have festered and led to arbitration. The differences in opinion have inflicted a heavy strain on investor trust and confidence, stunting growth and creating the possibility of huge contingent liability on the nation. Essentially, these disputes have proven to be a major clog in the wheel of progress for all parties concerned.

As at 2016, contingent liability due to arbitration claims against Nigeria ran into billions, with high uncertainty for sustainable futures for the investors. In 2017, therefore, NNPC revised its engagement strategy and adopted a commercial solution as an alternative to the protracted legal dispute. The revised strategy was premised on the principle of trading the disputed bitter past for a brighter collaborative future for both parties.

The strategy deployed to resolve the conflict in the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 Bonga PSC is expected to serve as a benchmark for resolving the remaining PSC deepwater disputes. The Bonga PSC was thus the gateway to the resolution of the industry-wide disputes that have hamstrung the potential in the deepwater terrain over the years.

But why are NNPC and the IOCs using the OML 118 dispute resolution template as a reference and benchmark for resolving other disputes? The answer is not far-fetched. It is because of its significance in many ways. Along with the straddled fields, the OML 118 is home to five major players in the deepwater space, not only in Nigeria but also globally. It is also the first major deepwater development in Nigerias Niger Delta, 75 kilometres from the shore containing the Bonga fields, at water depths of over 1,000 metres.

The field is arguably one of the most prolific deepwater assets in Nigeria, boasting of almost two billion barrels of crude oil and up to 1 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of gas. It also has a modest cost of operations and has delivered appreciable value for the investors with a sizeable take for the country. The field also supplies gas to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), another strategic asset to the NNPC and its partners.

So, after two years of negotiating the strategy and seeking alignment on some of the PSC terms, in February 2019 NNPC signed the Heads of Terms (HoT) with the OML 118 PSC contractors (PSC) partners  Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL) and Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE).
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Now comes the rub! imagine the chagrin, this past week or two, as revelations emerged, ten years after that meeting, of humungous amounts from oil resources being found in the U.S. off-shore accounts of that pivotal figure of any nations security architecture! Is that an exceptional tale? Not in the least! He is not the first multi-starred General to be thus exposed

We heard it last during the heydays of Donald Rumsfeld under George Bush  and judge in what condition it has left that part of the world, and beyond. Rumsfelds namesake  a sobering coincidence  also spat the same gung-ho rhetoric. That Donald once ordered his uniformed forces to go out there and dominate the environment, following civilian protests at extra-judicial killings of blacks by state police. Soon enough, leaving nothing to chance, that Donald II seized on the first opportunity to personally mobilise a mob to dominate Capitol Hill, his own seat of government, that was clearly slipping from his control.

Optimists are free to underplay that threat to the much-acclaimed democratic beacon. Study that scenario carefully however, and you find it is not a question of: It could never have succeeded. Such surmises are wrong, It COULD HAVE SUCCEEDED, albeit with unpredictable consequences for America and the world. And so, when the elected head of a democratic state like Nigeria, not perched precariously on the knife edge of power but with a couple more years in the kitty, threatens to shock dissidents, we should indeed be shocked out of any complacency. Even if History has been deliberately eliminated from the schools curriculum, Memory suffices to jerk us into a watchful, precautionary alert.

I hold no brief for those who resort to burning down police stations, slaughtering their occupants simply for the crime of earning a measly monthly pittance, torching electoral offices, assassinating politicians in the calculated effort to set sections of the country against others in the promotion of their own political goals. These are largely nihilists, psychopaths and/or criminal lords, soul mates of Boko Haram, ISWAP, Daesh and company, not to be confused with genuine liberators. All over the world, throughout history, elections are denounced, boycotted, and generally delegitimised, without recourse to wanton butchery.

When, however, a Head of State threatens to shock civilian dissidents, to deal with them in the language they understand, and in a context that conveniently brackets opposition to governance with bloodthirsting enemies of state, we have to call attention to the precedent language of such a national leader under even more provocative, nation disintegrative circumstances. What a pity, and what a tragic setting, to discover that this language was accessible all the time to President Buhari, where and when it truly mattered, when it would have been not only appropriate, but deserved and mandatory!

The evocation of the Civil War, where millions of civilians perished, is an unworthy emotive ploy that has run its course. In any case  and this has been voiced all too often, and loudly  the nation is already at war, and of a far more potentially devastating dimension than it has ever known. Every single occupant of this nation space called Nigeria has been declared potential casualty

When Benue was first massively brought under siege, with the massacre of innocent citizens, the destruction of farms, mass displacement followed by alien occupation, Buharis language  both as utterance and as what is known as body language  was of a totally different temper. It was diffident, conciliatory, even apologetic. After much internal pressure, he eventually visited the scene of slaughter. His language? Learn to live peacefully with your neighbours. The expected language, rationally and legitimately applied to the aggressors, was exactly what we now hear  I shall shock you. I shall deal with you in the language you understand. That language was missing at the moment that mattered most. It remained missing in action for years until a belated Shoot at sight outburst. Too late, and of course, inappropriately phrased. The precedent had been set, the genie let out of the bottle, consolidating a culture of impunity that predictably spread its bloody stain all over the nation.

Buharis recent deployment of this language is thus wrongly targeted, and tragically untimely. Even while he was threatening dissidents, an agenda of both secessionism and alien occupation was taking place, not too distant from Aso Rock. ISWAP was taking over the already excised territories of Shekaus Boko Haram, appointing new warlords of the occupational forces, sectioning Nigeria into vassal states and unfurling their replacement flags of domination. Soon, logically, ISWAPs letters of diplomatic accreditation will be presented in Aso Rock?

We must however backtrack a little  that is the function of memory. It would be false to suggest that these eggs of impunity are newly laid. They have been incubating in loathsome hatcheries of power and domination for years, even decades, and now the raptors have been hatched and taken wings. The political culture of the devils bargain, of denial, evasion, avoidance of constitutional mandates, the culture of appeasement of the unappeasable  to quote myself  in order to gratify the vested interests of a narrow, power obsessed elite, has blossomed. Finally, the chickens have come home to roost.

The evocation of the Civil War, where millions of civilians perished, is an unworthy emotive ploy that has run its course. In any case  and this has been voiced all too often, and loudly  the nation is already at war, and of a far more potentially devastating dimension than it has ever known. Every single occupant of this nation space called Nigeria has been declared potential casualty, children being pushed to the very battlefront, without a semblance of protective cover. We have betrayed the future. We need no breast beating about past wars. The world has moved on, so have nations. Some, however, prefer to move backwards. The continent is full of these atavists. In Nigeria, powerful cliques of this persuasion still roam the corridors of power. We are indeed at war. It does not take the formal declaration of hostilities, with or without lethal bombardments, for a nation to find itself shell-shocked. The populace of this nation is already in that shell-shocked condition. So, what is there left to shock?

It is time to think outside the box. That many, in so doing, find no landing place except dissolution, is not a crime. It is not peculiar to any people, and it is embedded in the ongoing history of many, and not only on this continent. It is their natural right as free citizens, not slaves of habit and indoctrination.

It is time to think outside the box. That many, in so doing, find no landing place except dissolution, is not a crime. It is not peculiar to any people, and it is embedded in the ongoing history of many, and not only on this continent. It is their natural right as free citizens, not slaves of habit and indoctrination. Where disillusion rides high, sentiment tumbles earthwards, and the only question becomes: What can be salvaged? It thus remains the responsibility of leadership to persuade them, through both discourse and remedial action, that there are other options. Attempted bullying is not a language of discourse, nor the facile ploy of tarring all birds with the same feather.

I shall end on a personal note. It was not intended but, in view of breast thumping rhetoric by one president after the other over military sacrifice  undeniable, certainly  such recalls should be considered salutary. The heroic exploits of our military in confronting some of the deadliest internal forces of dehumanisation deserve their place of honour, not only in history, but in contemporary consciousness. However, let not the military fail to take its place centrally in the nations ongoing, unavoidable soul searching. And so to an instructive intervention by this bloody civilian, in what should be an exclusionary portfolio of the keepers of a nations mandate for secure existence.

It took months for me to effect a meeting, agreed in principle, with a former National Security Adviser. It took that long only because I refused to meet him within the country, since it had become clear that the security forces, in addition to high levels of governance, had become infiltrated by the very vicious elements that have fully established and sustained a lethal dimension. I was not about to let myself be sold out to unseen forces in my eagerness to sound an oppressive warning. We eventually met in London. The records, I am certain, will be found in the National Security files and, in any case, I went accompanied. My mission was straightforward  to let him know that the nation was under siege, that the nomadic herdsmen that then threaded the forests were of a different breed from those whom we normally encountered in that environment that was also close to a second home to some of us. We met. That National Security Adviser assured me that the military was aware of this, and that his mission to the United States was to negotiate the purchase of spotter planes to patrol the forest routes. I retreated, satisfied, to my normal preoccupations. No, not entirely true  I did take other supplementary steps internally, including meetings with high level state officials in the West.

Now comes the rub! imagine the chagrin, this past week or two, as revelations emerged, ten years after that meeting, of humungous amounts from oil resources being found in the U.S. off-shore accounts of that pivotal figure of any nations security architecture! Is that an exceptional tale? Not in the least! He is not the first multi-starred General to be thus exposed, some even brought to trial. While Boko Haram was consolidating, a nations security czar was also consolidating his nest egg with funds meant for the elimination of a national scourge.

Shock? No. Civil society already has a superabundance of the military shock treatment!

Wole SOYINKA, the first Black Nobel Laureate in Literature, writes from A.R.I, Kemta Housing Estate, Abeokuta.
PLATTSBURGH [mdash] Anthony Tarricone, 94, of Plattsburgh, passed away Monday in his home with his loving wife by his side and under the care of hospice. He was born in Yonkers on Aug. 13, 1926, the son of George and Nancy Tarricone. He graduated Horton High School in Yonkers. He also gradua
BEIJING, June 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Primavera Capital Group ("Primavera") today announces that it has signed a definitive agreement with Reckitt Benckiser Group plc ("Reckitt"), a world's leading consumer health, nutrition, and hygiene company, to acquire the Greater China business of the Mead Johnson Nutrition Company ("Mead Johnson", the "Company"), a global leading infant formula and nutrition company owned by Reckitt. Following the transaction, Primavera will have a royalty-free perpetual and exclusive license of the Mead Johnson brand in Greater China.

This acquisition is another milestone for Primavera in the consumer industry. Going forward, Primavera will fully support Mead Johnson's growth in China, through innovation, operational improvement, channel optimization, and digital transformation, to further enhance its positioning and growth prospects in China's large infant nutrition market.

Mead Johnson was founded in 1905 in Illionois, USA by Edward Mead Johnson. It is a world-renowned premium infant milk formula brand. In 2009, the Company successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and in 2017 was acquired by Reckitt . Following Primavera's acquisition, the infant formula and child nutrition business in Greater China will benefit from Reckitt's supply resources and ongoing collaboration on global R&D innovation. The transaction is subject to customary works council consultation and regulatory approvals.

Dr. Fred Hu, founder and chairman of Primavera Capital Group, commented:

"We are pleased to acquire the Greater China business of Mead Johnson, a long-established and renowned multinational infant and children nutrition brand. As the controlling shareholder, Primavera is committed to serve tens of millions of Chinese mothers and babies and safeguard their wellbeing. We look forward to collaborating with Reckitt management, and to continuing to provide customers the highest-quality nutritional products through world-class scientific innovation and R&D capabilities, as well as the strictest safety and quality control."

Reckitt's CEO Laxman Narasimhan said, "After a thorough review of our infant formula and nutrition business in China, we have found an excellent home for the business under the ownership of Primavera. As a result of this transaction, Reckitt's Nutrition business going forward will have a better and more consistent growth and margin profile."

At present, China's RMB150 billion infant milk formula market is the largest in the world, where consumers increasingly demand science and quality. Mead Johnson entered China in 1993 and has developed a broad and deep product portfolio with core brands such as Enfinitas enjoying high brand awareness.

HSBC acted as financial advisor to Primavera on the transaction.

SOURCE Primavera Capital Group
CORINTH, Miss., June 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The USW today condemned Mississippi Polymers' decision to lock out more than 100 members of USW Local 759L in its Corinth, Miss., plant.

"Our members are ready and willing to keep working while we continue bargaining a fair deal," said USW District 9 Director Daniel Flippo. "It's appalling that the company is willing to take this drastic step and keep workers off the job instead of working in good faith to resolve our outstanding differences."

The local has been bargaining a new contract with Mississippi Polymers. On June 4, the company refused to allow workers on the job after they voted down a proposal with unreasonable changes to their health insurance and reducing their job security. At midnight the company instituted a formal lock out.

"These hard-working union members and their families deserve a contract that reflects their dedication and commitment," Flippo said. "We are willing to keep working until we reach that agreement, but the company must end this illegal lock out."

The USW represents 850,000 workers employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, 412-562-2444, [email protected]

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


HONOLULU, June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaii Gov. David Ige today announced the end of all restrictions for inter-county travel, starting June 15. The decision to terminate testing/quarantine requirements comes as the State of Hawaii approaches the 55% vaccination rate. As of today, 52% of Hawaii's residents have been fully vaccinated.

The governor also announced that beginning June 15, travelers entering the state who have been vaccinated in Hawaii may bypass quarantine without a pre-travel test.

When the state reaches a 60% vaccination rate, individuals vaccinated in the United States who are traveling domestically, will be able to bypass the testing/quarantine requirement with proof of vaccination through the state's Safe Travels program.

When the state achieves a 70% vaccination rate, all restrictions on travel will be lifted and the Safe Travels program will end.

Gov. Ige said the state's fully vaccinated rate will be a major consideration in his policy decisions, along with the latest science and the best judgement of health officials.

"The easing of travel restrictions is a direct result of our robust vaccination rate, and a community that sacrificed and did what it had to do over the past year and a half to stop the spread of COVID-19. We need to push hard now so we can get to the point where Safe Travels is no longer needed to keep the people of Hawaii safe," said Gov. Ige.

Additional announcements are expected next week when the governor issues a 21st emergency proclamation for COVID-19.

About HVCB

The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau is contracted by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) for marketing management services in the continental U.S. The HTA, the state of Hawaii's tourism agency, was established in 1998 to ensure a successful visitor industry well into the future. Its mission is to strategically manage Hawaii tourism in a sustainable manner consistent with the state of Hawaii's economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources, community desires, and visitor industry needs. For more information about the Hawaiian Islands, visit gohawaii.com.

SOURCE Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau
The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Beiersdorf AG, Clarins Sdn Bhd, Coty Inc., Revlon Inc., Shiseido Co. Ltd., The Avon Co., The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., The Procter & Gamble Co., and Unilever Group are some of the major market participants. Product innovation and product line extension leading to product premiumization will offer immense growth opportunities. To leverage the current opportunities, market vendors must strengthen their foothold in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Professional Skincare Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Professional Skincare Market is segmented as below:

Product

Anti-aging Products



Pigmentation Products



Dehydration Products



Acne Control Products



Others

Distribution Channel

Offline



Online

Geography

APAC



North America



Europe



South America



MEA

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41129

Professional Skincare Market 2021-2025: Vendor Analysis and Scope

To help businesses improve their market position, the professional skincare market provides a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the market. Some of these vendors include Beiersdorf AG, Clarins Sdn Bhd, Coty Inc., Revlon Inc., Shiseido Co. Ltd., The Avon Co., The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., The Procter & Gamble Co., and Unilever Group.

The report also covers the following areas:

Professional Skincare Market size

Professional Skincare Market trends

Professional Skincare Market industry analysis

Growing concerns for skin-related problems are likely to emerge as one of the primary drivers of the market. However, the availability of low-priced products may threaten the growth of the market.

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Global Skincare Products Market - Global skincare products market is segmented by product (face skincare products and body skincare products), distribution channel (offline and online), product specification (skin brightening products, anti-aging skincare products, sun protection products, moisturizers, and others), and geographic landscape (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA).

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Global Organic Skincare Products Market - Global organic skincare products market is segmented by product (facial care, body care, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America).

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Professional Skincare Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025

Detailed information on factors that will assist professional skincare market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the professional skincare market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the professional skincare market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of professional skincare market vendors

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Five Forces Summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Product

Market segments

Comparison by Product placement

Anti-aging products - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Pigmentation products - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Dehydration products - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Acne control products - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Product

Market Segmentation by Distribution channel

Market segments

Comparison by Distribution channel placement

Offline - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Online - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Distribution channel

Customer landscape

Overview

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Volume driver - Demand led growth

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Beiersdorf AG

Clarins

Coty Inc.

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

L'Oreal SA

Revlon Consumer Products Corp.

Shiseido Co. Ltd.

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

The Procter & Gamble Co.

Unilever Group

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

Newsroom: newsroom.technavio.com/news/professional-skincaremarket

Report: www.technavio.com/report/professional-skincare-market-industry-analysis

SOURCE Technavio
First Minister points to new vaccine timetable as most difficult cases in English hotspots are unvaccinated people in their 20s

The First Minister has indicated Monday should see a a timetable for completing the offer of a first dose of the vaccine to all adults here in Wales set out.

So far 2,169,624 people in Wales have had their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 1,181,259 people are now fully vaccinated.

The Welsh Governments current aim is to offer all eligible adults a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of next month.

Current levels of coronavirus in Wales are low, with fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 people in the rolling seven day average and a positivity rate less than 1%.





At the time of writing there have been no new recorded deaths by Public Health Wales in the last nine days.

However speaking yesterday First Minister said there is concern about the increase in rates of the Indian variant  now formally called the Delta variant.

He said: The Delta variant is spreading in many parts of England, despite the restrictions in place there.

Today there are more than 10,700 confirmed cases in England, largely linked to eight areas of the country, and mainly in the North west.

If that pattern continues, its important to say to everyone today that we will not be immune from that here in Wales.

Already we have 97 identified cases in Wales, and we know that they will be more than that.Everyone has been traced and advised to isolate, their contacts have been contacted too.

This includes a large cluster in Conwy and we keep that large cluster under very close investigation.

On Thursday Public Health England released two documents based off data from England and Scotland, a Technical Briefing on B.1.617.2/Delta and a B.1.617.2/Delta risk assessment.

The early data indicates a reduced vaccine effectiveness for Delta compared to Alpha: This is more pronounced after one dose (absolute reduction in vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection of approximately 15-20% after 1 dose).

Iterated analysis continues to show vaccine effectiveness against Delta is higher after 2 doses but that there is a reduction for Delta compared to Alpha.

With a second dose appearing more required against Delta we asked the first minister on the topic, if there was any policy adjustments to make sure that vulnerable people are covered with double dose as soon as possible and if there was any plans to move forward second doses for everybody else.

The first minister said: You are right that the second dose of the vaccine does offer you a higher protection against the new variant. But, a first dose is very important as well.

Its particularly important amongst younger people who, some of the most difficult cases that they have seen across our border in English hotspots have been people in their 20s not vaccinated at all.

Now, I hope on Monday to be able to set out a timetable for completing the offer of a first dose of the vaccine to all adults here in Wales and also to set out a path for how we will get a second doses of vaccination.

Weve already got 45% of the Welsh population with both doses of the vaccine and thats going up every day.

When weve completed the first dose of all adults, we will be able to use all the capacity that we have for second doses, and that will accelerate second doses here as well.

The supply is a rate limiting factor, of course, we use every drop of supply that we get to get it into peoples arms as fast as possible. Local health boards already have flexibility to speed up second doses in areas where they think that would be a sensible part of the response to local clusters of the Delta variant area.

But the big picture will be when we are able to get first doses to everybody and then move on to complete second doses. As I say, I hope to be able to set out more definitive timetable for that once weve seen the figures and today and over the weekend.

The first minister is expected to provide a vaccine update at a press conference on Monday.
SLOUGH, U.K., June 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Reckitt Benckiser Group plc ("Reckitt") announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Infant Formula and Child Nutrition business in China1 ("IFCN China") to Primavera Capital Group ("Primavera") for an implied enterprise value of US$2.2 billion. Reckitt will retain a shareholding in IFCN China of 8%2 and anticipates net cash proceeds to be approximately US$1.3 billion3.

The transaction follows a comprehensive strategic review of IFCN China announced in February 2021. The transaction is structured as a sale of the entirety of IFCN China, including the manufacturing plants in Nijmegen, the Netherlands and Guangzhou, China. It includes a royalty-free perpetual and exclusive license of the Mead Johnson and Enfa family of brands4 in China. Following completion of the transaction, Reckitt will continue to own the Mead Johnson and Enfa family of brands globally and will operate those brands in the rest of the world.

The transaction is subject to consultation with Reckitt's works council in the Netherlands, which Reckitt will now initiate. Reckitt will also engage with its other relevant employee unions in relation to the transaction. Subject to the Netherlands works council consultation and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, completion is expected in the second half of 2021.

Reckitt expects to incur cash tax costs of around 300 million and transaction and other costs of around 200 million. The net proceeds will be used to reduce net debt and would have lowered the December 2020 net debt / adjusted EBITDA ratio by around 0.2x to 2.2x.

As at December 2020, IFCN net assets totalled 8.8 billion on a global basis. Following the definitive agreement to sell IFCN China, Reckitt's IFCN net assets have been separated geographically for accounting purposes; with 3.4 billion allocated to China and 5.4 billion allocated to North America and the rest of the world. As a result of the sale, Reckitt expects to incur a net loss of around 2.5 billion principally relating to the re-measurement of goodwill and intangible assets for IFCN China.

Commenting on the sale, Reckitt CEO Laxman Narasimhan said:



"Today's announcement marks another step in our strategy to rejuvenate growth and create long term value. As part of this journey, we are actively, and decisively, managing our portfolio.

"After a thorough review of IFCN China, we have found an excellent home for the business under the ownership of Primavera. As a result of this transaction, our Nutrition business going forward will have a better and more consistent growth and margin profile. We are market leaders in infant nutrition in North America, ASEAN and Latin America, and we have a strong Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements portfolio which includes an exciting Adult Nutrition business. This, combined with our focus on execution, brand building and productivity, our investment in R&D and innovation, and our expertise in eCommerce, gives us a solid foundation from which to grow.

"We remain committed to China with our Hygiene, Health and VMS portfolios. We are excited about the opportunities to grow our brands and expand our business in the future. China is Durex's largest market and growing strongly and it is an important market for Dettol, Finish and our VMS brands with significant potential for future expansion.

"Our portfolio is increasingly well-positioned to benefit from attractive fundamentals which, combined with our increased focus on operational execution, gives us confidence that we are taking the right steps to meet our medium-term targets."

Primavera Founder and Chairman Dr. Fred Hu said:

"We look forward to a strong collaboration with Reckitt, to continue to build on the heritage and strength of the Mead Johnson brand. We have considerable experience investing and growing and expanding global brands in China. We are excited to support the business in its next phase of growth, leveraging our resources and local leadership."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About IFCN China:

As part of Reckitt's Nutrition business, IFCN China is driven by its purpose to protect, heal and nurture, from the first 1,000 days of life and continuing lifelong. IFCN China is committed to providing the best nutrition through science-based research and product innovation, leveraging Reckitt's global resources and expertise.

IFCN China operates in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and is behind some of the most recognised and trusted brands in the infant formula market in China, including Mead Johnson Nutrition, Enfamil, Enfagrow, Enfa Gentlease, Enfaschool, MultiGrow, NutriPower, Enfinitas Mama, Enfa Mama, and Enfinitas.

Headquartered in Guangzhou, China, IFCN China comprises of a dedicated team of c.3,000 colleagues including those in the manufacturing plants and R&D facilities in Nijmegen and Guangzhou. Enda Ryan was appointed SVP Greater China, Infant Formula and Child Nutrition in 2017.

For the financial year ended 31 December 2020, IFCN China had net revenue of 861 million, operating profit was 85 million and gross assets were 5.4 billion.

About Reckitt:

Reckitt* exists to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We believe that access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment is a right, not a privilege.

Reckitt is the company behind some of the world's most recognisable and trusted consumer brands in hygiene, health and nutrition, including Air Wick, Calgon, Cillit Bang, Clearasil, Dettol, Durex, Enfamil, Finish, Gaviscon, Harpic, Lysol, Mortein, Mucinex, Nurofen, Nutramigen, Strepsils, Vanish, Veet, Woolite and more.

Every day, more than 20 million Reckitt products are bought globally. We always put consumers and people first, seek out new opportunities, strive for excellence in all that we do and build shared success with all our partners. We aim to do the right thing, always.

We are a diverse global team of more than 43,000 colleagues. We draw on our collective energy to meet our ambitions of purpose-led brands, a healthier planet and a fairer society. Find out more, or get in touch with us at www.reckitt.com

* Reckitt is the trading name of the Reckitt Benckiser group of companies

About Primavera:

Primavera Capital Group is a premier China-based global investment firm. The firm focuses on consumer and retail, technology, healthcare, and financial services.

Its portfolio includes investments in industry leaders such as Alibaba, Ant Group, ByteDance, DiDi, Junlebao, Kuaishou, Laobaixing, Xpeng, Yum China, among others.

Further information:

Goldman Sachs International and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc acted as financial advisors to Reckitt on the transaction.

This announcement (including any information referred to in this announcement) contains statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of Reckitt about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Reckitt cannot give assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. You are cautioned not to place any reliance on these forward-looking statements. Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations, Reckitt 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.

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc's LEI code is 5493003JFSMOJG48V108



1 Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong

2 Through the receipt of an 8% shareholding in a vehicle in the purchaser's acquisition structure as partial consideration

3 Subject to customary closing adjustments

4 Including Enfinitas, Enfamil and Enfagrow

SOURCE Reckitt
NEW YORK, June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: New York, N.Y., June 4, 2021. Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Churchill Capital Corp IV (NYSE: CCIV) between January 11, 2021 and February 22, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important June 28, 2021 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Churchill Capital 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 Churchill Capital class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2083.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 June 28, 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) Lucid Motors ("Lucid") was not prepared to deliver vehicles by spring of 2021; (2) Lucid was projecting a production of 557 vehicles in 2021 instead of the 6,000 vehicles touted in the run-up to the merger with Churchill Capital; and (3) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company'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 Churchill Capital class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-register-2083.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

Related Links

www.rosenlegal.com


NEW YORK, June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of CooTek (Cayman) Inc. ("CooTek" or the "Company") (NYSE: CTK). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether CooTek and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

In September 2018, CooTek conducted its initial public offering ("IPO"), issuing 4.35 million American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") priced at $12.00 per ADS.

Then, on December 15, 2020, CooTek announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2020. CooTek disclosed an operating loss of $1.1 million, which the Company stated "mainly relates to compensation payment to victims of alleged misconducts of certain third-party advertisers perpetrated on the Group's platform that the Group deposited to an escrow account controlled by a local authority conducting investigation on the advertisers."

On this news, CooTek's ADS price fell $1.99 per ADS, or 31.44%, to close at $4.34 per ADS on December 15, 2020.

Then, on June 3, 2021, CooTek announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2021. CooTek disclosed, among other results, non-GAAP earnings per share of -$0.18, missing consensus estimates by $0.02.

On this news, CooTek's ADS price fell $0.28 cents per share, or 13.59%, to close at $1.78 per share on June 3, 2021.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

www.pomerantzlaw.com


Since its inception in 2012, AEO has become the gold standard for cooperation between customs administrations and the private sector to facilitate trade. Particular emphasis was placed on the co-option of new economic operators, and the integration of new technologies. Expanding the AEO programme to include new economic operators that have thus far been left out of consideration is essential, many experts asserted, due to the pandemic and its impact on the world.

Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, WCO Secretary General, said: "The Customs community faced an unprecedented situation and had to move quickly to support global supply chains and ensure the seamless flow of relief goods across borders. It was clear that the AEO programme has been instrumental against a slowed down trade system."

Being one of several major events that have had to turn virtual due to Covid-related restrictions, AEO 2.0 emerged as perhaps one of the most successful, with 3,905 registrations from 150 countries, 72 speakers and 22 sessions.

HE Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, credited the AEO programme with a significant uptick in transactions processed at Dubai Customs since the start of the pandemic, saying: "Dubai Customs was quick to realise the many benefits the programme carried for the emirate.

"As a uniquely positioned trading hub with extensive capabilities and access to regional markets, Dubai is on the itinerary of probably every shipment moving from point to point in half of the world, and it is imperative for us to pioneer the adoption of standards and regulations that facilitate trade from every aspect possible."

The AEO Conference also dedicated time to the discussion of cybersecurity threats, and the hurdles preventing the expansion of the programme, due to disparities in know-how, frameworks, infrastructure and capacity between nations.

The General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China has announced hosting the next edition in 2022, at a location and by means yet to be disclosed.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1525512/Dubai_Customs_5th_WCO_Global_AEO.jpg

SOURCE Dubai Customs

Related Links

www.dxbcustoms.gov.ae


( ) revealed results from the top section of the Saffron-2 well have been in-line with expectations.

The well has so far been completed to a depth of 1,593 feet, on time and on budget, and has encountered the Upper Cruse and upper parts of the Middle Cruse formations.

Logs for the sections are as prognosed and consistent with comparable logs from Saffron-1, the company noted.

Drilling will now progress deeper to evaluate the deeper Middle Cruse, and then the Lower Cruse.
Tehran, June 5 : Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has urged people across the country to participate in the upcoming presidential election and make the right choices for solving the country's problems.

Khamenei made the remarks on Friday in a televised speech on the death anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, reports Xinhua news agency.

Khamenei described election as a "manifestation of the people's will" and participation in the election as a duty.

The Iranian leader decried some attempts by "enemies" aimed at discouraging people and lowering turnout in the election.

Khamenei also urged candidates, instead of making empty promises they can not fulfil, to commit themselves to establishing social justice, boosting economic production and fighting corruption.

On May 25, the Interior Ministry announced that seven candidates out of 592 Iranians who registered for the election were approved by the vetting body.

Among the disqualified candidates were incumbent Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

The election campaign of the presidential candidates will end 24 hours before the election day slated for June 18.
Canberra, June 5 : Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he is "leaning heavily" towards making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for aged care workers.

Following a meeting of National Cabinet on Friday, Morrison said that inoculating the aged care workforce was key to preventing further outbreaks and deaths from Covid-19 in Australia, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are leaning heavily into this as leaders of governments and myself as Prime Minister, to see us move towards a mandatory vaccination for aged care workers," he told reporters in Canberra.

The National Cabinet, which consists of the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders, on Friday agreed to "encourage" workers to get inoculated while awaiting further advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) on how a system could be implemented.

The government asked the AHPPC to reconsider mandatory vaccines on Monday after Covid-19 re-emerged in Victoria and its capital city Melbourne, plunging the state into its fourth coronavirus lockdown.

Victoria, the second-most populous state, also the hardest-hit state by the pandemic in the country, recently had in total more than 60 cases linked to the current outbreak.

"There are 72 active cases in Victoria, 64 are locally acquired and eight are overseas acquired cases," said the Victorian Department of Health in a media release on Friday.

As of Friday afternoon, there has been 30,150 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia, with 910 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Tokyo, June 5 : The number of newborn babies in Japan dropped to a record low in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, marking the lowest level since the Health Ministry began keeping records in 1899, the government said in a report.

Babies born in 2020 dropped from a year earlier by 24,407 to 840,832, falling below the 900,000-mark for the first time ever, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying on Friday.

Japan's top government spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the nation's growing demographic crisis could shake the very foundations of the country.

"The declining number of children is a problem that can shake the basis of our society and economy. It should be tackled as a matter of the highest priority," Kato told a press briefing on the matter.

He said that obstacles preventing the bearing and rising of children in society must be removed.

The Health Ministry also said the average rate of children a woman will bear in her lifetime stood at 1.34 in 2020, down 0.02 points from a year earlier.

Adding to the social crisis, the negative effect of the pandemic is yet to fully show up in statistics, owing to the duration between birth and conception.

The number of births could tumble to around 700,000 for the whole of 2021, analysts said, which would be a decade ahead of the government's forecast.

The number of marriages in the recording period, meanwhile, decreased 73,517 to 525,490, the lowest in the post-World War II era, while the number of divorces dropped 15,245 from the previous year to 193,251, the Ministry added.
Baghdad, June 5 : A massive fire ripped through the Shariya Camp for displaced persons in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, destroying more than 400 tents and injuring seven people, a local official said.

A large part of the fire has been put out and the camp, which shelters hundreds of displaced persons of the Yazidi minority, was evacuated by rescue teams, Xinhua news agency quoted Hakar Mohammed, director of the camp, as saying on Friday.

He added that the wounded have been transported to hospitals.

The firefighters are still working to put out the rest of the fire, Mohammed said.

Bewar Abdul-Aziz, a top official from Duhok district where the camp is located, told reporters that "the civil defence teams were able to control the fire", adding that investigations had begun to find ascertain the cause of the blaze.

According to UN data, the Shariya camp hosts 15,217 members of the Yazidi community who live there as internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Most of them arrived after the Islamic State (IS) terror group overran the Yazidi ancestral homeland of Shingal in 2014.

Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis remain displaced in the Kurdistan region despite the liberation of Shingal from the IS in November 2015.
Johannesburg, June 5 : The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said that it has launched an investigation into racism allegations made by students at the Cornwall Hill College in Pretoria.

"The SAHRC will be conducting further investigations into the school's environment and culture," Commission spokesperson Gushwell Brooks said on Friday.

Pupils from the school staged a peaceful march on May 24 with parents, alleging that they were told that their African hair was not good enough and that they should straighten it.

As part of this investigation, pupils, staff and management would be interviewed about their experiences, as well as the culture of the school.

Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago joined a group of parents who protested at the school, calling for transformation.

His child attends the school.

It's not the first time that pupils have protested racist school policies.

In 2016, the issue made headlines across the globe as pupils forced Pretoria Girls High school to change its racist hair policies.

Students said that teachers berated and called them names for wearing their hair in its natural state.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-04 22:11:32|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 5, 2021 shows elephants in Omaruru, Namibia. (Photo by Kaula Nhongo/Xinhua)

WINDHOEK, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The growth in numbers of free roaming elephants in Namibia has resulted in an increase in Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) incidences, Environment Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said Friday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Muyunda said currently there are more elephants in unprotected areas than they are in protected national parks.

"Our elephant population in Namibia is healthy but this means that they move into farming and communal areas resulting in an increase in conflicts between humans and elephants. The elephants cause damage to infrastructure by breaking fences, damaging dams and water tanks and pushing over windmills to the disadvantage of communities," he said.

According to Muyunda, Namibia is home to about 24,000 elephants where the majority are free roaming.

"The northwestern population is estimated based on aerial surveys at 4,627 elephants (2,911 of those are in protected areas). The northeastern population numbers are over 19,549 with just 6,413 of those found in protected areas. Movements between different populations sporadically occur, providing opportunities for genetic interchange. Numbers will continue to be through aerial surveys at two to three year intervals," he said.

Muyunda said the country continues to educate communities on how to deal with elephants and how to mitigate conflict.

He said the country has also put up other measures to mitigate elephant conflict such as population management by reducing numbers through auctions or translocations.

"We are giving benefits to communities through conservancies where people have the right to utilize these animals for meat," he said.

He added that the costs of HWC to communities and governments can be outweighed by the economic benefits generated by conservancies that devolve rights over wildlife and the right to benefit from its sustainable use to local communities.

"The country finds itself between a rock and a hard place where we want to protect our people but we are also running a program of wildlife conservation which brings benefits to the communities and the country as a whole," he said.

Muyunda said the issue of human elephant conflict cannot be solved as long as there is a co-existence, there will always be conflict.

"What we want to ensure is that there is minimum conflict," he said.

Last year, Namibia paid around 5.04 million Namibian dollars(370,000 U.S. dollars) to individuals, farmers and conservancies for livestock loss, crop damage, injuries to people and loss of life. Enditem
Nay Pyi Taw, June 5 : Envoys of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are in Myanmar to hold talks with top officials about the current political situation in the country following the February 1 military coup.

The envoys are Second Minister of Brunei's Foreign Affairs Erywan bin Pehin Yusof, whose country currently holds the rotating chair of the ASEAN, and the bloc's Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, Xinhua news agency reported.

Upon their arrival, they met Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the Chairman of Myanmar's State Administration Council (SAC) and Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, here on Friday.

According to an SAC statement, both sides exchanged views on matters related to the outcomes of a recent ASEAN leaders' meeting on Myanmar; implementations of ASEAN recommendations from the Preliminary Needs Assessment; ASEAN's efforts on access to Covid-19 vaccines; and bilateral friendship between Myanmar and Brunei.

The Myanmar military leader apprised ASEAN envoys of the progress of review on the 2020 general elections in Myanmar, situation of terrorist actions, matters related to re-holding elections when the country restores stability and future cooperation plans on humanitarian assistance, the statement said.

A five-point consensus was reached by ASEAN leaders regarding the situation in Myanmar at the bloc's leaders meeting in Jakarta in April.

The consensus called for an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar and for constructive dialogue among all parties involved in the fighting, suggested a special envoy of the ASEAN Chair to facilitate mediation of the dialogue process and pledged to provide humanitarian aid to the country.

The February coup ousted the democratically-elected government of former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The reason for the siege was because the military alleged that there was massive voting fraud in the country's November 2020 general elections, which saw Suu Kyi's NLD party win a majority of seats in both houses of parliament.

Nationwide protests against the coup have been met with fierce army reprisals that left hundreds of people dead.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group, at least 818 people have been killed so far, while more than 5,300 have been detained.
A highly respected former District and Sessions Judge and State Director of Prosecution of Odisha, Dukhishyam Chaulia, passed away on May 22, 2021, in Angul from heart stroke. He was 70-years-old and left behind an exemplary legacy of law and justice for the sake of marginalised sections of society.

A Product of the Grassroots Judge Chaulia hailed from a remote rural village, Nilakanthapada, in Athmallik subdivision of Angul district in central Odisha. His parents, Mala Chaulia and Debarchan Chaulia, belonged to an agrarian farming community.

Born in 1951, Dukhishyam Chaulia grew up in the rural setting where there were no high schools and very few young people managed to get any education. But driven by a vision to contribute to the uplift of the downtrodden, he determinedly pursued higher education in spite of financial difficulties in his family and lack of any connections or guidance from elites in cities. He received his BA Honours and MA degrees in Political Science as well as a BL (Bachelor of Law), and joined the Odisha Judicial Service (OJS) in 1981. He retired from the OJS in 2011.

A Landmark Judge His three-decades-long career as a judge set many milestones, delivering judgements in Kendrapara, Deogarh and Puri. As the District Judge in Puri in 2011, he delivered a landmark judgement on a gang rape case by convicting the accused and also fining them. Normally, in such sensitive criminal cases, the police tend to give weak evidence against the accused and the women suffer from double injustice. Much depends on the integrity and vision of the judge to do the right thing by awarding due punishment. Judge Chaulia did so in this case and is remembered to this day in Puri as an upholder of the truth and higher morality.

Throughout his career on the legal bench, Judge Chaulia had a reputation of being an honest and incorruptible figure who was known for simplicity and authenticity. He never had any airs or arrogance about being a senior judge and prosecutor who wielded power over the lives of citizens. His core belief was that he was a servant of the society and state, not a master over people's destinies or "an enjoyer" of the trappings of high judicial offices.

Thanks to his noteworthy career in the OJS, even after retirement, Chaulia was selected as a judge under the District Legal Services Authority Act of 1987 and went on to preside over the Permanent Lok Adalat for Public Utility Services from 2012 to 2017. During this phase, he was the judge for Balangir and Sonepur districts and gave many pro-poor judgements that not even the Odisha High Court preferred to overturn upon appeal by the convicted.

For example, there was a case involving 500 poor families, who had been excluded from the rural electrification scheme of the central government, known as the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gramin Jyoti Yojana, that is meant to provide power supply to families in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. In Saintala Block of Balangir district, the Tata corporate house was given the contract to draw the lines and WESCO, an electricity company under the Odisha government, was to supply the electricity. The 500 BPL families were left out of the scheme but the government authorities showed on paper that the work had been done.

The affected 500 families approached the Permanent Lok Adalat presided by Chaulia. After careful consideration, he passed an order that the electricity connection to the houses of more than 500 families should be completed within 3 months. The two defendant parties, Tata and Wesco, had to obey the order and delivered the power connections.

There was also a case involving 350 farmers of Titilagarh Block in Balangir district, who were deprived of their crop insurance money due to the negligence of the Indian Overseas Bank, Titilagarh. The farmers had deposited their premium amounts in favour of insurance companies like IFFCO, IIC Lombard and National Agricultural company. This crop insurance was meant for two categories of farmers -- those who had taken loans from the bank and those who had not taken loans. The plaintiffs in this case were non-loanees and accordingly deposited higher amount of premium in the IOB branch. But for some unknown reason, the bank categorised their insurance under the loanee category. When the plaintiffs suffered crop loss during the 2011 Kharif season, the insurance companies did not give what was due to these 350 farmers under the non-loanee category. The aggrieved farmers approached Chaulia's court in 2013. His Lok Adalat passed a detailed ex parte order stating that the bank had to pay the insurance amount to the farmers with 12 percent interest. Challenging the order, the bank went to the Odisha High Court on a writ petition. The High Court dismissed the plea of the bank and the order of Lok Adalat remained intact. The bank ultimately had to pay the insurance amounts to those 350 farmers.

Defender of Social Justice Judge Chaulia always believed in the force of law to bring good in society and in writing meticulously argued judgements that have logic and reasoning. He used to say that "if I have given a judgement, it should be so powerful and legally compelling that neither the High Court nor the Supreme Court should be able to overrule it." Since his sudden death, many lawyers and fellow judges, as well as ordinary citizens across Odisha who benefited from his upright judgements, have conveyed condolences and sadness to Chaulia's family. Chaulia never married or had any children and remained deeply rooted and connected to his native village of Nilakanthapada until he breathed his last.

An unassuming personality who was soft-spoken and reputed for modesty and humility, he never sought publicity, limelight or fame. Nor was he affiliated with any political party or corporate interest group. His life journey from the grassroots to the senior ranks of Odisha's justice system was marked by a single purpose -- doing maximum good to the weaker sections of society and the soil of Odisha from which he himself had arisen.

(Dr. Sreeram Chaulia is nephew of Dukhishyam Chaulia. Inputs from family members and associates of the legal fraternity in Odisha. The views expressed are personal.)
New Delhi, June 5 : This World Environment Day, the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) has stated the argument that the use of paper implies cutting of forests and hence harming the environment is devoid of any basis.

"The wood for manufacturing paper comes from cultivated trees grown by farmers and not by cutting forests. The Paper Industry has joined forces with farmers to grow more and more trees under the programme called agro or farm forestry. Moreover, paper industry is wood positive i.e. it grows more trees than it harvests," Rohit Pandit, Secretary General, IPMA has said.

"Paper is one of the most environmentally sustainable products. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and is produced from sources which are renewable and sustainable. Use of paper in education, packaging, e-commerce and sanitation is much more environment-friendly than available alternatives, and needs to be promoted vigorously," it said.

Growing and harvesting trees for making paper is providing jobs for lakhs of farmers in rural areas. About 5 lakh farmers are productively employed in this agro forestry initiative.

Agro forestry by paper industry is enhancing the country's green cover, leading to carbon sequestration and mitigating the harmful effects of climate change. So far over 12 lakh hectares of mainly degraded land has been brought under pulpwood plantation by Paper Industry in the country. Usage of paper is thus good for the environment, Pandit added.

According to IPMA, the complexion of Paper Industry has changed over the years. Today the industry is far more innovative and able to provide a wide variety of products and solutions which find application in e-commerce, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, food packaging etc.

Incorporation of new technologies have ensured that the paper being produced today is superior and customized to meet the specific demands of retail and institutional customers who wish to make an eco-friendly choice.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
New Delhi, June 5 : The resurgence of Covid-19 will adversely impact the occupancy rates of India's hotel industry for another two-three months, ratings agency ICRA said.

The pandemic's second wave has plunged the sequential occupancy rates of the industry.

Accordingly, the occupancy rate had sequentially dipped from 45 per cent in March 2021 to 32-34 per cent in April 2021 and further to about 25-27 per cent in May 2021.

The occupancy rate had fallen to lows of 13-15 per cent during the first few months of FY2021 and demand was largely limited to Vande Bharat repatriation travelers, medical or other frontline workers, stranded travelers and work-from-hotel guests.

After hotels reopened gradually from Q2 FY2021, demand came from staycations, drive-to-leisure and wedding 'Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions' (MICE) and occupancies inched closer to 50 per cent in Q4 FY2021 providing a healthy dose of optimism to the industry.

As per ICRA, the recently expanded scope of ECGLS has come as a relief for larger hotel companies.

Under the expanded scope of the scheme, Centre has recently removed Rs 500 crore ceiling cap on loan outstanding for eligibility under the ECLGS 3.0, subject to a maximum assistance of Rs 200 crore or 40 per cent of the borrowings whichever is lower.

Centre had launched the ECLGS in May 2020 to protect the MSME sector from the massive economic upheaval caused by the pandemic.

"About 70 per cent of ICRA's hospitality portfolio applied for moratorium during the first wave," said Vinutaa S, Assistant Vice President and Sector Head, ICRA Ratings.

"Subsequently, most companies availed debt under ECLGS 1.0 and 2.0, and through other long-term debt to shore up their liquidity for meeting operational and financial commitments. Some companies also resorted to equity fund raising from investors and promoters." According to ICRA, the recent expansion is a welcome move and is expected to benefit larger hospitality companies.

"About 32 per cent of ICRA rated debt is incrementally eligible for loan availment because of the cap removal." Besides, a severe impact of the pandemic has resulted in a sharp increase in downgrades.

"About 70 per cent of the entities are on negative credit outlook, compared to 92% of the entities with stable outlook in January 2020," ICRA said.

"The industry credit profile is expected to weaken with the second wave derailing the recovery momentum and this could result in more negative rating actions." Currently, ICRA expects the occupancy and 'RevPAR' to be adversely impacted, at least over the next two-three months because of the second wave.

"The industry 'RevPARs' would be tied to the pandemic timelines, although widespread vaccination rollout would ease the situation to an extent." "The situation is still evolving and remains a monitorable. Recovery to pre-Covid levels is still at least two years away."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, June 5 : Kate Winslet is among one of the greatest actresses of any generation; she is an icon for the importance of self-belief, and an activist for change. Which is why she is the new face of L'Oreal Paris to share the mission for women, "never doubt yourself; we're all worth it." Giving voice to the voiceless

The actress shines her star on causes close to the values L'Oreal Paris stands for: equal rights, feminism, inclusivity and sustainability.

In life, as in art, she supports women's rights. As domestic violence skyrocketed during lockdown, the actress joined UN Women to narrate their global Shadow Pandemic campaign to encourage people to check in on at-risk women. She also works for a world where no woman dies of ovarian cancer, by supporting Ovarian Cancer Action. An advocate for disadvantaged children, she is a founder of the Golden Hat Foundation, which campaigns to shift attitudes towards people on the autism spectrum. And for the charity, Cardboard Citizens she advocates to change perceptions of homeless people through theatre. Her environmental actions include support for The Word Forest Organisation, which works to plant trees, facilitate education, and support a women's empowerment group in Kenya. And she walks the talk on environmentalism: cancelling out the carbon emissions that come with her acting career.

Shaping her one destiny After soaring to fame with, Titanic, Hollywood came calling for 21-year-old Kate Winslet. The young actress chose meaningful roles for which she felt a personal connection, and which show women in their full, complex humanity. Determined to 'be' her characters rather than act, from playing a woman who has her boyfriend's memories erased in the breakout hit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, an unlikable mother in Little Children or a restless wife in Revolutionary Road, she developed the range and versatility that would make her performances both critically and commercially acclaimed. She became the youngest, most Oscar-nominated actress by her early thirties, winning her first Academy Award for The Reader in 2008.

Lifting women's voices Passionate about portraying women whose stories have never been told on-screen, she has been active in returning long erased women to their rightful place in history. In her most recent role, Ammonite, the second feature from director Francis Lee, she tells the untold history of trailblazing fossil hunter Mary Anning. Kate Winslet plays the role of Anning, whose discoveries of the most important fossils of the 19th Century were reappropriated by her male peers.

From self doubt to self worth Winslet shares her journey from self-doubt to self-acceptance with an openness that inspires. Dedicating one of her many awards to "all the girls who are doubting themselves" the actress is a vocal, confident advocate for positive self-worth.

A trusted mentor for the next generation, the actress is starring in and executive producing the critically acclaimed series Mare of Easttown for HBO, where she plays a small-town detective investigating a local murder.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
Thiruvananthapuram, June 5 : A day after the revised budget was presented by new Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Friday, which has kept allocation to build a monument at the cost of Rs 20 lakh for late veteran politician, R. Balakrishna Pillai, it invited the maximum wrath on the social media.

Pillai, who passed away last month, till his party- Kerala Congress (B) became an 'ally' of the CPI-M led Left in the 2016 assembly polls, was one of the most targeted political personality and was even attacked personally, giving him the tag of being the most corrupt politician.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said all this can be done only by the CPI-M, as it has come to a stage where if they exonerate anyone, such people's past is forgotten.

"None will forget what all the CPI-M leaders said about Pillai, when he was a stalwart in the UDF. When he and his actor turned legislator son - K.B. Ganesh Kumar expressed his desire to move towards the Left, all their sins were washed away. Recently, the same thing happened to Jose K. Mani (son of veteran K.M. Mani- whose party was also hugely targeted by the CPI-M) who is now the third biggest ally of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government. All what the Left said about 'corrupt Mani' is no longer mentioned," said the critic and added that it's the least surprising of the monument for Pillai.

Pillai's glorious political career began in 1960, when he won his first assembly election from Pathanapuram as a Congress candidate and then he had no reason to look back till 2006, when he lost from his home base at Kottarakara and after that he has stayed away from electoral politics.

In 1964 he was one of the founders of the Kerala Congress party, which over the years has gone numerous splits and after 1977, he has been heading his own party- Kerala Congress (B) and has been a State Minister on numerous occasions under both the Left and the Congress led UDF.

In his long career when he won eight times to the Kerala Assembly and once to the Lok Sabha, he also wrote into record books for other reasons which included a jail term for a year in 2011, after he was indicted in a corruption case for award of a contract for a power project.

Incidentally, the case of Pillai was vigorously pursued by veteran CPI-M leader V.S. Achuthanandan.

After a brief sojourn in the jail, taking his health condition he was given amnesty by the then Oommen Chandy government.

In 1985 while being a State Minister in the cabinet of K. Karunakaran, he had to quit after a petition surfaced that he made a public speech asking the people to resort to terrorism and to wage a war against the Union of India on the 'Punjab model', to achieve their objectives.

Then came another trouble for him when Oommen Chandy replaced A.K. Antony in 2004 as Chief Minister, Pillai was dropped as a Minister, which led to his anger against Chandy.

After his defeat in 2006 assembly polls, he did not stand for any more elections and in 2015 he and his party left the Congress led UDF and joined the CPI-M led LDF.

And when the Pinarayi Vijayan government assumed office in 2016, he was given a Cabinet status post.

The budget apart from allocating money for Pillai, has set aside for a similar one for another former CPI-M veteran- K.R. Gowri, who quit the party in the mid nineties and joined the Congress led UDF as an ally and in two terms was a State Minister also, when she was with the UDF.

Gowri also passed away last month.
New York, June 5 : Amid the leaked Anthony S Fauci emails and independent investigations into the Wuhan lab secrets, reports have emerged again that the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China was funded by the US government and the virology lab, headed by Shi Zhengli, received nearly $600,000 in 'gain-of-function' research.

At a US Senate hearing on May 11, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) said that scientists in the US have long known how to mutate animal viruses to infect humans.

"For years, Dr Ralph Baric, a virologist in the US, has been collaborating with Dr Shi Zhengli of the Wuhan Virology Institute, sharing his discoveries about how to create super viruses. This gain-of-function research has been funded by the NIH. Dr Fauci, do you still support funding of the NIH funding of the lab in Wuhan?," he told the hearing.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, replied: "Senator Paul, with all due respect, you are entirely and completely incorrect that the NIH has not never and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology." However, according to documents obtained by Daily Mail last year, the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology in China undertook coronavirus experiments on bats and other wild animals which were funded by a $3.4 million grant from the US government.

Zhengli, also known as the 'Bat Women,' is back in limelight as the conversation around the 'gain-of-function' research have once again started to dominate the headlines.

In 2014, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the NIH arm that Fauci heads, awarded a $3.4 million grant to the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance, which aims to protect people from viruses that jump from species to species.

The group hired the virology lab in Wuhan to conduct genetic analyses of bat coronaviruses collected in Yunnan province, about 800 miles southwest of Wuhan, Tampa Bay Times reported last month.

"The research was considered crucial in part because coronaviruses had previously emerged in China and begun to spread among humans. EcoHealth Alliance paid the lab $598,500 over five years. The lab had secured approval from both the U.S. State Department and the NIH," the report mentioned.

All parties involved in the grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology have denied that it involved gain-of-function research.

In Wuhan, China, where the first cases of the coronavirus emerged in late 2019, at least two labs studied coronaviruses that originate in bats - the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention (WHCDC).

"Both are close to the seafood market that was originally deemed the source of the outbreak. The WIV is about eight miles (nearly 13 km) away. The WHCDC is right around the corner," according to a report in the Washington Post.

The WIV is where Zhengli works. The WIV has a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory, the most secure, where researchers wear protective suits.

"But some of WIV's more controversial experiments on bat coronaviruses are believed to have been done at BSL-2 labs, where researchers wear white lab coats and gloves, as in a dental office," the report mentioned.

Many experts have until recently denied the lab-leak theory and claimed that Covid-19 originated as a natural infection leaping from animals to humans. But now, there has been a shift.

A team of 18 scientists from Universities in the US, Canada, the UK and Switzerland have signed a letter in the journal Science arguing the need to determine the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Various other studies have hinted at Covid-19 as a result of the Wuhan lab-leak.

"There is some smoke here," said the Washignton Post report.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Mumbai, June 5 : "Naagin 3" actor Pearl V Puri has been arrested by Palghar police in Maharashtra in connection with an alleged molestation and rape case of a child, officials said here on Saturday.

The 31-year-old actor has been booked by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police, invoking charges of IPC Sec. 376 AB and POCSO Act, 4, 8, 12,19, 21 for the rape of the minor girl, said the officials.

He will be produced before a local court later on Saturday for remand.

According to the Valiv Police Station, which lodged the case, the victim's family had complained that Puri had allegedly molested and raped the girl, around two years ago.

Pearl began his career as a television actor with the 2013 show "Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat" while Ekta Kapoor's "Naagin 3" and "Bepanah Pyaar" made him popular. He was last seen in the television series "Brahmarakshas 2".

An official statement on behalf of the actor is awaited.

While fans are heartbroken with the news of his arrest, a section of netizens are criticising the actor on social media posts for the allegation levelled against him.
New Delhi, June 5 : Delhi Government will re-open markets and other activities in the city using odd-even model from Monday, however, the lockdown will remain in force, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday. Delhi Metro will also resume services from Monday with 50 per cent capacity.

"Delhi's Covid situation is now under control as below 500 new cases are reported and the daily positivity rate has reduced to 0.5 per cent in the last 24 hours. In view of the third possible wave, the government has decided to continue the lockdown, but we are going to re-open markets and malls on an odd-even basis from Monday," Kejriwal added.

Markets will open on the odd-even basis, which would be decided on the basis of their shop number, and will remain open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In government offices, grade-A officials will ensure 100 per cent presence in the offices, while others will be 50 per cent. "Government officials with grade A will ensure 100 per cent presence in their offices, while other officials will work with 50 per cent capacity. However, all officials serving in essential services will be present," he said.

The private offices too will resume services with 50 per cent of manpower. "I would request private offices to allow most of their employees to work from home till few next days," Kejriwal added.

While addressing a digital press conference, Kejriwal said Delhi Metro Rail will will restart services with 50 per cent capacity from Monday.

Kejriwal also informed that the government is preparing for a third possible wave of Covid-19 pandemic with a target of 37,000 cases in a day. During the second wave, Delhi had reported 28,395 maximum daily cases on April 20.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Mumbai, June 5 : Actress Bhumi Pednekar, on the occasion of World Environment Day on Saturday, said that while expressing opinion is important, it also often leads to backlash.

"Being woke is about putting your opinion and standing by it for the betterment of society. I feel it's a double-edged sword because at times being woke can also have lots of backlash," Bhumi, who is also an environmentalist, said.

She added: "More often than not I feel you need to have a certain amount of confidence to step out and put the thoughts you believe in out there, but it needs to come from a place of responsibility and from a place of knowledge." The actress said a person who can influence cannot use their voice loosely as it is their biggest tool.

"I think that's very important, especially when you are a person who is in a place of influence and there are many that follow you, your voice is your biggest tool and you can't use it loosely. As we say that with great power comes great responsibility, and especially for influencers this statement is like the truest," she added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 00:48:06|Editor: huaxia

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GUIYANG, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia pledged on Friday to firmly support each other on issues concerning the core interests of the two countries.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the pledge in a phone conversation, saying the two countries remain unswervingly committed to upholding international fairness and justice and safeguarding world peace and stability. Enditem
San Francisco, June 5 : Facebook has suspended US former President Donald Trump from its platforms for two years, the maximum penalty under a newly revealed set of rules for suspending public figures, a move that was hailed by the independent Oversight Board which had upheld the earlier decision by the social network to ban Trump.

Faebook said on Friday that it will reevaluate the ban and make the decision whether to end or extend it.

According to Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs at Facebook, the company will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded at the end of the two-year suspension.

"We are suspending his (Trump) accounts for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7 this year," Clegg said in a blog post.

When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts.

The Oversight Board said in a statement that it is encouraged that Facebook is adopting many of the Board's policy recommendations in this case.

"The Board is now assessing Facebook's response to our recommendations, including greater transparency around the 'strikes' policy, how Facebook will apply the 'newsworthiness allowance' to the accounts of politicians and other influential individuals, and the new enforcement protocols," it said.

Facebook has said it is committed to being more transparent about the decisions it makes and how they impact its users.

"As well as our updated enforcement protocols, we are also publishing our strike system, so that people know what actions our systems will take if they violate our policies," Clegg said.

The Board said it believes that the steps Facebook has committed to oday will contribute to greater clarity, consistency and transparency in the way the company moderates content, and promote public safety, defend human rights and respect freedom of expression.

The Oversight Board voted against reinstating Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in May while saying it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose an "indefinite" suspension.

It required Facebook to revisit the case, either restore Trump's accounts, make the ban permanent or define a suspension for a set period of time.

The board is a panel of about 20 former political leaders, human rights activists and journalists picked by Facebook to deliberate the company's content decisions.
Ankara, June 5 : Turkey has discovered 135 billion cubic meters of addition natural gas in the Black Sea, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

The new discovery in the Amasra-1 field has raised the total potential in the region to 540 billion cubic metres, Xinhua news agency quoted the President as saying on Friday.

Last year, Turkey announced the discovery of 405 billion cubic metres of natural gas reserves in the Sakarya field, about 100 nautical miles north of the Turkish coast.
Moscow, June 5 : Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the need to join efforts globally in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The world has not yet recovered from the difficulties and restrictions caused by Covid-19, and effective results could only be achieved through cooperation, Putin said on Friday at a meeting on the sidelines of the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"If sources of Covid-19 infections remain somewhere in the world, then they can again trigger a spread globally," Xinhua news agency quoted the President as saying.

The Russian leader believes that economic benefits should not be a priority at this point.

"We need to prioritise humanitarian issues and the fight for the health and lives of people," Putin said.

The President's remarks come as Russia currently accounts for the world's sixth largest coronavirus caseload and the seventh highest death toll.

As of Saturday, Russia's infection tally and total fatalities stood at 5,049,210 and 120,974, respectively.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Mexico City, June 5 : Mexico is gearing up for the largest ever mid-term elections in the country's history on Sunday, with tens of thousands of candidates vying to fill more than 20,000 public posts, according to authorities.

The race to watch, said political observers, is the one to fill the Chamber of Deputies, or the lower house, in which the ruling progressive National Regeneration Movement (Morena) hopes to maintain or strengthen its qualified majority, as the conservative opposition strives to gain ground, reports Xinhua news agency.

The mid-terms will essentially decide whether President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will be able to carry on with his so-called "Fourth Transformation", combat public-sector corruption and make the country more energy independent, or be forced to temper his reform drive during his remaining time in office.

Up for renewal are 15 of the country's 32 Governor posts, 500 federal deputy seats, 1,063 local deputy seats and 1,923 mayoral posts, among others, with a total of the 20,415 popularly elected positions.

According to the National Electoral Institute, 93,676,029 Mexicans will be eligible to vote at 162,896 polling stations across the country.

To improve their chances in the lower house, Mexico's three largest opposition parties -- the Institutional Revolutionary Party, Democratic Revolution Party and National Action Party -- joined forces to back the same candidate for each seat, aiming to take votes away from the Morena-led coalition that includes the Labor Party and Ecologist Green Party of Mexico.

To maintain its two-thirds qualified majority in Congress, Morena will need to garner 334 deputy seats, a number which Lopez said will be tough to win, despite the party's lead in various polls.

The elections are expected to go smoothly, though violence targeting candidates has traditionally marred political campaigns in Mexico with some 89 politicians assassinated so far, including 35 candidates, according to risk analysis firm Etellekt.
Jaipur, June 5 : Rajasthan Police on Saturday arrested four accused for sexually assaulting two sisters aged 19 and 20 after beating them up severely in Jaipur.

Police officials confirmed that the sisters, aged 19 and 20 years, who were residing in an apartment here were taken to a house in Luniawas on June 1 by two of the four accused.

At the Luniawas house, the youths, along with two of their associates, allegedly thrashed and gangraped the two girls.

These accused, identified as Atal and Pankaj, even threatened the sister duo against disclosing the incident to anyone.

After the incident, the survivors shared the atrocities with their family members. Subsequently, the police were pitched in and a case was registered.

Pratap Nagar SHO Shrimohan Meena said that the survivors' medical examination was conducted and efforts were made to nab the four accused. Police on Saturday arrested all the four accused and they will be produced in court soon, he said.
Chennai, June 5 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint a dedicated team of officials with financial and administrative powers for the contruction of the All India Institute Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Madurai.

Stalin in a letter to Modi pointed out that the foundation stone for the AIIMS was laid by him on 27.1.2019 and till now only a compound wall has been erected around the land that has been allotted for the project by the state government.

Stalin said the expeditious setting up of the institution is necessary for providing quality tertiary care to the people belonging to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu as well as neighbouring States.

Referring to the appointment of the President, an Executive Director and some Committees for the institute, Stalin said the Committees do not have clear authority to execute a project of this size.

"Meanwhile, due to this avoidable delay, there are also reports that the option of starting the institution temporarily at some other location is also being considered. It is felt that this may further delay the project," Stalin added.

"Therefore, I request that a dedicated team of officers with adequate financial and administrative powers may be appointed immediately and measures may be taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, to finalize and commence the construction works immediately," Stalin said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, June 5 : The Union Ministry of Electronics and IT has sent its final notice to Twitter over non-compliance of the new IT rules and has again warned of penal action in case the US-headquartered social media platform fails to comply to the norms.

The notice sent by the ministry noted that in view of Twitter Inc's non-compliance with the rules which came into effect on May 26, 2021, "consequences follow".

"However, as gesture of goodwill, Twitter Inc is hereby given one last notice to immediately comply with the rules, failing which the exemption from liability available under section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 shall stand withdrawn and Twitter shall be liable for consequences as per the IT Act and other penal laws of India," it said.

The ministry said that it is clear from the responses of the company that till date it has not informed about the details of the Chief Compliance Office as required under the Rules. Further, it also said that the Resident Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact Person nominated by the platform are not its employees in India as required under the new rules.

"The office address of Twitter Inc as mentioned by you is that of a law firm in India, which is also not as per the rules." It said that the refusal to comply demonstrates Twitter's lack of commitment and efforts towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Thiruvananthapuram, June 5 : The new Pinarayi Vijayan government that assumed office on May 20 has already made its intentions clear regarding the higher education sector in the state.

Higher education in one of the most literate state is all set to undergo a large-scale revamp.

What has brought cheer to the cadets and officials of the National Cadet Corps is that in all likelihood NCC will soon be integrated into the higher education curriculum.

The Directorate General of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), New Delhi, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) has written a letter to vice-chancellors of all universities on April 15, for the introduction of NCC as a General Elective Credit Course (GECC).

As and when implemented, NCC will become a part of the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) envisioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

It will permit students enrolled as NCC cadets to receive academic credits for NCC training and avail employment incentives offered under various central and state government schemes.

Today, NCC is the largest uniformed youth volunteer organization in the country with girl cadets accounting for one third of the total strength.

Speaking to IANS Additional Director General (ADG), Kerala Directorate NCC, Major General M.S.Gill said that in Kerala the move in this direction has begun and they have written to all the vice-chancellors in Kerala.

"By now a few Universities in Jammu and Orissa have already done this and other states have prepared the road map for this.

"Meanwhile the All India Council of Technical Education has also decided to take up the integration with engineering colleges also. We have asked all our Commanding Officers in the state to take up this topic with respective colleges as well.

"The condition of introducing NCC into the college curriculum is that the College should have an NCC unit," said Gill.

Had it not been for the Covid and the lockdowns, the NCC elective issue would have been taken up much earlier and it could well be a matter of months before this becomes a reality.

Brigadier Sunil Kumar NV, Kottayam NCC Group Commander, said that introduction of the NCC curriculum as an elective subject will also accrue various indirect advantages.

He has taken it up with the Mahatma Gandhi University vice-chancellor who has said it will have to be approved by the University syndicate and senate.

"We are waiting for the approval from the Universities. The biggest incentive for the youth, however, is the pride that stems from wearing a uniform. In the state, there are five Groups located at Ernakulam, Kottayam, Trivandrum, Calicut and Kollam.

"Despite the relatively smaller jurisdictional area it boasts of a total cadet strength of around 83,000, which compares favourably with other Directorates.

"An interesting thing is that, with 43 per cent girl-cadets, Kerala has the distinction of having the highest representation of girl cadets in the entire country," said Sunil Kumar.

Cadet Godbi S. Babu a student at the Mar Thoma College at Thiruvalla said he would love to opt for NCC as an elective as part of the new NEP 2020, as it gives more options of subjects and also it lets him fulfil his desire to join as an officer in the Army.

Cadet Manacy Mariya Isaac, of Alphonsa College, Pala in Kottayam said NCC as an elective subject is a great advancement towards a skill-oriented tomorrow.

"Awarding credit points will enhance cadet's progress and qualify them for their respective courses. This will open doors for many and contribute immensely towards a brighter future," said Manacy Mariya Isaac.

Going a step further, Associate NCC officer Regi Joseph, who has become well known for his great humanitarian service in the past 45 days by helping out Covid patients in Idukki, said he would bat for NCC to be made compulsory subject in the school -- as the young minds can be trained in the right manner.

"With the NCC portfolio now coming under R.Bindhu, who is also the State Higher Education Minister, who recently quit her job as the acting principal of a prestigious college and also has been a syndicate member in Universities -- now with Vijayan giving the green signal for a revamp -- it is certain it won't take Kerala long to implement this novel programme," said Joseph.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Kiev, June 5 : The ongoing conflict in east Ukraine's Donbas, which comprises the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, has killed 152 children and injured 146 others from April 2014 to April 2021, according to authorities.

"Unfortunately, these painful statistics do not fully reflect the scale of the losses suffered by children during the long-lasting armed conflict," the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine said on its official Facebook page on Friday, citing the data from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.

By May 30 of this year, the office noted, 66,491 children in Ukraine had been given the status of a child who suffered as a result of hostilities or armed conflicts, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Ombudsman called on the Ukrainian government, parliament, state authorities and the public to make every effort to provide protection and safety of children from armed conflicts.

Earlier this week, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, established June 4 as a day of remembrance for children who died from hostilities in Donbas.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in April 2014.

It has claimed some 14,000 lives and left 40,000 more wounded.

Parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions along the Russian border have been controlled by rebels supported by Moscow for nearly seven years.

Despite the imposition of the latest ceasefire in 2015, around 50 people have been killed since the beginning of this year alone.

Kiev has repeatedly blamed Moscow for inciting the conflict.

Russia, however, has denied the charges, saying the accusations are groundless.
Srinagar, June 5 : The Army on Saturday in a solemn ceremony at 15 corps headquarters in Srinagar paid tribute to Sepoy Arun Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice on Friday at South Kashmir's Shopian district.

Maj Gen Anupam Bhagi, Officiating Corps Commander and all ranks paid homage to the gallant soldier.

The Army said late Sepoy Arun Singh was on an Area Domination Patrol from Sedhau to Tangimarg, where at 12.30 p.m., he slipped and fell into Vishwa river while crossing a wooden bridge at Ada.

The soldier was swept downstream due to the fast current of the river before he was finally pulled out by soldiers and civilians.

"He was immediately evacuated to Govt Hospital, Mazgam where he was declared dead at 5.15 p.m.," army said.

Late Sepoy Arun Singh, was 26 years old and had joined the Army in 2016. He belonged to Village Gho Mangni of Pathankot Tehsil, Pathankot District in Punjab and is survived by his father and mother.

The mortal remains of Arun Singh were taken for last rites to his native place, where he would be laid to rest with full military honours.

"In this hour of grief, the Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved family and remains committed to their dignity and wellbeing," army said.
China ready for higher-level cooperation with Kiribati: Chinese FM

Xinhua) 10:24, June 05, 2021

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Kiribati to lift bilateral cooperation to a higher level, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

In a phone conversation with Kiribati President and Foreign Minister Taneti Maamau, Wang conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to President Maamau.

Since the resumption of diplomatic ties more than a year ago, Wang noted, China-Kiribati relations have got off to a good start and achieved fruitful results.

Facts have proved that the political decision of restoring diplomatic ties is entirely correct and serves the best interest of Kiribati and its people, Wang said.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the two countries have stood together and supported each other, which further enhanced their friendship, Wang said.

China understands the special challenges Kiribati faces in responding to the pandemic, and will continue to provide vaccines and medical supplies to support Kiribati's fight against the coronavirus, Wang said.

Noting that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Wang said China has successfully accomplished its first centenary goal and is embarking on a new journey to fully building a modern socialist country, which will provide more opportunities to Kiribati and other countries.

China attaches great importance to developing relations with Kiribati, and stands ready to deepen Belt and Road cooperation with Kiribati, Wang said, suggesting the two sides sign their Belt and Road cooperation agreements at an early date.

China will encourage its enterprises to invest and operate in Kiribati, and hopes that Kiribati will leverage the preferential policies such as zero-tariff treatment for 97 percent of exported items to increase exports to China, Wang said.

He added that China hopes both sides will strengthen dialogues, exchanges and cooperation in all fields to ensure the steady and sustained development of bilateral relations.

Wang said China highly appreciates Kiribati's adherence to the one-China policy, firmly supports its choice of pursuing a development path suited to its own national conditions, and helps the country accelerate development and achieve prosperity.

Being members of the developing world, China and Kiribati share extensive common interests, and should continue to give each other staunch support in the international arena, jointly uphold the legitimate development rights and interests of developing countries and international fairness and justice, and defend non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, which is a basic norm governing international relations, Wang said.

Maamau, for his part, asked Wang to convey his best wishes to President Xi, and congratulated the CPC on the 100th anniversary of its founding, and sincerely thanked China for its strong support for its social and economic development, particularly for the its fight against the pandemic.

He reaffirmed Kiribati's commitment to the one-China policy, and firmly supports China's legitimate position on issues concerning Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Kiribati cherishes its relations with China, and is willing to deepen the joint construction of Belt and Road and to strengthen bilateral cooperation in infrastructure, education, economy, trade, investment and medical treatment, he said.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 01:03:30|Editor: huaxia

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The University of Zambia Vice-Chancellor Luke Mumba (L) receives the donation from the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie during a handover ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia, on June 4, 2021. China on Friday handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

LUSAKA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19.

The face masks comprise 30,000 from Jilin Province and 20,000 from the Chinese Embassy in Zambia.

Li Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, who handed over the face masks during a ceremony, said with the third wave reported in the country, the donation was China's commitment to supporting the university to combat the pandemic.

The Chinese envoy said since the emergence of the pandemic the two countries have stood together, with Zambia giving support when the pandemic hit the Asian nation and China responding through the provision of medical supplies when Zambia was hit by the pandemic.

He added that Chinese enterprises in the African country have made donations to help the country deal with the pandemic.

Luke Mumba, the university's Vice-Chancellor, commended China for the donation, saying it will go a long way in helping protect the university community and control the spread of the pandemic among students and staff members.

The donation, he said, was timely as it comes at a time when the country has been hit with the third wave of the pandemic which has resulted in a surge in cases.

"It is a continued demonstration of our very warm strong ties with the people of China," he said.

Zambia's cumulative cases currently stood at 98,376. Enditem
Thiruvananthapuram, June 5 : The Congress party on Saturday asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to have the guts to order a judicial probe into allegations that a huge amount of money being transported from Kozhikode in north Kerala to Ernakulam allegedly for distribution to the BJP party candidates for the April 6 Assembly election was stolen on April 3.

A few middle level BJP leaders especially from Thrissur district have been questioned by the Kerala Police probing the case.

On Saturday, senior Congress Lok Sabha member K. Muraleedharan asked Vijayan to have the guts to order a judicial probe as the present police probe might lead nowhere.

"All know it would not be possible to get a judicial probe by either a sitting judge of the Kerala High Court or from the Supreme Court. So Vijayan should show the guts to order a judicial probe by a retired Supreme or High Court judge, as by now even an ally of the BJP led NDA has said they received money from the BJP during the election campaign," said Muraleedharan.

"The second wave of Covid has been raging in the country because both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were campaigning in West Bengal. There the money was used for election campaign and hence there are no issues, but in Kerala each BJP candidate is understood to have got Rs 3 crores and here since it was not used for campaign, allegations have surfaced. So Vijayan should order a judicial probe and if done, even Modi's role in it can come out," added Muraleedharan.

"We all know that State BJP president K. Surendran had contested from two seats -- one the northernmost assembly seat at Manjeswaram and another one in the south, Konni. Everyone knows that he was using a helicopter for his election campaign. According to the rules the maximum a candidate can spend is Rs 30 lakhs. The Election Commission should find out if the helicopter expenses are included in Surendran's campaign," added Muraleedharan.

The Kerala unit of the BJP was caught on the wrong foot when a person filed a complaint before the Thrissur rural police that an amount of Rs 25 lakh which he was carrying in his vehicle to pay as advance money for a land transaction was stolen from him on the Thrissur-Kodakara highway.

The CPI-M's acting secretary and convenor of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), A. Vijayaraghavan, then alleged that this money was "Hawala" money being used by the BJP to fund its electioneering and the money was meant for party candidates.

He also alleged that the BJP is responsible for the "Hawala" network and added that this was the first time such a huge money transfer has taken place in the state.

Vijayaraghavan then alleged that Rs 3.5 crore was allegedly swindled and that senior state leaders of the BJP were behind the deal.

The Kerala BJP is a divided house with Union Minister and former party state President V. Muraleedharan leading a group in which Surendran is also present while party Vice President Shobha Surendran and former state President P.K. Krishnadas lead the other faction.

Ever since this row broke out, the national leadership is peeved especially when reports came out that tribal leader C.K. Janu's party JRP surfaced after having received Rs one million from Surendran for returning to the NDA.

This was revealed by Praseeda Azhikode, treasurer and party colleague of Janu. The charge was denied by Surendran and Janu, who threatened taking legal action against her.

And with this case on the radar, the state leadership of the BJP is meeting on Sunday.
Mumbai, June 5 : Television actress Anita Hassanandani took to social media on Saturday to express her shock and disbelief over the news of "Naagin 3" co-star Pearl V. Puri being arrested for allegedly molesting and raping a minor.

"Woke up to some nonsensical news bout @pearlvpuri I know him! It is NOT true ... canNOT be true.... all lies. I'm sure there is more to it. And the truth will be out soon. Love you @pearlvpuri," Anita Hassanandani shared in an Instagram post using the hashtag #ISTANDWITHPEARL.

Anita also shared a photograph with Pearl on her Instagram post.

Anita's Instagram post comes at a time when "Naagin 3" actor Pearl has been arrested by Palghar police in Maharashtra in connection with the alleged molestation and rape of a child.

The 31-year-old actor has been booked by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police, invoking charges of IPC Sec. 376 AB and POCSO Act, 4, 8, 12,19, 21 for the rape of the minor girl, officials said here on Saturday.

An official statement on behalf of the actor is awaited.
Kabul, June 5 : Taliban militants have captured another district in Afghanistans eastern province of Nuristan, adding to recent military gains, officials said on Saturday.

Provincial councillor Saidullah Nuristani told dpa news agency that government forces have abandoned Doab district after 20 days of resistance.

According to Nuristani, the militants had blocked all the supply routes to the district, forcing the government forces to evacuate the district after being unable to receive any food supplies or ammunition from the central government for nearly a month.

Ismail Ateekan, an MP representing the province, claimed that the government forces had left the district without fighting, after an agreement that was mediated by the local tribal elders in the area.

In return, the insurgents did not attack them during the evacuation.

The district connects Panjshir and Badakhshan provinces to Nuristan, and the militants now pose a threat to the neighbouring Laghman province since they have besieged the Noorgram district in the province, according to MP Ateekan.

At least three districts have fallen to the Taliban since Thursday night.

Local officials confirmed the collapse of two districts in southern Zabul and Uruzgan provinces late on Friday.

Since the official withdrawal of the US and other NATO troops in Afghanistan on May 1, at least seven districts have fallen to the Taliban.

The Taliban have intensified attacks on provincial capitals, districts, bases and checkpoints. Tens of thousands of Afghans have been displaced in the past few weeks.

The withdrawal of international troops is due to be completed by September 11 at the latest.
New Delhi, June 5 : As part of its initiative towards environment protection, NHPC Limited, has signed E-Mobility Agreements with Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) for leasing of 25 Electric Vehicles (EVs) and supply of 3 Electric Vehicle fast chargers to NHPC including its installation and commissioning.

NHPC will have the biggest EVs fleet amongst Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in India. NHPC had earlier leased 2 of Electric Vehicles through EESL in 2019.

NHPC has signed the E-mobility agreement as a step towards its commitment for environment, a company statement on the eve of celebrating World Environment Day 2021, said.

A broad MoU between NHPC and EESL to explore opportunities of Energy Efficiency and Conservation measures in NHPC, is also under process.
June 05 : Marking the importance of World Environment Day today, many Bollywood celebrities took to their social media platforms to wish for a better environment to live in. While the theme of this years environment day is generation restoration, the actors encouraged all to help in preserving and healing the environment.

Marking the importance of the day, Kareena Kapoor Khan shared a video montage of elder son Taimur Ali Khan. In the picture shared on her Instagram handle, Taimur can be seen playing on the beach. Using a filter on the montage, Kareena shared the adorable picture, in which Taimur can be seen playing with sand on the beach, bare feet. The little munchkin can be seen wearing a pink and blue Tom and Jerry T-shirt and shorts. Sharing the post, Kareena captioned it as, "Protect Heal Love #WorldEnvironmentDay."

Actor-director-producer Ajay Devgn took to his Instagram handle and shared a picture of himself sitting in a secluded environment, meditating, as he wrote, Meditate  Some answers are found on the inner net. Happy #WorldEnvironmentDay

Student of the Year actor Sidharth Malhotra shared a picture, wherein the actor can be seen amid lush nature, feeding a little bird on his palm. The actor quoted John Burroughs, and wrote, I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. Happy #WorldEnvironmentDay!

Varun Dhawan shared a video clip from Arunachal Pradeshs Ziro village, as he wished his fans on the World Environment Day. Recently, Varun was in Arunachal Pradesh for a long time where he was shooting for his upcoming film Bhediya.

Shilpa Shetty shared a picture of herself amid the lush green, and wrote a long note emphasising that the fact that we need to treat Mother Nature with respect. All of us being indoors has helped the rest of the ecosystem regain some balance over the past year. But, even when we get back to the old normal, we have to remember to treat Mother Nature with respect. Lets collectively learn to take the initiative without being told to do so. Even if you cant personally plant trees, be involved in conversations that need voices to amplify the message. Educate yourself on how every individual can help with the #EcosystemRestoration, and spread awareness about it. This is an ongoing battle. They say small acts multiplied by millions of people will make a difference, the actress wrote.

On the World Environment day, Ayushmann Khurrana shared a couple of pictures from North-East, where he was shooting for his forthcoming film, Anek. Amidst nature, the actor said it was an eye-opener for him, and urged his fans to help preserve nature as it is precious. I would like to share these pictures which I took while shooting for ANEK in the North East of India. This road led us to Khasi Hills, and then a kilometre of trek to reach the shoot location where no 4 by 4 could attempt. Recently, a 100 million old fossils of sauropod dinosaurs were discovered at the same place. Our country has a lot of such untouched destinations. Lets preserve this. Its precious!

Sonali Bendre shared a picture of herself immersed in the peace and serenity of nature. Quoting Aristotle, she wrote, In all things of nature there is something of the marvellous.- Aristotle #WorldEnvironmentDay.
Panaji, June 5 : Criticised for its poor preparation and handling of the second wave, the Pramod Sawant government in Goa appears to have stormed off the blocks quickly to gear up for the impending next wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which according to experts is expected to impact children.

Nearly 100 persons died due to lack of oxygen at the state's apex health institute, the Goa Medical College at the peak of the second wave, a tragedy which had put a question mark over the handling of the second wave by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.

In a bid to prep for the third wave, Sawant appears to have kept the reins of the health administration in his hands, as the chairperson of the newly founded Special Task Force, which he has formed to handle the impending crisis.

The force has already started tracking down the over 120 paediatricians in the state, who will be imparted key skills, like ventilator training from next week.

According to Sawant, nurses will also be trained to handle Covid emergencies related to children ahead of during the third wave.

"There are around 120 paediatricians in Goa. Apart from the seniormost paediatricians, we will be training the rest of them in ventilator operations. Nurses will also be trained," according to Sawant.

The training programme for doctors and nurses is expected to begin from June 7.

Apart from the fatal oxygen crisis, shortage of trained manpower, as well as shortcomings in the existing health infrastructure, were some of the key elements, which led to the criticism of the state government during the second wave, where the state witnessed nearly 3,000 new infections a day.

Videos of overflowing hospitals, where patients were relegated to sleeping on folded cardboard boxes, also went viral, which led to condemnation of the functioning of the Health Ministry.

The failure of the Goa government to impose restrictions on the entry of visitors to the state, especially from Maharashtra and Karnataka, which also reported a sizeable number of infections in a short span of time had also led to the unprecedented spurt in cases in the coastal state.

However, lessons appear to have been learnt -- at least for now -- by the Sawant-led administration, with the special task force already in the process of rectifying the lacunae which cropped up during the second wave.

A member of the force told IANS that a special SOP was being devised by the Goa government, specially dealing with overall Covid treatment to children.

"The SOP will be comprehensive. It will not just deal with treatment protocol, but also cover the aspect of counselling of children, who are impacted by Covid," the member said on condition of anonymity.

The member also said that counsellors, both from the private and public sector, too would specifically assist children who suffer from Covid. "Counselling is critical for children, especially in a health crisis like this. A special module is being created," he said.

The state government has already started an outreach programme for vaccination of parents, who have children below the age of 10 years, in a bid to stem the severity of infection spread in children ahead of the third wave.

The Goa government is also in the process of ramping up the infrastructure for critical care of paediatric patients, which includes setting up of a 60-bedded paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

"PICU beds will be increased from eight to 14 in the existing PICU in GMC and a new 60 bedded PICU -- 30 bedded each, in the super speciality block. We have also taken a decision that at any time 20 beds in an existing ICU, can be converted into a paediatric ICU," according to Sawant, whose task force is overseeing the infrastructure creation process.

A neonatal intensive care unit is also being created, he said. Most of the paediatric facilities, Sawant said would be set-up in the newly created superciality wing of the Goa Medical College.

"Emergency facilities for children will also be set up in the South Goa and North Goa district hospitals," he said.

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Mumbai, June 5 : Producer Ekta Kapoor on Saturday expressed support for actor Pearl V. Puri, who has been arrested by Palghar police in Maharashtra for allegedly molesting and raping a child. Ekta says she has voice notes and messages of the alleged victim's mother claiming that the rape and molestation charges are stories created by her husband in order to keep their child by proving that a working mother cannot take care of a kid.

Ekta posted an Instagram picture with Pearl on Saturday. Alongside the photo, she wrote a long note stating that the film industry is as safe or as unsafe as any other business.

She wrote: "Will I support a child molester...or a molester of any kind? But what I witnessed from last night to now, was the absolute low in human depravity. How can humanity go to this level? How can people who are upset with each other, drag a third person into their own fight?" "How can a human being take on another human being and do this?"

"After various calls with the child's/girl's mother, who openly said that Pearl was not involved and it's her husband trying to create stories to keep her child and prove that a working mother on a set cannot take care of her kid," Ekta added.

She claimed that if this is true "then it is wrong on so many levels".

"Using an extremely important movement like 'Me Too' frivolously, to get your own agendas met with and mentally torturing a child and making an innocent person guilty. I have no right to decide, the courts will decide who is right and wrong," she said.

"My opinion only comes from what the girl's mother said to me last night and that is -- Pearl is innocent... and it is very, very sad if people are using various tactics to prove working mothers are unable to take care of their children, because there are predators on the set," Ekta continued.

She said she has all "the voice notes and messages between the child's mother and me, which clearly points to the false allegations being put on Pearl".

"The film industry is as safe or as unsafe as any other business. To give it a bad name to get your agenda sorted is the lowest form of low ever. If by chance, Pearl is proved innocent, I request people to look more deeply into how the important and much needed movements in today's time, are being used unfairly reducing the gravitas of the situation. May justice prevail! #MayJusticePrevail @pearlvpuri," she concluded.

Pearl, 31, has been booked by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police, invoking charges of IPC Sec. 376 AB and POCSO Act, 4, 8, 12,19, 21 for the rape of the minor girl.

He will be produced before a local court later on Saturday for remand.

According to the Valiv Police Station, which lodged the case, the victim's family had complained that Puri had allegedly molested and raped the girl, around two years ago.

Pearl began his career as a television actor with the 2013 show "Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat" while Ekta Kapoor's "Naagin 3" and "Bepanah Pyaar" made him popular. He was last seen in the television series "Brahmarakshas 2".
Kolkata, June 5 : Bangladesh was compelled to spend considerable funds to create the state-of-the-art facilities at Bhasan Char island for shifting some Rohingya refugees to decongest the Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar for environmental considerations and to avoid conflicts, a top official said on Saturday.

The senior Bangladeshi official said his poor, overpopulated country was doing its best to look after the nearly one million Rohingya who had been given refuge after brutal pogroms forced them out of Myanmar.

"We are therefore understandably upset when the global community lectures us on our duties and tells us what more we should do for the Rohingya. They should d their duty to force Myanmar to take the Rohingya back," the official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

"I cannot understand this hypocrisy. We shelter the Rohingya and you tell us I should give them my bedroom to sleep? How can outsiders, the so-called global community, dictate to us where we should keep the Rohingya? Do they forget we are a sovereign nation? Can they tell the US where to keep the Cuban exiles?" he queried .

The official said that Bangladesh decided to shift a few thousand Rohingya to Bhasan Char after the Navy had completed the construction.

"During cyclone Yaas, many areas on the Bangladesh coast were badly impacted but nothing happened to Bhasan Char. But some global NGO , who love Bangladesh-bashing, are going to town now saying that the Rohingya there are unhappy," the official said, when his attention was drawn to a Human Rights Watch report due for release on Sunday.

"If they are so upset with what we have done for the Rohingya, let them take these refugees to the US and other Western countries in the way nearly 100,000 Lhotsampas evicted from Bhutan were taken.

"And if you don't want to take them because they are Muslims and you fear they could be terrorists, how do you then insist on Bangladesh to shoulder this burden for years when you can't push Myanmar's brutal military regime to take them back," he told IANS.

The top official said that when UNHCR representatives including, Gillian Triggs, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, and Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operation, visited Bhasan Char on May 31, some 600 to 700 Rohingya had demonstrated for more relief.

"But a vested quarter tried to create confusion amongst the Rohingyas and snatch media attention so that the ongoing process of involving the INGOs and the UN is jeopardised. Only a small section of the 18,000 plus Rohingya demonstrated but now some global rights bodies are sitting on judgement saying most were unhappy with Bhasan Char," he said.

The official said tens of thousands of Bangladesh's own citizens live in places like Bhasan Char and suffer similar risks.

"Should we make a New York for them in Bangladesh?" he asked.

He said if Bangladesh cannot shift the Rohingya refugees to places like Bhasan Char, then many of them will keep risking hazardous sea voyages to Southeast Asia and die when their boats sink.

The official said for Bangladesh, repatriation and not permanent rehabilitation was the priority.

"The world cannot sleep as we shoulder this huge burden. And then complain about where and how we keep them.

"Our people in thousands went to India during the 1971 Liberation War, but we did not agitate over where and how India kept us because they could only do what they could afford," he added.
Mumbai, June 5 : Television actor Simba Nagpal, on the occasion of Pride Month, says he does not believe in gender discrimination and that it is high time that all come together in support of the LGBTQ community.

Simba said: "I don't believe in gender discrimination. As we all are humans and we all must access equal value in society. There must be no such boundaries that bring insecurities and troubles for someone to express themselves. It's high time that all of us come together in support of the LGBTQ community." The actor, who is seen in the show "Shakti: Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki", feels true love has no conditions or boundaries.

"In my show, I play a character who falls in love with a eunuch. For her, I do anything that can protect her from society. For society such relations are taboos but I feel pure love has no conditions and boundaries. It's we youngsters who can change society for the better," he concluded.
Mumbai, June 5 : Television actress Asmita Sood on Saturday reacted to the news of her "Phir Bhi Na Maane... Badtameez Dil" co-star Pearl V. Puri's arrest on the charges of alleged rape of a minor girl.

Asmita had featured together with Pearl in the romantic series which aired in 2015 and the two were said to be quite close back then, although the actress says she has not been in touch with Pearl for "more than half a decade now".

"I woke up to some messages and calls mentioning last night's arrest of actor Pearl Puri. I was not aware of the details of the same, so I took the time to read about the same. I was shocked and appalled at the details. Pearl and me worked together in our first television series in the year 2015, Asmita said in a statement." "We all know that our industry is a fast-changing one and the dynamics change very quickly here. I am not in touch with Pearl for more than half a decade now. I do not know what has transpired in all these years and what could actually have happened. The Pearl I knew was a career focussed person and was very close to his mother; the two traits which could make anyone believe that he could not have done something that is alleged," she added talking about her ex-colleague." "Being an independent woman working in this industry -- I know that there are many a challenge we face every day. For the people -- a victim is just a person -- but in such incidents, it is the entire family which suffers. Imagine the fear and the state of mind of parents of young girls after reading such news -- who genuinely want to make a career in this industry," she further stated.

"For all those of us working in the industry - be it actors, directors, production teams, media, etc. it is our responsibility to not accept the unacceptable and create a good landscape for all those who want to join the industry. I hope that the competent authorities investigate the matter at hand in totality and deliver justice," the actress concluded.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 01:57:25|Editor: huaxia

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GUIYANG, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia pledged on Friday to firmly support each other on issues concerning the core interests of the two countries.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the pledge in a phone conversation, saying the two countries remain unswervingly committed to upholding international fairness and justice and safeguarding world peace and stability.

Wang said the all-weather China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has withstood numerous changes in the international landscape, emphasizing that China and Russia have always firmly supported each other on issues concerning their core interests.

Wang noted that the guidance of the heads of state is the fundamental guarantee for bilateral relations to develop in a steady and sustained way and enjoy long-lasting vitality.

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed together via video link the ground-breaking ceremony of a China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project, which injected strong "nuclear impetus" into the development of bilateral relations, Wang said.

He urged the two sides to focus on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, prepare for upcoming key high-level exchanges, fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and advance cooperation in various fields in a coordinated manner in the post-pandemic era.

The two sides should work to translate their high-level political mutual trust and traditional friendship into more cooperation achievements, aiming for an ever closer and down-to-earth relationship and setting a fine example of developing a new type of relations between major countries, Wang said.

For his part, Lavrov said that the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has advanced vigorously and achieved fruitful results, and the Russian side is satisfied with the high level of the two countries' relations.

Russia is willing to keep close strategic coordination with China on international and regional issues, firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests, resolutely oppose hegemonism, unswervingly support multilateralism, jointly safeguard world peace and stability and uphold international fairness and justice, the Russian foreign minister said. Enditem
Kolkata, June 5 : The expert committee formed by the Mamata Banerjee government to assess the possibility of conducting the board exams, is likely to give their opinion against any kind of exam during the pandemic situation.

The six-member committee that has already submitted the report to state Education Secretary Manish Jain has opined strongly against taking the examination of 12 lakh Madhyamik (Class 10) students but suggested that the government may evaluate the 7.5 lakh Higher Secondary students through assessment, assignments and examinations from home.

"The expert committee has suggested examinations from home for the Higher Secondary students. The board can send assignments to the students asking them to submit it within a scheduled time.

"The board can only look for online examinations that are being taken by several schools and colleges all around the country but it is strictly against any kind of examination where the students will have to appear physically for giving the exam," a senior board member close to the expert committee told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) is in favour of conducting examinations for HS students.

Sources said that the proposal of conducting HS board Exams 2021 at home instead of exam centres had come up in the meetings of the expert committee.

In the meeting, Mahua Das, president of WBCHSE said that if college/university students can take their exams from their homes, why is it not possible to hold board examinations from home? "Higher Secondary is a gateway to higher education and so the committee is of the opinion that an examination in any form should be taken. It will not only help the students to evaluate themselves but at the same time it will allow the students to get prepared for the All-India exams," the member said.

Sources familiar with the matter said that the expert committee's report has been submitted to School Education Secretary Manish Jain, who will send the report to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) soon.

The six members of the committee have separately expressed their views on the examinations.

The committee has strongly given its verdict against any kind of examinations for the Madhyamik students.

"There are more than 12 lakh students across Bengal and it would be difficult to conduct any kind of examination for them in this pandemic situation," the official said.

Instead, the expert committee suggested evaluating the students on the basis of their exam in Class 11 and internal assessment. "This assessment should be based on the students' overall performance all through the year," the expert committee suggested.

The state government formed an expert committee to review the entire situation and submit a report within 72 hours on the possibility and mechanism of conducting the exams amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The 72 hours deadline ends on Saturday.

The committee was asked to give its opinion on several things including whether exams were possible in this situation and if it was possible then what will be the mechanism of conducting the exam without exposing students to the infection.

The committee was also asked to look into the aspects of evaluating the students if there were no exams at all.

While several boards, including Odisha Board, CBSE, ISCE among others have cancelled their class 10 and 12 board exams, Bengal is yet to take a decision on the same.

Last month, the board exams were postponed by the state government due to an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases in the state.

West Bengal government on June 2 formed the expert committee and asked to give its report by June 5. The exam schedule for Madhyamik and Higher Secondary was scheduled to be announced on June 2.

It was being expected that the West Bengal boards -- West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) and West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) -- will relax their earlier stance of holding examinations after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) boards have cancelled both Class 10 and 12 board exams.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Amaravati, June 5 : The additional director general of police, AP CID has been sent a legal notice by rebel YSRCP MP Raghu Ramakrishna Raju's legal team. The notice has demanded that the the articles seized from Raghu Ramakrishna Raju at the time of his arrest by the AP CID, be deposited with the magistrate.

The legal notice claimed that the CID police personnel had taken a mobile phone from the Narsapur Lok Sabha MP's residence when he was being arrested but is not mentioned in the records. Stating that the seized mobile phone contains valuable information, his lawyer claimed that Raghu Ramakrishna Raju was subjected to custodial torture in effort to make him divulge the phone unlock code.

Stating that the missing phone is required to conduct his official duties, the Parliament member threatened to file civil and criminal charges if the phone is not returned to him. The legal notice was handed to the SHO at Mangalagiri CID office.

Disgruntled YSRCP Member of Parliament from Narsapur Lok Sabha constituency, Raghu Ramakrishna Raju was arrested on May 14, by the Andhra Pradesh CID on sedition charges. Cases under sections 124A, 153A, and 505, were filed against him.

The rebel MP has been in the public eye for regularly baiting his party supremo, and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy.

The MP was accused of indulging in systematic, schematic effort, through his speeches, to cause tensions among the communities and by attacking various government dignitaries in a way that will cause loss of faith in the government which they represent.

The AP CID had arrested the rebel YSRCP MP from his residence in Hyderabad, on May 14, and transferred him to Guntur for interrogation. The MP claimed he was subjected to torture during his custody.

The Supreme Court had subsequently granted him conditional bail.
New Delhi, June 5 : Hitting out at the Congress-led government in Punjab, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri alleged on Saturday that Covid vaccines supposed to given for free to the beneficiaries were being sold at a higher price in the state to make profit.

Addressing a virtual press conference, Puri said, "On May 29, Vikash Garg, the IAS officer in-charge of the Covid vaccination programme in Punjab, said that 4.29 lakh doses of Covishield were purchased for Rs 13.25 crore at an average rate of Rs 309 per dose, but it was sold to private hospitals for Rs 1,000 apiece." He further said that the Congress-led Punjab government had purchased 14,190 doses of Covaxin for Rs 4.70 crore at an average rate of Rs 412 per dose.

"People were charged Rs 1,560 for a single dose of Covishield which was bought for Rs 309 by the Punjab government and sold to the private hospitals for Rs 1,000," Puri said.

The Civil Aviation Minister also claimed that he has information about two hospitals in Mohali which sold vaccines for Rs 3,000 apiece.

Puri pointed out that over 24 crore doses of Covid vaccine have been provided to the states and Union Territories (UTs), of which more than 1.65 crore doses are still available with the states/UTs for administration.

Taking dig at former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Puri said, "Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been asking 'where are our children's vaccines?' In Congress ruled Rajasthan, vaccines are been dumped in garbage, while in Punjab people are making a profit out of it. This is the culture of Congress." Puri also attacked the Congress for misleading the farmers over the new farm laws.

"Confusion and lies were spread on the new agricultural laws. It was being said that the MSP system won't exist, the mandis would be closed etc. The truth is that after the enactment of these laws, record procurement of wheat and paddy has been done at MSP," Puri said.

Earlier in the day, Puri had tweeted, "The difference in priorities is stark. Central government has transferred Rs 26,000 crore directly into the accounts of Punjab farmers for wheat procurement during Rabi season. While Punjab government profiteered by selling vaccines to private hospitals. Earns about Rs 2.4 crore. Old habits die hard!" After facing criticism, the Punjab government had on Friday evening issued an order for taking back Covid vaccine doses from the private hospitals.

Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu claimed that as per the information provided by the state in-charge for Covid vaccination, about 42,000 doses were allotted to the private hospitals out of which only 600 were administered to the people.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Patna, June 5 : Bihar BJP MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu has raised questions over a NITI Aayog report, which put the state at the bottom of development ranking.

On Thursday, NITI Aayog issued a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report wherein Bihar managed only 52 points out of 100. Kerala topped the list with 75 points, followed by Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with 74 points each.

Claiming the report to be 'absolutely' wrong, Gyanu said, "I don't know why NITI Aayog is unable to see the developments in Bihar. It (the report) was prepared with malafide intention to defame Bihar. Strong action should be taken against the officials who prepared the report without checking the ground realities." The BJP MLA also demanded that the top officials of NITI Aayog should prepare the report again for Bihar.

"As per the report, the seven sister states of northeast and the Naxal affected states are ranked higher as compared to Bihar, which is absolute false," he claimed.

Gyanu's statement came at a time when the opposition leaders, including Tejashwi Yadav, Madan Mohan Jha and Raghvendra Kushwaha, are slamming the JD(U)-BJP government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the 'lack' of development in the state in the last 16 years.
Patna, June 5 : A physically challenged person was killed in Bihar's Begusarai district just for a glass of water, a police official said on Saturday.

The deceased Chote Lal Sahani, 50, a native of Badepura village under Chauhari Police Station in Begusarai district, died during treatment in Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).

The incident happened on Friday when Chote Lal Sahani went to a nearby pond in the village for fishing. While returning home, being thirsty, he took a glass of water from a water pot which belonged to Dinesh Sahani.

"While Chote Lal was drinking the water, he was spotted by Dinesh Sahani and his son Dipak Sahani. They brutally beat him up using batons. The victim somehow reached home with the help of other villagers," said Raghvendra Kumar, in-charge of Chauhari police station.

"As his condition deteriorated, his wife Mithilesh Devi took him to Sadar hospital Begusarai for treatment on Friday. The doctors at the hospital referred him to PMCH as his condition continued to be critical," Kumar said.

The victim and his family are very poor. The villagers contributed money and sent them to PMCH where he died during the treatment. After his body reached the village, the villagers again contributed for his cremation.

"We have arrested the main accused Dinesh Sahani. The other accused is at large," the officer said.
Lucknow, June 5 : In view of the drop in Covid infections, Bareilly and Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh have been exempted from partial corona curfew. The policy of tracing, testing and treatment adopted to tackle coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh has proved to be quite effective. During the last 24 hours, the Covid test positivity rate in the state was only 0.4 per cent.

In both the districts, Bareilly and Bulandshahr, the active cases of Covid-19 reduced to less than 600. Now the total number of districts in the state getting respite from Covid-19 cases has gone up to 67.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a number of guidelines in a meeting with Team-9 constituted for Covid-19 management in the state on Saturday. He said the total number of active Covid cases has come down to less than 600 in 67 districts across the state. If we look at the Covid recoveries, by Monday four to five more districts in the state are also likely to fall under the category of having less than 600 active cases, he added.

After the end of the two-day statewide weekly lockdown, from Monday both Bareilly and Bulandshahr will be exempted from the corona curfew from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for five days a week. The weekly and night curfew, including all other Covid protocols, will be applicable in these districts.

The Chief Minister said the process of corona vaccination is going on smoothly in the state but now it needs to be ramped up further. In June this year, our target is to vaccinate one crore people while in July we plan to expand the vaccination drive by two to three times, he added.

In view of this, a large number of vaccines will be required. Trainee students of nursing colleges need to be imparted training regarding the vaccination process from next week.

Yogi Adityanath said in Uttar Pradesh which has conducted the highest number of Covid tests in the country, there has been a decline of 94 per cent in overall Covid cases after 36 days on Saturday as compared to the peak of 3,10,783 patients as on April 30. At present there are 19,438 active Covid-19 cases. The state's recovery rate has gone up to 97.6 per cent.

The Chief Minister has said so far 5,10,32,967 Covid tests have been conducted in Uttar Pradesh. In the last 24 hours, the Covid test positivity rate in the state was only 0.4 per cent. As many as 1,092 new patients have been detected in the last 24 hours. In the same period, 4,346 people have recovered and till now a total of 16,56,763 people in the state have recovered from Covid-19.

All arrangements have been made for proper treatment of black fungus patients. The supply of Amphotericin-B injections considered useful in its treatment, is being done smoothly. Medical experts have also given the option of two more medicines, their availability should be ensured as soon as possible, the CM said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
June 05 : Actor Juhi Chawla, who protested against the 5G technology and filed a case to prevent it in India, has been heavily fined by the High Court. Dismissing the case, the court called it a publicity stunt by the actress and stated that the complaint filed was defective and non-maintainable.

While filing the case, Juhi had cited the reason that the radiation from the 5G technology is deadly for humans, animals, and flora fauna. The court not only dismissed the case but also imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on Juhi Chawla. Justice J R Midha, who passed the order, said 5G technology is safe for humans, animals and all the flora and fauna.

In a recent interview, Juhi said, We wish to clarify here and once again very clearly state, we are NOT against 5G technology. However, we seek from the Government and the governing authorities, to certify to us and, therefore, to the public at large, that 5G technology is safe to humankind, man, woman, adult, child, infant, animals, and every type of living organism, to flora, and fauna.

However, netizens are having a field day on social media as they posted hilarious memes. One Twitter user wrote, Juhi Chawla becomes the first Indian to pay 20 lakhs for 5g without even using it.

#JuhiChawla after coming in contact of 5G radiation pic.twitter.com/QB5JEQifXq  Oxygen  (@WhateverVishal) June 4, 2021

Juhi Chawla's advocate right now: pic.twitter.com/phwf4CBPCv  Anubhav Kumar Das (@forever_pieces) June 4, 2021

Meanwhile, actor Pooja Bedi has come out in support of Juhi after the Delhi High Court dismissed her lawsuit. Taking to Twitter, Pooja started a poll, asking netizens if it is fair that the court has dismissed her case on grounds of publicity stunt. The actress also asked if a celebrity can ever do anything without it being considered as a publicity stunt? Pooja tweeted, "Given that @iam_juhi has stood up against EMF and cellphone towers for years and years.. do u think it's fair that the #DelhiHighCourt dismissed her case against #5ginindia on grounds of "publicity"? Can a celebrity EVER do anything without it being considered a publicity stunt?"
Mumbai, June 5 : Soon after the news of actor Pearl V. Puri's arrest over alleged rape charges became public on Saturday, his colleagues and friends from the television industry took to social media to extend support for the actor. Several actors cannot believe such an allegation being levelled against a person like Pearl.

Nikki Sharma, Pearl' s "Brahmarakshas 2" co-star, wrote in an Instagram post: "Its absurd. absolutely absurd to see whats happening right now and the news thats doing the rounds. all I can say is @pearlvpuri is a good human, so humble and so kind to everyone thats around him. this is not him, its all lies. i hope the truth comes into light soon #istandwithpearl #justicewillbeserved."

Roma Bali, who also shares screen space with Pearl on "Brahmarakshas 2", posted: I can't believe the news about @pearlvpuri ...since I know pearl personally this is not possible ..all this news is to tarnish his image ...pearl was my hero he will always be my hero ...he is the perfect gentlemen I have ever met...my personal view is that all this is to spoil his reputation..just impossible.#istandwithpearl

Pearl's "Naagin 3" co-star Surbhi Jyoti posted on Instagram: "Here's to one of the sweetest person I know. Let's wait for the truth to come out. #istandwithpearl I'm with you my friend. Stay strong." Another "Naagin 3" co-star Nia Sharma shared: "Rape is not a joke, no excuse, no means to come at someone to satisfy a bruised ego. Rape and molestation stories are terrifying and far beyond imagination in India. The real victims die, their stories go unheard, their families are waiting for justice all their lives. Do not belittle them. Do not make a mockery of it. Rape allegations cannot fu**ing be used at will. It Cannot. It should not. @pearlvpuri sorry it happened to you."

Actor Aamir Ali wrote: "I can't believe.. I won't believe.. n I want u all to let de truth come out before believing.. @pearlvpuri is innocent until proven guilty, n plz wait till the truth comes out.." Actor and reality show host Arjun Bijlani expressed: "I stand with @pearlvpuri . I doubt he can do something like this ever ... he is a soft spoken well behaved guy. The truth shall be out .. till then stay strong Pearl. #istandwithpearl."

Actress Krystle Dsouza shared: "I know @pearlvpuri and he is one of the nicest boys I've met in our tv industry. A thorough gentleman. Please don't jump to conclusions on baseless allegations. Let's wait for the truth to come out. #istandwithpearl #PearlVPuri."

Actor Shalin Bhanot posted: "Hearing all sorts of crappie news about @pearlvpuri .. I know him very well.. we all know him, he is such a lovely boy. He cannot do wrong. I am so surprised how can a persons Achievements and stardom become his nightmare. Its So unfair. I am with Pearl . Pearl I love you bro. All will get fine. I have full faith in the law. #truthwillprevail #ihavefaith." Actor Adhvik Mahajan posted in his Instagram story: "Gem of a person @pearlvpuri. You just CANNOT. #istandwithpearl."

Actress Sheetal Dabholkar shared: "Pearl is such a pure soul. I know him since long. This cannot be true. All fake allegations. Truth will be out soon. Lot of strength and love. I stand by you @pearlvpuri." Earlier in the day, "Naagin 3" actress Anita Hassanandani and her husband Rohit Reddy, "Phir Bhi Na Maane Badtameez Dil" actress Asmita Sood and producer Ekta Kapoor, who has backed the Pearl V. Puri starrer shows like "Bepanah Pyaar" and "Naagin 3", extended support for the actor.

This comes at a time when Pearl has been arrested by Palghar police in Maharashtra in connection with the alleged molestation and rape of a child.

The 31-year-old actor has been booked by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police for the alleged rape of the minor girl.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Chennai, June 5 : The government-owned non-life insurers are witnessing the exit of a sizeable number of their employees owing to retirement as well as voluntary retirement due to a combination of factors - personal as well as the possibility of privatisation, said a top leader of General Insurance Employees All India Association (GIEAIA).

The government is planning to sell off about 50 per cent stake in one of the three non-life insurers viz National Insurance, United India and Oriental Insurance Company Ltd.

"As per the information, at least one person in each region in the three companies is opting for voluntary retirement. While some are quitting for personal and family reasons, some others are also quitting as there is uncertainty since the government is planning to privatise one of the three companies," K. Govindan, General Secretary, GIEAIA, told IANS.

Apart from voluntary retirement, about 150-200 employees in each of the three companies are retiring in the normal course, he added.

"At a time when there are already 26 private non-life insurers, what is that the government is going to achieve by bringing one more? The government could merge the three companies into one," Govindan said.

He also wondered whether the government will be able to earn more by privatisation, as most of the non-life insurers are not earning profits.

Though the government had initially announced the merger of United India, National Insurance and Oriental Insurance into one company, it decided to junk the plan because of the issues that would rise, the related process and the huge cost involved, it is learnt.

Moreover, while the synergy of the merger versus its cost was being looked at, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

Further, the three companies are more or less similar in their operations and their solvency ratio is below the stipulated one, a senior official governing the insurance sector told IANS.

According to the source, for the last one year, the three companies are showing some signs of green shoots and they are turning profitable or getting on to a profitable growth path.

The government is mulling a strategic disinvestment, i.e., sell off 50 per cent as the buyer will want to have his say in running the company.

The government was not able to get the expected price when it divested its holding in New India Assurance a couple of years back and hence the strategic sale route, Govindan said.

Next year, another round of divestment of the government's holding in New India Assurance will take place.

Meanwhile, two insurers -- National Insurance and United India -- will be getting new head honchos next month.

The Banks Board Bureau has recommended Inderjeet Singh, now with New India Assurance, for United India, and Suchita Gupta, now with GIC Re, for National Insurance.

The Oriental Insurance is now headed by Anjan Dey.

The interesting question is which one of the three head honchos will be spearheading the privatisation of his/her organisation? The employees are also waiting for wage revision to happen.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Mumbai, June 5 : On World Environment Day on Saturday, actor Ayushmann Khurrana reminisced about his trip to the Northeast to shoot for Anubhav Sinha's "Anek", directed by Anubhav Sinha.

"I will never ever forget the beauty of nature in its full glory that I witnessed at the Kaziranga National Park and Shillong when I was shooting for 'Anek'. As a lover of nature, I was bewildered to see the beauty that exists in our country. It was breathtakingly beautiful," Ayushmann said.

The star added: "My trip to Northeast was an eye-opener of what can be achieved by being in harmony with nature, and as a wildlife enthusiast it was a dream come true for me," he added.

Ayushmann urged everyone to be conscious about protecting the environment and the planet.

"I have always believed that we will have to find solutions to live in harmony with nature. The future of humankind depends on co-existing with nature and preserving it. Look all around us, things that have never happened before are happening now because we have pushed nature to a tipping point," he says.

The actor added: "We aren't realising that we won't survive if we continue on this path. We have to protect and nurture what we have for the future generations. This planet has provided abundantly for all of us and we should take care of it."

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 05:40:17|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Nov. 23, 2020 shows a turret of the Palace Museum (front) and buildings in CBD area (rear) of Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

In his recently published book in German, The Hypocritical Superpower, Michael Lueders analyzed many news patterns and noted that many western media reports are somehow framed and filtered by interest groups in the United States.

"I think it's quite okay (for the media) to criticize American policies, Russian or Chinese policies. But there is a difference between criticism and demonization. And demonization is what we see in many European and western media when it comes to China," he added.

BERLIN, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China should be rediscovered without certain western media framing, said Michael Lueders, a well-known German writer, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"It's very rare that you find an objective, analytical piece that describes in detail what's going on within domestic policies in China. We always have a certain framing," said Lueders.

In his recently published book in German, The Hypocritical Superpower, Lueders analyzed many news patterns and noted that many western media reports are somehow framed and filtered by interest groups in the United States.

Some reports tend to simplify the complicated geopolitical issues into a combat between "we western allies the good guys" against China and Russia "the evil ones," he said.

"This framing makes it very clear ... This, in my view, is a wrong thinking. It's a dangerous thinking because it leads to a confrontational policy," said the author.

Photo taken on June 1, 2021 shows vials of the Sinopharm vaccine in Beijing, capital of China, as the first batch of Chinese vaccines supplied to COVAX officially rolled off the production line. (Xinhua)

Lueders said the recent example is the U.S. media campaign promoting conspiracy theories of coronavirus lab leaks in China, and intentionally calling it "Wuhan virus."

"They need a scapegoat because it was quite a failure to see how (Donald) Trump's administration dealt with corona(virus), and then came up with the idea of Wuhan virus and China virus and so on, the lever laboratory theory. And the idea is to create a negative image," he said.

"I think it's quite okay (for the media) to criticize American policies, Russian or Chinese policies. But there is a difference between criticism and demonization. And demonization is what we see in many European and western media when it comes to China," he added.

Lueders explained that his target readers are mostly Germans and Europeans, with hopes that local media and audience can abandon such framing and "step out of the shadow of the USA."

A visitor walks past the booth of L'Oreal at the Consumer Goods exhibition area during the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)

He said in the past year it was quite popular for European media to criticize American policies during Trump administration, but since Joe Biden took office there has been blind optimism and relief in Germany and Europe.

"Most people think that now German-American, European-American relations will improve. However, what most people do not really see or do not want to see is that United States, as any other superpower in history, of course follows its own interests," said the author.

Citing some poll numbers, Lueders said most Germans want to remain neutral when conflicts erupted between the United States and China, but this attitude however is rarely presented by media.

"My message is clear. Dialogue and cooperation. We should have good relations with both sides, but we should not side with the Americans against the Chinese," he added. 
Mumbai, June 5 : Actress Sonakshi Sinha took to social media on Saturday to thank fans, followers, industry colleagues and friends for their wishes on the occasion of her birthday, which was on June 2.

Sonakshi expressed that her birthday wish this year was normal life be restored, as it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.

"My wish this birthday was that by the next one, things go back to how we all want them to be. A silent prayer for the ones who left us, the ones who are suffering and gratitude for the ones who are doing all they can to help. I wished for your happiness, health and an end to this mayhem. Also no more lockdown birthdays!!!! Thank you for all the love you sent my way... for that i am forever grateful," she wrote.

On the work front, Sonakshi will next be seen in Ajay Devgn starrer "Bhuj: The Pride Of India". The upcoming film also features Sanjay Dutt and Nora Fatehi.

Apart from this, the actress is all set to make her web series debut with "Fallen", where she plays a cop.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Gurugram, June 5 : The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) here on Saturday observed the first anniversary of the introduction of the Centre's three contentious farm reform ordinances as "Sampurna Kranti Divas" or "Total Revolution Day", and also burnt copies of these laws near a BJP MLA's office.

SKM president Chaudhary Santokh Singh told IANS that a section of farmers had also assembled in the premises of the civil hospital and raised anti-government slogans.

"The BJP-JJP led Haryana government is fearing the farmers agitation against these three black laws. Following the government's order, a large number of local police personnel were deployed to stop the farmer's reaching the BJP MLA's office in old Gurugram," Singh said.

"We were stopped by the police personnel just around 10-12 meters away from the MLA' office. The farmers had told the police that their protest was peaceful and the Constitution permits peaceful agitation. Even the Supreme Court had also said that farmers can protest peacefully but despite that the peasants were being stopped from reaching the legislator's office," he added.
New York, June 5 : India on Saturday slammed a notice to billionaire Jack Dorsey's Twitter, giving the microblogging platform one last chance to "immediately" comply with her new information technology rules which came into effect from May 26, 2021.

A furious Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) warned Twitter that failure to adhere to the norms will lead the platform to lose exemption from liability under the Information Technology Act.

Such loss of exemption will expose Team Dorsey, including Dorsey himself, to multiple headaches under the IT Act, 2000, as well as other penal provisions of the land.

In the past, Dorsey had refused to present himself before a Parliamentary panel of 31 MPs citing short notice.

MeitY on Saturday saw Team Dorsey's refusal to comply with the rules demonstrating the microblogging site's "lack of commitment and efforts towards providing a safe experience for the people of India on its platform".

The notice, however, did not give a specific deadline to comply with the rules. The Delhi High Court has already backed MeitY's case.

Dorsey's nonchalance before governments is well known.

This was evident when the platform claimed to be a defender of free speech. India returned the volley with indignation: "Protecting free speech in India is not the prerogative of only a private, for-profit, foreign entity like Twitter, but it is the commitment of the world's largest democracy and its robust institutions.

"Twitter's statement is an attempt to dictate its terms to the world's largest democracy. Through its actions and deliberate defiance, Twitter seeks to undermine India's legal system. Furthermore, Twitter refuses to comply with those very regulations in the Intermediary Guidelines on the basis of which it is claiming a safe harbour protection from any criminal liability in India." It didn't go unnoticed that this statement was also posted on Koo, the India-based competitor to Twitter.

Speaking to this reporter on what if there indeed are some unintended consequences on Dorsey's Twitter, Koo founder Aprameya Radhakrishna assured that the homegrown platform has spent the last three months "majorly" building up its resources for a potential traffic surge.

"We have a strong new investor on board and have raised $30 million. We have strengthened our engineering and product teams overall. We have made some very localised product features like 'Talk to Type' and 'Multilingual Kooing' live on the app. Our system is now ready to handle much more scale than before and we are also ready with a plan to handle any sudden surge in traffic," Radhakrishna told IANS.

Since the fracas came out in public, Radhakrishna has invited Twitter influencers to his platform in person. This includes those impatient with Twitter for not getting the 'blue tick' verified sign.

Amid battling complaints on customer interface, Radhakrishna has already tweeted that "it makes complete sense for Koo India to adapt to local laws no matter which country we launch in the future. Given our Indian culture and upbringing, can't even imagine Koo India defying compliance in another country!" As per Statista, India has upwards of 17.5 million Twitter users, which makes it the third biggest market for Dorsey in the world after the US and Japan. As on date, Koo counts "more than 6.5 mn downloads".

At 68.8 million Twitter followers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the second highest number of followers among all the political leaders on the planet after former US President Barack Obama.

The 'NM' handle is the 12th highest followed on the platform overall and has more follows than even Twitter and 12x of Jack Dorsey's. Dorsey was granted a coveted meeting with Modi during a drop-by to Delhi in November 2018.

Meanwhile, on Friday, a peeved Nigeria blanked out Twitter, following the platform's decision to take down President Muhammadu Buhari's tweet. The ban was imposed because of "the persistent use of the platform for activities... capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence," Abuja said in a statement.
Mumbai, June 5 : Actor Ravi Bhatia is all set to share screen space with Zeenat Aman in the upcoming series "Margaon: The Closed File". He says shooting with the veteran actress was a dream-come-true for him.

"I'm a big fan of Zeenat ma'am. I have loved her songs like 'Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko' and 'Aap jaisa koi' among many others. I have loved watching her movies. She is diva. Shooting with her was a dream-come-true for me," Ravi said.

The actor, known for featuring in television shows like "Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se" and "Ishq Subhan Allah", said that he shared a warm relationship with Zeenat.

He said: "My respect and love for her has touched new heights after seeing her child-like nature. She comes across as a seven-year-old little cute girl. She's very kind, beautiful and the most graceful lady I have ever met, after my co-actor Paridhi Sharma from 'Jodha Akbar'. I enjoyed that she was praising me every day. We had a great warm relationship."
New Delhi, June 5 : To usher in the novel concept of bio-safe retail spaces, DLF Malls has initiated a drive to not just inoculate its own employees, but also its tenants.

The novel concept envisages hygienic and bio-safe zones with vaccinated front and back-end employees, thereby instilling confidence in the consumers.

Accordingly, the company plans to inoculate around 10,000 employees, associates and partners across 10 of its properties in different parts of India 'free of charge'.

Similar drives are being witnessed across sectors such as aviation, hospitality and contact intensive services such as salons.

"DLF has taken a leadership position when it comes to securing its employees and their well-being. We believe that our employees are akin to frontline workers and they deserve all the protection," DLF Malls' Executive Director, Pushpa Bector, told IANS.

"The current drive supplements our ongoing efforts in providing clean and hygienic retail spaces," Bector said.

Recently, the Centre allowed for a liberalised vaccination phase under which private entities can procure vaccines at market regulated prices. These jabs can then be administered under medical supervision to the company staff.

Bector pointed out that the drive will ensure employees' confidence in their work spaces, besides instilling a sense of bio-safety in the consumers.

The company will also launch drive-through vaccination facilities at its properties for the general public on paid basis.

The latest Covid wave has forced the state governments to implement local lockdowns and travel restrictions which have started to slowdown economic activities. Especially impacted are the contact intensive service industries such as organised retail, aviation and hospitality.

However, declining infections rate and accelerated vaccination drive has triggered optimism over the start of the 'unlock' process.

On the future recovery prospects, Bector said that a rebound is expected even this year after the lifting of the local lockdowns.

"Even now sales are robust in cities where lockdowns have been lifted in a staggered manner. Pent up demand, seasonality and robust consumer sentiments are expected to trigger the rebound just like it did last year," she said.

According to Bector, the recovery process should start gaining pace by mid-August, when a substantial percentage of the population in the metro cities will be fully vaccinated.

"By October, economic activities are expected to be normalised with recovery gaining pace. We had witnessed 85 per cent per-Covid sales mark being touched in Q4FY21. A similar trend is expected," she said.

At present, DLF owns 10 retail properties across the country.

(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Mumbai, June 5 : Actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra took to social media to express her observations about environment on the occasion of World Environment Day on Saturday.

Taking to Instagram, Shilpa said that human beings staying indoors over the past one year has helped the ecosystem regain some balance. The actress also reminded once things get restored to the 'old normal' as it was before the pandemic, we must not forget to treat nature with respect.

"All of us being indoors has helped the rest of the ecosystem regain some balance over the past year. But, even when we get back to the 'old normal', we have to remember to treat Mother Nature with respect. Let's collectively learn to take the initiative without being told to do so. Even if you can't personally plant trees, be involved in conversations that need voices to amplify the message," Shilpa wrote in her post.

"Educate yourself on how every individual can help with the #EcosystemRestoration, and spread awareness about it. This is an ongoing battle. They say small acts multiplied by millions of people will make a difference. THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING, WHEN WILL WE?? #WorldEnvironmentDay #MotherNature #ecosystem #OldNormal #NewNormal #OnePlanetOneGoal #RepairAndHeal," she added.
New Delhi, June 5 : Southwest monsoon, which hit Kerala two days ago, has further advanced into more parts of the central Arabian Sea and many coastal states in the country, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

On Saturday, the monsoon has extended in the entire coastal Karnataka and Goa, some parts of Maharashtra, most parts north interior Karnataka, some parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, more parts of Tamil Nadu and the central Bay of Bengal and some parts of the northeast Bay of Bengal, the IMD said.

As per the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the IMD, the southwestern monsoon is very likely to advance further into more parts of the central Arabian Sea and other areas during next 24 hours as the northern limit of monsoon passed through latitude 17-degree north and longitude 60-degree east.

The western disturbance as a cyclonic circulation over Punjab and adjoining Haryana at 3.1 km above mean sea level persists. The cyclonic circulation also persists over northwest Rajasthan extending up to 2.1 km above mean seal level.

Similar circulation persists over east-central Arabian Sea off Karnataka and Goa coasts. extending up to 4.5 km above mean sea level.

As per the IMD, the trough from the above cyclonic circulation over east-central Arabian Sea to south Tamil Nadu across Karnataka extending up to 0.9 km above mean sea level persists.

Also, the offshore trough at mean sea level from south Maharashtra coast to south Kerala coast persists.

The IMD said that cyclonic circulation persists over Sri Lanka and the adjoining Comorin area between 3.1 km and 4.5 km above mean sea level.
Palghar, June 5 : A Vasai Court on Saturday sent arrested television actor Pearl V. Puri to 14 days' judicial custody, officials said.

Puri, who was nabbed late on Friday night on alleged charges of molesting and raping a five-year old girl two years ago, was produced before the Vasai Sessions Court Judge Aditi Kadam who granted Puri judicial custody for 14 days.

Puri is likely to move an application seeking bail, which will come up for hearing in the court on Monday.

The 31-year-old "Naagin 3" actor was booked by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar Police Commissionerate, invoking charges of IPC Sec. 376 AB and POCSO Act, 4, 8, 12,19, 21 for the rape of the minor girl, said the officials.

According to the Valiv Police Station, which lodged the case, the victim's family had complained that Puri allegedly molested and raped the five-year-old girl around two years ago, when he had come here for a shooting.

Meanwhile, several friends and industry colleagues of the actor took to social media on Saturday to express their support for Pearl.

These include producer Ekta Kapoor, actors Anita Hassanandani, Asmita Sood, Nikki Sharma, Roma Bali, Surbhi Jyoti, Nia Sharma, Aamir Ali, Arjun Bijlani, Krystle Dsouza, Shalin Bhanot, Adhvik Mahajan and Sheetal Dabholkar among others.
New Delhi, June 5 : Global food prices rose in May at their fastest monthly rate in a decade, even as world cereal production is on course to reach a new record high, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 127.1 points in May, 4.8 per cent higher than in April and 39.7 per cent higher than in May 2020.

A surge in the international prices of vegetable oils, sugar and cereals led the increase in the index, which tracks the monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, to its highest value since September 2011 and only 7.6 per cent below its all-time peak in nominal terms.

The FAO Sugar Price Index increased by 6.8 per cent from April, largely due to harvest delays and concerns over reduced crop yields in Brazil, the world's largest sugar exporter, even as large export volumes from India contributed to easing the price surge.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased 6 per cent from April, led by international maize prices, which averaged 89.9 per cent above their year-earlier value. However, maize prices started to retreat at the end of May, mostly on improved production prospects in the US.

International wheat prices also showed a late-month decline but averaged 6.8 per cent higher in May than in April, while international rice quotations held steady.

A new Cereal Supply and Demand Brief offered FAO's first forecast for world cereal production in 2021 -- pegged at nearly 2,821 million tonnes, a new record and a 1.9 per cent increase from 2020, led by a foreseen 3.7 per cent annual growth in maize output.

World cereal utilisation in 2021/22 is predicted to expand by 1.7 per cent to 2,826 million tonnes. Total cereal food consumption is forecast to rise in tandem with world population, while an increased use of wheat for animal feed is also anticipated.

Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist for the UN FAO, said that surprising demand for corn in China, an ongoing drought in Brazil and increased global use of vegetable oils, sugar and cereals have caused prices to surge rapidly around the globe, as per the report, CNN reported.

"The demand, really I would say, is almost surprising everyone. This demand requires a strong supply response. The demand has been quite robust in the vegetable oil sector in general," Abbassian told CNN Business.
Kolkata, June 5 : After successfully leading the Trinamool Congress through the Assembly elections in West Bengal, its MP Abhishek Banerjee has been given more responsibility in the party set up on expected lines.

Accordingly, Abhishek, the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been appointed as the all-India General Secretary of the Trinamool, replacing Subrata Bakshi. The decision was taken at the party's core committee meeting held on Saturday.

In a surprise development, actor-turned-politician Sayoni Ghosh, who recently lost in the Assembly elections, has been appointed as the president of Trinamool Youth Congress, in place of Abhishek.

Meanwhile, Bakshi retained his post as the state president of the party following the new 'one-person-one-post' theory which has been implemented in the party from Saturday.

Veteran leader and known to be close to Chief Minister Banerjee, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, has been given the responsibility of Trinamool women's wing in place of Chandrima Bhattacharya, while Dola Sen has been made the national chief of the Trinamool Congress trade union.

Interestingly enough, Ritabrata Bhattacharya, who joined the Trinamool from the CPI-M, has been made the state secretary of the Trinamool Congress trade union.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Trinamool General Secretary Partha Chatterjee said, "We thank everybody who voted us to power and we are committed to work for the development of the people and the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also thanked everybody who stood beside the party during its hard times." When asked about the leaders who are willing to return to the party, Chatterjee said, "There has been no discussion regarding the turncoats. It will be decided at an appropriate time." Several former Trinamool leaders, including the former aide of Banerjee, Sonali Guha, and other turncoats like Sarala Murmu and Amal Acharya, who had joined the BJP before the Assembly elections, have expressed their desire to return to the ruling party.

Guha had on May 23 written to Banerjee, apologising to her for leaving the party. "I seek your forgiveness and if you don't forgive me, I won't be able to live. Please allow me to come back, and spend the rest of my life in your affection," Guha had said in the letter.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 08:14:25|Editor: huaxia

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RIYADH -- China's tech company Xiaomi, known for its smartphones, opened its first Mi-store in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The opening of the Mi-store in the Electron Commercial Center of the kingdom's capital Riyadh attracted thousands of customers. (Saudi-China-Xiaomi)

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook on Friday suspended U.S. former President Donald Trump for two years, the maximum penalty under a newly revealed set of rules for suspending public figures, from its former indefinite ban set on Jan. 7, 2021.

"We are today announcing new enforcement protocols to be applied in exceptional cases such as this, and we are confirming the time-bound penalty consistent with those protocols which we are applying to Mr. Trump's accounts... We believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols. We are suspending his accounts for two years, effective from the date of the initial suspension on January 7 this year," Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs at Facebook, said in an announcement. (US-Facebook-Suspension)

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RABAT -- Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met on Friday with two visiting Libyan rivalling speakers as "part of Morocco's mediation efforts to contribute to the settlement of the Libyan crisis," said a ministry statement.

Aguila Saleh Issa, speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, and Khaled al-Michiri, president of the Libyan High Council of State, arrived in Morocco on Thursday. It wasn't clear whether Saleh Issa and al-Michiri had held direct talks in Morocco. (Morocco-Libya-Mediation)

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BRUSSELS --The Consultative Committee in Belgium has agreed on new travel rules and relaxation plans on Friday to allow people to travel safely for their summer holidays.

As of July 1, holidaymakers will be able to use an EU Digital COVID Certificate to travel around the EU bloc. "Travels outside the EU are still strongly discouraged," said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. (Belgium-COVID-19)

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ST. PETERSBURG -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday stressed the need to join efforts globally in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The world has not yet recovered from the difficulties and restrictions caused by COVID-19, and effective results could only be achieved through cooperation, Putin said at a meeting via video link with representatives of world news agencies. (Russia-Coronavirus-Cooperation) Enditem
Paris, June 5 : American Sloane Stephens gave an indication of her French Open ambitions, defeating No.18 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 in one hour, 55 minutes to move into the pre-quarterfinals on Saturday.

The 2018 runner-up will next face another Czech player, world No.33 Barbora Krejcikova, who had won her maiden title in Strasbourg last week to signal her intent.

Barbora extended her winning streak to eight, thrashing No.6 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2.

Karolina and Elina's exit means the only seeds remaining in the top quarter of the draw are No.13 Jennifer Brady, No.24 Coco Gauff (both US) and No.25 Ons Jabeur (Tunisia).

Sloane, who has now reached the fourth round on seven of her 10 appearances at Roland Garros, was in control of the proceedings from the start, taking a 6-3, 2-0 lead.

The world No. 59 American got 84 per cent of her first serves in and, combining it with aggressive play, left Karolina clueless.

Though Karolina did come up with occasional winners, the Czech player was unable to consistently trouble Sloane.

"My first big fourth round or whatever at a slam was here," said Stephens. "And obviously consistently making fourth round here has been kind of a staple for me, which has been great. Obviously one of my favourite tournaments of the year, so peaking here has always been really important." The 25-year-old Barbora Krejcikova, a former doubles world No. 1 who won the French Open title partnering country-mate Katerina Siniakova in 2018, had also reached the fourth round here last year to break into the top 100. Since then, her career has been on the upswing and last week she captured her maiden title in Strasbourg.

On Saturday, Barbora simply blew away the No.6 seed Elina with her carefully-disguised shots, which fetched her 38 winners in the match.
Like the Gauls, this Thane village keeps Corona away for 440 days!. Image Source: IANS News

Like the Gauls, this Thane village keeps Corona away for 440 days!. Image Source: IANS News

Like the Gauls, this Thane village keeps Corona away for 440 days!. Image Source: IANS News

Like the Gauls, this Thane village keeps Corona away for 440 days!. Image Source: IANS News

Thane : , June 5 (IANS) Much like that tribe indomitable Gaulish village resisting the Roman invaders, one small village in Thane has managed to stand its ground admirably against the raging scourge of Covid-19 for over 15 months! Since around 440 days after the lockdown was announced in March 2020, Kalbhonde village in Thane district has become a case-study of sorts - with not a single case of Covid-19 infection recorded in the village of 1,560 souls.

Interestingly, the picturesque village nestles in a green hilly belt of Thane, around 70 kms from Mumbai which has been the hotspot of the pandemic, and Kalbhonde falls within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) area.

"During the first and second wave of Covid, we have recorded zero cases... Now, we are preparing for the dreaded third wave with the same vigour..." the village Sarpanch Devki M. Ghera told IANS.

Leading the anti-Covid war from the front, she was assisted by the Police Patil Bhalchandra Khadke, Gram Sevak Prashant Marke, and a 11-member Village Vigilance Committee (VVC), Asha workers, Aanganwadi Sevikas and school teachers, to chalk out the strategies and protect the people of the village at all costs.

Primarily, Ghera said the village strictly adheres to all the guidelines issued by the Thane district authorities, and has virtually 'sealed itself' from the outside world.

"No outsiders, except for essential services or medical emergencies, were permitted. Those entering were fully sanitized at the village entry points, their clothes were changed, washed and dried up there...The family hosting them ensured their isolation, regular sanitization and handwashing was practiced by all till the visitors left," explained Police Patil Khadke.

Sarpanch Ghera said most of the village requirements were sourced locally barring some essentials like critical medicines, foodgrains, edible oils, sanitary pads, etc, which had to be brought from outside and stocked.

"The delivery vans were stopped outside the village, payments were made, and the consignments handled after full sanitization, taken to the sole ration shop or other distribution points in the village... Ditto with NGOs or corporates like IndiaBulls, Lions Club of Dombivali, or Satya Sai Seva Sangh, Thane which regularly send relief materials," said Gram Sevak Marke.

Similarly, for rare medical emergencies or pregnant women requiring attention of higher medical authorities, the Asha workers or Aanganwadi Sevikas accompanied them, following the strict protocols.

Khadke said that at the height of the pandemic, the village volunteers tested body temperature or measured oxygen-level of each villager every alternate day in rotation to cover the entire population in a week.

"The VVC had a meeting on Thursday and from Sunday (June 6), the same strategy will be resumed ahead of the possible third wave of Covid," said Khadke.

Ghera, her administrative team of deputy Sarpanch and other Gram Panchayat Members, besides the VVC conduct regular 'awareness drives' among the people to continuously drive home the message to keep Covid out of Kalbhonde at all costs.

"All villagers know the do's and don'ts, isolation centres have come up near the village entry point so if any suspects are found, they are kept there, all entering the village are fully sanitized, the entire village is sanitized every three months at our expense," said Ghera with pride over the achievement.

Khadke and Marke said way back in early-March 2020, the village elders had realized that the issue was serious, and it could be a long war with the virus, but they resolved "not to let it enter Kalbhonde" - and triumphed.

The villagers are predominantly farmers who cultivate rice, cereals or vegetables, plus there are ponds full of fish, crabs, prawns, but the prime idea was "to keep minimum contacts with all outsiders" and the people remained almost in a "self-imposed siege", smiled Khadke.

With the success of a 'Zero Covid' village now bearing fruits, the Sarpanch and her team now want to ensure that the entire eligible age groups (18 and above) get vaccinated on top priority.

"So far, barely two dozen people have been vaccinated, mostly the senior groups, but we are now discussing with the authorities to give the doses to all before the third wave starts. We have already registered all the eligible persons, who await the life-saver jabs now," said Khadke.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, June 5 : The Delhi government will enhance its health infrastructure, including ICU beds, medical oxygen, medicines etc for the possible third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, bracing for around 37,000 cases in a day.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain held a meeting with two expert committees on Friday over a possible third wave. The discussions were largely on setting objective criteria for hospitals beds, oxygen management and overall efforts which will be needed if daily Covid cases witnesses an unprecedented surge.

During the second wave, Delhi had witnessed the highest coronavirus cases in a day - 28,395 on April 20, and with a massive surge of daily cases the health infrastructure was overwhelmed and reached a near collapse stage.

Kejriwal said on Saturday that health management is not just focused on enhancing ICU beds in the hospitals, but on many other key factors too which need to be prepared in advance, especially availability of oxygen stock.

He said with an expected third wave of Covid-19, 420 tonnes of oxygen storage capacity is being prepared. "We have also spoken to Indraprastha Gas Limited to produce 150 tonnes of oxygen, which however, will take at least 18 months, but we have to prepare. Apart from it, the Delhi government will also procure 25 oxygen supplier tankers," Kejriwal added.

The Delhi government has also decided to set up two genome sequencing labs for detection of new variants, if there will be any. "Two genome sequencing labs to be set up, one at LNJP hospital and another at RGSS to know if there are old variants or new variants of coronavirus. It will help doctors to give treatment to the patients accordingly," Kejriwal announced.

Along with oxygen and ICU beds, the Delhi health management this time will also be ready to ensure availability of Covid-19 drugs and also to avoid unnecessary rush of people in search of medicines in the markets.

"Last time (during 2nd wave) it was observed that Covid-19 medicines were being prescribed through WhatsApp messages and whenever new messages were issued, people had to rush to procure that particular drug and at the end there was a shortage of medicines. Therefore, we have decided to set up a team of doctors and experts to examine the demand of medicines to tackle panic and the WhatsApp forwards of medicines," Kejriwal said.

Apart from all these preparations, the Delhi government has also set up a paediatric task force to decide the number of beds, ICU facilities and other equipment needed especially for children. "A long discussion was held with the task force on various issues on Friday and it has been directed to submit its recommendations in the next two weeks. This task force will especially work on children, if the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic affects them in large numbers. We will have separate wards in hospitals, ICU beds, oxygen cylinders and masks etc for children," Kejriwal added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Andhra CM comes to aid of doctor battling covid, govt to foot Rs 1.5 crore hospital bill. Image Source: IANS News

Andhra CM comes to aid of doctor battling covid, govt to foot Rs 1.5 crore hospital bill. Image Source: IANS News

Amaravati, June 5 : The Andhra Pradesh government has come to the rescue of a Covid-hit government doctor, who has been battling for life in a Hyderabad hospital and also decided to reimburse his medical bill to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore needed for treatment.

Chief Minister Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday also announced that his government will bear the treatment cost of Bhaskar Rao, a medical official in PHC Karamchedu of Prakasam district, who had tested positive for Covid-19.

Rao's wife Bhagyalakshmi, Assistant Professor, Radio Diagnosis in Guntur Medical College, had also tested positive for the coronavirus.

Both of them were later admitted to GGH, Guntur on April 30, and were administered Remedesivir provided by the government.

With Rao's condition worsening, he was shifted to Hyderabad for treatment, where the doctors had advised that he should be put on ECMO (Extra corporeal membrane oxygenation) and lung transplant, but he was unable to bear the expenses of Rs 1.5 crore.

After learning about the situation from Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, the Chief Minister directed officials to ensure that the doctor gets good treatment, with the government bearing the cost for the treatment.

Andhra Pradesh Doctors Association thanked the Chief Minister for his gesture.

Association General Secretary Pidakala Syamsundar said the decision has given assurance to the government doctors in the state and also provided them with the strength to fight against the pandemic.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Kolkata, June 5 : Angry Kuki tribesmen torched an Assam Rifles outpost in Manipur and burnt down two vehicles on Saturday after a local man was allegedly killed by the troops on Friday night.

The police said that tension prevailed in the Twilang area of Manipur's Kangpokpi district after the angry mob stormed the Gelnel outpost of the 44th Battalion of Assam Rifles.

One Gypsy and one Tata pick-up vehicle of the force were burnt down by the mob, which demanded the arrest of Major Alok Sathe, the Post Commander of E Company of the 44th Assam Rifles.

The mob alleged that Sathe along with a rifleman named Amar and two others in civil dress were responsible for shooting dead one Mangboilal Lhouvum at around 9 pm on Friday.

Kuki Inpi leaders said the villagers in Gelnel (Banglabung) are convinced that Lhouvum, a truck helper, was killed without any provocation by Sathe and his accomplices at Chalwa village.

They said the villagers were enraged when the local police said that they could not arrest the Major and his men because they are covered by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).

Thangminlen Kipgen, General Secretary, Kuki Inpi of Kangpokpi district, said that the Assam Rifles had contended that it can only take action after an appropriate inquiry.

But the villagers want immediate action because they are convinced that Sathe was responsible for the 'pre-meditated' murder of the poor father of four children, Kipgen told IANS.

Assam Rifles officers were unwilling to comment before an internal inquiry into the allegations.

But Kipgen told IANS that the villagers heard Lhouvum saying "Major Alok shot me" before he succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital four hours after he was shot.

After a heated confrontation, the Kangpokpi police led by the Additional SP (Operations) and the officer in-charge of Chalwa police station took Sathe into their custody and brought him down to the Kangpokpi police station.

The body of Lhouvum had already been deposited at the RIMS morgue for post-mortem by the Kangpokpi police on Saturday morning.

Meanwile, condemnation from various Kuki civil bodies, including the Thadou Students' Association, Kangpokpi local bodies, and many others poured in over what they allege was a gruesome murder.
Bengaluru, June 5 : Less than 50 hours after a massive furore against Tech giant Google, e-commerce giant Amazon too got caught up in a controversy as its e-commerce arms in Canada, United Kingdom, Japan and Mexican sites were found selling a Kannada state flag (Yellow and Red) bikini along with the state emblem on Friday.

This incident came to light when the Kannada Rakshna Vedike (KRV) Praveen Shetty camp protested and gave a call to boycott Amazon besides contemplating formally lodging a complaint with the state police.

Shetty, who led the protest, told reporters that the Kannada state flag is the symbol of pride for seven crore Kannadigas and Amazon has made a huge mistake by hurting the sentiments of millions across the world with its insensitive act.

A YouTuber MYNameis Madhu lashing out at the e-commerce giant said that this is the work of Amazon's country specific sites. "Amazon Canada has shocked the Kannadigas across the globe with their audacity of promoting sale of personalised Kannada flag coloured bikini. This has not just happened in Canada alone, they are selling the same product in the United Kingdom, Japan and Mexico too," he said.

The YouTuber added that the same e-commerce giant had stoked controversy in January 2017 by offering a doormat with the Indian flag for sale. "Then our leader Sushma Swaraj, who was the external affairs minister at that time, had dealt with this giant with an iron hand," he said.

Swaraj had sent out a strongly worded message to Amazon India representatives asking them to tender an apology for disrespecting the national symbol which hurt the sentiments of an entire country besides ordering Amazon to remove all the products insulting the national flag.

Swaraj had taken strong objection to Amazon's Canada arm selling several offensive products like India flag underwear and panties, Indian emblem thongs and dog t-shirt, Indian flag shoes and flip flops and much more.

Ironically, these items were sold by CafePress apparently co-founded by an India-origin individual, Maheesh Jain.

On Thursday Google came under severe criticism after it produced a search result stating that Kannada was the ugliest language. After a backlash, Google had tendered an unconditional apology.
New York, June 5 : While previous research early in the pandemic suggested that vitamin D cuts the risk of contracting Covid-19, a new study finds there is no genetic evidence that it works as a protective measure against the coronavirus.

According to the researchers, including Guillaume Butler-Laporte from McGill University, vitamin D supplementation as a public health measure to improve outcomes is not supported by this study.

Most importantly, the results suggest that investment in other therapeutic or preventative avenues should be prioritised for Covid-19 randomised clinical trials.

"Most vitamin D studies are very difficult to interpret since they cannot adjust for the known risk factors for severe Covid-19 such as older age or having chronic diseases, which are also predictors of low vitamin D," said Butler-Laporte.

For the study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, the researchers conducted a Mendelian randomisation study using genetic variants strongly associated with increased vitamin D levels.

They looked at genetic variants of 14,134 individuals with Covid-19 and over 1.2 million individuals without the disease from 11 countries.

The researchers found that among people who did develop the disease, there was no difference between vitamin D levels and a likelihood of being hospitalized or falling severely ill.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Bengaluru, June 5 : Mahindra group chairman Anand Mahindra and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani have zeroed in on 'TecHalli' as the new title for Bengaluru, days after the former asked the Twitterati to suggest new a title for the tech city, instead of calling it the 'Silicon Valley of India.

Taking to Twitter on Saturday, Anand Mahindra said, "We have a result: @NandanNilekani who agreed to be a co-judge shortlisted four entries and then we both converged on one entry from those that we thought was the most appropriate. And the winner is (Drumroll please) 'TecHalli' submitted by @SrinivasPReddy." Explaining why he feels that 'TecHalli' is the perfect name for Bengaluru, Anand Mahindra said the entry cleverly put the 'H' in Tech to double use.

"By capitalising the 'H' he drew attention to 'Halli' meaning village/place in Kannada. So we now go from Silcon Valley to TecHalli! Srini, DM@MahindraRise your mailing address to receive a model Pininfarina H2 Speed car," Anand Mahindra said.

He also replied to the Twitterati who said that many would not know the meaning of 'TecHalli'.

One user tweeted, "Good and congratulations to the winner. But Silicon Valley is a metaphor and when u say TecHalli of India internationally, no one will understand what it means unless they know Kannada." To this, Anand Mahindra replied, "Well it's time they made an attempt to understand what it means. Much of the world doesn't speak English and didn't initially understand what Silicon Valley meant either." Welcoming the new name, another user said that Bengaluru was a 'Halli' (village) once upon a time before transforming into a Silicon Valley.

"So TecHalli is a reminder to all of us that we should not forget our roots," he said.

On Tuesday, Anand Mahindra had thrown up the challenge on Twitter by asking the Twitterati to give a new title to Bengaluru, instead of calling it the 'Silicon Valley of India'.

In a series of tweets, Anand Mahindra had said that he was not 'thrilled' with the city (Bengaluru) being called the 'Silicon Valley of India'.

The discourse started after Mahindra tweeted a news article that stated that non-stop Bengaluru-San Francisco flight is likely to resume from June 10.

"A Shuttle between 2 High tech Valleys! Like many, I'm not thrilled by Bengaluru being called 'Silicon Valley of India'. Too derivative & 'wannabe'. What do you think would be a good, original title for India's High-Tech capital? Haven't had a caption competition for a while," he said in a tweet.

"The person who gives the best title for Bengaluru stands to win a special prize picked by him," he said.

In another tweet announcing the prize for the best caption, Anand Mahindra posted a picture of a scale replica of the Pininfarina's H2 Speed car and wrote, "So here's a variation on the caption competitions. This is the gift for the person who sends in what I feel is the best suggested new title for Bengaluru in place of Silicon Valley of India."
New Delhi, June 5 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met the heads of insurance companies through video conferencing on Saturday to review the progress made under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) insurance scheme for health workers fighting the Covid-19 and also to accelerate the disbursement of pending claims under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) during the pandemic.

The FM also stressed the importance of streamlining the process and documentation requirements under the schemes so that the claims are disbursed speedily.

During the review, the Finance Minister observed that under the PMGKP scheme, a total of 419 claims have been paid as on date, amounting to Rs 209.5 crore disbursed in the account of their nominees.

To address the issue of delays arising out of states sending documents, the Finance Minister said that a new system has been put in place whereby a simple certificate from the District Magistrate (DM) and endorsed by the nodal state health authority will be sufficient to process these claims.

She also appreciated the efforts of New India Assurance Co which has been entrusted to manage the scheme and cited the example of Ladakh where a claim was settled within four hours of receiving the DM certificate and urged to maintain a similar approach in future.

The Finance Minister also directed the states to take up Covid claims of health workers on priority and make maximum use of this simplified mechanism that has been put in place.

Sitharaman further observed that under PMJJBY, a total of 4.65 lakh claims have been paid of value Rs. 9,307 crore and since the beginning of the pandemic i.e., April 1, 2020 onwards till date, 1.2 lakh claims have been paid amounting to Rs 2,403 crore, at a disposal rate of 99 per cent.

The Finance Minister emphasised that insurance company officials should continue being sympathetic while providing services to nominees of deceased policy holders, especially during pandemic period. She also appreciated the recent efforts made by insurance companies and banks in speedy processing of claims.

During the review, Sitharaman also took stock of the disposal of claims made under PMSBY scheme and said that a total of 82,660 claims have been paid of value Rs 1,629 crore as on May 31, 2021.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Chandigarh/Mohali, June 5 : Legendary athlete Milkha Singh and his wife Nirmal are "stable", according to their family and the hospitals where they are being treated, here and in nearby Mohali. Both Singh's family and the hospital denied rumours about the decorated athlete losing the fight against Covid-19.

"Milkha ji is stable and doing well, but [is] still on oxygen. Mrs Nirmal Milkha ji continues to battle it out valiantly. Please ignore the rumours floating around. It's false news. Thanks so much for your continued prayers and wishes. We are grateful," Singh's family said in a statement.

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), where Singh, 91, has been admitted to, said that he was being closely monitored.

"On the basis of all the parameters on Saturday, his condition has been observed [as] better than Friday. He is closely being monitored by a team of three doctors at the PGIMER," said a hospital in a bulletin on Saturday.

Singh was earlier admitted to Fortis Hospital in Mohali, and was discharged from there last week on a request from his family.

On Thursday, Singh complained of low oxygen level and was admitted again, this time to PGIMER in his home city Chandigarh.

On the other hand, Nirmal, 82, is still in ICU and is under observation at Fortis, Mohali. She was admitted there recently, after she tested positive for Covid-19 pneumonia.

"The condition of Mrs Milkha Singh continues to be stable. The family has been inundated with rumours and negative posts. They have requested for privacy and will give further updates as and when there is a change in condition of either of their parents," the Fortis Hospital, where she is undergoing Covid treatment, said in a statement.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 09:30:20|Editor: huaxia

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SAN JUAN, Argentina, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Colon scored three goals in 28 second-half minutes to secure their first major trophy with a 3-0 victory over Racing Club in the final of Argentina's Professional League Cup on Friday.

Rodrigo Aliendro gave his team the lead just before the hour mark before Cristian Bernardi and Alexis Castro put the result beyond doubt at the San Juan del Bicentenario stadium.

The result means Colon will play in next year's Copa Libertadores - South America's premier club competition - for only the third time in their history.

It was nothing less than Colon deserved after they finished top of the 13-team Group A at the end of the regular season, four points ahead of Racing.

Argentina's top flight clubs will return to action on July 18 for the start of the Primera Division league season. Enditem
New Delhi, June 5 : The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government on Saturday accused the Centre of putting its ambitious doorstep ration delivery scheme on hold again.

The doorstep ration delivery scheme was conceived by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, but it was stalled on March 19, days before it was to be implemented across the national capital.

"The doorstep ration delivery scheme, which would have benefitted more than 72 lakh people, has hit a roadblock again. The Delhi government had sent the file for final approval and immediate rollout of the scheme to Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal on May 24, but he (L-G) has returned the file back, saying the scheme cannot be implemented in Delhi," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in an official statement.

Earlier in March, the Centre had red-flagged the scheme, stating that the nomenclature of the programme - 'Mukhyamantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana' -- could not be used since the ration was being distributed under the existing National Food Security Act, 2013.

The Delhi Cabinet had then approved the scheme without giving it any name. "After addressing all the queries raised by the Central government, the modified scheme will be launched in Delhi soon," the Delhi government had said.

"The L-G's office has objected to the scheme on two grounds -- the scheme hasn't been approved by the Centre, and that there is an ongoing court case on it," the CMO statement said.

However, Delhi's Food and Supply Minister, Imran Hussain, said, "No approval is required for launching such a scheme as per the existing laws. Nevertheless, we have written six letters to the Centre since 2018, apprising them of this scheme at every stage.

"Moreover, based on the last communication received from the Centre on March 19, their concern regarding the scheme's name has been accepted by the Delhi Cabinet. What further approval is required?" Rejecting the objection raised by the L-G's office, Hussain argued that two hearings have already taken place on this matter and no stay has been ordered by the court so far.

"The Central government is a party to the case and in its affidavit too, it (Centre) has not objected to the rollout of the scheme. The fact that the L-G is citing this case to stop the rollout of this scheme makes it clear that the decision is politically motivated," Hussain added.
Paris, June 5 : World No.9 and defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland was tested in the first set before she pressed the accelerator to get past No.30 seed Anett Kontaveit from Estonia 7-6(4), 6-0 in the third round of the French Open on Saturday.

Iga will next face 18-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who became the youngest woman from her country to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam after a 6-1, 6-2 win over Russian Varvara Gracheva.

No.4 seed Sofia Kenin of the USA overcame first-set blues to beat compatriot and No.28 seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-1 6-4 for a berth in the fourth round for the third year running.

Sofia will next face either No.14 seed, Elise Mertens of Belgium, or No.17 seed, Maria Sakkari of Greece, as she aims for her third career Grand Slam quarter-final.

Earlier on Saturday, American Sloane Stephens gave an indication of her French Open ambitions, defeating No.18 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 in one hour, 55 minutes to move into the pre-quarterfinals.

The 2018 runner-up will next face another Czech player, world No.33 Barbora Krejcikova, who had won her maiden title in Strasbourg last week to signal her intent.

Barbora extended her winning streak to eight, thrashing No.6 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2.

Karolina and Elina's exit means the only seeds remaining in the top quarter of the draw are No.13 Jennifer Brady, No.24 Coco Gauff (both USA) and No.25 Ons Jabeur (Tunisia).

Sloane, who has now reached the fourth round on seven of her 10 appearances at Roland Garros, was in control of the proceedings from the start, taking a 6-3, 2-0 lead.

The world No. 59 American got 84 per cent of her first serves in and, combining it with aggressive play, left Karolina clueless.

Though Karolina did come up with occasional winners, the Czech player was unable to consistently trouble Sloane.

"My first big fourth round or whatever at a slam was here," said Stephens. "And obviously consistently making fourth round here has been kind of a staple for me, which has been great. Obviously one of my favourite tournaments of the year, so peaking here has always been really important." Barbora Krejcikova, 25, a former doubles world No. 1 who won the French Open title partnering country-mate Katerina Siniakova in 2018, had also reached the fourth round here last year to break into the top 100. Since then, her career has been on the upswing and last week she captured her maiden title in Strasbourg.

On Saturday, Barbora simply blew away the No.6 seed Elina with her carefully-disguised shots, which fetched her 38 winners in the match.
Agartala, June 5 : Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, after being impressed by a Facebook message posted by a poverty stricken teenager girl, has provided a study table, medicines for her Covid-affected mother and a bag containing various foods and essentials, officials said.

Barsha Das, a student of Class 8 in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), has recently posted two Facebook messages drawing the attention of the Chief Minister.

The girl in her messages said that she, her parents along with her toddler brother lives in a makeshift small home at Maheshkaha on the outskirts of the city.

"Her father Uttam Das has such meager earnings that he cannot afford a study table for her. Her mother is also a Covid patient and they need food and medicines," the young girl said in her posts.

An official of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that Deb after learning the messages of the girl has asked officials to provide all possible help to Barsha's family.

Barsha after getting the materials including her study table sent another message expressing her gratitude to the Chief Minister.

"I did not expect that the CM would respond to my appeal and that too so promptly," the girl said.

The CMO officials said that Deb is very active on social media and frequently reaches out to the people using these platforms.

"This is not the first time that the Chief Minister has acted to any request on social media. Earlier, on many occasions he had arranged many facilities and taken appropriate actions on the basis of the social media requests made by people from different parts of the state," a CMO official said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New Delhi, June 5 : The top BJP leadership on Saturday reviewed the partys ongoing programmes and the preparations for next year's Assembly elections in a few key states.

Accordingly, party programmes and the Assembly polls scheduled next year in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Goa were discussed in a meeting of general secretaries held at BJP national President J.P. Nadda's residence here.

The party's national General Secretary (organisation), B.L. Santhosh, was also present in the meeting.

Sources said that the works being carried out by the state units under the 'Sewa Hi Sangathan 2.0' programme launched to provide help and relief to the people during the second wave of the Covid pandemic were reviewed.

"It was found that the majority of the state units and organisational wings have done good work while some have performed below expectations under 'Sewa Hi Sangathan 2.0'. It was discussed that all state units should reach out to the maximum number of people with relief," the sources said.

This was the first formal meeting of the BJP top leadership after the Assembly polls in five states/UT, in which the BJP formed government for a second consecutive term in Assam and improved its tally from three to 77 seats in West Bengal.
New Delhi, June 5 : Hours after Delhi Chief Arvind Kejriwal announced the easing of lockdown measures in the national capital from Monday, Delhi Police Commissioner S.N. Shrivatsava on Saturday took a review meeting to assess the preparations for the 'un-lockdown process.

The meeting also discussed a roadmap to deal with the emerging scenario that will unfold once the lockdown measures are relaxed after over six weeks from Monday onwards.

Shrivastava held the review meeting with all the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs), whom he directed to devise non-coercive methods and take steps to ensure normalcy by maintaining social distancing in markets, mandis and localities through the participation of MWAs, RWAs etc.

He said the traders' associations will be responsible for ensuring Covid appropriate behaviour in the markets through their volunteers and ensure that the shopkeepers adhere to the Covid guidelines.

"Shops need to place sanitiser dispensers and maintain social distancing of customers. The DDMA order and provisions in this regard have to be enforced strictly," he said.

The police chief also discussed the law and order situation in the national capital in the wake of the upcoming unlock process.

He directed the district DCPs to immediately give sufficient attention to the preventive measures against street crimes and property offences, which have a likelihood of increasing as the roads and markets become more populated once the un-lockdown process sets in from Monday.

A Delhi Police spokesperson said that the DCPs were also directed to ensure strict vigil on the activities of criminals released on interim bail and parole.

Shrivastava also examined the status of the complaints received on the Integrated Complaint Monitoring System (ICMS). He stressed on speedy disposal of complaints by quick processing and information flow to the citizens as fast redressal of complaints is a priority of the police, the spokesperson said.

Appreciating the steps taken by several districts to train unemployed youth in medical care under Delhi Police's YUVA scheme to assist the healthcare sector, the Commissioner called upon the supervisory officers to expand it further by arranging more such skill trainings so that a twin purpose can be achieved -- employment for the youth and availability of Covid health workers.

"The Commissioner further directed the DCPs and officers to prioritise the delivery of compensation package to the kin of the deceased police personnel, calling upon the officers to personally deliver the cheques to the family members," the spokesperson said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Attorney Robert Capovilla receiving his award at the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce meeting. "The important lessons I learned here in Cherokee County are always incorporated into the work I do."

The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce (GA) has named attorney Robert Capovilla to its list of Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals to Watch for 2021. The annual recognition program focuses on professionals under age 40 who are considered the countys up and coming leaders. Judging was conducted by an experienced committee of chamber members who evaluated each nominee's past professional achievements and awards, five to ten-year professional goals, and volunteer and community activities.

Capovilla is a co-founding partner of Capovilla & Williams, a law firm dedicated to representing individuals and families in their most important legal matters. Capovilla believes the noteworthy honor reflects largely on his steadfast commitment to achieving positive outcomes for clients who are facing life-changing challenges. He also credited his Cherokee County upbringing and values he has learned as a member of a close community which fosters integrity, compassion, and hard work.

Although our practice routinely takes us to places outside of Georgia, the important lessons I learned here in Cherokee County are always incorporated into the work I do, said Capovilla. I was honored to be recognized by the Chamber in this years program and look forward to continuing my professional and charitable work in the future.

Prior to co-founding his Woodstock-based law firm, Capovilla served for 8 years as a lawyer in the U.S. Army. During that time, he handled some of the most complex cases in the military justice system and received the United States Meritorious Service Medal. He now represents military service members and veterans as a civilian lawyer while also working on behalf of families impacted by tragic events such as motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, and dangerous property injuries.

About Capovilla & Williams: Located in Woodstock, Georgia, the team at Capovilla & Williams has earned a national reputation for achieving exceptional results on behalf of clients. The firm represents active and retired military personnel across the United States in a wide variety of military law matters as well as local residents and families struggling to find a way forward after a life-altering event. The firms attorneys are known for their commitment to charitable causes and organizations as well to improving the lives of all community members, especially veterans in need.


Explorer Sue Pacific Northwest Travel Guide

Susan Stephens is celebrating the 5th anniversary of her website, Explorer Sue, with a relaunch and travel brand partnership campaign in Spring 2021.

Running a Pacific Northwest travel site, Explorer Sue, is quite a feat for just one woman  as she is systematically covering every part of Oregon, Washington State, and British Columbia for her readers.

Ive lived in Oregon for over 25 years, and Ive traveled most of the Pacific Northwest. After coronavirus, people are looking to travel more domestically, and Im here to help them do that.

Ms. Stephens aims to make Explorer Sue the premier travel blog for those looking for adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Not only does she chronicle her personal local travel experiences, but she aims to include more reviews of hotels, restaurants, and tour activities throughout the region.

Personal travel blogs have become a great source of information for people when they are researching a new destination for their upcoming travel plans, says Ms. Stephens.

There are lots of travel bloggers based in Oregon and Washington State. However, to date, Explorer Sue is the only travel blog that covers the Pacific Northwest exclusively, and she is looking to take things up a notch with her personal travel stories with a focus on sustainability.

Aside from TripAdvisor, Ms. Stephens says that people continually look to travel bloggers to get authentic information on places of interest. Travel bloggers can be a great asset in getting people to travel again, and Explorer Sue wants to partner with local/regional travel brands to bring visitors back to the Pacific Northwest.

She is looking for Pacific Northwest travel companies to partner with, which will help spread the word about all things travel-related in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. It is her mission to make the Explorer Sue travel blog the leading authority blog for Pacific Northwest travelers and locals alike.

Ms. Stephens says, Lets get travelers back to the Pacific Northwest, while also encouraging them to travel responsibly.

For more information on the Explorer Sue brand, contact Susan Stephens at info@explorersue.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @pdxtravelgal, and Facebook and Pinterest @explorersue.
The envisioned editorial radiates the joy of experimentation and creativity, a mood to define a fashion future after the pandemic.

For the Summer issue of L'Officiel Cyprus, renowned photographer Ellen Von Unwerth shot the cover story with Coco Rocha, styled by LA-based Celebrity Stylist Philippe Uter. The shoot was produced by Anna la Germaine, founder of a 360-degrees PR, Consulting, and Production company Fashion Politique and L'Officiel Cyprus Publisher - Mariia Grazhina Chaplin. Together, they envisioned an editorial that radiates the joy of experimentation and creativity, a mood to define a fashion future after the pandemic.

"We were aiming to produce iconic visuals to inspire the birth of a new fashion era," says Anna la Germaine. Maria Grazhina Chaplin adds: "We wanted to make this editorial special by adding some art to it. Having such prominent, talented and significant personalities involved, it had no other chance than a result in a masterpiece".

The Beekman has been a New York staple since 1761 and looks back at a history rich with influential cultural personalities. The hotel's opulent interior has an unparalleled structural and architectural integrity which has remained intact over the past 100 years. With this backdrop in mind, celebrity stylist Philippe Uter also looked at his last trip to Cuba for inspiration. "I remembered the hot nights and moody ambiance, bold colors, and sharp silhouettes," he says. Both aesthetics blend beautifully in the final cover story.

Please, follow the link to download images and fashion story video:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vl17Z8DpZPcx3PtNs2hpaENWRL2oh_Sg?usp=sharing
Dura-Pack, the industry-leading manufacturer of cannabis packaging machines and cannabis pouches, has partnered with VMek to offer a sorting and counting solution for THC and CDB infused gummies.

The VMek Abacus+ Count Batching + Inspection system is a robust gummie sorting and counting system specifically designed to integrate with Horizontal Form Fill and Seal (HFFS) / Vertical Form Fill and Seal (VFFS) systems, pre-made pouch bagging machines, and rigid container handling systems for the cannabis industry. The Abacus+ counts and validates each gummie for size and color and generates reports for each package.

VALIDATION:



Each part is validated prior to counting

360 inspection is performed on all parts

All parts are validated by size and color

COUNTING:



Parts are divided by programmed target

Batch counts are divided by programmed target

High speed ejectors and diverts are used to group the parts for proper packaging

VERIFICATION:



All counts are verified for accurate packing

Final inspection is performed to verify proper diverting

Verification guaranties target count is reached

REPORTING:



A quality score is created for each batch

The data is displayed for on screen monitoring for efficient system operation

The data can also be streamed to the customer's control system

Partnering with VMek allows us to complement our cannabis packaging equipment line by offering a dedicated cannabis infused gummie counting and sorting solution, said Phillip Harrison, Cannabis Packaging and Automation Engineer at Dura-Pack. Gummie packaging can be difficult and problematic to automate and the Abacus+ system does an amazing job of handling, counting, and sorting each individual gummie and seamlessly integrates with our M7 pre-made pouch bagger to deliver a fully automated gummie packaging solution.

For more information on the Abacus+ Count Batching + Inspection system for cannabis and CBD infused gummies, please visit: https://dura-pack.com/equipment/cannabis-packaging.html.

ABOUT DURA-PACK

Founded in 1971 as Metro Scale Company, Dura-Pack is a third-generation family company specializing in packaging equipment and flexible packaging solutions. Housed in a 35,000 sq. ft. facility in Taylor, Michigan, Dura-Pack is a fully integrated company with in-house engineering, fabrication, electrical design, graphic design, and software development. Going beyond a simple tag line, Driven by Cost, Defined by Quality reflects our commitment to valuing our customers investment without sacrificing quality. Rather than compromising service and outsourcing to lower costs, we marry elegant solutions with optimized in-house manufacturing processes. For more information, please visit https://dura-pack.com.

ABOUT VMEK

VMek is focused on building and supporting high speed industrial machines powered by advanced vision technology and excellent machine design. Backed by years of successful machine installations, VMek is positioned to impact our customer's business by providing proven technology, innovative applications, and excellent support. VMek's engineers have years of experience building and deploying industrial machines in a variety of industries. We are centrally located in historic Richmond, VA which is a beautiful place to visit any time of year. We are committed to working closely with our customers to understand their requirements and deliver quality industrial solutions. VMek is looking forward to working with you. For more information, please visit https://vmek.com.
Mimi Sheller named Dean of The Global School at WPI Mimi Sheller brings to WPI a wealth of experience in creating and sustaining global education and research enterprises and global partnerships, with a particular focus on building a more socially just and equitable world"- Laurie Leshin, President of WPI

Worcester Polytechnic Institute announced today that, following an international search, Mimi Sheller, PhD, head of the department of sociology at Drexel University and a distinguished and internationally recognized scholar and educational leader, will join the university in July as the inaugural dean of The Global School. Sheller, co-founder of the interdisciplinary field known as mobilities research, arrives after 15 years of executive leadership of academic units, research centers, and professional organizations.

Mimi Sheller brings to WPI a wealth of experience in creating and sustaining global education and research enterprises and global partnerships, with a particular focus on building a more socially just and equitable world by merging the problem-solving skills of the STEM disciplines with the human perspective of the social sciences and the humanities, said WPI President Laurie Leshin. With her depth of knowledge of global issues, her extensive network of collaborators around the world, and her pioneering research in mobility justice, she will help the university build on its successes in global project-based learning to create a new model for applied global scholarship and education.

The Global School was launched in 2020 and joins WPIs School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, and The Business School. Building on the universitys half-century of leadership in global project-based education, it serves as a focal point and platform for academic and research programs and global partnerships aimed at helping meet a host of pressing global challenges and improving the quality of life for people around the world.

The Global School, said Provost Wole Soboyejo, will consolidate the many ways that WPI engages students and faculty in addressing problems that matter to people and communities around the worldfrom the first-year Great Problems Seminar and our undergraduate Global Projects Program, to new graduate programs in such areas as climate change adaptation and science and technology for innovation in global developmentalong with the global partnerships the university has forged over many years. A half century ago, WPI revolutionized undergraduate education with the WPI Plan, our project-based curriculum. I truly believe that with her demonstrated leadership in global scholarship, education, and partnership-building, Mimi Sheller will take all of this to the next level to help WPI again build something that is truly revolutionary.

Drawing on deep area knowledge and a concern for social justice, The Global School will provide more and new opportunities for WPI faculty and students at all levels to collaborate with other students, academics, governments, NGOs, and local communities for the purposes of learning, research, project workand for making meaningful contributions through the application of theory and practice, the premise on which WPI was built.

While it will have its own faculty and programs, the new school has been expressly designed to forge linkages with WPIs other schools. In this way, The Global School will serve as a critical connection point, providing opportunities for engagement for people from all corners of the university in all corners of the worldessentially weaving a global outlook throughout the fabric of WPI. Recognizing that it will take multifaceted professionals and interdisciplinary teams to address difficult challenges and work collaboratively toward a better world, The Global Schools programs are infused with elements of the arts and sciences, business, and engineering.

Sheller says she believes The Global School exemplifies an important new direction in education. The interdisciplinary, project-based learning and global project work that WPI has developed over the years is what we need right now, she said. The world faces so many challenges: climate change, the pandemic, refugee crises, worries about wars and national borders. Now more than ever, we need global connections to build a more socially just world. The Global School can lead the way in showing how to prepare globally engaged leaders and problem solvers who can help take on these challenges in partnership with communities and people around the world. WPI also excels in building academic programs based on interdisciplinary teamwork across STEM disciplines, the arts and humanities, and social science.

After earning an AB in history and literature from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and an MA in sociology and historical studies and a PhD in sociology from the New School for Social Research, Sheller spent a year as Du Bois-Mandela-Rodney Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for African and Afroamerican Studies at the University of Michigan. She held a number of academic positions, including senior lecturer in sociology and founding co-director of the Centre for Mobilities Research at Lancaster University in the UK, visiting associate professor of sociology at Swarthmore College, and president of the International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic, and Mobility, before joining Drexel University as a professor of sociology in 2009. She was named head of the Sociology Department in 2020.

At Drexel, Sheller founded and directed the Center for Mobilities Research and Policy, which focuses on a field of scholarship that she co-founded. Mobilities research, she said, is an interdisciplinary field that studies the movement of people, objects, and information, as well as the complex new mobilities (and immobilities) that are afforded by changing technologies and infrastructures. In particular, we look at the power relations in all kinds of mobility systems. In my work, I focus on mobility justice, which explores the inequities in who has access to movement and who doesnt, and also who has the right to dwell or to stay in place. The complexity of the world today demands a new interdisciplinary social science informed by humanities, arts, engineering, planning, and design.

With funding from the National Science Foundation and international funders, including the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Innovation Fund Denmark, and the British Academy, she has conducted research around the world, including in the Caribbean, where she has promoted racial equality and social justice through her own work and supported Caribbean and African Diaspora scholarship, professional organizations, students, and research. Her recent book, Island Futures: Caribbean Survival in the Anthropocene (Duke University Press, 2020) explores the unintended consequences of humanitarian and research travel in post-earthquake Haiti and offers ethical principles for research or voluntourism in crisis situations in foreign countries.

Her work has won her numerous honors, including serving as the Henry King Stanford Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Miamis Institute for the Humanities and as the inaugural Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She has received Drexels Provost Award for Outstanding Career Scholarly Achievement, an honorary doctorate from Roskilde University in Denmark, and the David Nicholls Memorial Prize from the Society of Caribbean Studies, among other awards.

She is the author of seven monograph books, eight co-edited books, and 125 refereed journal articles and book chapters. The founding co-editor of the journal Mobilities since 2005 and associate editor of Transfers: Interdisciplinary Journal of Mobility Studies, she also serves on a number of journal editorial boards and international research advisory boards. She has consulted for international agencies, including the World Bank, and for such companies as Michelin, and has given dozens of keynote talks and invited lectures at leading universities in the United States and Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Australia, and Europe. She has extensive experience in fundraising, international publishing, global marketing, intercultural communications, and building relationships with universities, government agencies, research funders, and international non-governmental organizations.

Noting that her tenure at The Global School begins just as the world is emerging from a worldwide public health crisis, Sheller said the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought global travel nearly to a standstill, actually reinforces the need for the new venture. The pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of our ties to the rest of the worldeverything that connects us, she said. Our linkages with other places keep our way of life afloat, and the pandemic broke them.

We need to rebuild those ties if we are to truly emerge from this pandemiceconomically, in terms of public health, and in terms of the energy transition we all need to work on together. We need to recommit ourselves to global partnerships and to a global vision for the world. If anything, the pandemic should give us even more grit and determination to build The Global School.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

WPI, a global leader in project-based learning, is a distinctive, top-tier technological university founded in 1865 on the principle that students learn most effectively by applying the theory learned in the classroom to the practice of solving real-world problems. Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering with the 2016 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, WPIs pioneering project-based curriculum engages undergraduates in solving important scientific, technological, and societal problems throughout their education and at more than 50 project centers around the world. WPI offers more than 70 bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs across 17 academic departments in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts. Its faculty and students pursue groundbreaking research to meet ongoing challenges in health and biotechnology; robotics and the internet of things; advanced materials and manufacturing; cyber, data, and security systems; learning science; and more. http://www.wpi.edu.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 09:48:20|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and two others injured in a road accident in Nigeria's northeastern state of Bauchi on Friday, local authorities said.

A car collided with an oncoming truck at Zangoro village along the Bauchi-Maiduguri road, killing two people at the scene, Yusuf Abdullahi, an operations commander for the Federal Road Safety Corps, said in a statement.

The two injured persons were rushed to a local hospital for treatment, Abdullahi said.

Investigations revealed dangerous driving as the cause of the accident, he added.

Deadly road accidents are frequently reported in Nigeria, often caused by overloading, bad condition of roads, and reckless driving. Enditem
We feel the sense of community and 'client first' mentality of the Sereno family of agents and leaders that we strove for all these years at Castlerock." Don Sabatini

Don Sabatini, Barbara Sauer, Sheila Santwani, Augustine Martinez, and Jason Weeks are now part of Serenos real estate agent team serving clients and the local community from a base on The Avenue in the heart of Willow Glen.

"To our friends, neighbors, and clients, we may be changing our Willow Glen address but we are still your lifelong resource and partner in real estate," said Don Sabatini of the move to Sereno.

Realty World Castlerock was founded in January 2010 by Don Sabatini. Over the past 11 years, they have been involved with the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association and support community events such as the Wine Walks and Trick-or-Treat in The Glen. Together, they built a formidable and productive, boutique firm founded on integrity and strong relational bonds with their agents, clients, and the local community.

"We are super excited to welcome Don and his agents into the Sereno Willow Glen office. Being neighbors on The Avenue, I would often see Don and Barbara supporting our local community and have great respect for the office they built. With their sense of community mindedness, they are a great fit for our office and I look forward to working with each one of them," said Jason Noriega, VP of Experience, Willow Glen.

This addition follows Serenos recent merger with Dwell Realtors in San Carlos, the acquisition of J. Rockcliff Realtors in the East Bay as well as multiple organic growth offices founded in partnership with independent and locally minded teams throughout the Bay Area and beyond. As a result, Sereno has seen its presence expand and related production increase by over 40% on a year over year basis. Along with this increase in production, Sereno is determined and destined to advance its annual charitable giving as well.

About Sereno

Founded in 2006, Sereno is the largest, locally owned and operated, independent real estate company in Northern California with 14 offices and 520 agents in Silicon Valley, the SF peninsula, Santa Cruz, the East Bay, Lake Tahoe, and Sierra Foothills producing nearly $5 Billion in annual sales volume. Sereno is ranked among the top 5 in the nation for both per agent productivity and highest average sales price. The company offers a highly curated support platform and provides agents with concierge services to strengthen client relationships, as well as world-class technology for well-executed transactions. Its agent-driven Sereno 1% For Good Charitable Foundation is changing lives in local communities, and to date, generated over $3.6 million in charitable donations given to 256 local organizations.

To learn more, visit sereno.com.


SGF physicians, Drs. Robert Setton and Paul Shin, recognize LGBTQ+ Pride Month and Men's Health Awareness Month this June by hosting free, informational webinars for diverse communities. Shady Grove Fertility (SGF) remains dedicated to their core mission of reaching and teaching the community about fertility health and options for overcoming infertility by offering four virtual events in June, including events that celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride and Mens Health Month.

Shady Grove Fertility (SGF) remains dedicated to their core mission of reaching and teaching the community about fertility health and options for overcoming infertility by offering four virtual events in June, including events that celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride and Mens Health Month. Each event concludes with a question-and-answer session where attendees can get their questions answered by the SGFs physician experts.

To kick off June events, Robert Setton, M.D., who sees patients at SGF New Yorks Manhattan office in addition to the brand-new Brooklyn office opening Summer 2021, will host the LGBTQ+ Family Building webinar in celebration of Pride Month on June 8, 2021, at 3 pm.

SGF understands that becoming a parent is a natural desire for most people, gay or straight, reflects Dr. Setton. With this knowledge, SGF treats its gay, lesbian, transgender, and gender queer patients no differently than heterosexual patients by providing quality medical care in a friendly, compassionate and inclusive environment.

During Dr. Settons event, he will discuss family planning and assisted reproduction options for the LGBTQ+ community followed by a live Q&A session.

Many people mistakenly believe that infertility is solely caused by the female partner. The reality is that 40 to 50 percent of all infertility cases are due to male factor infertility. In honor of Mens Health Month, Paul R. Shin, M.D., Director of Reproductive Urology for SGFs Center for Male Fertility, will host a free Male Fertility webinar on June 17, 2021, at 12 pm.

Information seekers who are facing male factor infertility may register for this informative webinar and learn more about services offered at SGF. Additionally, attendees will learn about:



male and female reproduction and the role they both play in the ability to conceive,

simple tests used to evaluate male fertility,

common causes of male factor infertility,

lifestyle changes that can improve a mans fertility,

effective treatment options designed to address and overcome male factor infertility, and

treatment success rates.

Rounding out the month of events is the Fertility 101 webinar hosted by Matthew Connell, D.O., on June 23, 2021, at 12 pm. During this informative presentation, Dr. Connell will review what patients can expect during their first appointment including the fertility evaluation, SGF's stepped approach to treatment, and their unique financial programs.

June 2021 Virtual Fertility Events at a Glance



While SGF fertility webinars are complimentary, interested parties must register to attend by visiting the SGF calendar of events. For more information, visit SGFs growing resource library for free, on-demand webinars, E-books, and other education resources on topics such as endometriosis, PCOS, low-tech treatment options, weight and infertility, and much more. Follow SGF on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates and events.

For people struggling to conceive, it may be time to consult a fertility specialist. Contact the SGF New Patient Center at 1-888-761-1967 or complete a brief online request form to schedule a virtual fertility consult with an SGF physician. A virtual consult is the first step toward pursuing a pregnancy with the help of SGF.

About Shady Grove Fertility (SGF)

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In Colombiana (Harper Wave, June.), chef and food stylist Mariana Velasquez shares the rich history and recipes of her native Colombia.

What inspired you to write such a deeply personal cookbook?

After 22 years as a professional cook, primarily in New York and California, I felt it was time to circle back to write about my cooking roots. In Colombia, the table is the center of the home. It was time to pay tribute to the nuances that made me the cook I am.

Where do you see Colombian cooking on a world stage?

I believe that Colombian cuisine is slowly emerging on a global level. There is currently a group of young chefs who are researching the countrys heritage and ingredients, looking inward to tell the story of Colombian cooking. Theres a new appreciation for the countrys cuisine and culture, and I see it following the same path to recognition as Mexican cooking.

Youve said that your career has been shaped by your homeland and living in the U.S. How so?

The Colombian influence on my cooking is really my style: loose, using fresh, colorful ingredients, serving family style with abundance. The American influence comes through as discipline, researching ingredients, documenting recipes.

What advice would you give to those making Colombian food for the first time?

Colombian food tends to be very simple countryside food really, with tougher cuts of meat, so most meals lend themselves to a pressure cooker. My best advice is: dont be afraid to braise and roast.

How did you get started in food styling?

I always loved the visual part of food and the beauty of cookbooks and magazines. My cooking career slowly took me where I wanted to go, and I had the privilege of working with chefs who had an eye for setting the scene in a very nonchalant way. I was doing recipe testing for Saveur when a photographer recommended I try food styling. I assisted other food stylists first, then went on to develop my own career.

How did you come to work with former first lady Michelle Obama on her book American Grown?

The photographer on the project recommended me as a stylist, and I was ultimately chosen to work on the books interior. I was able to collaborate with Mrs. Obamawho was so real and genuineas well as with White House chefs. It was surreal.
James Lee Burkes office in his home outside Missoula, Mont., as seen on a Zoom call, is cluttered with the detritus of a long literary life. There are books, photographs, a clutch of pens, and family heirlooms, including a Confederate sword carried by his great grandfather through the Civil War.

The tenor of Burkes voice is a bit like the wheels on a Ford F-150 rolling down a highway: bass tones highlighted with a higher pitch. Theres also a slight wobble, suggesting those wheels might need rebalancing. But that is likely due to age. Burke is 84 and has had a distinguished career: he was named an MWA Grand Master in 2009, his forthcoming Another Kind of Eden (Simon & Schuster, Aug.) is his 41st bookand hes very much still at it. Another novel is already finished. And he promises more to come.

Somewhere in that office is Burkes beloved Gibson J-150 guitar, which he bought in 1965 in Lexington, Ky. Music and musical allusions have long been threaded through his books, and hes occasionally sung and picked his guitar for audiences at readings over the years. For the curious, YouTube has several videos of him playing Hank Thompsons song The Wild Side of Life, tapping his toe in time. Its a tune he says any Southern boy must learn.

Born in Houston in 1936, Burke was raised on the Gulf Coast. As a young man he spent time in Louisiana, Missouri, Colorado, and California, working jobs ranging from land surveyor and pipefitter to social worker. He published his first novel, Half of Paradise, in 1965; in its review, the New York Times compared it to Faulkner and Sartre.

Burke produced several more literary works (which remain hard to find and command high prices on the antiquarian book market), before turning to the hard-edged, gritty mystery novels for which he is acclaimed. He says the first, The Lost Get-Back Boogie, was rejected 111 times, before being published by Louisiana State University Press and eventually shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. The novels starring his best-known protagonist, former New Orleans cop Dave Robicheaux, came later.

Burke has long drawn from his own experience for the settings of his novels. He spent childhood summers in New Iberia, La., where Robicheaux lives, and Robicheauxs adopted daughter is named Alafair, just like one of Burkes grandmothers and his daughter, the lawyer and crime novelist Alafair Burke.

Another Kind of Eden marks the 11th entry in Burkes series starring the Holland family. Set in 1962 in Colorado, the book is narrated by Aaron Holland Broussard, a peripatetic would-be novelist who, like Burke, has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri. Broussard finds a job as a laborer, working for an abusive boss, on a big farm in Trinidad, Colo., near the New Mexico border. He starts a relationship with a local beauty (who is wrapped up in the life of a nefarious professor) and soon finds himself in a swirl of trouble involving drugs, cults, and what may or may not be the supernatural.

Broussard was also the protagonist of Burkes 2016 novel The Jealous Kind; in it, hes a teenager living in Houston in the 1950s. Asked if Aaron is an avatar for himself, Burke balks. I wont say I lived that life, he explains, but I will say I was there at the time.

For many years Burke divided his time between Louisiana and Montana, where he and his wife of 61 years, Pearl, now live year round on a 120-acre ranch. Its pretty small by Montana standardsthree stock tanks and three pastures, Burke notes, and it serves as a horse rescue and an animal refuge. I find the presence of animals very comforting. We owe them a great apology for our treatment of them. Right now, we have wolves, elk, moose. They are all good guys. Were even teaching a cougar to be a vegetarian.

Burke says he turned to the animals for solace during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have had many pandemics over the years, he adds. The origin is most often with animals, because they are dyingdying of drought and what we are doing to the planet. Its undeniable. The Old Testament again and again admonishes us to care for animals. We havent done that. We have done very cruel things to them, and I think that might be our undoing.

The reference to the Bible should wont be unfamiliar to readers of Burke, as the Bible and Catholic theology are frequent touch points in his novels. This is the case, also, in Another Kind of Eden. The book is really a continuation of the rebirth of the Western novel, he says. But the Western novel is not really the American Western. Its really the story of the search for the Holy Grail. That is the origin of all American literature, going back to James Fenimore Cooper. He also sees that tradition as going further back, to the morality plays of the Middle Ages, the Bible, and Greek and Roman myths.

The events of Another Kind of Eden take place in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which Burke says brought the U.S. closer to doomsday than ever before. John F. Kennedy said in public statements that we were within perhaps two hours of nuclear war, he notesan event in which 180 million Americans would have died.

Another historical footnote that becomes important to the story is the founding of the United Farm Workers. Broussard has something like an epiphany while attending a church service near at the site of the Ludlow massacre, where 22 striking coal miners and their families were murdered by the National Guard in 1914.

Now in his eighth decade of life, Burke has seen a lot of history. He has come to believe that all history may well be contemporaneous. The past is not even the past, he says. My father was something of a historian. He did not believe that time was sequential. He believed that all time occurred simultaneously, or as he would have said it, as though in a dream inside the mind of God. So, that is the story I have written here.

Ed Nawotka is the bookselling and international editor of Publishers Weekly.
Like many Asian Americans, I was devastated by the news of the shootings in Atlanta in March. Im a comedy writer, and I fell into a sad, dark place that week. Asians were being spat on, harassed in person and online, assaulted, and killed. What could I do to empower, protect, and uplift my Asian American community?

Ive never been an activist type. I describe one of my main characters as a social justice worrierthis is absolutely my personality. My sister works on college campuses to support diversity initiatives, and my best friend from high school is active in the Democratic party, fundraising in a very red state. They are the activists in my life. For my entire existence Ive been more of a participant than an organizer. But this time, with the anti-Asian hate swelling all around me, something inside me changed.

Bookstagrammer Michelle Jocson reached out to me and, while we both admitted we werent the usual types to do something, we added bookstore owner Jhoanna Belfer to the conversation and that same evening came up with the idea of launching an awareness campaign. Knowing that it would likely be more messy than perfect, we were nonetheless willing to stumble along and try. With a small team of Asian authors and bookstagrammers at the helm, we were able to rally authors, booksellers, bookstagrammers, and allies to get this #StandUpforAAPI campaign off the ground quickly.

The #StandUpForAAPI challenge we held in March was about raising awareness of the ongoing violence and hate incidents targeting the Asian American and Pacific islander communities. While we believed wholeheartedly that reading literature about different cultures and communities helps us understand our common humanity, we also wanted to include a tangible call to action in our campaign, so people who wanted to do somethinganythingcould help make a difference. We encouraged action by providing suggestions on how to move from conversation to action: writing to libraries to request adding more AAPI authors, encouraging publishers to publish diverse authors, sharing book recommendations that support causes, donating to vetted organizations, and attending a harassment bystander training.

Librarians and publishers have increased support for AAPI authors in the past few years, but there is still more that can be done. Though many libraries, bookstores, media outlets, and publishers participated in Mays AAPI Heritage Month, we want to encourage this evangelism to be year-round. For libraries, highlighting our authors and titles in monthly or quarterly newsletters, featuring AAPI authors in panels (not just ones centered on race), and giving our books prominent placement would make a difference in providing more visibility. Read-alikes should transcend racial barriers: not every AAPI book is like Crazy Rich Asians. Including AAPI authors in larger countywide library promotional opportunities and prioritizing AAPI-authored books during next years AAPI Heritage Month would also show support.

Publishers have stepped up their diversity and inclusion game, but there is still work to do there, too. Significant efforts have been made in hiring more diverse employees, but it would be great to see these companies focus just as much effort on promotion and retention of junior and midlevel staff. Within the Asian diaspora, there are so many rich stories; those dealing with trauma and pain shouldnt be the only narratives that publishers want to acquire and promote. The AAPI community needs a breadth of books written by #OwnVoices authors, and we need them marketed and publicized thoughtfully.

During and after the March campaign, we received so many messages from people who felt their voices could be heard for the first time in their lives. The hashtag #StandUpforAAPI provided a way for the AAPI community to share their personal stories, and the openness and vulnerability of the community and our allies really shone through. With more traction behind the Stop Asian Hate movement, Im hopeful that more people inside and outside of the AAPI community are asking questions and learning from the past, and this will open up opportunities for cultural and institutional change.

Though awareness of anti-Asian hate is growing, the AAPI community is still hurting. Even small actions can make a difference. We need your help to speak up, fight back, and stop anti-Asian hate beyond our designated heritage month. It starts here, with all of us.

Suzanne Parks new book, So We Meet Again, will be published by Avon on August 3.
DEAL OF THE WEEK

Nwabinelis Debut Goes to Graydon With a six-figure preempt, Graydon Houses Cat Clyne won Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli, who was born in Nigeria, raised in Scotland and England, and now lives in London and works in tech. The publisher said the debut novel follows a British Nigerian woman mourning her husbands suicide as she tries to balance toxic in-laws, her boisterous immigrant family, and societys pressure to move on.  It was strongly influenced by the authors own immigrant experience and reads like Jojo Moyess After You meets Yaa Gyasis Transcendent Kingdom with a sprinkling of Michaela Coels I May Destroy You. Amy St. Johnston at Aitken Alexander Associates brokered the world English rights agreement. Someday, Maybe is set for winter 2023.

FROM THE U.S.

Payne Does Jane for Berkley

After a four-way auction, Cindy Hwang at Berkley won world rights to two novels by Nikki Payne. Both are Black contemporary reimaginings of Jane Austen novels, and the first, Pride and Protest, was pitched, the publisher said, as Pride and Prejudice meets Black-ish. Pride and Protest follows DJ Liza B, who, in her attempt to reclaim her Washington, D.C. neighborhood from a property developer, has her plans dashed when she mistakes the smoldering hot CEO for the waitstaff. The second book under contract is an update of Sense and Sensibility. Payne was represented in the deal by Kim Lionetti at BookEnds Literary Agency. She works at Facebook as a qualitative researcher and has a PhD in cultural anthropology. Pride and Protest is set to be released in 2023.

Urrea Re-ups at LB

Luis Alberto Urrea sold world rights to two new books to Ben George at Little, Brown. Good Night, Irene, George said, is set for 2022 and was 20 years in the making. It was inspired by the authors mother, who worked for the Red Cross during World War II as a Donut Dollie, going to the front lines to deliver food and moral support to soldiers. Zebras in Tijuana, George explained, follows a young man in Tijuana who befriends a zebra, not knowing that the animal has escaped from the personal zoo of a drug lord. Urrea, a bestseller and finalist for both a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award, was represented by Julie Barer of the Book Group.

Viking Nabs Kerouac Bio

Paul Slovak at Penguin bought North American rights to Jack Kerouac: A Writers Life, an estate-sanctioned biography by Holly George-Warren (Janis: Her Life and Music). The publisher said the book will illuminate the writers complicated and in many ways tragic life. It will also examine the evolution of Kerouacs writing process and style, and face head-on the difficult aspects of his story, including how his ideas about race, sexual identity, and gender changed throughout his life. George-Warren was represented by Laura Nolan at Aevitas Creative Management, while the Kerouac estate was represented by Jeffrey Posternak at the Wylie Agency.

Disney Backs Kagawa to Launch Duology

Kieran Viola at Disney Hyperion acquired world rights to two books composing a middle grade duology by bestseller Julie Kagawa. The books are based on the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, a fictional secret society created by Walt Disney Imagineering (Disneys research and development arm). Fan groups have sprung up around the society, which has nods to its backstory inserted into attractions at various Disney theme parks around the world. The first book under contract, [em]Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl[/em], follows, the publisher said, 12-year-old Shinji, who sees his life take a turn for the anything-but-ordinary when a magical guardian decides to use him as a conduit to awaken its power. Shinji Takahashi is slated for April 2022 and was acquired from Laurie McLean at Fuse Literary.
In May Cobbs nail-biting new thriller, The Hunting Wives, newcomer Sophie ONeill joins an exclusive, conspiratorial clique of wives in Mapleton, Tex., whose Friday nights light up with their private skeet shooting club, followed by barhopping. Fueled by alcohol, rage, jealousy, unhappy marriages, and blind lust, the women indulge in adultery and raunchy sex, until a teenage cheerleader winds up dead and Sophie becomes the prime suspect. Wild plot twists keep the pages turning right up to the surprise ending.



Theres nothing quite as intoxicating as bingeing on a delicious book. Being lost in the pages of guilty pleasure novel can be so transporting. And I find these kinds of books to be the best kind of escape, especially in close-quarter pandemic times, because they simply make the outside world evaporate for a spell.

Im most drawn to page-turnery, propulsive reads that are also whip-smart with a side of social commentary that goes down like honey. Here are 10 of my favorites:

1. The Other Woman by Sandie Jones Emily is poised to have the man of her dreams. Shes engaged to dishy Adam, a seemingly perfect man who would make her the envy of many women, but Adam comes with baggage in tow: his sly, cunning mother, Pammie, who is not quite ready to let her son go. Razor-sharp, fast-paced, and scrumptiously wicked, this is a twisty portrait of a smothering mother/son relationship with an ending thats shocking.

2. The Lemon Grove by Helen Walsh In this sun-soaked novel set in Mallorca, Jenn and Greg embark on their yearly vacation togethera week that is supposed to be filled with romance, swims in the warm ocean, strolls through open-air markets, and lazy dinners at their villa. But this year, their blissful trip is threatened by the arrival of Gregs teenage stepdaughter, Emma, and her handsome boyfriend, Nathan, who stirs in Jenn a desire that threatens to pitch the week, and all of their lives, into disaster.

3. The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn Mean girls are the best girls, and in Flynns debut adult thriller thats been described as Heathers meets I Know What You Did Last Summer, the new mean girls in town are Ambrosia Amb Wellington and Sloane Sully Sullivan. Amb is beckoned to her 10-year college reunion with an invitation accompanied by an anonymous note that reads: We need to talk about what we did that night. Cutting between the present-day reunion, where danger lurks around Amb and it becomes increasingly clear someone wants revenge for her past misdeeds, and her college years with the hypnotically dark and powerful Sully, Flynn takes toxic female friendships to a bold new level.

4. The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward This gorgeous, sumptuous novel opens with Charlotte Perkins, 70 and long ago widowed, at her best friends funeral. With the passing of her friend, it seems that life might be drained of all adventure, but when Charlotte wins a Become a Jetsetter contest by submitting an essay about a long-ago love affair, she wins a 10-day cruise around the Mediterranean, inviting along her estranged adult children, in the hopes of patching the family back together. Both slyly funny and heart wrenching, this is the ultimate dysfunctional family vacation novel. Itll make you cry and laugh at the same time, all while cruising through swoon-worthy coastal ports.

5. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters In this irresistibly sexy and propulsive novel set in London, the year is 1922 and Frances Wray and her widowed mother are forced to take in boarders following WWI, which has left them in an economic bind. Desperate to hold onto their suburban mansion, they welcome in a young married couple. But the arrival of the tenants, the very bohemian Lillian and Leonard Barber, spells, at first, intrigue, and later, disaster, as a bond between Frances and Lillian takes hold, followed by a murder and a pulse-pounding investigation.

6. Would I Lie to You? by Aliya Ali-Afzal Another dazzling novel about how economic hardship forces someone to make impossible decisions. Faiza grew up with modest means, but now has an enviable life shes crafted with her banker husband, Tom, three kids, and a posh circle of friends. But when Tom suddenly loses his job and Fazia keeps spending to keep up appearances, the money evaporates. In a moment of panic, she lies to Tom about the money and has six weeks to replace 75,000 pounds before her life unravels. Its bingeable, with wry social commentary throughout. I rooted for Fazia and could not put this book down until I found out what happens.

7. Survive the Night by Riley Sager Sagers back with his latesta compulsively readable and unbearably tense thriller about a rideshare gone horribly wrong. Its the early 1990s and movie-obsessed college student Charlie accepts a ride home to Ohio from Josh Baxter, a handsome stranger she meets at the campus ride board. Charlies looking to split from college after the murder of her best friend at the hands of the Campus Killer, and Josh is heading home, presumably, to look after his sick father. But Joshs odd behavior has Charlie wondering if he is, in fact, the Campus Killer. And what ensues is an electrifying, white-knuckle road trip fizzing with Hitchockian film noir references and a twist so shocking I literally gasped out loud.

8. The Insomniacs by Marit Weisenberg In this immersive, propulsive YA novel thats been described as Rear Window meets John Hughes, 17-year-old competitive diver Ingrid is recovering from a dive injury thats left her with an unrelenting case of insomnia. One night, while gazing out her window, she spies her former best friend and long-standing crush, Van, awake in the dead of night, too, and the pair lock eyes. Wracked by sleepless nights, Van and Ingrid try to solve the mystery of their insomnia and get sucked into an even darker mystery about their upper-middle-class neighborhood. Weisenbergs intoxicating prose and intricate plotting make for a swift, delectable read.

9. You by Caroline Kepnes Every single book in Kepness dizzying blockbuster series meets the very definition of a guilty pleasure. You is one of those rare novels that I honestly did devour in one sitting, completely held hostage by the charming, psychopathic bookseller, Joe Goldberg, who becomes obsessed with the beautiful and brilliant Beck, the object of his stalking and manipulation. The reading experience is akin to zip-lining. This wickedly dark tale will have you simultaneously rooting for and cringing against its whip-smart narrator.



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After the London Book Fair was canceled just a week before the event was to take place in 2020, LBF is back againalbeit in a web-only format. The fair spans the month of June, with conferences taking place the week of June 7 and a further series of flagship digital events to run June 21July 1.

LBF kicks off this year with four days of single-topic conferences: Introductions to Rights on June 7, The Writers Summit on June 8, What Works? Education Conference on June 9, and Research & Scholarly Publishing Forum on June 10. The fair will then reconvene on June 21 and 22 for talks and panels, including Industry Insights sessions focused on publishing issues. On June 23, tech takes center stage with Digital Technology: Whats Next for Publishing, and the June 24 program will highlight childrens books and edutainment, as well as scholarly publishing and human resources development.

The week of June 29 will feature conversations with winners of the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards (see LBFs International Excellence Award Winners, p. 26), and a separate track of events will be available for authors and translators. July 1, the final day of the online fair, will offer insights into the book business from the bookseller perspective.

In total, there will be approximately 80 seminars at this years LBF, compared with the more than 200 that might take place during an in-person fair. Attendance is free, and after the festivals conclusion on July 1, content will remain available for streaming until July 16.

Were not trying to replicate the London Book Fair you might attend in person, says Andy Ventris, who was appointed managing director of the fair in November 2020, following the departure of Jacks Thomas earlier in the year. In the past few months we have had conversations with partners and clients, and we understand the situation and the position we find ourselves in now. We think that there will be new and different opportunities for attendees experiencing the fair online.

Ventris says the expectation is that the online conference and seminars will attract a broader international audience than they might have had they been held in person.

The LBF has long been considered the primary venue for trading in English-language book rights, but it has opted not to offer a digital alternative for its literary agents center this year. Speaking with agents and rights directors these past few months has made it clear to us that many of those conversations have already happened, Ventris explains. Still, we see this as an opportunity for people to make new connections and pursue new opportunities for selling.

Another traditional area of focus for the LBF is literary translation, and the fair typically runs a series of events at its popular literary translation center, which it is bringing online. Unlike in previous years, there will be no market focus country for 2021. The United Arab Emirate of Sharjah will serve as the market focus in 2022.

Ventris, 33, is a newcomer to the industry. His previous role with Reed Exhibitions, which runs the London Book Fair, was directing trade fairs for the luxury travel business in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Looking ahead, he says its likely the LBF will have some virtual elements in 2022, when it plans to return to an in-person show. While there are a huge amount of people who want to get back to face-to-face meetings and get back together in person, others have adapted their businesses to working online, he notes. We do know one thing for sure: everyone we have spoken to in publishing says trade fairs remain a key element of how they do business. Whether things fully open up in six months or two years, well be here..

Below, more on the London Book Fair.

The London Book Fair International Excellence Award Winners

The annual prizes honor the best of the global publishing industry

Online at the London Book Fair

Below are some highlights of this years events. For further information go to londonbookfair.co.uk.
Today

Cloudy skies early then heavy thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

Tomorrow

Partly cloudy skies. High 88F. Winds light and variable.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 10:15:22|Editor: huaxia

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Volunteers prepare to disinfect a residential area at Liwan District of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, June 2, 2021. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland on Friday reported 11 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, which were all in Guangdong Province, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Saturday.

The same day also saw 13 new imported cases on the mainland. Of them, five were reported in Guangdong, three in Fujian, two in Beijing, and one each in Shanghai, Sichuan and Yunnan.

One new suspected case arriving from outside the mainland was reported in Shanghai. No new deaths related to the disease were reported.
After years of research, a new blood test now screens for over 50 cancers
The three-day event on the grounds of the Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township includes living-history demonstrations, exhibits of genuine aircraft, vehicles and other equipment and live entertainment.
If you need help

Call 9-1-1 if you or someone you know are in immediate danger.

To seek the help of an advocate or to contact Safe Berks, call the 24-hour hotline, 844-789-SAFE (7233) or text SAFE BERKS to 20121.

Safe Berks provides free and confidential services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault 24 hours a day. All services are available in English and Spanish, and translation will be used for any other language needed.

Safe Berks had this statement after the murder-suicide:

Safe Berks stands with all domestic violence victims, said Beth Garrigan, Safe Berks CEO. Many victims, adults and children, are trapped at home with violent abusers. Home is not a safe place for victims of domestic violence.

Throughout the COVID-19 health crisis, Safe Berks continues to provide free and confidential services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault 24 hours a day. All services are available in English and Spanish, and translation will be utilized for any other language needed.

"Domestic violence can happen to anyone, Garrigan said. Many times, people do not reach out for help, because of the stigma associated with domestic violence.

"We want people to know, we are here to help victims of domestic violence, and their families who are impacted by the abuse. Anytime, day or night, we are only a phone call away.

Safe Berks services include shelter, counseling, legal services including assistance

with requesting Protection From Abuse (PFA) orders, medical advocacy, and

education. Information about how to request a Protection From Abuse order in

Berks County is available online at:

https://www.co.berks.pa.us/Dept/Courts/FamCourt/Pages/ProtectionFromAbuse.as

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It is no secret that the U.S. is facing a wide-arcing set of national security issues  from a rising and potent China to an ambitious Russia, to ongoing asymmetric threats from transnational crime and terrorism  and which cross all domains, from sea, air, and land to space and cyber. The 2018 National Defense Strategy  which remains in place as the nation's guiding defense strategy until it is updated in 2022  made these concerns abundantly clear and set forth a strong vision for recalibrating the nation's defense to respond to these challenges.

The 2018 NDS established a major change from past quadrennial defense reviews in that it prioritized the threat posed by re-emerging nation-states, such as China and Russia. This concern  a return to the great power competition and the potential for state-on-state conflict - necessitates a robust and flexible force structure with modern capabilities to deter or respond to defense challenges as needed. The 2018 NDS makes this point clear  stating the need to:

Develop a lethal, agile, and resilient force posture and employment. Force posture and employment must be adaptable to account for the uncertainty that exists in the changing global strategic environment. Much of our force employment models and posture date to the immediate post-Cold War era, when our military advantage was unchallenged and the primary threats were rogue regimes."

Moreover, the 2018 NDS describes the need for Dynamic Force Employment  which, as envisioned and described,

"Will prioritize maintaining the capacity and capabilities for major combat while providing options for proactive and scalable employment of the Joint Force. A modernized Global Operating Model of combat-credible, flexible theater postures will enhance our ability to compete and provide freedom of maneuver during conflict, providing national decision-makers with better military options. The global strategic environment demands increased strategic flexibility and freedom of action. The Dynamic Force Employment concept will change the way the Department uses the Joint Force to provide proactive and scalable options for priority missions. Dynamic Force Employment will more flexibly use ready forces to shape proactively the strategic environment while maintaining readiness to respond to contingencies and ensure long-term warfighting readiness."[1]

That the 2018 NDS clearly elaborated on the need for flexible and updated force structure is a good thing  particularly given the rapidly shifting security dynamics of the modern world. The future of national defense  and our credibility as the global force for good  is going to require both flexibility and strength in numbers.

However, in the three years since the 2018 NDS was released, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Army  the nation's largest service with the biggest budget and responsible for providing the bulk of land force combat capability  have still not publicly set forth clear plans on what that force structure looks like in terms of overall divisional end-strength. The fact that Army has not taken complete action to establish and validate its total force commitment would be understandable if Army doctrine and the NDS had recently been approved  but the National Guard has been operating in this limbo status without a real understanding of its role, its force commitment and attendant requirements for several years.

This is vital and needs to be addressed and rectified for several reasons  not the least of which is how the Army intends to use Army National Guard (ARNG) divisions to finalize the force structure. This ongoing delay in understanding poses major complications for the National Guard, particularly given the Guard's unique reporting role to both State and Federal authorities.

Several concerns resulting from this lack of validation emerge. A non-validated force structure cannot be placed into bigger Army modernization programs, making planning and operations difficult, confuses requirements, and could put ARNG force structure at risk when considering future budget cuts. As a result, major force structure cuts would cause closures of ARNG armories and flight facilities across the country  this, of course, would have a major economic impact at the state and local levels. Additionally, this lack of confirmation on force structure leaves State level leadership unclear on how their ARNG forces are to be deployed.

As DoD continues to prepare for the challenges facing the nation deeper into the 21st Century  especially as budget pressures continue to limit the latitude of choices and options for the total joint force  the ARNG stands as a highly flexible, extraordinarily capable, and cost-effective force dedicated to America's national defense. Fiscal pressures will undoubtedly result in budgetary constraints over the next several years  thus, the cost-effective value of the National Guard in positively contributing to our overall force posture is clear. Simply, the ARNG provides the U.S. with a deployable combat capability, at a high level of operational readiness, for a significantly reduced cost. The National Guard can be quickly mobilized to support active operations, with limited preparation, training, or workup time  and without the costs associated with health care, feeding, and billeting for active duty forces. For these reasons alone, DoD needs to validate the substantial role of the ARNG in setting new end-strength.

Moreover, the doctrinal shift from counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism operations to great power competition requires a fundamental shift from the old ways of thinking and re-thinking how best to integrate the flexible, on-demand nature of the National Guard to best complement enduring missions. The National Guard serves as an enduring service where citizen-soldiers not only support traditional fires and floods missions but emerging missions in cyber, space, and countering misinformation. These capabilities are only available to commanders if the underlying force structure is adapted to meet todays new realities and not the missions of yesterday. DoD planners must not fall into the trap of taking the easy, short-sighted route of simply cutting the National Guard  this mistake has been made before. The capabilities, authorities and proven reliability of the National Guard provide a versatile tool for our nations most pressing issues.

And when not activated under Title 10, the National Guard provides America with several advantages and capabilities that are becoming increasingly important. This is clear especially in the wake of the events of 2020, which saw the largest mobilization of the National Guard for a wide range of domestic operations (DOMOPS)  from responding to natural disasters to assisting in COVID-19 relief to addressing civil unrest. The most important thing to remember here is that the effectiveness of the ARNG in helping America at home comes from the fact that it is a military force, with military training, equipment and doctrinal approach that can be valuable for domestic needs under its unique legal authorities  and not the other way around. Put another way, the value of the ARNG in domestic operations is precisely because it is a military service; limiting the National Guards role under Title 10 functions would limit its usefulness in other capacities.

As the 117th Congress moves forward on completing appropriations for the 2022 Fiscal Year, and as the Biden Administration works fill the executive branch and to update the new NDS, greater attention needs to be paid to the role of the National Guard in helping America reach the required combat end strength we need to preserve our national security. Understanding the cost-conscious realities of the next several years  the National Guard represents a highly responsive, multi-mission capable force that can be quickly mobilized for national and global operations. The ARNG may not be able to do everything  but it does whatever the nation asks of it swiftly, effectively, and professionally.

National leadership should capitalize on all that the ARNG provides as a cost-effective service  built around the democratic model of the citizen-soldier  and ensure that the National Guard is a firmly reinforced part in the Army's total force structure a full partner in our nation's defense.

Travis Wright is a former Army National Guard officer and White House liaison.

Notes:
The coffers of some of the worlds richest people opened wide over the last year. COVID-19 was such a strain that the worlds needs far exceeded governments ability to satisfy them. Filling the void were billionaires from all corners of the globe, but increasingly from the East.

This year, for example, the Hurun China Philanthropy List named thirty-nine Chinese billionaires, including five women, who donated a combined $4.8 billion in the past year alone. Their top charities assisted with education, poverty alleviation, and, of course, health care.

A study by the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network in 2018 predicted that China, whose philanthropy quadrupled in the previous decade, would grow into a powerhouse that could shape the future of international giving. This would be driven, the study said, by the private sector and a new generation of wealthy individuals.

Similarly, the number of wealthy people from India who contributed more than $100 million has doubled over the last two years. According to the recent EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List, the largest Indian donors gave a total of $1.28 billion in 2020. The Bain Philanthropy Report estimated that despite the pandemic philanthropic funds in India grew by 23 percent last year. These same funds increased fourfold over the previous decade.

More than $500 billion is expected to flow through philanthropic organizations in the coming decade. An increased portion of those contributions will come from outside the West, especially from Asia. The reason is simple: leaders in that part of the world are getting richer and are paying closer attention to socially important causes. According to the CAFs World Giving Index, which has been tracking countries by their charitable giving since 2010, five of the top 10 countries with increases are now in Asia, with Indonesia leading the way.

The Giving Pledge, a campaign initiated by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage the ultra-wealthy to give away most of their wealth, currently lists more than 200 signatories from 25 countries, including at least fourteen nations from outside the traditional West. When the Pledge went public back in 2010, it had only 40 signers, all from the U.S.

While Asia is home to many of the top global philanthropists, Russia has also become more prominent. The Sunday Times of London publishes its own list of top philanthropists, who are either based in the U.K. or who own property there. Its most recent report said that Alisher Usmanov, a tech mogul from Russia, had given away more than 4.2 billion to charity over the 20-year history of The Sunday Times Giving List, both personally and through his businesses. That made him the Sunday Times most generous Rich List philanthropist ever.

Usmanovs donations to help to fight the pandemic also topped the Sunday Times list, with 134.2 million given out in Russia, Uzbekistan, and Italy. Recently, Uzbekistan reported that Usmanov funded 500,000 vaccines in the country.

Usmanovs lifelong giving would surely have earned him a place in the upper tier of the Forbes Most Philanthropic Billionaires List, which now limits its scope to only Americans. Forbes ranks him 99th on its richest people list with an estimated wealth of $18.6 billion. He has adopted his own version of the Giving Pledge, promising to split his fortune between his family and his management, an uncommon practice in non-Western economies.

Usmanov is in good company in the East. Two years ago, the Indian tech mogul Azim Premji committed thirty-four percent of shares in his multibillion IT company, Wipro, to his own foundations endowment. When the pandemic broke out in 2020, Premji provided $134 million for humanitarian aid and healthcare support, which sealed his reputation as the most generous man in India. Premji topped the Forbes Most Generous Billionaires Outside of the US list in 2019.

Hong Kongs Li Ka-shing was listed in Forbes Asias Heroes of Philanthropy - 2020 and is well known as one of the citys leading philanthropists. He founded the Li Ka-shing Foundation in 1980 and promised to donate at least a third of his more than $30 billion fortune to it. During 2020, he allocated $43.4 million to various forms of aid fighting COVID-19, including $17 million to communities in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in China.

Gradually, charitable giving from mainland China is overshadowing the donations of Hong Kongs billionaires. Huang Zheng, Chinas most generous individual, made a $1.85 billion donation of shares of his company. Together with his partners, he donated 2.37% of Pinduoduos capital to a foundation to promote social responsibility construction and scientific research.

Its a misunderstanding that Asian people have not been philanthropic up to now, says Johnny Hon, a Hong Kong-based philanthropist and investor. The issues have been that, from the beginning of the 19th century until relatively recently, the region has been poor compared to the West and also, Eastern philanthropy has been more focused on ones extended family, clansmen, village, or hometown.

Philanthropy like Ka-shings and Zhengs has a history in Eastern philosophy. One of the worlds most famous philanthropists was the Nepali prince Siddhartha (the Buddha) Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, who lived in 6th century BC. Islam too encourages its adherents to donate to charity a portion of an individuals wealth.

Rising philanthropic contributions from the East are a welcome addition to the world of charitable giving, particularly at a time when governments around the globe struggle to keep up with financing demands. COVID-19 has shone on a light on the critical need for philanthropy, and to their credit, billionaires from the East have stepped into the breach.
Traverse City, MI (49684)

Today

Areas of dense morning fog. Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 80F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 56F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
BELLAIRE  A judge dismissed an election related lawsuit nearly three weeks ago, yet legal squabbling between the parties has necessitated a newly scheduled motion hearing.

In mid-May, 13th Circuit Court Judge Kevin Elsenheimer dismissed a case filed against Antrim County by a local man, who argued his constitutional rights were violated after mistakes were found in initial results of the countys 2020 presidential election.

Antrim County Clerk Sheryl Guy acknowledged temporary errors by her office and said results were corrected and accurate before being certified.

2020 local election coverage The Record-Eagle's coverage of 2020 local elections and related issues:

Elsenheimer had allowed Bill Bailey of Central Lake Township to have a team from Dallas-based Allied Security Operations Group on Dec. 6 conduct a forensic exam of the countys Dominion Voting Systems equipment.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, an intervening defendant in the case, directed Bureau of Elections staff on Dec. 17 to conduct a hand re-count of ballots cast in the countys presidential election which found no fraud.

Elsenheimer noted both these events when ruling May 18 that Bailey had already received all the relief he was entitled to under the law and he was dismissing the case.

I am saying that, as pled, the plaintiffs request for an audit is not available, Elsenheimer said in his oral decision. Anticipating the possibility of appeal, this court will take all pending motions under advisement.

The judge stayed or, suspended  all discovery matters pending a possible appeal by Baileys attorney, Matthew DePerno of Portage.

Thats where the latest squabbling over court documents comes in.

Elsenheimer assigned DePerno to draft and submit a proposed order on the stay, which he did May 25.

Attorneys for Antrim County and Benson had seven days to object, which they did June 1.

At issue is whether the judge stayed all matters or whether it was only unresolved motions on hiatus until an appeal is filed or the deadline for filing passes.

Plaintiffs proposed order is not accurate, Assistant Attorney General Erik Grill wrote, on behalf of Benson, in a brief filed in support of his objection to DePernos order.

The Court had stated that all matters would be stayed  including discovery. But the Plaintiffs proposed order stays only unresolved motions and would not stay discovery or any other matters.

At stake is more than the wording of a legal document  if discovery is not stayed, the state is responsible for conducting depositions of Baileys experts, some of whom are located in Texas and Colorado.

A motion hearing for the judge to hear arguments on the order is scheduled July 12.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 10:54:09|Editor: huaxia

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WARSAW, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has helped the world cope with contemporary development challenges, Sylwester Szafarz, former consul general of Poland in the Chinese city of Shanghai, has said.

"During my tenure as Consul General of Poland in Shanghai I visited the site of the first National Congress of the CPC there many times," Szafarz told Xinhua in a recent interview, adding that the congress was a "glorious beginning 100 years ago."

"Since its establishment in 1921, the CPC has made countless extraordinary achievements, the most outstanding among which is the reform and opening-up that has continued to contribute China's momentum to the stability and prosperity of the world economy," he said.

The CPC, which will celebrate its centenary on July 1 this year, is still "advancing with the times and constantly developing and updating the reform and opening-up policy," he added.

Szafarz praised China and the CPC for providing vaccines, anti-pandemic materials and experience to the world to fight against COVID-19.

"In my opinion, these are the continuation and latest manifestations of the reform and opening-up policy," he said.

"Moreover, China's will to continue working with other countries in unremitting efforts to completely defeat the COVID-19 pandemic is a convincing and clear-cut testimony that the CPC and (the) Chinese government truly and fully understand the gravity of the global situation and are prepared to improve and to overcome it as much and as soon as possible," he said.

Describing the CPC's efforts to fight the pandemic as a "brave behavior," Szafarz said that "it did not surprise me at all, because the CPC has always demonstrated its bravery and fearless spirit throughout its 100-year history of development."

"In one word, the term 'heroic' is the most appropriate term to describe the CPC in my impression," he added. Enditem
Greenville, NC (27833)

Today

Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

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Mainly cloudy. Low 66F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Greenville, NC (27833)

Today

Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Low 66F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 12:16:46|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on June 5, 2021 shows sprouts growing out of burned trees at Namadgi National Park, about 40 kilometres southwest of Canberra, Australia. Almost one and a half years after the devastating bushfire, Namadgi National Park has already turned green again and been open to the public. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

CANBERRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Almost one and a half years after the devastating bushfire, Namadgi National Park in the Australian capital Canberra has already turned green again and opened to the public.

Kangaroos hopping around and sprouts growing out of the burned trees, one could still easily see the charred trunks which stood as scars of the disaster.

"We don't know whether the park will come back to what was before bushfire," said Peter Cotsell, Director of Namadgi, Tidbinbilla and the Murrumbidgee River Corridor. "What we do know is that the park is recovering, but it might be quite different."

A fire in January last year engulfed about 80 percent of Namadgi, which, about 40 km southwest to the city center, covers about 106,000 hectares, or more than 40 percent of the entire Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was declared as a national park on June 5, World Environment Day in 1984.

In an interview with Xinhua ahead of World Environment Day, or the park's 37th birthday, Cotsell recalled that the park had been burned in varying degrees.

Although it was hard to give the exact numbers, he said that some of the most important habitats in the ACT were damaged, including those of birds and mammals, such as the great glider, smoky mouse and broad-toothed rat.

"We went into recovery saying we'll let nature do something," said Cotsell, who also led the bushfire recovery efforts in the park.

"We weren't doing much tree planting. We weren't doing much ground control in terms of rehabilitation," he said. "But what we were doing is focusing on removing some of those threats for the 18 months, so as to give the stressed environment the greatest chance of recovering."

When Xinhua reporters visited Namadgi, the land was soaked by heavy rain. Cotsell said that more rainfall this year helped with recovery.

But he noted that the trees whose trunks now looked fuzzy made the park appear like "another planet." New trees will grow, but "it will be 25 to 30 years before they mature and become forest again," he said.

Scientists have warned that climate change would increase the risk of extreme bushfires in Australia. The senior ranger knew that well.

"We'll get more intense thunderstorms. We will get more intense rain events which have been impacted on the park as well," he said. "We will have more fire events. So with an increasing temperature, the fires will be more intense as well. Instead of a one-in-50-year fire or one-in-25-year fire, we might get fires every 15 years which will continue to destroy and impact the park."

Drought was perhaps one of the strongest evidence of climate change. The man who had been looking after Namadgi and the western area for three years said that before the fire, there was a drought so severe that all the plants were "incredibly stressed."

"We've never witnessed such dry condition throughout the park in the leadup to the 2020 fires," he said. "The drought was so significant that some of the gum trees, the water level was actually below the roots."

Usually, gum trees can sustain drought for many years. However, in the last dry period, the gum trees were so stressed that "some of the damages are irreparable and some trees don't come back."

That is the reason why World Environment Day is so important.

"It's a really good opportunity to reflect," said Cotsell. Pointing to the mountain in Namadgi which was shrouded in mist, adding "the environment is actually critical for our well-being. It's critical for our planet ... So it's all about recognizing the values of what we've got here and (what) to take into the future."

Later this year the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) will be held in China.

Talking about his expectation for the event, Cotsell said it is "recognition."

"It's recognition that environment is front and center," he said. "We need to ... start making decisions about how we better manage the environment." Enditem
Beckley, WV (25801)

Today

Foggy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Beckley, WV (25801)

Today

Foggy this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Variable clouds with showers and scattered thunderstorms. Storms more numerous this evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Beckley, WV (25801)

Today

Foggy this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 62F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The FBI issued a subpoena demanding U.S. newspaper giant Gannett provide agents with information to track down readers of a USA Today story about a suspect in a child pornography case who fatally shot two FBI agents in February.

The subpoena, served on the company in April, came to light this week after the media company filed documents in federal court asking a judge to quash the subpoena. The Justice Departments actions were immediately condemned by press freedom advocates.

The news comes as the Justice Department has disclosed in recent weeks that it seized the email and phone records of reporters in at least three separate instances during the Trump administration. It raises questions about what liberties federal authorities are taking in using news organizations, journalists and their work as investigative tools.

The subpoena asks for information about anyone who clicked on the article for a period of about 35 minutes on the day after the shooting. It seeks the IP addresses  which can sometimes be used to identify the location of a computer, the company or organization it belongs to, and where it was registered  along with mobile phone identification information of the readers.

While the subpoena doesnt ask specifically for the names of those who read the story, such identification information could easily lead federal agents to the readers.

It is unclear why the FBI was seeking information about the USA Today story in particular, even though numerous others news organizations, including The Associated Press, had reported extensively on the Florida shooting, one of the bloodiest days in the FBIs history.

The suspect opened fire on the agents when they arrived to serve a federal search warrant in a child exploitation case. The two agents, Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger, were killed and three others were wounded.

Maribel Perez Wadsworth, the publisher of USA Today and president of the USA Today Network, said the government wants the news organization to hand over private information about its readers and said it was fighting the subpoena to protect the relationship between its readers and journalists. The company also contacted the FBI before asking a judge to quash the subpoena but did not receive any substantive reply nor any meaningful explanation of the asserted basis for the subpoena, she said.

We intend to fight the subpoenas demand for identifying information about individuals who viewed the USA Today news report, Wadsworth said in a statement. Being forced to tell the government who reads what on our websites is a clear violation of the First Amendment.

The FBI agent who signed the subpoena to Gannett has worked for years on child exploitation cases and has testified in several criminal cases related to child pornography offenses, newspaper accounts and other public records show.

The subpoena  first reported by Politico  says the information is needed as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Federal officials would not provide additional details about the investigation.

This is an extraordinary demand that goes to the very heart of the First Amendment. For good reason, the courts have generally refused to give the government access to this kind of sensitive information except in the most unusual circumstances, said Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

The Justice Department in recent weeks disclosed that investigators secretly obtained call records of journalists at The Washington Post, The New York Times and CNN in an effort to identify sources who provided national security information that was published in the early months of the Trump administration. President Joe Biden has said the Justice Department would not seize reporters phone records, though it remains unclear if that promise can be kept.

This subpoena, especially when viewed alongside the subpoenas that the Justice Department served under the Trump administration in an effort to obtain journalists records, strongly suggests we need more robust protection for records that implicate the freedoms of speech and the press, Jaffer said.

The Justice Department  in both Republican and Democratic administrations  has struggled to balance the medias constitutionally protected rights against the governments interests in safeguarding classified information and collecting information for criminal cases.

During a 2007 investigation, an FBI agent impersonated an Associated Press journalist while investigating bomb threats at a high school in Washington state. The agent portrayed himself as an AP journalist when he communicated with the suspect online and then sent a link to a fabricated AP news article that, when clicked, allowed the FBI to pinpoint the suspects location.

The ruse was made public in 2014 and two years later the FBI imposed restrictions on the ability of agents to masquerade as reporters  but it stopped short of ruling out the practice.

In 2013, federal investigators secretly seized two months of phone records for Associated Press reporters and editors that included 20 telephone lines of both AP offices and the journalists, including their home phones and cellphones.

After that, the Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, announced revised guidelines for leak investigations, which require additional levels of review before a journalist could be subpoenaed.
A federal magistrate on Friday declined to order house arrest for a far-right internet troll charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol after court officials raised concerns about his recent encounters with police officers in Arizona.

U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey warned Tim Baked Alaska Gionet that he acted dangerously and came close to committing crimes" while he videotaped himself arguing with a drunken friend and calling police twice. But the magistrate ultimately concluded that Gionet didn't violate any conditions of his pretrial release.

Gionet grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and had grown well known in right-wing politics through his social media appearances.

Gionet was arrested 10 days after the riot in Washington, D.C. He is charged with violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority.

After his arrest in Houston, Gionet initially was ordered to submit to electronic location monitoring, but the court lifted that condition of his release on March 31.

On Jan. 6, Gionet streamed live video that showed himself inside the Capitol and encouraging other protesters to stay. Investigators say Gionet also profanely called an officer an oathbreaker and chanted, Whose house? Our house!

His lawyer has said he only went to Washington to film what happened.

he Justice Department has arrested about 465 people in nearly all 50 states - an average of about three defendants arrested every single day, including weekends, since January 6th. Marine Corps officer, Christopher Warnagiris, the first active-duty service member arrested in the insurrection, was indicted Thursday on nine charges including assaulting an officer.

In Gionet's case, a pretrial services officer had recommended imposing home detention and banning Gionet from posting videos to social media or other video sharing platforms. A federal prosecutor concurred with the recommendations.

Harvey rejected both recommendations, but chided Gionet for baiting his friend into fighting in a moving car.

You knew what you were doing, putting the camera in his face, he said. You wanted to get a rise out of him, and you did.

A video of Gionet's contact with law enforcement in Arizona on May 26 was posted on YouTube, according to a pretrial services report. Gionet apparently called police that evening to report that a friend and fellow YouTuber had assaulted him, federal prosecutors said in a court filing.

After officers arrived, Gionet agreed to take his friend home. When the friend became belligerent in the car, Gionet called police again and was somewhat uncooperative with the second set of officers who respond, prosecutors said.

"He also appears to threaten his friend," they wrote.

Defense attorney Zachary Thornley said Gionet didn't break any laws or violate any conditions of his release.

I really don't know why we're all here today, he said during a remote hearing Friday.

We're all here because your client recorded all of this and put it up on YouTube, which a smart person might wonder if that's what you should be doing while you're under court supervision, the magistrate countered.

Prosecutors say the video appears to be a money-making vehicle for Gionet, a social media personality who was listed as one of the speakers at the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted in violence in 2017.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  New York state health officials said Friday that mask-wearing will be optional in K-12 schools starting Monday, but the country's largest school system, New York City, plans to keep its universal mask policy in place.

New York will move forward with the plan unless the CDC provides data or science that contradicts that change before Monday, state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker wrote in a Friday letter to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Republicans had urged Cuomo to drop the mandate this week.

The release of the letter on Friday afternoon caught school leaders and teachers unions by surprise.

Announcing on a Friday afternoon that masks will now be optional for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people in schools starting Monday  with only three weeks remaining in the school year  is whiplash-inducing news," New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta said in a statement.

Pallotta urged school districts to evaluate "local conditions and connect with their educators and parents to decide the best course of action for protecting their school community.

Schools and camps can choose to implement stricter rules, according to Zucker.

New York City will do so, according to Danielle Filson, spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education.

The health and safety of our students, educators and staff remain our top priority, she said. "Per state guidance, local districts may implement standards that make the most sense for their communities, and we are continuing with our universal mask policy at our schools.

Meanwhile, the CDC told The Associated Press that it recommends schools and childcare facilities continue to follow COVID-19 prevention strategies, such as consistent indoors mask use, for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year.

Current evidence demonstrates that consistent mask use indoors among people two and older who are not fully vaccinated, along with other preventive strategies, is key to reducing the spread of COVID-19, Public Affairs Specialist Jade Fulce said in an email.

The recommendation to continue with these prevention strategies is based on youth aged 12-15 not being able to be fully vaccinated before the end of the current school year and youth under 12 not yet being eligible for vaccinations, she added. Additionally, schools need time to make systems and policy adjustments.

The Cuomo administration started requiring face masks to be worn at all times in school in early April.

That was a shift from the state's previous stance of letting local governments decide whether to require masks in schools.

Rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are plummeting in New York, while vaccination rates are ticking up.

Still, Zucker's letter to the CDC didn't cite any data about why New York is now reversing the mask mandates in schools.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt wrote Cuomo a Thursday letter urging him to drop the mandate: Many of our school buildings do not have air conditioning, so to require face coverings in dangerous temperatures will be detrimental not only to their physical health, but also to their ability to focus and learn.

Zucker said the state wanted to align our school and camp mask guidance.

According to Zucker, the state Department of Health will strongly" encourage but not require mask use for students, campers, and staff who are not fully vaccinated starting Monday.

Masks won't be required outdoors, though individuals who aren't fully vaccinated will be encouraged to wear a mask in certain higher-risk circumstances.

Both indoors and outdoors, students, campers, and staff who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks, Zucker wrote.

___

AP writer Carolyn Thompson contributed reporting from Buffalo, New York.
HARTFORD  Gov. Ned Lamonts five-minute walk around the State Capitol in the rain Friday afternoon apparently cleared the air and the weeks-long budget gridlock with Democratic leaders of the General Assembly.

His sport coat still wet from the summer shower  and with mere days to spare before the June 9 legislative adjournment  Lamont abandoned his plan to join a regional climate initiative that would have raised gasoline prices, giving the state nearly $90 million a year by 2023 for infrastructure improvements including mass transit.

Alright, I think were getting to a budget, Lamont said a couple hours later, seated at his desk, surrounded by news reporters. You know, God is in the details, so were going find out over the course of the next 48 hours, but we have broad agreement with the Democratic leadership.

Another Lamont proposal to create a $90-million-a-year highway user tax on large interstate trucks is still alive, but was deferred to become a separate bill that may or may not pass in a toll-hesitant legislature, with the trucking and supermarket industries lobbying furiously against it.

In exchange, Democrats abandoned their proposals to hike taxes on the states wealthiest residents to the tune of $1.6 billion, which Lamont adamantly opposed and could have resulted in a stalemate over the spending package into a cascade of divisive budget negotiations into the summer.

Both sides agreed to expand no-cost health insurance to include as many as 40,000 people through Access Health CT, the states insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats also gave up their plan for a $600 tax credit per child in the state, citing similar funding is coming from Washington.

Democrats did promise major influxes of cash to the states cities, thanks to the federal American Rescue Plan stimulus funding, not from the tax increases some in the party wanted. A legislative proposal to create a new tax on social-media advertising to generate more than $300 million over the two years was dropped. The 10-percent surcharge on the corporate tax to raise $50 million a year remains, however.

The apparent deal between Lamont and Democratic leaders in the legislature  which still isnt final  includes an increase in the states earned income tax credit, or EITC, for the working poor, raising it to 30 percent of the federal EITC, from 23 percent.

If the budget goes forward under the deal, the legislation will be even truer than Lamonts public promises in February not to raise taxes under the two-year, $46-billion budget that starts July 1. Thats because Republicans, and even some Democrats, considered wholesale and producer fees from the Transportation Climate Initiative to be taxes, as producers could pass the costs to the gasoline pumps.

The salvation allowing the deal to happen was $2.8 billion in direct deferral stimulus coming into state coffers, allowing added spending without new taxes.

Republicans targeted Lamonts regional TCI, as its known, with a string of ant-tax rallies throughout the state reminiscent of the anti-toll uprising of his first two years in office.

Clearly our efforts worked, said state Sen. Eric Berthel, R-Watertown, outside the Senate chamber shortly after first Democratic leaders, then Lamont, announced the outlines of a deal that would be voted in the House and Senate in the next few days. TCI is not right for Connecticut today or perhaps in the future.

Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly and House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora agreed that their public pressure resulted in a victory for taxpayers.

The Governor started out wanting new taxes on gas, food and health insurance, Kelly and Candelora said. Republicans rallied around our state saying no to any new taxes. At a time when we have historic federal aid, a budget surplus, and a record-breaking rainy-day fund it is irresponsible and out of touch for Democrats to tax people even more.

Lamont had pushed hard for the TCI, saying it would reduce carbon emissions in addition to raising money the state needs to raise for transportation projects. Late Friday morning, the governor had spoken at a pro-TCI rally on the Capitol lawn, a rarity for a governor in the midst of budget talks. Standing outside the Capitol, Lamont said at the rally that 'it's time for the legislators to act."

"Connecticut deserves better than the status quo," Lamont said to about 25 people outside the Capitol, adding that through the pandemic "we found out it was folks who lived closest to roads and bridges and highways, where there's great pollutants, Brown and Black families, most likely to suffer from asthma, most likely to suffer from COVID, most likely to suffer from fatalities."

Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, emerged from Lamonts office in the afternoon. Looney would not go as far to call it a handshake deal but rather, a conceptual meeting of the minds.

About two hours earlier, a determined Lamont and Paul Mounds, his chief of staff, along with Capitol security abruptly left their second-floor office suite at the Capitol and walked out a usually locked door on the Capitols north side. A sudden shower forced them back inside.

The budget, Lamont said, keeps to his key principles  an on-time package that doesnt raise taxes and is free of gimmickry.

As for the TCI, which he badly wanted, Lamont said he agreed to wait until other states join the regional consortium that would require gasoline producers to buy credits for their role in greenhouse gas and asthma-inducing emissions.

Its always a struggle trying to figure out how to get Connecticut to pay for transportation, Lamont said, admitting disappointment. Everybody always stands next to me at the bridge but doesnt always want to pay for that.

While the Transportation Climate Initiative is off the table  Well talk about it next year, Ritter said  the General Assembly could still pass a highway use tax, perhaps for heavy trucks.

I wouldnt rule out other transportation funding options quite yet but maybe different vehicles, different ideas, Ritter said. A lot of this can depend on where our friends across the aisle, where they want to go and how they want to do it.

Looney, whose caucus holds 24 of the 36 Senate seats, wanted Connecticuts wealthiest to pay more, giving cities a permanent source of more funding, not just from the federal stimulus. He views that as a way to address decades of racial inequity. As for the transportation taxes, or fees, he said there was more support in his caucus for the truck fee than for TCI.

Asked whether the end result would be as progressive budget as he has advocated for, Looney said its going to be close. Its going to meet a lot of needs that have not been met in the last 10 years when the recovery has been so lean.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 12:54:21|Editor: huaxia

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Builders set up temporary laboratories for nucleic acid testing in a stadium in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, June 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland on Friday reported 11 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, which were all in Guangdong Province, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Saturday.

The same day also saw 13 new imported cases on the mainland. Of them, five were reported in Guangdong, three in Fujian, two in Beijing, and one each in Shanghai, Sichuan and Yunnan.

One new suspected case arriving from outside the mainland was reported in Shanghai. No new deaths related to the disease were reported.

A total of 6,114 imported cases had been reported on the mainland by the end of Friday. Among them, 5,818 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 296 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 91,218 by Friday, including 385 patients still receiving treatment, nine of whom were in severe condition.

A total of 86,197 patients had been discharged from hospitals following recovery on the mainland, and 4,636 had died as a result of the virus.

There were three suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Friday.

A total of 28 asymptomatic cases were newly reported. Of them, three were local cases in Guangdong and 25 were from outside the mainland. There were a total of 380 asymptomatic cases, of whom 349 were imported, under medical observation on Friday.

By the end of Friday, 11,850 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 210 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while 51 cases had been reported in the Macao SAR, and 10,446 cases, including 187 deaths, had been reported in Taiwan.

A total of 11,579 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, while 49 had been discharged in the Macao SAR, and 1,133 had been discharged in Taiwan.
More than a week after the General Assembly passed a scaled back version of a bill that would wipe out criminal convictions, including some felonies, Gov. Ned Lamont still has not publicly committed to signing the measure and now says he has concerns.

The governor favored a more moderate proposal that would have cleared records of people convicted of low-level misdemeanors. Among the issues hes now weighing: Someone who illegally possessed a firearm, a Class D felony, could be eligible to have that record exunged after 10 years  and could then apply for a gun permit.

Thats true even if the possession happened on school grounds, in some cases  a point lawmakers debated hotly and at length.

Asked whether that scenario concerned him, Lamont replied, a little bit.

The governor, who made that comment Wednesday, would not say whether he planned to veto or sign the measure, noting his staff is still reviewing the bill, which had not yet made it to his desk. If Lamont signs it, the bill will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

Under the so-called clean slate legislation, people convicted of misdemeanors and less serious class D and class E felonies would have the charges expunged from their records after seven or 10 years from the time of conviction, depending on the charge, if they didnt commit any other crimes, even minor ones, during that time period. The bill does not include convictions involving the use of a firearm  only illegal possession  nor, for the most part, crimes involving children and other vulnerable victims.

The bill is seen by its Democratic Party supporters as a crucial part of the sweeping move toward equity, especially racial equity, as supporters say people of color have fallen under much stricter criminal enforcement for decades.

Lamont could conceivably sign the bill and immediately seek changes to it, though the 2021 session ends Wednesday night. He did not discuss that possibility.

Republicans took issue with many of the crimes included for expungement, including illegal possession of a firearm, which could apply to a student who brought a gun to school

Critics of the bill also expressed concerns about certain hate crimes being included in the bill. Lamont has not addressed that question although just this week he moved to strengthen hate-crime prevention.

On the possession charge, Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, speaking on the House floor last week, offered the example of a high school student who brought a gun to school once, got caught, and was arrested.

Should they pay the price for that? For bringing a firearm to school to show a friend. Yeah, absolutely. They absolutely should. That is a very, very, very serious thing, Stafstrom said, adding that hes been one of major advocates for sensible gun reform in the state legislature.

But if that high-school student doesnt commit another crime in the next ten years, Stafstrom said, they should have the conviction behind them so they can move forward with gainful employment.

At the 10-year mark, would that person, who would otherwise be a convicted felon ineligible to own a firearm, be able to apply for a pistol permit, carry a pistol and perhaps have the potential to commit the same crime again? Rep. William Petit, R-Plainville, asked during the House debate.

He posed the question to Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee and one of authors of the amendment to strip the possession conviction from the list of crimes eligible for conviction.

They would, Fishbein said. In fact, in addition to the pistol permit, they would be able to apply for an eligibility certificate for a handgun, a long gun or anything like that.

While the person would be eligible to apply for a pistol permit starting 10 years after their conviction, that doesnt necessarily mean they will be approved, Stafstrom said, adding the person would have to pass a background check and suitability review, and only after maintaining a pristine record for a decade.

It remains to be seen whether those checks and balances are enough for Lamont, who campaigned on Connecticut remaining a leader in gun reform and who has signed several measures that tighten gun control, including Ethans Law, which mandates firearms are safely stored in households where children are present. That legislation also expands firearm safety programs through 12th grade, as opposed to grades kindergarten through eight.

The governor said that while he strongly believes in second chances  if youve committed your crime, youve served your time, youve got good behavior, thats not a lifetime sentence  the goal is to strike the right balance.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Authorities said Friday that a man wanted on a weapons violation fired a gun before deputies fatally shot him in Minneapolis, a city on edge since George Floyd's death more than a year ago under an officer's knee and the more recent fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright in a nearby suburb.

Family and friends identified the man killed Thursday as Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a 32-year-old father of three. Shelly Hopkins, who was in a longtime relationship with Smith, told The Associated Press that despite any mistakes Smith has made, he didn't deserve to be killed.

I wasnt there. she said of Thursdays shooting. I dont know exactly what happened. But I know him. And he didnt deserve that... He had the best heart out of anybody Ive ever met in my life.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were trying to arrest Smith on a warrant for allegedly being a felon in possession of a gun, authorities said. The Marshals Service said in a statement Thursday that Smith, who was in a parked vehicle, didnt comply with law enforcement and produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject."

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Friday that two sheriff's deputies  one from Hennepin County and one from Ramsey County  fired their weapons, striking Smith. The state investigators also said evidence indicates Smith fired his gun, saying a handgun and spent cartridge were found inside the car.

Smith died at the scene. State investigators said Smith's passenger, a 27-year-old woman, was treated for injuries from glass debris.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the U.S Marshals Service does not allow officers on its North Star Fugitive Task Force to use body cameras and there is no squad camera footage of the shooting. But the U.S. Marshals Service said that while deputy marshals do not wear body cameras, the Department of Justice permits state, local and tribal task force officers to do so.

Waylon Hughes, a close friend of Smith, told reporters that Smith loved music, writing comedy skits and posting them on social media. Hughes said he didn't know Smith to carry a gun, and Hopkins also said she didn't know that he had one.

Family and friends demanded transparency and called for the release of all footage from security and surveillance cameras in the area along with information about the officers involved. At an evening news conference outside the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, family members and activists said they don't believe there is no video.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Bruce Gordon said no surveillance video has been identified, but authorities are still investigating.

This man had a family, and hes just like anybody else, said Kidale Smith, Winston Smiths brother. (People) always try to pin something on a man and try to identify him as a criminal, especially if hes Black.

Smith also questioned the police account of what happened.

Youve got seven unmarked cars and you shoot a man in his car. You dont even give him a chance to get out... Youre the U.S. Marshals, he said. Youre supposed to be highly trained men, and you cant handle a simple situation?

According to online court records, Smith was wanted for allegedly being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2019.

The felony stems from a 2017 assault and robbery of Smiths ex-girlfriend. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting first-degree aggravated robbery for attacking his ex-girlfriend while another woman took her purse. Smith was sentenced to two years in prison, but the prison sentence was stayed for three years, provided he didn't break the law.

With the felony conviction, Smith was barred from possessing a firearm. In December 2019, he was charged in Ramsey County with two counts of illegally possessing a firearm. According to the complaint, officers arrested Smith on a probation violation and found a handgun under the drivers seat of the car he had been in earlier.

Smith was also charged with fleeing police in Hennepin County last year. According to the complaint in that case, officers in Bloomington began chasing Smith at a high speed, but stopped when he started driving the wrong way on a highway.

Hopkins said Smith was a spiritual man who prayed before every meal. The two biggest things he cared about in this world was making people happy and being there for his kids, she said.

Hopkins said she knew Smith had some court issues, but said police tried to make a case against him that didn't exist. She said Smith had been harassed by police for years and had numerous cars impounded. She said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his interactions with police.

After Thursday's shooting, some people vandalized buildings and stole from area businesses, police said. Nine people were arrested on possible charges including suspicion of riot, assault, arson and damage to property. Graffiti reading Mpls still hates cops and No trial for them marked the building next to the parking ramp where Smith was shot.

There has been tension between police and residents since the deaths of Floyd, a Black man who died last year after he was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis officers, and Wright, a Black motorist who was fatally shot in April by an officer in the nearby suburb of Brooklyn Center.

Tensions in Minneapolis already had risen Thursday after crews removed concrete barriers that blocked traffic at a Minneapolis intersection that has become a memorial to Floyd. Crews cleared artwork, flowers and other items from 38th Street and Chicago Avenue where Floyd was killed, informally known as George Floyd Square, but community activists quickly put up makeshift barriers.

___

Mohamed Ibrahim is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Department of Agriculture is sending $1 billion to the country's food bank networks, seeking to expand the reach of the system and revamp the way food banks acquire and distribute aid.

The funding, announced Friday, comes half from the American Rescue Plan COVID stimulus bill and half from standard congressional appropriations. Like other aspects of President Joe Bidens Build Back Better initiative, the food bank plan openly seeks to use COVID recovery as a chance to reform a support system whose flaws were exposed by the pandemic.

"We must do more to improve partnerships and infrastructure that power emergency food distribution to ensure the food provided is nutritious and supports a better food system, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

Vilsack said the upcoming reforms would seek to "apply lessons learned from food assistance activities early in the pandemic to improve how the USDA purchases food and supports on-the-ground organizations.

That includes an emphasis on purchasing food from local producers, working with socially disadvantaged farmers and extending infrastructure to better serve rural and underserved communities.

This is a big deal. A billion dollars is a lot of money, said Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, calling it a huge shot in the arm for the food security sector.

When the COVID-19 pandemic brought parts of the American economy to a halt last spring, food banks became an immediate anchor of direct support, ranging from large existing charities to modest DIY neighborhood pop-ups.

Berg said food banks have a particularly wide reach because they often serve people who might not be eligible for full government benefits or may simply be reluctant to fully engage with the government benefits system.

And the new cashflow into America's food bank system comes at a particularly good time. As the country emerges from the pandemic, Berg said there's donor fatigue in the whole non-profit sector.

Feeding America, which operates 200 food banks across the country, said the need for food assistance increased 55% over the past year. The organization estimates that approximately 42 million people could still experience food insecurity in 2021 due in part to ongoing COVID-19 economic fallout.
OLD LYME  Sirens blared and residents waved and beeped their horns as the town extended a heartfelt reception to a Southington family that arrived to vacation Tuesday.

A parade of emergency procession welcomed RJ Thomas, a 15-year-old teen with a rare genetic disease, and his loved ones, who are spending most of the next two weeks vacationing at Hawks Nest Beach.

The procession of police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and even town dump trucks started at Exit 70 off Interstate 95, and proceeded to the Columbus Avenue beach house where they are staying.

The welcome was crazy, Ray Thomas said, beyond anything weve ever imagined.

His father Ray Thomas said rangers, part of a beach version of a police cadet program, helped him carry RJ up the steps of the cottage. A public works employee made some calls and got a ramp installed, he said.

It was very overwhelming, said Heather Thomas, RJs mother. I knew that it was going to be emotional  seeing that  but as soon as we got off the highway, I just started bawling. Seeing his smiling face and the joy that it brought him, I was like, Wow.

The diagnosis

A few years ago, RJs parents brought him to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he was diagnosed with Hashimotos encephalopathy, a disease that affects the brain and thyroid.

It was pretty rare, so we went and did some research on who was treating patients like that, Ray said. It turned out that the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has seen a dozen or so patients.

The community rallies

What started with family friend Ewa Ciaffagliones gifting the house to the Thomas family for a couple weeks grew into a grand display of support from essentially strangers, Heather Thomas said.

Everything started with Ciaffagliones post on a local Facebook group, she said. There was people on the side of the road waving to us. They dont even know us, but they had a heart for us. Its beautiful.

People brought food, toys and gift cards to local businesses for the family to use, Heather Thomas said. Someone even delivered Italian ice the next evening.

The family vacation has allowed them to relax, walk to the beach, play Uno, go on drives and eat good food, Heather Thomas said. We went to Garvins and got some candy, she said. Dad and him went on a ride and got some ice cream (at Hallmark Drive In). Its whatever he wants to do.

The diagnosis

His sons diagnosis came only a few years ago, Ray Thomas said, but he had medical problems for a long time. RJ had arthritis as a young child.

Mom said her son began getting frequent headaches and numbness at 8 or 9 years old. Up until that point, he was 90 percent a normal kid  running and jumping and doing normal stuff.

RJs doctor at Yale had only seen two or three patients with that disease, including him, Ray Thomas said. At the Mayo Clinic, he and the geneticist advised the family to pursue testing.

So we did that when we got back home, and found out he has a genetic defect called Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome, he said. That causes kids to get autoimmune diseases.

Both parents have to carry the gene in order for a child to have the syndrome. The medical issue causes calcification of the brain and aortic valve, Ray Thomas said.

It causes aortic stenosis. About a year ago, the (blood) pressures were getting too high, so they went in with a balloon and opened up the valve, his father explained.

It was during this time when the family set up a GoFundMe to help pay for RJs $16,000 treatment, as well as a Facebook page documenting their experience, called Making Lemenade.

The crowdfunding account was set up to help RJ complete his goal. Already, the drive has raised $2,300 of its $15,000 goal

A downturn

About three weeks ago, doctors told the Thomas family that the pressure in RJs valve are worse than they were a year ago, his father said. Doctors told them that there is no safe options to release that pressure.

If they do the balloon again, they feel itll cause undue leakage, which will then become him needing an emergency valve replacement, Ray Thomas said. If we just do the valve replacement now, they said he probably wont come out of the hospital. So, through discussion with him, weve decided to do nothing.

RJ can no longer walk, and has difficulty speaking and breathing. With the time that her son has left, Heather Thomas said the most important thing was ensuring his quality of life while making fun memories.

This is where RJs cheeseburger list comes in.

Named after an aunt who wanted a cheeseburger while she was in hospice, Ray Thomas said, the first thing RJ put on the bucket list was Kentucky Fried Chicken.

RJ plans to ride the Cog Railway train on Mount Washington as well as the Essex Steam train. Other goals include a tour of Ben and Jerrys factory, a Vermont Teddy Bear, and a tattoo like his grandfather has.

The family has continued to bump into people around town with gifts. We were just driving around and [RJ] decided he wanted ice cream at Hallmark, Ray Thomas said. Im feeding him, and were there for 10 or 15 minutes.

As Im backing out, a kid comes running out and says, Are you RJ? We saw you on the news. Next time you come in its on us. Its incredible, dad said.

joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com
In 1862, when the nation had bigger problems, a California congressman advocated a tariff on a particular rice favored by Chinese immigrants he called people of vile habits, impossible of assimilation who swarm by thousands to our shores, like the frogs of Egypt. Todays anti-Asian racism is usually expressed in less sulfurous language  in the progressive patois of a culture of diversity.

Thomas Jefferson High School, a selective STEM magnet school with a national reputation for excellence, has what the school board in suburban Fairfax County, Virginia, considers a problem: Too many Asian American students excel on the admission test. The current TJ student body is 73% Asian American, 17.7% White, 3.3% Hispanic or Latino, 1% Black and 6% other. So, the board has decided to eliminate the test. Admissions will be based on a holistic assessment of applicants, meaning whatever admissions officials want it to mean.

There will be limits on the admissions from particular middle schools. The four that usually produce a majority of TJ admissions have higher Asian American populations than most other middle schools. A lawsuit by some TJ parents said: By severely limiting the number of students who can be accepted at TJ from (these four) middle schools  future TJ classes will have a radically different racial composition, by design.

In Boston and New York, similar measures with identical motivations are attacking the selectivity of elite public high schools. In both cities, as in Fairfax County, parent groups, with large Asian American participation, are suing. Last week, a federal district judge, rejecting the Fairfax County School Boards request for dismissal of the racial discrimination lawsuit, said: Everybody knows the policy is not race neutral, and that its designed to affect the racial composition of the school.

Everybody knows because county officials have said that the purpose is to engineer a student body in which racial and ethnic groups are proportional to their shares of the countys population. This means (see paragraph two, above) most beneficiaries will be White: The county is 60% White, 20% Asian or Pacific Islander, 17% Hispanic and 10% Black.

The TJ parents complaint notes that in 2018, a retired county middle school teacher ominously told Virginias General Assembly that Asian American parents are ravenous for opportunities for their children. In 2020, a member of the state legislature spoke of, but did not specify, unethical ways Asian American parents push their kids into (TJ). At a 2020 town hall meeting, Fairfax Countys schools superintendent stigmatized TJs student body majority by complaining that Asian American parents spend thousands upon thousands on test preparation. Virginias secretary of education later denounced such studying as comparable to performance enhancement drugs in sports: cheating.

In another meeting, TJs principal regretted that the school is not more demographically representative of the region and vowed to advance the representative demographics. A school board member spoke of the culture of Virginias selective schools being not as healthy as it should be. A less delicate member called TJs majority Asian American culture toxic.

The school principal, who is fluent in the flowery, obfuscating argot resorted to when recommending racial spoils systems, says TJ is a rich tapestry of heritages but does not reflect the countys racial composition. As the district judge said in allowing the parents suit against the county to proceed, You can say all sorts of beautiful things while youre doing others. Many have noted that the use, by TJ and others, of holistic metrics to limit Asian American admissions and fine-tune a schools culture resembles the use of geographic preferences and character considerations employed by Ivy League universities to restrict Jews, before being recycled to restrict Asian Americans.

This is just one school system in one U.S. county, but it reflects todays saturation of national life with government-endorsed and government-enforced racial discrimination, which now affects allocations of vaccines, government loans and much else. This is the result of replacing the ideal of equality with equity, meaning government-engineered racial outcomes.

Fortunately, the Supreme Court has held that a facially neutral state action violates the 14th Amendments guarantee of equal protection of the laws when the action is enacted with a racially discriminatory purpose. Fairfax County School Board officials have announced such a purpose. We shall see them in court, where their racist policies, and perhaps other policies that are multiplying in the name of equity, have a rendezvous with the Constitution.

(Will is a writer for

The Washington Post)
Hilda Herb has seen a lot during her 98 years on Earth. But last Thursday, she got to add a new experience to the list: looking into the eyes of a 21-day-old American kestrel chick.

Herb was part of a small group of residents from Providence Place Senior Living of Pine Grove who made the trek out to Potters Farm to watch science in action.

They observed a team from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary gently place tracking bands around the chicks ankles so researchers can learn more about the species travel patterns, life cycles and why their numbers are declining  particularly in Pennsylvania.

The scientists also took blood samples from the five healthy chicks (three females and two males) to glean more insights into Americas smallest and most colorful falcon.

After gathering the data, residents had a few minutes to observe the birds up close before they returned to their nest box. Itll be a few more days before they take flight.

Normal and free again

And after a year and a half of navigating COVID restrictions in an assisted living setting, the residents said being in the open field made them feel normal and free again.

Nature does that.

And sometimes feeling the beating of a little kestrels heart in your hand makes your own beat a little stronger.

Everyone said how peaceful they felt, said Lori Henne, director of community life at Providence Place Senior Living of Pine Grove. Sitting in the middle of the farm, at peace with the quiet  it was an amazing experience for us.

And the raw emotions of seeing the baby falcons and being able to touch them  we were in awe of the whole experience.

Helping kestrels thrive

Five kestrel eggs inside a wooden nest box on a Washington Township farm gave us all hope this spring.

They hatched. They gobbled up rodent meals delivered by their parents, and soon, very soon, they will take flight.

Let our passion to preserve open space and farmland in Pennsylvania do the same.

Sponsor a kestrel nest box

American kestrels thrive in agricultural settings  grasslands and open fields provide the habitat they need to source their prey.

But as warehouses become a new crop in Pennsylvania and more and more housing developments take root on former farmland, its getting harder and harder for species that rely on grasslands to survive.

If you are lucky enough to own open space, consider utilizing a conservation easement so the space remains undeveloped long after youre gone. If your site is suitable for kestrels, contact Hawk Mountain to inquire about installing a kestrel nest box.

Everyone can help by sponsoring a kestrel nest box by visiting www.hawkmountain.org/conservation-science/active-research/raptor-conservation-studies/american-kestrels or calling 610-756-6961. Since kestrels are losing habitat and the prime cavity nesting spots they need, boxes can provide a safe space that kestrels readily use.

(Zerbe can be reached at leah.zerbe@gmail.com)
HARRISBURG  Millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded expenses incurred by state lawmakers each year would be required to be posted online under a bill being prepared for introduction in the Pennsylvania Senate, making the information easily accessible to the public for the first time.

The measure, championed by state Sen. Lindsey Williams (D., Allegheny), would require the House and Senate chief clerks to post the information online. Williams said she envisions a page for the Senates 50 members and a separate page for the 203 House members. Per diems, state vehicle usage and expense reimbursements would all be disclosed.

The bill follows an ongoing investigation by Spotlight PA and The Caucus into how the Legislature spends tens of millions of dollars each year on food, lodging, travel, district offices, legal bills and other perks for lawmakers and their staffers, but largely keeps the details of those expenditures hidden. The expenses are paid in addition to salaries that rank among the highest in the nation for state lawmakers.

Oftentimes, citizens or journalists who want to see how legislators spend their allotted budgets face obstacles in obtaining that information, Williams said.

She said she is joined in drafting the legislation by Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, a Republican from York County. Phillips-Hill could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Throughout their investigation, Spotlight PA and The Caucus faced numerous delays and pushback from legislative lawyers  also paid with taxpayer dollars  in trying to obtain the expense records.

The reporters, with help from data experts at Temple University, compiled the information into a first-of-its-kind database of legislative expenses.

The database is far more comprehensive than any financial report made public online or through the public records law.

Williams said in an interview that taxpayers should not have to hunt for the records.

The memo seeking co-sponsors for the legislation is the first public document outlining a plan to require this level of transparency, though leaders of both chambers have stated they plan to do something similar.

We are taking our own steps to help improve transparency and try to ensure more expenses are available to the public, said Jason Thompson, spokesperson for Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R., Centre).

Thompson said he wasnt aware of Williams proposal, but that Cormans aim is to have the chief clerk of the Senate update the records disclosures regularly.

Thats something were going to have up and running hopefully by September, Thompson said.

House Speaker Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) has also stated he wants to move forward with online transparency of legislative expenses.

When Spotlight PA and The Caucus published their initial report in May, only 18 lawmakers in the state House and 11 in the Senate voluntarily posted some level of expense information on their own official websites.

But almost all of them under-reported expenses or presented incomplete or outdated information.

A comparison between their websites and the news organizations database built on open records requests showed some legislators had omitted expenses ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.

Williams, for example, provided a searchable Google spreadsheet on her website, going further than any other legislator in disclosing expenses.

Still, her spreadsheet was missing more than $100,000 in district office rent renovations, utilities and staff costs not technically authorized by Williams but attributed to her or her office. Williams said those expenses werent recorded on her site because they were paid for out of different accounts, including those authorized by the chief clerk who she is now proposing should post the expenses directly.

While several legislators, myself included, already provide public access to expenses that come out of our office budgets on our websites, there are numerous other expenses that we are unable to account for because they come out of other pots of money, Williams wrote in her bill memo.

Other lawmakers websites provided far less information, including Cormans.

A page on his site, entitled Its Your Money, listed just his salary and district office rents, and it had not been updated for more than six years. It has since been updated to display his current salary, as the top official in the Senate: $141,019.
To the Editor:

I am once again disgusted as the ugly notion of anti-patriotism and anti-military sentiment rears its ugly head with the Blue Mountain School District. The esteemed school board decided that no future military service recognition would be allowed at commencement as allowed in previous years.

To the school board and Superintendent David Helsel, I say the choice to enter the armed forces is very much a personal and school achievement, not merely a nod toward future plans. The young men entering service are making an honorable commitment at an age when other students are planning nothing more than booze-filled vacations at the shore.

I consider it quite an achievement by these young men by making a choice to serve our nation  a choice made by less than 1% of Americans. I would submit it is more of an achievement than getting high grades in Spanish class and being allowed to wear a sash for a language honor society. These young men have committed to the honor society of service to our nation and defense of our freedom.

This is the same school district that just last year allowed U.S. flags to lay in the grass in front of the high school, the district where patriotic holidays were given minimal recognition in the past and where a student was once forced to wear a U.S. Army shirt inside out because the district deemed it offensive.

Perhaps the board should realize that the vast majority of district residents are patriotic and would support the students ability to wear their military sashes that is assuming that district voters still have a say in district matters.

Retired Maj. Andrew Barrow

Orwigsburg
Anthony Richard Anstead, popularly known as Ant Anstead is an English television presenter, motor specialist, and designer. The television personality split from his wife Christina Haack a few months ago. He had taken to his Instagram handle back then and stated that he does not like sharing his private matters publicly and that he is still holding onto hope.

What happened to Christina and Ant Anstead?

In an interview with People, British television presenter Ant Anstead spoke about his breakup with his wife Christina. He stated that everybody knew that it wasn't his decision to split and that it hit him really hard when it happened. Ant added that anybody who knew him properly knew that he gives himself fully and had a lot of love for his wife. The automotive expert and longtime TV personality first hinted that the split was not something he had wanted in an Instagram post at the end of September, eight days after his wife announced the decision o separate.

Christina and Ant Anstead's relationship was going steady until last year when the couple chose to get a divorce within less than two years of their marriage. He had shared a monochrome picture with his ex-wife and captioned it, "Anyone who really knows me knows that I dont like to share private matters publicly. I have remained silent while holding on to hope. I never gave up on us. I pray Christinas decision brings her happiness."

Talking about his life post-separation, Ant admitted that he was in a very dark place for several months but eventually reached a turning point when he had a choice to either dwell on it or move on and work on himself, and he chose the latter. He signed up for a 35-day online breakup recovery course, and a three-day faith-based retreat focused on mental health and physical fitness. The television presenter added that nobody controls him other than him and it is solely up to him to empower himself and realize how incredibly worthy he is of healing. Ant Anstead revealed that he also spends a lot of time with his son Hudson, 16 months, whom he shares with Christina. He has two other kids, Amelie and Archie, from his first marriage.

Image - Ant Anstead's Instagram Account

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Chinese envoy highlights China's support to Zambia

Xinhua) 10:25, June 05, 2021

LUSAKA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie has highlighted China's support for development in the southern African nation, pledging more help in Zambia's efforts against COVID-19.

He underscored the importance of the media in highlighting China-Zambia cooperation at a meeting Thursday with representatives of local media organizations and think tanks, who took a two-day tour of several Chinese enterprises in the country.

The tour, organized by the Zambia-China Friendship Association and the Zambia-China Business and Friendship Association, helped the visitors better understand the Chinee firms' operation, investment and their corporate social responsibility initiatives in Zambia.

Li said China has over the years provided assistance to various economic sectors in Zambia, and such support has continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that China was among the first countries to help Zambia deal with the outbreak, sending in equipment, medical supplies, and medical doctors.

Li stressed that fighting COVID-19 requires concerted efforts and cooperation of all countries, and China will keep supporting Zambia, which is experiencing a third wave of the pandemic.

Fredrick Mutesa, general secretary of the Zambia-China Friendship Association, said the delegation was exposed to first-hand information on the activities of five Chinese enterprises, and that unlike what was portrayed, Chinese enterprises are doing a lot of good things such as technology transfer, skills development, corporate responsibility and protection of the environment.

"There is a lot of misinformation on China's contribution to developing countries such as Zambia and that, we have found out during the tour, is very different from the picture being painted about China," he said.

Mutesa said the skills being imparted to local people are sustainable and will be used elsewhere even when the Chinese leave.

Elias Mpondela, vice-president of the Zambia-China Business and Friendship Association, talked about the importance for Zambia to harness the potential that China offers in terms of skills and technological transfer.

He called for continued exchanges between the two countries in various spheres.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 14:15:51|Editor: huaxia

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NEW YORK, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Inoculations against COVID-19 have reached 2 billion as the world races to contain the pandemic, but at the current pace, it will take nine more months to vaccinate 75 percent of the global population needed to provide herd immunity, Bloomberg said in a recent report.

The vaccination rollout has been uneven, mainly benefiting the developed world while lower-income countries have struggled to source shots. The wealthiest 27 countries have administered about 29 percent of vaccinations globally but have only 10 percent of the world's population, said the report.

The United States and Britain led the way with vaccinations early, China has given the most doses and European Union members have been catching up after a slow start, according to Bloomberg's Vaccine Tracker.

China now accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly 36 million shots given daily. The EU is administering the second-highest number, with about 3.6 million doses daily, followed by India with 2.6 million.

In the United States, 89.4 doses have been administered for every 100 people. That compares with a global average of 23 doses per 100 people, said the report.

Although 2 billion doses would be equivalent to more than a quarter of the world's population, the proportion immunized is well below that level because most of the vaccines in use require two shots to be fully effective, and some people have received only one.

The virus has stricken almost 172 million people and killed close to 3.7 million since the first cases emerged. Enditem
Amid misleading media reports, Border Security Force (BSF) stated that there was no ceasefire violation reported along the International Border in the Samba sector of Jammu on Saturday.

The BSF in an official statement gave a clarification saying, "Some media channels were running scrolls and tweets today regarding Cross Border Firing along IB in Samba Sector, Jammu. It is to bring to your kind notice that no Ceasefire violation as reported occurred along Jammu IB today."

No ceasefire violation reported along the International Border in the Samba sector of Jammu today. Media reports on ceasefire violation in the sector are false: Border Security Force (BSF)  ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2021

Army Chief on ceasefire violations

Although no ceasefire violation took place on Saturday, there have been incidents of several ceasefire violations being reported along the LoC. Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane on Thursday highlighted that Pakistan continues to indulge in terror activities and so guards cannot be put down. He informed about the on-ground alertness taken up by the Indian Army despite the existence of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

"We are willing to observe this ceasefire as long as they do so but while the ceasefire is on, the other activities that they are indulging in that are the terror infrastructure that is there on the other side of LoC with the terrorist camps, the terrorists, there can be no slacking as far as we are concerned in our levels of preparedness or alertness," said Army Chief Manoj Naravane.

When the security head was asked if both the countries have developed any trust, he replied that it is difficult to come by as both the countries have been under decades of mistrust. The onus entirely lies on Pakistan to build up the peace and tranquillity that both the countries have achieved so far, added Chief Naravane. He also added that India is completely prepared with a counter-infiltration grid and counter-terrorism grid to control any activities coming from the other side. According to Army Chief Naravane, it depends on the situation and threat perception for pulling back the troops from the border however a complete withdrawal of troops.

Peace in Jammu and Kashmir

While talking about bringing peace in the territory, the Army Chief explained that the Government and local administration are equally responsible with the Indian Army to bring peace in the valley as well as in the entirity of India. In the whole situation, the Indian Army plays the role of bringing down the violence and they work in sync with local administration and all the forces who are here with the ultimate aim of bringing down violence so that peace and development take place, mentioned Manoj Naravane.
In a massive decision, three top executive directors of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have been suspended following a high-level committee inquiry by the Centre into the Mumbai barge tragedy which claimed the lives of 86 personnel on board.

Last month, ONGC Barge P305 sank off the Mumbai Coast when Cyclone Tauktae was hurtling through the Western coastline of the country. The Indian Navy and local police in Maharashtra and Gujarat had launched rescue operations and foot patrolling alongside the coastline to rescue the personnel.

After the sinking of the ONGC barge, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas had set up a panel to probe the incident which is considered to account for one of the biggest loss of lives off Bombay High in history.

Out of the 261 personnel on board, the barge tragedy after Cyclone Tauktae claimed the lives of 86 personnel on board- 75 from barge P-305 and 11 from tug Varaprada. Based on the technical evidence, the senior ONGC officials have been held responsible for the incident. They have also been held accountable for Barges SS-03, Gal Constructor, and drilling rig Sagar Bhushan as well.

Following the suspension of the three executive directors, an association of the ONGC-- the Association of Scientific and Technical Officers has demanded a revocation of the order and stated that if not revoked by June 15, it would be 'constrained to take further action' threatening possible protest by its trade unions.

Mumbai Barge tragedy

On May 16, ONGC barge P-305 sunk in the Arabian Sea with 216 people on board when a powerful cyclonic storm passed over the Mumbai coast. Search and Rescue operations to locate the crew of Barge P305 and Tug Varapradha were augmented immediately by specialized diving teams onboard INS Makar (with Sonar) and INS Tarasa. The Navy also deployed specialized diving teams to boost the search and rescue operations (SAR). After a systematic search by the Indian Navy over the course of a week, remains Barge P305 was located on the seabed on May 22.

On June 4, the body of Captain Rakesh Ballav, who went missing after the barge P305 sinking was identified through DNA matching. Captain Rakesh Ballav along with 10 bodies were identified on Friday, Forensic experts are still working on identifying the remaining 20 bodies which have been recovered following the rescue operations.
Visakhapatnam, June 4 (PTI) INS Sandhayak, the Indian Navy's oldest Hydrographic Survey Vessel, was decommissioned at the naval dockyard here on Friday after serving the nation for 40 years.

The ship was decommissioned at a low key event due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, a navy release said The National Flag, Naval Ensign and the Decommissioning Pennant were lowered at sunset in the presence of Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh,Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command,the Chief Guest at the ceremony,it said.

The ceremony was also attended by Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar,Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India and by serving hydrographers, outstation ex-crew members and veterans virtually through live streaming.

The release said INS Sandhayak, during her 40 years of illustrious service, undertook over 200 major hydrographic surveys in the Western and Eastern coasts of the Indian peninsula, the Andaman Sea and in neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The ship also took part in important operations like'Operation Pawan' in Sri Lanka, 1987, 'Rainbow for Humanitarian Assistance' in the aftermath of the tsunami in 2004 and the maiden Indo-US HADR Exercise 'Tiger-Triumph' in 2019, the release added. PTI COR DBV APR ADMINISTRATOR APR ADMINISTRATOR

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Shimla, Jun 4 (PTI) Dalal Street Investment Journal (DSIJ) conferred PSU Award of the Year 2020 on SJVN Chairman and Managing Director Nand Lal Sharma, a SJVN spokesperson said. The award was conferred in recognition of the outstanding contribution made by Sharma to make SJVN most efficient and profitable mini-ratna company of the year 2020.

Sharma is heading SJVN Limited as CMD, a Schedule A, Mini Ratna Public Sector Enterprise.

Under his leadership, SJVN has emerged as a major player in the Power Sector in India and neighboring countries. SJVN currently is constructing seven Power Projects with capacity of around 3300 MW in India, Nepal and Bhutan, a press note issued by SJVN stated. His persistent and unrelenting efforts have resulted in allocation of more than 10 power projects in India and abroad in the last two years, it added. SJVN has set ambitious targets of becoming a 5000 MW company by 2023, 12000 MW company by 2030 and 25000 MW company by 2040.

SJVN is going to invest Rs 30,000 crores in next five years and Rs 60,000 crores in next ten years in various projects in India & abroad. This will result in employment generation, infrastructure development and socio-economic growth.

SJVN's present installed capacity is 2016.51 MW with a portfolio of around 9000 MW, having presence in various sectors of energy generation which includes Hydro, Wind, Solar and Thermal, it added. The company also has a presence in the field of energy transmission.

Established in 1986, the Dalal Street Investment Journal (DSIJ) is India's No 1 equity research and capital investment magazine which caters to the needs of its reader-investors, it added. PTI DJI MKJ MKJ

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Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the lower Munda crossing area of Qazigund in the Kulgam district. Cache recovered from a vehicle includes 2 AK 56 rifles, 8 AK magazines, 10 9mm pistols, 18 pistol magazines, 90 9x19 mm ammunition, and 9 grenades.

On 05 June 2021, a checkpoint was established at lower Munda crossing falling under the jurisdiction of Police Station Qazigund in Kulgam district. Around 0900 hrs while checking a dumper truck (tipper) bearing registration no JK 02 BB 0949, two individuals behaving suspiciously were taken aside along with their vehicle for questioning/ search. Two terror associates identified as Zahid Nabi and Mehraj ud din Dar of Pulwama have been arrested, Police said in its statement.

Senior Official in Jammu and Kashmir Police, on the condition of anonymity, told Republic World that couriers of Jaish E Mohammad terror outfit were taking this cache from Jammu to Kashmir valley where it was to be delivered to top Jaish Commander as planned by Pakistan handlers.

The official has also said that preliminary investigation has so far revealed that arms and ammunition consignment recovered from Kulgam was possibly dropped using a drone along the International Border by Pakistan. He also added that these weapons were possibly smuggled from RS Pura Sector of Jammu or from Samba sector of International border and from there were on way to Kashmir valley.

It is a similar module as busted yesterday in Rajouri district of Jammu where four pistols with eight magazines and one hundred and five rounds, one AK with two magazines and fifty-four rounds along with packaging material and tying ropes was recovered, official added.

Two successful operations by Jammu and Kashmir Police have foiled plans of Pakistan to supply arms and ammunition to the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir to carry out terror attacks especially assassinations of soft targets when they recovered 14 pistols and three AK rifle along with a large quantity of ammunition that was dropped near the line of control and International Border using a drone.

Director-General of Police, J&K Dilbag Singh while chairing a high-level meeting yesterday in Baramulla directed officers to strengthen the security arrangements as Pakistan and its sponsored elements are looking for soft targets to foment trouble.
Members of Mali's M5 opposition movement reacted on Friday to France's move in suspending joint military operations with the African nation during a protest in Bamako.

Late on Thursday, France issued its strongest threat yet to Mali's coup leader by halting the operations and said it would do so until the junta complies with international demands to restore civilian rule.

Protesters, who had gathered to show their support of Goita and to mark the first anniversary of the M5 opposition group, were then seen holding anti-French signs at the demonstration a day later.

They also carried banners against the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc, which suspended Mali from the group after the coup last month.

Speaking at the demonstration was Choguel Maiga, a member of the M5 movement and a figure who some speculate could be a future prime minister of the country.

The move by France, a former colonial power, comes amid mounting international criticism of Mali's second coup in nine months and deepening fears that the political instability will embolden Islamic extremists in the north.

France's military has been fighting Islamic extremists in Mali since 2013, and the temporary suspension applies only to operations carried out in coordination with the Malian military.

Goita first seized control of Mali last August, then agreed to let a civilian president and prime minister lead a political transition following international condemnation.

But then nine months later he changed course, deposing both men after they announced a Cabinet reshuffle without his consultation.

While Goita has pledged to still hold elections in 2021 as promised, his latest coup d'etat has significantly undermined global confidence in his ability to hold fair elections free of junta interference.

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All the assets of the controversial Indian-origin Gupta family and their associate, Iqbal Meer Sharma, including palatial homes in upmarket areas have now been frozen by a South African court. The Investigating Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa on Thursday asked Interpol to issue Red Notice International Arrest Warrants for Atul Gupta and Rajesh Gupta, and their wives Chetali and Arti.

Meer Sharma along with a senior official of the Provincial Free State Government, pending a bail application on Monday. An ID spokesperson, Sindisiwe Seboka, had earlier said they have a strong case against the Guptas and Sharma involving fraud and corruption to the tune of more than 12 million South African rands.

Gupta family in exile?

The Gupta family, who are accused of siphoning billions of rand from state and parastatal institutions, are believed to be in self-exile in Dubai, with reports that some family members are in India. South Africa has sent extradition papers to both India and the UAE, although it has no extradition treaty with the UAE.

The wanted four members of the Gupta family are the owners of the company, Island site, against which the High Court order was granted on Friday.

"Leave is granted to institute asset forfeiture proceedings against Island site and the property of Islandsite," read the order, which Sindisiwe Seboka confirmed applied to assets, including all properties in South Africa belonging to Islandsite.

The court has appointed a curator who will take charge of the assets pending the outcome of criminal charges for fraud and money laundering offenses instituted against the Guptas, their company Island site, Sharma, and his company Nulane.

Two days ago, the National Prosecuting Authority had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice against Indian-origin businessmen, their wives, and business associates, according to an official. The move aims at bringing them to South Africa so that they stand trial for their alleged role in a Rs 25 million fraud and money laundering case linked to the failed Estina Dairy Farm project in Free State province.

(With PTI Inputs)
Chinese Coast Guard (CGC) vessels have made record 112 incursions in the Japanese territorial waters in the Senkaku Islands [known to China as Diaoyu Islands as both China and Taiwan claim sovereignty over the inhabited islands] approximately 170 kilometers from Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture, in the East China Sea. On Friday, at least four Haijing ships from the Chinese coast guard encroached the international maritime boundaries as it entered the Japanese-administered island chain, sailing in the disputed contiguous zone, Japanese coast guard told the state-run press.

Japan Coast Guards 11th regional headquarters in Naha said in a statement that the Chinese vessels encroached in the Japanese waters between April 14 and August 2 last year for a record 333 times as they sailed near the disputed islands, but in 2021 have bolstered their naval presence. A paper released by the Japanese defense had earlier last year highlighted that China has relentlessly continued attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by coercion in the sea area around the Senkaku Islands and that Japan cannot accept Chinas actions to escalate the situation.

Lt. General Kevin Schneider, commander of US Forces Japan, had stated that the United States is 100 percent, absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the government of Japan with the situation in the Senkakus.

Japan had repeatedly accused China of aggravating bilateral tensions by military expansionist agenda in East China seas as the China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels routinely violated the maritime protocols by entering beyond 12 nautical miles (nm) and 24 nm of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. According to Article 33 of the UN Convention of the Law of Sea, ratified by both China and Japan, the contiguous zone allows a coastal State to (a) prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within its territorial sea and (b) punish infringement of the above laws and regulations committed within its territory or territorial sea.

China challenges 'administrative control' of Japan

Chinas attempt to flare tensions can be seen as challenging the administrative control of Japan on the territory after it purchased three islands in September 2012. Since then the CGC has maintained regular maritime presence via encroachment, as Japan raised sovereignty dispute. China, under its new law, authorized its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels in the disputed South and the East China Sea that involve the smaller island nations competing for maritime claims. National Peoples Congress standing committee in Beijing passed a law on January 22 that allows the CGC vessels to be weaponized and use coercion as the law prescribes all necessary means to deter foreign vessels.
The European Union (EU) has banned Belarusian carriers from its airspace and airports over the controversial landing of Ryanair flight FR4978 and the detention of opposition activist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega on May 23. While the move was widely criticised by the West, EU ambassadors agreed during a meeting on June 4 to require the member states to deny Belarus carriers landing and taking off rights in the bloc and forbid them from overflying the territory of the 27 members states from June 5.

Furthermore, the European aviation safety agency (EASA) has also issued a directive that effectively bans EU aircraft from flying over Belarusian airspace or landing on its territory. The move comes in response to the criticism Belarus received for the interception of the Athens to Vilnius flight last month with Pratasevich and Sapega as passengers. Since the detention of the duo, there have been concerns over their health in the wake of their appearances in the video. As per The Guardian report, the opposition activist, in his latest video exhibited signs of abuse while apparently confessing to the crimes against the Belarusian state.

Arrested Belarus dissident weeps in interview

EU move on Thursday followed the dissident Belarusian journalist and opposition activist weeping in an interview aired on state television. Pratasevich, who was arrested after the Ryanair flight was diverted to Minks after a mid-flight bomb scare, said that he was fully cooperating with investigators and declared that he respects Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko whom he opposed for several years.

The broadcast on Thursday was Pratasevichs second appearance in two days after his arrest on May 23. As per the Associated Press, the 26-year-old was a founder of messaging app channel that was a crucial information conduit for opponents of the Belarusian President whose election to a sixth term last year was met with nationwide protests.

Some of the demonstrations against Lukashenko attracted as many as 100,000 people. At the end of the 90-minute interview, Pratasevich said, I am cooperating absolutely fully and openly ... and live an ordinary, calm life, have a family, children, stop running away from something. He then covered his face and wept.

IMAGE: AP
Germany on June 4 slammed the Belarusian government for an interview shown on state television with journalist Roman Protasevich, who was detained after his plane was forced to land in Minsk. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert called the broadcast, in which Protasevich confessed to calling for protests last year, absolutely disgraceful and implausible. Seibert said that Berlin condemned in the strongest terms Protasevich second media appearance since his detention and further accused Belarusian authorities of mentally and possibly physically pressuring him into speaking before the camera.

The journalist was arrested after his plane was diverted to Belarus. In the second footage aired late on Wednesday, the 26-year-old again said that he had called for protests last year and even praised Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. However, during the 1.5-hour interview, Protasevich was looking uncomfortable and he reportedly even have visible wounds on his wrists. In the end, Protasevich even began crying and covered his face with his hands.

After the footage was aired, Seibert called the broadcaster and the Belarusian leadership a disgrace. He said that the Belarusian officials once again showed their contempt for democracy and for humanity. Seibert added that Berlins thoughts were with Protasevich and all the other citizens of Belarus who are being treated so inhumanely for their convictions and their peaceful fight for civil rights.

Aftermath of Protasevichs detention

Protasevich was arrested on May 23 along with his girlfriend Sofia Sapega when their Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius was diverted and intercepted by a fighter jet. The forced landing and abdication have set off shockwaves across countries. The EU member states have agreed to cut the blocs air links with Belarus and have strongly condemned the outrageous actions that endangered aviation safety. US President Joe Biden said that Belarus' forced diversion of a commercial Ryanair flight and subsequent removal and arrest of Raman Protasevich is a direct affront to international norms.

Russia, on the other hand, defended Belarus' use of military jet to divert passenger plane carrying the dissident. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov has said that the country treated the incident with an "absolutely reasonable approach". Lavrov asserted that Minsk was ready to act on the issue in a transparent manner and to follow all international rules. Calling upon western states to act in the same manner, the Russian lawmakers asked the global community to "soberly assess the situation".

(Image: Twitter/AP)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 16:09:29|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on May 19, 2021 shows a sign for a COVID-19 vaccination facility in Bedford, Britain. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)

The wealthiest 27 countries have administered about 29 percent of vaccinations globally but have only 10 percent of the world's population, Bloomberg said in a recent report.

NEW YORK, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Inoculations against COVID-19 have reached 2 billion as the world races to contain the pandemic, but at the current pace, it will take nine more months to vaccinate 75 percent of the global population needed to provide herd immunity, Bloomberg said in a recent report.

The vaccination rollout has been uneven, mainly benefiting the developed world while lower-income countries have struggled to source shots. The wealthiest 27 countries have administered about 29 percent of vaccinations globally but have only 10 percent of the world's population, said the report.

A woman enters a COVID-19 vaccination site at the Javits Center in New York, United States, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The United States and Britain led the way with vaccinations early, China has given the most doses and European Union members have been catching up after a slow start, according to Bloomberg's Vaccine Tracker.

China now accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly 36 million shots given daily. The EU is administering the second-highest number, with about 3.6 million doses daily, followed by India with 2.6 million.

Faculty members and students receive COVID-19 vaccines at a vaccination site at Anhui Agricultural University in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, May 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan)

In the United States, 89.4 doses have been administered for every 100 people. That compares with a global average of 23 doses per 100 people, said the report.

Although 2 billion doses would be equivalent to more than a quarter of the world's population, the proportion immunized is well below that level because most of the vaccines in use require two shots to be fully effective, and some people have received only one.

The virus has stricken almost 172 million people and killed close to 3.7 million since the first cases emerged. 
Prominent Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri and other important leaders of the militant group reside in Afghanistan and Pakistan border region, stated a United Nations report. The report, issued on Friday, said that Zawahiri is probably alive but too frail to be featured in propaganda. It also said that significant numbers of Al-Qaeda fighters along with other foreign extremist elements that align with the Taliban are housed in various parts of Afghanistan.

Member states reported that a significant part of Al-Qaeda leadership remains based in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the core is joined by and works closely with Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, the twelfth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said.

Al Qaeda leader Aiman Muhammed Rabi al-Zawahiri, is believed to be located somewhere in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Previous reports of his death due to ill health have not been confirmed...One member state reports that he is probably alive but too frail to be featured in propaganda, the report added without mentioning the country.

Al-Qaeda-Taliban in 'regular communication'

The UN report also said that Al-Qaedas strategy in the near future is to establish a traditional safe haven in Afghanistan for the extremist groups leadership. The Monitoring Team also noted that the assessments have suggested a longer-term Al-Qaeda core strategy of strategic patience for a period of time before it would start planning attacks on global targets. It added, This scenario is untested against stated Taliban commitments to prohibit such activities.

It also said, Member states assess that formal communication between senior Al-Qaeda and Taliban officials is currently infrequent, one member state reported that there is regular communication between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda on issues related to the peace process.

The group reportedly consists of primarily Afghan and Pakistani nationals, but also individuals from Bangladesh, India and Myanmar, the report added while noting that the current leader of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent is Osama Mahmood, who is not listed. He succeeded the late Asim Umar.

The report stated that during the period of review from May 2020 and April 2021, Al-Qaeda suffered a reduction with several senior members being killed, often while fighting alongside Taliban associates living collaboratively with them. It said, "The primary component of the Taliban in dealing with Al-Qaeda is the Haqqani Network. Ties between the two groups remain close, based on ideological alignment, relationships forged through common struggle and intermarriage"

The report also noted that the Taliban began enhancing its control over Al-Qaeda by collecting information on foreign terrorist fighters and registering and restricting them. It said, "However, it has not made any concessions in this regard that it could not easily and quickly reverse, and it is impossible to assess with confidence that the Taliban will live up to its commitment to suppress any future international threat emanating from Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Al-Qaida and like-minded militants continue to celebrate developments in Afghanistan as a victory for the Talibans cause and thus for global radicalism.

"While both organisations are expected to maintain a posture of distance and discretion for as long as such is required for the achievement of Taliban objectives, Al-Qaeda nonetheless stands to benefit from renewed credibility on the back of Taliban gains...It will be important for the international community to monitor any sign of Afghanistan again becoming a destination for extremists with both regional and international agendas," it said.

IMAGE: Twitter

(With agency Inputs)
Islamabad, Jun 4 (PTI) Pakistans National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf has said that the hasty withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan was not a good idea and Washington has assured Islamabad that it will not be made a "scapegoat" in the midst of the process that could create a security vacuum in the war-torn country.

The US has announced troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11. Pakistan has said that it is worried about a security vacuum in Afghanistan after the US pullout because of a stalemate in the peace process.

Speaking to DawnNewsTV, Yusuf said Pakistan always wanted peace in Afghanistan and the hasty withdrawal of US troops from the country was not a good idea.

(The) United States has assured us that Pakistan will not be made a scapegoat amidst the withdrawal (of US troops) from Afghanistan, but only time will tell whether (they stay true to their word) as history suggests otherwise," Yusuf said.

He said it was too early to predict whether they (the US) will stick to their words. Yusuf also stressed that Pakistan needed to maintain bilateral ties with the US, which continued to view Pakistan as a regional player, without compromising on national interests.

The approach is still regional. (Though), they (the US) have shifted focus from Af-Pak and are now obsessed with China, seeing India (as a country) that has a role to play (in this equation), he said.

He also denied reports that Pakistan was allowing the US to continue to use its air bases.

It has been very clearly communicated to the Americans so it's not debatable, he said, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan had been opposing the war in Afghanistan for the past 15 years, so allowing the US access to air bases after its withdrawal from Afghanistan was not on the table.

It's important for all stakeholders in Afghanistan to sit together for a political settlement, the NSA said.

Yusuf also emphasised on the economic stability for Afghanistan, saying that the Afghan economy could not function without support from the outside.

And for that, only Pakistan can give them the regional connectivity, and for investment from China (and the) US, Pakistan is the only linchpin. Afghans must understand this, he claimed.

He reiterated that in the wake of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan wanted bilateral relationships with America, but with a focus on not what the US can give us, but what we can take from the US.

Afghans should decide their own fate, adding that any terrorist activities in Afghanistan were not acceptable to Pakistan, he said.

President Biden in April announced that all American troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11 this year, thus bringing to end the country's longest war, spanning across two decades.

The US and the Taliban signed a landmark deal in Doha on February 29, 2020 to bring lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan and allow US troops to return home from America's longest war.

Under the US-Taliban pact, the US has agreed to withdraw all its soldiers from Afghanistan in 14 months.

There are currently 2,500 American troops left in Afghanistan, the lowest level of American forces in the war-torn country since 2001.

Since the US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks, America has spent more than USD 1 trillion in fighting and rebuilding in Afghanistan.

About 2,400 US soldiers have been killed, along with tens of thousands of Afghan troops, Taliban insurgents and Afghan civilians. PTI SH CPS AKJ CPS

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
After a prominent senior journalist was taken off air for speaking against the Imran Khan administration and the countrys military, Pakistan faced "severe" criticism, as per ANI. Hamid Mir, who had hosted various talk shows and authored several columns, recently gave a speech at a demonstration against the government. It is imperative to note that that demonstration was held to voice against an attack on Asad Toor, another journalist who was ambushed by three masked men after he lampooned the countrys government publically.

Thanks to all the office holders and members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council for the support pic.twitter.com/aKehTPkaLl  Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) June 5, 2021

The coercive action against Hamid Mir drew widespread condemnation with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan calling for him to be allowed to resume professional duties immediately. Slamming the fascism prevailing in the country, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb slammed the attempt to intimidate journalists. Meanwhile, Absar Alam, a veteran journalist who survived an assassination attempt a few weeks ago tweeted, "Its shameful to threaten anyones family. If anyone has a complaint against Hamid Mir, that person should follow the legal path instead of resorting to unconstitutional and fascist acts".

HRCP strongly condemns the decision to take @HamidMirPAK off the air three days after he spoke fervidly against the escalation in curbs on press freedom. He must be allowed to resume his professional duties immediately and the threats against him investigated. @geonews_urdu pic.twitter.com/1d8WhJHwKA  Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) May 31, 2021

Fascism continues to silence journalists and free media through pressure tactics.Ban on @HamidMirPAK is a blatant violation of constitutional right to freedom of expression.#JournalismIsNotACrime  Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) May 31, 2021

While both the incidents have triggered outrage by international organisations, Pakistan administration has denied any links to the attacks. As per ANI, Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry asserted that the administration had nothing to do with the working of any broadcast group and that all of them independently decided to air their programmes and to appoint or sack their teams. Similarly, on the attack against Toor, the Information Ministry said in a statement that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's excessively powerful spy agency, had "totally disassociated" itself from the attack.

Media Martial Law

Pakistan which ranks 9th on the CPJ's Global Impunity Index has seen an increase in the censorship and repression faced by journalists after Imran Khan took over as the PM in 2018 after an election perceived to have been rigged by the military. IN past, Pakistan, which has faced severe backlash for obstructing journalism and harassing its practitioners, recently passed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) ordinance 2021, which seeks to centralize media under one authority and has called for swift punishment for those who violate new laws in the country. The draconian law has been severely criticized by Pakistani Journalists whove called it Media Martial law.

Image: Asad Toor/HamidMir/Twitter
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including the secretary-general and a senior official from Brunei, the blocs chair, met with the Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of Myanmars military Junta on Friday in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw. The meeting was aimed at negotiating a dialogue regarding the ongoing political turmoil and civil disturbances in the Southeast Asian nation.

This comes nearly six weeks after Senior General Hlaing and the six heads of state and three foreign ministers representing ASEAN met in Jakarta, where leaders of 10 nation bloc demanded immediate release of political detainees in Myanmar, and to put an end to violence, military killings, and human rights abuses, but the consensual talks hit a deadlock.

[ASEAN Leaders' Meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia. Credit: AP]

On Friday, Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi had a second sit-down with the chief of Myanmar's military, State broadcaster MRTV reported citing the diplomatic sources. The talks were held in the backdrop of Indonesias foreign ministers request to the Association of Southeast Asia Nations to immediately appoint a special envoy to Myanmar in response to the military Juntas February 1 coup.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell met with Jakartas FM Retno Marsudi where the two-party discussed that the dialogue with Myanmar must immediately start with the help of an ASEAN envoy. The special envoy appointment must be completed immediately, Marsudi told reporters. The safety and well-being of the Myanmar people must continue to be a priority, she stressed.

[Credit: AP]

[Activists display posters and defaced portraits of Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief. Credit: AP]

Following the high-level meeting, an Indonesian diplomat familiar with the development told The Associated Press that Brunei, which holds ASEANs rotating chairmanship, was planning to dispatch a Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof to meet the junta leader for seeking Myanmars approval of the ASEAN envoy. Min Aung Hlaings stance meanwhile has been ambiguous as he told Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television that the political crisis in Myanmar was exaggerated.

NUG objects

The countrys National Unity Government (NUG) held objection to Fridays meeting telling a state-run press conference that the ASEAN leaders should hold the talks with them instead and not the oppressive military regime. A spokesperson Sa Sa said, that the diplomatic dialogue and issues about the future of the people of Myanmar must include the people of Myanmar, and any talks must be held with the National Unity Government (NUG) that represents civilians.

Any discussions, any meeting about the future of the people of Myanmar must include the people of Myanmar, (their) voices must be heardNational Unity Government spokesperson Sa Sa.

In an interview from an undisclosed location with the Nikkei Asia, the NUG spokesperson had earlier warned that there will be "no compromise" between the civilian National Unity Government of Myanmar and the military regime unless the junta, known as the State Administration Council, met all of four conditions laid out by the Party. NUG demanded that the military junta restored the democratically elected government and parliamentarians from the democratically held November elections.

Sasa's other demands included the country's de facto head, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis release, end to violence against the protesting anti-coup civilians, removal of soldiers from Myanmar streets, and the release of prisons arrested arbitrarily by Junta. Thus far, Myanmars military Junta soldiers have killed 750 civilians and bystanders, including children -- and have held 4,300 in detention, according to Myanmars Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
A 44-Year-old Indian permanent resident in Singapore on June 4 was fined $2,258 and banned from driving for six months for causing a road accident. According to Channel News Asia, a woman sustained a spinal fracture and a sprained knee after Baskar Sambantham failed to keep a proper lookout at a Housing Block car park. He accidentally swiped the woman, causing her to fall and sustain grievous injuries.

As per reports, Sambantham pleaded guilty to one charge of causing hurt to the pedestrian by a negligent act. He was, however, fined 3,000 Singapore dollars and banned from driving for six months. The court heard that Sambantham was driving out of a parking lot near Block 101, Tampines Street 11 on April 3, 2019.

At the same time, the 58-year-old woman was heading to a bus stop on her way to work. She intended to cut across the car park to reach the bus stop. But as it was raining Sambantham did not notice the woman while he was making a right turn. His car came close to her and she then put out her hands to protect herself, but the car hit her thigh and she spun and fell to the ground.

Sambantham immediately had stopped the vehicle and alighted. The woman was then diagnosed at a hospital with a spinal compression fracture and a knee sprain. Her husband lodged the police report after she was given 46 days of hospitalisation leave.

'Short' driving ban would suffice: Judge

According to Singapores law, Sambantham could have been jailed up to two years and fined up to 5,000 dollars ($3,763), or both. But the prosecutor sought a fine of at least 4,000 dollars (USD 3,010) and a driving ban of at least a year. Sambanthams lawyer, on the other hand, asked for a fine of 2,000 dollars (USD 1,505) and a six-month driving ban instead.

The defence lawyer reportedly said that it was raining heavily at the time of the accident and the 44-year-old was driving slowly at a speed of about 10 kmh. Despite the heavy rain, the victim was not walking at the sheltered path but instead crossed the road in the car park. The prosecutor responded that there was no evidence on Sambanthams speed at the time.

After hearing both the side, the judge said that a short driving ban would suffice to remind the 44-year-old to exercise greater care. He also noted that Sambantham had provided immediate assistance at the scene. The court heard that the victims medical bills were paid by her insurer and her employer.


By signing a new law on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin banned individuals designated as "extremists" from running for public offices. This move has been condemned by the opposition recognising it as an effort to further limit political competition. Russia has banned people who have been involved in "extremism" and "terrorism" from running for public offices. June 6 also marks the birthday of jailed Kremlin vehement critic Alexei Navalny.

CNN reported that the law prevents members of "extremist" or "terrorist" organisations from contesting elections for a period of three to five years, depending on the person's stature and position. While founders and leaders of designated groups will not be able to run for elected office for a term of five years after a court's decision to ban the group. Employees or financial supporters of court-ruled extremist and terrorist organisations will be banned from running an office for three years.

Alexei Navalny's Chief of Staff Leonid Volkov took to Twitter to establish that he did not believe President Putin "accidentally" signed the law.

Alexei Navalny behind Russian prison system

Navalny has been sentenced to over two years in prison in February 2021 by a court that said he violated the 2014 suspended term while in Germany for treatment. Navalny was arrested soon after returning from Germany on January 17, which prompted widespread protests across Russia demanding his release. The said court pronounced that he serve the remaining months of his suspended sentence in prison. Oscillating at the receiving end of this trial, protesters gathered in the streets of Moscow and over 1,000 people were detained by law enforcement authorities.

According to media reports, he is 'the man Putin fears the most', and this is in a part of the world where autocratic leaders have had few qualms of dispatching their political rivals or anything they view as a threat to their rule.

New laws against anti-regime behaviour

The new legislation comes ahead of a court decision on whether to designate both Navalny's political and anti-corruption organisations as extremist groups following a lawsuit filed in April by the Moscow Prosecutor's office. Critics have stated the new laws as a threat not only to opposition politicians but to ordinary Russian citizens too.

A political analyst of Carnegie Moscow, Tatiana Stanovaya said, "The battlefield has become much larger, now even a Russian citizen who participates in protests, retweets an opposition post or donates to opposition groups, face the risk of prosecution."

Recently signed laws do hint at possibilities that Navalny supporters would be barred from running in Russia's upcoming parliamentary elections in September. He was already barred from contesting presidential elections in 2018. The next Russian presidential elections is scheduled for 2024.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on June 5, announced that a 135 billion cubic meter natural (bcm) gas reserve has been discovered in the Black Sea. The latest find, which could help satiate the energy-dependent countrys needs, was made by the much-vaunted Fatih drillship in the Sakarya gas field located off the Zonguldak province. With a 405 bcm natural gas deposit discovered last year, the countrys reserves now add up to 540 bcm.

Our Fatih drillship made a discovery of 135 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Amasra-1 borehole in the Sakarya gas field," Erdogan said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Filyos Port and Natural Gas Operating Facility. "Our new drilling operations around (the borehole) continue. Allah willing, we expect new good news from this region," he added.

3 stages of extraction

At present, Turkey is dependent on Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan for natural gas in addition to the US, Qatar, Nigeria and Algeria for Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). On Friday, Erdogan announced that the country would start pumping natural gas from the newly discovered reserve to its main grid by 2023. Expecting an annual gas flow of 5-10 bcm per annum, he also revealed that the whole process would be done in three stages.

The first stage includes natural gas production systems being established on the seabed, he said, adding that the second stage will see the launch of the facility that will process the natural gas on land and make it ready for use. "The third stage is the pipeline that will provide the connection between the system at sea and the facility on land," Erdogan noted.

Fatih drilling vessel has discovered another natural gas reserve of 135 billion cubic meters in Sakarya natural gas fields Amasra-1 well https://t.co/cQJWqFDO2Y pic.twitter.com/MLGCcPiiLi  Turkish Presidency (@trpresidency) June 4, 2021

The country has increased its quest for hydrocarbon resources in the recent past. Ankara's search and surveys in the contested Mediterranean sea have triggered multiple disputes with Greece and ethnically bifurcated Cyprus. Both Ankara and Athens have been warring over an oil-rich part of eastern Meditteranean. Earlier this year, both nations resumed talks to solve the long-standing dispute. A representative from both the states met last month in Istanbul, to discuss the bilateral disputes after nearly five months.

Image: AP
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 16:43:44|Editor: huaxia

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File photo taken on Oct. 16, 2020 shows the scenery of Attabad Lake in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Haidar Ali, a political activist from Hunza district of Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region, has many sleepless nights in summer due to fear of the bursting of a lake formed some 10 km away from his home because of a surging glacier named Shishper.

"The glacier surged due to climate change, like many other glaciers in the Karakoram mountain range. The lake formed by the glacier surge poses a high risk to residential settlements like my home in summer," Ali told Xinhua.

"Since its formation in 2018, it has burst twice in summer and we are scared that the same may happen again to wash us away in its gushing water."

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the 12-km-long Shishper glacier, covering an area of almost 24.9 square km, surged with very high velocity of up to 43.3 meters a day in 2018, and intercepted glacier-melt water from its neighboring glacier Muchuhur, resulting in the formation of the glacier dammed lake in November 2018, with the risk of glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF).

"The real tragedy with us is that we did not contribute much to the climate change, yet we will be the first one to get devoured by nature if it turns violent. Pakistanis should realize that climate change is a serious issue and if they do not pay attention to it right now, everyone will be vulnerable and helpless in the face of natural calamities," Ali said.

Pakistan has been recurrently affected by catastrophes and is ranked among the most affected countries to climate change in both the long-term index and in the index for the respective year, according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021.

Apart from glacier melt, Pakistan's agricultural sector is also being badly affected by the climate change, especially in the areas where agriculture is dependent on rains including Chakwal district of the country's eastern Punjab province.

"Wheat and peanut are the major crops in Chakwal. We don't have any canal irrigation system in the district and 90 percent of farmers depend on rains for their crops. Over the past three years, wheat production in the area has been badly affected because of hostile weather conditions," Hamid Iqbal, a farmer in Chakwal, told Xinhua.

He said that over the past few years there is very little rainfall during the sowing season due to which the crops could not get enough water to grow. Whereas, during the harvest season around April-May, heavy rainfall and hailstorm lashed the crops, making farmers lose a major share of their yield.

Similarly, the country's cash crop cotton faces the same fate in Punjab and Sindh provinces due to abrupt changes in weather, discouraging farmers to sow it and putting pressure on textile, the major export-oriented industry of the country.

Pakistan's Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said that climate change has posed multiple socio-economic challenges due to environmental impact.

"Our monsoon patterns are shifting the timing and the frequency of rainfall. The geographical distribution of rainfall has shifted. It is shifting so fast that our agriculture cannot adapt to it," he told Xinhua.

"In our South we have cyclonic activity happening dangerously close to our big cities. We have this new phenomenon of cloudbursts over our main cities. In addition to all of this, we also have very strong heat waves which are coming in Pakistan."

Being the global host of this year's World Environment Day with a theme of "Ecosystem Restoration", Pakistan is trying hard to educate its people to embrace nature and make it their friend by investing in it, the minister said.

The Pakistani government is taking stringent measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and Prime Minister Imran Khan is himself heading the campaign to "save the country for future generations by addressing the climate change issue."

In order to address deforestation, Pakistan launched the Billion Tree Tsunami project in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2014 and in 2018 its sphere was extended to the whole country with the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami program.

Talking about the initiative, the minister on climate change said that a billion out of the 10 billion trees have already been planted while the remaining trees are expected to be planted till 2023.

"We also announced the Protected Areas Initiative in Pakistan to protect our forests. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we established new national parks. So they are preserving the unique wilderness of Pakistan and also helping us fight climate change," Aslam said.

In order to protect residential settlements from being hit by glacier lake bursts, the government has launched a project to install early warning systems of GLOF to educate people about the glacial melting-induced floods and preparation to ensure safe evacuation and less damage.

"There is a lot to be done to stop the melting and surge of glaciers, but as an urgent measure, we have launched the initiative to have a beforehand knowledge of the calamity to save the residential communities from being a victim of disaster," he added.

The country has also launched the Recharge Pakistan program to increase water storage and recharge through wetlands, floodplains and hill-torrents management to build resilience of vulnerable communities through climate-adapted, community-based natural resource management.

Talking about the program, Aslam said, "We are trying to turn the crisis into an opportunity through this program. About 30 million acre feet of water is wasted from Pakistan annually, so under this program we want to divert that flood water towards our degraded wetland systems so that the wetlands can get restored, and also our groundwater aquifer can get recharged."

In order to control carbon emissions, the government has decided to convert 30 percent of its traffic to electricity from fuel till 2030, and in this connection electric motorbikes and passenger three-wheelers have already been launched, while four-wheeler vehicles are scheduled to be launched by the end of this year, Aslam said.

"We are trying our best to restore nature, we are investing in it, and are educating people to put our trust back in nature," the minister added.

He said the country's initiative to repair the nature has also created a large number of green jobs, including 100,000 employments created during the COVID-19 lockdowns, adding that the job creation improved the livelihood of the locals, showing that "if you invest in nature, nature always pays you back. It's not a one-way investment."

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges which Pakistan is facing as it is not only affecting the lifestyle and safety of people, but also has a lot of economic and social repercussions.

The Pakistani government is taking measures to protect their part of the planet from getting more affected by climatic change. Though the country's share in the world's carbon emission is less than one percent, experts believe that inadequate measures to protect the environment showed some very serious consequences over the past few years, but the situation is likely to get back to normal when the government's efforts start bearing fruit. Enditem
Beijing proposed meeting as U.S. engages with Southeast Asia under President Joe Biden, analysts say.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C on screen) addresses counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in a live video conference during the ASEAN-CHINA Ministerial Meeting, held online due to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic, in Hanoi Sept. 9, 2020.

Foreign ministers from ASEAN countries and China are set to meet in person next week for the first time in more than a year, amid a political crisis in neighboring Myanmar and as a new administration in Washington looks to deepen American engagement with Southeast Asia.

The meeting will take place Monday and Tuesday in Chongqing, a city in southwestern China, said Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah, who confirmed to BenarNews that his countys top diplomat, Retno Marsudi, would attend.

Ade Padmo Sarwono, the Indonesian ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said that increasing cooperation between the regional bloc and China was high on the agenda, but he declined to give further details.

The meeting in Chongqing comes as ASEAN seeks to remain in the lead in efforts to deal with the crisis in Myanmar, where a Feb. 1 military coup toppled the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The regional bloc has been unable to make any headway, although it was not immediately known what transpired during a Friday meeting in Myanmar between officials from ASEAN chair Brunei and Burmese junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Chinas role in helping Myanmar get out of the political crisis was crucial because of Beijings economic influence in the region, said Muhammad Arif, a China researcher at Universitas Indonesia.

ASEAN wants China to do what the U.S. has done, to support ASEANs leadership on Myanmar, Arif told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

China needs to be worried because the Myanmar crisis can undermine regional stability.

Critics had blamed ASEANs inability to name an envoy to Myanmar  as was agreed in a five-point consensus at a special summit in Jakarta in late April  on divisions within the regional bloc.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, some observers had said, would assist ASEAN foreign ministers in agreeing on an envoy to Myanmar at next weeks meeting.

Initiatives by the Biden Administration

In early May, China had proposed the meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers from June 6 to 8, said Carlyle A. Thayer, emeritus professor at The University of New South Wales and director of the Thayer Consultancy, in a brief about the meeting that he posted online.

The reason for this meeting ostensibly was to discuss the situation in Myanmar. [But] Clearly, China was responding to initiatives by the Biden Administration as well as ASEAN, wrote the Southeast Asia regional specialist.

Since taking office in January, U.S. President Joe Biden has sought to deepen Washingtons engagement with Southeast Asia. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had skipped ASEAN summits for three years in a row, attending only the 2017 meeting.

On 27-28 January 2021, immediately after Anthony Blinken was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Secretary of State on 26 January, he made telephone calls to his counterparts in the Philippines and Thailand, Teodoro Locsin and Don Pramudwinai, respectively, to propose U.S.-ASEAN ministerial-level talks, Thayer said.

But the Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar derailed Blinkens proposal for a U.S.-ASEAN ministerial meeting, Thayer said.

This week, however, Wendy Sherman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, visited three ASEAN countries  Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.

During her stopover in Bangkok, Sherman reiterated Washingtons commitment to Thailand in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic. She noted that the U.S. had given $30 million in coronavirus-related aid to Thailand.

Sherman noted that the Biden administrations decision to donate 80 million doses to other countries was five times more than any other country.

On Thursday, the White House announced that of the initial 25 million doses the United States will share, approximately 7 million will go to countries in South and Southeast Asia.

President Biden said that sharing these doses was not to secure favors or extract concessions.

Some ASEAN countries with some of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19, including Indonesia, have been the beneficiaries of Chinese-made vaccines.

Washington must change approach to ASEAN

According to Thayer, another imperative for China hosting ASEAN foreign ministers next week was developments to do with the Quad, which consists of four Asia-Pacific countries: the United States, India, Japan and Australia.

Biden hosted the first virtual summit of the Quad on March 12, and the four nations agreed to deliver 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines to Indo-Pacific nations by 2022.

A joint statement issued after the summit did not mention Chinas increased activities in the South China Sea. But it did call for collaboration, including in maritime security, to meet challenges to the rules-based maritime order in East and South China Seas.

Rene Pattirajawane, associate fellow at the Habibie Center and chair of the China Studies Center Foundation in Jakarta, said ASEAN would not gain much from the Quad, because it focuses on security rather than more practical cooperation.

Quad is packaged as a form of military pact to contain China. This is clearly against ASEANs basic principles, Rene told BenarNews.

ASEAN must adhere to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which is the basis for coexistence, regardless of disputes involving countries outside the region.

The bloc has to act in accordance with the treatys basic principle of peaceful coexistence, regardless of the problems faced by countries inside and outside the region, Rene said.

The United States, he further said, needed to prioritize improving relations with ASEAN rather than trying to contain China.

As it is, the U.S. joined the ASEAN-led East Asia Summit (EAS) in 2011, six years after the forum was formed, while China participated from the start. In addition to ASEAN countries, China and the U.S., EAS comprises Australia, India, Japan and South Korea.

The U.S. has never attended the annual East Asia Summit. The U.S. must change its approach to ASEAN, Rene said.

This region doesnt follow the doctrine Youre either with us or against us.

Chinese incursions in Southeast Asia

Still, while it appears that Beijing may have a lead on Washington in engagement with ASEAN, recent events in Southeast Asia have given the region some pause. At next weeks meeting, ASEANs foreign ministers may well bring up these issues with their Chinese counterpart.

Earlier this week, Malaysia said it would lodge a diplomatic protest with Beijing over what it said was Chinese incursion into its maritime air space.

Malaysia said 16 Chinese military planes flew to as close as 60 nautical miles from Kuala Lumpur-administered Beting Patinggi Ali  also known as Luconia Shoals  which Beijing, too, claims as part of its territories in the maritime region.

Malaysia planned to summon the Chinese envoy as well over this incident which, it said, was a threat to national sovereignty and aviation safety.

Earlier, in March, the Philippines said that China had deployed 220 maritime militia and fishing boats in its maritime territory in the South China Sea.

Manila and Beijing have since prolonged a war of words over the issue, and in April, Washington warned that an armed attack on the Southeast Asian nation and former American colony would force the U.S. to aid its ally under a decades-old treaty.

These Chinese incursions, the Myanmar crisis, COVID-19 vaccines, Chinas One Belt, One Road (OBOR) infrastructure projects, and upgrading relations as part of the 30th anniversary of ties between Beijing and ASEAN, will likely be the points of discussion during the Chongqing meeting, Thayer said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
The pledge is a major shift from all prior administrations and acknowledges the persecution the ethnic group has faced.

A Rohingya refugee woman carries her child as she looks on in a refugee camp after a massive fire broke out two days ago in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, March 24, 2021.

Myanmars shadow civilian government on Friday pledged to grant citizenship to the countrys ethnic Rohingya if it regains power from the military, as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held talks with the junta about the ongoing political crisis prompted by its February coup detat.

In a rare news conference, the National Unity Government (NUG) comprised of Myanmars ousted elected leadership said that it plans to amend the countrys constitution to give citizenship to the mostly Muslim ethnic group that was the target of a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017.

The briefing came as ASEAN representatives met with the junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, in Myanmars capital Naypyidaw, six weeks after the bloc hosted him at an emergency summit that yielded few results in resolving the turmoil caused by his Feb. 1 military takeover.

The military claims that the landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the countrys November 2020 elections was the result of voter fraud, although it has produced no evidence to support its allegations.

Although the 75-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi is listed as a leader in the NUG, recognizing the Rohingya as citizens represents a sharp break from the policy she pursued toward the beleaguered group during her 2016-21 tenure. She refused to even say the word Rohingya in public and defended the military against crimes against humanity charges in 2019 at the international Court of Justice.

NUGs minister of Human Rights Aung Myo Min told reporters during the press conference that his government will recognize all those who are qualified to be citizens as citizens, adding that more discussion is needed to determine whether the Rohingya community will be recognized as a national ethnic group.

We will have to work on the designation in the Constitution, the provision in citizenship law and the process of verification on the qualification of citizenship. At the same time, we will have to conduct meetings and engagements with all parties concerned in Rakhine state.

We will actively seek justice and accountability for all crimes committed by the military against the Rohingyas and all other people of Myanmar throughout our history, the statement reads. We intend if necessary to initiate processes to grant [the] International Criminal Court jurisdiction over crimes committed within Myanmar against the Rohingyas and other communities."

On Thursday, NUG issued a Policy Position on the Rohingya in Rakhine State, that acknowledged the rights of the ethnic group and the harsh treatment they have faced in Myanmar, where they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The policy said NUG is committed to abolishing the National Verification Card process that treats Rohingya as foreigners and would ensure citizenship rights for all people born in the country, regardless of their ethnic background.

NUG also affirmed its commitment to voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Rakhine state from neighboring Bangladesh, where around 745,000 members of the minority group fled amid a 2017 crackdown by the military and now live in sprawling displacement camps. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya still reside in Myanmars Rakhine state.

Aung Myo Min said Friday that NUG also had chosen to acknowledge and use the name Rohingya for the community in its policy plan, unlike any previous government in Myanmar, because a group of people has the right to choose their own identity.

He pointed to widespread criticism over clauses in Myanmars 1982 Citizenship Law, such as those limiting citizenship to people born in the country from only certain ethnic groups and called for its abolishment in favor of a more complete and democratic law in compliance with human rights principles.

Aung Myo Min added that a discussion was underway to nominate a Rohingya to the NUG cabinet for the purpose of diversity inclusion but said that such a decision would need to be the result of a consensus by the entire government.

During Fridays briefing, which also addressed an ongoing coronavirus outbreak and the training of the NUG-backed Peoples Defense Forces (PDF)formed to protect Myanmars citizens against the militarythe junta shut down the countrys internet data services, only restoring them an hour later.

People march in support of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Yangon, Myanmar April 18, 2021. Reuters No hope in ASEAN efforts

As NUG held its press conference, state television announced that Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi met with Min Aung Hlaing to discuss the outcome of last months ASEAN summit, COVID-19 vaccination availability, the terrorist acts of the NUG, voter registration irregularities in the November 2020 ballot, and the possibility of a new election. Few details were provided on the substance of Fridays talks.

Earlier this week, an Indonesian diplomat told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the delegations purpose was to seek Myanmars approval of an ASEAN special envoy for the crisis, who is yet to be named. He said the choice of the envoy involved both sides, making progress slow.

On Friday, NUG Deputy Foreign Minister Moe Zaw Oo said the shadow government had requested talks with ASEAN but did not receive a response.

They should be holding talks with both sides, not just one, he said.

At this point, we dont have any hopes for a positive result from ASEANs efforts. They dont seem to have a proper coordinated plan. Frankly speaking, this is something ASEAN must work on seriously for their credibility, and not in a superficial manner.

NUG youth leader Thinzar Shun Le Yee noted that several ASEAN members had called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other ousted leaders during the summit in Jakarta on April 24, but that the request was left out of the blocs official statement at its conclusion.

It showed their lack of sincerity, he said. We have been closely watching the visit and we are now concerned about whether they have officially recognized the junta.

Terms agreed to at the Jakarta summit included an immediate end to the violence in Myanmar that has seen nearly 850 people killed since the coup, dialogue between the military and NUG, mediation of the dialogue by the special envoy, and safe entry for humanitarian aid. None of the terms have been met.

Political analyst Than Soe Naing told RFA that ASEAN should be aware no political solution will be attainable for Myanmar unless the countrys ousted leaders are first released from detention.

Secondly, by meeting only with the military and listening to just one side of the story, it could mean ASEAN is ignoring NUG and has officially recognized the military [regime], he said.

Our people are expecting them to meet with all parties concerned and to strive to find ways to solve the problem not through violence, but by peaceful means.

Than Soe Naings comments echoed a statement issued earlier this week by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), which urged Myanmars military to adhere to ASEAN recommendations and meet with all key stakeholders.

And on Friday, the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) group of international experts that include former U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee and former chair of the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar Marzuki Darusman, released a statement that said the ASEAN delegation in Myanmar is obligated under its mandate to meet with the NUG and the democracy movement.

Failure to meet with all relevant parties risks lending legitimacy to the junta and undermines the enormous effort and sacrifice made by the people of Myanmar to resist the juntas violent and unlawful attempt to seize power, the statement said.

Guarded welcome from Rohingya

Rohingya leaders in Bangladesh on Friday guardedly welcomed a pledge by Myanmars shadow government to grant citizenship to members of their stateless community if and when it returns to power, with refugees saying they have been cheated many times before.

Master Md. Ilias, who fled Myanmar and lives in Coxs Bazar in southeastern Bangladesh, said he was one of the Rohingya leaders consulted by the parallel Burmese civilian National Unity Government before it issued its groundbreaking statement on Thursday.

In the past, they [the majority Buddhist leaders] repeatedly cheated and suppressed us. But we cautiously welcome the statement, Ilias told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

We want to believe that the NUG will return all of our civil and political rights and citizenship, but many of us would not trust them so easily.

Tun Khin, a Rohingya in Britain, said the NUGs pledge is a welcome step forward  but its policy is far from perfect.

Rohingya also expressed disappointment that the parallel civilian governments statement from a day earlier did not refer to the Burmese militarys atrocities against the Rohingya as constituting a genocide, or what the United Nations described as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

The NUG Myanmar must, crucially, recognize that a genocide is taking place against the Rohingya, said Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya organization in the U.K., via Twitter.

If we cant face the reality of the past, there is no way that we can build a common future.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service and by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung and Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The volunteer militiamen of Myanmars Chin state have outgunned their better-equipped antagonists in the military in recent weeks of fighting with little more than decades-old rifles and say their hunting traditions and natural spirit of resistance will lead them to victory over the junta.

Members of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF), based in the poorest of Myanmars 14 states and regions, have squared off with troops loyal to the regime since late April in response to brutal military repression of peaceful protests that erupted soon after the Feb. 1 coup detat that toppled national leader Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government.

The network of ragtag fighters has reported killing some 100 junta soldiers and torching at least 10 military vehicles since then, shocking observers with their record of success against Southeast Asias second largest army using only slingshots and the same crude flintlock Tumee rifles their forefathers used to fight off British colonizers in the 1880s.

And while the military in mid-May occupied the CDF stronghold of Mindat with a force of some 1,000 soldiers reportedly using local residents as human shields, bringing an end to daily fighting in the region, militiamen recently told RFAs Myanmar Service that they have what it takes to protect their homeland and help remove the junta from power.

A CDF member from Mindat, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, said that the militias comparatively crude equipment is more than capable of matching the militarys heavy artillery and air strikes, citing the number of casualties the group has inflicted.

We Chin are born with a spirit of resistance and a natural hatred of the military regime, he said of the junta, which he condemned for overthrowing civilian rule after free and fair elections during the coronavirus pandemic.

Our people became outraged and now they have exploded. We began gathering guns as soon as we heard about the shooting and killing of protesters in lower Myanmar ... and we intend to fight back if they start doing the same in Chin state, he added.

I have seen the people in lower Myanmar fighting back using catapults and other small guns. We will not remain quiet as we have Tumee rifles in almost every household in Chin state.

Members of the People's Defense Force (PDF) militia make handmade guns to be used in fighting against security forces in Kayah state, June 4, 2021. AFP Rifle traditions

The British empire granted the Chin the right to use Tumee rifles for hunting bears, wild boars, deer, tigers and other wildlife during its 1824-1948 colonial rule of Myanmar, then called Burma.

The rifles, which traditionally used gunpowder produced from animal dung and the leaves of toxic plants, were meticulously maintained and duplicated through the years, and eventually used to resist British rule during the First and Second World Wars.

While Tumee rifles are found in most Chin households, few are registered with the government. The more modern versions are powered with ammunition produced with materials easily found in the marketplace.

With a range of between 50 and 100 feet, the weapons are reloaded by filling the barrel with gunpowdera process that can take around three minutes.

Another CDF member in Mindat, who also declined to be named, said that after clashes erupted with the military in April, at least 20 or so people from between 40 and 60 villages grabbed their weapons to join the fight.

All of them are hunters, so they dont need any military training, he said. They know these mountains and jungles. They can navigate well. They go straight to where the gunfire comes from and can easily shoot everyone who is wearing a uniform.

He compared firing at troops to shooting animals running in the forest, adding that a lack of a formal strategy had helped the CDF to outwit its military opponents.

There is no centralized organizing through which we gather and march toward the battle, but no one in our ranks will retreat, he said.

We march forward as we shoot  and we fire one gunshot at a time. We have to refill our ammunition to shoot again, and thats why we have to aim very carefully. We cannot afford to waste bullets.

Inspiring rebellion

The success of the CDF has inspired resistance against the military in neighboring Sagaing regions Kalay township as well as other townships in northern Chin state, where ethnic Chin communities are seeing similar results with their own Tumee rifle rebellions.

In our Chin mountains, there are traditional laws that have been applied since ancient times, a resident told RFA when asked about the odds of overcoming a military campaign conducted by well-supplied and trained soldiers.

We have traditional rules and regulations applied to the local people. These lands are ours. We have our own culture. So, we will not allow to the military regime to invade us.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The June 4-7 hearings in London aim to determine if abuses of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims amount to genocide.

Members of the panel take their seats for the first day of hearings at the 'Uyghur Tribunal,'a panel of UK-based lawyers and rights experts investigating alleged abuses against Uyghurs in China, in London, June 4, 2021.

Witnesses and experts provided grim testimony about torture, rape, and other human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) at the opening day of a tribunal in London investigating whether Chinas treatment of its ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims constitutes genocide.

Kicking off a series of hearings known as the Uyghur Tribunal to run on June 4-7 and again in September, Uyghur exiles described forced abortions, arbitrary arrests, and forced labor in Xinjiang, while international legal experts weighed in on the applicability of laws on genocide and other statutes.

The tribunal has no state backing and any judgments will be nonbinding on any government. Beijing has denounced the tribunal and smeared its participants.

More than 30 witnesses and experts are providing testimony during the sessions held at the conference center of Church House, the London headquarters of the Church of England in Westminster. Nine people spoke at the session on Friday.

My characterization of what is happening to Uyghurs and other related Turkic Muslim peoples in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) as cultural genocide emerges from my analysis of both the actions taken by the state against these peoples since 2017 and the context in which they are taking place, said Sean Roberts, an international affairs professor at The George Washington University.

The actions themselves are more than the implementation of a random collection of repressive policies, he said in written testimony prior to Fridays session.

Rather, they form a complex of policies, which are destroying Uyghurs sense of nationhood. The context in which they are being carried out is that of Chinas settler colonization of the territory Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims peoples view as their homeland, said Roberts, who wrote a book on Chinas efforts to wipe out the cultural identity of the Uyghurs.

China has held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention camps since 2017.

Beijing has said that the camps are vocational training centers or re-education centers and has denied widespread and documented allegations that it has subjected Muslims living in the XUAR to indiscriminate killings, torture, rape, enslavement, forced separation of children from their parents, forced sterilization, labor, enforced disappearances, destruction of cultural and religious heritage, persecution, forced marriages, and the imposition of Han Chinese men into Uyghur households.

Muetter Illiqud of the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database, a Norway-based project that records disappeared and extrajudicially detained Uyghurs in the XUAR, said in written testimony that the Chinese regime has been actively executing coercive ethnocentric Sinicization policies to erase Uyghurs language, culture, and belief system.

Sinicization implies the diffusion of Chinese culture and influence, in this case to the detriment of local minorities cultures, she said. These specifically targeted assimilation policies have had an enormous impact on the social interactions and the collective psyche of the Uyghur people both at home and abroad, which in recent years also started to impact the lives of other Turkic/Muslim peoples in East Turkistan.

Young men disappeared frequently

Quelbinur Sidik, a teacher born in Urumqi who was assigned to teach Chinese in both a mens and womens re-education camp for nearly two years provided witness testimony on unsanitary conditions in the camps and evidence of rape, forced sterilization, and the forced medication of Uyghurs.

Male police officers really like working in female camps, as most of them volunteer to be in these camps, she said in her written testimony. They brag about whom and how they raped during their inner circles after getting drunk, and thats how the news got out at the first place.

Quelbinur also said that she found out that all women in the camp where she taught had received periodic shots to stop their menstrual cycles, and that some experienced side effects such as severe bleeding from both the shots and pills they were given.

The inmates were given only water and a small bun to eat, she noted. No wonder theyre losing weight day by day and look sicker and sicker, she said.

Its one thing that they dont feed them enough, leave them in cold rooms without proper clothes, but they also beat them, rape and torture them, make them confess to the crimes they didnt commit, Quelbinur said.

Omir Bekali, a Uyghur of Kazakh decent who spent nine months in three camps on allegations of terrorist activities, recalled the maltreatment and torture he suffered at the hands of authorities.

He said that in one camp he was placed in a 22-foot cell with 45 to 50 others, though the cell was meant to hold only up to 16 people, and that cameras monitored the inmates.

We gave blood from time to time, Omir said. We were forced to take unknown medicines. People were removed if they experienced changes on their bodies, such as tumors. Similarly, young men between the ages of 16 and 40 disappeared frequently. Among them were businessmen, cadres and employees.

China has rejected and derided the Uyghur tribunal in the run-up to the hearings.

Responding to a question about the Uyghur Tribunal at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it was neither legal nor credible and called the tribunal just another anti-China farce concocted by a few individuals.

In fact, this so-called tribunal has nothing to do with the law, he said. It attempts to run in the name of tribunal to engage in anti-China political and public opinion manipulation. This is nothing but an insult on the law.

The Uyghurs are a predominantly Muslim group estimated at more than 12 million people in the XUAR. Smaller numbers of Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, fellow Turkic speaking people, have been incarcerated in the camp system.

The allegations, if proved, could implicate China in a campaign to deliberately destroy the Uyghurs, and constitute the commission of genocide as defined in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention of 1948 to which the country is a signatory and ratifying state.

The U.S. State Department  as well as parliaments in Canada, the Netherlands, the UK, and Lithuania  have described Chinas actions in the region as genocide, while the New York-based group Human Rights Watch says they constitute crimes against humanity. The Italian parliament voted unanimously last week to condemn Chinese atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.

The hearing gave witnesses the belief theres a legitimate international mechanism to seek justice for all their suffering and hold Chinese officials accountable for their heinous crimes," World Uyghur Congress President Dolkun Isa told RFA's Uyghur Service after Friday's opening session. "They have more faith in international law, global justice and democracy.

The Uyghur Tribunal hearing has gone extremely well in spite of Chinas disinformation campaign and diplomatic threats against tribunal, camp survivors and witnesses, the Germany-based advocate added.

Severe ill-treatment, repression, abuse

Schona Jolly, a London-based international human rights and equality lawyer and writer, submitted written testimony for Friday, but did not appear at the proceedings.

The severe ill-treatment, repression and abuse of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims by the Chinese State has been widely reported and these allegations have emanated from a number of diverse and credible sources, she wrote.

Jolly also said that because China has no reliable avenues for a fair, independent, and impartial resolution within the country, it is reasonable for outside parties to turn to international legal mechanisms to enforce Chinas obligations under international law.

There exist, however, certain limitations upon holding China legally accountable for alleged violations/crimes, he added. These include the fact that China has placed reservations on the dispute resolution clauses, complaints clauses, and inter-State resolution mechanisms that would allow the treaties to which it is a State party to be enforced.

The two international courts that can issue formal rulings on Chinas policies in the XUAR have not taken up the case. China is not a party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and therefore is not bound to submit to a trial.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) can only pursue a case that has been approved by the United Nations Security Council, where Chinas permanent membership in the Council gives it veto power over any such decision.

A second set of hearings will be held on September 10-13. The tribunal is expected to issue a final verdict on whether China is committing genocide or crimes against humanity in the XUAR in December.

Additional reporting by Alim Seytoff and Mamatjan Juma of RFAs Uyghur Service.
Exiled Belarusians have launched a multiday protest on their homelands border with Lithuania and Poland, calling on the European Union to impose harsh sanctions against the regime of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.



Demonstrators gathered at two border crossings on June 5, demanding the EU slap strong and effective sanctions against Lukashenka's regime. They are also calling on Belarusian authorities to open land borders for citizens of Belarus and the release of hundreds of political prisoners.



Pavel Latushka, the head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, said the opposition is concerned the EU will not take real steps to punish Lukashenkas regime.



We cant wait for Lukashenkas regime to commit another crime -- its time to move to action, said Latushka, a former Belarusian diplomat who joined opposition forces last year.



The dual actions are being held at the Babrouniki-Berastavitsa checkpoint on the Poland-Belarus border and the Medininkai crossing with Lithuania.



For the first three days, demonstrators plan to hold rallies and tell passersby about the situation in Belarus, organizers said.



If hard-hitting sanctions promised by the EU are not adopted in the three days, the participants are going to block the road to the border crossing.



Earlier this week, Belarusian authorities temporarily banned most of its citizens from crossing the border, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, a move the opposition says is a further step to limit freedoms.



The border protests come a day after an EU ban on Belarusian carriers using the bloc's airports and airspace came into effect.



The EU imposed the ban in response to Minsks forced diversion of a passenger flight last month and the arrest of a dissent journalist.



The flight incident and arrest of opposition activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich on May 23 and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, caused an international uproar.



In response to the flight diversion and ongoing human rights abuses, the United States and European Union are coordinating a fresh round of targeted sanctions against key members of the Belarusian government and entities.



Lukashenkas regime has unleashed a harsh crackdown on the countrys pro-democracy movement following a disputed August 2020 presidential election that the opposition says was rigged and many Western nations have refused to acknowledge.



Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whom the opposition believes was the true winner of the election, has repeatedly called for the West to impose harsh sanctions on the Lukashenka regime.
Thousands of Hungarians protested on June 5 against a Chinese university's plans to open a campus in Budapest.



The Fudan University campus, planned for completion in 2024, would be the first Chinese university in the European Union.



The campus is controversial because China is expected to give the Hungarian government a $1.5 billion loan to cover most costs of the project, which is slated to be built at a site where affordable housing for Hungarian students had previously been planned.



Critics also see the project as an avenue for Beijing to increase its influence in Hungary and the European Union.



Conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban has built friendly ties with China, Russia, and other illiberal governments, while repeatedly clashing with the European Union by curbing the independence of the judiciary and media.



Orban's government argues that having a campus of the Shanghai-based university would allow Hungarian and international students to acquire high-quality qualifications, but critics fear a lack of transparency and academic freedom. The university is ranked 160th in the world and 7th best in China by U.S. News and World Report.



Budapests liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, opposes the expensive project, arguing among other things that the universitys charter requires it to represent the views of the Chinese Communist Party.

WATCH: Plans For Chinese University In Hungary Prompt Concerns

Orbans Fidesz party is selling out wholesale the housing of Hungarian students, and their future, just so it can bring the elite university of China's dictatorship into the country," the organizers of the protest said on Facebook.



But Tamas Schanda, a deputy government minister, said the protest was unnecessary "political hysteria" based on unfounded rumors and the project is still in the planning stage.



While Budapests mayor doesnt have much power to stop the project, earlier this week he announced plans to rename streets surrounding the future campus Dalai Lama road, "Uyghur Martyrs, and "Free Hong Kong, in reference to Chinese human rights abuses.



Beijing has tried to downplay opposition to the campus, saying it is a sign of positive cooperation between China and Hungary.



Orbans embrace of a Chinese university stands in contrast to his stance on the Central European University, once a liberal bastion of learning in Budapest.



In 2018, Hungary's leading private university was forced to leave the country and relocate most operations to Vienna after Orban's government pushed legislation that drastically curbed its freedom.



The move against the university came as part of a public campaign against its founder, U.S. billionaire philanthropist George Soros -- a Budapest native of Jewish origin.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on June 5 reached an agreement to calm a tense border standoff between the two Central Asian nations, in the latest incident over contested territory more than a month after deadly clashes.



Tensions escalated along a disputed segment of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border on June 4, with both sides accusing the other of violating previous agreements.



Kyrgyzstan had accused Tajik troops of placing a container overnight on what Kyrgyz officials called "a disputed area" along an undemarcated section of the border at Unzhu-Bulak in the Chon-Alai district of the Osh region.



The Tajik border guards' press service rejected the Kyrgyz statement, saying that its unit had moved to a border area that had been agreed with the Kyrgyz side as Tajikistan's territory.

Following talks between top security officials, the two sides reached a nine-point agreement to end the standoff, including both countries moving border posts 3 kilometers from the disputed area and instructing topographic working groups to demarcate the border section.



Almost half of the 970 kilometer-long Kyrgyz-Tajik border has not been demarcated, leading to repeated tensions since the two former Soviet countries gained independence three decades ago.



In late April, clashes along another disputed segment of the Kyrgyz-Tajik border left dozens of people killed on both sides, raising fears of a wider conflict between the two impoverished neighbors.
MOSCOW -- It was an undertaking that endured as a symbol of Soviet brutality and flawed planning. Prisoners of the gulag forced labor camp system would die in their thousands toiling on the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), a showpiece communist project that was never completed.



Now, decades later, Russian prisoners are set to help finish the task. Amid an exodus of Central Asian migrant workers who traditionally man construction sites across the country, the penitentiary service is moving to bring in convicts to replace them -- and spearhead the expansion of a track that now stretches from Lake Baikal to the Sea of Japan.



Under the initiative, approved by the prison service and several government bodies, the first 600 convicts will begin work on the BAM in mid-June as general laborers, concrete workers, and steel fixers. Prison authorities say that 188,000 inmates, more than a third of the 483,000 total and roughly equal to the peak BAM workforce in 1936, are eligible to exchange confinement for labor on major construction projects.



This will not be the gulag, said Aleksandr Kalashnikov, the penitentiary service head, as he announced the program at a meeting with officials on April 20. These will be completely new, decent conditions.



But for many human rights activists and government critics, the idea cuts too close to the bone. The very notion of sending prisoners for hard manual labor in remote, often inhospitable climes was meant to be a vestige of the Soviet past, of a time when dictator Josef Stalin purged the ranks of the political elite and the intelligentsia and many lived in fear of being the next perceived enemy to be exiled, shot, or carted away to camps in Siberia.



Slowly but surely were returning to the gulag, said Vladimir Milov, an aide to jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, in a video address posted to YouTube recently.



Follow The Money



The Russian authorities are trying to counter that view. The author of a highly controversial article published by state news agency RIA praised the initiative to deploy prisoner labor and defended the gulag system, arguing that Stalin-era camps were a social lift for millions of Soviet citizens who lacked skills and education rather than an inhumane archipelago of prisons that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.



Activists who have spent decades seeking to document the Soviet governments crimes against its own people were astounded by such claims, and critics lambasted the article by columnist Viktoria Nikiforova.

Weve all lived to see it. The state news agencyis officially glorifying the GULAG, blogger Roman Popkov wrote on Telegram. On Facebook, opposition politician Nikolai Lyaskin wrote that the article presented the world turned absolutely upside down.



Lev Ponomaryov, a veteran rights campaigner who heads the NGO In Defense Of Prisoners Rights, described the new prison labor plan as complete stupidity. He told RFE/RL: The ultimate goal is to make money.



In 2019 alone, Russias prison service signed contracts for the production of goods worth 7 billion rubles ($96 million) with private companies, according to official figures. Under Russian law, prisoners can be employed both inside and outside prisons in exchange for salaries, certain employee rights, and usually the promise of early release. They produce uniforms for state workers, souvenirs including swords and samovars, and a wide spectrum of goods ranging from car parts to agricultural equipment that is catalogued on the prison service website.



'Our Society Stigmatizes Prisoners'



Officially, no prisoner can be forced to work unless sentenced to community service. Work in the gulag camps of the Soviet Union, by comparison, was involuntary. Some 20 million people passed through the camps, whose total population reached a peak of 2.5 million in 1950, three years before Stalins death precipitated a radical downscaling of the network and a phasing out of its worst excesses. By then, hundreds of thousands of inmates had died, predominantly of neglect, starvation, and disease.



In Russia today, many prisoners apply for the right to work, hoping for better conditions and a reduction of their sentences. The penitentiary service, which operates more than 1,100 prisons across Russia, officially pays a modest income which nevertheless allows some inmates to send money home.



Prisoners who arent working say that its terribly dull, that they have nothing to do, see the same faces every day and watch time pass at a painfully slow pace, Ksenia Runova, a sociologist who studies the Russian penitentiary system, told RFE/RL. She described the promised work conditions for prisoners deployed on the BAM as favorable to life in most Russian prisons.

Among people outside the prison system, condemnation of the latest initiative is not a majority view, according to a recent survey by state-funded pollster VTSiOM, which found that 71 percent of Russians supported the idea of using prisoners to replace migrant labor. That includes another plan voiced in March by the penitentiary service, which plans to also send convicts to the Russian Arctic to help clean a contaminated zone following a massive diesel spill.



Attitudes toward both migrants and inmates may be factors behind such responses.



Our society stigmatizes prisoners, so its not concerned whether labor rights will be protected, Runova said. "Theres a common belief that theyre criminals, junkies, and alcoholics who dont want to work and sit around living off tax money."



Alongside the RIA article whitewashing the gulag, the new plan to send prisoners east was jarring for many because it involved a project long associated with Soviet disregard for life. The BAM was envisioned as a way of connecting Far Eastern cities like Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, which would be cut off from the rest of Russia in case of a Japanese attack on the Trans-Siberian Railway. But only a small section of the line was completed by the time World War II broke out, and the project became one of the white elephants of Stalins rule.



When work recommenced in the early 1970s, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev called the railway the construction project of the century, billing it as a way to conquer the vast expanses of the east and its enormous deposits of natural resources. According to some estimates, the Soviet Union invested $20 billion in the construction project. But when the BAM finally opened in 1991, just months before the Soviet collapse, it represented the gulf between dream and reality that was a microcosm of the failed communist project itself. It had been touted as a joint effort by people from the 15 Soviet republics; after they became independent countries, people from some of them would soon travel in large numbers to seek work in Russia.



'Disbelieve Everything'



Those numbers have fallen significantly in recent years. In parallel with Russias broader demographic decline, the flow of migrants from former Soviet republics, first and foremost in Central Asia, has slowed as the Russian ruble has dropped in value against the backdrop of economic stagnation and travel restrictions have been introduced to curb the spread of coronavirus. Officials say the initiative to bolster the BAM workforce with convict labor is a necessary response to that migrant outflow.



Andrei Makarov, the deputy director of Russian Railways, the state enterprise that runs the countrys vast rail network and is Russias biggest employer, told the newspaper Kommersant that some 4,000 migrants working on the BAM have not returned for work after trips home. That left the BAM project with less than half its required workforce of 15,000, he said. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that overall, some 1.5 million migrants employed in construction in Russia left in 2020 and didnt return due to pandemic restrictions.



Use of convict labor to expand Russias railway system in the Far East is expected to ultimately aid its slated extension as part of an infrastructure upgrade program budgeted at more than 6 trillion rubles ($79 billion). Russia has already deployed conscripts along a Far Eastern segment of the BAM, which the government hopes will be a major conduit of coal and other natural resources to eastern ports ahead of their export to Asia.



Runova, the sociologist, said she can empathize with those who draw comparisons with the gulag, even if she thinks they are incorrect or poorly informed.



The fear of the gulag is still there, for sure. And for me, as someone who knows history and has read [Aleksandr] Solzhenitsyn, its there too, she said, referring to the former gulag inmate and foremost chronicler of the camp network. But she added: Its our job as a society to monitor this and make sure nothing of the sort happens.



But Ponomaryov, who is 79 and has spent decades as a human rights campaigner concerned primarily with conditions in Russias prison system, is skeptical that any such public oversight is possible. He was recently forced to shut down one of his civic organizations, For Human Rights, because it was branded a foreign agent by the Russian government, and says gaining access to reliable information is growing harder by the day.



You should disbelieve everything they say, he said of the prison authorities. What happens in Russian prisons occurs behind the shadows -- we have no opportunity to monitor whats really taking place.
Serbias president says European Union-mediated negotiations on normalizing relations with Kosovo will resume within days.



Aleksandar Vucic did not specify the date for restarting the talks, which stalled last year, but said: We are talking about days, not weeks."



Vucic added on June 4 that Serbia is "always ready to talk" and "does not want a frozen conflict."



Vucic spoke after U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer and the EU envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, visited Serbia to press its leaders to resume talks on the normalization of ties with Kosovo.



The Serbian government has stated that the normalization process with Kosovo is one of its priorities.



Palmer and Lajcak visited Pristina, Kosovo's capital, before traveling to Belgrade on June 3. Kosovos government, led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who took office in March, has said it is busy fighting the coronavirus pandemic and that talks with Serbia are not high on its list of immediate goals.



Both Washington and Brussels have said that normalization is essential for their further integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. Serbia and Kosovo are both seeking EU membership, and Kosovo aims at NATO membership too.



Kosovo, a former Serbian province, declared independence in 2008 after a 1998-99 conflict between separatist ethnic Albanian rebels and Serb forces. The war ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign that drove Serbian troops out, and a peacekeeping force moved in.



The United States and most EU countries have recognized Kosovo's statehood, while Serbia has the support of Russia and China.

Based on reporting by AP
A Serbian Orthodox church illegally built on land near Srebrenica and seized from a Muslim family after the 1992-1995 civil war was demolished on June 5, more than a year and a half after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered its destruction. The church, long a flashpoint between the area's Serbs and Muslims, was built in 1998 in Konjevic Polje on land seized from Fata Orlovic, a Muslim refugee. The nearby Srebrenica is where more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred by Serb forces in 1995 -- including Orlovic's husband. When Orlovic returned, her family had their lands restored to them under the terms of the Dayton peace accords, except for the plot on which the church was built. The ECHR ruled in October 2019 that authorities must remove the church and pay damages to the Orlovic family totaling $36,500.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 17:45:26|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Sept. 2, 2020 shows aerial roots in a tropical rainforest in south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu)

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that the international community should work together with unprecedented ambition and action to strive for a fair and reasonable system of global environmental governance featuring win-win cooperation and promote the sustainable development of humanity.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to the World Environment Day events held in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Noting that this year marks the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Xi said the World Environment Day events held in Pakistan under the theme of ecosystem restoration are of great significance.

Xi stressed that Earth is humanity's shared home, and a sound ecosystem is essential for the prosperity of civilizations.

Aerial photo taken on June 3, 2020 shows the Haizhu National Wetland Park in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

The human race should respect nature, follow its laws, protect it, and endeavor to foster a new relationship where humans and nature can both prosper and live in harmony, he added.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, worsening desertification and frequent extreme weather events have all posed severe challenges to human survival and development, Xi said, noting that the world is in fact a community with a shared future where everyone is in the same boat.

Xi pointed out that the Chinese civilization has always valued harmony between humans and nature, and that ecological conservation has been incorporated into China's overall plan for building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Aerial photo taken on April 7, 2021 shows volunteers patrolling the lake to keep the water clean in Wuzhuang Village of Chun'an County, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo by Mao Yongfeng/Xinhua)

As a participant, contributor and trailblazer in global ecological conservation, China is firmly committed to putting multilateralism into action and defending the international system with the UN at its core and the international order underpinned by international law so as to enhance global governance on the environment, Xi said.

Noting that China will host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity later this year, Xi said China stands ready to discuss and draw up plans together with all parties for ecological conservation, inject new impetus into global environmental governance, foster a community of life for man and nature, and jointly build a clean and beautiful world.

In 1972, the United Nations designated June 5 as World Environment Day. The UN Environment Programme selects a member state every year to hold celebration events. The theme of this year's World Environment Day is ecosystem restoration. 
MIFFLIN  Ohios Environmental Protection Agency is looking into issues at Mifflins wastewater treatment plant following the discharge of an estimated 5,000 gallons of sewage into an unnamed creek last month.

EPA officials confirmed the dump lasted for about an hour on May 20, following the plants loss of power the night before.

Tom Abraham, the plants operator, reported the power outage and subsequent sewage discharge to the Ohio EPA on May 21. He said around 5,000 gallons was pumped into the creek, but that its unclear how much of it was treated or not.

Abraham said the treatment plant lost power through the night, for around 12 to 14 hours. However, the pump station  which pumps sewage to the plant  did not.

On that particular night, the pump station pumped sludge into the treatment plants two underground storage tanks. When the storage tanks became too full, the liquid overflowed into the treatment plants office, which sits on lower ground than the tanks.

The plant, Abraham said, is controlled by a computer. Since it had no power, alarms did not sound to notify him or village officials.

Abraham owns Agri-Sludge Inc, a biosolids disposal and management company based out of Shreve. He was hired by the village of Mifflin two years ago to be the plants operator following the May 2019 resignation of his predecessor, Tim Parks.

As its operator, he is required by law to visit the treatment plant at least 1.5 hours per week. The village also employs an individual to check the plant every day Abraham is not there.

On May 20, the individual visited the plant and found the issue. Abraham said he was there within 30 minutes.

An electrician was there within another half-hour. When we got power, the computer turned on and the pump started pumping (sewage out of the office and into the creek), Abraham said.

He estimated the office had accumulated around six inches of sewage before it was pumped out into the creek.

Abraham said he could have stopped the sewage from being pumped into the creek. But he said he needed to get the sewer water out of the office before risking electrocution and further, more costly damage to the facility.

It was the lesser of two evils  discharging something that didnt meet EPA requirements or potentially take a chance on losing a life. It was a no-brainer for me. I had no choice, he said.

The unnamed, spring-fed creek serves as a small tributary to Ruffner Run, a stream that flows into Charles Mill Lake, said Fred Craig, a resident of Mifflin who caught the incident on video on May 20.

Once the office was drained, Abraham said he found a company to haul away the remaining sewage in the storage tanks.

In all, the episode cost the village just under $6,000  which included the electricians bill, pumping the remaining sewage into trucks, monthly service fees and work done on other parts at the plant during May.

Village officials approved the payment of the invoice at an emergency meeting June 2.

Two days following the incident, the electrician was able to fix the facilitys electrical issues. About a week later is when the trucks came to empty the storage tanks, Abraham said.

Vickie Schultz, the villages mayor, did not return a call for comment on this story.

Dina Pierce, an Ohio EPA spokeswoman, verified details shared by Abraham. In an email, she said the agency visited the treatment plant due to the recent issues but did not include further details.

The $3.4 million plant first came online in 2017 after the village secured funding from the Ohio Water Development Authority.

Since coming online, it has received four complaints, according to Ohio EPA records. Pierce said wastewater treatment plants are typically inspected once every five years. This one was inspected in April 2019 and again on June 3.

The April 2019 inspection found the plant to be in significant non-compliance because of violations that included high ammonia levels in sewage discharges and that other discharges were odorous, high in solids and foam and reflected incomplete treatment of sewage.

The report showed 122 violations  which included high levels of ammonia, nitrogen and suspended solids in discharges  during Jan. 1, 2017 and Aug. 1, 2019.

Those issues had been addressed and reversed as of Sept. 23, 2019, when the EPAs report of its April 2019 inspection was published. Parks, the plants former operator, resigned a month after the Ohio EPAs inspection of the plant. The village then hired Abraham as his replacement.

Craig, 64, of Mifflin was the first to report the May 20 sewage discharge into the unnamed tributary. The creek, which he has nicknamed Sh-- Creek, runs through his yard along North Ohio Street. It was one of the reasons he and his wife built a house there around 20 years ago.

The kids could come up here and play in the water. There used to be crawdads, frogs  his voiced trailed.

He now has two grandchildren. They live close by.

I dont want them playing in it now. Im worried about this.

Craig served as the villages mayor when the treatment plants funding was granted. The village, with a population of 132, elected Schultz in November 2016  a few months before the plant went online. He has served as the villages de facto watch dog since, the treatment plant being one of his focal points.

Craig posted a 15-minute video of the May 20 sewage discharge on a Facebook page he created. The video has received more than 6,000 views.

They dont like me. I know they dont. But we need this fixed, he said, referring to village officials.

Craig fears the EPA will fine the village, which he thinks will result in increased rates that currently sit at $43.50 per month for residents and around $80 per month for businesses.

If I have to publicize this every day so that it gets fixed, I will, he said.

Abraham said he is actively working with the facilitys designers to prevent that from happening again.

He declined to offer specifics until he gets further guidance from the Ohio EPA, which he expects will issue a letter outlining next steps to the village soon.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 17:48:31|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and several others injured in the explosion of a gas cylinder here on Saturday, police sources said.

The explosion occurred in an oxygen cylinder filling factory in Islamabad's industrial area of Rawat Saturday morning, killing two laborers on the spot, sources from Islamabad police told Xinhua.

The cause of the blast has not been ascertained yet, but it might have happened due to gas leakage, said the sources, adding that the factory building was partially damaged due to the cylinder explosion.

Police and rescue workers reached the scene immediately following the blast, and shifted the injured to a government hospital in the capital.

Police have kicked off investigation into the incident. Enditem
Rocky Mount, NC (27804)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 86F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 17:53:48|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday rejected a new Republican infrastructure counteroffer, but will continue talks with Republicans next week.

During a phone call with the president Friday, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, the top Republican negotiator, proposed a new offer to increase about 50 billion U.S. dollars in spending across a number of infrastructure programs, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. (U.S.-Infrastructure-Spending)

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WELLINGTON -- APEC trade ministers joined the Asia-Pacific business leaders on Friday to hear from the private sector their views toward the forum's focus on regional economic integration, trade implications resulting from the economic response to COVID-19 and how economies can be made more resilient to future shocks.

"Free, fair and open trade has unlocked massive growth across the Asia-Pacific," said New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor, who is also the 2021 Chair of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. "But without the energy of the business community this growth would not have occurred." (APEC-Economy)

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ANKARA -- Turkey has discovered 135 billion cubic meters of addition natural gas in the southern Black Sea, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.

The new discovery in the Amasra-1 field has raised the total potential in the region to 540 billion cubic meters, Erdogan said when speaking at an opening ceremony in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak. (Turkey-Natural Gas)

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WINDHOEK -- Another hard COVID-19 lockdown would escalate the Namibian government's debt, which currently stands at 68.7 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), Bank of Namibia Governor Johannes Gawaxab said on Friday.

Namibia is currently experiencing a third wave of coronavirus infections with COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths rising sharply, according to the Health Ministry. (Namibia-Economy) Enditem
Peterborough - Eva H. Sacharuk died, peacefully, at her home in Peterborough, N.H. on June 1, 2021. Before moving to Peterborough in 2019, she was a long-time resident of Wenham, Massachusetts where she raised her family with her husband Serge since 1960. Eva is survived by her loving husban
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 18:34:12|Editor: huaxia

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BAGHDAD, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Five members of a Kurdish security force known as Peshmerga were killed Saturday in an ambush by militants of the Turkish outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

"A Peshmerga force was ambushed in the morning by PKK militants in Matin Mountain in Duhok province in northern Iraq, leaving five Peshmerga members killed and four others wounded," local authorities said in a statement.

According to the statement, the Peshmerga forces were on the duty of providing security and stability for the people of the villages in the border areas with Turkey when the attack occurred.

"We had previously warned of such incidents, and everyone must respect the borders of the Kurdistan region and not endanger its stability," the statement added.

The Turkish army launched a ground and air offensive against the PKK targets across its borders with Iraq on April 23.

Turkish forces regularly carry out ground operations, air strikes, and artillery bombardments against the positions of PKK militants in northern Iraq, especially the Qandil mountain range, where the main PKK bases are stationed.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Enditem
An open house will be held at the Escondido Veterans Memorial Building on Oct. 7 to introduce the community to the various nonprofit veteran and military support groups that gather in the building throughout the year.

Community members can meet representatives from groups that serve local veterans and military families, such as the American Legion Post 149 and its Auxiliary, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1513 and its Auxiliary, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion Riders, Sons of the American Legion and Blue Star Mothers of American Chapter CA9 of North County, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

Attendees can also meet local and county politicians, police and firefighters, and K9 Guardians. Local author RJ Belle will sign copies of her book After: The Battle Has Just Begun.

The Red Cross Blood Bank will be there for folks who wish to donate blood. Free snacks of lemonade, cookies, popcorn and ice cream will be served.

Advertisement

The open house is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 230 E. Park Ave. in Escondido.

The Veterans Memorial Building is available for community members to rent.

Call (760) 745-1159 or visit escondidolegion.org
Vaccinations against the coronavirus will be offered at the Lee County Government Center starting next week.

Clinics are scheduled Thursday and Friday from 2-4 p.m. and will be held weekly at the same time and location, a Lee County Health Department release said.

Registration is recommended, but walk-ins will also be accepted, the release said.

The center is at 106 Hillcrest Drive.

A drive-thru clinic will continue to be offered on Tuesdays, 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center through July 20, the release said.

Anyone receiving a second dose of a vaccine should bring the vaccination record card that was received upon getting a first vaccination shot.

The county has reported 66 new cases of COVID-19 in the past two weeks, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, while a total of 6,106 have been confirmed since the pandemic outbreak that began in March 2020.

The county has reported 81 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, NCDHHS said.

Residents are urged to get vaccinated if they have not done so, Heath Cain, director of the county Health Department, said in the release.

Anyone older than 12 is eligible for the vaccine, but children between ages 12 and 15 must have parental consent and be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, the release said.

Residents can register by calling 919-842-5744, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A pre-registration is available online at leecountync.gov/covid19, according the release. Once that form has been submitted, a county staff worker will make contact to complete the process.

To register in Spanish, call 919-718-4640 and select option 8.

For more information about COVID-19 testing and vaccinations call the Lee County Health Department at 919-718-4640.
Valedictorian Bryce Chapel, 18

What was the best part of high school?

Probably all the friends Ive made along the way.

What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?

Always be one step ahead of your assignments and enjoy it while it lasts.

What was your biggest accomplish-ment during high school?

Probably this medal (lifting valedictorian medallion).

How do you feel now that youre graduating?

It really feels like its not real. Weve worked so hard, almost over our entire lifetime, just to get to this moment. Its gone so fast.

What are your plans after graduation?

I plan to go to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, to major in cybersecurity.

Salutatorian Kelcee Ayers, 18

What was the best part of high school?

I was really close with the softball team, so probably becoming friends with them on the field. My favorite part of school was the Academy (of Hospitality) classes. I made a lot of friends there.

What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?

Everybody says it, but just go get involved in as much as you can.

What was your biggest accomplishment during high school?

Going out of my comfort zone. I joined more clubs online, got more involved. Ive definitely grown a lot since my freshman year. I just got more comfortable with myself.

How do you feel now that youre graduating?

Im excited for college. Im going to Florida, so Im ready to go to a new state and explore a different city. Ive lived in Sanford my whole life, so its definitely gonna be a change. Im sad to leave everybody, but Im excited.

What are your plans after graduation?

(Im going to the) University of Florida. Im going to major in biology. I want to go into forensics, maybe. Forensic pathology has always interested me.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 18:44:26|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China is expected to embrace a tourism boom during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holiday, according to a recent industry report.

Some 100 million trips will be made by Chinese tourists within the three-day holiday starting next week, a report from online travel booking platform Ctrip estimated.

It envisioned that the number of trips will return to the 2019 level in the same holiday period.

Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou are expected to be the top three destinations, the report said, adding that middle- and short-distance trips will be favored by most tourists.

This year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday runs from June 12 to 14. Enditem
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On Thursday, June 3, the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship was launched in one of Falcon 9 rockets from Kennedy Space Center carrying around 7,300 pounds of new solar arrays and scientific experiments, including glowing squids and tardigrades, Science Times previously reported.

The uncrewed SpaceX Dragon cargo ship marks the 22nd commercial resupply mission by SpaceX. Currently, there are two SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the International Space Station (ISS), according to Space.com.

SpaceX Dragon CRS-22 Mission

The SpaceX Dragon CRS-22 mission docked at the ISS on June 5 to deliver new solar arrays and a bunch of research experiments and NASA supplies for the resupply mission.

The Dragon cargo ship is linked with the space station at 5:09 AM EDT (0900 GMT), parking at the station's Harmony module.

Moreover, the Dragon CRS-22 mission is the second uncrewed upgraded supply ship to dock at the space station. In the past, they use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture incoming cargo ships and manually attach them to the floating laboratory.

But the latest Dragon cargo ship was monitored by the two Expedition 65 crew members, namely NASA astronauts Kimbrough and Megan McArthur.

The cargo ship also becomes the second Dragon spacecraft currently onboard the space station. The first one brought four astronauts last April during the Crew-2 mission and is also currently docked at the Harmony module.

"Hard capture is complete and it's a great day seeing another Dragon on ISS [International Space Station]," spacecraft communicator Leslie Ringo radioed the station crew after the successful docking of the Dragon spacecraft according to Space.com.

ALSO READ: Seven-Hour Spacewalk of Two Cosmonauts Part of ISS Preparation for Arrival of New Russian Module



SpaceX Contract with NASA

Elon Musk's company SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with the American space agency, NASA, to keep the space station well-stocked, which includes 12 supply runs, according to the report of First Post.

However, The Verge reported that NASA's $2.9 billion moon lander contract with SpaceX was suspended last April after receiving two formal protests from its rivals.

SpaceX was chosen by NASA on April 16 to build the first Human Landing System (HLS) since the Apollo program several decades ago. The space agency's reliance on one company for a high-profile contract was unexpected as many believed that the HLS program would be given to two other companies, Blue Origin and Dynetics.

Due to that, NASA spokeswoman Monica Witt said that the $2.9 billion contract will be suspended until the Government Accountability Office (GAO) resolves all outstanding litigations.

Despite that, SpaceX continues to build its Starship rocket, with its successful landing of the prototype SN15 after more than 11 tries.

The HLS program award for SpaceX is likely the first step in a broader program to make sure the success of transporting humans to the Moon. ASA's human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders said that there will be new contract opportunities that will open up in the near future, especially with the growing commercialization of space transportation.



RELATED ARTICLE: SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft Sends Glow-in-the-Dark Baby Squids to the ISS for NASA Space Experiments



Check out more news and information on SpaceX on Science Times.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 19:01:40|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China will strengthen basic agricultural research in the seed industry to ensure food security and the supply of agricultural products, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) said.

A series of significant achievements have been made during the country's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) in genome analysis, the cloning of new genes and key breeding technologies for crops.

Researchers have explored the field of genome-wide selection and genetic improvement and identified a number of genes that regulate the tolerance of increased planting density, defense responses and nutrient absorption and utilization in rice.

Dozens of key genes related to tiller number, stature and root meristem activity in rice have been cloned.

Researchers studied the fixation of heterozygosity and haploid induction through the simultaneous editing of related genes in hybrid rice and obtained plants that could propagate clonally through seeds. Application of this method may enable self-propagation of a broad range of elite hybrid crops.

The CAAS said it has also unveiled a series of programs to boost the development of the seed industry in the country's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

It will focus on basic research in the new system of plant-microbe interactions featuring highly efficient nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis and nitrogen use and epigenetic regulation in response to the environment, aiming to increase grain yield and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.

The integration of systems biology, big data, synthetic biology and artificial intelligence will innovate precise gene-editing tools and technologies.

It will also design new gene and protein components and construct an efficient system of cell factories and synthetic organisms. Enditem
PHOENIX (AP)  Republican leaders of the Arizona House plan to call members back to the Capitol Monday and try to muscle though a budget they negotiated with GOP leaders of the Senate and Gov. Doug Ducey, but there remain doubts that they can get the job done.

With only a one-vote margin and no Democratic support, House Speaker Rusty Bowers said Friday that despite some vocal opposition from GOP members, he is going to push to get Republicans to pass the $12.8 billion spending plan starting next week.

We are going to move, lets just put it that way, Bowers said in an interview.

Bowers faces discord among his own caucus, with some believing there is too much spending in the budget and some objecting to the size of a historic tax cut out of fears it will hurt the state's long-term finances as well as city finances.

Both chambers adjourned last week amid the split among Republicans with no plans to return until June 10, unless a deal was cut. But Bowers hopes pushing lawmakers may pay off.

Weve worked for six months on this ... budget. And its a historic opportunity. And were gonna see where people stand on it, he said. Sooner or later, were going to have to fish or cut bait. And then, theres still tomorrow.

He still doesn't have the backing of one outspoken member, Republican Rep. David Cook of Globe.

At this point, I remain opposed to the budget proposal introduced by House leadership, Cook said in a statement Friday. "I am hopeful that changes can be made to address my concerns including the negative impact to cities and towns, ongoing debt, unfunded pension liabilities, capitol improvement needs and investment in water infrastructure for the future expected Arizona growth."

Cook also said he was concerned that billions of dollars of federal COVID-19 relief money has created a false economy and I believe its prudent to take some time to ensure we dont send the state off of a fiscal cliff.

The tax cuts in the proposal would shave at least $1.9 billion from state revenues when they are fully phased in, which would take three years. The biggest winners will be the wealthy, who will be mainly shielded from a new voter-approved surcharge and get the biggest benefits from a flat-tax proposal that lowers rates to 2.5%. The current top tax rate is 4.5% for high-earning Arizonans, plus the new 3.5% surcharge. Couples earning over $500,000 a year would pay a maximum of 4.5% under the proposal instead of 8% foreseen under Proposition 208.

Cook and Republican Sen. Paul Boyer have been outspoken in their concern that the tax cut will hurt cities, which get a set share of income tax revenue. Boyer said Friday he too was still opposed.

Republican Majority Leader Ben Toma said a week of negotiations with members have brought some changes to the budget deal, including an increase in the share of income tax revenue cities get from 15% to 17%. He contends its enough to spare cities from revenue declines. Whether that's enough to get support from Cook and others remains unclear.

But a frustrated Toma said he was willing to see how the votes come out.

At this point, I dont think our members can hide behind anonymity anymore, he said. The board of truth (the vote tally board) is gonna say whos up for what and theyre gonna have to explain. This is a good budget, all things considered. If they want to vote no, theyre gonna have to explain why.

Other changes Toma noted are the removal of two tax credit provisions that some fiscal conservatives opposed. They include a low-income housing credit and one for so-called angel investors who put money into startups. Those will get separate votes.

Also of concern to Cook is the amount of debt the state is carrying. An Associated Press analysis shows the state is on the hook for $6.6 billion in pension debt and $7.6 billion in bonds, lease-purchases and payment deferrals. That includes $930 million owed to schools from a budget gimmick used following the Great Recession that delayed nearly $1 billion in payments. The proposed budget would pay school debt down by just $30 million.

Boyer is concerned about the scope and permanence of the tax cuts.

Fann acknowledged Friday that she does not plan to follow the House lead and reconvene on Monday.

The Senate will convene when we believe we have 16 votes to pass a budget, she said via text message, noting that's not now the case.

Lawmakers face a constitutional deadline of June 30 to enact a spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1.
DENVER (AP)  An arrest warrant affidavit for a Colorado man charged with murder in the death of his wife who disappeared last year will remain sealed, a judge ruled Friday, saying that release of the document could harm the couple's daughters and witnesses in the case and hinder Barry Morphew's ability to prepare his own defense.

Chaffee County District Court Judge Patrick Murphy ordered that the affidavit, which details investigators' reasons justifying Morphew's arrest in the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew, remain sealed until the conclusion of a preliminary hearing in August.

A coalition of news media organizations, including The Associated Press, had petitioned the court for release of the 130-page document, arguing in part that the public has a presumptive right to know what led to Morphew's May 5 arrest.

According to prosecutors, Morphew, 53, is accused of killing his 49-year-old wife sometime between May 9 and May 10, 2020. The mother of two daughters was reported missing on May 10, 2020, which was Mothers Day.

Prosecutors say Morphew tampered with her body around that time and tampered with other evidence in the case from last May through early March, about two months before he was arrested.

While the investigation in this matter has been ongoing for a little over a year now, it consists of numerous witnesses and circumstantial evidence. Thus, witness credibility will be at a premium, Murphy wrote in his order.

Barry Morphew had posted a video on social media pleading for his wifes return soon after she vanished.

He was arrested near his home in Poncha Springs, a small community in southern Colorado. At the time, authorities said they had failed to find Suzanne Morphews body.

Morphew also has been charged with possessing a short rifle, a banned weapon in Colorado, and with trying to influence eight public servants, at least some of whom are law enforcement officers, by means of deceit from the time his wife disappeared until he was arrested.

Morphew is represented by state public defenders who do not comment to the news media on cases.

Authorities also have charged Morphew with submitting a fraudulent vote on his wifes behalf for then-President Donald Trump in Novembers election.
BUCHAREST (AP)  Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov strongly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday, calling him a dictator who heads a false political system.

The former multiple world champion  arguably one of the all-time greats of the game  is a vocal critic of the Russian president and has been arrested in the past following activism against him.

I do not know what President Putin is doing, I know about the Russian dictator  if you call him president, you give him more credibility in the false political system used in Russia, Kasparov said at the inauguration of a chess tournament in Bucharest.

I hope that one day (Putin) will be brought to justice for the crimes he committed, Kasparov told a press conference. I am sure that when the regime collapses, the dictator will also collapse. No one will help him.

In 2012, Kasparov was arrested and charged with participating in an unsanctioned protest following the conviction of Russian punk band Pussy Riot. He was eventually cleared of the charges.

Kasparov was in Bucharest to open the Superbet Chess Classic 2021, a 10-player tournament held between June 5-14, with total prize money of 267,000 ($325,000).
Leonard Ortiz/AP

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP)  The mother of a Southern California boy killed in a road rage shooting remembered him Saturday as 6-year-old with a vocabulary beyond his years who exuded warmth and tenderness.

He gave us such joy, giving us purpose to our life. I felt so honored to be Aidens mommy, Joanna Cloonan said an open-casket memorial service for Aiden Leos.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  In a new court filing, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice blamed a bankrupt U.K. bank for fraudulently inducing him into personally guaranteeing $700 million in loans that were taken out by his companies.

In the amended complaint filed Friday, Justice's family and coal companies claim that Greensill Capital U.K. perpetrated a continuous and highly profitable fraud."

Justice told reporters Tuesday that the loans are "a burden on our family beyond belief. Justices Bluestone Resources Inc., which is involved in the business of mining metallurgical coal used for steel making, sued Greensill in March in federal court in New York.

The business troubles of the Republican governor, who Forbes recently took off its list of billionaires because of mounting debt, have been publicly aired over the past week. In addition to the $700 million owed to Greensill, Justice revealed in a separate lawsuit that he is personally on the hook for $368 million to Virginia-based Carter Bank & Trust.

And Justices businesses face several other woes, including penalties totaling $3.2 million from the federal government and lawsuits over claims his companies failed to deliver coal.

The latest filing in the case against Greensill in U.S. District Court in New York shows that the governor and his wife, Cathy Justice, and son Jay Justice personally guaranteed payment on the loans for Bluestone. The complaint alleges that the London-based bank deceived them into signing on by hiding its own financial risk.

Greensill, a supply chain finance firm based in London, went under in March over allegations of fraud. The Financial Conduct Authority, Britains financial regulatory body, has announced a formal investigation into Greensills collapse after receiving allegations that it said were potentially criminal in nature.

Greensill began lending to Bluestone in 2018. The company sought financing after a period of decline under the ownership of Russian mining and metal company Mechel, according to court documents.

When the Russians had Bluestone, what happened to Bluestone? It absolutely just melted down to nothing, Justice said at a news conference Tuesday. The company had outstanding obligations to vendors and tax liabilities when the Justice family took it back over in 2015.

The lending from Greensill was supposed to help rebuild the company, but bank officials by November 2020 began seeking early repayment of the loan and additional fees, according to the complaint.

The Justice family says it only personally signed onto the loans with the understanding that repayments would begin at the earliest in 2023, at which point Bluestone would have had years to rebuild and generate cash flow. Justice and his companies are seeking damages from Greensill in their suit.

At his Tuesday news conference, Justice briefly addressed his other loan from Carter Bank in Virginia by saying he always personally guaranteed the loans for his companies.

I did personally guarantee the loans, he said. The loans have always been personally guaranteed when they flowed from Carter Bank through Greensill to other banks along the way. Thats been the case for a very, very, very long time.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 19:25:42|Editor: huaxia

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LISBON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Just one Portuguese fruit, Pera Rocha (the Rocha pear), was included among some 200 products that are covered by the agreement between China and the European Union (EU) on the protection of geographical indications (GI).

The GI label applies to products with specific quality, reputation or other characteristics resulting from their geographical origin. The China-EU GI agreement entered into force on March 1, 2021, and the Portuguese producers of Pera Rocha now hope to be able to access and conquer the Chinese market.

Domingos dos Santos, president of the National Association of Pera Rocha Producers (ANP), told Xinhua that the GI agreement is considered another step towards the granting of "health authorization to be able to export Pera Rocha from Portugal to China."

"It is important to preserve the productive brands and designations of origin and geographical indications, because these labels are granted to high-quality products, produced in a specific way. These are always important, so that we are not trivializing production," he said.

Pera Rocha was recognized in 2003 as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), an EU seal that certifies the quality and tradition of food and agricultural products, guaranteeing their origin and certified production techniques.

Grown on about 10,000 hectares in more than 20 counties in western Portugal, the fruit has physical, chemical and sensory characteristics directly influenced by the climate, relief, air humidity, type of soil and proximity to the sea of the geographical area of origin.

"Pera Rocha is a genuine Portuguese product, it was a natural mutation that occurred by 1830. It spontaneously appeared on the property of a small-scale farmer, and then multiplied and expanded," dos Santos said.

Pera Rocha is an organoleptic fruit. It is highly resistant to storage time and transport -- characteristics greatly valued by resellers.

"Eventually, all producers were able to produce this fruit with quality, in a homogeneous way, with no major changes and losses in production within the region of origin," explained the ANP president.

"It is only produced and manages to maintain its characteristics in this region of western Portugal, due to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean and this microclimate of protection of our Sintra mountain range, which facilitates production," he added.

The ANP is responsible for managing the pear's PDO and ensuring that production is maintained in the traditional way, respecting the parameters defined by an exclusive controlling body that checks and evaluates compliance with all the applicable rules.

The ANP was present at FHC Food & Hotel China, a trade fair for international exporters held in China, in November 2019, with the aim of winning over Chinese consumers.

"The idea was to promote the pear in this market and make initial commercial contacts to advance work for when the opening of the market is authorized," dos Santos said.

The ANP is developing an external promotion project with an investment of around 430,000 euros (526,000 U.S. dollars). However, dos Santos told Xinhua that the pandemic has delayed many of Pera Rocha's expansion plans, which included a mission to China by the Portuguese agriculture minister.

According to the ANP chief, around 50 percent of production is destined for export, and the main markets are the UK, Brazil, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Germany, France, Ireland and Spain.

"We export approximately 80,000 tonnes of pears, with a total value of around 100 million euros," he said.

According to dos Santos, ANP's first expansion plan ended in 2019, and now it is preparing a new initiative that should start in 2022 with the Chinese market as its primary target. (1 euro = 1.22 U.S. dollars) Enditem
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Beijing to host 2nd UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference in October

Xinhua) 10:27, June 05, 2021

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The second United Nations (UN) Global Sustainable Transport Conference will take place from October 14 to 16 in Beijing, the organizers announced Friday.

Themed "sustainable transport, sustainable development," the conference will be held both online and offline, and will see events including a ministers' forum and thematic sessions.

The conference aims to advance sustainable transport globally and underscores its importance for the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, according to the organizers.

The conference was previously scheduled for May last year but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first Global Sustainable Transport Conference was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in 2016.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 20:12:00|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- India has opposed the adoption of COVID-19 vaccine passports at the G7 meeting of health ministers, saying such an effort could prove to be "hugely discriminatory."

"At this stage of pandemic, it is pertinent to also discuss about India's concern over the idea of a vaccine passport. Considering the fact of lower levels of vaccination in developing countries in contrast to the developed countries and given the still unaddressed issues related to equitable and affordable access, supply and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, India would propose that implementation of vaccine passports will be hugely discriminatory and disadvantageous to the developing countries," Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Friday.

"India would suggest that the same should be implemented duly taking into consideration emerging evidence on efficacy of vaccines and under the overarching coordination of WHO duly attending to the anomaly of access and affordability as it exists today," he added.

India was invited this year to the meeting as a guest.

While addressing his counterparts during the virtual meeting, the Indian minister raised concerns about the availability of vaccines and low rates of inoculation in developing nations.

India is one of the countries that has not fully vaccinated its over 1.3-billion population against COVID-19.

Until Saturday the country has administered over 227 million (227,860,317) doses of vaccines.

Vardhan said that in the present context of the pandemic, it was imperative to increase the production of COVID-19 vaccines and ensure their equitable supply.

"India, which manufactures nearly 60 percent of all vaccines and holds rich expertise, is well suited to help the world augment capacity and supply," he said. Enditem
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Mostly sunny. High 82F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

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Partly cloudy skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Allan Seiden

A vacationing 19-year-old man from Pleasanton was stabbed to death in a Waikiki beach park in Honolulu early Tuesday, and a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

Elian Delacerda, 19, was stabbed in the chest during an altercation on a sidewalk near Kuhio Beach Park in Waikiki at about 12:40 a.m. He was pronounced dead on the scene. The Honolulu Medical Examiner identified Delacerda and confirmed the cause of death as a stabbing and the manner of death as a homicide.
San Francisco prosecutors are starting a program to help take firearms out of the hands of people who pose a risk to themselves or others, building on a statewide gun violence restraining order law that remains scarcely used in much of California.

Californias gun violence restraining order law, which took effect in 2016, allows police to temporarily seize firearms and ammunition from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others. The process requires someone like the targeted persons family member, teacher, employer or co-worker to file a gun violence restraining order with a court, where a judge holds a hearing on whether to grant or deny the request.

The San Francisco District Attorneys Office will deploy employees to help people seeking such an order to submit the forms and navigate what can be a complex and intimidating legal process. The office released an informational packet that can be found in English, Chinese and Spanish on its website.

The initiative comes as San Francisco and cities around the country grapple with soaring reports of gun violence over the last year  a still-accelerating trend that experts say was likely driven by increased gun sales during the pandemic.

Our office is dedicated to developing new tools to combat the gun violence epidemic that is so prevalent throughout the United States, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said in a statement Friday. Assisting members of the public in obtaining gun violence restraining orders is a critical component in keeping our community safe.

In San Francisco, the number of incidents involving a shooting victim rose by 150% this year to date, jumping from 38 instances in 2020 to 95 by the end of May. Its a spike that tracks with national figures The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group that culls its data from around the country, counted 610 incidents in which at least four people were shot last year, compared with 417 in 2019 and 336 in 2018.

Oakland to date has recorded 3,750 instances of shots fired in 2021, a 125% increase from the 1,669 recorded by the end of May last year, according to police data. In San Francisco, the number of incidents involving a shooting victim rose by 149% this year to date, from 35 in 2020 to 87 by mid-May.

Anti-gun-violence advocates say the restraining orders could help prevent mass shootings as well as domestic violence or suicides.

But the law has been slow to pick up in many areas of the state. A recent Chronicle report shows that nearly two-thirds of the 2020 cases came from just five counties: San Diego, Santa Clara, Orange, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz.

Julia Weber, Implementation Director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said the new program in San Francisco will help provide educational tools that may inspire more regular citizens to seek out the orders. Recent data suggests that currently about 97% of gun violence restraining orders have been pursued or obtained by law enforcement.

It is critical to get good information to all people throughout California so they are aware of all the tools available to them to help prevent gun violence, she said.

Dr. Garen Wintemute, an emergency physician and director of UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, said Californias red flag orders can be particularly useful in preventing mass shootings.

Many people who plan to commit firearm violence  including 80% of mass shooters  make their intentions known in advance, Wintemute said in an email. A previous study from the group found 21 California cases in which the restraining orders were used to prevent mass shootings.

Wintemute, however, pointed to a new study from the UC Davis program that shows about two-thirds of Californians surveyed had never heard of the states gun violence restraining orders.

Firearm violence is preventable, not inevitable, said Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, lead author of the recent study and assistant professor with the Violence Prevention Research Program. Raising public awareness about proactive ways for people to intervene can be crucial for preventing violence before it occurs.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Alexei Koseff contributed to this report.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
A San Jose police officer was stabbed and sustained a non-life-threatening injury by a man who called police to report he was experiencing a mental health crisis early Saturday morning, authorities said.

Two police officers responded at 12:32 a.m. to a welfare check on the 3500 block of Ambra Way after San Jose resident Sean Williams, 33, called police for help, police said.

After the officers arrived, the man attacked one of the officers without provocation, police said. After the officers restrained the man and took him into custody, one officer realized he had been stabbed with a multipurpose tool with a blade that was found at the scene, said police spokesperson Sgt. Christian Camarillo.

The officer who was stabbed  whose name police did not release  was taken to a local hospital with a moderate injury. He was treated and discharged, and it is unknown when he will return to work, Camarillo said.

The suspect was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose for treatment for minor injuries and for a mental health evaluation. Authorities said he will be booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.

This call illustrates the dangers officers face when responding to aid individuals suffering from a mental health crisis, San Jose police said in a statement.

Police said both officers had received crisis intervention training, but due to the sudden violent attack, neither had an opportunity to utilize these valuable skills.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
On the latest menu at Che Fico Alimentari, just past the fava leaf pizza and porchetta sandwich, is a brief announcement of a consequential decision.

It informs diners at the San Francisco Italian restaurant they now must pay an automatic 10% dining-in charge. Patrons can still tip if theyd like to, but the aim of the new charge is to take the emphasis off tipping as the sole driver of an employees ability to earn a living wage.

This is representative of the true cost of dining in our space, the message on the menu reads. It helps us run a profitable and sustainable business that we hope can be there to feed our community for years to come.

The Divisadero Street restaurant is one of several lately to make the move away from the tradition of tipping. In recent weeks, news that the iconic Zuni Cafe switched to a 20% service charge touched off tense debate, but Zuni is hardly the exception. Other notable restaurants, such as Reems, Cotogna, Rintaro and Spruce in San Francisco, also have added automatic service charges, and more plan to soon. Other restaurateurs are experimenting with different models, from pooling tips equally among workers to systems based on experience. All are efforts to eliminate longstanding pay disparities between servers and kitchen workers such as cooks and dishwashers.

Tipping is a uniquely American phenomenon that doesnt exist in many other countries, yet making such changes remains divisive and controversial: Servers worry that no tips will mean lower pay, while customers can feel robbed of their personal discretion to reward  or punish  the perceived quality of a meal. Some restaurants, meanwhile, including Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City and Comal in Berkeley, have reverted back to tipping after making splashy announcements about nixing it.

But many local owners said the impacts of the coronavirus, which laid bare the many structural inequities in how restaurants operate, unexpectedly opened the door to making dramatic changes that they feel more obligated than ever to make. They hope other restaurants, workers and customers will follow, and as a result, make more equitable compensation and fairer treatment permanent fixtures of the industry.

Many of us recognized we were in a broken system to begin with. It didnt make a lot of sense for all of us to go backwards, said David Nayfeld of Che Fico and Che Fico Alimentari. We should recognize the fact that right now weve been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a righteous change in our business.

Peter DaSilva / Special to The Chronicle

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the future of tipless restaurants. Although tipping has been shown to create pay inequity and encourage racism and sexism, many restaurateurs have struggled to swim against its tide.

In May, after seven years of collecting a service charge, the owner of Berkeleys Comal, hailed as a local leader in the anti-tipping movement, switched to pooled tipping to implement a consistent model across his three restaurants. Comal, Camino in Oakland and Bar Agricole and Trou Normand in San Francisco all decided to eliminate tipping in 2014. Bar Agricole and Trou Normand switched back to tipping in less than a year after struggling to retain servers. Camino closed in 2018.

Chef Preeti Mistry said the service charge was a success at their now-closed Navi Kitchen in Emeryville, but they were never able to eliminate tipping at Juhu Beach Club in Oakland, out of concern that veteran servers would leave.

With the current labor shortage restaurants face, both Comal and Lucias, its Italian neighbor next door, are hoping that a return to tipping will attract more employees. Lucias owner, Alessandro Uccelli, said he felt like he was walking a tightrope between creating a just work environment and keeping his business afloat.

But owners moving away from tipping are hopeful that the current moment will prove different for keeping both employees and customers. Reem Assil, a social justice-minded owner whos in the middle of converting her two Arab restaurants into a worker-owned operation, said shes long been critical of tipping but didnt nix it in part due to horror stories she heard about pushback from workers or diners.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle 2020

It wasnt until the interruption caused by the pandemic that doing away with tipping felt more feasible, Assil said. She had to retool her restaurants anyway, so making the switch felt not just plausible but necessary. In April, she added a 20% charge at her Oakland and San Francisco restaurants. Most of the money goes to staff based on hours worked, while the rest pays for benefits such as health care and paid time off. Everyone, from dishwashers to bussers, is now making $10 more per hour, bringing their minimum hourly wage up to about $27.

She and others who are getting rid of tipping are trying to reimagine what it means to work at a restaurant.

If were talking about making these radical changes in this industry, we really need to do it across the board and not just in some areas, Assil said. This is part of that story of: What does it mean for us to run a sustainable business in this new age?

All of Bacchus Management Groups restaurants, from the Michelin-starred Spruce to the more casual Pizza Antica, did away with tipping last June. Bacchus founder Tim Stannard said hes always maintained that anyone who worked full-time for the restaurant group shouldnt have to take a second job to make ends meet. But the exact opposite was playing out among his employees, he said.

For a long time we said, Its not our responsibility; the Bay Area is really expensive, Stannard said. But holding the mirror up, we realized we were part of the problem and needed to be part of the solution.

Bacchus restaurants now impose an automatic 20% charge, which so far has had its intended impact: more money for lower-paid employees like line cooks and dishwashers. Pay for some kitchen positions has gone up by more than 50%, Stannard said. Restaurants are still limited to 50% capacity indoors, but the companys projections show once full capacity is back, servers will make at least what they were earning pre-pandemic, if not more, Stannard said.

It requires a rethinking of the traditional restaurant model, where servers function as the faces of the business  the stars of the show, said Sara Lama, a host at Menlo Parks Flea Street Cafe  and higher compensation follows through the tips they earn. The new model aims to encourage teamwork, creating an environment where staffers share in all of the responsibilities necessary to serve diners.

Flea Streets move to the service charge model really stripped me, honestly, of a lot of my entitlement in this industry, Lama said.

At the restaurant, which adopted a 20% service charge early in the pandemic, both servers and cooks make between $26 and $34 per hour, and theyre all trained to do tasks throughout the restaurant. Line cooks bring dishes out to tables, the head chef runs credit cards, servers help out in the kitchen and Lama jumps in to wash dishes or clean the bathroom.

Nobody is more important, said Erika Morales, a longtime cook at Flea Street. We are at the same level. We feel like we are working on a real team.

Adrian Lopez, a server at San Franciscos Rintaro, feels much the same. Rintaro quietly moved to an 18% service charge when it reopened for indoor service in May, and Lopez was happy to see his first paycheck under the new model come in slightly higher than when he earned tips.

The whole system of tipping is very colored in a dark past, Lopez said. If nothing else, the previous year has been an excellent opportunity for any (owner) to rethink some very basic things about how they operate.

Not everyone, however, is ready to make the switch. Even among front-of-house employees who are on board with the changes, theres an undercurrent of concern, Lopez said.

Generally speaking, most people are supportive, he said. But theres definitely a palpable sense of: But am I going to make less money?

After Avenir Restaurant Group started pooling tips at its Peninsula restaurants, which include Town in San Carlos and the Alpine Inn in Portola Valley, several waiters left the business, said managing partner Greg St. Claire.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

St. Claire said most of the resistance came from servers who were accustomed to pocketing a significant amount of cash at the end of a shift. He recalled a waiter who got upset over having to share a particularly generous tip. To St. Claire, the waiter was simply one part of the evening  along with the employees who set up the dining room, placed the ingredient orders and cooked the food.

This dynamic was underscored during the coronavirus shutdown, when dining rooms went dark but masked kitchen staff continued working amid deep fears about the health risks.

It was really apparent to me: Here I am getting saved by the people who have not been taken care of, St. Claire said. This is an opportunity to reset everything.

Nick Otto/Special to The Chronicle 2020

Communicating these changes to diners remains a challenge despite years of restaurants eliminating tipping. Restaurateurs also fear that customers will balk at the alternative of increasing menu prices to raise wages.

While most customers are supportive of service charges, owners and workers said, others chafe against a perceived loss of control. At Anina in San Francisco, bartender Jon Weeks said sometimes checks will come back with the Hayes Valley bars 20% service charge line aggressively circled or suggestively annotated with a large zero. Flea Street invites diners into the kitchen to introduce them to every person who had a hand in their meal in the hope of helping them understand the change.

Language also plays a critical role, owners said. Assil is calling her service fee a worker resilience charge to communicate that the purpose is to raise wages for low-paid workers of color who have historically borne the brunt of tippings inequities. Liholiho Yacht Club, which switched to a 20% service charge when it reopened temporarily in the Mission two weeks ago, prefers equity gratuity or equity fee.

Che Ficos dining-in charge is worded to remind customers that it costs more to serve them in person, from labor to rent to reservation cancellations, Nayfeld said.

The tip should be for the most part more discretionary funding as it was intended to be, and not have to do with the living wage of an employee, he said.

John Paluska, owner of Comal, understands that sentiment well. When he eliminated tipping seven years ago, he wanted to make a statement about the inherent racism and sexism that tipping has been shown to introduce and to close the growing gap between what his kitchen and dining room employees earned. He hoped other restaurants would follow.

But as the years went on, Paluska felt like the lone holdout, even in the progressive Bay Area. Last year, mid-pandemic, Paluska watched as perhaps the highest-profile example in the anti-tipping movement, New York restaurateur Danny Meyer, acquiesced to tips.

There are so many people who would love to move away from tips ... but short of the entire restaurant community and whole Bay Area or country all deciding at one moment to switch to something new and customers adjusting to a whole (new) pricing structure, its very hard for isolated locations to make these kinds of moves, Paluska said.

For her part, Assil is cautiously optimistic about a not so far-off future where tipping is the exception rather than the norm, and workers and customers alike seek out those kinds of businesses.

I fear that there are a lot of people out there right now trying to go back to normal. But I think there are enough people making these big changes where it will start a trend, she said. This is a ripe ground for shifting.

Elena Kadvany is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: elena.kadvany@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ekadvany
A federal judge in California overturned the states decades-old ban on assault weapons Friday, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment  a decision that was promptly blasted by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom called the ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period.

Benitez ruled that Californias definition of illegal military-style rifles robbed Californians of their constitutional right to obtain the type of weapons allowed in other states.

Like the Swiss Army Knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment, Benitez wrote. Good for both home and battle, the AR-15 is the kind of versatile gun that lies at the intersection of the kinds of firearms protected under District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) and United States v Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939). Yet, the State of California makes it a crime to have an AR15 type rifle. Therefore, this Court declares the California statutes to be unconstitutional.

Benitez ripped California for banning weapons he said are fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.

The banned assault weapons are not bazookas, howitzers, or machineguns, he wrote in a 94-page ruling. The decision carries a 30-day stay, giving the state an opportunity to appeal before the decision takes effect.

In a statement, Newsom pledged to fight to reinstate gun restrictions in California:

As the son of a judge, I grew up with deep respect for the judicial process and the importance of a judges ability to make impartial fact-based rulings, but the fact that this judge compared the AR-15  a weapon of war thats used on the battlefield  to a Swiss Army Knife completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families whove lost loved ones to this weapon. Were not backing down from this fight, and well continue pushing for common sense gun laws that will save lives.

Brandon Combs, the president of Firearms Policy Coalition, one of the plaintiffs that filed the lawsuit challenging Californias ban, applauded the ruling in a statement, saying the decision reinforces what millions of Americans already know to be true: Bans on so-called assault weapons are unconstitutional and cannot stand.

Combs called the ruling a historic victory for individual liberty, but said the organizations efforts are not over, saying that they will continue to challenge similar laws across the country.

We look forward to continuing this challenge at the Ninth Circuit and, should it be necessary, the Supreme Court, Combs said.

Californias assault weapons ban, the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989, is the oldest of its kind in the United States.

It prohibits people from bringing guns the state defined as assault weapons into the state, using them in the state and transporting them within the state.

The ban passed after a man sprayed a Stockton schoolyard with dozens of rounds from a semiautomatic rifle in January 1989, killing five children and wounding 29 others and a teacher before killing himself.

The state law initially banned the sale of more than 50 models of semiautomatic rifles and pistols. A semiautomatic gun is one that, when fired, loads the next round of ammunition automatically, but requires a squeeze of the trigger for each shot.

A provision in the legislation allowed the state to add models to the banned list as they came to the attention of the attorney general. And in a later bid to stop gun makers from circumventing the law, legislators prohibited certain characteristics of weapons.

Guns with fixed magazines cant hold more than 10 rounds. Those with detachable magazines, which enable swift reloading, cant have any of a number of features that give them added functions or make them easier to handle, such as forward grips, folding stocks, flash suppressors and shrouds to protect a shooter from burns.

The ban has survived challenges, but gun makers have found ways around it, selling firearms similar to banned ones. And guns purchased before the ban were protected by a grandfather clause.

Assault weapons as defined by the law are more dangerous than other firearms and are disproportionately used in crimes, mass shootings and against law enforcement, with more resulting casualties.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta echoed Newsoms sentiments in a statement condemning the decision, calling the ruling fundamentally flawed and said the state would appeal the decision.

There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with swiss army knives  especially on Gun Violence Awareness Day and after the recent shootings in our own California communities, Bonta said. We will fight this ruling and continue to advocate for and defend common sense gun laws that will save lives.

David Kopel, an adjunct professor of Constitutional law at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver applauded the decision. Kopel said Benitezs ruling was exceptionally thorough in its factual analysis.

Obviously, its a district court decision  which is subject to further appellate review  but for people who are against gun bans, its obviously a positive decision at this stage, Kopel said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez
When Ivor Bradley goes before San Franciscos most powerful legislative body Tuesday, he wont be arguing for anything extraordinary. Instead, the Board of Supervisors will spend precious time debating a controversy that could only happen in San Francisco: whether to let Bradley open a coffee shop.

The fight over croissants and cappuccinos promises to be the most San Francisco story of them all  one that covers the citys tech industry, its small business crisis, its intense NIMBY-ism and its famously dramatic fights over every little change proposed to the citys landscape.

The latest chapter in the saga that might as well be titled San Francisco is arguing over what now? began last summer when Bradley closed his famous cafe, the Creamery, after 12 years in the South of Market.

A drop in revenue because of the pandemic and uncertainty over a planned 960-unit development on the site prompted Bradley to not renew the lease on the cafe that was famous in tech circles for its venture capitalist confabs and the apparent birth of Airbnb.

When Bradley, a genial, twinkly eyed Irishman who peppers his conversation with phrases like a wee bit, went searching for a new home for his cafe, he landed on a vacant space at 14th and Mission streets.

And thats when the intense scrutiny began.

Who knew that scones could be so controversial? Bradley, 50, mused as we stood outside the space hes paid $4,500 a month for since September, but still has no key to open.

The Sunset District resident and father of two thought relocating a popular business to a vacant storefront a mile and a half away that nobody else wants to rent would be a lot easier than this. Especially because his plan fits the zoning rules and many of his employees live in the Mission. Plus, hes agreed to hire locally for any slots his former staff doesnt fill.

Between rent, which will rise to $6,000 monthly if and when he can finally open, an architect, equipment storage and other costs, hes sunk more than $60,000 into the project.

It definitely makes you stop and think of the process and the hurdles that you have to overcome if you want to make a significant investment in a neighborhood, Bradley said. Its a challenge to move forward knowing the city doesnt have your back.

So what happened? San Francisco happened.

The city allows any neighbor of a proposed new business to object to its plans, and thats what the Cultural Action Network did on Jan. 14. Its a community organization that, according to its Facebook page, takes direct action to protect the citys artists, diversity, cultural organizations and their spaces.

It has called for banning tech offices in the Mission, opposed state legislation to make it easier to build apartment buildings near transit and opposes red lanes to get buses down busy streets faster.

Its membership is unclear, but its president is Rick Hall, who is also the president of Livable California, an anti-development group derided as NIMBYs by people who believe the state should build enough housing for everybody who needs it. Hall answered a call to the phone number associated with the Cultural Action Network and said somebody else would get back to me for this column. Nobody did.

The other person whose name is attached to the Cultural Action Networks appeals of the coffee shop is Ben Terrall, a freelance writer. Terrall, who lives 4 miles from 14th and Mission, didnt return requests for comment either.

At a March 25 Planning Commission hearing, about a dozen people spoke, almost all opposed to Bradleys coffee shop. They had legitimate concerns  like that theyd rather see a retail store run by a Latino immigrant in the space. But no such proposal exists. So far, its the coffee shop or yet another vacant space in a neighborhood already dotted with them.

Bradley agreed to make changes requested by neighbors. Hell publish his menu in Spanish and English, hang Latino and Native American art on the walls, and keep his prices low. A planned bilingual menu shows pastries priced at $2.50 and the most expensive item, salads, topping out at $11.

He emphasized his clientele isnt only tech workers; at his previous site, he gave free food to seniors living on fixed incomes, let charities use the space free for their events and donated to local schools.

They dont know me, Bradley said of the objectors. Im not the big corporate guy they say I am. Im just a small-business man with a good concept.

The Planning Commission approved Bradleys shop unanimously, but that didnt end the weird twists and turns. Far from it.

Terrell, with Halls backing, then filed an appeal under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, a 1970 state law that requires government agencies to disclose environmental impacts of projects. While important and well-intentioned, the law has become a go-to weapon for NIMBYs to block projects they dont like, even if their arguments have nothing to do with preserving the environment.

And incredibly, the Board of Supervisors gives them considerable time and merit. A recent proposal from Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Matt Haney to require CEQA appellants to gather 50 signatures in some narrow cases was tabled by Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Dean Preston in committee.

Terrall cited no evidence in his appeal that the cafe would damage the environment, but just said it would gentrify the neighborhood.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the Mission, said shed be surprised if the hearing elicits any real justification for stopping the cafe.

I understand the appellants fears, which are that a cafe with an upscale clientele will be the start of the Valencia-fication of Mission Street, she said, referring to the upscale businesses dotting the nearby commercial corridor. I just dont know that CEQA is a viable tool to stop a business from coming into an empty shop.

She said she supported the change proposed by Breed and Haney and worries that activists misuse of CEQA threatens its future. Ronen added that she doesnt know the people behind the Cultural Action Network and that her office tried to broker a deal between them and Bradley, but it was just a nonstarter basically.

Sharky Laguana, president of the citys small-business commission, said the CEQA appeal is clearly anti-small business.

How can anybody look at the current environment and say, Whats needed now is to slow business down, he said. We need to take a more holistic view of the economy and not be prioritizing the grumpalumps and gadflies and folks who just hate everything.

Bradley figures hes got a 50-50 chance of surviving Tuesday. But he already has a Plan B. In April, he spent a week in Denver researching the small-business market. He found cheaper rents, happy families and a city that doesnt consider a new coffee shop a matter of grave, dramatic importance.

He certainly wouldnt be the first parent and small-business owner to bid San Francisco, its bureaucracy and its grumpalumps goodbye.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 23:19:51|Editor: huaxia

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KIEV, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran is ready to pay 150,000 U.S. dollars in compensation to the Ukrainian families for each victim killed in a passenger airplane downed near Tehran, the Iranian Embassy in Ukraine said Friday.

"The Iranian delegation announced its readiness to pay compensation to Ukrainian families of those killed in the tragedy 150,000 U.S. dollars for each victim, following the resolution of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and asked the Ukrainian delegation to bring this information to the notice of the relatives of the Ukrainians who passed away," said the statement published by the Iranian embassy on its Facebook page after the third round of talks on the plane crash.

During the negotiations, the parties also discussed a wide range of issues related to criminal proceedings and technical issues, including aviation and flight safety, as well as Iran's final report on the tragedy.

The third round of talks between Ukraine and Iran on the Ukraine International Airlines plane downed near Tehran in 2020 took place in Kiev on June 2-3.

On March 17 of this year, Iran's Civil Aviation Organization published its final report on the Ukrainian passenger plane crash near Tehran, identifying a "mistake" by the air defense operator as the cause of the incident.

However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized the Iranian report, calling it a "cynical attempt" to hide the true reasons for the downing of the plane.

The Ukrainian aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was hit on Jan. 8, 2020 by two missiles shot by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps shortly after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Enditem
SACRAMENTO  After a contentious plan to compel denser residential construction around public transit and in wealthy suburbs failed last year, a group of California lawmakers convened to figure out a unified path forward on addressing the states housing shortage.

The legislative package they introduced was meant as an olive branch to opponents, a series of proposals that would better balance their goal of making it easier to build more housing with the concerns of communities who feared losing a say in how they develop. Instead, it has generated intense resistance from the same neighborhood associations and local governments that helped defeat the earlier approach.

As the bills, which recently cleared a key deadline, move into the final months of the legislative session, it remains to be seen whether lawmakers can navigate the increasingly stark divide between the Californians who hold precious local control over planning decisions and those who blame it for contributing to the stratospheric cost of housing that has become one of the states most intractable problems.

We have done the easy stuff. So what were faced with right now is how do we address the more complex, said state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego who spearheaded the task force on housing legislation last year. It makes perfect sense to me that people havent touched some of these issues, because until were in the crisis we are in, we havent felt the need to stick our necks out.

Lawmakers are pushing at least half a dozen bills, many of them holdover concepts from last year, that could boost housing production in the state by requiring cities and counties to approve projects if they fit certain criteria. The measures would pave the way to turn underused commercial properties into housing, rezone lots for small apartment buildings of up to 10 units and loosen restrictions on square footage.

The biggest flashpoint has been Atkins SB9, which would make it easier to split lots and convert homes into duplexes. The proposal aims to build up existing residential neighborhoods, which are largely zoned for single-family housing, potentially creating up to four units on a property that had just one before.

Atkins has defended the policy as a more modest and equitable approach to density that could bring cheaper housing into communities without fundamentally changing their character.

But dozens of groups representing homeowners across the state have mobilized to defeat the bill and others, which would override the local planning process where cities and counties decide what kind of housing gets built where  and where residents can voice their concerns about the impact projects would have on traffic, parking, privacy and green space in their neighborhoods.

We reject the notion of a compromise, said Isaiah Madison, a board member for Livable California who lives in South Los Angeles. I feel hesitant when I say that, because it shuts down the conversation so quickly. But theres a fundamental difference of opinion, and thats the problem.

Livable California formed in 2018 to fight a denser residential construction bill, ultimately known as SB50, which roiled the housing debate at the state Capitol for two years. The group has quickly become a force, both locally and statewide, at organizing opposition to development that members believe threatens homeownership, single-family zoning and lifestyle choices.

Though SB50 died last year, Livable California and its allies continue to lobby against legislation that they argue carries on its spirit by telling cities where they should plan housing. Under the Atkins measure, for example, local governments would have to approve applications to split lots and convert homes into duplexes if the projects meet size requirements and local design standards, fall outside historic and environmentally sensitive districts, and do not require the demolition of housing that is rent-restricted or has been occupied by tenants in the past three years.

Madison said his group does not support a one-size-fits-all approach to Californias housing problems, which could force communities to accept new housing that feels out of place. He also criticized SB9 for not including mandates for affordable units, which he said could cause gentrification in some neighborhoods.

Thats not how we have decided we want to grow, Madison said.

The outcry has also gotten louder among local governments, with more 100 cities now formally opposed to the bill, including Palo Alto, Lafayette, Orinda, Santa Clara and Rohnert Park.

Local governments are already far along in the planning process for new state targets that dictate how much additional housing they must accommodate over the next eight years and they dont want to see the rules change again, said Jason Rhine, legislative director for the League of California Cities.

Its almost as if the rug is getting pulled out from under us, said Rhine, who suggested that the best compromise legislators could reach with opponents of their housing bills would be to hit pause and let dozens of laws that took effect over the past few years play out.

If those arent enough to make significant progress on the new state housing goals, then the Legislature can revisit the issue in a year or two, Rhine said. Just let the machine work.

SB9 does have support from business groups, housing developers and pro-development community organizations, as well as a few cities, including Oakland and San Diego.

As it passed the Senate last week, members repeatedly described it with words like balance, compromise and consensus. Atkins said she had made changes to the bill to address concerns about profiteering and local flexibility, such as adding provisions that the same owner cannot split adjacent lots and cities can require them to live at the property they apply to split. It was approved on a bipartisan vote of 28-6, with only Republicans opposed but half a dozen Democrats holding off.

Now the measure moves over to the Assembly, where it must survive a whole new series of committee hearings and votes. An earlier version passed last year  though the vote took place three minutes before the end of session, leaving no time for final approval. Depending on whom you ask, it was either a logistical snafu or an act of sabotage.

Ever the politician, Atkins said shell keep working until the very end to win people over to her bill. Many of their objections, she said, are driven by fear that the push for denser housing will destroy the value of their single-biggest investment.

I really believe those concerns are genuine and I owe it to them to have the conversation, she said.

But Atkins blamed a lot of misinformation by opponents for fanning suspicion that her proposal would be a tool to completely eliminate single-family neighborhoods. She lives in one herself.

There are people that will never support any change, she said, and I think those are the loud voices were hearing.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
The weather is warming up, so now's the best time to take one of the world's most portable food outdoors for a trip to the park, a hike, or wherever you find yourself this month. Here's a look at four sandwich spots that caught the attention of SFGATE's Food + Drink team:

Rozmary Kitchen

The West Coast and East Coast couldnt be more dissimilar, especially when it comes to its regional dishes. But for Nick Rappoport, merging two iconic breads from each coast was exactly what he craved most. At Rozmary Kitchen, his new Bay Area sandwich pop-up, Rappoports love for Dutch crunch and hoagies are found within one bite.



It combines everything that I like in a sandwich roll, said Rappoport, who co-owns Rozmary Kitchen with his wife Melissa Johnson. During the pandemic, I was [baking] rolls and I was like, how do I combine Dutch crunch and sesame seeds? So, I incorporated sesame seeds into the Dutch crunch. I really like the East Coast-style hoagie roll because it's great for transportation, and the pandemic kind of inspired that.



Rozmary Kitchen debuted in late January at Mountain Views The Midwife and the Baker, where the hoagie-style Dutch crunch bread is made exclusively for the pop-up. After linking up with friend Thomas (Mac) McConnell, co-owner of The Midwife and The Baker, a partnership was born. Rappoport says that McConnell looked at the bread recipe with a fresh set of eyes to help him refine and adjust it with a blend of different flours. The roll, which is vegan, is a work in progress, Rappoport shares, but hes thrilled with its status thus far.



Every Friday, customers have the choice of four sandwiches that include a turkey, roast beef, vegan Vietnamese, and an Italian roll sandwich that are all available for pre-order. Since Rozmary Kitchen has a small team, it's unable to produce more options currently, but Rappoport hopes to change the menu seasonally with recognizable flavors.



Just before launching the pop-up, Rappoport found himself in a similar predicament as other chefs during the pandemic: He was fresh out of his job as chef de cuisine at Pinterest and needed to pivot. He says that opening his own sandwich shop had always been at the back of his mind, so when he lost his job, Rappoport started spending more time in his kitchen and experimenting with bread recipes.



I never had the passion to open a restaurant, but sandwiches had definitely been on my radar for a long time. With COVID, obviously it was a rough year, but it really kicked my butt. I was like, I dont really have anything to do right now, so I might as well just go for it, Rappoport said.



Taking the leap was also made easier thanks to his 18 years of culinary experience. Before Pinterest, Rappoport had worked in Napa at The French Laundry, first as an intern and then as a cook. Later when he moved to San Francisco, he took up gigs at Serpentine, Outerlands, and Lukes Local in Cole Valley. Rappoport says that it was at Lukes Local where his interest in sandwiches really came to fruition as he watched the store's bustling deli operation.



I love sandwiches and what Im doing is combining through everything Ive learned in the last 18 years and putting it between bread, Rappoport said.



Rozmary Kitchen has pop-ups at The Midwife and the Baker located at 846 Independence Ave., Mountain View every Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Customers must pre-order on Wednesday. Pop-ups also happen every Thursday and Sunday at the Marin Civic Center Farmers' Markets. Follow them on Instagram for the latest.

Izza

Paige D. via Yelp

Last October, a new izakaya with a catchy name opened in Oaklands Temescal neighborhood. Izza, chef-owner Kay Kims first restaurant, is a fusion-style izakaya with a lot to offer: yakitori, ramen, sashimi, katsu curry, and a lengthy sake menu. But this is a sandwich roundup, so were here to talk about Izzas Japanese sandos.

Served on toasted milk bread from San Francisco bakery Breadbelly, each sandwich comes with pickled red cabbage, housemade katsu sauce, and a choice of protein: pork katsu, chicken katsu, beef katsu, shrimp katsu, and sweet potato and avocado. The result is a perfect marriage of tangy, crispy, crunchy and savory (were partial to the shrimp, but the most popular sando is pork). A slightly different and particularly luxurious option is the uni and scallop brioche toast, a stunning creation topped with edible flowers.

[Japanese milk bread sandwiches] are starting to get really popular in my home country, which is Korea, so I really wanted to make a menu with them on it, said Kim.

The katsu sandwich obsession first swept the Bay Area a few years ago, and has only grown in 2021. Now, all sorts of options abound: There's brand new spot Katsuya, which serves cheese and ebi katsu sandwiches in a food court near the Dragons Gate entrance to SF Chinatown, and Ok's Deli in Oakland that is serving a popular black tiger ebi katsu sandwich (see below for more on Ok's Deli).

Kims interest in Japanese food was piqued during his time as a student at UC Berkeley, where he frequented Ippuku, Kiraku and Kirala.

Those three restaurants were my favorite spots to go out and eat, which led to me eating Japanese food a lot, he said. That's why I started this type of restaurant.

Soi U. via Yelp

Kim went on to work for a decade in various East Bay Korean and Japanese restaurants, including Ohgane in Alameda, Bowld Korean Rice Bar in Albany, and Kansai in Oakland. When he saw the Telegraph Avenue restaurant space (formerly home to a pho spot called KangNam) go up for sale during the pandemic, he jumped at the opportunity.

Because I worked in the restaurant industry, my dream was opening my own, said Kim. So when ... people were closing down restaurants, it came much quicker than I expected.

He got a deal on rent  three months free. So during that time, he and his team experimented with the menu constantly, trying nearly 100 different menus. The scallop and uni toast was a result of this period of continuous experimentation.

When asked what makes Izzas sandos so good, he sums it up succinctly.

The bread is good, said Kim. And we make everything daily, the cabbage and whatever goes inside.

Izza, 4419 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Open Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 11:30 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Ok's Deli

@brokeasscooks / OK's Deli

If you want a sandwich from pop-up Ok's Deli, you've gotta work fast.

They've gotten plenty of writeups lately, and if you've been wondering about the hype, they're the real deal. The trick to landing one of their delectable sandwiches, said chef Albert Ok, is you have to go to their ordering website (linked below) right at noon on Mondays  otherwise the most popular sandwiches will sell out within 10 minutes.

There's a reason behind the fervor of Ok's sandwiches. Part of that is their stellar and drool-inducing photos on their Instagram, but the other half is, of course, the sandwiches. There's a rotating weekend menu, but the mainstays are the wagyu roast beef sandwich, made with wagyu, provolone, iceberg lettuce, red onions, pickles, onions and a caramelized onion dijonaise; there's also the black tiger ebi katsu sandwich, made with a black tiger shrimp patty, tartar sauce, shaved cabbage slaw and a black sesame Hawaiian bun. The most popular sandwich remains their Sichuan hot chicken sandwich uniquely laid out on a sesame bun, with influences from Taiwanese popcorn-style chicken.

"We sorta wanted to stray away from just the standard Nashville hot chicken style that everyone's been doing, wanting to create something that was uniquely our own," Ok told SFGATE. "... we also wanted something more unique for buns, too  it's been fun incorporating more playful ideas."

It also doesn't hurt that all of the ingredients are made in-house, including the bread.

"We obviously stayed in the realm of Asian-influenced cuisine; we like to just call it Asian American, but at the same time we play with familiar American types of sandwiches, too," Ok said. "... I want to say most of the time, it's just things that we enjoy eating. We try to elevate it slightly with incorporating our own breads, or just higher-quality beef products with just little tweaks here and there. For things that we don't want to play around too much with, such as the roast beef, the corned beef  we don't try to go crazy, just try to make it really solid and straightforward."

Ok began his career in the restaurant industry as a college student in Irvine, working part-time at restaurants while attending school. But rather than go to art school after graduation, instead Ok decided to move into cooking entirely. In the Bay Area, he has had an extensive background of working in a number of restaurants, including 'Aina, Namu Gaji, Iyasare, Maum and Mago, to name a few.

Ok's Deli is looking to find a permanent space for his deli, searching for just the perfect space to handle the amount of sandwich prep they need to do. The hope is to open a spot in Oakland or Berkeley, but if the right opportunity came along, a San Francisco location isn't out of the question.

Ok's Deli has a weekend pop-up at Mago in Oakland, located at 3762 Piedmont Ave. Ok's Deli is currently pre-order only through the website, www.oksdeli.com, with pickups on Saturday and Sunday, between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Their latest menu and ordering opens up on Mondays at noon. Follow them on Instagram for the latest.

Sandy's

Peterson Harter, left / Jiashu Wang, right, @jiashuw

While it's not entirely unusual to hear about a pop-up that got its start during the pandemic, Sandy's began in a unique way  rather, it was a pop-up that started from another pop-up, Bread Spread Pickle.

"It's like layers of pop-ups," chef Peterson Harter told SFGATE, chuckling.

Harter is one-half of the popular pop-up Bread Spread Pickle, along with his partner, Moni Frailing. The duo decided to fold Bread Spread Pickle, and Harter instead launched Sandy's, focusing on the New Orleans classic, the muffuletta.

"Especially after this past year running Bread Spread Pickle, it was the simplicity of the sandwich," Harter said of the draw of muffulettas. "It's also one of those things that, I love po' boys more than anything in the world, but I think a muffuletta is so underrated for how incredible it can be. And then once we started doing some [research and development] and some sampling on it, we got it down, and it's something that I want to eat every single day  and it's something that I want to make, and make sure that everybody can try one."

Harter's muffuletta is piled high with prosciutto, sopressata, mortadella (without pistachios) and provolone. There's also the required chopped olive mix to finish it off, with "a little bit of spice" and a dash of (admittedly) untraditional mayonnaise on house-made bread. Sandy's muffuletta is an impressive size, making it easily shareable  or not, if you're particularly hungry  and Harter shared that it's even better the next day after, once everything has soaked further into the bread.

The muffuletta has been a way for Harter to draw on his New Orleans background, and he said it's been a nice way to meet people in San Francisco with their own link to New Orleans.

"I think one of the best things is, it's connecting with a lot of people that have a connection to New Orleans," Harter said. "I haven't found that since I've been here and since I started doing this, majority of people have said, 'Oh, I go to New Orleans for Jazz Fest.' ... And you could just tell we just have this connection, so it's great. I get to meet these people that just have this love and affinity for New Orleans, and it's pretty awesome."

Sandy's, named after Harter's father whose nickname is Sandy, recently locked down a permanent pop-up location in the back of Maison Corbeaux, a bottle shop on the corner of Sacramento and Divisadero. Once they settle in more, Harter is hoping to expand the menu and get some chairs and tables for the outside for customers to enjoy their food.

"I think it's always going to be fast-casual and very approachable, but it's going to be food from New Orleans with a little bit of a twist on it, and just [more of] what I want to eat," Harter said.

Sandy's is a weekend pop-up at Maison Corbeaux in San Francisco, located at 2901 Sacramento St. Sandy's is currently pre-order only through the website, www.sandyssf.com, with pickups on Saturdays and Sundays. Follow them on Instagram for the latest.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  The body of one miner was found Saturday at a small coal mine in a northern Mexico border state that flooded and collapsed, leaving six miners still missing. There had been complaints for years about unsafe conditions at mines in the area.

The federal civil defense office said one miner's body had been found and the search was continuing for the other six in the coal belt of the northern state of Coahuila.

The Coahuila Labor Department said the mine was apparently hit by some sort of collapse and flooding. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said a dam or holding pond had collapsed, causing the flood.

Efforts have concentrated on pumping water out of the mine. The army dispatched a 28-member team that specializes in looking for victims in collapsed structures and it was using two trained dogs at the mine.

The Micaran mine, located in Muzquiz township, appears to be a type of deep, narrow, open pit with steep earth walls, with at least one tunnel at the bottom burrowing into the coal face. The area is about is 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas.

Coal mines in the area have been hit by deadly accidents in the past. An accident on Feb. 19, 2006, in the Pasta de Conchos mine in nearby Sabinas, Coahuila, killed 65 miners, but only two bodies were recovered.

Mexican authorities called off that search and closed the mine five days after the accident, arguing that it was unsafe due to toxic gas.

The Miguel Agustin Pro Human Rights Center published a letter from families of the miners killed in the Pasta de Conchos disaster, saying that coal mines in the area routinely violated safety codes.

The relatives' group has reviewed conditions at a large number of mines since 2006 and reported that about 100 miners have died in mishaps since the Pasta de Conchos accident. In recent mine inspections, they said, they had found miners working in sneakers with no safety equipment, drinking water or gas monitors.

The rule continues to be that these mines operate in deplorable conditions, the group wrote. For decades, the mines have been allowed to operate with complying with the laws.

Many of Coahuila's small-scale mines are astonishingly primitive; rough logs are used to shore up tunnels and miners descend atop crude coal buckets on cables pulled by car engines.

The issue is a key one for Lopez Obrador, who has promised to get justice for miners' families, while simultaneously increasing the amount of coal the government purchases to burn in power plants.

Lopez Obrador wrote in his social media accounts that federal forces were aiding in the effort and said, We hope the rescue will be positive for the relatives, and for everyone.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  A year ago, Ross Martinsons Center City store, Philadelphia Runner, was ransacked in the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd. As raucous crowds cleared out of Rittenhouse Squares retail corridors, Martinson and his business partners were left to contend with an upturned, waterlogged store after sprinklers had activated to quell a fire set inside.

A year later, Martinson says he plans to reopen Philadelphia Runner this summer in a new location at 17th and Walnut Streets, a block away from the former store at 16th and Sansom. While many businesses in the Rittenhouse Square area were able to bounce back within a few days to several months, locally owned Philadelphia Runner, which was surrounded by mostly high-end chains, was a notable exception  and a reminder that not everything downtown has returned to normal.

It was completely destroyed, Martinson said last May about the store, which needed to have its floors and drywall replaced. Now that he has signed a lease for the new, significantly larger store, Im definitely feeling positive for the future. He added that Philadelphia Runner did well in the spring once its online store went live in February with all of the stores merchandise.

As the unrest trickled out from Center City to the 52nd Street shopping corridor in West Philadelphia last year, some small business owners have continued to struggle.

As of late April, 53 of the 1,906 ground-floor businesses in Center City, or 2.8%, were still boarded up, said JoAnn Loviglio, a spokesperson for the Center City District. Over on the retail strip of 52nd Street, many businesses were damaged twice last year, and some owners are still reeling.

Im open back up, but the business right now is kind of shaky, said Mohammad Rahman, the owner of SNS Electronics at 203 S. 52nd St. His business was ransacked two times last year, in the spring and fall, and then burglarized this year. He said he didnt have insurance that would have protected him against property damage last year but has bought it since then. I know for a fact if I had insurance, I would have been fine.

Rahman said his merchandise was valued between $40,000 and $60,000. Most of it  phones, televisions, speakers, and other electronics accessories  was stolen during the unrest last year, and he cant afford to fully restock.

Im just hitting my savings, said Rahman, 25, who immigrated to the U.S. from Bangladesh in 2007 and opened his store in 2016 after gaining work experience at other electronics stores for about a decade. I borrowed some money from my parents and people that I know just to get back up, but its not enough.

He received about $5,500 in private aid from organizations that included the Enterprise Center, a West Philadelphia group that assists underrepresented entrepreneurs. Rahman said he applied twice to receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration with the hope he would receive some help.

I didnt get nothing at all, he said.

People got in through the back door of the Foot Locker on Chestnut Street between 52nd and 53rd Streets in October after the Philadelphia police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr.

The money he received from other sources dwindled quickly.

A total of 36 businesses on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia were affected by civil unrest last spring, said Sadiyah Sabree, the 52nd Street commercial corridor manager for the Enterprise Center. In October, after Philadelphia police shot and killed Walter Wallace Jr., whose family said he was having a mental health crisis when he confronted officers with a knife, 22 businesses were impacted, some for the second time.

The Enterprise Center raised more than $150,000 and started to distribute $2,000 to each local business that sustained damage, Sabree said. Some stores that experienced particularly heavy damage  such as Kings Fashions, which was set on fire  received a little more. A man who picked up the phone at Kings Fashions, which reopened at the end of February, said the owner was out of town for an extended trip. He declined to comment.

The community rallying around local businesses has been really supportive, Sabree said, although there are still some lingering fears. The experience was so traumatic that its now at the back of their minds.

Across the city, many merchants declined to talk about the fallout of the civil unrest and vandalism. In Center City, spokespeople for some stores that were vandalized last May declined to comment. Major Rittenhouse Square retailers that sustained heavy losses last year included Nordstrom Rack, Bloomingdales Outlet, H&M, Doc Martens, Vans, Urban Outfitters, and Apple.

We had a lot of products that were taken, said Nicole Miller, marketing director for Adolf Biecker Salon, which has a location at 16th and Sansom and two spots in the Philadelphia suburbs. Luckily, we were able to rebound from it and get the repairs. She said no one was inside when people started breaking windows, and no tools or dryers were stolen because of the way the salon is arranged.

As an organization, we were upset about what was going on within our salons, she said, but we had a greater concern as part of what was going on in the greater society as a whole. Adolf Bieckers staff was able to reopen the salon in two to three days after it boarded up its storefront while it waited to replace its broken glass doors. It was a challenging time, but we are definitely on the rebound.

Many were delayed waiting for insurance adjusters as well as materials and supplies, Steve Gartner, executive vice president of global retail services for the commercial real estate firm CBRE, said of businesses that were damaged during civil unrest last year. Almost all tackled the desire and the task to reopen as soon as possible.

In April, as the murder trial for Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin drew to a close as millions nervously waited for the verdict, Sabree, who oversees businesses on the 52nd Street commercial corridor, asked local business owners in an email to make sure their security cameras were set up and their security gates were working properly.

We dont want people to be fearful, she said. We want them to be prepared.

___

Online:

https://bit.ly/3wRp4wP
PORT GIBSON, Miss. (AP)  An 84-year-old Mississippi man wore a cap and gown and walked across a stage to pick up his high school diploma, generations after bureaucratic mistakes prevented him from receiving it.

Jerry Moon joined 94 graduates during commencement May 28 at Port Gibson High School, WLBT-TV reported.

Its just unbelievable, Moon said. Im just so thrilled. I dont know what to do.

In early 1958, Moon was in the Army when he passed an exam to earn his high school equivalency certificate. However, Moon said he didn't receive a signed copy immediately because the Army misplaced it.

After Moon was discharged and returned to Mississippi, his certificate arrived by mail in October 1958. He asked the high school principal for a diploma, only to learn the certificate was missing a required signature from his company commander.

An Army National Guard major signed the paperwork this year. Moon called Port Gibson High School principal Kelvin Fuller, who agreed to honor his request for a diploma.

Its emotional for me because this is my first time ever doing anything of this nature, so I just wanted him and his family to be excited and be happy," Fuller said.

Moon's family attended his graduation, and he carried a photo of his late wife.

"All of his life hes been trying to get this diploma in his hands," said his son, Darryl Moon. "He never gave up on it."
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP)  A beverage distributor that operates across Alabama and played a role in the state's craft beer craze agreed to pay more than $800,000 to settle claims that it discriminated against Black employees for years by denying them jobs and promotions that went to white workers instead, the government said.

The 114-year-old Birmingham Beverage Co., which does business as AlaBev, also will review its personnel policies and provide anti-discrimination training under the agreement, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in announcing the settlement on Thursday.

EEOC sued the company in 2017 claiming it failed to promote a Black driver supervisor, Ronnie Johnson, to a route sales job despite six years of exemplary job performance and previous experience. The post went to a less-experienced white worker instead, the agency said.

Multiple Black workers also expressed interest in promotions during the four years preceding the suit but none was selected, the suit claimed. At least 11 white applicants or workers got route jobs, and the company's only two Black route sales people were given routes in mostly African American areas, EEOC said.

The $825,000 settlement will go to Johnson and 34 current and former Black employees, EEOC said, and a three-year agreement is intended to prevent more discrimination.

The chair of the agency, Charlotte Burrows, said the case illustrated the destructive and demoralizing impact race discrimination can have on employees when they are denied employment opportunities based on their race.

For many years, African American workers at Birmingham Beverage demonstrated their fitness and desire for promotion but were denied employment opportunities because of the color of their skin," she said in a statement.

Accused of violating federal job protection laws, the company denied any racial bias in employment decisions, court records show. In a statement, the company said some of the people involved in the case were asked to apply for jobs but failed to do so.

The company said it has had many Black route salesmen in the Birmingham market and denied any discrimination.

The high costs of litigation of class claims made the continued vigorous defense of the suit economically infeasible and presented a distraction to our core business operations, it said in a statement.

With some 3,000 retail customers statewide, the family-owned Birmingham Beverage was part of the development of Alabama's craft beer industry more than 15 years ago, according to its website. It purchased the first kegs of beer produced by the Birmingham-based Good People Brewing Co. in 2008 and added Avondale Brewing and the Huntsville-based Yellowhammer and Straight to Ale later.

The company distributes beer from dozens of companies plus wine, liquor and nonalcoholic beverages, its website shows.
MAY 29 - JUNE 4, 2021

With commemorations for the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, a transparent Sky Pool in London and a cloudburst in Tibet, this photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published in the past week by The Associated Press from around the world.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)  On the surface, Faduma Osman can seem like a typical American teenager.

Her favorite musical artists are people many grown-ups have never heard of, including Polo G, and Olivia Rodrigo, and Jack Harlow.

She drives a 2015 Nissan Altima that she recently bought with years worth of savings from her part-time job at Chick-fil-A, but if money had been no object she would have gotten one of the various cars shes dreamed up on the design-your-model part of Teslas website.

And she uses the word like in conversation, like, a lot.

But get to know Faduma a little bit and it quickly becomes clear: Beyond the superficial stuff, theres not much typical about who she is, or what she represents, or where she comes from.

On Thursday, the young woman born 18 years ago in a Somali refugee camp in Kenya became the first female in her family to receive her high school diploma  from Myers Park in Charlotte  then will get ready to study biomedical engineering at N.C. State University on a full scholarship.

Its easy to be impressed by her story.

The story of what Nur Muhina and Khadija Muya went through so that Faduma and their eight other children could be successful, meanwhile? It is downright astonishing.

Ive heard the stories a lot of times, but every time it still feels like its new again, Faduma says while sitting in the tiny dining room of the familys 1,100-square-foot five-bedroom apartment off Wendover Road next to her mother, Khadija.

Khadija has just finished an emotional re-telling of her and Nurs 15-day trek from Somalia to Kenya, and of their 12-year existence in a refugee camp, where she birthed the first five of their children  Faduma being the youngest when they finally boarded a plane bound for the U.S.

Faduma continues: I mean, its pretty crazy (what they went through). Scary, too.

Those, in fact, are understatements.

A HARROWING JOURNEY

Nur and Khadija both came from poor families in Mogambo, Somalia. Khadija had the equivalent of about an eighth-grade education, while Nur never attended school in Africa.

They married in 1991, when he was 28 and she was 18.

That same year, the Somali civil war began, first as an armed resistance to the regime of then-president Siad Barre, then as a much larger conflict between various competing factions after he was overthrown. It would spill into their village with deadly consequences, with clan soldiers indiscriminately killing citizens, raping women, and stealing food from families on a daily basis.

Khadija says two of her relatives were among those killed, and she herself survived an attack in which she was knifed in the leg.

It didnt take long for the young couple  and many other families  to realize they needed to flee. They knew Kenya had camps set up for refugees. So they headed west, on foot, through the forests of Somalia.

The journey, to put it mildly, was harrowing.

The large group that they were with could travel only at night, Khadija says; during the day, they would try to stay hidden so as not to be spotted by clan soldiers. And that was the easy part.

A lot of people that were with them ... didnt make it, says Faduma, who was translating for her mother as she spoke in Mzigula, a dialect of Swahili. A lot of them couldnt walk anymore. A lot of them had died. Some of them got eaten by lions and other animals, like hyenas. Sometimes when they would have kids, they would put them on their backs, and ... sometimes the lions would sneak up and just snatch the babies.

She says if they saw the predatory animals approaching, theyd run for their lives. Otherwise: There was nothing you could do about it.

Sometimes, youd see people that you know on the ground, but you have to keep going. So it was basically just, if you made it, you made it, and if you didnt, you didnt.

Those who did survive suffered through an extreme lack of food and water. Sustenance was so scarce that those fleeing at times had to drink their own urine to avoid dehydration.

After 15 days, they finally reached Kenya.

THE LONG, LONG ROAD TO AMERICA

Khadija says the accommodations in the Kenyan refugee camps consisted of basic tents, and the 15-day supplies of food and water that were provided never lasted that long. So they had to go hungry until the next handouts came.

On top of that, there was no way to prepare cooked meals unless they went into the forest to collect firewood. And what was waiting for them in the forest? More members of Somali clans ready to wreak havoc on stray refugees. Some, she says, even were brazen enough to enter the complex at night to steal food and belongings at gunpoint.

This went on for years.

When it became clear that they werent going anywhere, Nur and others decided to build crude homes out of bricks, mud and sticks.

A decade passed. Khadija gave birth to four boys in a row: Abdul first, then Ali, then Yusuf, then Ramazani.

Starvation was always a threat. Khadija remembers, through tears, a time when Ali was about 3 or 4 and wound up going so long without eating that he collapsed and fell unconscious. Khadija thought he had died.

Nur and Khadija grew increasingly anxious to find a better situation, but every time they applied to be admitted as a refugee to another African country  Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe  they were denied.

Finally, somewhat out of the blue, after Faduma was born in 2003, they were told the United States might be an option.

The idea had never even occurred to them.

They didnt think that they would even be able to come to a place like America. (They thought) it wasnt a place for people like them basically, Faduma says, translating for her mom. They didnt know that there were Black people, Hispanic people, Asian people here. They thought it was just white people.

That was a false assumption, of course. But they also made an accurate one: That the U.S. would mean a better life for their family and a good education for their kids.

On Feb. 28, 2004, when Faduma was 1 year old, Nur and Khadija peered fearfully out the window of a plane as they approached the airport in their assigned city of Charlotte to see what quite literally looked like an alien world.

It was the first time they had ever seen snow.

SETTLING INTO A NEW LIFE, AGAIN

Upon arrival, the family of seven was placed in a two-bedroom apartment and given financial assistance and transitional support as social workers tried to help Nur get a job.

He spoke only a few words of English and had no formal education, so it took him awhile to land something, and the position paid him only minimum wage. Welfare checks were critical to helping them get by for the first several years. Food, shelter and water were the familys greatest luxuries. They had almost no disposable income.

Right before they moved into their current five-bedroom place in 2011, Nur and Khadija shared a bedroom with Faduma, her younger brothers Mahamad and Osman, and their then-baby sister Isha.

But the one thing Nur and Khadija never worried about was their kids educations.

And while all of their children have done well in school, Faduma stands out  and she stood out early on.

A MODEL STUDENT

When Faduma was at Cotswold Elementary, she was one of the schools two fourth-graders selected to be in a youth-empowerment program called Wayfinders, which serves low-income students in grades 4-12 identified as having both strong grades and leadership potential.

As part of Wayfinders, she was provided a variety of overnight summer camp experiences, enrichment opportunities, and mentoring.

If she struggled with anything when she was younger, it was her identity  and her parents.

10-year-old me, when my parents came to a concert at school or a play or something, Id have to talk to them not in English. I just didnt want do that, because everybody spoke English and I didnt want to speak a different language because I thought that was embarrassing. I was already really shy.

She never developed into an extrovert, but she did quietly blossom into a model student.

At Myers Park High, she helped lead a club called Supportive Students that provided mental-health resources to classmates; helped lead a school-wide initiative called Diversity Our Narrative, focused on diversifying textbooks in classes like History; was involved in Carolina Youth Coalition, a college-prep program; and was an active member of both the Key Club and a club called Change Makers.

She spent most of her high school years working at Chick-fil-A, consistently juggling a full class load with seven- to eight-hours shifts three days a week.

Faduma had been saving like crazy, aware of the costs associated not just with college, but also  once shed settled on N.C. State as her top pick  with becoming the first of her siblings to move away from Charlotte to attend it. What she didnt save she often contributed to help her parents make ends meet.

Then, in early March, Faduma learned that she was being awarded a scholarship through the universitys Pack Promise program, which caters to low-income students. It will cover 100% of tuition, room and board, books, and meal plans.

She celebrated by buying herself the used Nissan.

THEYVE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH

Faduma has also done a fair amount of reflecting as her time at Myers Park has wound down and her excitement for trading the small room in her familys apartment for a dorm room on campus in Raleigh has built up.

She acknowledges that, these days, she spends a lot less time feeling awkward about her parents and a lot more time feeling proud of them.

Definitely, just because if they didnt come here, if they didnt get approved (as refugees), my life would have looked like that, Faduma says, referring to her mothers stories of the familys flight through the forest from Somalia to Kenya. My own car ... thats not something that I would have if we were over there.

Theyve been through so much, she continues, and just to think about how my parents had to do all of that just for me to go to school and drive my own car ... is really crazy to me.

In fact, Faduma has come to embrace her roots fully enough that she now has a long-term goal of working in the biomedical engineering field in Kenya and/or Somalia, in no small part because she wants to be a role model to young girls over there who might have very limited ideas of what their own potential might be.

But theres a good chance shell be inspiring young girls back in Somalia much sooner than that.

When her older brother Ali graduated from UNC Charlotte with a bachelor of science in business administration  becoming the first person in the family to ever complete college  her grandfather, who still lives in Somalia, put a picture of Ali on his wall. Children would come to see the picture, and theyd stand in awe of what Ali had accomplished.

Any day now, her grandfather will add something to his makeshift shrine.

It will be a picture of Faduma.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 23:33:51|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Zambia recorded 1,164 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, a senior government official said on Saturday.

The cases were picked from 10,678 tests done during the period, bringing the cumulative cases to 99,540. Six people died during the period, bringing the total deaths to 1,303.

Kennedy Malama, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in charge of Technical Services, said the epidemiology of the disease was a source of concern as daily new cases have increased from under 100 to over 1,000.

He said the focus is on ensuring the preparedness of the frontline, particularly in terms of increased hospital capacity for the increasing admissions, and boosting staff capacity and commodities supply. Enditem
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Jimmy Allen Ruth, the Trailways bus driver for the 1961 group of Nashville Freedom Riders, has died, his family said. He was 83.

Driving the Freedom Riders from Nashville, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi was one of his greatest accomplishments, his family wrote in an obituary. Ruth's bus-driving memorabilia is currently on display at the Tennessee State Museum.

The Freedom Rides Movement of 1961 started in Washington, D.C. by 13 men and women who traveled to the South by bus and train to force desegregation of interstate transportation facilities. The bus rides sparked bombings and beatings by white mobs, as well as imprisonment for many of the Black and white riders. However, the movement also brought about the eventual end of segregated transportation in the South.

The rides all took place during the first year of John Kennedys presidency in an attempt to grab the attention of the Kennedy administration in its early months.

More than 4 00 people, ranging in age from 14 to 61, participated in the Freedom Rides,. In June, July, August and September of 1961, more than 60 Freedom Riders traveled across the South, most of which ended in Mississippi, according to a history documented on Swarthmore Colleges website.

When some of the passengers decided to travel to Jackson, Mississippi, every Trailways driver turned down the job except Ruth, who was white and 23 at the time, wrote Bobby Ruth, his brother, and Blondell Strong Kimbrough, his friend, in a news release.

He agreed to drive the students and never asked any questions although he was aware of the risks involved, the release stated. Ruth was willing to aid in the cause for freedom and justice at all cost.

The college-age Freedom Riders who set out from Nashville into the Deep South included Diane Nash, the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis and C.T. Vivian. Lewis, a civil rights icon who died last year, was arrested in Jackson and was held at the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

With no regrets of his earlier decision, he expressed great gratitude for being honored and continued to bubble with pride for what he considered to be a small gesture and learned later how significant a contribution he had made to the history of the civil and human rights movement during the early sixties, Kimbrough and Bobby Ruth wrote.

Ruth continued to drive trucks for Jack Johnson and Continental Bus until he was forced to stop because of an accident in 1963.

Ruth died while hospitalized at Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett in Bartlett, Tennessee, on Wednesday. His funeral is scheduled for June 8.
BEND, Ore. (AP)  Cate Havstad-Casad, co-owner of Havstad-Casad Family Farms in Jefferson County, didnt hold back last week while speaking on a Zoom call with state representatives about the drought conditions affecting farmers in Jefferson County.

Speaking during a meeting of the House Water Committee chaired by Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, Havstad-Casad told the legislators in stark terms that Jefferson County farms are starving for water while farms in other parts of the Deschutes Basin have more water than they need, The Bulletin reported.

What is happening through the forced dry up of this district, because we are junior water rights holders, is a massive ecological and a social disaster that not many people truly understand is happening, said Havstad-Casad, a patron of the North Unit Irrigation District.

Havstad-Casad, a first-generation farmer, was highlighting concerns raised by others in Jefferson County, whose water allotments this year are so small that roughly half the countys farmland is fallow. When the wind kicks up, the exposed ground creates clouds of dust in the Central Oregon sky as topsoil gets blown off the landscape.

We watch it happen. We stand in the middle of it. Its like watching your childrens future blow away, she said.

She had been invited to speak to the legislators by the Coalition for the Deschutes, a nonprofit that works with both farmers and environmentalists to protect the Deschutes River.

Her stirring testimony compared the topsoil loss in Jefferson County to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Havstad-Casad asked legislators to support farmers to plant cover crops, which help to reduce the dust storms.

The farmers must be supported to cover that topsoil, she said. It is securing our futures.

In addition to topsoil loss, said Havstad-Casad, farmers are facing financial hardship because their costs remain just as high as a normal season, but their profits are slashed due to the lost acreage.

While we maintain 100% of our overhead costs, we are only able to farm 40% of our land because of the 40% allotment we have been given, said Havstad-Casad, who practices regenerative agriculture on 200 acres of land. She has been farming near Madras since 2017 after moving there from a smaller property near Bend. The farms products include organically grown potatoes, onions and winter squash, as well as cattle and turkeys.

Drought and low reservoirs are the primary reasons behind the drop in water allotments. Wickiup Reservoir, the source of water for the North Unit Irrigation District, was just 31% full as of Friday. In an average year on the same date, the reservoir would be 79% full.

At its current pace, the reservoir will be empty by early August. A similar scenario played out last year when the water dried up in early September, forcing some irrigation districts to shut off their water prematurely.

The reservoir is draining quickly even though North Unit patrons are getting just 1 acre foot of water. Water patrons of other irrigation districts, including the Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID), are getting three times that amount. Thats because districts like COID have older (senior) water rights, so when water resources are restricted due to drought, junior rights holders have to curtail their water usage. Junior water rights holders get cut off in times of shortages.

Gail Snyder, founder of Coalition for the Deschutes, backs Havstad-Casad, saying that too much of Central Oregons water is being wasted and more of it needs to be shared.

From watering sidewalks in the city to flooding fields in the county, our current use of water is wasteful and unsustainable, said Snyder. We need a cultural paradigm shift that leads to better stewardship by all of us.

And we need to address the glaring imbalance in the amount of water available to different groups of farmers so that some arent left like Oliver Twist, begging for drops while others have more than they need, she added.

Farmers are asking Oregons legislators to eliminate red tape that makes sharing water difficult.

Tod Heisler, director of the rivers program for Central Oregon LandWatch, said the barriers to sharing water are the result of a lack of legislation.

In response to drought, COID offered to allow patrons to share their water with farmers in Jefferson County, said Heisler. But without a program in place to do this, and a concerted communications effort to recruit patrons into the program, it is questionable what can actually happen.

Greg Mintz, legislative director for Rep. Ken Helm, D-Washington County, said state legislators are actively working to resolve the water crisis faced by Jefferson County farmers. House Bill 3103A could make a difference, he said. This bill seeks to fix Oregons broken statute for transfers of stored water, said Mintz.

The bill passed out of the House Committee on Water in April with bipartisan support and it is now awaiting consideration of necessary funding in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, said Mintz.

We hope to see the bill pass out of Ways and Means and move to the House and Senate floor for votes, said Mintz.

While North Unit farmers like Havstad-Casad are hoping for a better way to move water around Central Oregon, its still going to take a fair amount of campaigning to get other irrigators interested in sharing their water.

Shon Rae, the deputy managing director for COID, said just two out of 3,600 of the irrigation districts patrons have expressed interest in sharing their water.

That is approximately 17 acres out of our 46,000 acres of irrigated land, said Rae.

Havstad-Casad said sharing water is the only short-term option, as current canal piping projects, which will also save water, are years away from completion.

We dont have time.The piping projects will take years to unroll, said Havstad-Casad. We are excited to see those projects send water this way, but I promise you, based on last season and the realities of this season, people who are seventh-generation farmers in this district are seriously considering throwing in the towel.

She also offered the legislators a message of hope and a warning.

We have the opportunity as a region to improve our management and share water more equitably, she said, because the farmers of North Unit do not have one more season in them like this one or the one last year.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP)  A court in El Salvador sentenced the wife of former President Tony Saca to 10 years in prison for money laundering Friday and ordered her to repay $17.6 million to the government.

Ex-first lady Ana Ligia de Saca got the same sentence as her brother, Oscar Edgardo Sol Mixco.

Earlier this year, Ligia de Saca was found guilty of illicit enrichment and ordered them to repay the government $4.4 million.

Tony Saca is already serving a 10-year prison sentence for corruption and has been ordered to return some $260 million to the state. Courts ruled that Saca could not explain the origin of $6.5 million in income he made while president. Saca will also be barred from holding public office for 10 years.

Saca was convicted in September 2018 after pleading guilty in connection with the diversion of more than $300 million from government coffers to benefit his businesses and third parties, becoming the first Salvadoran ex-president found guilty of corruption.

Saca, 54, was president from 2004 to 2009 and was arrested in October 2016.

Two other presidents have also been accused of corruption. Francisco Flores, who was president in 1999-2004, died in 2016 while awaiting trial under house arrest. Mauricio Funes, who held the top office in 2009-2014, fled to Nicaragua where he was granted asylum, allowing him to avoid facing trial back home.
A passenger tried to breach the cockpit on a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tenn., on Friday and the plane had to be diverted to Albuquerque, officials said.

The plane landed without incident and the passenger was taken into custody. Stephanie Kitts, a spokeswoman for Albuquerque International Sunport, said the incident happened shortly after 2 p.m. local time.

The FBI field office in Albuquerque said in a tweet it responded to the airport and there was no threat to the public. Delta said no one was injured in the incident.

The company said in a statement that passengers and crew members on Flight 386 assisted in detaining the "unruly" passenger.

"The plane landed safely and the passenger was removed by police and the FBI," the airline said. "He is in custody now."

Delta said a flight will take the remaining passengers from Albuquerque to Nashville, arriving about five hours behind schedule. The Boeing 737 had 162 passengers and six crew members onboard.

The incident happened as the Federal Aviation Administration is in the midst of a crackdown on unruly behavior by passengers. The agency recently has handed out hefty fines in cases where passengers refused to wear masks or otherwise cause disruptions.

The FAA referred questions about the incident to Delta.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)  Three priests have been placed on leave in response to claims in a lawsuit filed last month that they sexually abused a boy in the 1990s, the Diocese of Buffalo announced Saturday.

Bishop Michael Fisher said the priests all deny ever committing any acts of abuse but were placed on leave pending an investigation.

The diocese also notified the Erie County District Attorney's Office of the claims, which emerged in a lawsuit last month.

Placed on leave were the Revs. Adolph Kowalczyk, pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church in Orchard Park; Mieczyslaw Matt Nycz, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul in Williamsville; and Gregory Dobson, who is retired but continues to assist in various parishes of the diocese.

Bishop Fisher wishes to emphasize that the decision to place the priests on administrative leave at this time is in no way intended to indicate their guilt or any determination about the truth or falsity of the complaint, the diocese said in a statement.

The lawsuit was filed by an Erie County man who had been a student at Sacred Heart School at the time of the alleged abuse, the Buffalo News reported.

The man claims the priests coerced him to engage in sexual contact with other underage female students," which the priests filmed.

The alleged abuse occurred on school grounds and in the confessional rooms, according to the lawsuit.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  Authorities say the manager of a donut shop was shot and killed during an early morning robbery and a teenager was gunned down, two of four homicides in Philadelphia overnight as the city continues to grapple with a level of violence not seen in decades.

Police said a man accosted the 41-year-old woman as she was opening the shop in north Philadelphia's West Kensington neighborhood shortly before 5:30 a.m. Saturday. He pushed her inside at gunpoint, forced her to turn over money from the office, shot her in the head and fled, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hours later, police released surveillance video of the robbery and announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m. Friday in a different part of north Philadelphia, a man in his 20s was shot multiple times while sitting in a vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene minutes later; his name wasn't immediately released and the motive for the shooting wasn't immediately known.

In west Philadelphia shortly before 8:30 p.m. Friday, a 16-year-old youth was shot 13 times in the body and died minutes later at Presbyterian Hospital. A 39-year-old man hit in the leg in the same shooting was listed in stable condition.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. Friday, again in West Kensington, a 25-year-old man was shot in the chest and died at about 7 p.m. at Temple University Hospital.

Violence even reached the tony Rittenhouse Square park in the center of the city, where shortly before 3:30 a.m. Saturday a man in his 50s was attacked and beaten during what police called a random attack. He was listed in extremely critical condition at a hospital. A man was arrested and identified by a witness, police said.

Several other people were wounded, some critically, in other shootings and stabbings around the city.

Police statistics indicate the number of homicides in Philadelphia are running more than 30% above the number at this time last year. In total in 2020, Philadelphia recorded 499 homicides  only one below the highest-in-six-decades 500 homicides that were recorded in 1990.

In March, Mayor Jim Kenney, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and other officials spoke of efforts to get illegal firearms off the streets, increase patrols and engage with community groups to work with young people to try to head off potential violence.

We are all responsible for what goes on here, Outlaw said. This is our community, and these are our children.

Kenney said 2021 is on track to be the most violent year weve experienced in our lifetimes.

It makes me absolutely sick to know so many Philadelphians have suffered these preventable deaths, and so many families and communities have been ripped apart in the wake of each loss, he said. Its painfully clear that we must take new approaches.
QAMISHLI, Syria (AP)  The Kurdish-led administration in Syria's northeast handed over on Saturday to the Netherlands a Dutch woman, her two young sons, and a Dutch girl, who lived in a camp for families of alleged Islamic State militants.

A delegation from the Netherlands led by special envoy to Syria Emiel de Bont received the four in Qamishli city, at the Kurdish administration's offices. The group will be taken home and Kurdish authorities say the adult woman faces no criminal charges by his administration.

The move was a small step to resolve a complicated issue for European and Middle Eastern countries what to do with the thousands of their citizens who have traveled to territories held by IS militants in Syria and Iraq.

At a news conference organized for the handover, De Bont said the four had been living in a small settlement known as Roj camp, holding mostly western women who had travelled to Syria and Iraq, and their children.

This is a very specific consular legal mission which my government has decided to undertake because a Dutch court of law issued rulings in these specific cases, De Bont said. He gave no further details about the rulings.

It was the second time Dutch nationals have been repatriated from camps in northeast Syria, where thousands of foreigners and Iraqis have been living since the defeat of the extremist group in 2019. Two Dutch orphans were repatriated in June 2019.

European countries have been reluctant to repatriate their nationals living in such circumstances. Most are concerned that there is not enough evidence to try those who had joined the militant group, or fear they maintain links to IS.

A Dutch court ruled last year that authorities are not obliged to repatriate a group of 23 Dutch women and their 56 children currently detained in Northern Syria. Experts said there would be exceptions for individual cases.

The Syrian Kurdish authorities, who were part of the international coalition that fought against IS, say the camps where over 70,000 IS family members are staying are a security threat and a burden. The Kurds are still fighting off militants on the run, and fear the camps may also hold some active IS members.

The International community must bear its responsibilities regarding bringing those militants to trial and repatriating their nationals," said Syrian Kurdish official Abdulkarim Omar. He pleaded for assistance to manage another camp, the larger, sprawling al-Hol, which he called the most dangerous camp in the world.

Aid groups have described dire conditions in al-Hol, which Syrian Kurdish officials have struggled to control and where killings have been on the rise. They are believed to be carried out by IS supporters as punishment against those who stray from the groups extreme ideology.

Thousands are also held in prisons, with formal legal procedures and trials held only rarely.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  No one has seen KaRena McClerkin since she walked into a home in Kokomo four years ago.

Frank Joey Giza III was supposed to leave Bloomington for a music festival in Tennessee 12 years ago. His friends said he never arrived to the set.

Surveillance footage holds the last trace of Kevin Nguyen. The Fort Wayne man disappeared in 2018 somewhere between a bar and an Arbys parking lot.

June 3 marked a decade since Lauren Spierer vanished in Bloomington, becoming perhaps the states most well-known missing person case.

The Indiana University student disappeared after turning a street corner heading back to her apartment.

National media and true crime bloggers have dissected every angle in Spierers case. She, Giza, McClerkin and Nguyen are listed among the roughly 1,180 people declared missing in Indiana, according to a running bulletin kept by Indiana State Police.

FRANK JOEY GIZA III

Frank Giza should have spent the spring of 2009 couch-surfing and attending music festivals across the country. Those plans ended in Indiana.

The 25-year-old hitchhiked from Baltimore to Bloomington along I-70, guitar in hand, to stay with a friend before jetting off to another circuit of concerts in Tennessee and West Virginia.

He called his mother, Suzanne Giza, on his birthday: June 2.

He sounded like my old Joey, she told IndyStar. He wasnt high, wasnt drunk.

Suzanne Giza didnt want the conversation to end, despite being in the supermarket. She recalled the times he dialed her in the past too drunk to understand. She felt afraid that if they stopped talking, she would never talk to her son as her old Joey again.

Weeks passed without another word from Frank Giza. His friends waiting in Tennessee and West Virginia said he never showed up to either concert.

Suzanne Giza instinctively knew something was wrong with her son. He hitchhiked to California at the age of 18 and made a point to check in with her, even if it meant calling from a pay phone.

She contacted Bloomington police. What she gathered then remains the same today: Frank Giza got into a fight with his friend and left Bloomington.

Suzanne Giza believes someone knows what happened to her son. She issued flyers with his picture at truck stops in 2011, two years after her sons disappearance. Visiting Indiana immediately after he went missing was financially, and emotionally, impossible.

Tips came through here and there, she said. The last one came in 2019 from a man who claimed to have seen Frank Giza at a truck stop in western Maryland. Surveillance footage in the area ultimately proved too grainy to make out a solid match.

At that point, it had been 10 years since her son disappeared. Suzanne Giza accepts what she calls her sons likely demise.

In my mind, I feel that he is on the side of the road, in the woods, under leaves. Thats what I see, she said. I may not know until Im gone.

I cry sometimes, but I have to get on with it, she said.  I cant dwell on it. Ive dwelled on it for years.

KARENA MCCLERKIN

Ill be OK, Mamaw, were the last words KaRena McClerkin texted to her grandmother before she disappeared visiting a Kokomo house in 2016.

The 18-year-old wanted to get clean from drugs, and assured Gerry McClerkin that shed be fine meeting up with a boy and partying for one last time at the home in the 1000 block of South Washington Street. It would be her last, Gerry McClerkin said.

Every day for two years, Gerry McClerkin and KaRenas father, James McClerkin, led search parties to find her, to no avail. They grabbed their shovels and dug any time a tip flowed in.

They still do four years later.

I get phone calls randomly, and I leave, I go get the shovels, James McClerkin said. And we dig. We walk through rivers; we walk through lakes.

Daily searches became weekly excursions. Their family may not know where KaRena McClerkin is, James McClerkin said, but they certainly know where she isnt.

The McClerkins feel theyre the last ones taking up the torch in KaRena McClerkins case, as though police and the Kokomo community have lost interest.

James McClerkin pooled the $75,000 he saved in his 401(k) as a reward fund.

Gerry McClerkin continues to organize searches on Facebook.

She reminds the small town about her granddaughter by waving signs across from the Kokomo Police Department that read KaRena McClerkin is still missing from Kokomo, Indiana since Oct. 11, 2016.

Shell stay until her last breath, Gerry McClerkin said, since no one else will. Shes plunged into sewers to find KaRena McClerkin  with the Facebook posts to prove it. Shes walked miles into woods from Peru to Jerome. She and Jerry McClerkin have cracked holes in ice over lakes to see if KaRena McClerkins body bobs up.

Three private investigators, bloodhounds to sniff out bodies and an expert team of divers have turned up no answers.

I have beat myself up umpteen dozen times to find this girl, Gerry McClerkin said. I have begged; I have pleaded with people (to stand and hold signs).

She sees the flood of news coverage surrounding the Delphi murders and wonders how she cant find a single person to join her searches. She cant help but think its because her granddaughter is a mixed-race girl who got caught up in the wrong crowd.

Gerry and James McClerkin led another search Saturday, May 22 at a park on East Carter Street. They didnt find anything.

KEVIN NGUYEN

Two blocks stand between The Brass Rail bar and Kevin Nguyens last-known location in 2018.

The 25-year-old spent a night of drinking at the Fort Wayne watering hole on Dec. 8 until bouncers kicked him out before 1 a.m.

He bought a slice from Big Apple Pizza food truck, according to his receipt, and texted his sister to pick him up. His mother arrived instead to bring him home, but Nguyen wasnt there.

He hasnt been seen or heard from since he texted his sister for a ride.

Nguyens family filed a missing person report with Fort Wayne police two days after he patronized the bar.

He wasnt the type that didnt just come home, Nguyens grandmother, Dee Campbell, told The Indianapolis Star.

After encouragement from Nguyens father, Campbell texted the 25-year-old after he disappeared to ask what he wanted for Christmas in hopes of spurring a response.

She didnt hear back.

Pieces that traced the final parts of Nguyens night came in about a week after he disappeared.

Surveillance footage later obtained from an Arbys around the corner from Brass Rail captured him in the fast food chains parking lot twice that night  once with his hoodie over his head and the next without his glasses and stumbling slightly at 2:42 a.m.

A Fort Wayne resident invested in the case found Nguyens broken glasses in the back of Brass Rail shortly after he went missing.

Aside from hearsay, the surveillance tapes, broken glasses and her grandsons receipts for his bar tab and pizza, Campbell said she doesnt know what happened to Nguyen that night. But someone does, she said.

He didnt just vanish. This is not sci-fi, Campbell stressed.

Campbell said she walked the 0.1-mile route her grandson took that night to get a feel for what it looks like in the dark. Shes talked with employees at a gas station south of the bar and Arbys to see if they knew Nguyen.

I feel like were doing the legwork for this investigation, she said.

She sticks posters up around Fort Wayne each December in hopes of stirring any leads. His case is one of two Indiana missing person cases listed by the FBIs Violent Criminal Apprehension Program.

Once we find Kevin, then we can find an answer at least if there was abuse that made its way to the bones, she said. Ive reached the point finally that when I say those words, I dont cry. Because if my grandson was still with us, unless hes incapacitated with drugs, or kept hostage, Kevin would come home.

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Source: The Indianapolis Star
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP)  Florida Museum of Natural History scientists have found the first nest of Floridas extraordinarily rare blue calamintha bee and added a new location to its known range: the Ocala National Forest. They also confirmed the insect feeds on a second, but highly endangered, host plant.

Researchers made the discoveries during their second field season tracking the obscure bee in Central Floridas sand pine scrub habitats. Their findings will help inform conservation and land management efforts and a federal assessment on whether the blue calamintha bee qualifies for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The ultimate goal is to keep this bee around for the foreseeable future, said Jaret Daniels, Florida Museum curator of Lepidoptera and the projects principal investigator. Studying and understanding more about individual species is most impactful for us when it leads to steps for helping conserve the organism.

A marked blue calamintha bee collects pollen from Ashes calamint.

First described in 2011, the blue calamintha bee, Osmia calaminthae, was known from only four locations on Lake Wales Ridge until museum researcher Chase Kimmel documented new populations in 2020. Over the past two field seasons, Kimmel and field technician Clint Gibson have observed the bee at 11 new locations, including the Ocala National Forest, giving scientists valuable insight into the species potential range.

The bees primary home, Lake Wales Ridge, is a 150-mile-long sandy spine running down the center of the state, the remnant of ancient islands in Floridas distant past. The region harbors plant and animal species found nowhere else, but ranks among the nations fastest-disappearing ecosystems, with pockets of natural habitat surrounded by citrus groves and suburban neighborhoods.

Florida Museum researcher Chase Kimmel holds a blue calamintha bee marked with paint. Kimmel and a team of scientists are tracking the rare insects to help inform conservation and management efforts.

Using Archbold Biological Station as a home base, Kimmel and Gibson logged hundreds of hours surveying conservation lands, but recorded blue calamintha bees fewer than 100 times, many of which could have been the same individuals.

When Kimmel marked individual bees to track their movements, he often saw them later in the same area  even at the same shrub. DNA analysis will help reveal how genetically isolated the bees populations may have become over time. Sequencing its genome may also provide insights into other species within the Osmia genus, including the blue orchard bee, which is an economically important pollinator in agriculture.

Kimmel said that while he gets a little bummed as he drives through the region, watching bulldozers overturn the ridges fragile habitat, this years field season also sounded a note of hope: The site at which the team confirmed the bees second pollen host plant, false rosemary, is a former citrus grove now restored to pine scrub.

Those kinds of stories where we can restore and promote habitat for this bee really gets us excited, knowing weve got examples where we can actually make a difference, he said. Its not just that were going to study the decline of this bee. There are things we can actually do.

The bees common name comes from its main host plant Ashes calamint, Calamintha ashei, itself a threatened species in the state. False rosemary, Conradina brevifolia, is even rarer, listed as endangered at both state and federal levels.

Researchers learned the blue calamintha bee visits false rosemary earlier in the year, before Ashes calamint is in bloom, leading to concerns about food availability if warming temperatures decouple the timing of the plants blossoming from the bees emergence in February.

The team also collected pollen samples from blue calamintha bees to determine whether they visit other plant species.

Its a story of a really rare bee using a really rare series of plants, Daniels said. This bee could be closely tied to the pollination of these endangered plants.

The blue calamintha bees underground nesting habits came as a surprise to the researchers, who expected it to use hollow stems or holes in dead trees, as many of its close relatives do. Given how few bees the team observed and how fast they fly, the discovery of the nest was just kind of pure luck, Kimmel said.

Gibson was assessing a site with blooming false rosemary at Lake Wales Ridge when he happened to see a bee zip toward a small sedge and disappear into the root structure, leading him to a nest.

He later found a second nest nearby, possibly made by the same bee as a way of spreading its resources and offspring, and researchers also located two nests at Ocala National Forest. Daniels said nesting within the sedges root system might help stabilize the deep sugar sand that characterizes these ecosystems.

The revelation that the bee is a ground nester will help the team make recommendations to local land managers, as pine scrub ecosystems evolved under a rhythm of fire and undergo prescribed burns today. While the blue calamintha bees brood chamber may be deep enough underground to withstand the heat of a burn, some areas are converted to firebreaks by overturning top soil, which might disturb bee nests.

Ensuring burns happen in a mosaic pattern or on a rotational basis, which could also help preserve the food resources on which the bee relies, Kimmel said.

Last years news that scientists had found the blue calamintha bee unexpectedly rocketed the insect to international celebrity status when many people were under COVID-19 lockdowns and spending more time outside.

Kimmel and Daniels inboxes flooded with reports of blue bee sightings. None thus far have been confirmed as the blue calamintha bee  Florida is also home to a number of more common blue bee species  but the researchers were bowled over by the amount of public interest in such a little-known insect.

People tend to think what entomologists do is kind of strange, so its exciting to see the public get excited about this, Kimmel said. I cant deny that it was a bit overwhelming at times, but there was also a reassuring sense that what Im doing and my passion in life for conserving, restoring and finding management practices that help organisms thrive has meaning. It feels good to have that support.

By mid-May, blue calamintha bees show the wear and tear of their springtime labor and, as many other bee species do, will eventually work themselves to death. For the rest of the year, all the action happens underground as eggs hatch and the larvae eat food reserves stored by the female bee before they emerge next year as adults. The research team hopes to be waiting for them.

Skeptics may ask whether all the hours tramping through pine scrub to see a handful of metallic blue bees are worth it. Daniels has a response.

All species are important. Florida scrub is a highly endangered and declining habitat across the state, and ultimately, we dont know the role this bee plays in that system, he said. Weve learned a lot about it. What will we learn in the next decade? Its hard to be cavalier when you start thinking about losing species forever.

Bees observed in the research project were released unharmed.

Funding for the research is provided a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grant administered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, with additional support from the Florida Biodiversity Foundation.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-06 02:25:47|Editor: huaxia

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ADEN, Yemen, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 16 people were killed in a ballistic missile attack launched by the Houthi rebels against Yemen's oil-rich province of Marib on Saturday, a government official told Xinhua.

"The Houthi-fired missile landed on a fuel station in the country's northeastern province of Marib, causing huge explosions at the scene," the local government source said on condition of anonymity.

He said the explosions that occurred at the fuel station in al-Rawda neighborhood, north of the Marib's city, killed at least 16 people, and injured several others.

"Many civilian vehicles at the fuel station were completely burnt as a result of the fire that broke out after the explosions," he added.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels began in February a major offensive against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government army to capture the province of Marib.

A recent UN-brokered negotiation between Yemen's warring sides and other relevant parties has failed to produce any agreement of cease-fire.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  People who get vaccinated against COVID-19 at South Carolina breweries this month will receive a free beer as part of an effort to get shots into the arms of young adults, the health department announced Thursday.

The Shot and a Chaser events are scheduled throughout June at participating breweries across the state as part of a partnership between the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the South Carolina Brewers Guild. Trained medical professionals will offer the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine; people who get their shot on-site can get a free beer or soda. Some sites will also offer the two-dose Moderna vaccine.
HOUSTON (AP)  A Houston furniture store owner whos rescued and sheltered people at his business during past flooding events, including Hurricane Harvey, has some new equipment that'll let him help even more residents whenever the next big storm hits.

On Thursday, Jim Mattress Mack McIngvale, owner of Gallery Furniture, unveiled a new high-water rescue truck his team will be able to use to rescue Houston residents during severe weather and flooding, according to Houston TV station KTRK.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP)  Bosnian authorities on Saturday demolished a Serbian Orthodox church that was illegally built on land owned by a Bosniak woman, a move that comes after a 20-year legal battle that saw the case reach the European Court of Human Rights.

Workers and construction machinery arrived at Fata Orlovic's yard in the village of Konjevic Polje early Saturday. Using a crane, they brought down the white-colored church and its tower bell.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in October 2019 that authorities must remove the church and pay damages to the Orlovic family totaling 31,000 euros ($36,500).

The church was built shortly after Orlovic and her family were expelled from the village, 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Srebrenica during the 1992-95 Bosnian War. The family are Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, and the village was taken by Bosnian Serbs, who are mainly Orthodox Christians.

Thank God we finally saw this happen, said Orlovic, who is in her late 70s. I am exhausted after 20 years."

Now, finally, I can sit down and have a cup of coffee in my yard without being chased out. I have never done anything wrong to them, she added.

Orlovic's husband was among some 8,000 Bosniak men and boys murdered by Bosnian Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995, the worst carnage of the ethnic conflict. The Srebrenica massacre has been acknowledged internationally as Europe's only genocide since World War II.

Upon returning to her village after the war, Orlovic's demands that the church be removed were ignored. In 2000, she launched legal proceedings to force the authorities of Republika Srpska, the name of the postwar Serb-run entity in Bosnia, to comply.

Orlovic's lawyer Rusmir Karkin told Bosnian media that he expected a quick removal of the debris from Orlovic's land.

A lot of people are working and the weather is nice, so I expect everything to be over by tomorrow, he said.

Local authorities have said they will rebuild the Orthodox church at the entrance to the village.

Bosnia remains deeply ethnically divided long after the war ended in 1995 in a U.S. brokered peace agreement. More than 100,000 people were killed in the conflict and millions had to flee their homes.
CHICAGO (AP)  The Illinois General Assembly passed a sweeping immigration bill that would close all immigrant detention centers in the state and severely restrict how local law enforcement can collaborate with federal immigration agents. The bill now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzkers desk for his signature.

Under the bill  known as the Illinois Way Forward Act  cities and counties in Illinois would be prohibited from entering into contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house or detain immigrants in ICE custody at local jails. The state already restricts private immigration detention centers, so if Gov. Pritzker signs it into law, it would rid Illinois of all existing ICE detention centers by Jan 1, 2022.

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The nonprofit news outlet Injustice Watch provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News.

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A spokesperson for Pritzkers office did not respond to a request for comment Friday. And an ICE spokesperson said the agency does not comment on specific proposed legislation.

The bill would limit how police across the state cooperate with the immigration enforcement agency. Local law enforcement agencies would be prohibited from asking anyone in their custody about their immigration status. Police would also be barred from transferring anyone they arrest into ICE custody and from collaborating with ICE on deportation raids and other enforcement actions without a federal judges order.

Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which has advocated for the bill, said it would bring the entire state in line with Chicagos Welcoming City ordinance.

If this is good enough for the city of Chicago, it should cover the rest of the state, Tsao said.

State Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, who represents parts of Chicagos Northwest Side and western suburbs, introduced the bill in February. Since then, half of the other 40 senate Democrats have co-sponsored the bill, including Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood.

The bill passed the Senate 36 to 19, with all Republicans and one Democrat voting no. Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Lake Zurich, did not respond to a request for comment about his opposition to the bill. It passed the House late Monday, 68 to 47.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police opposed the bill. The organizations president, Chris Southland, said local law enforcement should aid federal authorities in apprehending immigrants with criminal records.

Why would we not want to work with the federal authorities to make sure violent, illegal immigrants are not released (from local law enforcement custody) within our communities? Southwood said.

An analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University showed that four in 10 immigrants detained in ICE custody last year had any criminal convictions on their records. An even smaller share  just under 11%  had been convicted of what ICE considers serious (or Level 1) offenses like assault, sexual crimes, or murder.

If the bill becomes law, Illinois would join a small group of states  including California and Washington  that enforce statewide sanctuary laws and prohibit counties from contracting with ICE to operate detention centers. ICE could still directly operate its own detention centers, but the agency does not currently have any facilities in Illinois.

Tsao said the bill could be a model for other states that want to extend further protections to their immigrant communities.

Tsao said the Illinois Way Forward Act takes its name from the New Way Forward Act, which Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, a Chicago Democrat, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in January. Garcias bill, which has stalled in committee, would phase out the use of private detention centers and county jails to hold immigrants in federal custody and restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE, among other provisions.

An ICE spokesperson said the agency currently has contracts with three Illinois counties  Kankakee, McHenry, and Pulaski  to detain immigrants at their county jails. ICE pays Kankakee County $90 a day per detainee and McHenry County $95 per detainee, according to officials in both counties. Officials in Pulaski County did not respond to requests for comment.

Tsao said closing detention centers would put an end to profit motives for counties and private companies to just make money off of locking people away. It would also send a message to the federal government that holding immigrants in jails for alleged immigration infractions is wrong, he said.

But closing the detention centers doesnt mean that immigrants detained there would be released. ICE could transfer them to one of more than 100 other detention centers it operates or contracts nationwide, an ICE official said.

On May 18, the McHenry County board of commissioners voted down a proposal to cancel its ICE contract, following a year-long campaign from dozens of activist groups. Some board members argued at the meeting that the country shouldnt forgo that revenue since ICE will detain immigrants anyway. The contract netted the county more than $3 million per fiscal year from 2016 to 2020, according to a report from the county board.

But Amanda Hall, an educator and co-founder of the Coalition to Cancel the ICE Contract in McHenry County, said the ICE contract with the county jail terrorizes immigrants in the area because theyre scared of police officers and being pulled over and then put in ICE custody.

Those fears materialized for Kristin Glauner, 39, a mother of five who lives in McHenry County. Her husband, Cesar Elizarraraz, has been in immigration detention at the county jail for nearly two years, after local police arrested him for allegedly selling a used car without a permit, she said. Elizarraraz did not have proper documentation to live in the U.S., and Glauner suspects the Crystal Lake Police Department handed him over to ICE. The police department did not respond to emails or calls for comment.

Under the Illinois Way Forward Act, the Crystal Lake police wouldve been barred from asking about Elizarrarazs immigration status, transferring him to ICE, or informing the agency that he was in their custody.

Glauner wants the McHenry County detention center to close, even if it means that her husband would get transferred out of the state.

I dont think counties should be profiting off of peoples misery, she said.
RAPID CITY, N.D. (AP)  Authorities in South Dakota say an inmate who escaped from a minimum-security prison in Rapid City in November is back in custody.

The Rapid City Journal reports Keith Apple was arrested Tuesday in Rapid City. Authorities say he left the Rapid City Community Work Center without authorization on Nov. 7. Apple is serving three years for unauthorized ingestion of a controlled substance from Pennington County.
ROME (AP)  A migrant rescue ship operated by a German charity has been detained in Sicily by the Italian Coast Guard, which found the vessel in alleged violation of safety rules and environmental regulations.

A Coast Guard statement on Saturday said inspectors identified 23 irregularities," including some serious enough to warrant the the Sea-Eye 4's detention in Palermo's port until the cited problems are corrected.

Last month, the ship disembarked at another Sicilian port more than 400 passengers who had been rescued from smugglers' unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean.

The Coast Guard contended that Sea-Eye 4 didnt have enough rescue equipment to safely evacuate more than 27 people in case of an emergency on board.

In essence, the argument is always the same,'' Sea-Eye Chairman Gorden Isler said in a statement. German rescue ships would regularly save too many people from drowning and not have the right certification for such a humanitarian purpose."

He blasted such reasoning as grotesque.

Our captain carried out the duty of sea rescue in an exemplary manner,'' Isler said, referring to the recent rescue of 408 people, including 150 children. He witnessed cases of distress at sea and carried out a safe rescue. The EU states could learn from it.''

Sea-Eye and similar humanitarian rescue organizations say they take to the sea because European Union nations don't adequately ply the waters off Libya, where human traffickers launch overcrowded boats carrying migrants who hope to find work or family members in Europe.

Sea-Eye 4 was scrutinized on Friday because more than 10 months had passed since the vessel's last inspection and because it had taken on a large number of rescued passengers, the Italian Coast Guard said.

"The inspection turned up various irregularities of technical nature, such as to compromise not only the safety of the crew members, but also of the very persons that have been and could be, in the future, recovered on board, in the course of assistance carried out,'' the Coast Guard statement said.

It also cited alleged violations of environmental protection rules.

Isler alleged that inspections of charity-operated ships are essentially being used to prevent further missions by nongovernmental maritime rescue groups.

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Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
WICHITA, Kan. (AP)  A Kansas man has been arrested for attacking a grocery store worker over Chick-fil-A sauce, police said.

Wichita police arrested resident James Adam Hirsh, 37, for aggravated assault Thursday. Court records didnt immediately list an attorney for Hirsh.

A police spokesman told The Wichita Eagle that the altercation was over the sale on Chick-fil-A sauce Wednesday at Dillons. Police said Hirsh was asked to calm down or leave the store, then he started punching at an employee.

Hirsh also allegedly drove his car toward the front of the store where workers were standing before driving away.

The newspaper reports Chick-fil-A sauce has been limited because of shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  A personal injury lawyer who had served as legal counsel to the news outlets including the Charleston Gazette-Mail has died in an interstate crash.

An Interstate 79 crash Thursday killed Sean McGinley near the Frametown exit in Braxton County, according to West Virginia state police Capt. Shallon R. Oglesby. He was returning from a hearing in Morgantown. He was 55.

McGinley was a partner at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress PLLC, he was traveling to Charleston from a hearing in Morgantown before he died, his law partner Lonnie Simmons said.

Sean was a brilliant lawyer, law partner Tim DiPiero told the Gazette-Mail. Just amazingly talented. Had a keen sense of right and wrong and seeking justice.

Along with being a longtime respected personal injury lawyer, he worked with many media companies on cases regarding the First Amendment and other issues.

Doug Reynolds, managing partner of HD Media, which publishes the Gazette-Mail and the Herald-Dispatch, called his death devastating.

His long association with the Charleston Gazette-Mail was based not only on his great skill as a lawyer but on the friendship he formed with all those with whom he worked, not only the leadership of our company but also many of our journalists now and over the years," Reynolds said.

McGinley is survived by his wife and two sons.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-06 04:06:42|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian and French naval forces carried out joint military drills in the Mediterranean Sea with the participation of two frigates, one from each country, said the Egyptian army in a statement on Saturday.

The training included the implementation of an air defense exercise, tactical exercises and electronic warfare exercises, it added.

The drills also included "training on maritime security operations that aim at locating surface and air threats."

Egypt's locally-built Sagem Port Said frigate and France's La Fayette frigate took part in the joint naval exercises.

The Egyptian and the French navies have conducted a number of similar joint trainings over the past few months.

The Egyptian armed forces said the drills are part of a plan to exchange military expertise with friendly states. Enditem
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  The spring season's turkey hunt in Maine is ending.

Maine is home to spring and fall turkey hunts. The spring hunt, which is the busier of the two, reached its final day of the year on Saturday.

Turkeys used to be rare in New England, but repopulation efforts have brought the birds back to the point where they sometimes pose a nuisance.

Maine wildlife officials encouraged residents to hunt turkeys during the coronavirus pandemic because it could be done with social distancing.

The fall turkey hunt begins on Sept. 20.
PEVELY, Mo. (AP)  Missouri police took two suspects into custody for allegedly shooting at a car with a family of six and injuring one.

Pevely Police Chief Alan Eickhoff told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the shooting occurred Friday in Pevely as both vehicles traveled north on I-55. Pevely is about 30 miles south of St. Louis.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP)  A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to setting fire to a renown Shakespearean theater and several other structures in four towns.

Christopher Sakowicz, 20, of Stratford, faces 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to arson charges Friday in Bridgeport Superior Court, the Connecticut Post reported. Sentencing was set for Sept. 10.

Sakowicz admitted taking part in setting the blaze on Jan. 13, 2019, that destroyed the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, whose stage was graced by the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Christopher Plummer and James Earl Jones. He was a teenager at the time.

The theater, built in 1955, was modeled after Londons Globe Theatre, which famously burned in 1613. Playwright Lawrence Langner came up with the idea for the Connecticut theater in 1950 as a way to capitalize on the regions connection to Shakespeares birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon in England. It last hosted a play in 1989.

Two other teens were charged in connection with the theater fire and other blazes. Police said the teens admitted on SnapChat that they set the theater fire and posted an incriminating video that was circulated around their school, Bunnell High School.

Prosecutor Howard Stein said the theater fire put firefighters at risk, threatened neighboring homes and caused more than $1.7 million in damage, much of which was covered by insurance.

A group of theater and business professionals said last year that it is hoping to rebuild the theater.

Sakowicz also admitted to setting fires the same year at a vacant building at the Southbury Training School, the former Bilco Co. in West Haven, Good Earth Tree Care in Stratford  where a truck was destroyed  and construction trailers at Silver Sands State Park in Milford.

Sakowicz's public defender said he would not be commenting until the sentencing.
HONG KONG (AP)  Microsoft Corp. blamed accidental human error for its Bing search engine briefly not showing image results for the search term tank man on the anniversary of the bloody military crackdown in Beijings Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Users in different parts of the world, including the U.S., said Friday that no image results were returned when they searched for the term tank man.

Tank man refers to the iconic image of a standoff between an unidentified civilian and a line of military tanks leaving Beijings Tiananmen Square after a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. The photo has become a symbol of defiance around the world.

After being alerted by reporters, Microsoft said in a statement that the issue was due to an accidental human error and has been resolved. Hours later, images of tank man photographs were returned by the search engine.

The company did not elaborate on what the human error was or how it had happened. Nor did it say how much of its Bing development team is China-based. The company's largest research and development center outside the United States is in China, and it posted a job in January for a China-based senior software engineer to lead a team that develops the technology powering Bing image search.

Chinese authorities require search engines, websites and social media platforms operating within the country to censor keywords and results deemed politically sensitive or critical of the Chinese government.

References to the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 are blocked in China, as are images relating to the event, such as tank man.

Microsofts Bing is one of the few international search engines that operate in China, where it abides by local censorship laws and competes with larger Chinese search engines such as Baidu and Sogou.

Bing has a 2.5% market share in China, according to data site Statcounter.

Rival Google exited the Chinese market in 2010 after four years of operation, following disputes over censorship and a major hacking attack that Google believes originated in China.

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Bajak reported from Boston.
NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP)  Nantucket voters on Saturday rejected a proposal to limit short term rentals on the famous vacation island, opponents of the measure said.

The Alliance to Protect Nantuckets Economy said the measure was defeated on a vote of 625 to 297 at Nantucket's annual town meeting, held outside the island's elementary school.
TSAILE, Ariz. (AP)  A college on the Navajo Nation has accepted President Joe Biden's challenge to get students and others vaccinated against COVID-19 by July 4.

Dine College Incident Command Director Velveena Davis said COVID-19 remains a threat to the Navajo Nation, so the college would like to do its part to expand the efforts of having our employees and students vaccinated.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  The University of Nebraska Medical Center will require faculty, staff and students to document whether theyve been vaccinated against COVID-19 beginning June 21.

Documentation is required because medical students work with patients in clinics and hospital wards, the Omaha World-Herald reported Saturday.
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)  Millions of Nigerians were unable to access Twitter Saturday after the government enforced an indefinite suspension of the microblogging platforms operations in Nigeria.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria said in a statement that its members have suspended access to Twitter in compliance with a government directive to do so.

The Nigeria government said Friday it was indefinitely suspending Twitter in Africas most populous nation, after the company deleted a controversial tweet President Muhammadu Buhari made about a secessionist movement.

Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed said Friday that government officials decided to suspend Twitter because the platform was being used for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

Mohammed criticized Twitter for deleting the post, saying, The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspicious, and that Twitter had in the past ignored inciting tweets against the Nigerian government.

In recent months, pro-Biafra separatists have been accused of attacking police and government buildings. In his tweet, Buhari vowed to treat them in the language they understand.

Twitter had deleted Buharis post on Wednesday, calling it abusive.

More than 1 million people died during the 1967-1970 civil war that erupted when secessionists from the southeast sought to create an independent Biafra for the ethnic Igbo people. Buhari, an ethnic Fulani, was on the opposing side in the war against the Igbos.

The governments decision to suspend Twitter is being widely condemned. Amnesty International said it condemns the Nigerian governments suspension of a social media widely used by Nigerians to exercise their human rights including their rights to freedom of expression and access to information.

We call on the Nigerian authorities to immediately reverse the unlawful suspension and other plans to gag the media, repress the civic space, and undermine Nigerians human rights, Amnesty said in a statement.

The U.S. mission in Nigeria said that Nigerias constitution provides for freedom of expression.

The Governments recent #Twitterban undermines Nigerians ability to exercise this fundamental freedom and sends a poor message to its citizens, investors and businesses. Banning social media and curbing every citizens ability to seek, receive, and impart information undermines fundamental freedoms, it said in a statement.

In its reaction, Twitter said it is deeply concerned by the governments action saying free and open internet is an essential human right in modern society.

There are an estimated 40 million Twitter users in Nigeria. Many them young people who have been finding a way around the ban by turning to virtual private network (VPN) apps to access the social media platform.

But the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has warned that those defying the governments ban on Twitter will be prosecuted.

The government has in the meantime ordered that all over-the-top streaming services and social media operations in the country be licensed, an indication that it wants to restrict the use of media and communications services like WhatsApp, Netflix, and Facebook that use data provided by internet service providers.

Many Nigerians fear President Buhari is planning another aggressive attack on free speech as he did in 1984 when he was head of a military government.

At the time, he promulgated a military decree that gave him power to shut down media houses and to jail journalists for stories the government consider unfavorable.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a meeting of his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month, and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy.

The Norths official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that Kim expressed appreciation that a lot of works were being sped up thanks to the ideological enthusiasm and fighting spirit of self-reliance demonstrated by the party and his people.

But he also said there was a need to correct deflective matters and called for a plenary meeting of the Workers Partys Central Committee to review overall state affairs for the first half of 2021. The party announced that the plenary meeting was set for early June.

Kims appearance at Fridays Politburo meeting was the first time he showed himself in public since May 6, when he held a photo session with families of North Korean soldiers.

North Koreas battered economy has deteriorated further amid pandemic border closures, which significantly reduced trade with China, its major ally and economic lifeline.

The Workers Party last held a plenary meeting of Central Committee members in February, when Kim ripped into state economic agencies for their passive and self-protecting tendencies in setting their annual goals.

While Kim said Friday that North Korea was continuing to face challenges brought by unfavorable subjective and objective conditions and environment, the KCNA report did not mention any comments he made toward the United States or South Korea.

North Korea has so far ignored the allies calls to resume nuclear negotiations that have stalled since the collapse of the second summit between Kim and former President Donald Trump in February 2019. The Americans then rejected North Koreans demands for lifting sanctions in exchange for a piecemeal deal toward partially surrendering their nuclear capabilities.

Following a meeting last month in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a joint statement that Washington would take a calibrated and practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with Pyongyang.

But North Korea has questioned the sincerity of the proposals and claimed that Bidens agreement to end Washington's decades-long range restrictions that capped South Koreas missile development, which was announced after his meeting with Moon, demonstrated continuing U.S. hostility toward the North.

U.S. officials have suggested Biden would adopt a middle ground policy between his predecessors  Trumps direct dealings with Kim and Barack Obamas strategic patience. But some experts say Washington wont likely provide the North with meaningful sanctions relief unless it takes concrete denuclearization steps first. Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches, while saying that the fate of bilateral relations depends on whether Washington discards what he perceives as hostile policies.

During a rare ruling party congress in January, Kim urged his people to be resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance. He called for reasserting greater state control over the economy, boosting agricultural production and prioritizing the development of chemicals and metal industries.

Experts say such sectors are crucial to North Korean hopes to revitalize industrial production that has been decimated by sanctions and halted imports of factory materials amid the pandemic.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-06 05:19:20|Editor: huaxia

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A man receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli, Libya, on June 5, 2021. Ahmad al-Garari, COVID-19 vaccination cooperator at the Libyan National Center for Disease Control, said on Saturday that more than 250,000 people have received vaccines against COVID-19 so far in Libya. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Ahmad al-Garari, COVID-19 vaccination cooperator at the Libyan National Center for Disease Control, said on Saturday that more than 250,000 people have received vaccines against COVID-19 so far in Libya.

"Almost 256,000 people have been vaccinated so far. There is a good demand for the vaccines," al-Garari told Xinhua.

"Nearly all medical staff treating COVID-19 patients have been vaccinated. Also, the elderly are now being vaccinated," he said.

According to the National Center for Disease Control, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Libya so far is 186,953, including 172,916 recoveries and 3,137 fatalities. Enditem
NEW YORK (AP)  The National Rifle Association has dropped a lawsuit accusing New York's attorney general of suing the gun rights group last year out of political hostility, opting to challenge her through counterclaims in the same court where her case is playing out.

NRA lawyers filed court papers Friday voluntarily dismissing their lawsuit against state Attorney General Letitia James in federal court in Albany.

The NRA's law firm said in a statement that dropping the lawsuit was a significant and important procedural step that will ensure the organization's claims against James are heard in the same state court in Manhattan that will hear her lawsuit.

Todays move will ensure that the NRAs claims proceed promptly to discovery and a full vindication of its members rights," NRA lawyer William Brewer said.

James sued the NRA in August 2020, seeking to put it out of business over allegations executives diverted tens of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures.

NRA chief Wayne LaPierre and three others whove worked for the organization were also named as defendants in the case, filed in New York state court.

The NRA responded by suing James in federal court, alleging her actions were motivated by hostility toward its political advocacy, including her comments in 2018 that the NRA is a terrorist organization.

In January, the NRA declared bankruptcy and sought to move its state of incorporation from New York to Texas, but a judge blocked the move last month, saying the NRA's bankruptcy was not filed in good faith. In the process, the NRA had made clear it sought to escape regulatory oversight in New York.

The NRA filed a response and counterclaims to James' lawsuit in state court in February, calling the litigation "a blatant and malicious retaliation campaign against the NRA and its constituents based on her disagreement with the content of their speech.

James, whose lawsuit is continuing, said in a statement Friday that the NRA's decision to end its suit against her is an implicit admission that their strategy would never prevail.

The truth is that Wayne LaPierre and his lieutenants used the NRA as a breeding ground for personal gain and a lavish lifestyle, James said. We were victorious against the organizations attempt to declare bankruptcy, and our fight for transparency and accountability will continue because no one is above the law.

__

Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has plans to add some wetlands to a national wildlife refuge in New Orleans, and is seeking public comment.

Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge is one of the largest urban refuges in the national system, covering 22,265 acres (9,000 hectares) near the citys eastern tip.

A landowner has offered to sell about 2,220 acres (900 hectares) of swamps, marshes and other good wildlife habitat on the refuges western boundary, project manager Pon Dixson said Thursday.

The area is also close to routes into the refuge, making it easy for the public to enjoy it, he said.

It's on the other side of the refuge from about 147 acres (60 hectares) of wetlands created a few years ago where storms had scoured marsh into open water..

To stay within the refuges expansion limits, the plan also calls for dropping 1,300 acres (526 hectares) of privately owned wetlands near the refuges southern tip from the area currently approved for possible addition.

Those largely fragmented wetlands are outside of a hurricane protection levee, and the project's environmental impact statement said subsidence, erosion, storms and sea level rise mean further land loss is likely to be rapid.

We dont want to invest taxpayer money in land that may not be there in the future, Dixson said.

The proposed addition is inside the levee, and protected from saltwater intrusion and storm impacts, and hosts migratory birds and other native species, according to the environmental impact statement.

Bayou Sauvage is one of the last remaining marsh areas along the south shores of Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne, the agency said.

It said comments should be submitted before June 23. Comments may be emailed to bayousauvage@fws.gov or mailed to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, attention Pon Dixson, 61389 Highway 434, Lacombe, Louisiana, 70445.
QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (AP)  A two-vehicle crash in southeastern Pennsylvania left three people dead another person seriously injured, authorities said.

State police in Bucks County said the collision involving a car and a sport utility vehicle happened at about 11:40 p.m. Friday on Mountainview Drive in Haycock Township near an entrance to Nockamixon State Park.

Both people in the sedan  a 25-year-old Ottsville man and a 26-year-old Quakertown man  were pronounced dead, police said. Also killed was one person from the SUV, a 24-year-old woman from Rockaway, New Jersey, police said.

A 26-year-old man from Ossining, New York, was flown to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, police said.

The cause of the accident was under investigation. Anyone with information was being asked to call state police at the Dublin barracks.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Three people were killed in separate shootings in Minneapolis early Saturday, authorities said, though none of the shootings were related to protests in the city over the fatal shooting of a Black man by sheriff's deputies earlier in the week.

Police were called at 1:37 a.m. to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, where a woman died of upon arrival after being shot in a hail of bullets along the 2200 block of N. 2nd Street in Minneapolis, department spokesman John Elder said in a news release. Investigators don't think she was the intended target. No arrests were made.
BERLIN (AP)  Police are appealing for witnesses after a man allegedly tried to set fire to a synagogue in the southern city of Ulm early Saturday.

Ulm police said the man was spotted pouring a bottle of liquid onto a synagogue wall and setting it alight. A witness immediately called firefighters who were able to extinguish the fire within minutes.
BALTIMORE (AP)  The reputed leader of a violent East Baltimore-based gang who was released to home confinement last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic has fled and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, authorities said.

The Baltimore Sun reports that Gary Hov Creek, 39, had been free on pretrial release for drug charges filed in 2019. Authorities had arranged to have him turn himself in Thursday as a new indictment was unsealed, but Creek did not show, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia McLane wrote in a request for a warrant.
AP

BELLE GLADE, Fla. (AP)  An 86-year-old sugar mill worker with 31 years on the job fatally shot his boss after he was refused another year at the mill, authorities said Saturday.

The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office said in a news release that Felix Cabrera was jailed without bail on a first-degree murder charge following the Friday morning shooting at the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative in Belle Glade.
BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP)  A police officer injured in a shooting Friday in which the suspect and a K9 were both killed and another officer wounded has been released from the hospital, Braintree Police Chief Mark Dubois said Saturday.

Officer Matthew Donoghue was released from Boston Medical Center Saturday afternoon. The Patriot Ledger reports the 34-year-old has been on the police force for four years and is a National Guard veteran who served in Afghanistan.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Protesters faced off with officers in Minneapolis early Saturday over the shooting death of a Black man by members of a U.S. Marshals task force.

Photos from the scene following a vigil for Winston Boogie Smith Jr., 32, showed dumpster fires in the street and a line of officers standing guard. It was the second night of protests in response to the fatal shooting Thursday in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 00:44:12|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A total of 9,072,565 people have received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in Morocco by Friday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the number of people vaccinated with two doses has reached 5,840,597, according to the ministry statement.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines.

Morocco's total COVID-19 cases rose to 520,769 during the last 24 hours after 346 new ones were registered, and the number of recoveries increased by 360 to 508,570, the statement said.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Morocco rose to 9,169 with four fatalities added during the last 24 hours, while 208 people remained in intensive care units, it added.

The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.8 percent while the recovery rate is 97.7 percent. Enditem
TAMPA, Fla. (AP)  Fears over red tide prompted Florida officials to briefly prohibit aquaculture farmers from harvesting in lower Tampa Bay, although the ban was lifted Saturday morning, state officials said.

The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County issued a health advisory warning people of possible respiratory problems from red ride in lower and middle Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were discovered in both Pinellas and Manatee counties over the past week, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The harvesting activity was initially closed May 26 for the farmers who hold 10 leases in the area. State officials told the Times those farmers were permitted to resume operations at sunrise Saturday.

The Department of Environmental Protection, which has offered frequent updates on the Piney Point situation, said late Friday that wildlife officials are currently investigating reports of fish kills in Boca Ciega, Pass-a-Grille and St. Pete Beach.

Elevated levels of red tide have shown up near the Hillsborough-Manatee line, in the eastern portion of the bay, according to a conservation commission map. That is where approximately 215 million gallons of polluted wastewater from a leaking reservoir at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant site were released in early April.

Brian Rosegger, co-founder of Lost Coast Oyster Co. in Tampa Bay, has worried about a toxic algal bloom cropping up and cutting into his business ever since the contaminated Piney Point discharge.

The released wastewater contained elevated levels of nitrogen, which can encourage blooms to grow. The discharge alone would not cause red tide, which is naturally occurring, to show up in Tampa Bay, scientists have said. But nutrients from the polluted water could serve as fuel for the organisms in red tide, according to researchers.

Its unclear to what extent, if any, the Piney Point discharges might be responsible for the toxic blooms.

All of us were expecting algae blooms to occur, said Peter Clark, President of Tampa Bay Watch, told WTSP. You simply cannot  with that number of nutrients  not have the bay respond to those kinds of nutrients that were discharged. So now is the bay is heating up and were starting to see the results of all those nutrients in the form of algae blooms.
WARMINSTER, Pa. (AP)  William Dobbs didnt miss the boat.

But the ship the young soldier was assigned to take from North Africa to the China-Burma-India theatre during World War II, His Majestys Transport Rajula, had to turn back to port. It couldnt keep up with its sister ship, HMT Rohna, in a convoy crossing the Mediterranean.

Too many barnacles attached to its hull and engine trouble slowing the ship down might have saved Dobbs life.

As he looks back on his war experiences this Memorial Day, Dobbs  a North Jersey native now living in Warminster  took time to remember the 124 members of his 31st Signal and Construction Battalion who were among 1,015 American soldiers killed when a Nazi-guided missile sunk the Rohna on Nov. 26, 1943.

The ships sinking resulted in the largest number of American soldiers killed at sea during World War II and would become known as the first casualty of a radio-guided missile ever launched against the US  once declassified decades later.

Rohnas fate shrouded in secrecy

The remote-controlled Henschel HS 293 bomb, released by a German airplane, was the first of its kind. The Allied command didnt want word of the terrifying device to get out, less it demoralize American and British forces fighting the Nazis, so they classified the attack and made the survivors keep the secret, under threat of court martial.

The history of the Rhona wasnt declassified until the 1990s and wasnt really known by the American public until Charles Osgood reported it on his radio show on Veterans Day, 1993.

The Rohna, a British cargo ship that was to transport American soldiers to Southeast Asia, was bombed by the Nazis with a guided missile on Nov. 26, 1943. More than 1,000 soldiers were killed or drowned in the attack which was kept classified for 50 years, historians say.

But, some were determined not to let it fade into history.

Caitlin McHugh, of Philadelphia, Dobbs granddaughter, researched the Rohnas history for a paper she wrote as a student at Cornell University, Unraveling the Secret Behind the HMT Rohna. It was published by Ezras Archives, a Cornell Historical Society publication, in spring 2011.

For 50 years from 1943 to 1993, families never learned the fate of their soldiers who went down with the ship and survivors needing medical and other veteran benefits had long battles back home trying to prove that their war injuries were legitimate while keeping the secret about the vessels sinking, McHugh noted in her report.

Now the Rohna Survivors Memorial Association is trying to find survivors and make contact with the families of those killed. Some 104 Pennsylvanians died, another 79 from New Jersey and three from Delaware, according to records. New York saw 133 causalities.

Most of the bodies of the soldiers were never recovered; there were no funeral services or burials  the boys just never came home, said Jack Ballo, who is producing a documentary, Rohna: Classified, about the ships sinking. The South River, New Jersey, filmmaker got started researching the ship after finding letters in his attic that were sent home by Joseph Pisinski, his wifes great-uncle who was one of the soldiers killed.

The films outreach project is also working to identify families of the casualties.

According to the researchers, 35 Nazi planes targeted the 24 ships in the convoy heading to India that day, but the remote-controlled bombing of the Rohna was the major tragedy. Air power to protect the ships was missing due to preparations for the D-Day invasion.

Worst 35 days of my life on that ship

Dobbs said it was his good fortune during the war to be sent back to port twice.

The Liberty Ship Patrick Henry that was supposed to transport him and other troops to Africa from Newport News, Virginia, in October 1943, was late getting started across the dangerous, U-boat infested Atlantic Ocean, so it had to head back to port to wait for a new convoy to form.

By the time Dobbs got to Africa 11 days later, the manifest for the Rohna going to India was set. He was assigned on the Rajula, its sister ship.

Both were operated by the British India Steam Navigation Co. but had been converted from cargo to troop ships during World War II. Due to is engine difficulties, the Rajula had to go back to port on that late November day when the convoy it should have been in was targeted by the Nazis.

I got sent back twice by God, Dobbs said.

In her essay, McHugh, who is now an attorney, noted: The Rohna was originally a civilian ship designed to hold 100 people comfortably. On the fateful transport mission in 1943 from Oran, Algeria, to India, the HMT Rohna was carrying 2,193 military personnel and 195 crew members, roughly twenty times its capacity. The result of this massive overloading was that the men were crowded below deck in appalling conditions.

Dobbs remembers that both the Rohna and the Rajula were overly crowded ... It was the worst time, he said. We werent allowed to come upstairs for 30 days.

I spent the worst 35 days of my life on that ship; we were practically starved, went on a hunger strike, not enough latrines or washing facilities, sleeping quarters, slept on tables, on floors, on barrack bags and any other place a body could squeeze.

He thought similar conditions existed on the Rohna and it was vulnerable even before leaving the harbor.

According to the Rohna Memorial Association website, created in 1998, the events, which occurred after the Rohna was struck by the guided missile were so shameful that the secrecy continued for decades, McHugh reported.

I knew we were missing men

Dobbs said that when he arrived in Bombay, India, after the Rajula safely crossed the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal with another convoy, the men already there said, Where did you guys come from? Youre supposed to be dead.

Dobbs didnt learn that the Rohna was downed by a missile until the report on its sinking was declassified but he said, I knew we were missing men.

He learned from the tragedy that training is so important.

The men aboard both the Rohna and Rajula were given a life preserving belt that was inflated by pressing on carbon dioxide cartridges, he said, but they were never given instruction how to use it so many on the doomed ship jumped overboard with them tied as a belt at their waist.

They should have moved them up under their arms to keep their heads afloat, Dobbs said. Instead, when the belt inflated, it brought their midsection and rear to the surface, not allowing them to right their head above the choppy water.

On the Rohna, they lost hundreds of people who jumped in the water and drowned ... Once it inflates, it tightens around your waist. They couldnt get their heads up... Hundreds died because of it, Dobbs said.

He said that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower required training in the use of the lifesaver belts before the D-Day invasion.

Survivors reported that the lifeboats aboard the Rohna were old, were almost glued to the ships with paint and some of their chains were rusted in place.

As men tried to escape the crippled ship, some of the lifeboats that were able to be freed tumbled over, killing many in the boats and those who may have jumped into the water below them.

A nearby ship, the USS Pioneer picked up many of the survivors, some of whom had been in the cold, November waters for hours.

Surviving the war

When Dobbs got to India, he quickly got to work in the headquarters office for his battalion.

When I was in high school I could type 100 words a minute. I was the best typist in the high school, he said.

He also scored very highly in an aptitude test even though he hadnt studied academic courses in school, so the Army asked him what he would like to do. He said work in personnel. He was assigned to a commanding officer, who was an older attorney in civilian life. Promotions soon followed.

When his boss tour of duty was up, Dobbs took charge of the department, being promoted to staff sergeant. I came in sitting on a box. I went out running personnel, Dobbs said with a smile. His pay was $96 a month.

He said the battalion was responsible for setting up signal wires over hundreds of miles from Assam Valley in India, going through the hot, mosquito-infested jungles in Burma to Kunming, China.

After the war, Dobbs went back to school to take English and algebra classes before enrolling in Rutgers University where he graduated with a degree in accounting.

But then, as he sat crunching numbers on a calculator, he realized accounting wasnt for him.

He and his brother Louis took over their dads auto body shop in 1954, moved it to Springfield in North Jersey, and started Dobbs Auto Body, a successful business that could service 23 cars at a time and employed 20 people.

Its still there. I retired in May 1999, he said. Its probably one of the oldest businesses in Springfield.

As he spoke, Minnie, his wife of almost 70 years nodded in agreement. The couple have three children and four grandchildren.

Still spry at age 97, Dobbs hasnt kept many mementos of his war years, but he did keep his Army uniform jacket. He didnt wear the decorated wool jacket much in the hot jungles of Southeast Asia, but it still fits him, though the buttons wont close.

Believe it or not, I was 147 pounds when I got out of the Army. If I get on the scale now, Im 147, he said.

Honoring the Rohna and its sacrifice

World War II veteran William Dobbs, of Warminster, reminiscences about his two years in the service.

Dobbs said hes proud that his granddaughter saw the loss of the lives on the ship as needing recognition and that her efforts and those of other historians and Ballo with his documentary film will help share its history with a wider audience.

The fate of the Rohna and its soldiers was finally recognized by Congress in October 2000 when the late Congressman Jack Metcalf of Washington spearheaded a campaign to have a tribute to the soldiers and crew of the Rohna read in Congress and placed in the Congressional Record.

McHughs parents, Diane Dobbs and her husband, Dr. Joseph McHugh, of Newtown Township, are proud that their daughter took such an interest in her grandfathers story which she first learned about when she interviewed him for a seventh-grade project.

It stuck with her and she ran with it, her mom said. Now experts are calling her for more information.

In her paper, McHugh wrote that there were three reasons why the Rohna sinking was secret for so long: the immediate needs to avoid demoralizing troops during the war, followed by the American and British governments not wanting to cast blame for the condition of the ships or the lack of proper training in the rescue operation, as well as the communication issues that arise when two governments both had classified documents on the tragedy to declassify.

Without this veil of secrecy, McHugh said, maybe then the HMT Rohna could have taken its due place next to the celebrated and observed disasters such as the RMS Lusitania in the Atlantic and the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and earned its rightful place in the hearts and minds of the American people.

___

Online:

https://bit.ly/3c0wdmQ
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP)  After slipping on his waders, Danny Hughes emerged from underneath a shelter along the Cedar Lake loop trail and into the sunlight, ready to discover the wildlife that live there.

Hughes, a Coe College assistant professor of biology, was on the lookout Saturday for any plant and animal species. Could the days walk around the lake lead his team to find turtles, frogs or snakes?

The potential for new scientific discoveries propelled Hughes, two Coe College student researchers and a few community members forward on a 1.6-mile journey around the paved trail. Along the way, they checked about 30 boards for snakes, waded into Cedar Lake to check turtle traps and scoured their natural surroundings for any chance encounters of new species.

Pausing at the second board, Hughes  in true professor form, standing at the front of his outdoor classroom  asked, Anyone want to do the honors?

Lyssie Ahern, a Coe College rising senior who just started working on the project, stepped up to check for snakes under Hughes watchful eye. The two examined the many rollie pollies and millipedes clinging to the board before resuming their stroll toward the turtle traps.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports this walk around the trail was part of an effort Hughes is spearheading at the Coe College Biology Department to research the biodiversity of Cedar Lake in a citizen collaboration. The effort aims to raise awareness for local species, generate excitement for urban parks and educate all on the importance of biodiversity.

The project is funded by a $2,500 grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which helped purchase equipment such as turtle and minnow traps and allows Hughes team to do sampling.

Citizens can attend bimonthly BioBlitz events or venture to Cedar Lake on their own, take photos and upload them to the iNaturalist app. Once those observations are verified by two people, they are usable for scientific research.

If you can hold a phone and take a picture with it, you can participate, Hughes said.

Before crossing the bridge to the other side of the lake near the rail yard, Hughes and his students walked into the water to check the turtle traps. After several minutes, they returned to dry land and Hughes announced to the group, No turtles, but he said they did find striped and largemouth bass, bluegill and crappies.

Seeing the trio checking turtle traps, a few others had gathered to see what creatures might turn up. Hughes prompted one onlooker riding his bike to download the iNaturalist app and recruited a family to join for the rest of the afternoon BioBlitz.

Emery Stead, 6, became Hughes eager helper as the group of seven walked the trail. Birds, flowers, mushrooms and a rollie pollie city were among the citizen scientists findings.

Under one snake board, Stead found a caterpillar and held it in her hand for Hughes to photograph using the app. She proudly displayed it for the group to see, and Hughes shared the news of her discovery  before it escaped her hand and fell to the ground.

Was a caterpillar. Past tense, Hughes said as the group laughed.

Watching as Stead discovered the wonders of the natural world, her mother, Elizabeth Mohanna, 44, said any time a kid is not attached to a piece of technology is always a win.

Mohanna said natural beauty and industry need to better coexist in Cedar Rapids, pointing to the lakes industrial backdrop of the nearby downtown area, lined by factory buildings. She saw potential for the lake and industry to flow together more cohesively.

I think the closer we get to nature is the closer well find solutions for the problems that my generation  Emerys generation even more  are going to face, Mohanna said. The closer we come to the natural world, the more we are going to feel accountable to it and want it to survive and live on.

By conducting this research as a community-based research project versus a traditional one-person survey, Hughes said the chances of encountering all species that live in and around Cedar Lake are much lower. People may find a rare species or help gain a better understanding of common species, like Canada geese.

More than 350 observations have been made so far. Hughes said his goal for the end of the summer would be for the community to make 1,000 observations.

He envisioned keeping the project going in the long term to look at potential patterns and see whether global changes are affecting the local ecosystem.

If you can tap into this community science initiative, which is just people that are already walking around using it for recreation and for exercise, we can end up with a whole bunch more observations of species and potentially increase our chances of finding anything, Hughes said.

Farah Suboh, a Coe College rising junior from Jordan who majors in biology and chemistry, said working on this project will help her determine whether she wants to pursue research as a career or enter the medical field.

Suboh said she hopes the project inspires the community to care about the biodiversity here and for the creatures around them.

You dont really need to have a degree or be in a class to learn about that, so I just think that thats very exciting, Suboh said.

Ahern, the other student on the project, is a biology, psychology and neuroscience major from Dubuque. She said this work will give her field experience and help figure out the biodiversity of the lake.

Like Suboh, she hoped it would raise awareness of environmentalism and encourage better treatment of the natural world in Cedar Rapids.

We dont really know what is in this lake or around this lake because its never really been thoroughly researched at all, Ahern said.   Its important to find out to be able to protect whats in the lake better.

When Hughes first started studying the wildlife at Cedar Lake, he said people initially laughed at him because of the perception of Cedar Lake as a wasteland. He hopes the community-led research changes that notion.

Nature is taking itself back, if you will, at Cedar Lake, Hughes said.

The research also may provide a baseline data set that city officials and other decision-makers can use as they work on projects around the lake, Hughes said.

Other changes are planned to infuse new life into the lake, such as the ConnectCR initiative. The grassroots effort aims to revitalize Cedar Lake north of downtown and build a pedestrian span called the Smokestack Bridge over the river south of downtown.

And as part of the citys $750 million permanent flood control system, a new levee and trail system will be added west of Shaver Road NE and south of McLoud Run. The changes will bring a trail on top for pedestrian and bike traffic, and some fishing areas on the base of the levee by Cedar Lake.

Completed flood control measures will wrap around Cedar Lake, tying into high ground at Interstate 380 near J Avenue. The city anticipates completion of that segment in 2023.

Rob Davis, the city flood control manager, said both the city of Cedar Rapids and the Army Corps of Engineers are following all state and federal guidance regarding environmental impacts at Cedar Lake.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  Louisianas state education superintendent says school ratings should give more weight to student improvement  something that would cut the number of schools given a D or an F.

Superintendent Cade Brumley wants student growth to count for 38% of the grade rather than the current 25%, The Advocate reported.

I think it makes great sense, said Wes Watts, president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents and superintendent of the West Baton Rouge Parish School District.

A 38% share for student growth would bring Louisiana to the national average, said Kathy Noel, deputy assistant superintendent for assessments, accountability and analytics.

Schools rated D or F made up about 23% of the total in 2019, and simulations indicate that about half of them would go up one grade under the proposed system, she said.

Critics contend the change would be cosmetic, making schools look better by diluting the grading system.

The Louisiana Association of School Superintendents has endorsed the proposal and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is set to discuss it June 15-16.

School scores used to be based largely on students' performance on key tests.

Student growth  whether students meet learning targets regardless of test scores and how they compare to their peers  was added in 2017.

The School Accountability Commission, which advises the state board, recommended that student growth account for 47.5% of scores, Brumley said.

If the board approves it, the change would likely need federal approval. It would take effect for the 2021-22 school year.

Barry Erwin, president of the Council for a Better Louisiana, a longtime advocate of school accountability, said Friday his group is open to Brumleys plan.

From our perspective, having a higher level of student growth is not a bad thing, Erwin said.

Public school letter grades have sparked arguments since they began in 2011.

Backers say they give parents and others an easy-to-understand way to see how schools are faring.

Opponents say school performance scores and letter grades are misleading.

State education leaders have not decided whether public schools will get letter grades for the 2020-21 school year.
BERNE, N.Y. (AP)  Authorities are investigating a house explosion that killed an older couple late Friday in Albany County.

Victor Porlier, 83, and Lois Porlier, 72, died in a fiery blast that leveled their home located outside Albany and was felt miles away.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Sheriff Craig Apple told reporters the house was engulfed in flames when first responders arrived, the Albany Times Union reported Saturday.

Explosion shows signs of propane explosion but also there are several other pieces to factor in, Apple told reporters.

The three-story structure was located in a secluded area off Thacher Park Road, but neighbors 5 miles (8 kilometers) away said they felt the explosion.

The explosion rocked the whole community," Berne Supervisor Sean Lyons told the newspaper. Theres not a corner of the town of Berne that somebody didnt report hearing it last night.
SANDERSVILLE, Ga. (AP)  The body of a Georgia elementary teacher, who was reported missing this week, is believed to have been found in Washington County.

The sheriff's office, at a news conference Friday, said they found what they believe are the remains of Tina Prince, 46, off a rural road near Sandersville, news outlets reported.
NEWTON, N.C. (AP)  An off-duty sheriff's deputy in North Carolina has been fired after he crashed his patrol car and was charged with driving while impaired.

The Charlotte Observer reports that Catawba County Sheriff Don Brown announced the firing in a Facebook post Friday.
RUTLAND, Mass. (AP)  The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the town of Rutland are at odds over the future of what's left of a century-old prison camp in the community.

The state wants to demolish the remaining buildings at the Rutland Prison Camp, calling them a public safety hazard, The Telegram & Gazette reported on Wednesday.
DELHI TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP)  A college student who serves as a township official in the Lansing area said he's giving away nearly half of his $11,511 annual salary.

Just ask.

TyJuan Thirdgill said on Facebook that he will give $400 a month to Delhi Township residents who need help, the Lansing State Journal reported.

Thirdgill said he's given away $300. Regular payments will start June 12.

It could be a "need for gas to and from a job or being a bit short on rent. ... I just want to help those who might be in need," he said.

Thirdgill is one of seven members of the township board.

I want to restore peoples faith in political servants," he said. "There are people who you voted for who are there to serve the community in the best way possible.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 17:52:36|Editor: huaxia

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OUAGADOUGOU, June 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 civilians were killed and two others injured on Friday night in an attack by armed gunmen in the Commune of Markoye in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, Xinhua learned from a security source.

A police officer said on condition of anonymity that the assailants had also taken away cattle from the the village of Tadaryet in the commune of Markoye.

The Burkinabe army has begun a sweep in the area, according to a military officer.

The official news agency AIB reported that "the terrorists had been repelled" during the sweep. Enditem
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (AP)  Police in North Carolina say a man suspected of killing three people in a mobile home community died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Huntersville police responded to a call Tuesday after a family member found Michael Eugene Elliot, 58, dead from multiple gunshot wounds inside his home. The next day, police found a second victim, identified as Kendrick Eugene Knight, 26, in a nearby wooded area. Officials said Knight had been shot and stabbed multiple times.
NEWTON, Mass. (AP)  Two swastikas were drawn with feces in a high school bathroom in a wealthy Boston suburb, authorities said.

The Nazi symbols were discovered Thursday at Newton South High while the MCAS test was being administered, NBC Boston reports.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  A prosecutor on Friday accused attorneys for a white Nashville police officer of a character assassination attempt against the Black man he's charged with fatally shooting in 2018 as the officer's first-degree murder trial approaches next month and courtroom tensions mount.

At a hearing, the accusation came in reaction to defense attorneys' desire to show a jury a photo of Daniel Hambrick with money and several handguns. Both sides have agreed Hambrick, 25, had a gun as he fled Officer Andrew Delke, 27, on foot. A defense witness noted Hambrick had been convicted of a felony.

However, Delke didnt know who Hambrick was when he chased him and shot him three times, an arrest affidavit states. Deputy District Attorney Roger Moore then accused the defense of wanting to tarnish Hambrick's image in front of jurors. The photo, along with other evidence in the case, remains sealed.

Character assassination, thats all this has been, all these pictures are for, is the unspoken, if not overtly, This is someone whose life was not worth anything because of some of the actions that he may have participated in, Moore said.

The Nashville Fraternal Order of Police had set up a website in 2019 depicting Hambrick as a dangerous convicted felon, and included a picture of him holding a gun and money. But that photo and several others were removed that year, and the website itself has also since been taken down.

Defense attorney David Raybin, in response, reiterated his criticism of District Attorney Glenn Funk's decision to release video of the shooting ahead of any criminal charges being filed. The defense on Friday also showed evidence to suggest that the video from at least one other camera was not retained.

In the surveillance footage available, there is a blip of a blind spot in the angles seen, a point the defense has focused on. The defense has said the weapon became pointed at Delke during the chase, and prosecutors have cast doubt about that.

Friday's hearing also revealed the defense's desire to deploy the district attorney who preceded Funk in office. Torry Johnson, now a law professor at Belmont University, testified that he believes Delke had probable cause to pursue Hambrick.

In response, a prosecutor asked the former district attorney the same question three times.

Under your watch, based on your testimony today, are you saying that Daniel Hambrick would have been just another young, dead Black man? asked Assistant District Attorney Ronald Dowdy.

I wasnt asked to make an opinion on how I would have handled that case or how I would have done it," Johnson responded. "I would have perhaps done it differently. But thats different than the question youre asking me.

Delkes attorneys have argued the officer acted in line with his training and Tennessee law in response to an armed suspect who ignored repeated orders to drop his gun. Funk has argued Delke had other alternatives, adding that the officer could have stopped, sought cover and called for help.

The trial is set to begin July 12 after jury selection.

Nashville's Metro Council has already approved a $2.25 million civil settlement to resolve a lawsuit filed by Hambrick's family.
GEORGETOWN, Texas (AP)  An Austin suburb says it will no longer allow memorial bricks to be placed around its courthouse, after several honoring Confederate soldiers were purchased and installed.

The bricks, which people could buy for $50 in memory of any citizen or veteran, were part of a program run by the Williamson County Historical Commission that placed them on the sidewalk around the county courthouse in Georgetown, the Austin American-Statesman reported Saturday.

About 20 bricks were recently installed, including nine honoring Confederate soldiers and officials.

Several Williamson County residents said they only discovered the bricks honoring the Confederates a few weeks ago.

In a letter, Georgetown City Manager David Morgan said officials reviewed the memorial brick program after concerns were raised about it.

We have discovered this program has been in place without a formal agreement for some time between the City of Georgetown and the Historical Commission, Morgan said.

Aly Van Dyke, a spokeswoman for the city, said Friday that the City Council would consider options about what to do with the bricks already in place.

Mickie Ross, a member of the historical commission, said the bricks were meant to honor veterans of all wars, and she defended the ones honoring Confederate soldiers.

If we are honoring all veterans of a war, those are veterans of a war, said Ross.

But some residents want the Confederate bricks removed. Among them is Jaquita Wilson-Kirby, a member of the anti-racism group Courageous Conversations Georgetown, who called them an abomination.

The debate over the bricks comes as Williamson County commissioners plan to form a panel to study the history of a Confederate monument at the courthouse and options for its future, including its possible removal.
SAN MIGUEL, El Salvador (AP)  Rejected by her family, Zashy Zuley del Cid Velasquez fled her coastal village in 2014, the first of a series of forced displacements across El Salvador. She had hoped that in the larger city of San Miguel she could live as a transgender woman without discrimination and violence, but there she was threatened by a gang.

She moved away from San Miguel then back again in a series of forced moves until the 27-year-old was shot dead on April 25, sending shockwaves through the close-knit LGBTQ community in San Miguel, the largest city in eastern El Salvador.

Zashy was desperate; her family didnt want her because of her sexual preference and the gangsters had threatened her, said Venus Nolasco, director of the San Miguel LGBTQ collective Pearls of the East." She knew they were going to kill her. She wanted to flee the country, go to the United States, but they killed her with a shot through her lung.

One day after Del Cids murder, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris identified anti-LGBTQ violence in Central America as one of the root causes of migration in the region during a virtual meeting with the president of neighboring Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei. She is scheduled to visit Guatemala and Mexico this week.

Transgender migrants were present in the Central American caravans that attempted to reach the United States border in recent years, fleeing harassment, gang extortion, murder and police indifference to crimes against them. Even in those large migrant movements say they faced harassment.

Things had been rough during Del Cids first stint in San Miguel. She and Nolasco had been living in a neighborhood where, as in many parts of the country, the MS-13 gang was the ultimate local authority. Gang members began to harass her, then brutally beat her, breaking her arm in 2015, Nolasco said.

They warned her to leave, but she didnt listen, Nolasco said.

Instead of leaving, Del Cid moved in with Nolasco in the same neighborhood. One day, the gang grabbed Del Cid again.

They took her, they wanted to kill her, Nolasco said. I begged them not to kill her, to let her go and she would leave the neighborhood.

Del Cid moved back to her hometown, but her family rejected her again. She tried to please them, but she couldnt, Nolasco said. Del Cid joined a church, got a girlfriend, had a baby girl, but could not maintain that life, she said.

She returned to San Miguel, where initially things seemed to go better. In 2020, Del Cid received humanitarian and housing support from COMCAVIS TRANS, a national LGBTQ rights organization, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Del Cid rented a home and opened a beauty salon there. She hired another woman to help her and was participating in a entrepreneurship program. She was preparing a business proposal to move the salon out of her home into its own space.

But Del Cid was shot in the back walking alone at night down the street. Passersby tried to help her and took her to a local hospital where she died. So far, police have made no arrests and Nolasco believes that like other hate crimes in the country, it will be forgotten; theyre not interested in what happens to us.

Laura Almirall, UNHCR representative in El Salvador, said Del Cids killing frightened her community and saddened everyone who knew her.

She was excited about her new plans and her new life. And unfortunately and tragically, everything came to an end, she said.

Nolasco said that in San Miguel, some 90 miles (150 kilometers) east of the capital, the transgender community endures constant harassment from intolerant residents and gangs. They have rocks thrown at them, are beaten and extorted. If they go to police to make a report, they are insulted and demeaned. Dont come here to claim rights, because there are no rights for you, police tell them, Nolasco said.

The Pearls of the East group has a parade squad in which Del Cid participated. It started with some 50 people, but crime and forced displacement have shrunk it to 35, Nolasco said.

No one does anything here to protect us, Nolasco said.

Bianka Rodriguez, director of COMCAVIS TRANS, said the forced displacement of transgender people in El Salvador increases each year. Even though a law exists to protect people displaced by violence, it hasnt been effective, she said.

A report prepared by the organization found that gangs were responsible for nearly two-thirds of the violence against the LGTBQ community, while government authorities accounted for another 21%. Since 1993 in El Salvador, a country of only 6.5 million inhabitants, more than 600 LGBTQ people have been killed, according to their tally.

They registered 84 cases of internal displacement in 2019 and another eight who left the country, but were deported and needed protection.

Regrettably, (multiple displacements) are very common not only for the LGBTI community, but thousands of people in El Salvador have been displaced because of gang violence and often we find that displacement does not occur only once, but families and individuals are displaced more than once, Almirall, the UNHCR representative, said.

Del Cid was displaced so many times in the country and finally she managed to get a new life project and to be part of the community again and everything ended so abruptly and so tragically, Almirall said.

__

AP writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report.
WHITTIER, Calif. (AP)  Police in a Los Angeles suburb shot and killed a man who pulled a gun on an officer during a confrontation Friday, authorities said.

Police in Whittier, east of LA, received a call shortly after noon about a man with a gun at a city dog park but when they arrived he had left the area, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
By Eli Walsh

Bay City News Foundation

A Richmond-based medical cannabis company announced this week that it will offer select product for one cent when customers show their valid COVID-19 vaccination card.

The promotion is an effort to help Contra Costa County further increase its vaccination progress, according to 7 Stars Holistic Healing Center, and is available to anyone who has received at least one vaccine dose.

In particular, 7 Stars hopes to help the county reach underserved areas that may not have equitable access to the vaccine.

To accomplish that goal, 7 Stars has applied to be a mobile COVID-19 vaccination site through the California Department of Public Health.

"We wanted to offer our platform to help the state achieve their goal of immunity against COVID-19," 7 Stars Executive Director Zee Handoush said in a statement. "We saw other local businesses offering vaccine incentives and we wanted to add cannabis to that growing list. We hope other members of the cannabis community will do the same."

Residents who have received at least one vaccine dose are encouraged to visit 7 Stars at 3219 Pierce St. in Richmond to receive their one-cent cannabis products.

Information on the promotion can be found at https://www.7starshhc.com.

Copyright  2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Copyright  2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Sharon, PA (16146)

Today

Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 83F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 57F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 19:31:51|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- "The sky is the same, and the earth is the same. Let us use Chinese as a bridge to make the world as one family," Omar Abdelsalam, a student of Chinese Department of Cairo University, made the remarks in perfect Chinese.

On May 22, the finals of the 20th Chinese Bridge, a major international Chinese proficiency competition for foreign university students in Egypt, ended successfully. Abdelsalam and Veronica Shafik Riad, a female student from Suez Canal University, won the grand prize.

Hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and Confucius Institute at Cairo University, the competition attracted many students from Cairo University, Suez Canal University, Luxor University, Aswan University and other Egyptian universities, with 13 contestants reaching the finals.

In the keynote speech session of the competition, the contestants shared their experiences of learning Chinese, especially the moving stories of the Chinese and Egyptian people joining hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the talent show session, the contestants showed their love and deep understanding of Chinese culture through Kuaiban (Chinese rhythmic comic talk), tongue twisters, martial arts, tea art and other forms.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the competition was conducted online, bringing Abdelsalam and Riad to the global finals.

Abdelsalam, 21 years old, who is more accustomed to being called by his Chinese name Li Zhenghao, has been studying Chinese for more than three years.

"I have won awards in many Chinese competitions ... I believe that learning Chinese is a real pride," the young man told Xinhua.

At the beginning of last year, with excellent academic performance, Abdelsalam enthusiastically began to prepare for various procedures for studying in China. However, the sudden outbreak of the pandemic disturbed his plans.

"This made me feel sad, and for a while I did not know how things could go in the future," the young man added.

Abdelsalam applied to attend an online course at China's Shandong University after confirming that he could not study in China in the near future.

"When I saw that China effectively controlled the pandemic in a very short time, I suddenly felt that my little setback was nothing and could be solved," he noted.

During the online course, he met many friends of different nationalities, and everyone felt that Chinese language had built a bridge for people thousands of miles apart to help each other.

From continuing to learn Chinese through online courses to witnessing the sincere cooperation between Egypt and China in fighting the COVID-19, Abdelsalam has realized the meaning of "a community with a shared future for mankind."

"I hope I can become a messenger of cultural exchanges between Egypt and China," Abdelsalam said proudly, pointing out that learning Chinese has helped him understand the great Chinese culture that can benefit humanity in all fields.

It is not only Abdelsalam's belief that Chinese language can bridge the gaps between cultures and civilizations. His teachers as well believe that the Chinese language is a strong tool to achieve progress and development.

Gamal Elshazly, vice president of Cairo University, expressed hope that Chinese teaching and learning could become a bridge for cultural exchanges between Chinese and Egyptian people.

He stressed that such contests help students from around the globe get to know the rich Chinese culture as well as China's efforts to make a bright future for mankind.

"This competition is also the best way to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Egypt," Elshazly added. Enditem
Page Content

President Joe Biden will nominate David Weil to lead the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division, according to a recent White House announcement.

Weil was the Wage and Hour Administrator from 2014 to 2017 during the Obama administration, and he currently serves as dean and professor of Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

"Weil is an internationally recognized expert in employment and labor market policy along with regulation, transparency policy and the impacts of industry restructuring on employment, work and business performance," the White House said.

We've rounded up resources and articles from SHRM Online and other trusted outlets on the news.

Weil's Background

"Weil has advised government agencies at the state and federal levels as well as international organizations on employment, labor and workplace policies," the White House said. He has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and master's and doctoral degrees in public policy from Harvard University. He is the co-founder of the Transparency Policy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and has authored more than 125 articles and five books.

During his time with the DOL, Weil authored administrator interpretations on independent-contractor status and joint-employer relationships, which were later withdrawn by the Trump administration. He is expected to focus on these issues again.

(The White House) and (Littler)

Wage and Hour Enforcement

If the Senate approves the nomination, Weil will head the DOL's Wage and Hour Division, which enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage, overtime pay, record-keeping and child-labor requirements. The division also enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Consumer Credit Protection Act's wage garnishment provisions, and wage requirements under certain other federal statutes.

(U.S. Department of Labor)

Focus on Essential Workers



"The pandemic has revealed the continuing challenges facing working peopleparticularly workers of colorin assuring they receive a fair day's pay and treatment for their work," Weil said in a prepared statement obtained by Bloomberg Law. "Essential workers who helped us all navigate through the pandemic deserve the full protections afforded by our workplace laws, such as payment of minimum wages and overtime and protections against retaliation for the exercise of their rights," he added. "As we emerge from the pandemic, building back better requires compliance with the laws for which the Wage and Hour Division is responsible."

(Bloomberg Law)

Review Independent-Contractor Classifications

Weil has criticized the gig-economy independent-contractor model, and the Biden administration has announced plans to crack down on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. So employers should audit who they have classified as independent contractors and avoid micromanaging them, legal experts say. Proper classification of workers depends on applying the right test, which may differ under federal and state law.

(SHRM Online) and (Reuters)


The state government on Friday issued a five-level restriction plan to reopen the state, which is under a lockdown induced by the devastating second COVID-19 wave over the last few weeks.The degree of relaxation has been decided as per the level of severity of Covid-19 in those districts. According to the guidelines, the situation will be assessed every Thursday by the Public Health Department.Level 1 has the least restrictions while Level 5 will have the most.In Level 1, restrictions will be placed in areas with a positivity rate of less than 5 per cent, and where less than 25 per cent oxygen beds are occupied. Shops selling both essential and non-essential items, and malls and theatres, restaurants and public places for outdoor activities will be open.Private and government offices, funerals, marriages, gyms and salons will also be allowed to function regularly. Locals trains will function regularly.Level 2 restrictions will be followed where positivity rate is below 5 per cent and oxygen bed occupancy is between 25 to 40 per cent. In this, restrictions will be as level 1, but with 50 per cent occupancy in theatres, gyms, marriages and restaurants. Use of local trains will be restricted with exemption for medical and essential reasons.Districts with a positivity rate between 5 and 10 per cent, or bed occupancy of over 40 per cent will follow Level 3 restrictions.Stores will only be open till 4 am and malls and theatres will remain closed. Restaurants will only be allowed 50 per cent capacity till 4 pm on weekdays. Public places for outdoor activities will only be open from 5am to 9am. All private offices will only be allowed to function with 50 per cent capacity till 4pm on working days.Only 50 people will be permitted at marriages, 20 people in funerals. Construction will be permitted but either with only onsite labourers, or they must leave by 4pm.Level 4 only allows essential shops to open till 4pm and pickup/home delivery for restaurants. Private offices of only 'exempted category' will be allowed, while government offices may allow 25 per cent capacity. Marriages may only have 25 people and funerals 20.In Level 5 will follow nearly a complete lockdown situation. Essential shops will be open till 4pm, only home delivery for restaurants.In the last 24 hours, Maharashtra reported 14,152 new COVID-19 cases, 289 deaths and 20, 852 recoveries. There are currently 1,96,894 active cases.As many as 58,05,565 cases have been reported so far.
Chennai (Tamil Nadu): A nine-year-old lioness Neela has died of COVID-19, and few other lions have tested positive for the virus at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur area of Tamil Nadu's Chennai.



"A COVID-19 outbreak has been reported in the Asiatic lions at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur on June 3. Few of the lion has been found symptomatic and one of them - a nine-year-old lioness Neela succumbed to the disease on the evening of June 3," read a press release from the Zoo issued on Friday.

"The zoo officials have immediately quarantined all the Asiatic lions and under the supervision of the senior vets of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary University treatments have been started," it said.

Moreover, on the request of the state government, a team of experts was also deputed by TANUVAS to help the veterinarians in the zoo to investigate the condition of the lions.

Swab samples of 11 lions were sent to the National Institute of High-Security Diseases (NIHSAD) Bhopal, and further samples of tiger and other large mammals are being sent for testing.

"As precautionary measures, the Tamil Nadu government had closed all the zoos for the visitors in the state since April 20," the statement said.

Earlier, on May 8, two lionesses have tested positive for COVID-19 at Etawah Safari Park in Uttar Pradesh and eight Asiatic lions housed in the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) Hyderabad have tested positive for SARS-CoV2 virus on May 4.


The B2B Digital marketing space is considered an emotion-free zone where customers make logical buying decisions based on quantifiable positive results.

The main question on decision-makers minds and one that you need to address is, "How will buying from you help our business grow?"

They are looking at their budget, return on investment, and profits.

Your success will be pegged on your service or product ability to positively affect your customer's business. Will you be saving them time, resources, or money?

The B2B digital marketing space is an exciting but challenging environment that you can excel in if you know what to do.

Here are five highly effective B2B digital marketing strategies you can employ.

1. Research

A marketer who is only thinking about his own bottom line will push their services in the client's face only to be met with rejection.

Why?

They failed to evaluate the client's needs and tailor their services accordingly.

Start by conducting detailed research on your targeted customers.

It will help you know your prospect, understand their pain point, and how your product stacks up against the competition.

You'll then be able to tweak your product and tailor it to address the gaps in their existing solutions. You need to show how your product or service fits and benefits their business.

By combining this strategy with the ones we will share below, you can then create a niche-driven strategy for other businesses in that industry.

Specializing in a particular industry eases marketing efforts as you'll have inside-out understanding knowledge that may make you the go-to expert.

2. Cold Calling

Cold calls remain an effective strategy for getting in touch with decision-makers. But it only works if you do it right.

Most people dont have any patience for cold callers. You'll most likely have under 20 seconds to capture their attention or lose it.

Use the time to offer a compelling solution to the challenges they face. Your ability to solve their problem may bring you halfway to closing the sale.

Avoid making the call truly cold. research the prospect and their business first.

People prefer dealing with a knowledgeable person who shows an interest in their opinions or problems over a high-pressure cold call from some telemarketer.

What if the person says, "send me more information"

What they are really trying to do is to get rid of you without being rude.

Rather than hang up, drop the email, and wait with your fingers crossed, use the opportunity to get more information from the prospect.

You can say, "I will, but I want to be sure that I only send you relevant information. Could you please tell me _______?"

This follow-up question opens the near-shut conversation to more exploration.

Tread carefully and keenly listen to their answers as this will provide insight into the problems they have.

If the prospect cuts you off by insisting that you email them the information, thank them, and send the info.

3. An interactive Website

Your website is most likely the first point of contact other businesses will have with your company.

It's the best platform for a business to accurately and concisely talk about their solutions, share testimonials, and answer queries.

Companies interested in B2B digital marketing must view their websites as their best salesperson yet and equip them accordingly.

It works round the clock providing visitors with information encouraging them to engage further, and improving your revenue generation.

If you haven't developed or optimized your website, it's time to do so or youll continue missing out on leads that can be nurtured into sales.

You can improve your websites appeal and online visibility by:

Optimizing specific keywords that revolve around what you do

Create a clutter-free layout thats optimized for mobile use

Include your client portfolio and testimonials (from influential people where possible)

Include location and contact information

Post useful content regularly (more on this below)

Guest post on other reputable sites

Include a live chat for prompt response to questions

4. Use LinkedIn for B2B Marketing

Most companies operate social media accounts across multiple platforms, which are time-consuming and aimed at the wrong audience.

For B2B marketing, narrow your focus to the business-centric and LinkedIn platform.

Research shows that this professional network generates up to 277 percent more B2B leads than other social media accounts.

Start identifying potential customers and connecting with them. Any content that you post will be visible to your connections, exposing your brand's services and products.

You can invest in LinkedIn Premium to receive possible leads based on your company's specifications and send your prospects Sponsored InMails.

LinkedIn offers businesses plenty of ways to generate business including:

Showcase Pages that allow you to target specific consumer segments to deliver targeted content to them.

Native Video feature to help improve your brand's authenticity and stream your services.

Lead Gen Forms that automatically fill in a potential lead's profile data when they click on your sponsored content ad. Once they submit the form, you'll receive their name, contact, job title, company name, and location.

5. Prioritize Your Audience's Informational Needs

Successful B2B content marketing prioritizes your customer's informational needs over your self-promotional messages.

At any one time, prospective buyers are at different stages in the buying process.

Content is only King if it helps the prospect feel like the information provided is about them and not you.

At the awareness stage, buyers are searching for educational content such as social content, blog posts, ebooks, and video. This group isn't ready to buy yet, but the information supplied may convince them to take the plunge.

At the evaluation stage, the prospect wants to know that you know your stuff. Live webinars and white papers help stamp your authority as an industry leader.

Those who are in the purchase stage are looking for trial offers, demos, product info, and case studies. They are ready to buy but want proof that what you're selling will suit their business.

Closing Thoughts

While B2B marketing comes across as emotion-free, decision-makers are human, and emotions can influence their decisions. Especially if they see personal value in what you're selling.

By researching prospects, making cold calls, updating your website, using social media, and using targeted content, your digital marketing efforts will yield returns.

What digital marketing strategy works for your business? Let us know.
By Katell ABIVEN

HAVANA (AFP) -- In the country of salsa and rumba, a troupe of sneaker-wearing Cuban youngsters have burst onto the dance scene with a style until recently all but unheard of on the isolated island nation: hip hop.

Under US sanctions and with the Communist Party in charge of all aspects of daily life, including what people get to see on public television, Cubans have had little exposure to the American genre that has taken the rest of the world by storm.

But this changed suddenly with internet arriving in the one-party state in 2015 -- and mobile internet since 2018 -- with some 4.2 million of Cuba's 11.2 million people now connected.

With no other platform on which to ply their trade, 16-member Cuban dance troupe Datway (a play on That Way) have taken to Facebook and Instagram to display their unique brand of hip hop moves, blended with more traditional, home-grown styles.

It has launched them to international fame, even catching the eye of Daddy Yankee, dubbed the King of Reggaeton -- a Latin American music style that borrows heavily from hip hop and rap.

The Puerto Rican rapper, who co-starred on the hit single "Despacito", took to Instagram to comment: "Too good #Cuba" about a dance number the troupe performed to his latest hit "El Pony" and posted online.

In the video, the troupe jumps and gyrates to the reggaeton rhythm in sports clothes and sneakers, dyed hair and bandannas, and watched by a ragtag of neighborhood kids in a poor district of central Havana.

The video has earned them 2.2 million views.

"Hip hop videos from other countries are always (set) in these very beautiful places," Datway founder Dariel Lopez, aka Chaiky Dari, told AFP.

Much talent, little exposure

"We always look for places that are... well not ugly, because for us they are not ugly, but real -- those balconies in need of a touch of paint, young people and children who are not very well dressed," said the 23-year-old with his wild mop of hair, parts of it bleached blonde.

Chaiky Dari boasts 33,700 subscribers on Instagram, a high hit rate for a country with the third lowest fixed broadband speed, according to Speedtest, though it ranks 88th out of 134 for mobile speed.

Under a tin roof held up by walls covered in graffiti, the members of Datway train from Monday to Friday, shooting their videos on weekends.

The troupe of 18- to 32-year-olds have backgrounds in contemporary and folk dance, some even worked in circuses.

Sometimes they go out on the street, plugging in their sound system at the house of a neighbor -- an old lady who sells fruit from her front steps.

"Abroad, Cuba is still seen as the country of salsa," but "here there is also a lot of talent in hip-hop, with a lot of dancers from the street," said Liuven Dopico, 28, who himself learned to dance "in the street" and "by watching a lot of videos."

Datway's idea, however, is not to abandon their Cuban dance roots.

"We often mix hip hop with traditional Cuban music, we mix it all and we create something truly beautiful," said Dopico, his hair tinted turquoise.

"If it is a salsa we mix it with urban dance, if it is reggaeton, we add salsa steps to it," added Dari.

'The best!'



Fellow troupe member Paloma Duarte, 23, started off as a classical ballet dancer, then worked in a folk dance company.

Now, "I feel complete as a dancer, I have all the styles!" she told AFP.

Duarte said the group receives frequent messages from amateur dancers, many of whom send in videos, as the hip hop phenomenon spreads.

But to encourage more youngsters, "it would be really good if at the level of the state, of television, there was some urban dance and not only salsa and rumba," she added.

In recent weeks, the glowing comments of Latin stars such as Daddy Yankee and Ricky Martin ("The best!", he wrote on Instagram), have propelled Datway to new heights, even signing a contract with a record company in Florida to appear in dance videos.

And when Puerto Rican-Cuban Reggaeton duo Ozuna and Ovi launched an online challenge, inviting dancers to choreograph a video for their new song "Envidioso", the winners were none other than Datway.

The group received a prize of $10,000 -- a fortune in a country where the minimum monthly salary is $87.

Half of the money will be used on "technology" -- better internet connection and filming equipment, said Ernesto Rodriguez, 32, the group's technical director.

"The rest was divided among the members, and I also gave money to the children" from the neighborhood, who appear in Datway's videos.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 21:42:54|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan police said Saturday they were holding three suspects who were arrested for robbing two Chinese contractors in central Kenya.

The suspects attacked the two Chinese contractors in their residential house on Friday night at Kariminu (II) Dam site in Kiambu County and seized 6 million shillings (about 55,600 U.S. dollars), Kiambu County Police Commander Ali Nuno said.

"The two Chinese contractors were forced to surrender approximately 6 million shillings," Nuno said.

He said they have launched investigations, noting that the suspects armed with pistols could have gained entry through a tunnel used for water supply.

The police commander said that the suspects, including a night guard and the driver of the Chinese contractors, were in police custody, adding that the hunt was still on to arrest more perpetrators.

Nuno said the suspects will be arraigned in court on Monday to face charges of robbery with violence. Enditem
When the Art Gallery of NSW moved the opening of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes from September to June, it was bound to have consequences for the quality of the exhibitions. The 2021 Archibald season kicks off this weekend, less than five months after the closure of last years shows on 10 January.

This cavalier change of timetable caught many artists unawares. Instead of being able to choose between two or three pictures in progress, they were forced into a mad scramble to finish one. The results are easy to see in the rather flat nature of this years Archibald, and even more obvious in the annual Salon des Refuses at the S. H. Ervin Gallery.

Harley Manifolds portrait of another artist, Gareth Colliton, sitting in the bath, might be best described as a conversation piece

The Salon is selected from the vast body of hopefuls rejected by the Trustees of the AGNSW. With only 52 works hung from 938 Archibald entries, and 39 from 660 for the Wynne, one would expect the Salon judges were not short of options.

Nevertheless this years show is a disappointing affair, with a lot of average work and a few obvious duds. The Wynne landscapes are probably stronger than the Archibald portraits, which may be because many artists are full-time landscapists while genuine portraitists are rare. One doesnt have to make an appointment to paint the landscape, or listen to it complain that a likeness is not sufficiently flattering (theres something wrong with that tree).
Georgie Carroll discusses her upbringing, career and the men who have influenced her.

Occupation: Comedian

Age: 45

Relationship status: Married

Best known for: Being the nurse comedian

Georgie Carroll: [Confidence] is a mindset that can be quite useful  one that looks awful on a 20-year-old male, but phenomenal on a 45-year-old woman. Credit:Jodi Nash

My dad, Keith, was a workaholic. He started in accountancy and then became an entrepreneur. He was money-motivated and a yuppie, a term applied to such people in the 1990s.

Dad and my mum, Jennifer, separated when I was 16. My dads 72 now and lives in Spain. The morals I grew up with came from Dad. He taught me that it wasnt what happens but how you deal with it that counts.
The adjustment wasnt easy to come to terms with initially. I did have meltdowns in the first lockdown. I cried in a field and my boyfriend was like, Why are you crying? I think its because Ive never not been busy. I was tired and going a bit loopy...This situation has forced me to live at a normal pace. Alexa and Orson Fry, 26, frontman of the band Soundtown, have been dating since 2019. Their lockdown life has involved, in her words, living together-apart. Its quite fun. He lives in west London, I live east. A lot has changed, but for Alexa, succumbing to a grey tracksuit was never an option. Its just not my vibe, she confirms. I still take great pleasure from getting dressed. Retailers across the UK have been hit hard during the pandemic. For Alexa, keeping the fashion dream alive on social media has been a professional necessity as much as a personal hobby. She founded her eponymous label in 2017, selling quirky but classic clothes and shoes, and says her company, which employs 22 people, has been able to weather the storm better than many.

Were not a large business, she notes. Some deliveries were affected. But we dont have any physical shops, so we dont have stock sitting there without being able to reach customers. Alexas spring 2021 collection, Vertigo, was conceived pre-pandemic yet, in an example of the oracle at work again, was inspired by horror films and movies with a general sense of unease.

Isnt it weird? she says. I was looking at The Shining, Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch. The collection before that [autumn 2020] was about a global catastrophe that forced people to live underground and grow their own vegetables. You might be relieved to hear that the designs shes working on next are less apocalyptic, more optimistic. For spring/summer 2022 the inspiration is pure Saturday Night Fever, she says. Its crochet bikinis, its sex, its everyone bonking.

Ah, so thats what weve got to look forward to in a years time. Shes also launched a Spotify station, where you can listen to the playlists that inspire her, and started a blog-like diary, Alexas World, on her website (in 2014 she published her memoir, It). One project particularly close to her heart was the T-shirt she designed in aid of International Womens Day, with all profits going to the Womens Endometriosis Research Foundation. Alexa was diagnosed with the condition in 2019, and underwent a laparoscopy last year. I didnt know what it was, she explains. It affects one in 10 women, when something similar to the lining of a uterus grows in other places, and on organs. A lot of infertility cases can be explained by undiagnosed endometriosis. Getting older just means that youve reached the next level of info. Credit:John Gorrigan/Telegraph Media Group 2021. She describes her experience as chronically painful. For me, a few weeks of the month, everythings fine. And then Im in agony. I had surgery; it all went well. Hopefully its OK. Alexa began her career as a fashion model at the age of 16 after being scouted at Reading Festival. While she says she found straight fashion modelling boring, she thought adverts were fun because she got to talk. By the time she was 18, Alexa was already making good money. Arriving on Channel 4s Popworld in 2006, with long hair, ballet pumps and a denim pinafore, a geek-chic style icon was born. Aged 22, Alexa and co-host Alex Zane conducted irreverent interviews with stars from Paul McCartney to Lily Allen. She inspired a generation to follow her every androgynous-suited move, advanced her TV career and became a fixture at music festivals. At the same time, her relationship with the Arctic Monkeys Alex Turner, from 2007 to 2011, became tabloid fodder.

By January 2010, Mulberry had named a bag after Alexa and she was a contributing editor at Vogue. Over the next decade, she held ambassadorship contracts and designed collaborative collections with brands including Superga and Marks & Spencer. She also moved to New York for seven years to present the MTV talk show Its On with Alexa Chung. But its only since founding her own business in 2017 that she says she finally feels in control of her career. People used to say, What does she even do? because I did so many different things. But now, thatsa classic Millennial trait. No one goes on about it any more. Theres no autonomy in being an It Girl, Alexa says. At least, not in what that term used to mean, when it was like youre a society girl. I was a television presenter  It Girl was a huge insult. I have a job. I work really hard. People used to say, What does she even do? because I did so many different things. But now, thats a classic Millennial trait. No one goes on about it any more. All of those things I studied in isolation [broadcast journalism, design and business] make sense to the job I do now.

Despite years of experience with fame, Alexa admits that she still cares about what is written about her, and can be drawn into replying to comments on her Instagram posts. I used to be worse, she says. If the comments are untrue, I get cross. I watched a video I did the other day and people were saying beneath it how I sound like a man. Being famous is like listening in to a dinner party where everyone is slagging you off. But they also give you free things. Its like, If you dont mind everyone being horrible about you, well give you this free dress. I think, Fair enough, all right.  Her relationship with Fry is the subject of great media fascination in the UK. Frys family owned the confectionery company of the same name, a division of Cadburys, until 2010. Its embarrassing, she says of the situation. Whenever Ive done an interview I think, What have I said? Because if I ever mention my boyfriend, then hes also got a family, and they read it. The tabloids focus on the 11-year age difference between them. Id like to say he is 26 years old, Alexa laughs. Because the Mail always says hes 24. Im like, Guys, its a really important bit of information [to get right]. 

Alexas gang of girl mates, including models Pixie Geldof and Daisy Lowe, have stuck tight over the years. While they may not have seen much of each other recently, there have been plenty of video calls. There are moments when those friendships really come through, she says. Like a female health problem. Or just panging about getting older. Does she care about getting older? No, I like it. I like accruing information. So getting older just means that youve reached the next level of info. There are moments when those friendships really come through, she says. Like a female health problem. Or just panging about getting older. She is, however, planning to buy a silk pillowcase and reminds me that she quit smoking yesterday. So far its going great, she says. I was smoking so much, then I suddenly didnt like them. Im trying to not get too wrinkly and I dont want to get Botox. Yes, I encourage her, this sounds like a good thing for your health. But will it be? she quips. Not to brag, but my skins pretty good and I have given it a real kicking. I didnt really have a routine up until recently. Ive smoked. Ive drunk a lot of whisky. Im usually dehydrated. Maybe its something else.

Loading For now, Alexas landed somewhere between her dreams of owning a delightful Georgian townhouse, which I would decorate really well, and a party life. I want to throw a party where its all about your entrance, she says. A compere introduces all your friends again: Back by popular demand, its Pixie Geldof! Nipple tassels, glitter cannons  wouldnt that be cool? George Northwood had better get ready to deliver the party hairstyle everyone will want to copy. Alexas latest collection is available now at alexachung.com. Stella Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph (UK).
Remember wallets? How about handbags? Somehow during the pandemic we practically stopped using either, since most of what we needed could either a) fit in the pocket of our trackies, or b) tap more easily (and with fewer risks of germ transmission) on our phones.

But at Australian Fashion Week, which ended on Friday night, several brands made a very strong case for falling back in love with bags, of all guises. There were buckets and baskets, pillows and even plush toys refashioned into cross-body evening bags that almost did double duty as jewellery at Romance Was Born.

Orotons runway was a standout for its various takes on neutral bags. Credit:Getty

Accessories can sometimes be overlooked at Fashion Week, like ordering fish at a steak house, but they shouldnt be. Often when it comes to trends, theyre the things that really take off because theyre more affordable, more wearable and available to buy sooner than the clothes.

But it wasnt just about the bags: sandals are still reigning on the runway, while in street style, it was all about the combat boot. Love jewellery? Ginger & Smart had the earrings of the week, courtesy of glass-blower Mark Eliott. And there were more than a few rope belts, thanks to Daniel Avakian and COMMAS.
For millennia, Indigenous Australians have made herbal remedies from local plants for everything from treating snake bite to preventing pregnancy.

Now traditional bush medicines made by Indigenous people in the Northern Territory are being sold to retailers from Canberra to the United States while providing jobs and income.

Pitjantjatjara woman Ngoi Ngoi Donald is a dialysis patient who visits Purple House for treatment. She also uses the Bush Rubs, made to a traditional recipe, for her arthritis. The bush rubs are made as a social enterprise, providing income to families that pick the leaves of the plants, jobs to those who now make it in a new commercial kitchen, and free rubs for patients. Credit:Rhett Wyman

Australian bush remedies include native mints used for colds and coughs, and gum from gum trees that provides tannin to treat burns. Long before colonial Australians called wattle the emblem of our land, it was used by Indigenous Australians to relieve rheumatic joints or ingested as a sedative.

For elders being treated for kidney failure at Purple House, an Indigenous-run health care facility in Alice Springs, the smell and feel of bush remedies provides the comfort of millennia of grandmothers and mothers. It is like the chicken soup of the desert.
Two years ago this week, federal police knocked on Annika Smethursts door with a search warrant. The next day, a posse of feds arrived at the ABCs Ultimo HQ with another warrant.

The raids on a senior News Corp reporters home and on the national broadcasters offices created headlines in Australia and around the world. And they forged a temporary alliance between all the big media players. One day in October 2019 the nations newspapers carried pages of blacked out, censored news to draw attention to Australias increasingly secretive and paranoid polity.

Australian Federal Police raided the home of journalist Annika Smethurst in 2019. Credit:Nine

Faced with this outcry, government responded as government does: it commissioned an inquiry. In August 2019, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Security and Intelligence was asked to inquire into the impact of Australias security laws on press freedom.

A full year later, in August 2020, the committees report laid out the problem succinctly and forcefully. To quote just one sentence:  the prevailing argument to this inquiry from non-government stakeholders is that the balance in legislation and culture within the Australian Government has tipped away from transparency and engagement to excessive and unnecessary secrecy.
Leigh Sales is used to criticism. As host of the ABCs flagship current affairs program 7.30, she grills prime ministers, premiers and chief executives on a nightly basis, and her work is broadcast for the whole country to watch and evaluate.

But even she has been taken aback by the criticism - and outright trolling - she receives about her coverage of the coronavirus pandemic when it involves holding the Andrews Labor government to account in Victoria.

Thanks to the Victorian journalists who asked questions on these matters, despite the intense bullying on this platform, Sales tweeted last weekend, in a post which elicited further trolling.

Leigh Sales hosts the ABCs flagship current affairs program 730. Credit:ABC

Its a regular occurrence when 7.30 airs; hardcore Andrews supporters on social media accuse Sales of harbouring some kind of bias against Victoria, its government or its citizens. She also routinely receives gendered criticism from right-wing trolls on social media when interviewing Liberals.
Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore is chasing a super-majority of eight seats at Septembers council election, spurred by the withdrawal of key rival Kerryn Phelps and disorganisation in the Liberals.

Cr Moore, who has been mayor for 17 years, currently holds five of the councils 10 seats with her Independent Team. There are two Liberals, one Labor, Cr Phelps and small business advocate Angela Vithoulkas, who is not expected to seek re-election.

Clover Moore is targeting eight seats on the 10-member council after key rival Kerryn Phelps withdrew from the race. Credit:SMH

A devastated Cr Phelps pulled out of the race in early May to help manage a health issue for a close family member. She has since endorsed Indigenous leader Yvonne Weldon, chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Sydneys first Aboriginal candidate for lord mayor.

Despite that, Cr Moores campaign believes it is now on track to win eight seats, exceeding the five or six seats the 75-year-old has won at the previous four elections. It has opened a campaign office on Victoria Street in Darlinghurst, and Cr Moore is hosting a $220-a-head fundraising dinner later this month at Zilver restaurant in Haymarket.
Where contact tracers still require between three and five hours to interview a new case, information from those interviews is now instantly uploaded into a Customer Relationship Management platform provided by tech giant Salesforce. The platform, known at TREVI, uses structured data such as geolocations to match people, places and times associated with one positive case to other cases and contacts already in the system. In effect, it maps a social network of the outbreak which helps to identify exposure sites, missing links in transmission and mystery cases. Once an exposure site is identified, the system can access QR code check-ins, financial transaction data and staff lists provided by businesses to send an automated text message to anyone identified as being at the same place at the same time as a positive case. Sources familiar with the technology say Victorias contact tracing now has capacity beyond any other state. It shows how we have handled this mini-outbreak that we are keeping numbers at bay, Mr Caruso said.

Richard Flanagan, a 57-year-old community health nurse who joined the South East Public Health Unit contact-tracing team at the start of the year, puts it more succinctly: It has all stood up. The system is working. This is supported by the Commonwealths most senior health official, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, who last week told Senate estimates that Victoria had met all national contact-tracing benchmarks throughout the outbreak. More importantly, it has helped suppress the outbreak to just a handful of new cases a day. Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen A criticism of last years response to the second wave is that the Department of Health and Human Services, as it was then known, became besieged inside its own headquarters. The decision to split public health into suburban and regional units, as had already been done in Queensland and NSW, has opened up the public health response to infectious disease experts like Austin Healths Paul Johnson and Monash Healths Rhonda Stuart, and integrated it with our major hospital networks.

Dr Finn Romanes, one of the first senior DHHS figures to blow the whistle on problems inside quarantine hotels, is the director of the Western Public Health Unit. Dr Charles Alpren, the DHHS epidemiologist who helped establish the genomic link between quarantine hotels and almost all COVID cases in Victorias second wave, has also joined the unit. Former deputy chief health officer Annaliese van Diemen joined the North Eastern unit last month. Former deputy chief officer Annaliese van Diemen has joined the North Eastern Public Health Unit. Credit:Justin McManus Professor Stuart, director of the South East Public Health Unit, told The Sunday Age that contact tracing was only one aspect of the work done by the unit, which is also responsible for testing, vaccination, community engagement and communication. She meets daily with the other public health unit directors, the deputy chief health officers and senior bureaucrats working at central under the leadership of COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar and Health Department secretary Euan Wallace. However, she doesnt require their approval to make decisions about how to manage cases in her area. One of the exposure sites in the South East units patch  a massive land area which stretches from Port Melbourne to the foothills of the Yarra Ranges, along the bay to the Mornington Peninsula and towards the Bass Coast as far as French Island  is the Brighton Beach Hotel.

This is the site of one of the contentious fleeting transmissions that was this week revealed as a false positive. When Professor Stuarts team learned on Tuesday of a positive case who had been at the pub at the same time but seemingly not in close contact with another known case, she sent investigators to examine the hotels CCTV footage. We could not see these two people moved at all near each other, she said. That made us think this possibly may not be correct. The next day, the unit sent testers to take a fresh swab of the contentious case. The results confirmed it was not a case at all. Loading I still dont believe it is as infectious as just walking past, Professor Stuart said. Unless you are very, very infectious, it is very, very rare to get a transmission with just mild face-to-face contact.

Victorias outbreak response has been helped by good luck. Professor Stuart says the most worrying case her team traced was the person who enjoyed a Saturday night out at several Prahran night spots before they knew they had the virus. It was potentially a very high-risk environment with young people sharing drinks in pokey rooms, she said. That was my No.1 concern. As it turned out, what could have been a super-spreading event was a dud. Due to a COVID quirk that no one yet understands, the person wasnt infectious and didnt pass on the virus to anyone else that night. While no one is declaring victory over this outbreak, particularly now that the more virulent Delta strain has been detected in a Melbourne family that went on a driving holiday to southern NSW, Professor Stuart said her team had a good understanding of where and how the virus had spread in Melbournes south-east. She said that given her team had only been together for six months, it was an amazing achievement. It is a huge machine, she said. I am just overwhelmed by how hard everyone is working.
Roundup: Turkish physicians praise WHO's approval of Chinese vaccine

Xinhua) 10:44, June 05, 2021

ISTANBUL, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkish physicians praised the latest decision of the World Health Organization (WHO) to approve the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac.

Several physicians in Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, indicated that a significant threshold was reached in the fight against the pandemic as the possibility of vaccinating all people in countries that could not have access to vaccines so far has augmented.

The WHO recently validated Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine, assuring the world that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy, and manufacturing.

"It is a very positive development. We were waiting for such approval," Bulent Ertugrul, an expert on infectious diseases and clinical microbiology in Reyap Hospital, told Xinhua.

Ertugrul noted that the decision strengthened the world's hand against the coronavirus, and the injustice in vaccination in the world has now become surmountable.

For Celalettin Kocaturk, a chest disease specialist at Liv Hospital, the inactivated vaccines like CoronaVac are easy to be transported to other countries, which have difficulties in storing and delivering them to their citizens.

"If we are late in vaccination, the virus may develop resistance to the vaccines," Kocaturk warned, adding that therefore all the people in the world should be vaccinated as soon as possible, and China has a chance to accomplish this target.

He also argued that the WHO's validation could provide Turkish citizens with a "very good advantage" in obtaining vaccination passports.

"Because some countries still keep us on the red list as most of the Turkish citizens have been inoculated with CoronaVac, which did not get the WHO's approval until recently," Kocaturk added.

"I hope there will be positive developments in this regard as well."

According to the data released on the health ministry's website on Friday, Turkey has administered 30 million COVID-19 vaccines across the country. Over 17.1 million people have received their first doses, and 12.9 million others have taken two shots.

Turkey started its mass vaccination program in mid-January with the CoronaVac vaccine and only recently included the Pfizer-BioNTech jabs.

Ertugrul also believed that, from now on, Turkish people will travel around more comfortably in the world.

"The WHO's giving such approval will mean that the European Medicine Agency (EMA) will also recognize it," he continued.

The EMA has started a rolling review of CoronaVac at the beginning of May for its usage in the European Union zone.

Nurettin Yiyit, chief physician of the Feriha Oz Emergency Hospital and Sancaktepe Ilhan Varank Training and Research Hospital, also praised the WHO for having a "sound decision."

"The phase studies have already proven the efficacy of this vaccine. Now several countries, which have been using CoronaVac in their vaccination campaigns, have started to publish the numerical results of their experiences in the field," he said.

"We are getting high efficacy and protection ratios from them as well," Yiyit said. "The EMA must adopt a similar stance so that all the COVID-19 vaccines would take their place in the same lane in the fight against the pandemic."

Meanwhile, Sinovac earlier had said production licenses were given to five countries, including Turkey, that would enable them to manufacture the jabs.

"It has now become clear how strategic a vaccine is," Ertugrul noted. "We would be delighted if Sinovac would come and invest in Turkey, and include Turks in their production processes."

Kocaturk also echoed Ertugrul's opinion and said: "This is very important because we need it. The faster the vaccination process will be, the sooner the pandemic will end.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 01:15:22|Editor: huaxia

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KATHMANDU, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reshuffled his cabinet on Friday evening after offering 10 ministerial posts to a faction of the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP).

The JSP faction led by Chairman Mahantha Thakur agreed to join the cabinet after the Oli government released its 430 cadres from custody, amended the Citizenship Act and formed a task force to study constitutional amendment, key demands of the group.

With the introduction of the JSP faction, Oli reshuffled his cabinet, keeping only four ministers while promoting Minister for Finance Bishnu Poudel to be a deputy prime minister.

Among the ministerial posts for the JSP figures, senior leader Rajendra Mahato was named deputy prime minister and minister for urban development.

Oli appointed Raghubir Mahaseth, a leader from his own party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), as deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs.

The prime minister himself took charge of seven ministries concurrently for the moment, but would allocate the portfolios to members of his own party later.

"The cabinet will be expanded after holding discussions in the party," Bishal Bhattarai, a CPN-UML leader, told Xinhua.

Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office to the newly appointed ministers on Friday evening, according to Keshav Prasad Ghimire, deputy spokesperson at the President's Office.

As suggested by Oli, Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives on May 22 for fresh elections on Nov. 12 and 19. Enditem
Melbournes small business owners say theyre being destroyed by the current coronavirus lockdown in the city, losing thousands of dollars of revenue.

The group of aggrieved business owners took to the streets in the Melbourne CBD on Saturday morning, before two dozen anti-lockdown protesters hijacked the demonstration outside Flinders Street Station, resulting in two arrests and 16 fines.

Small business owners Bill Panayotou, Emily and Carly Soderstrom outside Flinders Street Station. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Bill Panayotou, who manages The Alibi Events and the Middleman Cafe, became visibly upset after discussing the difficulties his business is facing in the wake of Victorias two-week lockdown.

After purchasing a new venue in March 2020 just before the pandemic hit, he has since accrued more than $120,000 in interest from his frozen loans.
Victoria has recorded five new locally acquired COVID-19 cases and one in hotel quarantine in the past 24 hours to midnight as health teams consider whether a hotel quarantine leak is a possible source of the Delta strain detected in Melbournes inner-city outbreak.

Infectious disease expert Professor Sharon Lewin said a hotel quarantine leak was the best explanation they had so far for the emergence of the new variant, given it didnt match any other genomic strain recorded in Australia.

Professor Lewin said the possibility of a quarantine leak could not be 100 per cent proven because only about 70-80 per cent of cases were successfully sequenced. So there are 20 per cent of people who are positive and we do not have a genetic barcode for. So that [a hotel quarantine breach] is my strongest hypothesis, she said.

Testing in Jervis Bay, where the infected family travelled, has not found any cases, making it unlikely the strain was contracted in NSW, Professor Lewin said.
The number of Victorians applying for unemployment benefits has soared since the beginning of the states fourth lockdown as data reveals more than half of Victorian tenants are scrimping to pay rent.

Services Australia data shows a 62 per cent jump in Victorian applications for JobSeeker and Youth Allowance in the fortnight in which the statewide lockdown began compared to the two weeks prior.

There were 9937 applications for the dole between May 22 and June 3 (the lockdown came into effect on May 27), up by 3812 on the previous fortnight when 6125 claims were lodged.

Services Australia said before the state-wide lockdown was called in Victoria the unemployment applications had more or less been at pre-pandemic levels.
The notion that structural differences in the make-up, layout and behavioural patterns of the two cities has also proved seductive on social media and speaks to prevailing stereotypes about Sydney and Melbourne. But it does not stand up to scrutiny. The Australian Bureau of Statistics instantly disproves the assertion that Melbournes population is younger  at the last census in 2016, the median age in both cities was 36. Marylouise McClaws said town planners had told her it was desirable to socialise across different areas of Melbourne. Credit:Chris Hopkins And whatever opinions one might hold about public transport in Opal-land or Myki-ville, the evidence shows more people use it in Sydney than Melbourne. At the same census Sydneysiders reported significantly higher use of public transport to get to work each day  27 per cent, compared to 19 per cent of Melburnians. There was essentially no difference in the average length of commutes: 16.5 kilometres in Sydney versus 16.8 kilometres in Melbourne.

McLaws later told 9News the actual difference was that in Sydney people used public transport to go to work and back, while in Melbourne they also used it to go to special little areas in the CBD such as bars, restaurants and ice-cream parlours. She also clarified that when she said Melbourne had younger people, she was referring to the population of its CBD, which has a high proportion of people aged 20 to 39. The contention that Sydneysiders are less inclined to leave their locality, such as the inner west or north shore, is a bit more difficult to evaluate. It certainly has some anecdotal support: we all know people who dont like crossing the Harbour Bridge (or the Yarra, for that matter). And the peculiar geography of the northern beaches, with three arterial roads in and out, meant it could be locked down during the Avalon outbreak in a way that would be harder in Melbourne. McLaws told The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Age her assertion was not based on hard data but advice from town planners that in Melbourne its very desirable to socialise in lots of different areas, while in Sydney youve got to travel quite some distance. The data are not granular enough to really get into it, she said. Im just suggesting that theres a sociability factor that may be more difficult to find. There is something going on and its not for blame; its understanding that the disease does not just use humans, it uses human behaviours. The ABS has some basic data on travel patterns around our cities. It measures self-containment, or how many people work in the same statistical area as they live. Sydney had the lowest level of self-containment of any capital city: 43.4 per cent worked in the same area as they lived, versus 51. 8 per cent in Melbourne. While that doesnt account for social travel, it is at least an indication.

At various times it has also been asserted that Melbournes density eclipses Sydney and that this may impact its susceptibility to the virus spread. Its certainly true that Melbourne is growing faster: its population is expected to overtake Sydney this decade (and probably already has, depending on how you calculate it). But density is different story. At the 2016 census, the population of the Sydney significant urban area was 4,446,805 and it was 4196 square kilometres. This includes the Blue Mountains up to Katoomba, but not the Central Coast or Picton, which form part of Greater Sydney. The population of the Melbourne SUA was 4,323,072 and it was 6189 square kilometres  so Sydney metro is significantly denser. The contention that Sydneysiders are less inclined than people from Melbourne to leave their locality is difficult to evaluate. Credit:Wolter Peeters Its true Melbournes CBD is the densest place in Australia, followed by the Sydney locales of Potts Point-Woolloomooloo and Pyrmont-Ultimo. But theres another way to slice the data. The ABS divides the country into grid cells of 1 square kilometre. In Sydney, 193 cells were high density (5000 to 8000 people per square kilometre) or very high density (more than 8000 people)  much more than Melbourne (77) or Brisbane (15).

Loading Liz Allen, a demographer at the Australian National University (in the neutral city of Canberra), collated much of this data into a popular thread on Twitter last week. Asked if there was a grain of truth to any of the assertions about differences between the two cities, she said no. Theres really no discernable difference between Victoria and NSW or Melbourne and Sydney when we look at these key demographic characteristics, she said. These conflicts are as old as the towns themselves. What makes the myth so effective is that it does sit with our stereotypes and it does trigger emotion. McLaws also raised migrant demographics as an issue, telling the ABC that Melbourne had a very well-connected migrant group. You know what its like being a first generation migrant group  they live together and they support each other, and that can be a downfall as well for spread.
The NSW government wants the Commonwealth to build and run a dedicated quarantine facility in the state to help bring more Australians home.

The push from NSW comes just days after a deal was struck for a new centre in Melbourne, and follows Queenslands demand the federal government play a greater role in the quarantine system.

Health experts have been calling for months for more purpose-built facilities similar to the Howard Springs centre in Darwin.

Gladys Berejiklian and Scott Morrison.

The federal government is under mounting pressure to bring home the more than 30,000 Australians stuck overseas, and explain how and when Australia can begin to open its borders to accept international students and skilled workers.
This week it transpired that staff at two aged care homes who tested positive to COVID-19 had worked across multiple centres: an Arcare home in Maidstone and a BlueCross facility in Sunshine. The re-emergence of the virus in aged care was a key factor in prompting statewide lockdowns and once again confining residents of homes to their rooms. The outbreak at Arcare Maidstone numbered five people, and by Friday appeared likely to have been brought under control. The two residents who tested positive are both still asymptomatic at this stage and will remain in hospital for precautionary monitoring, Arcare said on Friday. The staff members who had tested positive were also recovering, it said. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video But while the Arcare outbreak was small compared to eruptions in other homes last year  St Basils in Fawkner, for instance, had 45 deaths and 223 cases  the reappearance of COVID-19 in aged care sparked a media firestorm.

It forced Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt to field questions all week over whether Australia was once again failing to protect its most vulnerable. Attention focused on workforce issues in aged care  specifically, why so many private homes have casual staff working across multiple homes. Much of the spread of COVID-19 last year was caused by low-paid casual employees working second or third jobs to supplement their wages. The 5600 beds in Victorias public sector aged care homes are funded federally, via the same daily funding mechanism private homes receive (their funding is also topped up by about $98 million a year from the Victorian government). The residents in these homes, generally linked to hospital services, are typically sicker and have higher care needs than those in private centres. The wages in publicly-run facilities are usually better than most private sector homes; a comparison by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation showed nursing staff at one major private aged care chain were paid around 25 per cent less for a mid-level worker.

And, crucially, few staff in the public system work across multiple sites. This week Hunt pointed out the numbers of people working across multiple homes was not great; in metropolitan Melbourne, he said, 4.7 per cent of staff were employed across different care centres. But by Friday, with concerns still swirling over aged care, Morrison said aged care workers would soon likely have to be vaccinated if they wanted to continue working in homes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt were pressed hard on aged care homes this week. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Canberra in 2020 started funding aged care providers across Melbourne to ensure staff worked at only one site, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It emerged this week that the rules had lapsed in November once areas around the nation were no longer designated as hotspots, and were only intermittently reinstated.

The discovery revived the question of why so many care staff had such poor working conditions. The casualisation of the aged care workforce has been an unmitigated disaster, says campaigner Sarah Russell, who runs the lobby group Aged Care Reform Now. Monash University aged care expert Joseph Ibrahim, also a specialist in geriatric medicine (a geriatrician), says the casualised workforce in private homes was a big part of the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, and has focused attention on conditions for workers. Professor Joseph Ibrahim. Credit:Jason South Staff have never been paid enough to have a living wage, he says, explaining why they work across multiple sites. It suits the providers to have a casualised workforce too  you dont have sick leave, you dont have entitlements you have to worry about.

He says that even workers with regular employment at one of the larger aged care operators, like BUPA or Japara, might be employed by the one organisation, but you are working across multiple campuses. The Morrison government argues the question of whether to have a casualised workforce or not in aged care isnt easy to answer. Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck this week pointed in a Senate hearing to a case brought by a union last year to prevent a Sydney aged care centre dictating whether or not staff were allowed to work across multiple sites. Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck, centre, and Department of Health boss Brendan Murphy are grilled over aged care during a Senate estimates hearing this week. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The Health Services Union took a provider to court [for] trying to inhibit this persons capacity to earn income. [It] was unlawful, thats what Fair Work Commission found, Colbeck told the hearing. Lisa Fitzpatrick is Victorian secretary of the nursing union and says while there are some people in public sector aged care who work across multiple homes, its not as common because you get eight-hour shifts  its not two four-hour shifts, as it often is in private care.

They also have nurse-to-patient ratios in public homes, she adds, meaning there is a higher focus on strong infection control measures. Canberra tried to address this issue after last years second wave in Victoria and this week the federal Department of Health indicated it was making progress at improving private aged care homes consciousness of fighting COVID-19. More than 99 per cent of residential aged care providers now have a dedicated Infection Prevention and Control officer, a department spokesman says. And nearly 22 per cent of these facilities have nominated more than one dedicated Infection Prevention and Control [officer], he says. The ANMFs Lisa Fitzpatrick at a rally with Premier Daniel Andrews in 2018 Credit:Justin McManus Figures supplied by the Victorian government this week underscore the additional training of the workforce in public sector homes. They show nurses comprise over 80 per cent of the care workforce there.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When China introduced its one-child policy in the autumn of 1980, the country was in the midst of an economic revolution. Its policymakers believed they had to shift a rural economy ploughed by millions of Chinas sons and daughters into a better-fed and better-educated population in the cities. Haunted by the famine that killed tens of millions between 1959 and 1961, the party wanted to curb the growth of the worlds largest population  just shy of 1 billion in 1980  to ease the demand on resources. Over more than three decades, the worlds largest social experiment would force mothers and fathers to hide their extra children or be fined or fired. It would lead to more than 336 million abortions, many of them girls. Now China has 30 million more men than women and a demographic crisis of its own invention. Old and new: China announced a three-child policy this week. Credit:Sanghee Liu The generations that preceded the one-child policy are growing old. Chinas population grew from 540 million in 1949 to 940 million in 1976. Retirement pensions are due and so are the hospital bills. Theres a smaller proportion of workers to pay for them and fewer women to give birth to the next generation of taxpayers.

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Chinas top decision-making body, the Politburo, announced on Monday it would raise the number of children allowed per family from its current limit of two to three. It took the step knowing that the two-child policy introduced in 2016 hasnt had an impact. The fertility rate has remained at 1.3 for five years, well below the replacement rate needed to stop the population shrinking. The one-child experiment transformed China. Big rural families have become small ones dedicated to the success of a single child. A 2016 survey by the government-controlled All-China Womens Federation found only 21 per cent of women said they would like to have a second child. The cost of living, particularly in Beijing and Shanghai, has surged. House prices jumped by 30 per cent in both cities between 2015 and 2017. In Yanjiao, a small town on the eastern fringes of Beijing, 36-year-old mother Sharon Piao said she would not consider a second child, let alone a third, after quitting her job to care for her baby. The cost of just having a child is too high, not to mention the cost of raising it. We had to pay tens of thousands of yuan for all kinds of health checks, hospitalisation and maternity care, she said on Thursday.

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Her husband has not had steady work recently. A second child might mean poverty to us. Also, I hope to provide the best to my baby, but with a second, the cost has to be shared, Piao said. Loading Im an outgoing person and love to go out and meet people. But with a baby around, I feel like living in a prison and dont have time to do what Id like to. Lu Pin, a Chinese feminist who now lives in the US, said urban Chinese families had invested in the education of their only-child daughters  with unintended results. Many young women are consciously choosing not to have children. Not having children is a consequence of womens empowerment. For people who grew up with the one-child policy, said Yaqiu Wang. You are one child, your friends and family are one child, you dont know anything else. Credit:Sanghee Liu Yi Fuxian, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison whose book Big Country with an Empty Nest was banned from China, said he estimated the policy would only generate an extra 100,000 to 200,000 births per year.

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It is not enough, he said. Everything in the economy is based on one child. There is not enough room to house more children. A poll by state broadcaster Xinhua on Monday was taken down by state censors after almost 29,000 out of 31,000 respondents said they had absolutely no intention of having three children. I dont buy a Rolls Royce not because they limit the number of Rolls Royces I can buy, said one netizen on Weibo. I want to sell my quota to rich people. Another said: I myself am a product of the one-child policy. I already have to take care of my parents. Where would I find the energy to raise more than two kids? Lu said the policy was doomed to be ineffective, judging by the anger expressed on social media by Chinese women. It is foreseeable that the new policy will have a more serious negative impact on womens employment, that is, more employers will be reluctant to hire women due to the worry about womens future birth plans, she said. Yaqiu Wang had spent months researching the impact of the two-child policy on womens employment for Human Rights Watch. Her findings were released on Tuesday, a day after Beijings sudden three-child announcement lit up Chinese news bulletins.

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[For employers, it means] women could take more maternity leave and they could possibly have more children to take care of at home, she said. Its not just affecting woman who chose to have a second child or third child, it affects all women in the workplace. Chinese job noticeboards already advertise for men or women who already have children and wont want any more. One civil service ad in Fujian province said there was no restriction on males or females but added: Females must be unmarried, or married with children, [schedule] wont interfere with night shifts, age between 18-35. Another at an insurance company was more specific: No restriction on men or women [but applicants] married without children will be rejected. Those who are hired have been made to sign contracts vowing not to get pregnant or agreeing to consult the company before conceiving. Women who breach these obligations can be fined or fired. When Liu Yiran, a 34-year-old woman working for an internet company in Beijing, told her boss in May 2017 that she was pregnant, it took less than three months for a new hire to take up her responsibilities. Then the company stopped paying her salary. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

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I grew up at a time when anti-Semitism was on the retreat  at least in its public expression. Democracy and liberalism appeared to be dominant and spreading. There was optimism about a future freed from prejudice, genocide and totalitarianism. Political scientist Francis Fukuyama spoke confidently about the end of history as we had known it. But things have changed.

Over the last few weeks I have understood the fear felt by my mother who had acid thrown at her by anti-Semitic teenagers in Lithuania. I recognised the sense of despair and despondency of our ancestors in the face of irrational and vituperative hatred; an unconditional animosity simply because they were Jewish. I never expected to feel this way, I was naively optimistic that the world had changed. I certainly didnt think I would ever feel this way in Australia.

It all changed for me watching the international reaction in Europe and the United States to renewed hostilities between Israel and Gaza.

Jerusalem is considered holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians. Credit:Shutterstock

This included reports of Jews being attacked in kosher restaurants, assailed on the streets of New York and Los Angeles, and toxic slogans on display at pro-Palestinian rallies calling on Jewish women to be raped and calling Jews genocidal while simultaneously suggesting that all Jews from the river to the sea be driven into the ocean. Despite the ceasefire, this has continued in some parts.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Tuesday, June 1st, Dutchbased foundation Childfund Sint Maarten hosted a ceremony at the Helmich Snijders Hillside Christian School, where the chairman, Mr. GerritJan Greven, presented 26 schools with vouchers for school uniforms. The foundation has a mission to ensure that all children, regardless of background, can have a proper school uniform and feel a sense of belonging to a school community.

Mr. Greven comes from a police background and was stationed on the island in 2018 after Hurricane Irma had devastated the island. It was then that he realized how many families struggle financially, and that even the smallest donation can make a big difference for some. Some children were not even going to school because the family couldnt afford their uniforms.

A uniform represents a schools identity, traditions, and values. It also diminishes classes so that those from less privileged backgrounds can feel equal to those with more fortunate circumstances, stated Mr. Greven. $100 can be a tremendous financial burden for some families, so 15 students have been selected from each school to receive new uniforms for the upcoming school year, continued Greven.

The voucher project adds up to approximately USD 40,000 for this year alone and the foundation plans to raise more funds to donate uniforms annually to students. Each school has selected 15 vulnerable students to receive at least two school uniforms for the 2021/2022 school year. The student will receive a $100 voucher to present to the uniform suppliers, which in turn will be reimbursed by the foundation. Its a very simple process for all involved, with a great reward for some of the less fortunate children, explained Greven.

The project is financed by the Ministry of Justice and Security and although postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, Childfund St. Maarten was finally able to carry out its mission this week.

After the presentation, Angelique Romou, MP, and Hubert Duffis from the Martin Luther King School both gave their thanks to Mr. Greven for the hard work of the foundation. Lastly, Mrs. Asha StevensMohabier of Hillside Christian Schools expressed her gratitude to Mr. Greven for the initiative. It is thanks to people like GerritJan that we as a school can focus on the education of our students. These charities put their efforts into the details, like school uniforms, so that educators have one less thing to worry about. From the bottom of all of our hearts, thank you., concluded Mrs. Stevens.
Somerset, KY (42501)

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Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. High 87F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 12:33:36|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Australia's early response to the coronavirus pandemic prevented lots of deaths and billions of dollars in economic damage, a report has found.

In a study published on Saturday, researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Melbourne modeled three different scenarios from Australia's first wave of COVID-19 infections.

They estimated the cost of the eight-week lockdown adopted across most of the country from March 2020 at 52 billion Australian dollars (40.2 billion U.S. dollars) - 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

"The costs of a much-delayed lockdown were many times greater and included a much greater loss of life," co-author Quentin Grafton from ANU's Crawford School of Public Policy said in a media release.

Australia closed its international borders in March 2020, with residents and citizens returning to the country forced into quarantine for 14 days.

There were 104 deaths from COVID-19 in Australia between March and June 2020.

However, a second wave of infections in the state of Victoria that began in mid-June caused about 800 deaths, taking the national toll to more than 900.

Professor Tom Kompas from the University of Melbourne said that current lockdown in Victoria was the right approach.

"An uncontrolled spread of COVID, especially with newer, more aggressive strains, would be disastrous for Australia," he said. "Elimination of community spread in Australia is best for both health and economy outcomes." Enditem
Restaurant patrons sit in a parklet along Valencia Street in San Francisco on July 25, 2020. Since last July, Valencia Street has been shut down to traffic on the weekend to allow for additional outdoor activity. San Francisco is one of several cities across California that is considering expanding the outdoor dining program started during the pandemic.
Healdsburg, CA (95448)

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 14:54:18|Editor: huaxia

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ULAN BATOR, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported 1,393 new COVID-19 infections, the highest daily spike since the outbreak, over the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 63,978, the country's health ministry said Saturday.

Over 10,700 samples were tested across the country in the past day, the ministry said, adding two of the latest confirmed cases were imported from abroad, and the remaining ones were local infections.

Meanwhile, six more deaths were reported, pushing the total deaths to 321, and 783 more recoveries were recorded, bringing the total recoveries to 53,595, said the ministry.

The country launched a national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in late February, with the aim of covering at least 60 percent of its total population of around 3.3 million.

So far, more than 1,488,800 Mongolians have been fully vaccinated, according to the ministry.

The Asian country reported its first imported COVID-19 case in March 2020 and confirmed its first locally transmitted case in November. Enditem
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The brown marmorated stink bug is spreading in Minnesota. Here's what to do if you see it.

Invasive pests, such as the brown marmorated stink bug, are hitchhikers who attach themselves to vehicles, outdoor gear and even packaging, leading people to unintentionally spread the pests. Invasive species do not have a natural predator in their newly expanded area, thus potentially negatively impacting the ecosystem. (Photo courtesy of Susan Ellis/Bugwood.org)

A nonnative and destructive species that releases an odor when a person tries to crush it is making its way into Minnesota.

In addition to living up to its name when killed, the brown marmorated stink bug can cause significant economic damage to fruits, vegetables and crops. Largely found in the mid-Atlantic states, the states applied a significant amounts of pesticide in response to the damage. But the reliance on pesticide has gone down and experts are trying to find other ways to control it, according to Minnesota Department of Agriculture entomologist Angie Ambourn, an entomologist with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA).

Brown marmorated stink bugs were first discovered in Minnesota in 2010, and the insect continues to spread. The majority of brown marmorated stink bug sightings reported to the MDA have been in the Twin Cities and southeastern Minnesota. So far, the MDA has received one reported sighting in Steele County and 26 reported sightings in Rice County.

The MDA has been receiving reports of stink bugs in homes and has asked residents to report their findings to the MDAs Arrest the Pest program. A chart showing the brown marmorated stink bug and look-alike insects that are native to Minnesota can be found at mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/brown-marmorated-stink-bug.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has placed sticky clear traps baited with species specific pheromones at Minnesota apple orchards to find the brown marmorated stink bug. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Burington/MDA)

MDA is focusing on monitoring the issue at this point and the agency hasnt reached the management phase. From the MDA standpoint, Ambourn said they probably will not do any management other than potentially working with biological control release, if necessary one day.

Its not an insect that is easily quarantined and so the management will be up to the specific grower, Ambourn said.

For now, the MDA is working closely with apple orchards, helping owners get ahead of any potential problems via monitoring and trapping. Clear sticky traps are baited with species specific pheromones. MDA has been placing these traps in apple orchards and in residential areas in the Twin Cities metro where there are known large populations. From there the MDA can direct owners to the latest and best management practices if the insect is found.

Reports of stink bugs have come in from people who found the insect on their car, inside their RV and even inside their mail packages. Ambourn encourages folks to be smart consumers and recreators, keeping an eye out for those easily overlooked hitchhikers.

Even though many organizations are working to monitor and combat invasive species, Ambourn notes that one organization alone does not have the capacity to be everywhere at once, so help from the public with monitoring is beneficial.

Citizen science has really become a big deal in finding early on invasive species, I mean not just in Minnesota, but across the country, Ambourn said.

Residents that report their findings to the MDAs Arrest the Pest program are asked to capture the insect and send in a photo to confirm its identification. The program accepts reports of all invasive species, and it is a resource for people who want to monitor invasive species in the state.

Findings of stink bugs can also be reported to EDDMapS, a nationwide website for invasive species through the University of Georgia. Visitors to the site can download data and view distribution maps. The Great Lakes Early Detection Network app is an invasive species early detection and warning system for the Great Lakes region and can be used to easily submit sufficient information regarding their findings from a smartphone. The Arrest the Pest distribution map is hooked up to pull information from EDDMapS every night, according to Ambourn.

Weve kind of been pushing EDDMapS for reporting invasive species because its really specific, if youre on your phone itll take a GPS coordinate of exactly where you are. It asks you to take a picture, it asks you what do you think youre reporting, and theres a guide in there, Ambourn said.

State identifiers receive the submission through EDDMapS, and reports are triaged before moving on to the next invasive species expert. Confirmed cases are then added to the distribution maps, allowing people to see where species are located and where they are spreading.

Arrest the Pest will soon be getting an overhaul, making the submission process easier to use. An online form will prompt people to submit more thorough information regarding their finding. It is unknown when these updates will come to fruition, according to the MDA.

Minnesota residents can report findings of the brown marmorated stink bug to the Minnesota Department of Agricultures Arrest the Pest program. MDA staff say citizen reporting of invasive species in important to get ahead of the emerging issue. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Burington/MDA)
Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut Media

STAMFORD  Two people are in critical condition at Stamford Hospital after sustaining life-threatening injuries from a car accidnt, according to a press release from Sgt. Jeffrey Booth.

A 27-year-old Stamford resident was driving a 2019 Subaru WRX north on Ocean Drive West when they failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway and struck a utility pole on the northeast corner of Ocean Drive West by Saddle Rock Road at about 4:47 a.m., the release said.
STAMFORD  Overdue library fees in Stamford are officially a thing of the past.

The Ferguson Library moved to eliminate fines for any materials out past their due date after approval from its Board of Trustees in April. The decision, according to a press release, prioritizes those who are least able to pay, but most in need of library services.

Patrons will still be fined for any lost or damaged items.

Library President Alice Knapp said the Ferguson knows that fees impact the citys most vulnerable residents disproportionately, as national research shows. A breakthrough report from the San Francisco Public Library found that overdue fines present bigger obstacles in communities with more low-income or Black residents. Though all library branches accrue fines at similar rates, research showed that locations serving low-income areas (had) higher average debt amounts and more blocked users than locations serving wealthier San Franciscans.

In Stamford, overdue fees were compounded in communities farther away from libraries, according to a 2018 study of late fees among cardholders. The Ferguson Library currently operates branches Downtown, in Springdale, in Turn of River and the South End, along with the portable Bookmobile.

As a library president who is chronically overdue on books, Knapp said she is the first to admit that fines punish people without changing their behaviors.

In the end, youre being punitive to people who have no control over some of the things that I do have control over, Knapp said.

The Ferguson Library is only the second major system in Connecticut to eliminate fees for all and the first in Fairfield County. The New Haven Public Library made the same move in July 2020. The Hartford Public Library in April 2018 got rid of overdue fines for children and teenagers. Smaller municipalities like Branfords James Blackstone Memorial Library, the Simsbury Public Library and the Russell Library in Middletown have also taken the plunge.

According to Urban Libraries Council spokesman Curtis Rogers, the national movement to ditch library fines started picking up steam in 2017, after major library systems across the country did away with financial penalties. That year, public libraries in Salt Lake City, Nashville and Baltimore stopped fining patrons.

Though the figure may be incomplete, the Urban Libraries Council estimates that 315 systems across the United States and Canada have gone fine-free. That number only grew when the pandemic forced libraries to get creative in how they interacted with the community.

Some of those libraries even saw major growth after doing away with fines. Chicago libraries reportedly saw a 240-percent increase in book returns within the first month of going fine-free. NPR reported that the system had 400 more library card renewals in the month it went fine-free compared to one year before.

The Ferguson Library was no exception to the rule.

With the pandemic, it really gave us an opportunity to experiment with being fine-free, Knapp said, mainly because the system got more complicated. After people returned their books, the library would quarantine them for three days out of an abundance of caution. Effectively, books were already coming in late by design and assigning fines wouldnt be fair.

For years before the pandemic, the library had been collecting less money than before in overdue fees. At one point, overdue fees generated close to $120,000 for the library, according to Knapp. But between 2015 and 2018, fine income to Ferguson dropped 14 percent. Knapp links the trend to the emergence of virtual library materials like e-books, which get returned automatically.

On top of that, Knapp and her staff had already launched amnesty weeks at the library, when people could return books free of charge.

So, when the world shut down, the Ferguson Library ditched fines, and the national patterns bore out locally. Even without punitive measures hanging over their heads, people returned their books.

Without fines, Knapp wants to see people feeling at home at the library. The staff is ready to jump right into the effort. Gone are the days of awkward interactions and telling people they need to fork over cash before leaving with a book.

All of that is gone, she said.

Children, she said, can march right up to the circulation counter without even batting an eye: Now, everyone can just be delighted.

veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. (AP)  In Plain community newspapers, the obituaries for Amish and Old Order Mennonites rose during the pandemic, just as they did in other communities.

Thats how Steven Nolt identified COVID-19s impact on the Plain communities across Pennsylvania because, beyond that, there are no reliable methods for measuring how many people in those communities contracted the virus or received the vaccination.

We dont have data because Amish folks were, generally speaking, not interested in being tested, for a number of reasons, said Nolt, interim director of Elizabethtown Colleges Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies.

In some cases, they would say things like: I knew I was sick. I didnt have to go and tell someone I was sick. Or another concern of: Well, if it turns out Im sick, Im going to be told to do this and this that I dont want to do.

Donald Kraybill, senior fellow emeritus at the Young Center, said the vaccination decisions among the Plain community are as diverse as the 550 Amish congregations in Pennsylvania, because thats where the decisions are made.

I know of some congregations where they had an onset of infections back in last summer and last fall, and many of them feel, well, theyre already immunized by the fact that they already had the virus, he said.

Alice Yoder, executive director of Community Health at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital, said, There is general belief in that community that they have a level of herd immunity because so many of them had been sick early on.

Herd immunity, an idea that took hold early in the pandemic, is unlikely for the foreseeable future, experts say, because there are too many variants and the immunization rate has slowed recently.

There is no way to track how many Amish and horse-and-buggy Mennonite families have received their vaccinations, experts say, but theyre following the same path as many other rural residents: Theyre skeptical; resistant to the government mandating what they should do; but following along with shots, in some cases, when its easy and accessible. In addition, some Amish believe their community has reached herd immunity because so many of them had the virus early in the pandemic.

Many of the attitudes toward the vaccine in the Plain community reflect the stance of the people they live near, Kraybill said.

Amish people arent living on an island. They are all living in rural areas. None of them live in towns or cities. They get a lot of their information from local, rural people who may share negative attitudes about masking or vaccination, he said.

To push past any negativity, Penn Medicine LGH placed ads in Plain community newspapers and circulated flyers to explain the virus and the vaccine. They have even used telephone conferences to draw the Amish community into conversations with physicians.

Pop-up clinics in the eastern and southern parts of Lancaster County, where the Amish populations are highest, have helped, Yoder said. Just making the clinics easy and accessible have drawn both Amish and other rural residents in for vaccinations. Some waited to get their vaccination, and their success encouraged others to follow suit.

The number of Amish residents LGH has vaccinated or treated for the coronavirus is unknown because religious affiliations are not asked by medical staff, Yoder said.

Wellspan Health provides fact-based information on the vaccine in community publications, said spokesman Ryan Coyle.

The ultimately goal is for those in the community to make an informed decision, he said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it has community health nurses who work regularly with the Amish community.

These nurses are in nearly every county in the state (except for those that have their own health departments). They have worked extensively to build relationships with the Amish community over the years and throughout the COVID-19 response, said Maggi Barton, deputy press secretary, in an email.

___

Online:

https://bit.ly/34ySjst
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  New Jersey Republicans will decide Tuesday whether their standard bearer to take on Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy will be a strong supporter of Donald Trump or a well-funded establishment-backed candidate who hardly mentions the former president.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. in primaries for governor and the state Legislature, which has every member of both houses up for election this year.

Murphy is running unopposed in the Democratic primary, but the GOP is sorting out how it will move forward in the post-Trump era in a four-way race.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states electing governors this year. The election is a test of how voters view Murphy's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as an early litmus test of President Joe Biden's performance and how national politics are playing out among voters.

Here's a closer look at top races in Tuesday's election, which  unlike last year  will include in-person machine voting.

DECISION DAY FOR GOP

Jack Ciattarelli, a former Assembly member and small business founder, has emerged as the front-runner. He has the most cash, qualified for public matching funds and carries the support from county party leaders, which means he'll have favorable ballot positions. He ran unsuccessfully four years ago as a strong critic of Gov. Chris Christie, losing the primary to then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. He was tepid about Trump four years ago.

But his focus on attacking Murphy, over supporting for the former president, drew a pair of Trump defenders into the race. Hudson County pastor and former real estate developer Phil Rizzo and Atlantic County engineer Hirsh Singh are each casting themselves as Trump's man in New Jersey. Rizzo is new to politics, but Singh has run in and lost elections before, including the Republican gubernatorial primary four years ago.

Murphy's handling of the pandemic has been a galvanizing issue for the GOP, though, providing them with a common opponent.

Also on the ballot is Brian Levine, a former Somerset County official, who is running in part on keeping businesses from leaving the state. Levine has told election law enforcement officials that he plans to raise less than $5,800, a fraction of the more roughly $6.9 million Ciattarelli has raised.

MURPHY COASTS

Murphy has no Democratic opposition on the ballot. The primary comes at a high water mark for Democrats, who have seen their registration advantage over Republicans climb to more than 1 million. He also has gotten good grades from voters for his handling of the pandemic, according to public surveys.

Nevertheless, Republicans have hammered him for keeping mask and distancing mandates in place for what they have said is too long and for more than 8,000 deaths at long-term care facilities.

Murphy has also delivered on several key campaign promises that were popular, especially among Democratic voters: raising taxes on people earning more than $1 million a year; boosting funding to Planned Parenthood, signing legislation to legalize recreational marijuana and clear cannabis-related criminal records and increasing funding for the public pension and school aid.

LEGISLATIVE RACES

Democratic control the Legislature is on the ballot this, fall, but in Tuesday's primary a handful of intraparty races are grabbing attention. Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg's retirement in Bergen County's 37th District has sparked a Democratic primary battle between her two Assembly running mates: Gordon Johnson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle.

In southern New Jersey, Republican Sen. Chris Brown's decision not to run for reelection has led to a primary between the county party-backed Vince Polistina and Seth Grossman, who ran unsuccessfully in 2018 for Congress against as an outspoken backer of Trump.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  The Rev. James Altman calls himself a lowly priest serving a blue-collar city in western Wisconsin. But when his bishop demanded his resignation  after a series of divisive remarks about politics and the pandemic  Altman refused to oblige and has since raised more than $640,000 from his conservative supporters to defend himself.

While not unprecedented, a Catholic priests refusal to abide by a bishops call to resign is certainly rare. Altmans case, which has garnered national attention and made him a celebrity of sorts among conservative Catholics, has further fueled the divide between them and those urging a more progressive, inclusive church.

Altman, pastor of St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church in La Crosse, first came into prominence before the 2020 election with a fiery video on YouTube.

You cannot be Catholic and be a Democrat, said Altman, admonishing people to repent of your support of that party and its platform or face the fires of hell.

He reiterated that sentiment recently while also criticizing vaccination efforts and restrictions on church gatherings related to COVID-19.

On May 23, Altman announced during a homily that the Diocese of La Crosse's bishop, William Patrick Callahan, had asked for his resignation as pastor of St. James.

They want my head now for speaking that truth, Altman told the congregation. I, a lowly priest, apparently have created enemies among some of the hierarchies.

The diocese issued a statement the next day confirming Callahans request and Altmans refusal to step away, and said it would begin the process to remove him according to Catholic law.

Altman said he would fight the process but needed money to hire lawyers. His supporters across the U.S. responded swiftly.

LifeFunder, a crowdfunding site for conservative Christians, set out to raise $100,000 for Altman; by Thursday it had raised more than $322,000. GiveSendGo, another Christian crowdfunding site, has raised more than $326,000.

As we all know, Fr. Altman has been subject to diabolical persecution just for doing his job as a shepherd to his flock, says a message on GiveSendGo.

Altman didnt respond to a message The Associated Press left at the church office. Videos posted by LifeFunder feature him railing against the Catholic hierarchy, calling bishops who dont support him cowards and a brood of vipers, and labeling liberals left-wing fascist Nazis.

As for the fundraising, he said: I never think of myself as great, but what it does tell me is the people are saying that they need to hear the truth spoken.

Most of Callahan's fellow bishops across the U.S. have not commented publicly about the case, though one of them  Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas  has tweeted support for Altman.

Altman is in trouble for speaking the truth, Strickland tweeted. He inspires many to keep the faith during these dark days. Let us pray for him.

Conversely, Faithful America, which describes itself as an online community of Christians, launched a petition urging Altmans removal from the ministry due to his remarks about the pandemic.

Fr. Altman is endangering not only his own parishioners but every essential worker they meet, and should be removed ... before he can risk even one more life, the petition said.

David Cloutier, an assistant professor of moral theology at the Catholic University of America, said via email that Altman is clearly far out of bounds in the extent to which he is no longer articulating specific Catholic teaching."

He has instead become a conservative commentator on cultural issues on which there is either no specifically Catholic position or where the priest might well be at odds with Catholic principles, Cloutier added.

La Crosse is a city of 50,000 on the Mississippi River about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Minneapolis. Altman's church was built in 1901; its red brick walls and towering dome are a local landmark.

Its congregation has been divided over Altman.

Carol Patterson attended Mass at St. James for 50 years until Altmans style and sermons drove her to another church last year. Though she was deeply involved in church activities, she said he never bothered to learn her name.

Leaving was a tough decision; Patterson and her daughter were both married in St. James and her late husband was buried under its aegis.

I just didnt agree with the things he (Altman) was doing, Patterson said. The Democrats go to hell, encouraging people not to get masks, not to get the shots. ... I loved St. James, but I just couldnt do it anymore. It was raising my blood pressure.

Monica Mohan, has made the 80-mile drive from her home in Fall Creek to La Crosse twice to attend Mass with Altman. She said he is true to Catholic principles and now faces pressure from a church hierarchy that has been trying to water down the faith.

I have never seen a priest so joyful when hes distributing Holy Communion," she said. This parish is his family. To rip a father away from his family when he has not taught anything contrary to the faith is inconceivable. Its despicable.

If Altman persists in his defiance, the legal procedures  dictated by the Catholic churchs Code of Canon Law  could be lengthy.

According to William Daniel, a professor of canon law at Catholic University, a priest asked by his bishop to resign has the option of submitting a defense. The bishop then consults with two other pastors and issues a decree removing the priest if he determines that step is still warranted.

If the priest thinks the bishops decision is unfair, Daniel said, he can bring the case to the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, which can uphold or change the bishops decision. A further Vatican review is possible if the priest or the bishop disagrees with the Congregations decision,

While requests for the resignation of a priest are not uncommon, its rare that they lead to a high-profile refusal to resign, Daniel said.

One of the few such cases in the U.S. came in 2002, when a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston refused to step down over an accusation that he sexually abused a child three decades earlier. The Rev. D. George Spagnolia took his case to the Vatican but was unable to overturn his suspension. He died in 2008.

More recently, the Rev. Frank Pavone, an anti-abortion activist who heads Priests for Life, appealed to the Vatican over restrictions placed on his ministry in 2011 by his bishop in Amarillo, Texas. Pavone succeeded in getting the restrictions eased, relocated away from Texas and remains active with Priests for Life.

Pavone strongly supports Altmans right to resist the resignation request.

Bishops err, and sadly, some -- as in my case -- badly abuse their authority, Pavone said via email. We need to be able to defend ourselves."

____

Crary reported from Carbondale, Colorado.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 15:09:28|Editor: huaxia

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SUVA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Fijian police recorded 29 arrests over the last 24 hours for breaching curfew orders and health restrictions in the island nation.

Fiji's Assistant Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu said 17 people were traveling in a vehicle without a pass during curfew hours, three were loitering after curfew hours, three were found intoxicated and had breached health restrictions, among others.

The latest reports on COVID-19 in the last 24 hours said Fiji has 378 active cases, 189 recoveries and four deaths.

So far 195,169 Fijians have received the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine while 4,615 people have received the second doses.

Currently, the Suva-Lami-Nausori containment zone where Suva the capital is located still maintains a curfew from 6:00 p.m. local time to 4:00 a.m. local time every day while the western side of Viti Levu started a curfew from 8:00 p.m. local time to 4:00 a.m. local time every day. Enditem
Milton, PA (17847)

Today

Cloudy early, then thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 78F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
Ashtabula, OH (44004)

Today

Sunshine and a few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 76F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 60F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 15:17:49|Editor: huaxia

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PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of six policemen including two district chiefs have been killed as militants attacked security checkpoints in the northern Baghlan province on Saturday, provincial police spokesman Ahmad Jawed Basharat said.

The Taliban insurgents, according to the official, attacked police checkpoints in Burka and Julga districts early Saturday, and as a result six policemen including Lutful Haq Haqbin, the police chief of Burka, and Gulbudin Ghafoori, the police chief of Julga district, have been killed.

Six militants have been killed and five others injured in the fighting, Basharat said.

The security forces have been chasing the insurgents to stabilize peace and security in the districts, the official added.

The Taliban group, which has intensified activities since the start of the U.S.-led forces pullout from Afghanistan on May 1, has not commented on the clashes. Enditem
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The latest filing in the case against Greensill in U.S. District Court in New York shows that the governor and his wife, Cathy Justice, and son Jay Justice personally guaranteed payment on the loans for Bluestone. The complaint alleges that the London-based bank deceived them into signing on by hiding its own financial risk.

Greensill, a supply chain finance firm based in London, went under in March over allegations of fraud. The Financial Conduct Authority, Britains financial regulatory body, has announced a formal investigation into Greensills collapse after receiving allegations that it said were potentially criminal in nature.

Greensill began lending to Bluestone in 2018. The company sought financing after a period of decline under the ownership of Russian mining and metal company Mechel, according to court documents.

When the Russians had Bluestone, what happened to Bluestone? It absolutely just melted down to nothing, Justice said at a news conference Tuesday. The company had outstanding obligations to vendors and tax liabilities when the Justice family took it back over in 2015.

The lending from Greensill was supposed to help rebuild the company, but bank officials by November 2020 began seeking early repayment of the loan and additional fees, according to the complaint.
Even where HIV clinics were open, some people did not want to come in because of fear of catching the coronavirus.

There may be another reason: less sex.

Surveys suggest that at least during the initial months of the pandemic, many adults at higher risk for HIV infection had sex on fewer occasions and with fewer sexual partners.

But there also are signs that many people resumed their normal levels of sexual activity by summer, said Jenness, whose research focused on gay and bisexual men  a group that for years has had the highest HIV infection rates.

People's sexual behavior changed for only three months, but prevention, testing and care disruptions are still going on, he said.

What does that mean for the national goals?

Data released this week showed the number of new infections declining for years, dropping to about 35,000 in 2019.

After Trump made his announcement in 2019, federal health officials clarified that the actual goal was a huge reduction in new infections over the next 10 years  down to fewer than 3,000 a year.
CHESTERFIELD  Like many business owners, Marshall Pan got hit with a lot last year. First it was the stay-at-home order. Then he reopened Arch Badminton Center at limited capacity, and his landlord in the warehouse off Long Road demanded full rent he couldnt pay.

But then a friend told him to call the Chesterfield Mall  a Hail Mary  and for a fraction of his old rent, management told him he could set up his courts in the heart of the once-bustling complex. Now, walking through on a weekday, you can find a dozen or more people whipping birdies back and forth next to a hollowed-out Orange Julius.

Its got really high ceilings and not a lot of traffic, so its pretty ideal for us, he said.

Malls across the country went into the pandemic in trouble, and for many, the virus only strengthened the case for demolition or redevelopment. In the meantime, owners are trying to fill space however they can. And in Chesterfield, where The Staenberg Group plans to replace the mall with a downtown for West County, cheap rent and ample available space have attracted eclectic tenants, from a coworking company to a shooting club.

Take the escalator up from badminton on a Friday night and you can find people racing remote-control cars at 60 mph in what used to be a Gap store.

Drew Ellis, who runs ProLevel RC, said he moved in 2 years ago for the same reason Pan did: He needed the space of a big retailer to build the track, but without the rent a big retailer would pay.

The peak rent for this space was probably $15,000 a month, he said. Were nowhere close to that.

And while the rent reflects the long decline in foot traffic, Ellis said its been better than he expected. Between the mall walkers and people wandering through after going to the AMC theater and the Cheesecake Factory, hes gotten a decent amount of walk-ins and word-of-mouth advertising.

They come in remembering what the mall used to be and just they kind of stumble into our place, he said.

The malls new dynamic has also created space for nonprofit initiatives like a St. Lukes vaccination clinic, a German shooting club and the Chesterfield History Museum, which just reopened Friday after closing for more than a year amid the pandemic.

Dee Ann Wilson-Wright, the president of the Heritage Foundation of Chesterfield, said her group had been looking for a place to set up exhibits for years when mall space opened up at a very reasonable rate following a foreclosure in 2016.

A short walk away, Ed Golterman is working on his own history exhibit highlighting a golden age of opera music in St. Louis. He said The Staenberg Group gifted him the window space of what used to be a Williams-Sonoma. He hopes to put on a presentation outside the store from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 24.

Well hear the pickleballers, but thats OK, he said.

The mall still has a Macys. But the transition between bustling and demolished has also created opportunities for twists on old models.

The Stockton, which opened earlier this year, sells clothes just like the Francescas it replaced, but rather than boasting a national brand, it offers temporary space for St. Louis designers to sell their collections.

Were giving people a place to really shop local, said Hart Bohlen, 19, who mans the counter.

At Sanctioned Sneaker Collective next door, shoppers can buy shoes just like they could at Foot Locker  except the new offerings include collectors items from the 1990s.

The current dynamic wont last.

Tim Lowe, vice president of leasing and development at The Staenberg Group, said his firm plans to begin demolishing the mall in the next couple of years to clear the way for a mix of multifamily apartments, offices, retail, entertainment and green space theyre calling Downtown Chesterfield.

But even with those grand plans on the horizon, Lowe acknowledged the positives of the present.

Its not a solution, its an interim opportunity until we have a solution, he said. But its working. Its keeping activity going, its keeping the lights on, and its allowing the mall to be useful.

It still has its moments, too.

When Sherman Morgan stopped by Sanctioned on Friday afternoon, he was blown away by the collection of old-school kicks.

Its amazing, they got shoes in there from when I was 3 years old, Morgan, 24, of St. Louis, said.

He left with a pair of green-and-red SB Dunks and promised to return.

Chesterfield Mall is dead, he said. But that place is heat, man.

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ST. LOUIS  A group of nearly 60 Texas vineyards filed suit Friday against agribusiness companies Bayer and BASF, alleging that their controversial weedkiller dicamba, used heavily in the states vast cotton fields, has damaged thousands of acres of wine grapes.

The case from 57 growers near Lubbock is believed to be the first dicamba suit from the U.S. wine industry. It says that 95% of productive grape vines have sustained damage across dozens of vineyards there, with the worst occurring in the last three years, as more and more local cotton growers used the herbicide.

Combined with other newly filed cases  including a separate suit from a beekeeper who was formerly Arkansas biggest honey producer  the legal action reflects the expanding and diversifying web of litigation ensnaring the chemical and the companies behind it. And while Bayer agreed last summer to pay $400 million to settle dicamba suits, the agreement only applies to soybean damage reported by last year.

I think were going to end up seeing more like this, said Paul Lesko, a St. Louis-based lawyer involved with separate dicamba cases.
Last month, the CDC recommended that people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 do not need to wear masks or practice social distancing indoors or outdoors, except under certain circumstances. The guidance said unvaccinated people should wear masks in almost all situations where other unvaccinated people may be present.

Under the new workplace mask proposal, employers still will be required to provide masks to employees since the change applies only to fully vaccinated people.

Some critics said this could lead to people stockpiling N-95 masks while also creating tension among employees in which some will condemn others who aren't vaccinated.

"Employees will be pissed off wondering whose fault it is that they have to wear a mask," San Francisco employment lawyer Stephen Hirschfeld said. "This could set up a situation where they try to figure out who is unvaccinated and give them a hard time."

Board members said a three-person subcommittee of California's OSHA will consider additional changes to mask rules in the coming weeks, stating the new rules are a temporary solution.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says that Americans are not making use of the availability of Covid-19 vaccines in the US while other countries are pleading for them.

It was a beautiful March afternoon, and as June Tatelman walked her dog in her Boston neighborhood, she was flying high.

Tatelman had recently received her second dose of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine, and the end of the pandemic was finally in sight. Maybe soon she could play with her grandchildren and return to her volunteer work helping children in foster care. Maybe in a few months, when her husband turned 75, they could go out to a restaurant to celebrate.

As she walked, she ran into her family physician -- who killed her buzz very quickly.

To treat inflamed blood vessels in her lungs, Tatelman, 73, takes a drug that suppresses her immune system. Her doctor had been reading recent medical studies suggesting the vaccine might not work well for some people taking medications like hers.

He asked her to get a blood test to see if the vaccine had worked -- if she had antibodies against the virus.

She did the test and had no detectable antibodies against Covid-19.

"It was a total shock," she said.
A year ago Charlie and Brian Kirk-Martin had two objectives when they began searching for a home. Their desire was to both be part of a movement of bringing families back to the city, and they wanted an older home that retained the architectural details from when it had been constructed.

They found exactly what they were seeking on Utah Street in Tower Grove Heights inside a stately, three-story house. All the woodwork molding, windows and floors had been maintained in excellent condition, Charlie says. We are only the fifth owners over the 111 years since the home was built in 1910, but every occupant seems to have had the utmost respect for the residence.

When older homes are rehabbed, frequently walls are eliminated so you can see from one side of home to the other, Charlie says. We like to have separate spaces on each floor, just the way this home was designed.

A minimal amount of furniture is mostly centered in rooms, allowing the extensive woodwork to be seen and appreciated.

All rooms on the first floor have parquet floors with different inlaid wood patterns around the perimeter. The impressive grand stairway to the second floor appears as if it were installed yesterday, yet it has never been refinished.
Ribaudo said 10 years, the maximum sentence, was appropriate because Marsh, at the time of Bakers death, violated conditions of her release from jail in a pending domestic violence case in Arkansas that barred contact with Baker.

Had you abided by that condition none of us would be in this room today, Ribaudo said.

Prosecutors said Marsh intentionally backed over Baker and then ran over him again in a lot behind the Babbos Spaghetteria parking lot at 17402 Chesterfield Airport Road. Police said Marsh admitted to being intoxicated and driving over Baker.

She destroyed many lives, Assistant Prosecutor Robert Steele said in court Friday.

Marsh and Baker were a couple for years and had moved around the country cleaning up damage from tornadoes, flooding and other natural disasters, police said. Relatives said Baker grew up in Alaska, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and had served in the military for a decade before co-founding the restoration company.
ST. LOUIS  The call came in around 10 a.m.

The driver of a tractor-trailer had lost control on Interstate 44 near Shrewsbury, sliding into a guardrail then back onto the roadway. The rig careened across the highway, smashed into another guardrail and then came to rest with the cab teetering off the side of an overpass.

Fire-and-rescue agencies from Shrewsbury, Clayton, St. Louis, Brentwood, Maplewood and Webster Groves arrived to help rescue the driver of the Pepsi truck. Firefighters blocked the highway, suspended a ladder near the trucks cab and pulled him out.

Its not uncommon for multiple agencies to coordinate on such a dramatic event. But whats troubling fire officials and others in the St. Louis region is that several agencies often are needed for more mundane calls: a one-alarm house fire, a bad car wreck or brush fire.

The vast majority of St. Louis Countys 43 fire departments and districts do not have the staffing or equipment to handle a house fire alone. Its not uncommon to see four, five or even six agencies respond to such calls.

Some experts and officials say having so many agencies can create problems mounting a fast and cohesive response to fires and other emergencies. It means departments that often work together dont have standardized training and policies or uniform staffing levels.

Some people want to change that.

Fire union representatives in St. Louis County recently pitched a plan for fire operations in 15 municipal departments  including Kirkwood, Clayton, Des Peres, University City, Ladue and Frontenac  to consolidate. Farther north, leaders in Ferguson and Hazelwood are considering a proposal to create a single fire district as those cities grapple with financial constraints.

But like any merger proposal in the St. Louis area, those ideas face an uphill battle.

Plans to consolidate department administration and form new districts have fallen flat in the past due to political opposition and other barriers. A broad St. Louis city and county merger proposal commonly known as Better Together initially considered combining fire services but later exempted districts from its final plan.

Consolidation talks are not unique to St. Louis.

Gary Ludwig, who is the fire chief in Champaign, Illinois, and previously led the Virginia-based International Association of Fire Chiefs, said talk of consolidating fire services happens frequently in many parts of the country, but few cross the finish line.

Still, experts and first responders on the front lines in St. Louis say merging operations may be the best way to deal with the rising costs and increased demands that go with modern emergency response.

Everybody agrees we need to do something, but nobody wants to be that first person over the wall, said Kurt Becker, a Clayton firefighter who represents 2,400 firefighters in the St. Louis metro area for the International Association of Firefighters.

Can 15 become one?

A report compiled by the International Association of Firefighters last year found 75% of fire trucks leaving stations in central St. Louis County were staffed below recommended levels, potentially delaying the time firefighters can enter a building to search for survivors or begin putting out flames.

Crestwood, Clayton, Webster Groves and University City have four-man companies that are recommended by national standards, but Brentwood, Des Peres, Frontenac, Glendale, Kirkwood, Ladue, Maplewood, Olivette, Richmond Heights, Rock Hill and Shrewsbury all have just three people, the report said.

The firefighters union commissioned the report to figure out what fire service may look like under consolidation. It examined current staffing levels, equipment and response times at those 15 municipal departments, and compared them to industry standards.

Becker said the savings in administrative costs that would come from merging the departments into one Central Metro Fire and Rescue could bring staffing levels up to national standards with a 7% increase in frontline personnel.

Meeting those standards is a necessity when fires burn hotter and more quickly than ever before, he said.

30 years ago, you had 15 minutes to escape a house, he said. Today you have three to four minutes. Thats due to the volatility of how these homes are built and whats inside of them.

There are also practical considerations with merging beyond staffing, Becker said.

While the 15 departments currently work together on many fire-and-rescue calls, there are four different dispatch systems used within the roughly 57-square-mile area, potentially causing minutes-long delays when calling for mutual aid.

Having 15 different departments also means there are 15 groups of people who have not regularly trained together for emergency situations. It can also create a problem when a firefighter tries to grab a piece of equipment from the nearest truck and none are organized the same way.

If the closest truck for you to get an axe or a hose is not your own, youre going to be slamming doors just to find the right tools you need, Becker said in a presentation to municipal leaders in April.

Discussions are still in the early stages.

Clayton City Manager David Gipson called the report good information, but said he and other leaders have lots of questions about how a single agency would be governed and how much it would cost.

The unions proposal recommended each city pay $3.51 million for each fire truck they own. That comes out to an average $300,000 increase for each city, Beckers presentation said.

But those numbers are not set in stone, and Gipson said he and other leaders need time to digest the information before formally discussing it. He also noted there were likely some recommendations that could be followed without full consolidation.

Kirkwood Mayor Tim Griffin said he was content to wait and see how the proposal played out.

I think we have an excellent fire department here, and maybe there are some communities where they think the services are not as good, he said. Were happy with what we have now, but were going to sit back and see what happens.

In Des Peres, Mayor Mark Becker said in addition to concerns about cost, many of that citys firefighters were in the unique position of being cross-trained as police officers, meaning they trade off working for both agencies.

Were very proud of our professional department, and this doesnt appear to be cost-effective in providing any better level of service, he said.

Its really tough to sustain

Financial considerations are paramount in another merger proposal farther north.

Hazelwood has struggled for years to get financial footing after attempting to cancel its contract with a fire district that served a third of the city for more than two decades.

The contract with the Robertson Fire Protection District, along with payments to another district and its own fire department, got so expensive that Hazelwood was paying roughly 40% of its budget for fire services.

Robertson sued, and mediation is still pending.

But fire officials there and in Ferguson have talked in recent years about the potential for forming an alliance.

Under the plan, fire officials would ask municipal voters to allow them to form a fire district, giving them taxing authority separate from that of the cities.

Jeremy Corcoran, the assistant fire chief in Ferguson, said it would make financial sense for the cities. He said fire equipment is so expensive that its cutting into other municipal services like roads and parks.

Its really tough to sustain municipal fire service, Corcoran said. We are a huge item on a municipal budget.

Officials estimated Hazelwoods city government would save about $1.6 million a year under the plan and Ferguson would save $1.5 million.

Some residents arent pleased about the idea, though.

Nick Kasoff, an editor for the Ferguson Observer who has written several editorials opposing the fire district, recalled multiple corruption scandals with St. Louis County fire districts over the years and said he didnt want to invite financial mismanagement.

(A fire district) is just another public entity that someone has to keep tabs on, he said. Your average citizen has a hard enough time just keeping tabs on their municipality, and now you have something else.

He also said the new district would require a property tax increase in a community where most people couldnt afford it.

If it aint broke, dont fix it, he said. The city of Ferguson has a fire department that works very well.

The merger proposal certainly would be a big ask  a tax increase of roughly $28.50 a month for a $100,000 home, Corcoran said.

But Hazelwoods fire chief, Dave Herman, said the plan would allow them to have in-house ambulance service, which is currently provided by a private company.

Of course elected officials (and voters) have to determine what they think is best, but any direction that it goes, I think we could create a good service, he said.

There are still some legal barriers to that plan, though. State law requires contiguous borders when forming a fire district, and Hazelwood and Ferguson are separated in one area by just a few blocks.

Hazelwood is also still awaiting the result of mediation with the Robertson fire district, potentially changing the financial picture.

I think its a long process thats at the very beginning, Hazelwood City Manager Matthew Zimmerman said. Its just a proposal on the table.

While merging is a complicated process, some areas of the country have made it work.

Advocates of mergers often cite one example in Oregon as a resounding success.

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue started by combining two fire districts in 1989 and it continued to add more agencies through 2006. Now it serves roughly 535,000 residents and 390 square miles.

A merged district has also worked back in Missouri, in Jefferson County.

In 2009, the Shady Valley and Springdale fire protection districts merged to create the Saline Valley district, covering 19 square miles in unincorporated Fenton, Arnold, Imperial, High Ridge and House Springs.

Ludwig said such mergers can be done, but it requires a bit of creative thinking.

I think reasonable people have to sit down and work things out, he said. There have to be people who come to the table with open minds and think about whats best for taxpayers and firefighter safety.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 16:37:15|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- APEC trade ministers joined the Asia-Pacific business leaders on Friday to hear from the private sector their views toward the forum's focus on regional economic integration, trade implications resulting from the economic response to COVID-19 and how economies can be made more resilient to future shocks.

"Free, fair and open trade has unlocked massive growth across the Asia-Pacific," said New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor, who is also the 2021 Chair of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting. "But without the energy of the business community this growth would not have occurred."

Recognising the severe impact of the pandemic on businesses and industries like tourism, O'Connor pointed to the strategic role of the private sector in advising governments on "how we can work together to defeat COVID-19, how we can sustain our economies through the pandemic and then build economies that are more sustainable, more inclusive."

The dialogue was held on the eve of the 2021 APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, aimed to advance practical ideas in managing the unprecedented health and economic crisis that will boost economic activity and help businesses in the region.

"The pandemic must remain our highest priority," said Rachel Taulelei, 2021 Chair of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in her opening remarks at the dialogue. "We must ensure that trade plays a role in combatting the worst, continuing effects of COVID-19 through open and unrestricted trade in vaccines, essential medical supplies and associated products."

Reiterating the importance of supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the critical role it has to play in the economic recovery. Taulelei asserted that it is impossible to build more sustainable and resilient communities through trade "unless we accord primacy to the role of the WTO and the multilateral system of rules for international trade."

The business council's theme for the year is People, Place and Prosperity, putting emphasis on inclusion for all of the people in the region, safeguarding the planet and achieving a prosperous region by building a seamless Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). Taulelei emphasized that FTAAP must continue to be at the heart of the APEC vision for a more seamless, dynamic and resilient region.

"It is imperative for APEC as a forum to deepen our engagement with the private sector and to reflect the reality on the ground by developing policy measures that are effective and appropriate to boost business opportunities and confidence," said Rebecca Sta Maria, executive director of the APEC Secretariat.

Ministers and ABAC members exchanged views on regional economic integration, considering the most critical issues that the WTO should focus on at the upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference.

The group also deliberated on the economic response to COVID-19, particularly on maintaining open supply chains and keeping the free flow of essential goods and vaccines, as well as what trade facilitation and digital trade facilitation can do to boost recovery.

Preventing and making economies more resilient to future shocks also were highlighted in the discussion, including policies and actions that ensure inclusion and sustainability.

"Somehow there never seems to be a right time for bold action to transform the environment in which we do business in the region," Taulelei concluded. "We are now in the worst of the worst of times - and that does require boldness, ambition and commitment."

New Zealand is hosting APEC 2021 which will be one of the largest ongoing virtual events in the world, with more than 300 meetings conducted across New Zealand.

APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. APEC's 21 members aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration. Enditem
A spokeswoman told the newspaper that Hill plans to appeal the rulings that dismissed her lawsuit. An attorney for the Daily Mail did not respond to a request for comment.

The judge previously ordered Hill to pay about $84,000 to the attorneys of Jennifer Van Laar, managing editor of the conservative website Red State, and about $30,000 to lawyers representing radio producer Joseph Messina. Hill initially accused Messina of being part of a conspiracy to distribute the pictures, but dropped her claim against him earlier this year.

Krista Lee Baughman, an attorney representing Van Laar and Messina, told the Times that the ruling showed that those who file speech-chilling (intimidation) lawsuits must pay the price.

Hill, 33, gained national attention in 2018 when she was elected to Congress in a district long under Republican control. She was celebrated as the face of millennial change and was close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow California Democrat.

Less than a year later, as Hill was going through a divorce, Red State published stories alleging that she had an affair with a male congressional staffer and that she and her husband, Kenneth Heslep, had a previous relationship with a female campaign worker. The website and the Daily Mail also published provocative pictures.
As White House counsel, McGahn had an insiders view of many of the episodes Mueller and his team examined for potential obstruction of justice during the Russia investigation. McGahn proved a pivotal  and damning  witness against Trump, with his name mentioned hundreds of times in the text of the Mueller report and its footnotes.

McGahn described to investigators the presidents repeated efforts to choke off the probe and directives he said he received from the president that unnerved him. He recounted how Trump had demanded that he contact then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to order him to unrecuse himself from the Russia investigation.

He also said Trump had implored him to tell the deputy attorney general at the time, Rod Rosenstein, to remove Mueller from his position because of perceived conflicts of interest  and, after that episode was reported in the media, to publicly and falsely deny that demand had ever been made.

McGahn also described the circumstances leading up to Trumps firing of James Comey as FBI director, including the presidents insistence on including in the termination letter the fact that Comey had reassured Trump that he was not personally under investigation.
Fauci, who has a security detail because of ongoing threats and who did not respond to a request for comment for this story, has repeatedly defended his work, saying he received thousands of emails and has never ruled out any theory.

I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human, but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak, Fauci said Thursday on CNN.

The doctors newly released emails, which span the early days of the pandemic and were obtained by BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post, show no evidence of any kind of coverup about the origin of the virus. Indeed, many of the discussions reflect the science at the time. But Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have seized on the emails as proof of a conspiracy to obscure the source of the virus.

In one email, from Feb. 1 of last year, Kristian Andersen, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute, wrote to Fauci, the longtime director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about ongoing efforts to decipher the origin of the novel coronavirus.

At the time, the lab leak hypothesis was largely dismissed by experts. It has recently gained traction, though the origins of the virus remain unknown.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The blob, captured on distant, fuzzy video by Navy pilots, seems to skitter just above the ocean waves at improbable speed, with no discernible means of propulsion or lift. Oh my gosh, man, one aviator says to another as they laugh at the oddity. What ... is it?

Is it a bird? A plane? Super drone? An extraterrestrial something?

The U.S. government has been taking a hard look at unidentified flying objects like this one. A report summarizing what the U.S. knows about unidentified aerial phenomena  better known as UFOs  is expected to be made public this month.

There won't be an alien unmasking. Two officials briefed on the report say it found no extraterrestrial link to the sightings reported and captured on video. The report won't rule out a link to another country, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss it.

While the broad conclusions have now been reported, the full report may still present a broader picture of what the government knows. The anticipation surrounding the report shows how a topic normally confined to science fiction and a small, often dismissed group of researchers has hit the mainstream.
Mexican officials say they will have to obtain another 2 million doses of the one-shot vaccine  which they might purchase from Johnson & Johnson  to vaccinate 3 million border residents between 18 and 40 years old.

Presumably, those older than 40 will be covered by Mexicos regular nationwide campaign, which does not use Johnson & Johnson, although the shot has been approved for use in Mexico.

On Thursday, an official said some doses might also be used at coastal resorts frequented by Americans, but that possibility was not included in the plan announced Friday.

The announcement came on the same day that Mexico City announced the gradual lifting of a partial coronavirus lockdown that began more than a year ago.



SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will not lift the coronavirus state of emergency on June 15.

Newsom has said he will lift most of the virus restrictions on that date. But Friday, Newsom said he will not lift the state of emergency that gives him broad authority to issue alter or suspend state laws and regulations.
The average tariff on vaccines is a low 0.8%, according to the APEC Secretariat. But duties on some other products such as freezing equipment, vials and alcohol solutions can be as high as 30% for some countries.

Control of patents for the vaccines is a contentious issue. The U.S. has urged countries and pharmaceutical companies to waive COVID-19 patents to help increase supplies, and officials said they expected to discuss that issue during their talks this weekend.

But some say such intellectual property rights are crucial for boosting vaccine production and should not be waived.

A broad waiver of such rights requires a consensus under World Trade Organization rules, O'Connor said.

We're very mindful that the development of the intellectual property is what's enabled us to very quickly get vaccines developed, in a time we previously haven't seen across the globe," he said. We have to respect that intellectual property."

These are extraordinary times," O'Connor said. We believe if there clearly are barriers to the rollout of vaccines caused by IP, then we should seek a waiver."
They added, presciently, that American states are in danger of becoming laboratories of authoritarianism as those in power rewrite electoral rules, redraw constituencies and even rescind voting rights to ensure that they do not lose. Fast-forward to last week: More than 100 scholars released a letter warning that U.S. democracy is now at risk from the radical changes to core election procedures being implemented across red-state America.

Anyone who thinks American democracy is unassailable isnt paying attention. Here, though, the coup wouldnt come with armed soldiers on Main Street or tanks patrolling the interstates. It would be subtler, with a false constitutional veneer. Trump and his party have already provided the blueprint. It would go something like this:

The 2024 rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden has yielded the same results as last time  Biden has won the popular vote by millions, and a clear electoral-vote victory  but the congressional backdrop is different. Republicans took back the House and Senate in the 2022 midterms, as is common for the party out of power.
In a letter to GOP senators, she stated, Not having a January 6 Commission to look into exactly what occurred is a slap in the faces of all the officers who did their jobs that day. She added: Because of what they did, the people in the building were able to go home that evening and be with their families. She urged those who opposed the commission to visit my sons grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward.
Regarding Its just shocking: How Missouri Republican politics drove twin crises in Medicaid (May 23): As a medical student at Washington University School of Medicine, I have met patients who have traveled several hours from rural areas to receive health care in St. Louis due to the lack of health services where they live. I have also seen providers not be able to provide optimal care for patients due to their lack of health insurance. It is imperative that the Missouri Legislature fund Medicaid expansion as it invests in both rural health care and the overall health of the state population.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 17:52:46|Editor: huaxia

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FAIZABAD, Afghanistan, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Four soldiers were killed and two others wounded as their vehicle ran over a mine in Argo district of Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province, an army spokesman in the province said on Saturday.

A mine planted by the insurgents to target security personnel struck a vehicle of army soldiers in Barikab village of Argo district on Friday evening, killing four soldiers on the spot and injuring two others, spokesman Abdul Razeq confirmed.

The blast took place after the Afghan troops launched a cleanup operation in the area, which left five insurgents dead Friday morning.

Taliban militants, who are active in parts of Badakhshan province with Faizabad as its capital 315 km northeast Kabul, have yet to make a comment on the incident. Enditem
In the Adirondacks, Shanzeh Farooqui said her group of friends initially couldnt get a reservation for a hike to a popular overlook called Indian Head on their preferred Saturday this month. But they eventually were able to grab a canceled spot and her friends enjoyed the panoramic views on their preferred day.

Its a little more difficult, Farooqui said on the precipice, but if thats what we need to do to preserve the land, then its not too cumbersome.

Advocates say the inconvenience is outweighed by the need to protect wilderness from overuse. Though the day-use reservation system at Yosemite National Park was enacted because of the pandemic, it has helped solve congestion problems that have plagued the attraction, said Neal Desai, a senior program director with the National Parks Conservation Association.

We need peoples experience to match their expectations, and theres a massive disconnect right now, said Desai, who advocates for Yosemite. People think theyre getting nature and beautiful trails and instead theyre inhaling car exhaust for hours and finding trails and facilities overcrowded.
In the 21st century aerial, and space based, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment has become much more effective, which has made it more difficult and expensive to use cheap decoys of weapons and vehicles to deceive aerial surveillance. There are still firms that develop and manufacture effective fake vehicles, artillery and anti-aircraft systems but the cost of these fakes has gone up 5-10 ten times faster than the cost of the original items. This is because the aircraft and space satellite sensors have become more powerful and able to detect a lot more details. It was no longer enough to just have a lot of convincing, from the air, inflatable armored vehicles and artillery.

Current sensors, first developed to survey farmland or search for new resources from the air or space, use radars and sensors that can identify what is down there and what it is made of. Worse for the military these multispectral sensors can identify what is below foliage, like forests or jungles as well as camouflage nets. The higher resolution sensors can also detect the tracks armored vehicles or heavy trucks leave on the ground or even the wear heavy tanks leave on paved roads. It gets worse, because new fire control and target selection systems use computers and software to find patterns indicating what enemy forces have been or are planning to do. These systems can also be used to spot deceptions on the ground.

Israel gave a demonstration of how effective these new systems are during the recent 15-day war with Hamas in Gaza. The Hamas surprise rocket attacks were much less effective than during the 51-day war in 2014. Although Hamas fired over three times as many rockets than in 2014, Israeli casualties and losses were much less than in 2014. Hamas losses were higher, especially in terms of tunnels and bunkers located and destroyed, often only after Hamas gunmen or leaders were detected taking shelter in them. Over the last decade software has replaced humans in analyzing aerial digital photos along with data obtained from more abundant and powerful electronic sensors. The use of digital photos made it possible to use software systems to look for threats and even their patterns of operation.

Many nations still maintain stockpiles of inflatable vehicles that could deceive 20th century aerial surveillance but these decoys are now worse than useless because they are more likely to reveal your deception efforts than provide any effective deception. In short, ground deceptions have become less effective and a lot more expensive. There is still some use of these deceptions but they cannot be used as frequently on as large a scale as in the past.

In the early 20th aerial reconnaissance revolutionized the ability to spot, count and even identify enemy forces and bases far from the front line or advancing troops. Before aerial surveillance you were dependent on mounted scouts who operated as close to the enemy as possible to count and identify the opposition and ride back to report what was there. A century ago, horse mounted scouts were supplemented and often replaced by airborne scouts, so aerial combat developed in an effort to keep enemy air observation away from your own rear area.

Senior commander quickly discovered that it was impossible to keep all enemy recon aircraft from getting a look, and often photos, of what was behind the front lines. This made it more difficult to plan surprise offensives, or even protect vulnerable rear-area targets like headquarters, supply storage sites and the hundreds of towed artillery weapons set up in the open to provide support fire for front line troops. Users of aerial recon soon discovered that there were ways to effectively deceive aerial surveillance and the post-Soviet Union forces were the first to discover how much had changed.

While the Russian armed forces were not able to buy many real tanks or warplanes in the two decades after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, they still bought fakes. Russian firms that designed and produced inflatable tanks and aircraft were still in business and they had new designs that were real enough looking that they could deceive human analysts who scrutinize aerial photographs. Actually, Russia had lots of these in storage after 1991, but a decade ago they were again buying more tanks and aircraft that were improved models and realized they had to replenish their stock of fakes as well.

All this goes back to the World War II era, when dummy tanks and trucks were widely used and often made of wood and cloth. These were fragile and difficult to set up. Soon came the rubber, inflatable decoy. These were much lighter, easier to set up and could be easily moved about once deflated and packed. In addition, a special trailer was built that created realistic marks on the ground showing characteristic tank "track" marks. The trailer would be towed to where each rubber tank was to be set up. With that, the enemy photo analysts would be convinced that the rubber tank was real, for there behind it were the characteristic marks on the ground that only heavy trucks or armored vehicles tank leave. The military advantages of this deception were substantial. If the enemy recon aircraft spotted hundreds of tanks, enemy plans would have to be changed to deal with this threat.

The Allies used the rubber tank ploy against the Germans many times and as a result, the Nazis always overestimated the number (already substantial) of forces the Allies had. The Germans could have been a lot more aggressive against the Western Allies were it not for the rubber tanks. The presence of these "additional" tanks forced the Germans to hold back large numbers of their own forces as a reserve to deal with fake Allied forces represented by rubber tanks and other deceptions.

Of course, the rubber tanks never saw combat, aside from being shot up by German aircraft a few times and the German armored units being held in reserve were often pounded by Allied aircraft before the panzers ever got to reach the real Allied forces. Many Allied soldiers in 1944 and 1945 owed their life to rubber tanks, and most were never aware of it. For example, in preparation for the final Allied offensive in Italy in 1945, an entire dummy armored division was assembled in the rear of an American Infantry Division, with a highly regarded (by the Germans) Japanese-American regiment attached, convincing the Germans that the main attack was to come on the west coast, rather than in the center. Like any good deception, the use of the rubber tanks was kept secret as much as possible.

For the rest of the 20th century the rubber tanks were still used. In the late 1980s the U.S. Army developed a decoy version of the M 1 Abrams tank. It cost only $3,300 and weighed 23 kg (about 50 pounds). When disassembled the dummy tank is about the size of a duffel bag, while its portable generator is about the size of a small laser printer. When erected, which could be accomplished by two men in a few minutes, the decoy not only looks like a real M-1 (at least from the front), but also simulates its heat signature, to fool infrared detectors. What's more, it can take several hits and remain standing, giving the illusion that you missed, or that there are more enemy tanks around than you thought. Developers of air or space-based sensors took note and began equipping their aircraft and satellites with systems that identify the improved fakes.

While rubber aircraft were not a big item during World War II, fake tanks were easier to build and inflate to the right shape than they are today. And with the high speed of modern combat, attacking bombers often don't notice the peculiar effect their bombs and missiles have on the aircraft they were hitting on an enemy airfield. During these attacks, the parked aircraft might be fake, but the anti-aircraft fire isn't. While the aircraft lost on the ground were cheap imitations, the attacking aircraft shot down were not. Rubber aircraft, then, can be quite lethal. Sort of like cheap bait.

All this began to change in the 1990s as guided bombs and missiles replaced unguided bombs and the need to deal with enemy air defenses. More effective airborne sensors made it easier to get accurate assessments of damage done by aerial attacks.

There have been fewer opportunities to use the ground-based deceptions, especially the new ones and that meant fewer opportunities to see how effective aerial attack and surveillance has become. The recent Hamas campaign revealed how current ground-based deceptions are in trouble and that has military leaders and their staffs paying attention.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 4, 2021) - Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) calls on the Federal Government to suspend the implementation of the Patented Medicines Prices Review Board's (PMPRB) regulatory changes which are set to come into effect on July 01, 2021.

The PMPRB regulatory changes will have significant unintended consequences on patient access to the newest medicines and treatments, while also diverting R&D and investment away from Canada's life sciences sector.

If Canada wants a vibrant and competitive life sciences sector that ensures access to innovative medicines, a suspension in the PMPRB's regulatory changes would provide the appropriate time and process to consider that the price of innovative medicines are not the primary cost drivers for Canadian public and private drug plans.

Policy decisions should be based on the value medicines and vaccines bring to Canadians, as well as fair and accurate reporting on patented medicine pricing. Contrary to PMPRB's claims that drug prices are amongst the highest in the developed world, Canadian prices have been in the middle of the current basket of seven comparator countries.

Our industry has put forward a comprehensive strategy to build a thriving life sciences sector in Canada - an approach that considers not just the price of patented medications, but one that would benefit Canadians by ensuring access to innovative medicines and help build a strong life sciences sector.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7876/86568_feb272c5c466da55_001full.jpg

About Innovative Medicines Canada

Innovative Medicines Canada is the national association representing the voice of Canada's innovative pharmaceutical industry. The association advocates for policies that enable the discovery, development, and delivery of innovative medicines and vaccines to improve the lives of all Canadians and supports the members' commitment to being a valued partner in the Canadian healthcare system. The association represents 47 companies who invest nearly $1.2-billion in R&D annually, fueling Canada's knowledge-based economy, while contributing $8-billion to Canada's economy. Guided by the Code of Ethical Practices, all members work with governments, private payers, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders in a highly ethical manner.

- 30 -

For further information:

Samantha Thompson

Media & Public Relations

Telephone: 613 790-4555

E-mail: Sthompson@imc-mnc.ca

Source: Innovative Medicines Canada

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/86568
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - June 4, 2021) - Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. (TSXV: SOIL) (FSE: SMK) ("Saturn" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to the Company's press releases dated May 13, 2021, May 17, 2021 and May 28, 2021, it has closed the brokered and non brokered private placements for total proceeds of $32.8 million.

"With the closing of these financings, Saturn is one step closer to concluding our transformational acquisition of high-quality, light oil assets in Southeast Saskatchewan, which will position our Company as a disciplined, free-cash flow generating engine designed to drive value for shareholders and other stakeholders," said John Jeffrey, CEO of Saturn. "We appreciate the market's confidence in our story, demonstrated by the rapid execution of these financings, which provide Saturn with the financial flexibility to enhance our assets for the foreseeable future."

Pursuant to the brokered portion of the offering (the "Brokered Financing") lead by Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. together with Canaccord Genuity Corp. (collectively, the "Agents"), Saturn closed a private placement of 115,000,000 subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts") at a price of $0.12 per Subscription Receipt (the "Financing Price") for aggregate gross proceeds of $13.8 million, including exercise in full of the Agents' 15% over-allotment option.

The gross proceeds from the sale of the Subscription Receipts, less 50% of the Agents' fee with respect to such sale, will be held by Computershare Trust Company of Canada, as subscription receipt agent, pending satisfaction of the Escrow Release Condition (as defined below) pursuant to the terms of the subscription receipt agreement entered into upon closing of the Brokered Financing (the "Subscription Receipt Agreement").

Each Subscription Receipt will, following completion of the previously announced proposed acquisition (the "Acquisition") of certain light oil assets in Southeast Saskatchewan (see the Company's May 13, 2021 press release) and the satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions as further described in the Subscription Receipt Agreement (the "Escrow Release Conditions"), entitle the holder to receive, without the payment of additional consideration or taking of further action, one special warrant of the Company (each a "Special Warrant") on the terms set out below.

In connection with the Brokered Financing, the Agents received a cash commission equal to 7% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Brokered Financing and were issued compensation special warrants ("Compensation Special Warrants") equal to 7% of the number of Subscription Receipts sold in the Brokered Financing. Each Compensation Special Warrant will be exercisable into one (1) compensation option (a "Compensation Option"), for no additional consideration, at any time after the closing of the Brokered Financing (the "Closing"), and each Compensation Special Warrant not previously exercised shall be deemed exercised on the later of (i) the day after a receipt is issued for a final prospectus qualifying the Units (as defined below) for distribution in qualifying jurisdictions and (ii) the date that is four months and one day following the Closing. Each Compensation Option shall entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Unit (on the same terms as the Units below) at an exercise price of $0.12 at any time up to 24 months following the Closing.

The Company also closed the final tranche of its non-brokered financing ("Non-Brokered Financing" and together with the Brokered Financing, the "Financings") for an additional 64,583,333 Special Warrants (for a total of 153,333,333 Special Warrants in the Non-Brokered Financing) at the Financing Price for aggregate gross proceeds in the Non-Brokered Financing of $18.4 million. In connection with the Non-Brokered Financing, the certain finders received an aggregate of $813,400 in finder's fees and 6,779,090 Compensation Special Warrants.

On satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions, the Company will have 268,333,333 Special Warrants outstanding. Each Special Warrant will be convertible into one unit of Saturn (each, a "Unit") without payment of additional consideration and shall be deemed to have been converted on the earlier of (a) four (4) months and one day from the date of issuance, and (b) five (5) days after receipt of a final receipt for a short form prospectus filed in compliance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (each a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"), each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (each a "Warrant Share") in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.16 per Warrant Share for 24 months from date of issuance of the Special Warrant. The Company intends to apply to list the Warrants on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange").

The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to prepare, file and get receipted for a final short form prospectus in the provinces where the Special Warrants are sold, qualifying the distribution of the Units and the Compensation Options. If a receipt for a final prospectus is not received on or before June 30, 2021, each Special Warrant will thereafter be convertible into 1.20 Units.

A portion of the proceeds of Financings will be used to fund the purchase price of the Acquisition and related closing adjustments associated therewith.

About Saturn Oil & Gas Inc.

Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. is a growing Canadian energy company focused on generating positive shareholder returns through the continued responsible development of high-quality, light oil weighted assets, supported by an acquisition strategy that targets highly accretive, complementary opportunities. Saturn has assembled an attractive portfolio of free-cash flowing, low-decline operated assets in Southeast Saskatchewan that provide an inventory of long-term economic drilling opportunities across multiple zones. With an unwavering commitment to building an ESG-focused culture, Saturn's goal is to increase reserves, production and cash flows at an attractive return on invested capital. Saturn's shares are listed for trading on the TSXV under ticker 'SOIL' and on the Frankfurt Exchange under symbol 'SMK'. Further information and a corporate presentation is available on Saturn's website at http://www.saturnoil.com/.

Investor & Media Contact:

Saturn Oil & Gas

John Jeffrey, MBA - Chief Executive Officer & Chairman

Tel: +1 (587) 392-7902

www.saturnoil.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.

Reader Advisory

This press release is not an offer of the securities for sale in the United States. The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an available exemption from the registration requirement of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

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Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect. Although Saturn believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information because Saturn can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified in this press release, assumptions have been made regarding and are implicit in, among other things, the timely receipt of any required regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of all conditions to the completion of the Private Placements. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which have been used.

The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof and Saturn undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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SAO PAULO, June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and B3: GOLL4), ("GOL" or "Company"), Brazil's largest airline, today announces the outcome from the selection process for the exchange ratio of common shares, by the shareholders of Smiles Fidelidade S.A. ("Smiles"), subsequent to the corporate reorganization of that company, approved in the extraordinary general meeting of Smiles held on March 24, 2021.

Based on the results of this selection process, GOL achieved the best outcome for its stakeholders by minimizing dilution and self-funding the cash consideration with liquidity built-up over time at Smiles. The results of the selection process were as follows:

(i) 44% of the common shares of Smiles will be exchanged, subject to adjustments provided for in the Protocol and Justification, at a ratio of 1 common share of Smiles for: (a) a cash payment of R$5.11; and (b) 0.6601 preferred share of GOL; and

(ii) 56% of the common shares of Smiles will be exchanged, subject to adjustments provided for in the Protocol and Justification, at a ratio of 1 common share of Smiles for: (a) a cash payment of R$18.51; and (b) 0.1650 preferred share of GOL.

As a result, GOL will issue 22.4 million GOLL4 PN shares, representing 5.4% of the Company on a fully diluted basis. The 5.4% dilution is significantly below the maximum dilution possible of approximately 10% if Smiles shareholders had all selected to receive the Base Exchange Ratio. Due to the 46% lower dilution based on the selection results, GOL expects the transaction will yield meaningfully higher earnings accretion.

The total cash consideration to be disbursed by the Company at closing of the corporate reorganization of Smiles, expected on June 23, will be R$744 million. Importantly, the outcome of the selection process has preserved GOL's financial flexibility, and the Company expects to end 2Q21 with around R$4 billion in total liquidity1.

The reintegration of Smiles, the leading loyalty and mileage program in Brazil, to the GOL Group is expected to provide various operational, financial and tax synergies that were not feasible as separate companies, and are estimated to exceed R$400 million per year. This will be achieved mainly through improvements to revenue management, a more dynamic management of the inventory of seats, unification of marketing initiatives, optimization of yield management and tax efficiencies. Further, the Company believes the reintegration positions the combined entity to maximize value in the post Covid-19 operating environment by increasing market competitiveness and cash flow generation.

"We welcome Smiles' shareholders to the GOL Group, and emphasize our long-standing commitment to all of our stakeholders in delivering value. We are optimistic that the synergies from this corporate reorganization, and the subsequent benefits to our shareholders, will be realized in a relatively short period of time. GOL also recently shared its outlook for the second half of 2021, as we expect to benefit from a rebound in demand for travel as Brazil's National Vaccination Program advances," said Paulo Kakinoff, CEO.

(1) Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivables and deposits.

Investor Relationsri@voegol.com.br www.voegol.com.br/ir +55(11) 2128-4700

Media Relations Becky Nye, Montieth & Company bnye@montiethco.com

About GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A.GOL serves more than 36 million passengers annually. With Brazil's largest network, GOL offers customers more than 750 daily flights to over 100 destinations in Brazil and in South America, the Caribbean and the United States. GOLLOG's cargo transportation and logistics business serves more than 3,400 Brazilian municipalities and more than 200 international destinations in 95 countries. SMILES allows over 16 million registered clients to accumulate miles and redeem tickets to more than 700 destinations worldwide on the GOL partner network. Headquartered in Sao Paulo, GOL has a team of approximately 14,000 highly skilled aviation professionals and operates a fleet of 127 Boeing 737 aircraft, delivering Brazil's top on-time performance and an industry leading 20-year safety record. GOL has invested billions of Reais in facilities, products and services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. GOL's shares are traded on the NYSE (GOL) and the B3 (GOLL4). For further information, visit www.voegol.com.br/ir.

DisclaimerThe information contained in this press release has not been subject to any independent audit or review and contains "forward-looking" statements, estimates and projections that relate to future events, which are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release including, without limitation, those regarding GOL's future financial position and results of operations, strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, future developments in the markets in which GOL operates or is seeking to operate, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "will", "may", "project", "estimate", "anticipate", "predict", "seek", "should" or similar words or expressions, are forward-looking statements. The future events referred to in these forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors, many of which are beyond GOL's control, that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. These forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding GOL's present and future business strategies and the environment in which GOL will operate in the future and are not a guarantee of future performance. Such forward-looking statements speak only as at the date on which they are made. None of GOL or any of its affiliates, officers, directors, employees and agents undertakes any duty or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. None of GOL or any of its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, professional advisors and agents make any representation, warranty or prediction that the results anticipated by such forward-looking statements will be achieved, and such forward-looking statements represent, in each case, only one of many possible scenarios and should not be viewed as the most likely or standard scenario. Although GOL believes that the estimates and projections in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they may prove materially incorrect and actual results may materially differ. As a result, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gol-announces-results-of-the-smiles-shareholder-selection-of-exchange-ratio-consideration-301306318.html

SOURCE GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A.
The future USS Canberra (LCS 30) will be christened on Saturday, June 5, 2021. (Austal USA)

MOBILE, Ala.  The Navy will christen a ship made in Alabama on Saturday, naming it after Australia's capital city.

The littoral combat ship will be the second ship named the USS Canberra, according to a Navy news release sent Friday.

Australian Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos will give the main speech and his wife, Elizabeth Anne Sinodinos, will break a bottle of sparkling wine across the bow.

Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne is the ship's sponsor but cannot attend, the Navy said.

Austal USA shipyard in Mobile is building one of two variants of what was designed as an affordable, fast ship to operate in shallow coastal waters, also called littoral waters. Lockheed Martin is building the other in Marinette, Wisconsin.

The first USS Canberra, built in 1941, was the first Navy cruiser named after a foreign capital. Its original name was the USS Pittsburgh. It was renamed Canberra on Oct. 15, 1942, in honor of the Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra, which sank during the Battle of Savo Island.

The USS Canberra received seven battle stars in World War II and in 1958 was the ceremonial flagship for the selection of the Unknown Serviceman of World War II and Korea.

After it was decommissioned in 1970, one of its propellers was given to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. In 2001, its bell was donated to the Australian National Maritime Museum.
The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Charlotte prepares to depart Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, in 2010. (Ronald Gutridge/U.S. Navy)

HONOLULU (Tribune News Service)  One-third of the Pacific Fleet submarine force is getting underway to assess warfighting readiness  as part of Exercise Agile Dagger 2021, the Navy said Thursday.

Submarines from Pearl Harbor, Bremerton, Wash. and San Diego are deploying on short notice to demonstrate their readiness, agility, and lethality,  according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine force headquartered in Hawaii.

Without the Navy saying so, the exercise is a message to China and Russia about the Navys ability to surge its submarinesa stealthy and key U.S. advantage over both potential adversaries.

The Pacific submarine force is always ready,  its commander, Rear Adm. Jeff Jablon, said in a release. Exercise Agile Dagger 2021 allows us to test our capabilities and showcase our warfighters ability to rapidly deploy armed submarines into the Pacific.

To underscore the armed  part, the Navy released photos of crews loading a Mark 48 advanced capability torpedo onto the USS Columbia in Pearl Harbor on Wednesdayan activity the Navy rarely publicly shows.

The Columbia is a Los Angeles-class attack submarine based in Hawaii. The newer Virginia-class USS Missouri out of Pearl Harbor is also among submarines that are part of the exercise. The Columbia and Missouri departed Thursday. The Navy said multiple submarines  from Pearl Harbor are participating.

Our submarine force ensures capabilities overmatch by sharpening warfighting capacity in this short-notice exercise,  Jablon said. Our unparalleled key to success in undersea dominance is the U.S. Navy sailor. We have, and must continue to develop, the best trained sailors ; so we must test our ability to load out weapons and supplies for extended combat operations, deploying to multiple locations in the Pacific.

Exercise Agile Dagger 2021 ensures the submarine force remains ready for global tasking to deliver a full range of undersea lethal effects,  the Navy said.

The U.S. Pacific submarine force can conduct anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, land strike with Tomahawk missiles, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and early warning, special warfare capabilities, and strategic deterrence with nuclear-armed ballistic missiles submarines.

___

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Capt. Rich Jarrett, commander of Fleet Activities Yokosuka, cuts a celebratory cake at a LGBT Pride Month cake-cutting ceremony on June 25, 2020. (Tetsuya Morita)

WASHINGTON  The Defense Department will not make an exception to its unauthorized-flag policy to allow military bases to fly rainbow flags for Pride month, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday.

June is gay pride month, which supporters often mark with displays of rainbow flags. However, a July 16 Pentagon policy that banned the display of unofficial flags on military installations means the unauthorized Pride flag will not fly on bases this month, Kirby said.

The department will maintain the existing policy from July of 2020 regarding the display or depiction of unofficial flags, so there wont be an exception made this month for the Pride flag, Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.

The policy was enacted in the wake of a national outcry against racism after the killing of a Black man by Minneapolis police on Memorial Day 2020. It effectively quashed the display of Confederate flags on military bases without directly addressing the controversial banner.

The memorandum banned the display of unauthorized flags in all Department of Defense workplaces, common access areas and public areas. The only flags authorized were those of U.S. states, military service flags, POW/MIA flags, ceremonial, command or unit flags or other government-sanctioned flags.

Kirby said the decision not to issue an exemption for the Pride flag was made to avoid the potential for other challenges that could arise from that specific exception.

This in no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people of the LGBTQ-plus community, personnel in and out of uniform, who served in this department, Kirby said. Were proud of them.

Alternatively, the State Department in April announced it would allow embassies to fly the Pride flag during the month of June.

doornbos.caitlin@stripes.com

Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos
(Google Maps)

NIAMEY, Niger  Gunmen killed at least 100 people in a northern Burkina Faso village, the government said Saturday, in what was the country's deadliest attack in years.

The attack took place Friday evening in Solhan village, in the Sahel's Yagha province, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement blaming jihadists. The local market and several homes were also burned down in the area toward the border of Niger, he said.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore called the attack "barbaric."

This is the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the West African country was overrun by jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State about five years ago, said Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

"It is clear that militant groups have shifted up gears to aggravate the situation in Burkina Faso, and moved their efforts to areas outside the immediate reach of the French-led counter-terrorism coalition fighting them in the tri-state border region," he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Despite the presence of more than 5,000 French troops in the Sahel, jihadist violence is increasing. In one week in April, more than 50 people were killed in Burkina Faso, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist. More than 1 million people in the country have been internally displaced.

A local who did not want to be named, fearing for his safety, was visiting relatives in a medical clinic in Sebba town, approximately 12 kilometers from where the attacks occurred. He said he saw many wounded people enter the clinic.

"I saw 12 people in one room and about 10 in another. There were many relatives caring for the wounded. There were also many people running from Solhan to enter Sebba....People are very afraid and worried," he told the Associated Press by phone.

The government has declared 72 hours of mourning.

Islamic extremists have been increasingly staging assaults in Burkina Faso, especially in the region that borders Niger and Mali.

Last month, gunmen killed at least 30 people in eastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger.

Burkina Faso's ill-equipped army has been struggling to contain the spread of jihadists. The government enlisted the help of volunteer fighters last year to help the army, but the volunteers have incurred retaliation by extremists who target them and the communities they help.

Mali also is experiencing a political crisis that has led to the suspension of international support. France has said it is ceasing joint military operations with Malian forces until the West African nation's junta complies with international demands to restore civilian rule.
Buy Photo An airman loads a syringe with Modernas COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020 at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  Eight more people have tested positive for COVID-19 at U.S. military bases across Japan, according to command statements as of 6 p.m. Friday.

The Marine Corps on Okinawa had seven people test positive for the coronavirus respiratory disease since Wednesday: three at Camp Foster, three at Camp Hansen and one at Camp Courtney, according to Facebook posts Thursday and Friday by Marine Corps Installations Pacific.

The Marines have reported 53 cases of COVID-19 between May 1 and June 2.

Kadena Air Base on Okinawa had one person test positive for the coronavirus since Wednesday evening, according to a base Facebook post Thursday. That person fell ill with COVID-19 symptoms and self-isolated.

The base reported 17 cases of COVID-19 in May and already has eight so far this month.

Cases remain high in Okinawa prefecture, now in its worst phase of the pandemic. Okinawa reported 244 new infections and one death Thursday, according to the prefectures website.

The influx of new cases has stretched hospitals and medical facilities to capacity, the Asahi newspaper reported Thursday. Gov. Denny Tamaki announced the closure of Japanese high schools and special education classes starting Monday, Navy Capt. Scott Hardy, commander of White Beach Naval Facility, wrote Friday afternoon in a Facebook post.

Tamaki has made no decision on middle and elementary schools, Hardy said.

Ishigaki Island has issued a stay-at-home order for residents from June 1 to 15 and schools are shuttered until June 13, the Asahi newspaper said Wednesday.

Japan reported 3,061 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, down 1,256 from the same day last week, the World Health Organization reported Friday. The government has counted over 750,000 cases during the pandemic and more than 13,000 deaths.

Tokyo on Thursday reported another 508 people new coronavirus patients and 16 deaths, according to public broadcaster NHK. New infections were 176 fewer than the same day last week, according to metro government data.

Osaka prefecture, the nations second-largest metro area, reported 226 new coronavirus patients Thursday and 19 deaths, continuing its downward trend, according to NHK. A month ago, the prefecture was experiencing its highest caseload of the pandemic. It peaked with 1,260 new patients on May 1, according to prefectural data.

Over 100 of Japans 528 municipalities that had signed up to host training camps and cultural exchanges for athletes ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which are scheduled to begin July 23 and Aug. 24 respectively, have abandoned plans to participate, Kyodo News reported Friday.

The participating cities balked after the government passed part of the cost of coronavirus mitigation onto them, Kyodo reported, citing Japan's Olympic Minister, Tamayo Marukawa.

burke.matt@stripes.com

Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 16:41:10|Editor: huaxia

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KIEV, June 4 (Xinhua) -- A record of a UN mission showed the ongoing conflict in Donbass killed 152 children and injured 146 children from April 2014 to April 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine said Friday.

"Unfortunately, these painful statistics do not fully reflect the scale of the losses suffered by children during the long-lasting armed conflict," the office said on its official Facebook page, citing the data from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

By May 30 of this year, the office noted, 66,491 children in Ukraine had been given the status of a child who suffered as a result of hostilities or armed conflicts.

The Ombudsman called on the Ukrainian government, parliament, state authorities and the public to make every effort to provide protection and safety of Ukrainian children from armed conflicts.

Earlier this week, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, established June 4 as a day of remembrance for children who died from hostilities in Donbass.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in April 2014. It has claimed some 14,000 lives and left 40,000 more wounded. Enditem
Gen. Charles A. Flynn, incoming U.S. Army Pacific commanding general, receives the commands colors and assumes command of USARPAC from U.S. Navy Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, at a change of command ceremony June 4, 2021, at Ft. Shafter, Hawaii. (Jennifer Delaney/U.S. Army)

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii  Gen. Charles Flynn took command of U.S. Army Pacific on Friday, vowing to continue transforming the 90,000-soldier force into one that can meet the challenge of a rising China.

Today, as China trends on an increasingly concerning path, presenting challenge to the free and open Pacific, the Army is charged to change once more, Flynn said during a livestreamed ceremony at Fort Shafter. Media were not allowed to attend the event.

Flynn  the younger brother of Michael Flynn, who briefly served as national security adviser under former President Donald Trump  took the reins from Gen. Paul LaCamera, who will move on to command U.S. Forces Korea.

Flynn arrived from Washington, D.C., where he had served since June 2019 as deputy chief of staff for Army operations, plans and training. He has been stationed in Hawaii numerous times, most recently as deputy commanding general at U.S. Army Pacific.

Adm. John Aquilino, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, welcomed Flynn back to Hawaii during an address at the ceremony.

Im going to ask you to focus on seizing the initiative by thinking, acting and operating differently, to continue to execute the integrated deterrence needed to ensure the free and open Indo-Pacific, Aquilino said. U.S. Army Pacific Command is a vital part of our approach to generate a lethal combined joint force distributed west of the international dateline that can be protected, sustained and capable of fully integrating with all of our allies and partners.

Addressing the audience, the Armys chief of staff, Gen. James McConville, praised LaCamera for his part in developing and testing the Armys first Multi-Domain Task Force, which is aimed at coordinating air, cyberspace, land, maritime, space and the electromagnetic spectrum in a battle environment.

U.S. Army Gen. Charles A. Flynn, incoming commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, gives remarks during the USARPAC change of command ceremony June 4, 2021, at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. (Monik Phan/U.S. Army)

Flynn said he expected to build upon that soon by incorporating long-range precision fires and integrated air missile defense.

U.S. Army Pacific is also calibrating its force posture to be more agile through prepositioning supplies in the theater to sustain the force, he said.

If we operate, compete and fight domain-on-domain, we will cede advantages and put our future at risk, Flynn said. However, if we act, operate and fight as an integrated joint force  tightly linked to our allies and partners  there is no adversary on planet that can match this team.

Flynn is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, where he earned a masters degree in national security and strategic studies, according to his official bio.

Early in his career he was stationed at Schofield Barracks as operations officer for the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division and later as operations officer of the divisions 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

From 2014 to 2016, he commanded the 25th, after which he served as deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific until 2018.

He has commanded troops at the battalion and brigade levels within the 82nd Airborne Division and was deployed on combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, according to his bio.

Flynns brother Michael, a retired Army lieutenant general, pleaded guilty to a felony count of willfully and knowingly making false statements to the FBI during its investigation looking into ties between Russia and Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. Trump pardoned him in November.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Michael Flynn made headlines after seeming to agree with an audience member at the For God & Country Patriot Roundup conference in Dallas that a military coup would be desirable in the United States.

olson.wyatt@stripes.com

Twitter: @WyattWOlson
A bipartisan group of three U.S. senators will travel to Taiwan next week to meet with senior government officials and discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations and other issues, the de facto U.S. Embassy in Taiwan announced Saturday. ()

TAIPEI, Taiwan  A bipartisan group of three U.S. senators will travel to Taiwan next week to meet with senior government officials and discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations and other issues, the de facto U.S. Embassy in Taiwan announced Saturday.

Sunday's trip is likely to anger China, which claims Taiwan as its territory and objects to Taiwan being called a country. Like most nations, the U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, members of the Armed Services Committee, and Democratic Sen. Christopher Coons of Delaware, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, will visit Taiwan as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region, the American Institute in Taiwan said in a statement Saturday.

"The bipartisan congressional delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other significant issues of mutual interest," the AIT said.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry thanked the three senators in a separate statement, saying the trip demonstrated unanimous and firm support for U.S.-Taiwan relations.

It was not clear how long the senators would stay in Taiwan, and no other details were provided about their itinerary.

China has in recent months increased pressure on the self-ruled island, including flying warplanes into Taiwan's airspace. Taiwan, which is currently facing its most serious coronavirus outbreak of the pandemic, has accused China of hindering its efforts to acquire COVID-19 vaccines.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, and most Taiwanese favor maintaining the current state of de facto independence while engaging in robust economic exchanges with the mainland.

The vast improvements in China's military capabilities and its increasing activity around Taiwan have raised concerns in the U.S., which is legally bound to ensure Taiwan is capable of defending itself and to regard all threats to the island's security as matters of "grave concern."
Finance ministers for the G-7 advanced economies announced an accord that could reshape the tax obligations of multinational corporations around the world.

The deal reached at the G-7 meeting Saturday by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S. is a major breakthrough for the Biden administrations efforts to enact a floor on the taxes paid by corporations worldwide.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been adamant that the U.S. needs to work with international counterparts to prevent nations from being played off one another by firms seeking lower tax obligations.

The G-7 Finance Ministers have made a significant, unprecedented commitment today that provides tremendous momentum toward achieving a robust global minimum tax at a rate of at least 15 percent, Yellen, who led negotiations on behalf of the U.S., said in a statement. That global minimum tax would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world.

Under the deal, the U.S. is expected to give up some taxing rights on overseas profits of U.S.-based tech giants.

The deal enables countries to tax 20% of the profits of the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises that have profit margins of at least 10%.

While the agreement does not explicitly name the tech companies, the line is a nod to the push by European countries to levy taxes on the operations in their countries by firms such as Apple and Amazon, which are headquartered in the U.S. but reap significant revenue abroad.

The Europeans insist that it is unfair for the internet behemoths to collect revenue in their countries without paying more in taxes.

The Biden administration is seeking to raise the domestic corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% to pay for its spending priorities, such as infrastructure and education.

Republican critics have charged that the move would lead American firms to relocate abroad, hurting domestic jobs and investment. The international tax agreement helps the White House argue that it can lift domestic tax rates without pushing multinationals abroad, because under the agreement they would still face a minimum level of taxation.

Republican lawmakers have been skeptical about granting European countries additional taxing rights over the tech giants. The debate between Europe and the U.S. over taxing digital firms led to several major trade clashes under the Trump administration, with America imposing retaliatory tariffs over European attempts to tax the tech firms.

But the U.S. changed course after last years presidential election, with Yellen telling the Group of 20 nations in February that the U.S. has dropped demands to allow firms to opt out of new global digital taxes. That helped pave the way toward Saturdays deal.

The deal starts what is expected to be a long and arduous process toward changing international tax laws. Negotiators hope to advance progress toward a binding agreement at a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 in Italy in July  but there are a number of sticking points. The deal faces opposition from countries, including Ireland, which rely on revenue by acting as tax havens, and the new U.S. tax rules have to be approved by Congress.

International treaties require passage by a two-thirds majority in the Senate, meaning GOP votes will be necessary to ratify many of the changes pushed by the Biden administration. Republicans have criticized the Biden effort, with Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, warning that the U.S. should not be willing to accept an agreement that continues to target American companies.

Republicans are unlikely to go along with this  youre ceding tax authority and doing so in a way that disproportionately hurts U.S. companies, said Donald Schneider, who served as chief economist to Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee.

It is unclear how much support the new tax floor has in parts of the European Union and other low tax countries. Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe has said he has significant reservations about the U.S. plan and said the country will maintain its 12.5% corporate tax rates for years to come.

The Biden administration initially floated a 21% global minimum tax but that rate was eventually lowered to 15%. The lower rate will make it easier for countries to join the accord but may reduce its effectiveness. If the U.S. rate is raised to 28% but the global minimum tax is 15%, firms may still have strong incentives to move their operations overseas. In remarks at the close of the G-7 meeting, Yellen stressed that developing countries have limited ability to respond to economic crises such as the pandemic and that the world needs more tax revenue from the wealthiest corporations.

G-7 economies came together to agree the post-pandemic world must be fairer, especially with regard to international taxation, Yellen said. We need to have stable tax systems that raise sufficient revenue to invest in essential public goods and respond to crises and ensure that all citizens and corporations fairly share the burden of financing government.

Others downplayed the significance of the accord. The countries that are part of the G-7 accord all already have corporate tax rates above 15%, said Kyle Pomerleau, a tax expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank.

Its rather simple that countries that have statutory tax rates of 15 percent agree that other countries should also have that, Pomerleau said. This is step one, and from Yellens perspective thats good, but its step one of 1,000.

Global tax negotiations have been ongoing at the G-7 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for the better part of a decade. But some experts said the speed with which the U.S. made major progress Saturday was striking nonetheless.

Alarm has grown among international tax experts about declining taxation. The average corporate tax rate globally was about 40% in 1980, falling to about 23% in 2020, according to the Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank. As much as $700 billion in taxes from the worlds largest multinational firms was stashed in tax havens in 2017, research by a team of economists found.

Its an early and quick win for Yellen and Treasury, and its sort of remarkable, said Steve Rosenthal, a tax expert at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a think tank. This has been lingering for years and years  though of course Trump did not believe in multinationalism  and to start these negotiations in January and have a tentative agreement in June is pretty impressive.

Others stressed the obstacles that loomed ahead. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a Republican former director of the Congressional Budget Office, has raised concerns about whether the U.S. will give up too much of its tax base in search of a deal with Europeans. He also stressed how many questions were left unresolved by Saturdays statement, including the structure of the 15% minimum tax and how it would function or be approved.

Its easy to set at a table and agree, Yes we should have a 15 percent minimum tax. Its another thing to pass through the U.S. Congress, and the U.K. parliament, and everyone else, Holtz-Eakin said. We can agree on the concepts  Im sure  but will we actually have a law enforced in every country?

Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2017. Yellen has been adamant that the U.S. needs to work with international counterparts to prevent nations from being played off one another by firms seeking lower tax obligations. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)
The Italian Coast Guard said on Saturday, June 5, 2021, that it had detained the SEA-EYE 4 in Palermo, Sicily. (Sea-Eye/Facebook)

ROME  A migrant rescue ship operated by a German charity has been detained in Sicily by the Italian Coast Guard, which found the vessel in alleged violation of safety rules and environmental regulations.

A Coast Guard statement on Saturday said inspectors identified 23 "irregularities," including some serious enough to warrant the the Sea-Eye 4's detention in Palermo's port until the cited problems are corrected.

Last month, the ship disembarked at another Sicilian port more than 400 passengers who had been rescued from smugglers' unseaworthy boats in the Mediterranean.

The Coast Guard contended that Sea-Eye 4 didn't have enough rescue equipment to safely evacuate more than 27 people in case of an emergency on board.

"In essence, the argument is always the same,'' Sea-Eye Chairman Gorden Isler said in a statement. "German rescue ships would regularly save too many people from drowning and not have the right certification for such a humanitarian purpose."

He blasted such reasoning as "grotesque."

"Our captain carried out the duty of sea rescue in an exemplary manner,'' Isler said, referring to the recent rescue of 408 people, including 150 children. "He witnessed cases of distress at sea and carried out a safe rescue. The EU states could learn from it.''

Sea-Eye and similar humanitarian rescue organizations say they take to the sea because European Union nations don't adequately ply the waters off Libya, where human traffickers launch overcrowded boats carrying migrants who hope to find work or family members in Europe.

Sea-Eye 4 was scrutinized on Friday because more than 10 months had passed since the vessel's last inspection and because it had taken on a large number of rescued passengers, the Italian Coast Guard said.

"The inspection turned up various irregularities of technical nature, such as to compromise not only the safety of the crew members, but also of the very persons that have been and could be, in the future, recovered on board, in the course of assistance carried out,'' the Coast Guard statement said.

It also cited alleged violations of environmental protection rules.

Isler alleged that inspections of charity-operated ships are essentially being used to prevent further missions by nongovernmental maritime rescue groups.
Tim Lenderking, the then-U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, left, arrives at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 22, 2015. Lenderking on Friday, June 4, 2021, serving as the U.S. special envoy for Yemen said the Iranian-backed Houthis bear the major responsibility for refusing to engage meaningfully on a cease-fire. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

CAIRO  A ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday killed at least 14 people in a government-held city, including a 5-year-old girl, an official said, as a U.S. envoy to the country accused the rebels of failing to try to reach peace in the war-wrecked nation.

The missile hit a gas station in the Rawdha neighborhood in the central city of Marib, according to Ali al-Ghulisi, the provincial governor's press secretary. All the dead were civilians, he added.

Dozens of people were wounded in the attack, he added. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The government-run SABA news agency reported that the rebels also fired an explosive-laden drone shortly after the missile attack. It said the drone destroyed two ambulances that had rushed to the area to transfer wounded to hospitals.

The attack came just a day after U.S. special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking lashed out at the rebels, accusing them of failing to try to reach an urgently needed cease-fire. He said the Iranian-backed Houthis bear the major responsibility for refusing to engage meaningfully and to take steps to "resolve a nearly seven-years conflict that has brought unimaginable suffering to the Yemeni people."

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Iranian-backed Houthis swept across much of the north and seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile.

A Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the government. The war has killed more than 130,000 people and spawned the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Lenderking's remarks came in a statement late Friday by the State Department after his return from a Mideast diplomatic mission on Yemen that took him to Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

He also criticized the Houthis' renewed offensive on the oil-rich Marib province, an anti-Houthi stronghold held by the internationally recognized government that is crucial to the country's energy supplies.

The ongoing Marib attack, which began in February amid an international and regional diplomatic push to end the conflict, has left the rebels "increasingly isolated," Lenderking said.

The State Department said Lenderking coordinated his efforts closely with the U.N. special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, who held video talks last week with the Houthis' religious and military leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi.

Griffiths expressed frustration that his efforts to achieve a cease-fire have been derailed by warring parties seeking gains on the battlefield.

He urged the sides to seize the "considerable regional and international support" for the U.N. peace plan.

Lenderking's rebuke to the Houthis came as the U.N. Security Council criticized the rebels for delaying a technical assessment of an oil tanker moored off the war-torn country's coast loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude oil.

An Omani delegation, meanwhile, arrived in Sanaa for talks with rebel leaders that aim to advance the peace process, according to Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the chief Houthi negotiator.

Another Houthi official said the delegation arrived on an Omani military plane and would try to convince Houthi leaders to halt their offensive on Marib and return to the negotiating table in Oman's capital of Muscat.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The visit came after Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Friday with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud al-Busaidi.

Blinken reiterated the need for "an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire to help bring the war in Yemen and the humanitarian suffering of the Yemeni people to an end," according to the State Department.

______________

Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Haj contributed from Sanaa, Yemen.
The remaining protections of the tenant bill of rights that Congress mandated for military families living in on-base housing will be delayed again  this time until Sept. 30, the Defense Department announced Friday.

Lawmakers in 2019 outlined 18 rights to guarantee families leased homes on military bases that met a specific quality standard, had a clear path to handle disputes with the private companies that manage base housing, and could easily understand leases and past maintenance of a residence. The reform followed a series of news reports that highlighted military families sometimes faced dangerous conditions, including lead paint, asbestos and mold, water leaks, and pest and rodent infestations.

Those reports have continued and at least a dozen lawsuits have been filed against some of the private companies that manage base housing in partnership with the service branches.

The most recent deadline to implement the full tenant bill of rights was June 1, about one year later than originally scheduled following passage in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020.

All but four of the tenant rights have been implemented so far. The remaining four are the right to withhold rent until disputes are resolved, a clearly defined dispute resolution process, seven years of maintenance history records and a standard lease.

The Defense Department has issued the necessary policy guidance for the changes, but now must finalize negotiations with housing companies, said Paul Cramer, acting assistant defense secretary for sustainment and chief housing officer.

Because the companies are signed into existing long-term contracts with the military, the Defense Department said it cant unilaterally change the terms of the complex, public-private partnerships. It must get the 14 companies to voluntarily agree to the changes.

With few exceptions, the Defense Department should have agreements by the end of September, Cramer said. Many are providing all but the universal lease, he said.

The universal lease will standardize the general content of leases at each military base to the maximum extent possible. Some variance is needed to comply with state and local requirements. Military families should expect to see the standardized documents by their next, permanent change-of-station move, according to the Defense Department.

Military members and their families who are tenants of [privatized] housing should check with the property manager or the governments installation housing office to confirm which of the tenant rights have been implemented at their installation, Cramer said.

If the housing companies do not comply with the tenant rights, the government has recourse through the existing operating agreement, Cramer told the House Appropriations Committees subpanel on military construction in February. He did not describe the recourse.

thayer.rose@stripes.com

Twitter: @Rose_Lori

Base housing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., in 2012. (Ashley Gardner/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON  When Michael Flynn, a retired three-star general, appeared to back calls for a coup last week, critics accused him of defying military deference to civilian authority, a tenet that is central to the ethos of the armed forces.

Speaking at a QAnon-themed conference in Texas, Flynn was asked why a coup similar to one that occurred in Myanmar could not happen in the United States. Flynn, President Donald Trumps first national security adviser, has remained a vocal supporter of the former president and the false assertion he won a second term in office.

I mean, it should happen here, Flynn responded to the questioner, a man who identified himself as a Marine. No reason.

While Flynn subsequently disavowed any support for a coup on social media, saying his words had been misrepresented by the media, the comments intensified calls from some lawmakers and other critics for the military to prosecute the former officer, who receives a military pension, for sedition.

The military can recall retired personnel to try them for alleged crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), even when those acts occur after retirement. But experts say it has done so only a few dozen times since the 19th century.

In this instance, the Pentagon has shown little interest in pursuing such a move, in part because of the shaky legal foundations for such cases, several of which are being challenged in court. It would also draw the Biden administration back into the divisive politics surrounding the 2020 elections, which strained military norms and generated criticism of Pentagon leaders.

Theres political risk regardless of how you approach this, but when you are worried about the fact you might not have a slam dunk legal case, the decision to move forward would be largely a political one, said Jim Golby, a retired Army strategist who teaches at the University of Texas.

Asked this week whether the Pentagon was considering taking action against Flynn, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he was not aware of any effort or interest in doing it in this case.

Without speaking to this specific case, retired officers can be brought back on to active duty to face a disciplinary charges if its warranted, its very, very rare, he told reporters.

Flynn emerged as a vocal supporter of Trump in 2016. After being named national security adviser, he left the administration less than a month later amid controversy over his interactions with the Russian government. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about those contacts, but Trump later pardoned him.

He has become a leading voice in Trumps attempt to overturn the results of President Bidens electoral victory.

At a December rally in Washington more than a month after the election, he expressed certainty that Trump would remain in office and told the presidents supporters that there has to be sacrifice in the effort to ensure that outcome. A few days later, he suggested that Trump could declare martial law and order a rerun of the vote in key swing states.

His most recent comments drew condemnation from a wide array of politicians, including Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., who tweeted that no American should advocate or support the violent overthrow of the United States.

Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., a Navy veteran who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said the comments constituted conduct unbecoming an officer and border on sedition, suggesting that Flynn might be tried for both under the UCMJ.

The Trump years brought acute challenges for military leaders, who were frequently blindsided by his policy pronouncements and often seemed unsure how to handle his flouting of traditional norms governing presidential interactions with the military.

As the 2020 electoral season stoked the partisan divide, Pentagon officials attempted, sometimes unsuccessfully, to remain on the sidelines of the political fray.

As the Pentagon attempts to return to business as usual, any attempted action against Flynn could thrust it back into a charged debate. Already, the Biden administration is trying to navigate criticism from the right that it is using the military to advance a left-wing social agenda.

Asked about Flynns comment, an army spokeswoman said the Army was not investigating these statements further at this time.

The Army also has not taken action in response to internal watchdog findings that Flynn potentially violated the emoluments clause by accepting money from Russian and Turkish interests. With few exceptions, U.S. officials, including retired service members, are prohibited from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments. Flynn retired from the Army in 2014.

According to a senior defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations, one factor that was most likely considered in this case was the speed with which Gen. Flynn walked back his comments and the decisiveness and the clarity with which he did it.

According to Mark Nevitt, a former military lawyer who teaches law at Syracuse University, most of the instances in which the military had used the UCMJ to hold retirees accountable have had a clear military nexus, for example when an incident occurs on a military base or involves a military victim.

Moreover, the militarys ability to try retirees is being challenged in federal courts in a trio of cases, another factor that may heighten Pentagon wariness.

Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas law professor who is representing retired service members in two of those cases, said that circumstances that led to the establishment of the militarys ability to prosecute retirees under the UCMJ have changed.

Around the time of the Civil War, military retirees were often considered a last-resort officer cadre that could be called back as needed. But that is no longer the case. In addition, courts have ruled that military pensions do not constitute pay for any ongoing service, but rather are deferred compensation, which some experts say means retirees should not be seen as part of the military subject to the UCMJ.

A chief reason critics have advocated military prosecution for Flynn, Vladeck said, is that courts have allowed the military to restrict the free speech rights of military personnel in a way that is prohibited for other Americans, potentially making for easier prosecution.

But experts said any case against Flynn would likely be questionable, especially since he quickly disavowed support for overthrowing the government.

The Army is never going to bring this as a test case, Vladeck said. I think its more wishful thinking on the part of his critics.

The Washington Posts Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 11, 2021. (Jim Lo Scalzo, Pool /AP)

WASHINGTON  Dr. Anthony Fauci has been a political lightning rod since the early days of the pandemic, lionized by the left and villainized by the right.

But with the release of a trove of Fauci's emails this past week, Republicans' political attacks on the nation's top government infectious-diseases expert have gone into overdrive.

On conservative news channels, President Joe Biden's pandemic adviser has been baselessly pilloried as a liar who misled the American people about the origins of COVID-19 to protect the Chinese government. There's no evidence of wrongdoing, but Republican calls for his resignation have grown louder, as have demands for new investigations into the origins of the virus.

"Given what we know now, I don't know how anyone can have confidence that he should remain in a position of public trust and authority," said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a potential presidential hopeful who is calling for Fauci's resignation and a full congressional inquiry.

The political moves by Republicans represent a new effort to find a reliable foil in the first few months of the Biden administration, as they have struggled to turn public sentiment against the new president. So far, Biden has enjoyed widespread job approval, buoyed by the public's broad backing of his handling of the pandemic, which 71% of Americans support, according to a recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

Fauci, who has a security detail because of ongoing threats and who did not respond to a request for comment for this story, has repeatedly defended his work, saying he received thousands of emails and has never ruled out any theory.

"I still believe the most likely origin is from an animal species to a human, but I keep an absolutely open mind that if there may be other origins of that, there may be another reason, it could have been a lab leak," Fauci said Thursday on CNN.

The doctor's newly released emails, which span the early days of the pandemic and were obtained by BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post, show no evidence of any kind of coverup about the origin of the virus. Indeed, many of the discussions reflect the science at the time. But Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have seized on the emails as proof of a conspiracy to obscure the source of the virus.

In one email, from Feb. 1 of last year, Kristian Andersen, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute, wrote to Fauci, the longtime director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about ongoing efforts to decipher the origin of the novel coronavirus.

At the time, the lab leak hypothesis was largely dismissed by experts. It has recently gained traction, though the origins of the virus remain unknown.

"The unusual features of the virus make up a really small part of the genome (0.1%) so one has to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) look engineered," Andersen wrote. He said he and his colleagues "all find the genome inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory. But," he added, "we have to look at this much more closely and there are still further analyses to be done, so those opinions could still change."

By the next month, it turned out, they had. He and his colleagues published an article in Nature Medicine in which they concluded that it was "improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of a related SARS-CoV-like coronavirus."

In another email, Fauci was thanked by the head of a nonprofit that helped fund research at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, "for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin," which he said "will help dispel the myths being spun around the virus' origins."

Andersen, the scientist who wrote the "engineered" email, has tried to offer further explanation.

"As I have said many times, we seriously considered a lab leak a possibility. However, significant new data, extensive analyses, and many discussions led to the conclusions in our paper. What the email shows, is a clear example of the scientific process," he tweeted amid the backlash.

"It's just science," he later added. "Boring, I know, but it's quite a helpful thing to have in times of uncertainty."

The former president disagrees. While in office, Trump, who disdained the scientist's popularity, frequently flouted Fauci's recommendations on battling COVID-19 by playing down the severity of the pandemic and often touting unproven scientific remedies, including a malaria drug and even injecting disinfectant. And he frequently tried to undermine Fauci's credibility by refusing to acknowledge the evolution in scientists' understanding of the virus and how it spread, which informed guidance about policies like masking.

Trump went after Fauci again on Saturday night when he returned to the public stage in a speech in North Carolina. He sees the emails as further vindication that he was right about the doctor, according to an adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

"He's a great promoter," Trump said about Fauci. "Not a great doctor, but he's a hell of a promoter. He likes television more than any politician in this room.  But he's been wrong on almost every issue."

House Republican Whip Rep. Steve Scalise said on Fox Business Network on Thursday that Fauci "needs to be brought in under oath to answer questions" about the emails, while Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., now the No. 3 Republican in the House, blasted out a fundraising email with the subject line "FIRE FAUCI."

"Anthony Fauci's recently released emails and investigative reporting about #COVID19 origins are shocking. The time has come for Fauci to resign and for a full congressional investigation into the origins of #COVID19  and into any and all efforts to prevent a full accounting," Hawley tweeted after recently voting along with Scalise and Stefanik to block a full congressional investigation into the origins of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

But the White House has made clear that it is standing with Fauci, despite the onslaught of criticism.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki this week praised Fauci as "an undeniable asset in our country's pandemic response," and Biden felt compelled to poke his head back into a room full of reporters he'd departed Friday to say that he was, indeed, "very confident in Dr. Fauci." In a sign of support, Fauci will join first lady Jill Biden for a visit Sunday to a vaccination clinic in New York.

Biden administration officials and allies point to polling showing that Fauci is still one of the country's most trusted public health communicators. Privately, they see the GOP's focus on Fauci as a ploy to energize their base that likely will not resonate with moderate voters. And they are happy to compare Fauci's record on public health with Trump's.

"A note to Fauci critics," tweeted Andy Slavitt, Biden's outgoing senior COVID-19 adviser. "For years, he has been working tirelessly on the development of the mRNA vaccine in anticipation of a potential major viral outbreak. And on Jan 11, 2020, his team downloaded the gene sequence & on the 13th began work on the vaccine."

"So keep it down," he wrote.
Donnie Hasseltine has pushed VMI to remove its statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson from its central location on campus and reconsider other tributes to the Confederacy. Hasseltine was a cadet captain and company commander his senior year when he participated in New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade, shown here. (Courtesy of Donnie Hasseltine)

Just minutes before a state-ordered investigation into racism at the Virginia Military Institute was released Tuesday, the nations oldest state-supported military college fired a preemptive shot.

VMIs board president and board president-elect sent a report commissioned by the VMI Alumni Agencies to Gov. Ralph Northam, D, and other elected leaders.

Written with the aid of the law firm McGuireWoods and dated May 26, the report described the 182-year-old Lexington school as a superb place for Virginians to educate their sons and daughters of all races and backgrounds.

Racist incidents happen, the alumni report conceded, but the share of cadets of color nearly doubled from 1992 to 2020, from 12.7% to 23.4%. VMIs student-run honor system, which The Washington Post revealed in December disproportionately expels Black students, treats all Cadets equally  regardless of race, gender, class year or rank, the report said, and, data relating to honor trial guilty verdicts do not on their face point to obvious bias.

VMI, VMI declared, is good.

[W]hatever work lies before us  the clear and appalling culture of ongoing institutional racism attributed to us at the outset of this investigation is simply inaccurate, the alumni agencies report concluded.

The state-ordered investigation, which was released June 1, came to a far different conclusion, excoriating VMI for tolerating racism and sexism on its campus and demanding sweeping change to its culture.

Now the school, led by the first Black superintendent in its history, must find a way forward, satisfying the state lawmakers who provide about a fifth of VMIs $96 million budget while placating influential alumni who deny there are systemic problems and oppose significant reform.

The VMI alumni report was propaganda meant to say, Look here, dont look there,  said a senior VMI official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. It made my skin crawl. Our alumni are not used to being on their backs of their feet ... and this was a response to show were aggressive.

The war over VMIs future has divided its powerful graduates  military officers, lawyers, business leaders and other heavy hitters  leaving one faction that feels like the changes are unfair and based on faulty premises, and another thats pushing the college to acknowledge and deal with its issues with race and gender.

According to the investigation, a small group of donors appears to play an outsized influence on VMI, which the National Association of College and University Business Officers says has a $539 million endowment.

Based on VMIs 2015-2019 financial information provided by the Alumni Agencies, five donors made up between one-third and nearly half of the Alumni Agencies donor receipts. But when the investigators asked for the donors identities, the Alumni Agencies declined to disclose them. In fiscal 2019, more than 5,400 members of the VMI family  including 3,852 alumni  gave nearly $40 million in gifts and pledges, according to the Alumni Agencies.

Retired Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins, VMIs newly appointed superintendent who graduated from the school in 1985, declined a request for an interview through VMIs spokesman. But he issued a call for unity on Tuesday, describing the investigation - and the colleges new One Corps-One VMI action plan  as an opportunity for the VMI community to come together as brother rats, fellow cadets, alumni, and friends to make an already special place even more special. We cannot do this as a community of factions.

The same day, the colleges board of visitors described the findings of a racist and sexist culture at VMI as serious allegations and are being treated as such, and announced Wednesday it was planning to adopt most of the investigations recommendations.

That prompted a clash on private Facebook groups for VMI parents, cadets and alumni, where opposing sides within the colleges community debated the investigations merits and to what degree, if any, the school should make changes.

One resistance group, a newly formed political action committee called the Spirit of VMI, posted a large red poster on its Facebook page Thursday that blared, APPEASEMENT, with a short screed: Not 48 hours has passed since this shell of a report has been released. Yet before hearing from alumni, the VMI community, and current cadets, the VMI Board of Visitors has endorsed the report and thanked its authors. That is not defending VMI. That is capitulation. And it is wrong.

VMI Leadership has failed at every turn because they are all appointed by a political position, one person wrote in the comments about the Board of Visitors. Too many of us against them for us to lose in the long run. We the dedicated Alumni will find a way to defeat them.

Some directed their ire at Northam, who graduated from VMI in 1981 and ordered the investigation into racism at his alma mater.

Northam faced his own racial issues in early 2019 when it was revealed his VMI yearbook listed his nickname as Coonman, a racial slur; and that his medical school yearbook page contained a photo showing a person wearing blackface and another dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Northam initially said he was in the photo, but then denied it.

On Friday morning, the Spirit of VMI posted on its Facebook feed a mocking cartoon showing someone pointing a gun at the back of a rat  the term for new VMI cadets  with the words, Coonman Henchman. In this issue FEATURED!...In Defense of the Stockholm Syndrome  VMI BOV...How to SELL OUT & SMILE Lecture series by Ralph Northam.

Donnie Hasseltine, a 1997 graduate who pushed VMI last year to remove its statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson from its central location on campus and reconsider other tributes to the Confederacy, was livid when he saw it.

Take VMI out of your name ... you arent supporting the school in anyway, youre embarrassing it, he wrote in response. Whats even more disgusting is your own Brother Rat is the Superintendent, yet you cant even give him the most basic courtesy and support.

You seem alone in your opinion, Donnie, someone wrote back.

Alone in your circles perhaps, Hasseltine replied. [E]ither you want VMI to stay around and produce leaders or you want it to shut its doors. Which side are you on?

The PAC, which launched in March and is led by one of Winss classmates, has raised tens of thousands of dollars, including a $25,000 donation from Thomas Gottwald, a former VMI board member who quit shortly before the boards vote in October to remove the Stonewall Jackson statue. Gottwald, a member of VMIs Class of 1983, did not return messages seeking comment.

The PACs chairman and co-founder, Matt Daniel, who graduated with Wins in 1985, said in an interview this week that he believed the investigation, which was conducted by the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg, drew sensational conclusions based on small survey data.

He cited the reports very first data point that says half of African American cadets strongly or somewhat agree that there is a culture of racial intolerance at VMI. The appendix to the report shows that 12 Black students responded to this question in the survey; five strongly agreed with the sentiment; one agreed somewhat; and the other six Black cadets disagreed or were neutral on the question.

The Barnes & Thornburg report, he said, would lead you to believe that 50% of the African American population at VMI believes what the report forcefully states, said Daniel, a consultant for the Defense Department who is White and said he belonged to the colleges multicultural club Promaji during his senior year. If you look into the data, thats not anywhere near the case.

Barnes & Thornburg, which surveyed nearly 2,500 people in the VMI community and interviewed 385 people  a mix of cadets, alumni and staff  said many people were scared to participate. But its research still produced damning statistics. Chief among them: 102 students - 19% of cadets  who responded to the question said Black people at VMI face a lot or little discrimination; 59 faculty members  50% of respondents  said the same. Another 50 cadets  9% of respondents  agreed somewhat or strongly that VMI fosters a culture of racial intolerance.

According to the colleges fall 2020-2021 demographic profile, there were 99 Black cadets out of 1,698  about 6% of the total.

Hasseltine, who campaigned for reforms last year, said many fears among the most hardcore alumni did not come to pass. The law firm did not recommend any major changes to the colleges honor system or its rat line, which subjects new cadets to months of verbal abuse and grueling workouts. He understands why some in VMIs resistance movement have been thin-skinned about the reports findings, but thinks they need to move on.

VMI is almost like a religion to them and now theyre being faced with the fact their religion has a false god, and it causes everything in their life to fall apart, said Hasseltine, now the chief security officer for a software firm in Northern California.

Shah Rahman, another VMI graduate who lobbied last year alongside Hasseltine for the college to reconsider its Confederate tributes, said Wins is in a difficult position as he tries to navigate between the resisters and the reformers.

The fact of the matter is that VMI risks losing donations from its conservative base and thats a hurdle for Wins, Rahman said. So, at the end of the day, if Wins goes against their goals, hes not going to be successful.

The day before the release of the investigation, Wins called Rahman. Wins said hed read a recent Time magazine piece that chronicled Rahmans time as a VMI cadet when he encountered ugly racism. Rahman, a Muslim who is of South Asian descent, appreciated their conversation. He said he could sense Wins was genuinely invested in change.

And the superintendent also doesnt have a choice. State lawmakers said this week that VMI must end what the investigation called resistance to change, denialism, secrecy, refusal of oversight, and suspicion of outsiders that creates a barrier to forward progress.

Virginia state Sen. Janet D. Howell, D, chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, said she and her colleagues will have little patience for delay.

Del. Lamont Bagby, D, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, was even more dismissive of VMIs defenders.

I couldnt be less concerned with trying to change the hearts and minds of individuals who discount discrimination in any form or fashion, he said. I am more concerned about holding accountable institutions responsible for shaping young peoples minds.
GROTON, Conn. (Tribune News Service)  Navy officials, veterans and community members gathered at the USS Nautilus on Friday to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the Battle of Midway, and to celebrate the reopening of the Submarine Force Museum after a 14-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On the one hand, we will be reflecting on the heroism of past years, while we look forward to the future to make sure we are in the proper position relative to our adversaries, said retired Adm. John Padgett, president of the Submarine Force Library and Marine Association.

The Battle of Midway took place June 4-7, 1942, and was a turning point in World War II.

Capt. Todd Moore, commanding officer of the Naval Submarine Base, said prior to the battle, more than 1,400 personnel worked around the clock to repair the USS Yorktown, following earlier battle damage. Yorktown played a critical role at Midway.

Moore also cited the efforts to crack the Japanese navys codes but said knowing about the enemys plans is no sure guarantee of thwarting them  it also took teamwork, skill on the bridge and in the cockpit, and trust, he said. Aircraft sunk four Japanese carriers, and on June 6, Adm. Isoroku Yamamotos forces withdrew.

Related story: New Submarine Force Museum director and Nautilus OIC settles into role in unusual times

Officials on Friday also paid homage to the late Master Chief Deen Brown, a radioman stationed aboard the USS Trout, which was on patrol around the battle.

He had no idea that the Battle of Midway would be the turning point in the Pacific for World War II, said Master Chief Kellen Volland, command master chief of the Naval Submarine Base. He said radiomen had to copy 25 words per minute of Morse code.

After the war, Brown stayed in the Navy before being employed at Electric Boat. Prior to his death in 2019 at age 96, Brown had been the only Battle of Midway veteran attending the annual commemoration in Groton.

Volland said Browns quiet dignity, robust constitution and fierce patriotism  words used in Browns obituary  were the bedrock of this annual event.

Three children, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild of Brown attended the event Friday, laying a wreath in the Thames River. One of the daughters, Jessica Hoadley, said she came to the commemoration in 2019, shortly after Brown died. But there was no event last year, due to the pandemic.

Hoadley said her father didnt talk about the war a lot at home, and when he did, it was more on an intellectual level than a personal one. But she said he did a lot of teaching.

Multiple submarine veterans attended the event Friday, such as Bob Sharpe. He is a docent at the Submarine Force Museum, and had training this past week to start again next week. He said its going to be a lot of fun and hes looking forward to interacting with kids.

The museum reopened to the public May 26 and is now open Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. COVID-19 restrictions include a one-way traffic pattern through the museum with barriers up, but those who are vaccinated dont have to wear a mask.

A new addition with the museums reopening is an augmented reality feature, in which visitors can scan a QR code with the Zappar app and see images and videos projected onto the space around them.

It really does feel like were really, as a state and as a region, ready to resume normalcy, and obviously the museum is such a destination, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D- 2nd District, said Friday. He thinks its opening is just another milestone for the recovery to normalcy.

e.moser@theday.com

(c)2021 The Day (New London, Conn.)

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USS Nautilus (Submarine Force Museum)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 21:29:05|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations have agreed to support new rules that will achieve a global minimum tax rate of at least 15 percent, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Saturday.

Calling it a "significant, unprecedented" commitment, Yellen said in a statement that the global minimum tax would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the United States and around the world.

"The global minimum tax would also help the global economy thrive, by leveling the playing field for businesses and encouraging countries to compete on positive bases," she said.

The British Treasury, meanwhile, said in a statement that the principle of at least 15 percent global minimum corporation tax operated on a country by country basis creates a more level playing field for British firms and cracks down on tax avoidance.

The G7 agreement came about two weeks after the U.S. Treasury Department said it had proposed that the global minimum tax rate should be at least 15 percent, noting that the final rate could go even higher.

The G7 Finance Ministers' meeting took place in London on June 4-5. Enditem
An 84-year-old Army veteran was thrilled to get his high school diploma from Port Gibson High School in Mississippi on May 28, 2021. (Facebook)

PORT GIBSON, Miss.  An 84-year-old Mississippi man wore a cap and gown and walked across a stage to pick up his high school diploma, generations after bureaucratic mistakes prevented him from receiving it.

Jerry Moon joined 94 graduates during commencement May 28 at Port Gibson High School, WLBT-TV reported.

"It's just unbelievable," Moon said. "I'm just so thrilled. I don't know what to do."

In early 1958, Moon was in the Army when he passed an exam to earn his high school equivalency certificate. However, Moon said he didn't receive a signed copy immediately because the Army misplaced it.

After Moon was discharged and returned to Mississippi, his certificate arrived by mail in October 1958. He asked the high school principal for a diploma, only to learn the certificate was missing a required signature from his company commander.

An Army National Guard major signed the paperwork this year. Moon called Port Gibson High School principal Kelvin Fuller, who agreed to honor his request for a diploma.

"It's emotional for me because this is my first time ever doing anything of this nature, so I just wanted him and his family to be excited and be happy," Fuller said.

Moon's family attended his graduation, and he carried a photo of his late wife.

"All of his life he's been trying to get this diploma in his hands," said his son, Darryl Moon. "He never gave up on it."
Eugene Blanchard was killed when the USS Oklahoma was torpedoed in Pearl Harbor in 1941. ()

ATLANTA (Tribune News Service)  On November 29, 1941, lonesome Boilermaker 1st Class Eugene Blanchard, from tiny Tignall, Georgia, wrote his wife Laura Ann from the battleship USS Oklahoma in Pearl Harbor.

Miss you and the baby more and more each day that goes by. I will be so glad when my time is up. Well, I have 5 months and 19 day left to go now. ... I dont think there was ever a guy who wanted to come home more.

Eight days later, the Japanese attacked the Hawaiian base, torpedoing the Oklahoma. It capsized in under 12 minutes, taking with it 429 crew members, including Blanchard.

Seventy-nine years and six months later, his remains are with his family. His casket was flown to Norfolk, Va., late Thursday. Hell be laid to rest in North Carolina, where his son lives, on Monday.

William Eugene Blanchards casket is carried to a hearse at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. The sailor from Tignall, Georgia, died aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when it was torpedoed in Pearl Harbor in 1941. (Mike Caudill, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)

His remains and hundreds of others were unidentifiable for decades, buried in Hawaii as unknown sailors. It took a Pearl Harbor survivors tenacious commitment and advances in forensic technology to finally put names to bones so that the bodies could be returned to family members.

The baby whom Blanchard referred to in his letter is nearly 80 years old. Bill Blanchard doesnt remember his father, but the man has always been a presence in his life.

Until now, the only tangible connections Bill had with his father were a brass ashtray engraved with USS Oklahoma and a lighthouse-shaped lamp that the boilermaker made and sent home. Each time Bill moved  to Washington, California, Alaska, Idaho, North Carolina  the lamp and ashtray came along.

The lamp, it was always lit, like a beacon for my dad. And he is home finally, Blanchard said from his home in Elizabeth City, N. C. Our family is intact. Thank God.

Navy records given to the Blanchard family have helped bring details to to life about the 24-year-old sailor  describing him as 5-feet 7 inches tall and 120 pounds with two tattoos, an anchor on one arm, a woman on the other.

We are finally getting to put a picture together to where you have more human emotion about it, said Bills son, Chris Blanchard. Because it has been so ethereal. It just feels much more real now.

In 1936, when Gene joined the Navy in the middle of the Great Depression, Tignall was a deep piney woods Southern community. Even today, the rural outpost east of Athens, near the South Carolina border, has only one stoplight.

He left school at 16 years old, after the 10th grade, applied to the Naval Academy without success and then worked with his blacksmith father for three years before signing up, his family said.

On his Naval induction papers, he wrote one word as his goal in joining the service: Career.

The Navy gave him one, training Gene as a boilermaker before assigning him to the USS Oklahoma, a 20-year-old battleship. It was stationed in Pearl Harbor by 1940, but also had long stops for repairs and upgrades in California and Bremerton, Wash., the home of Laura Ann LaGasa, a dark-eyed, 5-foot-tall brunette.

The family doesnt know much about the couples romance, other than the two eloped and married in Nevada on June 17, 1940. Gene was 22; Laura Ann, 18.

I truly dont remember a time when my mother and I sat down for an hour or two and went into anything about my dad in great detail, Bill said, his voice cracking as he paused to gather his emotions. I think she just wanted to hold that information close to her heart about my dad.

He does remember that she attended many meetings of Pearl Harbor survivors over the years, looking for information about Gene. She died in 2007.

Bills daughter, Stephanie Blanchard, recalls her grandmother saying how she enjoyed resting her fingers in the waves of Genes dark hair. Laura Ann kept his letters from Pearl Harbor in a wooden Brown & Haley chocolate box.

I think he was the love of her life, said Stephanie, who takes care of the letters that brim with love for his wife.

Honest, Mommie, it seems to hurt me more and more each time I have to leave you, he penned on Oct. 1, 1941. Well, the next time your daddy comes home, you wont have to worry about him leaving you again.

... Angel, I love you and that darling boy so much that my heart aches for you both when I start thinking of you both and that is almost all the day and night. He turned down a shore-based job  which, in retrospect, might have saved his life  because it would have left him with too much time to think.

Even after Laura Ann remarried, Genes picture was always up in her house, as well as the framed Memorial Certificate of his death signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

It was in 1987 that another letter arrived for Laura Ann from North Carolinian James Saul, one of Genes shipmates and friends who managed to escape the Oklahoma. It provided details about her husbands last moments and words. Nine torpedoes ripped through the Oklahomas 13-inch steel plate sides, and it had rolled over quickly. Gene was trapped in a lower-deck compartment with Saul and about a dozen others, the water rising around them.

All of his thoughts were of you and his son. He kept repeating over and over what is going to happen to his wife and son, please God take care of them, Saul wrote.

Saul managed to dive to a submerged porthole, open it and wriggle through after four tries. I could never find out if he made it through the porthole or not, he wrote.

It took 18 months to right the ship and remove the remains of the sailors and Marines. The dead were buried together in mass graves in Hawaii but disinterred in 1947, when the navy made initial efforts to identify them using dental records and other references.

The USS Maryland floats beside the capsized USS Oklahoma, Dec. 7, 1941, as the USS West Virginia burns in the background following Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (U.S. National Archives)

The Navy managed to identify only 35 men at that point and reburied the rest, said Kelly McKeague, a Georgia Tech graduate and retired Air Force major general. McKeague is now the director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The job of its 725 employees is to find and identify soldiers missing or killed around the globe and to bring them home.

A survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, Ray Emory, began lobbying in the 1980s for the Oklahoma remains to be disinterred again so that new scientific testing, such as DNA, could be used. A partial disinterment took place in 2003 and, by 2010, six sailors had been identified.

In 2015, McKeagues agency launched the Oklahoma Project with the goal of naming and sending home the remaining 394 men.

It was daunting to open those caskets containing bundles of bones that had been indiscriminately gathered into semblances of full skeletons and wrapped in blankets, project director Carrie LeGarde said. She is a forensic anthropologist at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where the work is done. Early on, one casket contained five bundles, but bones showed DNA from nearly 100 different men, she said.

She and teammates began carefully matching the more than 1,300 bones, using forensics and searching for perfect fits between bones and joints.

The Service Casualty Office began tracking down families to ask for DNA samples.

Bills son, Chris, initially thought it was a scam after getting a letter.

I kind of blew it off, he said.

Bill Blanchard had heard on and off about attempted identifications, but never, in a million years, I dont think any of us would have thought this was going to happen.

He got a letter in 2015 asking him to participate. Several first cousins, sons of his fathers sister, also were asked for DNA samples. With so many remains to test, cross referencing DNA from different sides of the family can help the investigators with identifications.

Then, in January, Bill got a phone call while watching TV. The agency had identified Gene, thanks to a DNA match from one of Bills cousins.

Honestly, at the moment, I thought, is this a joke? he said. The person assured me, in fact, this is for real. And I said, I am flabbergasted, and almost fell off the chair. I said, My God, after all this time, he is going to be brought home.

The casket contains his skull and many, but not all, of his bones. A uniform was draped over them when the casket was flown to Elizabeth City, where Bill and Stephanie live on Thursday, Bills 80th birthday.

2021 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)

Visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) at www.ajc.com

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World War II veteran William Dobbs as seen in his Warminster, Pa., home on May 24, 2021, points to a list of U.S. soldiers that lost their lives on the H.M.T. Rohna, a British Troop ship, in 1943, in the Mediterranean, on Monday, May 24, 2021, in Warminster, Pa., as he talks about being in the war. (Nancy Rokos/Burlington County Times via AP)

WARMINSTER, Pa.  William Dobbs didn't miss the boat.

But the ship the young soldier was assigned to take from North Africa to the China-Burma-India theatre during World War II, His Majesty's Transport Rajula, had to turn back to port. It couldn't keep up with its sister ship, HMT Rohna, in a convoy crossing the Mediterranean.

Too many barnacles attached to its hull and engine trouble slowing the ship down might have saved Dobbs' life.

As he looks back on his war experiences this Memorial Day, Dobbs  a North Jersey native now living in Warminster  took time to remember the 124 members of his 31st Signal and Construction Battalion who were among 1,015 American soldiers killed when a Nazi-guided missile sunk the Rohna on Nov. 26, 1943.

The ship's sinking resulted in the largest number of American soldiers killed at sea during World War II and would become known as the first casualty of a radio-guided missile ever launched against the US  once declassified decades later.

The remote-controlled Henschel HS 293 bomb, released by a German airplane, was the first of its kind. The Allied command didn't want word of the terrifying device to get out, less it demoralize American and British forces fighting the Nazis, so they classified the attack and made the survivors keep the secret, under threat of court martial.

The history of the Rhona wasn't declassified until the 1990s and wasn't really known by the American public until Charles Osgood reported it on his radio show on Veterans Day, 1993.

The Rohna, a British cargo ship that was to transport American soldiers to Southeast Asia, was bombed by the Nazis with a guided missile on Nov. 26, 1943. More than 1,000 soldiers were killed or drowned in the attack which was kept classified for 50 years, historians say.

But, some were determined not to let it fade into history.

Caitlin McHugh, of Philadelphia, Dobbs' granddaughter, researched the Rohna's history for a paper she wrote as a student at Cornell University, "Unraveling the Secret Behind the HMT Rohna." It was published by Ezra's Archives, a Cornell Historical Society publication, in spring 2011.

For 50 years from 1943 to 1993, families never learned the fate of their soldiers who went down with the ship and survivors needing medical and other veteran benefits had long battles back home trying to prove that their war injuries were legitimate while keeping the secret about the vessel's sinking, McHugh noted in her report.

Now the Rohna Survivors Memorial Association is trying to find survivors and make contact with the families of those killed. Some 104 Pennsylvanians died, another 79 from New Jersey and three from Delaware, according to records. New York saw 133 causalities.

"Most of the bodies of the soldiers were never recovered; there were no funeral services or burials  the boys just never came home," said Jack Ballo, who is producing a documentary, "Rohna: Classified," about the ship's sinking. The South River, New Jersey, filmmaker got started researching the ship after finding letters in his attic that were sent home by Joseph Pisinski, his wife's great-uncle who was one of the soldiers killed.

The film's outreach project is also working to identify families of the casualties.

According to the researchers, 35 Nazi planes targeted the 24 ships in the convoy heading to India that day, but the remote-controlled bombing of the Rohna was the major tragedy. Air power to protect the ships was missing due to preparations for the D-Day invasion.

Dobbs said it was his good fortune during the war to be sent back to port twice.

The Liberty Ship Patrick Henry that was supposed to transport him and other troops to Africa from Newport News, Virginia, in October 1943, was late getting started across the dangerous, U-boat infested Atlantic Ocean, so it had to head back to port to wait for a new convoy to form.

By the time Dobbs got to Africa 11 days later, the manifest for the Rohna going to India was set. He was assigned on the Rajula, its sister ship.

Both were operated by the British India Steam Navigation Co. but had been converted from cargo to troop ships during World War II. Due to is engine difficulties, the Rajula had to go back to port on that late November day when the convoy it should have been in was targeted by the Nazis.

"I got sent back twice by God," Dobbs said.

In her essay, McHugh, who is now an attorney, noted: "The Rohna was originally a civilian ship designed to hold 100 people comfortably. On the fateful transport mission in 1943 from Oran, Algeria, to India, the HMT Rohna was carrying 2,193 military personnel and 195 crew members, roughly twenty times its capacity. The result of this massive overloading was that the men were crowded below deck in appalling conditions."

Dobbs remembers that both the Rohna and the Rajula were "overly crowded ... It was the worst time,'" he said. "We weren't allowed to come upstairs for 30 days.

"I spent the worst 35 days of my life on that ship; we were practically starved, went on a hunger strike, not enough latrines or washing facilities, sleeping quarters, slept on tables, on floors, on barrack bags and any other place a body could squeeze."

He thought similar conditions existed on the Rohna and it was vulnerable even before leaving the harbor.

According to the Rohna Memorial Association website, created in 1998, the events, which occurred after the Rohna was struck by the guided missile "were so shameful that the secrecy continued for decades," McHugh reported.

Dobbs said that when he arrived in Bombay, India, after the Rajula safely crossed the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal with another convoy, the men already there said, "Where did you guys come from? You're supposed to be dead."

Dobbs didn't learn that the Rohna was downed by a missile until the report on its sinking was declassified but he said, "I knew we were missing men."

He learned from the tragedy that training is so important.

The men aboard both the Rohna and Rajula were given a life preserving belt that was inflated by pressing on carbon dioxide cartridges, he said, but "they were never given instruction how to use it" so many on the doomed ship jumped overboard with them tied as a belt at their waist.

They should have moved them up under their arms to keep their heads afloat, Dobbs said. Instead, when the belt inflated, it brought their midsection and rear to the surface, not allowing them to right their head above the choppy water.

"On the Rohna, they lost hundreds of people who jumped in the water and drowned ... Once it inflates, it tightens around your waist. They couldn't get their heads up... Hundreds died because of it," Dobbs said.

He said that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower required training in the use of the lifesaver belts before the D-Day invasion.

Survivors reported that the lifeboats aboard the Rohna were old, were almost glued to the ships with paint and some of their chains were rusted in place.

As men tried to escape the crippled ship, some of the lifeboats that were able to be freed tumbled over, killing many in the boats and those who may have jumped into the water below them.

A nearby ship, the USS Pioneer picked up many of the survivors, some of whom had been in the cold, November waters for hours.

When Dobbs got to India, he quickly got to work in the headquarters office for his battalion.

"When I was in high school I could type 100 words a minute. I was the best typist in the high school," he said.

He also scored very highly in an aptitude test even though he hadn't studied academic courses in school, so the Army asked him what he would like to do. He said work in personnel. He was assigned to a commanding officer, who was an older attorney in civilian life. Promotions soon followed.

When his boss' tour of duty was up, Dobbs took charge of the department, being promoted to staff sergeant. "I came in sitting on a box. I went out running personnel," Dobbs said with a smile. His pay was $96 a month.

He said the battalion was responsible for setting up signal wires over hundreds of miles from Assam Valley in India, going through the hot, mosquito-infested jungles in Burma to Kunming, China.

After the war, Dobbs went back to school to take English and algebra classes before enrolling in Rutgers University where he graduated with a degree in accounting.

But then, as he sat crunching numbers on a calculator, he realized accounting wasn't for him.

He and his brother Louis took over their dad's auto body shop in 1954, moved it to Springfield in North Jersey, and started Dobbs' Auto Body, a successful business that could service 23 cars at a time and employed 20 people.

"It's still there. I retired in May 1999," he said. "It's probably one of the oldest businesses in Springfield."

As he spoke, Minnie, his wife of almost 70 years nodded in agreement. The couple have three children and four grandchildren.

Still spry at age 97, Dobbs hasn't kept many mementos of his war years, but he did keep his Army uniform jacket. He didn't wear the decorated wool jacket much in the hot jungles of Southeast Asia, but it still fits him, though the buttons won't close.

"Believe it or not, I was 147 pounds when I got out of the Army. If I get on the scale now, I'm 147," he said.

World War II veteran William Dobbs still fits in his U.S. Army uniform, on May 24, 2021, in Warminster, Pa. (Nancy Rokos/Burlington County Times via AP)

Dobbs said he's proud that his granddaughter saw the loss of the lives on the ship as needing recognition and that her efforts and those of other historians and Ballo with his documentary film will help share its history with a wider audience.

The fate of the Rohna and its soldiers was finally recognized by Congress in October 2000 when the late Congressman Jack Metcalf of Washington spearheaded a campaign to have a tribute to the soldiers and crew of the Rohna read in Congress and placed in the Congressional Record.

McHugh's parents, Diane Dobbs and her husband, Dr. Joseph McHugh, of Newtown Township, are proud that their daughter took such an interest in her grandfather's story which she first learned about when she interviewed him for a seventh-grade project.

"It stuck with her and she ran with it," her mom said. Now experts are calling her for more information.

In her paper, McHugh wrote that there were three reasons why the Rohna sinking was secret for so long: the immediate needs to avoid demoralizing troops during the war, followed by the American and British governments not wanting to cast blame for the condition of the ships or the lack of proper training in the rescue operation, as well as the communication issues that arise when two governments both had classified documents on the tragedy to declassify.

Without this veil of secrecy, McHugh said, "maybe then the HMT Rohna could have taken its due place next to the celebrated and observed disasters such as the RMS Lusitania in the Atlantic and the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor and earned its rightful place in the hearts and minds of the American people."

___

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Changes to the SunCommercial's back end processing means the e-edition is getting a facelift. The biggest change is the e-edition, by default, is now presented in Text view.
The Sustainable Bay of Plenty Trust is calling on Tauranga City Council to re-think its 2021 Long Term Plan, which closes for submissions this Monday, June 7.

Whilst stating that there are some good aspects of Councils LTP they claim the SmartGrowth strategy behind it is unsustainable.

"That SmartGrowth plan calls for the city to sprawl further along the coast and up the Kaimai hills, but without a rapid transit system, says Sustainable Bay of Plenty executive director Glen Crowther.

This will result in worse congestion, massive rates rises and even bigger increases in debt to fund growth infrastructure. It will also lead to further increases in carbon emissions.

It is bad for the environment and bad news for people's back pockets - especially those on low or fixed incomes.

"Most importantly, there's been no discussion about the growth strategy that drives this big step-change in capital investment, with $4.6 billion to be spent over the coming decade.

This is 2.5 times per capita what Wellington plans to spend. Yet unlike Wellington and other cities, there has been no public engagement at all about the underlying urban development plan and Transport System Plan that have led to such a big spend-up."

Glen believes it is strange that Tauranga has no sustainability strategy and no plan to reduce carbon emissions, suggesting smaller Bay of Plenty regions such as Rotorua and Whakatane do .

We are told that there is no option apart from this hugely expensive plan to grow the city, even though when residents were last asked what we thought in 2018, people made it very clear they did not support this plan. It directs 80 per cent of the growth to the city outskirts without fast, attractive public transport options.

Glen believes Council will not get a clear indication of what local residents really think about the big spend on growth from this LTP consultation, as people are being told that the extra spending is mostly needed for community facilities.

"It is only when you dig into the numbers that you see that 62 per cent of the new capital expenditure will actually go towards growth, he claims.

"Tauranga residential ratepayers already pay more rates than any comparable NZ city, and this plan would push up median residential rates, including water and Regional Council rates, by about $560 this year alone.

Glen states that rates will double in five years whilst debt will double in three-and-a-half years.

By 2026, superannuitants who own or rent for a moderate Tauranga house could realistically be paying more than 25 per cent of their income on rates if this plan goes ahead, he suggests.

Sustainable Bay of Plenty believes an open conversation with communities around how to handle growth must be held, instead of those discussions being held behind closed doors.

We welcome Sustainable Bay of Plenty Charitable Trusts submission and look forward to considering it fully in due course, says a spokesperson for Tauranga City Council.
The last time a Maurice Greer performed in his home town was 51 years ago.

The Palmerston North-born musician played with Human Instinct in September 1971, and headlined a show that featured the Kal-Q-Lated Risk at the old Astoria Ballroom on George St.

Now, at 75, he is ticking off a bucket list goal and performing in the city for what could be the last time.

He will take the stage at the Hokowhitu Bowling Club on Saturday, with a show of pop, blues and psychedelic rock.

Greer says returning to Palmerston North is mind-boggling and a dream come true.

It will likely be his last gig in Palmerston North, because he has moved to Bay of Plenty and is going to focus on jazz.

Greer will play drums and sing at the show, with Gay Black and Wayne Black on bass guitar and vocals, and Mike Kirk on guitar.

Trevor Harrison will MC and Corben Simpson, from the band Orbit, will open the show.

Greer has played with the Rolling Stones and Cat Stevens, and at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion.

He says his career started at a Manawatu Savage Talent Quest at the Palmerston North Opera House. He played a drum solo and won his category.

Greer then joined The Flares at 14, where he met Trevor Harrison, who played bass, and Peter Knowles, guitar.

The Flares were popular in the lower North Island and this inspired Greers ambition to become a full-time musician.

He wanted a place to play regularly, so set up Palmerston Norths first club, the Flamingo Coffee Lounge on King St, with his older brothers, Barry and Frank.

The Flares were a seven or eight-piece band and too big for the stage, so Harrison, Knowles and Greer formed the Big Three, and became resident at The Flamingo.

Greer wanted to go full-time, but the others were happy just to play music. So, he started the citys first full professional rock group, The Saints, with Doug Rowe on bass, Dave Hurley on guitar and Winston Cartmell on vocals.

The Saints began to gain recognition by playing gigs around the lower North Island, before moving to Auckland.

Within months Greer joined the chart-topping Four Fours and the rest is history.

They went to the United Kingdom, changed their name to Human Instinct, and toured Australia, Singapore and Asia.

Tickets are available online, or via steve@benthorseshoe.co.nz.

-Stuff/Rachel Moore.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 22:22:08|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers have reached "a historic agreement" to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said on Saturday.

Sunak made the remarks after hosting the first in-person meeting of G7 finance ministers in London since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

"I am delighted to announce that the G7 finance ministers today, after years of discussions, have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and crucially, to make sure that it's fair so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places," Sunak said in a video clip on his twitter.

The G7 also agreed to the principle of a global minimum corporation tax on large firms of at least 15 percent operated on a country-by-country basis, creating a more level playing field for British firms and cracking down on tax avoidance, according to Sunak.

"We commit to reaching an equitable solution on the allocation of taxing rights, with market countries awarded taxing rights on at least 20 percent of profit exceeding a 10 percent margin for the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises," said a communique released after the meeting.

The communique said the G7 will provide for appropriate coordination between the application of the new international tax rules and the removal of all digital services taxes.

Digital service tax refers to a move taken by countries including France, Britain and Spain to make big internet companies pay their fair share of taxes in countries where they make their sales, but the United States believes it unfairly targets U.S.-based technology companies.

"And that's a huge prize for British taxpayers. This is a very proud moment and I want to thank my G7 finance minister colleagues for their collective leadership and for their willingness to work together to seize this moment to strike a deal of historic significance that finally brings our global tax system into the 21st century," Sunak said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tweeted that global minimum tax would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and help the global economy thrive, by leveling the playing field for businesses and encouraging countries to compete on positive bases, such as educating and training their work forces and investing in research and development and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was also in London for the G7 finance minister's meeting as Eurogroup President. He previously told Sky News that Ireland, whose corporate tax rate is 12.5 percent, is strongly opposed to the 15 percent rate proposed by the United States.

He tweeted after the meeting that "I look forward now to engaging in the discussions at OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). There are 139 countries at the table, and any agreement will have to meet the needs of small and large countries, developed and developing."

Corporate tax rate in the European Union (EU) average is 20.7 percent in 2021 but, its members have as low as 9 percent in Hungary and 12.5 percent in Ireland, which prove to be attractive to multinationals.

Britain has made securing an agreement on digital tax a key priority for its G7 presidency with the fairer system raising more tax to pay for public services.

The new agreement is expected to be discussed in further detail at the Group of 20 financial ministers and central bank governors meeting in July.

The ministers also agreed to work together to ensure a strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive global recovery that builds back better and greener from the COVID-19 pandemic, and once the recovery is firmly established, they need to ensure the long-term sustainability of public finances to enable them to respond to future crises.

Other priorities in the meeting include transformative effort to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and continued support to low-Income and vulnerable countries.

The G7 includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Britain holds the G7 presidency this year. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will gather the G7 leaders for a summit in Cornwall in South West England next week. Enditem
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RTHK: Thousands protest in Budapest over Chinese campus

Thousands of Hungarians, some of them holding banners declaring "Treason", protested on Saturday against a Chinese university's plans to open a campus in Budapest.

Liberal opponents of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban accuse him of cosying up to China, and fear the campus could undercut the quality of higher education and help Beijing increase its influence in Hungary and the European Union.

"I do not agree with our country's strengthening feudal relationship with China," Patrik, a 22-year-old student who declined to give his full name, said at the protest in the Hungarian capital.

He said funds should be used "to improve our own universities instead of building a Chinese one."

The government signed an agreement with Shanghai-based Fudan University in April on building the campus at a site in Budapest where a dormitory village for Hungarian students had previously been planned.

The government has said Fudan is a world-class institution and the campus would "allow students to learn from the best."

MTI news agency quoted Tamas Schanda, a deputy government minister, as saying Saturday's protest was unnecessary and dismissing "political hysteria" based on unfounded gossip and media reports.

Opposition politicians and economists have criticised what they say will be the high costs of the project and a lack of transparency. Budapest's mayor opposes the plan.

"Fidesz is selling out wholesale the housing of Hungarian students, and their future, just so it can bring the elite university of China's dictatorship into the country," the organisers of Saturday's protest said on Facebook.

Beijing said this week "a few Hungarian politicians" were trying to grab attention and obstruct cooperation between China and Hungary.

Orban has built cordial ties with China, Russia and other illiberal governments, while locking horns with Western allies by curbing the independence of scientific research, the judiciary and media.

He faces a unified opposition for the first time since assuming power in 2010 before a parliamentary election due in 2022. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-06-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese built Ethiopia-Djibouti railway earns 29 mln USD in nine months period

Xinhua) 10:45, June 05, 2021

ADDIS ABABA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-built 752.7 km Ethiopia-Djibouti railway earned 29 million U.S. dollars in a nine-month period, the Ethiopia-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway Share Company (EDR) disclosed on Friday.

In a statement, EDR said 29 million U.S. dollars was earned from 1.35 million tons of cargo and 15,480 passengers that were transported in the first nine months of the current Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY) 2020/2021, which started on July 8.

The Ethiopia-Djibouti railway which connects landlocked Ethiopia to Djibouti port has in recent months robustly resumed operations that had previously been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May, EDR graduated 34 Ethiopian train drivers who underwent a series of training in Ethiopia and China.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-06-05 09:54:37|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

MEXICO CITY, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Mexico is gearing up for the largest mid-term elections in its history on Sunday, with tens of thousands of candidates vying to fill more than 20,000 public posts, according to electoral authorities.

The race to watch, said political observers, is the one to fill the Chamber of Deputies, or the lower house, in which the ruling progressive National Regeneration Movement (Morena) hopes to maintain or strengthen its qualified majority, as the conservative opposition strives to make inroads.

The mid-terms will essentially decide whether Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will be able to carry on with his so-called "Fourth Transformation," combat public-sector corruption and make the country more energy independent, or be forced to temper his reform drive during his remaining time in office.

Up for renewal are 15 of the country's 32 governorships, 500 federal deputy seats, 1,063 local deputy seats and 1,923 mayoral posts, among others, with a grand total of the 20,415 popularly elected positions.

According to the National Electoral Institute, 93,676,029 Mexicans will be eligible to vote at 162,896 polling stations across the country.

"It will be an interesting massive election for more than 20,000 positions that are at stake, and I dare say that the 'jewel in the crown' is the Chamber of Deputies, because in reality that is where the legal foundation lies for the substantial changes and transformations the country needs," said political analyst Gildardo Lopez.

"While the 15 governorships are important, the Chamber of Deputies is vital to carry on with the project of the Fourth Transformation," said Lopez, who is also an academic from the School of Government and Economics at the Panamerican University in Mexico City.

To improve their chances in the lower house, Mexico's three largest opposition parties -- the Institutional Revolutionary Party, Democratic Revolution Party and National Action Party -- joined forces to back the same candidate for each seat, aiming to take votes away from the Morena-led coalition that includes the Labor Party and Ecologist Green Party of Mexico.

To maintain its two-thirds qualified majority in Congress, Morena will need to garner 334 deputy seats, a number which Lopez said will be tough to win, despite the party's lead in various polls.

The elections are expected to go smoothly, though violence targeting candidates has traditionally marred political campaigns in Mexico with some 89 politicians assassinated so far, including 35 candidates, according to risk analysis firm Etellekt.

Lopez believes the violence was generated not so much by political parties as by drug cartels.

"The real cause of the violence in these elections is organized crime, which plans to place like-minded candidates in counties and cities," Lopez said. Enditem
V.Narayan Distinguished - BHPian

Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Delhi-NCR Posts: 2,904 Thanked: 32,962 Times

Re: Kerala wins trademark battle for "KSRTC" Vs Karnataka Two Govt owned organizations using tax payers money to fight it out in a Court for years when they could have done this through arbitration! What a pity.



Off topic: One reason our High Courts and our Supreme Court are clogged is because whenever the Govt {Central or State or PSU} loses against an individual or private company they refuse to accept the judgement and simply file an appeal at the next judicial level. It doesn't cost them anything as you & I are footing the bill and no Govt Babu can be accused of having gone soft on the hapless citizen {who won the case} and having to give in to the citizen.



I wait with bated breath for these three to get into a quarrel - Manipur SRTC, Mizoram SRTC, Meghalaya SRTC - all close to each other. What about Haryana SRTC and Himachal SRTC? Let the games begin. Last edited by V.Narayan : 3rd June 2021 at 08:39 .
vishy76 Distinguished - BHPian



Join Date: May 2016 Location: BDQ Posts: 904 Thanked: 4,894 Times

View My Garage





re: Our Silver Sprinter - Volkswagen Jetta 2.0 TDI. EDIT: 85,000 km up! 85,000 Km Update







It hasn't been very long since I updated the thread and a sudden impromptu update on a team-BHP thread means something isn't quite right. Here goes the story.



Yokohama BlueEarth AE51s



Immediately after the previous service, I was quite happy. The car was doing well, and I also swapped out the 4 year old Michelin P3STs (Served me impeccably for 45K km) for a new set of Yokohama Bluearth AE51s.



A lot has been said on the forum about these tyres, so I won't go too much into depth. Having said this, I will say they are a good compromise considering the lack of options I faced due to the import ban on tyres. The only ones available were these and Goodyears, and there was no way I was going back to the crappy NCTs. They aren't as silent as the Primacy series and nor do they offer leach like grip levels associated with the Pilot Sports, but overall, they are good VFM and tyres I don't really mind having on the car at this point.



The reduction in road noise and the decrease in steering weight was evident right off the bat. Overall ride also felt a tad supple, but the change wasn't day and night (Goes to how the Michelins had aged very well).





The Oil leakage saga



It had been about 2 months since the car had been serviced at the FNG. I had very elaborate plans for the Jetta including a clutch and flywheel change followed by a headliner upholstery change immediately after, post which I hoped to write off my expenses for the year. Little did I know what was to come.



October and November were tough for me personally. So much so, that I even failed to keep track of the Jetta. The car kept serving my dad well enough with no issues. December 7th, 2020. I had done the usual chore of feeding the street dogs in the locality when I decided to check the oil levels. This was a completely out of the blue ritual, but something inside me told me I just had to. I am generally very lazy when it comes to going down and doing it, but this time I didn't faulter. I did the usual job of opening the bonnet and going for the dipstick. It was around 9 in the night so all I planned to do was pull out the dipstick, give it a wipe, put it back in and use a torch to check levels.



I did exactly as mentioned and to my horror, what came out of the hole was a bone dry dipstick. Not a smear of oil on it. I did know that oil levels fluctuate with engine temperature and the engine was at about 80-85 degrees, but I had never seen a completely empty dipstick. I flashed the torchlight on the engine bay and saw something I had never seen before. Everything around and below the oil cooler area was covered in oil. All the way down to the sump guard. In fact, the sump guard itself was drenched in oil around the edges. I had a can of Castrol Edge lying in the boot with about 700ml of oil. Assuming the car had leaked even a litre in the worst case, topping up all of this should have ensured that at least a smear of oil would make it to the dipstick. I hastily poured it down and pulled the dipstick out. Nothing.



At this point, I knew the issue was getting out of hand. I asked my dad (who couldn't understand how serious the issue was) to not drive the car for the next few days. I contacted VW who wanted to tow the car in straight off. I was still confident it wasn't a fast leak and decided to get in touch with an FNG a known had suggested. The guy was kind enough to send in a mechanic with a can of oil 4 days later. The 4 days had also given me enough time to do a proper physical inspection and conclude that the leak had originated around the oil filter housing. I also turned the ignition on and off multiple times (obviously without starting the engine) to see if I do get an oil level low warning (the Jetta has a sensor in the sump to detect low oil levels), but nothing came up.



The mechanic topped up around 1.5-1.7L of oil, and it was only then that the dipstick finally indicated the oil in the sump had reached the top. He then fired the car up and almost immediately, a very small spurt of oil started emanating from the periphery of the filter housing. He was confident it was a very slow leak and with the amount of oil topped up, the Jetta would easily make it to the garage. I gave him the go ahead.



I received a call the same afternoon, claiming the oil filter had not been installed correctly by the previous FNG.



There are 3 O-rings that are a part of the filter assembly. Two sit inside, while one sits on the periphery of the filter cover. It appears one of the inner rings had not been installed correctly, leading to oil accumulation inside the housing and excessive pressure buildup, pressure the cover ring was not designed to take. It eventually gave up and oil started leaking out of the cover and onto the oil cooler, sump guard, the oil sump itself and also reached the compressor below.



Finally, all of this was cleaned, a brand new filter installed, and new engine oil poured in. Total bill was around 5.5-6K and I was satisfied that the issues had been left behind. (I was wrong again)



Around Jan, I again started noticing oil deposits on the oil cooler and sump guard. This time however, the leak was caught on time and was very minute. Barely 300ml of oil was lost before it was attended to. The top cover seal was changed and a new drain plug gasket was put in. This marked an end to the oil filter leakages and did give me a lot of relief.



The car did well enough for the next two months with no incident, but in March, I had to send it to VW to get the radio unlocked. The FNG who had worked on the car in October 2020 had disconnected the battery, leading to the HU going into security mode. My dad was also complaining of some clatter emanating at idle from the engine bay.



With all these complaints, the Jetta went over to VW. Since I still had very little confidence in the FNG which had worked on my car in October, I asked the SA to do a complete inspection and tell me what all needed replacing. The estimate as expected was quite a large one with a number of issues being highlighted as below:



- The biggest issue was a tappet cover leakage. The entire cover would need replacing which would cost around 20K



- Both lower control arm bushes and link rods at the front had worn out completely. Total estimate was around 4K for the link rods and 14K for the control arms



- The timing belt rollers had some play in them and the kit would need changing. This would come to around 12-13K



- The serpentine belt tensioner had gone bad leading to the sqeauking noise at idle. Replacement cost would be about 4.5K



- A wiper washer nozzle had gone bad. Would cost around 1K to set it right



The S.A also advised I switch back to VW spec Shell 505 01 5W40 oil instead of the Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 505 00 I was using, apart from a complete service. He offered to change all filters and fluids for around 9K which I felt was fair. I gave him the go ahead for all these and the car took a week to come back since the link rods, control arms, tensioner and tappet cover weren't in stock.



As the timing kit was anyways being changed, I also gave the SA the go ahead to change the water pump (around 2.5 years old now) as a precaution and the brake fluid (3.5 years old and well overdue). I have attached the bill below. The total came to about 85K post a bit of haggling, with the Tappet cover making up a massive 20K+ of the total amount.



This is a lesson learnt the hard way. A badly tightened oil filter gave me nightmares for 2 months (Not once mind you, TWICE). It just goes to show how lax certain FNGs can get when it comes to servicing cars. All said and done, I wasted a grand total of 17K undoing what the incompetent FNG had done to my car. I have decided to get all routine servicing done at VW henceforth and major wear and tear (suspension, clutch etc.) at another trusted FNG.



I am not very happy with how VW directly replaced the control arms in their entirety (instead of the bushings only), but I guess its company policy end of the day. Part costs are high, but in all honesty, I genuinely dont mind paying up the extra for quality imported parts as compared to the cheap localised crap VW resorts to using for the Polo and Vento. All said and done, my stock suspension needed touching at 85K km, an achievement considering the condition of the roads here.



All the parts replaced in one frame. This is by far the most expensive service done on the Jetta:





The timing kit consists of 2 rollers, 1 idler pulley, and a tensioner bearing. Kindly note that the water pump is NOT included in the kit. It has to be changed separately. The rollers had some grease oozing out of them and had developed play. The belt was slightly frayed at the edges. Tensioner bearing was in almost perfect nick. The idler pulley was not returned to me for some bizarre reason:













The serpentine tensioner pulley. Again, the nylon bearing is missing from the returned part. The newer part has a metallic bearing. The serpentine belt has also been localized now and costs around Rs. 400:





The link rods. As you can see, the outer boots have split exposing the ball joints inside. I was also able to move the rod ends by hand, something that should be virtually impossible:





Control arm bushings could have gone on for another 5-7K km, but I didnt want to wait for them to start making noise. You can clearly see they have split. If the arm itself is intact physically (very rarely does a control arm suffer structural damage), you can get away with changing only the bushing. A quality bush kit from Febi or Myle costs around 4-4.5K all inclusive:





The piece de resistance of the entire saga. The tappet cover. As expected, its made of plastic. A total of 5 seals are a part of the cover. 4 seals are for the injector periphery (1 for each injector) and one seal outlines the tappet cover perimeter and seals it to the engine head. The latter is available for 3.8K on boodmo, but the former are not supplied separately by VW. Most FNGs resort to putting in OES seals:





The water pump. Was a pleasant surprise seeing little to no corrosion on the pump. The previous one that came out of the car felt like it had been salvaged from a shipwreck in comparision. On a related note, VW has also switched to G12 EVO coolant from G13. G12E has a purplish tinge to it as compared to G13:





The choked washer jet. Mercifully, this one is shared with the Vento and Polo instead of the Passat. The Passat uses heated jets which cost 6K a piece. This one was much cheaper at 1K:





The Jetta feels a lot tighter to drive now. The front end used to be all over the place before after encountering a pothole or speed-breaker. Changing the link rods and control arms has brought that firmness back to the front end. The overall NVH levels remain more or less the same, and I dont expect any difference until the flywheel is changed. I do have complete peace of mind now that the timing kit has been changed though. Better to spend 15-16K proactively on a new kit than to spend 10x that rebuilding the engine head.



Things that will need looking into:



- The sagging headliner cloth has decided to come off entirely now. It has to be changed compulsorily. Have received quotes varying from 5.5K-12K for setting it right





- The flywheel continues to create a racket when the clutch is held at the biting point. No slippage has been observed in the clutch itself though, so I think it should hold up till the 90K km mark



- The rear suspension and the front dampers are surely on their way out. My guesstimate says they will hold up till the 90-95K km mark provided I put up with the harsh ride quality





- The gearshift linkages and shifter tower are two things I am keeping an eye on. Notorious for failing on the MK6 Jettas, the shifter linkage snaps and the gearbox gets stuck in third gear



- Lastly, the primary radiator fan has been suffering (making a loud whining nosie) for the past 2 years, ever since the car was driven through flooded water. Might have to get the motor assembly overhauled and the hub cleaned





Both me and my dad considered replacing the car and had a look at some options. The top two contenders were the Harrier and the Tiguan. The Compass was too small for the price it demanded and I didnt even want to look at the Seltos/Creta duo. Heres what I think about them.





Tata Harrier XZA



What I liked:

- Striking looks and stance

- Good equipment list

- Excellent rear legroom and seat comfort

What I didnt like:

- Overall plastic quality and fit and finish on the inside were not upto the mark

- Reliability was a huge question mark

- Tatas after-sales in this part of GJ is not the best



My dad wasnt ready to even TD the Harrier. He walked out of the showroom and asked me to enquire about the Tiguan Allspace.







Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace



I would be lying if I said I hadnt been smitten by the Tiguan. A lot of it felt unmistakably Jetta, and that wasnt a bad thing at all. Also went for a short test drive.



What I liked:

- Understated looks paired to solid build quality

- Excellent equipment list

- Great ride and handling balance, almost sedan-like

- The added advantage of the 4motion AWD system

- Spacious cabin, albeit a rudimentary 3rd row



What I didnt like:

- No 2.0 TDI. The TSI is an excellent engine, but my sort of running warrants a diesel only and the home ministry wasnt too happy with the 9.8 km/l figure on the TD cars MID either

- Part costs were unchartered territory considering this was a CBU

- Overall reliability of the 2.0 TSI and the DQ381 GB was again unproven

- Not what I would call a proper upgrade in terms of performance as compared to a remapped Jetta considering I would be paying 30+L end of the day



Contemplated on this one a lot, but it didnt make sense buying a TFSI in haste and then regretting FE figures or buying the car itself.



A used Tiguan 2.0 TDI also came my way but again, I would be splurging 20+L into a used car which essentially had the same engine again, with more features thrown in and an AT gearbox. Didnt make sense.



In the end, decided to keep the Jetta for another 2-3 years. The car is fundamentally sorted and most of the expenses that lie ahead are general wear and tear which shouldnt be a huge issue.





Conclusion



I have said this many times over and will say it again, I have accepted the Jetta for the good and for the worse. She's not perfect, has her share of reliability issues (Most of them minor thankfully), and isn't a car a non-nonsense man would want to own. Some have even said the car has brought bad luck to me with the oil leaks and the huge bills. The devil inside then is quite convinced that the Jetta is a troublesome companion to own.



However, the angel thinks otherwise. My car has not been a garage queen at all. Haven't detailed it, never showered attention on it and never really bothered about cosmetic upkeep at all in all honesty. The car sees industrial backroads meant for heavy duty trucks and lorries chiefly on a daily basis, has to make the annual pilgrimage to Surat, Rajkot and Ahmedabad several times a month, and has also covered the entire west coast of India taking us on several road-trips without as much as an electronic glitch. Granted, issues do exist, and the very people I marvel at for engineering this car are the ones I curse many a times and oft.



All said and done however, the current value of my car as it stands is determined by what can replace it. And this question is one which I don't have an answer to (unless members can come together and raise about 80L in funds following which I might book a 530D).



A parting shot of the interiors. They look as good as new if you excuse the sloppy headliner upholstery:

It hasn't been very long since I updated the thread and a sudden impromptu update on a team-BHP thread means something isn't quite right. Here goes the story.Immediately after the previous service, I was quite happy. The car was doing well, and I also swapped out the 4 year old Michelin P3STs (Served me impeccably for 45K km) for a new set of Yokohama Bluearth AE51s.A lot has been said on the forum about these tyres, so I won't go too much into depth. Having said this, I will say they are a good compromise considering the lack of options I faced due to the import ban on tyres. The only ones available were these and Goodyears, and there was no way I was going back to the crappy NCTs. They aren't as silent as the Primacy series and nor do they offer leach like grip levels associated with the Pilot Sports, but overall, they are good VFM and tyres I don't really mind having on the car at this point.The reduction in road noise and the decrease in steering weight was evident right off the bat. Overall ride also felt a tad supple, but the change wasn't day and night (Goes to how the Michelins had aged very well).It had been about 2 months since the car had been serviced at the FNG. I had very elaborate plans for the Jetta including a clutch and flywheel change followed by a headliner upholstery change immediately after, post which I hoped to write off my expenses for the year. Little did I know what was to come.October and November were tough for me personally. So much so, that I even failed to keep track of the Jetta. The car kept serving my dad well enough with no issues. December 7th, 2020. I had done the usual chore of feeding the street dogs in the locality when I decided to check the oil levels. This was a completely out of the blue ritual, but something inside me told me I just had to. I am generally very lazy when it comes to going down and doing it, but this time I didn't faulter. I did the usual job of opening the bonnet and going for the dipstick. It was around 9 in the night so all I planned to do was pull out the dipstick, give it a wipe, put it back in and use a torch to check levels.I did exactly as mentioned and to my horror, what came out of the hole was a bone dry dipstick. Not a smear of oil on it. I did know that oil levels fluctuate with engine temperature and the engine was at about 80-85 degrees, but I had never seen a completely empty dipstick. I flashed the torchlight on the engine bay and saw something I had never seen before. Everything around and below the oil cooler area was covered in oil. All the way down to the sump guard. In fact, the sump guard itself was drenched in oil around the edges. I had a can of Castrol Edge lying in the boot with about 700ml of oil. Assuming the car had leaked even a litre in the worst case, topping up all of this should have ensured that at least a smear of oil would make it to the dipstick. I hastily poured it down and pulled the dipstick out. Nothing.At this point, I knew the issue was getting out of hand. I asked my dad (who couldn't understand how serious the issue was) to not drive the car for the next few days. I contacted VW who wanted to tow the car in straight off. I was still confident it wasn't a fast leak and decided to get in touch with an FNG a known had suggested. The guy was kind enough to send in a mechanic with a can of oil 4 days later. The 4 days had also given me enough time to do a proper physical inspection and conclude that the leak had originated around the oil filter housing. I also turned the ignition on and off multiple times (obviously without starting the engine) to see if I do get an oil level low warning (the Jetta has a sensor in the sump to detect low oil levels), but nothing came up.The mechanic topped up around 1.5-1.7L of oil, and it was only then that the dipstick finally indicated the oil in the sump had reached the top. He then fired the car up and almost immediately, a very small spurt of oil started emanating from the periphery of the filter housing. He was confident it was a very slow leak and with the amount of oil topped up, the Jetta would easily make it to the garage. I gave him the go ahead.I received a call the same afternoon, claiming the oil filter had not been installed correctly by the previous FNG.There are 3 O-rings that are a part of the filter assembly. Two sit inside, while one sits on the periphery of the filter cover. It appears one of the inner rings had not been installed correctly, leading to oil accumulation inside the housing and excessive pressure buildup, pressure the cover ring was not designed to take. It eventually gave up and oil started leaking out of the cover and onto the oil cooler, sump guard, the oil sump itself and also reached the compressor below.Finally, all of this was cleaned, a brand new filter installed, and new engine oil poured in. Total bill was around 5.5-6K and I was satisfied that the issues had been left behind. (I was wrong again)Around Jan, I again started noticing oil deposits on the oil cooler and sump guard. This time however, the leak was caught on time and was very minute. Barely 300ml of oil was lost before it was attended to. The top cover seal was changed and a new drain plug gasket was put in. This marked an end to the oil filter leakages and did give me a lot of relief.The car did well enough for the next two months with no incident, but in March, I had to send it to VW to get the radio unlocked. The FNG who had worked on the car in October 2020 had disconnected the battery, leading to the HU going into security mode. My dad was also complaining of some clatter emanating at idle from the engine bay.With all these complaints, the Jetta went over to VW. Since I still had very little confidence in the FNG which had worked on my car in October, I asked the SA to do a complete inspection and tell me what all needed replacing. The estimate as expected was quite a large one with a number of issues being highlighted as below:- The biggest issue was a tappet cover leakage. The entire cover would need replacing which would cost around 20K- Both lower control arm bushes and link rods at the front had worn out completely. Total estimate was around 4K for the link rods and 14K for the control arms- The timing belt rollers had some play in them and the kit would need changing. This would come to around 12-13K- The serpentine belt tensioner had gone bad leading to the sqeauking noise at idle. Replacement cost would be about 4.5K- A wiper washer nozzle had gone bad. Would cost around 1K to set it rightThe S.A also advised I switch back to VW spec Shell 505 01 5W40 oil instead of the Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 505 00 I was using, apart from a complete service. He offered to change all filters and fluids for around 9K which I felt was fair. I gave him the go ahead for all these and the car took a week to come back since the link rods, control arms, tensioner and tappet cover weren't in stock.As the timing kit was anyways being changed, I also gave the SA the go ahead to change the water pump (around 2.5 years old now) as a precaution and the brake fluid (3.5 years old and well overdue). I have attached the bill below. The total came to about 85K post a bit of haggling, with the Tappet cover making up a massive 20K+ of the total amount.This is a lesson learnt the hard way. A badly tightened oil filter gave me nightmares for 2 months (Not once mind you, TWICE). It just goes to show how lax certain FNGs can get when it comes to servicing cars. All said and done, I wasted a grand total of 17K undoing what the incompetent FNG had done to my car. I have decided to get all routine servicing done at VW henceforth and major wear and tear (suspension, clutch etc.) at another trusted FNG.I am not very happy with how VW directly replaced the control arms in their entirety (instead of the bushings only), but I guess its company policy end of the day. Part costs are high, but in all honesty, I genuinely dont mind paying up the extra for quality imported parts as compared to the cheap localised crap VW resorts to using for the Polo and Vento. All said and done, my stock suspension needed touching at 85K km, an achievement considering the condition of the roads here.All the parts replaced in one frame. This is by far the most expensive service done on the Jetta:The timing kit consists of 2 rollers, 1 idler pulley, and a tensioner bearing. Kindly note that the water pump is NOT included in the kit. It has to be changed separately. The rollers had some grease oozing out of them and had developed play. The belt was slightly frayed at the edges. Tensioner bearing was in almost perfect nick. The idler pulley was not returned to me for some bizarre reason:The serpentine tensioner pulley. Again, the nylon bearing is missing from the returned part. The newer part has a metallic bearing. The serpentine belt has also been localized now and costs around Rs. 400:The link rods. As you can see, the outer boots have split exposing the ball joints inside. I was also able to move the rod ends by hand, something that should be virtually impossible:Control arm bushings could have gone on for another 5-7K km, but I didnt want to wait for them to start making noise. You can clearly see they have split. If the arm itself is intact physically (very rarely does a control arm suffer structural damage), you can get away with changing only the bushing. A quality bush kit from Febi or Myle costs around 4-4.5K all inclusive:The piece de resistance of the entire saga. The tappet cover. As expected, its made of plastic. A total of 5 seals are a part of the cover. 4 seals are for the injector periphery (1 for each injector) and one seal outlines the tappet cover perimeter and seals it to the engine head. The latter is available for 3.8K on boodmo, but the former are not supplied separately by VW. Most FNGs resort to putting in OES seals:The water pump. Was a pleasant surprise seeing little to no corrosion on the pump. The previous one that came out of the car felt like it had been salvaged from a shipwreck in comparision. On a related note, VW has also switched to G12 EVO coolant from G13. G12E has a purplish tinge to it as compared to G13:The choked washer jet. Mercifully, this one is shared with the Vento and Polo instead of the Passat. The Passat uses heated jets which cost 6K a piece. This one was much cheaper at 1K:The Jetta feels a lot tighter to drive now. The front end used to be all over the place before after encountering a pothole or speed-breaker. Changing the link rods and control arms has brought that firmness back to the front end. The overall NVH levels remain more or less the same, and I dont expect any difference until the flywheel is changed. I do have complete peace of mind now that the timing kit has been changed though. Better to spend 15-16K proactively on a new kit than to spend 10x that rebuilding the engine head.Things that will need looking into:- The sagging headliner cloth has decided to come off entirely now. It has to be changed compulsorily. Have received quotes varying from 5.5K-12K for setting it right- The flywheel continues to create a racket when the clutch is held at the biting point. No slippage has been observed in the clutch itself though, so I think it should hold up till the 90K km mark- The rear suspension and the front dampers are surely on their way out. My guesstimate says they will hold up till the 90-95K km mark provided I put up with the harsh ride quality- The gearshift linkages and shifter tower are two things I am keeping an eye on. Notorious for failing on the MK6 Jettas, the shifter linkage snaps and the gearbox gets stuck in third gear- Lastly, the primary radiator fan has been suffering (making a loud whining nosie) for the past 2 years, ever since the car was driven through flooded water. Might have to get the motor assembly overhauled and the hub cleanedBoth me and my dad considered replacing the car and had a look at some options. The top two contenders were the Harrier and the Tiguan. The Compass was too small for the price it demanded and I didnt even want to look at the Seltos/Creta duo. Heres what I think about them.What I liked:- Striking looks and stance- Good equipment list- Excellent rear legroom and seat comfortWhat I didnt like:- Overall plastic quality and fit and finish on the inside were not upto the mark- Reliability was a huge question mark- Tatas after-sales in this part of GJ is not the bestMy dad wasnt ready to even TD the Harrier. He walked out of the showroom and asked me to enquire about the Tiguan Allspace.I would be lying if I said I hadnt been smitten by the Tiguan. A lot of it felt unmistakably Jetta, and that wasnt a bad thing at all. Also went for a short test drive.What I liked:- Understated looks paired to solid build quality- Excellent equipment list- Great ride and handling balance, almost sedan-like- The added advantage of the 4motion AWD system- Spacious cabin, albeit a rudimentary 3rd rowWhat I didnt like:- No 2.0 TDI. The TSI is an excellent engine, but my sort of running warrants a diesel only and the home ministry wasnt too happy with the 9.8 km/l figure on the TD cars MID either- Part costs were unchartered territory considering this was a CBU- Overall reliability of the 2.0 TSI and the DQ381 GB was again unproven- Not what I would call a proper upgrade in terms of performance as compared to a remapped Jetta considering I would be paying 30+L end of the dayContemplated on this one a lot, but it didnt make sense buying a TFSI in haste and then regretting FE figures or buying the car itself.A used Tiguan 2.0 TDI also came my way but again, I would be splurging 20+L into a used car which essentially had the same engine again, with more features thrown in and an AT gearbox. Didnt make sense.In the end, decided to keep the Jetta for another 2-3 years. The car is fundamentally sorted and most of the expenses that lie ahead are general wear and tear which shouldnt be a huge issue.I have said this many times over and will say it again, I have accepted the Jetta for the good and for the worse. She's not perfect, has her share of reliability issues (Most of them minor thankfully), and isn't a car a non-nonsense man would want to own. Some have even said the car has brought bad luck to me with the oil leaks and the huge bills. The devil inside then is quite convinced that the Jetta is a troublesome companion to own.However, the angel thinks otherwise. My car has not been a garage queen at all. Haven't detailed it, never showered attention on it and never really bothered about cosmetic upkeep at all in all honesty. The car sees industrial backroads meant for heavy duty trucks and lorries chiefly on a daily basis, has to make the annual pilgrimage to Surat, Rajkot and Ahmedabad several times a month, and has also covered the entire west coast of India taking us on several road-trips without as much as an electronic glitch. Granted, issues do exist, and the very people I marvel at for engineering this car are the ones I curse many a times and oft.All said and done however, the current value of my car as it stands is determined by what can replace it. And this question is one which I don't have an answer to (unless members can come together and raise about 80L in funds following which I might book a 530D).A parting shot of the interiors. They look as good as new if you excuse the sloppy headliner upholstery: Last edited by Aditya : 2nd June 2021 at 06:17 . Reason: As requested
gkveda Senior - BHPian

Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,009 Thanked: 3,139 Times Infractions: 0/1 (4)

Re: Pune: 39.69 km road constructed in just 24 hours Wonderful achievement. Positive side of this is, this project shows how our country can progress if we give 100% focus, dedication and sincerity in what ever we do.



Taking this as inspiration, if other parts of the country also start completion of their projects with top notch quality in similar pace in parallel, am sure we will have wonderful infrastructure in next 5-6 years.



Negative side of the story: They have completed 39 kms road construction in 24 hours. Not sure how many days does it retain the condition. I only hope that it is real road construction and not black painting of the path. If government has taken so high interest in completing the road, the devil inside me thinks what could be the real motive for the government?



I am not aware of the answer. I only wish my devil inside me is wrong. Last edited by gkveda : 3rd June 2021 at 17:07 .
Facebook has given former President Donald J. Trump a two-year suspension from the platform; following the recent statement, it said it would update the decision by Friday, June 4. The social media company has also rolled out a new policy for politicians, making them a part of the content moderation and Community Guidelines, which have grievous punishments.

Previously, Facebook's Oversight Board and the company have not touched the politicians who utilize social media for either their personal or public profile posts and statements. However, all that changed when it initially blocked the former president from the platform last January, following Twitter's footsteps that already affirmed its decisions.

The developments on Trump's case gave him the maximum suspension sentence on Facebook for his misuse of the platform, says the social media. He would not be able to access it until January 7, 2023.

Social media is a powerful tool since its initial introduction, even more so in these times where people mostly rely on it for news and information.

Read Also: Facebook Gives Creators Control Over Images as New Tool Tackles Unauthorized Users

Facebook's Trump 2-Year Suspension

Trump gets the maximum sentences for both of the largest and most used social media platforms in the world, with Twitter giving him the permanent ban, but for Facebook, only its maximum suspension sentence. According to Facebook's blog as authored by VP of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, Facebook would not give an indefinite suspension, hence this update.

The deliberation of Trump's reign on social media took almost half a year, with the initial suspension happening last January and the verdict of Facebook only handed out now. Also, Facebook notes that it would not give a permanent ban like what Twitter did; instead, impose a rather lengthy suspension and then reevaluate if the former president would still be a danger to his followers and the public.

Clegg highlighted that Trump praised those who stormed the Capitol last January, which led to several deaths of five people, including a policeman.

Politicians To Follow Same Fate If Found to Misuse Their Accounts

Facebook calls this the "Heightened Punishments for Public Figures." It would be intended for public personalities, including politicians with access and privileges to their social media accounts. The punishment would span for as little as one month to the maximum sentence of two years, as what Trump has initially received. After which, if the account holder still poses a threat or violates another policy that threatens public safety or the like, they would get a permanent suspension.

Facebook's policy for politicians might still give them a chance at redemption for their accounts. Still, the company notes that if they misuse it, they will not choose other than to impose their removal from the public feed.

Related Article: EU and UK Start First Antitrust Investigation on Facebook and its Control on Classified Ads

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Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Microsoft Bing's "Tank Man" search results were unavailable earlier today, and it has caused the company massive backlash against them because of alleged "censorship" of the company of the historic photo. However, Microsoft has clarified the issue, saying it was "human error," and that the company aims to bring it back amidst the high search for the Chinese Tiananmen Square Protest.

Microsoft Bing's 'Tank Man'

It seems that people still use Microsoft Bing's search engine after all, especially as the recent commemoration of China's Tiananmen Square massacre that happened on June 4, 1989, was browsed on the platform. However, users were shocked in finding out that Bing shows other photo results of tanks or a "man and tank," opposing that of "Tank Man."

Users all over social media are calling Microsoft and Bing "outrageous" for allegedly censoring "Tank Man" and making him unsearchable via the platform amidst this commemoration of the event.

However, this was shortly clarified by Microsoft as a "human error" and that it did not intently remove the entire digital footprint of "Tank Man" off Bing's website.

Currently, searching "Tank Man" in Bing will yield the results that people were searching for, showing the photo of the brave man and the icon which made him a historical figure in China's fight for democracy. Microsoft said that the issue had been resolved and that it did not mean any disrespect for the commemoration in the unsearchable image of the famous man.

Bing's search engine is still a massively-used platform off Microsoft's products, especially as it is the frontline and default engine for Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge, both also owned by the company.

Outrageous: on the anniversary of the murderous Tiananmen Square crackdown, Microsoft's Bing search engine suddenly won't return any images if you search for "tank man," the iconic photo. I just tried. Hard to believe this is an inadvertent error. https://t.co/LMIrpbnUnu pic.twitter.com/cPG3XV3tBI  Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) June 4, 2021

Read Also: Microsoft Windows June 24: New OS To Be Unveiled At Month's End for PCs-Will it Be Windows 11?

Who is 'Tank Man'?

China's Tiananmen Square is a known protest against the government for a "democracy" cry of its citizens, which pushed a man to stand in front of the tanks, perceived as him trying to stop it from moving forward. This gave birth to "Tank Man," an internet sensation and historical figure that became a symbol for democratic rights all over the world.

"Tank Man" is still an unnamed, faceless person on the internet who has awed a lot of users from all over the world, giving him only a moniker or nickname to celebrate his heroic actions. Despite this protest, China is currently known to still embrace communism, with President Xi Jinping also known to be the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party or CCP.

Related Article: Microsoft Edge is Taking Over Internet Explorer As 27-Year-Old Browser Goes Extinct Next Year

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
NASA confirms that the first solar eclipse for this year will come on Thursday, June 10 in the morning. The space agency says that not all parts of the world could witness the fiery ring that shows the moon blocking the sun.

According to the team, you could only sky gaze at the "ring of fire" solar eclipse if you are from some parts of Canada, Northern Russia, and Greenland. By next week, the annular eclipse will be the next astronomical discovery for astronomy-savvy people.

Exact Schedule for the 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse Schedule

The solar eclipse could only be limited to some viewers, but the partial solar eclipse (where the moon partially covers the Sun's disk) on the other parts of the world could be seen from other regions from the Northern Hemisphere. These places include portions of Canada, parts of Northern Alaska, Eastern United States, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, and northern Africa.

On the other hand, the solar eclipse involves an activity where the moon blocks nearly the whole light coming from the sun. Take note that during the annular eclipse, the distance of the moon from the Earth is far but it's enough to block some parts of the big star.

When the moon moves forward to the sun, the ring or the annulus would appear visible from the earth. These are the sun's outer edges during the process.

According to Livescience's report on Saturday, June 5, the duration of the annular solar eclipse will be nearly around 100 minutes. It would begin its journey in Ontario, Canada during sunrise.

The scenario will be brought northward en route to the actual eclipse in Greenland (6:41 a.m. EDT; 11:41 GMT) at around 8:41 AM local time. In the northern part of the country, you could see it at 10:41 UTC before it ends in northeastern Siberia during the sunset, EarthSky wrote.

Read Also: This Week To End With A Total Solar Eclipse

That's the time when the moon transitions to block 89% of the sun, and this is where the "ring of fire" phase happens. The event is said to end after three minutes and 51 seconds at each point on its journey.

In science, the penumbra, the shadow's lighter outer part, is the one that covers the sun. When the moon moves past the sun, the shadow will resemble a big bite of the food you eat.

For the US residents, the best time to stargaze for the "ring of fire" solar eclipse is before, during, and after the sunrise. However, NASA said that it would depend on your location and this would be more visible to those who reside from Northern, Midwest, Northeast, or Southeast Alaska.

In another report by Space.com, the maximum eclipse in New York will be staged at 5:32 AM EDT. For skywatchers in the UK and Ireland, you could potentially see 38% of the sun during the partial eclipse at around 11 AM local time.

How to Safely Watch the 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse on June 10?

Stargazing an unusual solar eclipse set-up could be exciting but experts say that there are precautions for this astronomical watching. If you are completely unguarded in your eye during the viewing, the light could possibly damage your eyes. This is safe ONLY during the ENTIRE blocking of the moon to the sun in short moments.

Looking directly at the eclipse would harm your eyes, that's why you will need to wear eye protection like sunglasses. Specifically, what we recommend wearing for the users is the special eclipse glasses designed for solar eclipse viewing. You can make a homemade tool through the colander or spaghetti strainer.

If you want to virtually experience watching the "ring of fire" solar eclipse in your home, just go to the Virtual Telescope Project and start watching at around 5:30 AM EDT (9:30 UTC).

If you cannot watch the solar eclipse this week, there will be another set of viewing on Dec.4. However, the December total solar eclipse could only be visible from people living in Southern Africa (South Africa and Namibia) and Antarctica. They could also survey the partial solar eclipse during that time.

Related Article: Here's How To Witness The Total Solar Eclipse While Inside Your House

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are teaming up to replace a retiring coal power plant in Wyoming, the top coal-producing state in the U.S., with new nuclear tech.

Companies of the two billionaires are collaborating for the ambitious energy project.

Gates' TerraPower and Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway-owned power company, Pacific Corporation, will be involved in the next-generation nuclear tech.

Bill Gates and Clean Energy

It is not new for the Microsoft co-founder to be involved in green energy. On February 16, Gates even explained how he plans to save the world through innovation. The latest move with Warren Buffett could be another to do just that.

Wayback 2015, on November 27, the business magnate also spearheaded the "largest clean energy research." It only shows that the effort of Gates when it comes to greener power is not a new endeavor -- his commitment to it date years ago.

Warren Buffet and Energy Makeover

On the other hand, the Berkshire Hataway CEO has been campaigning for the urgent need for an energy makeover. Although the endeavor is significantly more expensive than the current infrastructure, he says that it is essential.

According to Inside Climate News, Buffett wants a systematized transition to energy with less carbon footprint. Additionally, the CEO also pushes for the construction of more interstate power lines.

Read Also: Warren Buffett 'Alright' with Vice Chairman Saying He's 'Disgusted' With Cryptocurrency Success

'Game-Changer' Nuclear Tech in Wyoming

The nuclear project of both Gates and Buffett will be powered by a Natrium reactor. The new tech was made possible by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, the New York Post reported.

According to Gates, who recently broke the headlines due to a high-profile divorce, the Natrium reactor is both more fuel-efficient and cost-effective than existing nuclear tech. Not to mention that the CEO also claimed that it is safer as well.

Gates, who was seen wearing his wedding ring during the announcement video, said that the Natrium is "a game-changer for the energy industry."

Alongside the involvement of the two billionaires, the Department of Energy will also fund the 500-megawatt producing power plant. In addition, Wyoming Governor, Mark Gordon, said that nuclear energy is in fact part of his vision for the state that produces most of the coal energy in the U.S.

Moreover, the site of the ambitious energy project in Wyoming will officially be announced before the 2021 ends.

Related Article: Bill Gates Resignation Allegedly Came Before Investigation Into Relationship with Microsoft Employee Finished

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 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
NASA's new chief, Bill Nelson, claimed that there would be a more serious space race if Russia decides to leave ISS (International Space Station). As of the moment, Russia is still included in the countries that are working in the giant space station.

The United States space agency can benefit a mutually beneficial relationship with Russia for decades. Their relationship with each other has served as a powerful symbol of cooperation between the West and East in the post-Cold War era.

However, some experts claimed that this could change soon once Russia stops working in the ISS and creates its independent space department.

Russia announced that it plans to leave the International Space Station this coming 2024, which is in favor of operating an independent space station.

To give you more idea, here are other details of Russia's future plans and their possible effects.

NASA Worries About Russia Leaving ISS

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently worried about Russia's announcement since the international space agency's chief claims it could lead to a more serious space race.

Also Read: NASA Says 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse to be Viewable in Select Regions--How to Watch it Safely on June 10

Nelson said that the presence of Russia is currently important to NASA. Once the country decided to move out, it will be very bad news.

"If Russia starts just depending on China, then, I expect we would have a whole new race to the moon with China and Russia against the US," said Nelson via CNN Business.

"For decades, upwards now of 45 plus years [we've cooperated with] Russians in space, and I want that cooperation to continue," added NASA's chief.

Although this is the case, Nelson said that many Russian government officials are not agreeing with the idea of Russia leaving the ISS.

NASA's Future Plans

New space agencies are now making their efforts to achieve the level of NASA. These include Blue Origin and Elon Musk's independent space agency, SpaceX.

However, NASA continues to prove that it is still the top space agency since various countries are working with it. Astronomy Now reported that the international space group plans to return to Venus with two new probes. But, this would still take around 30 years.

For more news updates about NASA and other related stories, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: NASA's Juno Will Have a Chance to Peek Into Jupiter's Moon - Ganymede

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Samsung's alleged Sam virtual assistant is supposedly one of the most popular smartphone features right now. It all started after various people were able to grab the photos developed by Lightfarm.

Sure I want to draw #SamsungSam , but I'm on a short hiatus due to wrist pain 

Have some references I found on the now archived Lightfarm project page pic.twitter.com/89x6Smfk8M  SuperSatanSus (@SuperSatanSon) June 1, 2021

Because of this, some leakers and other sources published Samsung's Sam on the internet. However, is her 3D appearance real, or is it just a hoax?



One of the popular Samsung leakers claimed that people should stop waiting for her since the actual Sam could not arrive.

"Okay, so how many of you still believe that this Sam Virtual Assistant is actually a thing?" said Twitter user @sondesix.

"Wake up before I bonk your a**," added the Samsung leaker.

As of the moment, his latest tweet was able to generate various comments from Samsung Sam's fans. One of them even said that if the 3D virtual design of the mobile assistant will not arrive, it will be bad news.

Samsung Sam's 3D Appearance Is Not Official

According to Polygon's latest report, the leaked images of Samsung's 3D virtual assistant are not official. This design was actually developed and polished by Lightfarm, a popular design firm.

Sure I want to draw #SamsungSam , but I'm on a short hiatus due to wrist pain 

Have some references I found on the now archived Lightfarm project page pic.twitter.com/89x6Smfk8M  SuperSatanSus (@SuperSatanSon) June 1, 2021

Also Read: Samsung's Sam 3D Virtual Assistant is Now Taking Over the Internet, Will She Replace Bixby?

Lightfarm confirmed that it made the 3D renders of Sam for one of the marketing companies owned by Samsung. However, the giant smartphone developer didn't use the female version of Sam.

Since Samsung did not incorporate Lightfarm's work into any kind of campaign, the digital design firm decided to remove it from its official website.

But, since some people and other popular leakers were able to get their own copies, the 3D appearance of the popular virtual assistant is still invading the internet.

Is Sam Also Bixby?

Screen Rant reported that Sam and Bixby are two different virtual assistants. Some rumors and other reliable sources also claimed that Sam is not the replacement of Samsung.

The tech giant firm confirmed that the new Samantha Samsung is not developed to replace its current virtual assistant. iPhone's competitor added that Sam is actually a chatbot of the Samsung Service team.

Samsung explained Sam works via one of the popular social media platforms, such as Facebook Messenger. The company added that this chatbot is an auto-respond to consumer questions and queries.

For more news updates about Samsung's Sam and other related stories, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Samsung Sam Virtual Assistant: Twitch Streamer Vylerria Cosplays the Viral VR Assistant & Here's How to Install Her

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Madisonville, KY (42431)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 92F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low around 65F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
The young man accused of pulling the trigger in a homicide Thursday on Marque Ann Drive told police he feared for his life during an argument with the victim and acted accordingly.

But investigators later concluded the victim was unarmed and posed no real threat, according to a police report.

The shooting left Kelvin Robinson Jr., 25, dead from multiple bullet wounds.

Police and neighbors say the gunshots followed an argument involving a group of people in the 1600 block of North Marque Ann Drive, a residential street between Florida Boulevard and South Choctaw Drive east of Sherwood Forest.

After the situation escalated into gunfire, Baton Rouge police responded to the scene late morning Thursday and quickly detained witnesses for questioning. They later arrested L'Vontre Humphrey, 26, who faces a count of second-degree murder.

Humphrey told detectives he saw Robinson approaching his car when he got out and started shooting, according to a probable cause report. When asked why he pulled the trigger, Humphrey said he feared for his life, detectives wrote.

When asked why he didn't leave the scene instead, he said he didn't know, the report says. He also said he never saw Robinson with a firearm.

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"Based upon several witness statements, including defendant's statement, and evidence gathered from the scene, detectives learned that the victim was not armed at the time he was shot and did not pose an immediate threat to the defendant," detectives wrote.

The report includes few other details, including why the two men started arguing.

But Humphrey's grandmother, 64-year-old Carolyn Haymond, said Thursday that the shooting appeared to be the culmination of a long-simmering feud involving her granddaughter  who lives at the Marque Ann complex  and another woman. She said somehow her grandson also got involved, though she believed he was the intended target.

Baton Rouge police said officers had recently been patrolling the area, which is considered prone to violence based on past crime data. In fact, a patrolling officer had seen the group of people gathering and arguing sometime before the shooting.

The group briefly dispersed after seeing the officer. Having firsthand information about the circumstances gave police a head start on investigating the incident and interviewing witnesses, officials said.

The shooting points to a couple recent trends: more gun violence during daytime and more minor disputes escalating into senseless tragedy, BRPD Chief Murphy Paul mentioned during an interview Thursday afternoon.

Robinson is the fifth person shot to death in Baton Rouge this week amid a prolonged spike in murders that started last year.

Advocate staff writer Lara Nicholson contributed to this report.
Nine months after a Hammond mans mysterious disappearance, police are trying to find someone accused of impeding the investigation into his whereabouts.

Christie BeBe McKnight, 30, is wanted by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office on an outstanding warrant for obstruction of justice in the ongoing search for 22-year-old Jonathan Tucker, who was last seen leaving his home on Sept. 7.

Christie "BeBe" McKnight Christie "BeBe" McKnight, 30, is wanted on an outstanding warrant for obstruction of justice.

Police suspect foul play.

McKnight has been entered into a national database as a wanted person. Police believe she fled to Texas  possibly to somewhere in or around Houston or Katy.

TPSO urges anyone who knows where to find McKnight to call Det. Dale Athmann at (985) 902-2032.

Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at (800) 554-5245.
A vacant apartment fire at 2666 Balis Drive Friday night has been ruled as arson, the Baton Rouge Fire Department said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene around 10 pm and found several separate fires burning throughout the complex, BRFD said.

Damages are estimated to be around $50,000.

+6 In Marque Ann Drive homicide, victim was unarmed, but alleged gunman claims he shot out of fear The young man accused of pulling the trigger in a homicide Thursday on Marque Ann Drive told police he feared for his life during an argument 

Most of the fires were put out before they could spread, officials said. The incident was ruled under control by around 10:20 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call fire investigators at 225-354-1419.
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Will Harrell, a criminal justice warrior at the State Capitol, scolded himself last week for thinking he saw a sea change in the traditional tough-on-crime stance that has made Louisiana a world leader for incarcerating its population. What he really had seen was a brief calm in the eye of the storm.

Still, Harrell, a lawyer for Voice of the Experienced, says the respite indicates that the Legislature is moving past the era of lock em up and throw away the key laws.

Legislation that tweaks the way Louisiana punishes criminal offenders moved in relative obscurity during a session where attention focused on Democrats refusing to help change the states taxing system as long as a legislator who alluded to the good of slavery remained chair of the House Education committee.

In 2017, Gov. John Bel Edwards signed into law a comprehensive criminal justice revamp aimed at reducing the number of inmates serving long prison terms. That system cost nearly $1 billion a year, and did little more than create conditions that increased the likelihood of people returning to prison shortly after release. Louisianas incarceration rate has been dropping since, but the state still has the highest rate in the nation and much of the world with 680 per 100,000 residents imprisoned, according to the Sentencing Project, a national advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Thats more than Rwanda (511), more than Cuba (510), more than Russia and Nicaragua put together.

Voice of the Experienced is a New Orleans-based group of formerly incarcerated people whose advocates are seen by the dozens in blue VOTE T-shirts at committee hearings and in the halls outside the chambers. Theyre pushing to eliminate inconsistencies in laws, mostly enacted during the 1980s and 1990s War on Crime, that keep Louisianas incarceration rates high.

One key bill, after much negotiation and many iterations, would turn death during illegal drug use from second-degree murder to manslaughter, except for distributors of certain drugs. Currently, if one junkie shares his needle with another who dies of an overdose, addict is classed as a second-degree murderer. The new law would expose him to a lesser sentence under manslaughter charges.

+2 Most Louisiana voters support criminal justice reform to cut costs, allow redemption, poll says Despite bipartisan efforts in 2017 to reduce the state prison population, Louisiana remains the incarceration capital of America with the most

Republicans helped advance that measure, House Bill 158, then summarily rejected Senate Bill 69, which would expand those definitions. SB69's definition can mean one kid sharing his Adderall  prescribed to address attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD  with a friend who dies can face life in prison.

Buoyed by support from some GOP House members and district attorneys, VOTE didnt lean into getting HB158 through the House. Harrell said he saw his mistake as the green voting machine lights switched to red. Most lawmakers didnt know about the bill but read second degree murder in the title and saw visions of campaign attack ads featuring their faces letting convicted killers loose to prey on Louisiana children. Soon after HB158 died, out came Senate Bill 69 for a second attempt. SB69 is scheduled for a House vote on Monday.

Still, the criminal justice revamp movement had some significant wins, Harrell said. One of the biggest was delivered last week to Gov. John Bel Edwards and would open parole as an option for more than a thousand lifers in the states penitentiaries.

House Bill 145 would align various legislative attempts over the years at showing tough-on-crime creds, but basically ended up levying different sentences and parole eligibilities for the same crime depending on when the person was convicted during the past three decades.

In 1990, the Legislature provided parole eligibility for people sentenced to at least 30 years who had served 20 years and had reached the age of 45. It's called the 20/45 law. That lasted until 1995 when a new law changed good time parole eligibility for crimes of violence. Then in 2008, the law was changed again by removing those convicted of armed robbery from 20/45 eligibility.

+3 More than 1 in 10 Louisiana prisoners are serving life without parole, highest rate in the U.S. When a series of bipartisan criminal justice reforms became law in 2017, state lawmakers achieved their goal of reducing the prison population

Only one House member voted against the final version of HB145s goal of bringing consistency to the laws.

These young Republicans arent as vested in that whole tough-on-crime stuff as some of the older guys are, Harrell said.

Many of the young Republicans, particularly in the House, were children during the War on Crime era that filled up prisons. They see its too expensive. It doesnt address the real problem, addiction, and it hasnt worked, Harrell said.
A senior staffer to independent MP Craig Kelly has been granted bail to return to his job and will fight allegations he indecently assaulted and inappropriately touched three women and a teenage girl in Sydneys south.

Mr Kellys chief of staff Frank Zumbo, 53, was arrested at Sutherland police station and charged on Friday night after a lengthy investigation. He is pleading not guilty to all charges against him.

Frank Zumbo was a vounteer and staff member for Craig Kelly. Credit:SMH

NSW Police said in a statement that Mr Zumbo allegedly sexually touched and indecently assaulted three women, aged 23, 26, 27, and a 16-year-old girl on multiple occasions between 2014 and 2020.

Mr Zumbo, from Maroubra, was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual touching of another person, seven counts of aggravated indecent assault and nine counts of common assault.
Victorian health authorities now doubt a family from Melbourne contracted COVID-19 while holidaying in NSW, with the hotel quarantine system believed to be the likely source of the Delta variant outbreak.

The Doherty Institutes Sharon Lewin on Saturday said the most likely source of the Delta variant outbreak was the hotel quarantine system, not an unknown source in the community in NSW.

Professor Sharon Lewin of the Doherty Institute. Credit: Asanka Ratnayake / Getty Images

My strong hypothesis is that its coming through an importation from overseas, through our quarantine hotels - that would be the most likely, Professor Lewin said. The Doherty Institute is responsible for genomic sequencing of every positive coronavirus case in Victoria.

The strain  a more infectious Delta variant originating in India  was detected in a family of four who returned to Victoria after visiting Jervis Bay and Goulburn between May 19 and 24.
She said the inability to detect clear DNA sequencing results for approximately 20 per cent of hotel quarantine cases meant she could not be sure it was a hotel leak. Inconclusive genomic results can occurs for reasons, including the person not being infectious at the time of the genomic test. The Doherty Institute conducts genomic sequencing for each positive case and uploads data into a national system that is used to find links between cases picked up in the community. My strong hypothesis is that its coming through an importation from overseas, through our quarantine hotels, that would be the most likely, Professor Lewin said. Professor Sutton said Victorian authorities were chasing some of the guests among the approximately 20 per cent who could not be fully sequenced to check if they had crossed over with any of the potential acquisition sites to the first Delta case detected in West Melbourne. Professor Sutton said there were just a handful of these Delta cases  probably two or three  because authorities had been able to rule out other cases who had been staying with a family member whose case of coronavirus had undergone effective sequencing. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said no evidence suggested the Melbourne family picked the virus up in NSW, saying NSWs platinum-level health authorities were conducting the necessary double and triple-checks to extinguish the possibility of NSW-based hotel leak.

Doherty Institute director Sharon Lewin. Credit:Jason South At this point theres nothing to indicate whatsoever that the Victorian family that visited Jervis Bay have any connection to any hotel quarantine cases, he told The Age. In response, Professor Sutton said Victorian authorities could equally say there was yet to be any evidence the cluster had originated from a Victorian hotel. They wouldnt say its definitely in Victoria and it cant possibly come from anywhere else. In that sense, were open to any possibility, he said. Diplomats who have been able to quarantine at their home have also been flagged as a potential source of the variant. Jervis Bay is three hours drive from Canberra, where many diplomats reside. What I cant answer is whether every diplomat who has done quarantine at home has had all the testing thats required, said Professor Sutton.

Five cases were announced on Saturday, including two linked to the Delta cluster, one family member of a COVID-positive aged care worker and two linked to the Craigieburn shopping centre, where health officials believe stranger-to-stranger transmission is occurring. Health authorities said the first few days of the week would be critical to determining whether the extended lockdown ended on time, with COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar saying it remains to be seen whether the Delta outbreak had seeded beyond the ring of primary contacts. Professor Sutton said it would not necessarily delay the lockdown timeline if officials could not find the origin of the Delta outbreak, so long as authorities were confident high testing levels and thorough contact tracing had snuffed out the chains of transmission. Professor Sutton said while contact tracing was occurring rapidly, the concern for the coming next four to five days is that there might be other cases out there that havent been discovered. Both Professor Lewin and Professor Sutton agreed it was highly improbable the virus had been circulated for weeks or months because a positive case would have been expected to turn up in hospital.

Professor Sutton said vaccination of returned travellers was now under discussion, with the nations vaccine expert group ATAGI set to give advice on the immune benefits of the practice within the next week. But he cautioned the practice could be pretty tricky logistically. You wouldnt want to do it in hotel quarantine, where you have to observe someone for 15 minutes after their jab, with the door open to the corridor. The alternative is to do it outdoors, or in a big open space at the airport, he said. The protection would kick in towards the end of quarantine so its not worthless  So [its] a lot of work for moderate benefit, and hard to know actually where the balance of risks lie there. The initial recent cluster of coronavirus in Victoria was first detected in early May, and has been traced back to a breach of South Australian hotel quarantine. The roots of the second outbreak, announced on Friday and centred around two families from North Melbourne Primary School, are yet to be determined. Deakin University epidemiology chair Professor Catherine Bennett said if the first case to acquire symptoms, on May 25, got infected five to six days earlier that put the transmission around the time the family left Melbourne and arrived in NSW.

So either place is in the time frame, she said. Loading Of the five cases announced on Saturday, three were already in isolation and pose minimal risk. Two were linked to a Craigieburn shopping centre, where authorities believe fleeting transmission has been occurring, prompting consideration of shutting the centre. Six exposure sites in Craigieburn were listed on Saturday. One of the two cases performed cleaning at a Probuild construction site in Melbournes Queen Street, which has been shut down, sending 170 workers into isolation. The other cases include a second son in the family believed to have been infected by the family that travelled to Jervis Bay. A workplace contact of the travelling family has also been infected, taking the Delta cluster to nine. Exposure sites linked to Delta cases have been listed in the city and inner-north and west of Melbourne. There are about 340 close contacts related to the cluster of nine, 82 per cent of whom have returned negative tests.
When 10 Melbourne postcodes were snipped off from the greater metro area and locked down last June, single mum and school counsellor Daniela Mezinec sprang into action.

Armed with an iPhone, a big heart and a stack of goodwill for her comrades indoors, she created an online self-help Facebook group, then named Melbourne Lockdown Support Group to channel fun, support and good vibes and boost her communitys mental health.

School teacher, counsellor and single mum Daniela Mezinec started Melbourne Lockdown Support 4.0 on Facebook, and saw it bloom into an amateur self-help community. Credit:Simon Schluter

What became a close-knit group attracted a highly-engaged virtual community, sharing home-spun wellbeing tips, humour and distractions, and kept going after lockdown ended, rebooted as Melbourne Support After Lockdown. It has just been rebranded Melbourne Lockdown Support Group 4.0, in honour of the need for uplifting influences in the latest situation.

Late Saturday, members were being encouraged to participate in Australias Greatest Singalong on SBS (one group member posted a poll asking which is Australias best singalong song and early favourites were the Seekers classic I Am Australian and John Farnhams Youre the Voice), or to join a virtual house music dance party.
Before we go too far, let me lay down some markers.

If you have been eligible, but have simply not bothered to get the jab, you have disqualified yourself from whinging about lockdown. You have not done the one thing you can do to contribute to communal safety.

Safety first: People queue up for COVID-19 vaccination at the Melbourne convention centre. Credit:Eddie Jim

If you refuse vaccination, you forfeit your place in the recovery. No jab, no say.

Annoyed at standing in a queue for a few hours? People think nothing of doing that for football final tickets or to see their favourite band, so why the whining when it helps save lives?

If you walk around with a mask over just your mouth but not your nose, I decline any conversation about how annoying lockdown is. You are not taking the simplest precaution yourself. Likewise, anyone who still refuses to mask on public transport.
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Conway School Board to discuss reorganization

The Conway Public Schools (CPSD) Board of Education will vote on whether to approve a resolution to appoint Zone 3 board member Diane Robinson as the boards Primary Disbursing Officer at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, per an agenda provided to the Log Cabin.

The vote, a procedural one as Tuesdays meeting is the first board meeting since the May election in which Robinson retained her seat on the board unopposed, is part of a discussion of board reorganization, another procedural piece of business after a school board election.

Board members will also vote to approve nine resolutions to enter into contracts with various district employees and businesses for services. The nine contracts require a vote because they involve current employees and members of their families. Per the agenda, all contracts up for a vote would begin on July 1 and end in June 2023.

Other business on the docket for Tuesday involve an update on COVID-19 in the wake of the end of CPSDs school year and Superintendent Greg Murrys regular report. Murrys report is of note because Tuesday will be his final board meeting ahead of his retirement effective on June 30.

Unlike previous meetings over the past year, board members will convene Tuesday night at the CPSD Administration Building on 2220 Prince St. at 6 p.m.

Prior to June, the school board had held its meetings at the Conway High School Lecture Hall to accommodate for social distancing and other then-required COVID-19 protocols and procedures.
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Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of COVID-19, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

3 Points the Media Is Still Getting Wrong About Wuhan Lab Theory, and the Documents to Prove It

Commentary

Thanks to some confusing verbal gymnastics by Dr. Anthony Fauci, some in the media are giving the impression that theres no proof that U.S. tax money funded gain-of-function research, or that perhaps the research didnt qualify as gain-of-function. However, the evidence on this point is clear-cut.

1. US taxpayer money did go to controversial gain-of-function research.

A 2015 published study specifically discloses that the research is gain-of-function research that took bat coronavirus that was harmless to peopleand made it infectious in humans. The study further states that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) approved continuation of the research, even amid a general ban on such studies. (See study excerpt below.)

Excerpt from controversial 2015 gain-of-function study funded by NIH and approved to continue beyond publication date. (Screenshot via Nature.com)

The research was conducted by numerous U.S. scientists, including Ralph Baric at the University of North Carolina, with the lead virologist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Shi Zhengli. (See study authors below.)

Excerpt from controversial 2015 gain-of-function study funded by NIH and approved to continue beyond publication date. (Screenshot via Nature.com)

2. The gain-of-function research with China not only received US support and money through the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, but also directly.

Many media reports refer to several hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax money sent from the NIH to the Wuhan lab via the New York-based nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance. However, research with the lab, and the lab itself, received significant additional U.S. support, including:

Grants directly from the NIH.

Grants directly from Faucis National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (See grant numbers highlighted below.)

Annotated excerpt from controversial 2015 gain-of-function study funded by NIH and approved to continue beyond publication date. (Screenshot via Nature.com)

Additional funds from EcoHealth Alliance that were initially undisclosed. (See correction to the study below.)

Excerpt from a correction issued on the controversial 2015 gain-of-function study. (Screenshot via Nature.com)

Assistance from the University of Texas. (See excerpt from study below.)

Resources from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (See study disclosure below.)

3. The Chinese Wuhan lab received direct US support in addition to the indirect grants from EcoHealth Alliance.

State Department cables from January 2018 detail assistance from the University of Texas Medical Branch, including university researchers  helping train technicians who work in the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab. The Texas lab is supported by Faucis National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under NIH. (See excerpt from cable below.)

Excerpt from State Department cables from January 2018. (Screenshot via Washington Post)

Sharyl Attkisson is the New York Times bestselling author of Slanted, a five-time Emmy Award winner, and the host of Sinclairs national investigative television program Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.

Correction: A previous version of this article inaccurately cited media as reporting an incorrect figure for the amount of tax money sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Epoch Times regrets the error.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
(L-R) Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.) in file photos. (Al Drago/File/Pool via Reuters); (Kevin Dietsch/File/Pool via Reuters); (Tasos Katopodis/File/Pool via Reuters)

3 US Senators to Visit Taiwan, Trip Likely to Irritate Chinese Regime

TAIPEIThree U.S. senators will visit Taiwan on Sunday and will meet President Tsai Ing-wen to discuss security and other issues, Taiwans government and the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei said on Saturday, a trip that will likely irritate the Chinese regime in Beijing.

The United States, like most countries, maintains unofficial diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island, which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants to unite with the mainland under its communist rule. The United States remains the democratic islands most important international backer and supplier of arms for its defense.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.) of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will visit the island on Sunday as part of a larger trip to the Indo-Pacific region, the American Institute in Taiwan said.

Flags of Taiwan and the United States are placed for a meeting between U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce speaks and with Su Chia-chyuan, President of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 27, 2018. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

The bipartisan congressional delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other significant issues of mutual interest, it added.

Taiwans presidential office said Tsai would meet the three at Taipeis downtown Songshan airport on Sunday morning, and expressed thanks for the show of support, especially at a time when the island is also dealing with its own rise in COVID-19 cases.

Taiwan has also complained about the CCP trying to block the island from accessing vaccines internationally, which Beijing has denied.

In recent months, the CCP has increased pressure on democratically-ruled Taiwan as it continues to advertise its intention to invade and take control, including regularly flying military aircraft into Taiwans air defense zone.

China routinely denounces visits of foreign officials to Taiwan, calling them an interference in Chinas internal affairs under the CCPs One-China policy, which is contested by Taiwan.

By Ben Blanchard. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
Melody Black, from Minnesota, becomes emotional as she visits a memorial setup near the U.S. Capitol Building for Ashli Babbitt who was killed in the building the day prior, in Washington on Jan. 7, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Ashli Babbitts Family Sues to Learn Identity of Officer Who Shot Her

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is being sued by the family of Ashli Babbitt to learn the identity of the law enforcement officer who fatally shot her in Washington on Jan. 6.

In a seven-page document filed last week in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, relative Aaron Babbitt asked a judge to compel the MPD, Washingtons police force, to search for and hand over records he sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The records include video footage of the shooting of Ashli Babbitt inside the U.S. Capitol, documents that identify the officer who shot her, and police training records of said officer.

The plaintiff submitted the request on April 21 and the MPD acknowledged receipt on the same day, according to the lawsuit. But as of June 4, the department has failed to produce the requested records or demonstrate that its lawfully exempt from having to produce them.

Under Washington code, the MPD was required to do one or the other within 15 business days, or by May 12.

Alleging a FOIA violation, Aaron Babbitt is asking the court through his lawyer, Terrell Roberts, to order the MPD to conduct searches for all the records requested and order the defendants to produce by a certain date all nonexempt records, and asks the court to block the police agency from continuing to withhold the records.

The lawsuit should be merged with a similar action filed by the watchdog group Judicial Watch, the filing states.

An MPD spokeswoman told The Epoch Times in an email that the department doesnt comment on pending litigation.

The U.S. Capitol Police and the law firm representing the officer who shot Babbitt didnt return requests for comment.

An undated social media selfie photo shows Ashley Babbitt, also spelled Ashli. (Ashli Babbitt/Twitter)

The officer who killed Babbitt works for the U.S. Capitol Police, according to federal officials. The Department of Justice in April said prosecutors decided not to pursue charges against the officer because officials determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.

The officer, through his attorneys, has defended his actions, which were captured on video footage in the chaos that ensued when various groups breached the Capitol on Jan. 6. The officer claims he shouted at Babbitt to stop as she attempted to climb through a broken window into the Speakers Lobby, adjacent to the House chamber, but Roberts has alleged theres no evidence of that having happened.

The new action is part of an effort to collect records before filing a lawsuit asserting that the officer violated Babbitts constitutional rights, Roberts told The Epoch Times.

Its commonly done in cases like this where you can get access to police records and things like that through FOIA actions, he said.

The complication here is that the Capitol Police are not subject to FOIA. However, they used the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia to conduct their investigation. In other words, the United States Attorneys Office did a criminal investigation and relied upon the Metropolitan Police Department to conduct their factual investigation. And so now that theyve decided against bringing charges, I am going to seek any kind of records that they may have collected in their investigation, including any records which identify the officer.

Theres currently no timeline for bringing the lawsuit asserting constitutional violations.

A scheduling conference in the new lawsuit is slated to take place on Sept. 3, according to court records. Superior Court Judge Florence Pan is scheduled to hear the case.
Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney, Australia on May 29, 2021. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)

Australian Labor Leader Anthony Albanese Makes Queensland Vote Pitch

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has addressed the Queensland ALP state conference in Brisbane, with less than a year to the next election.

Albanese made a pitch for regional and city votes in addressing the Queensland Labor conference.

With an election due in under 12 months, the federal Labor leader has made the Sunshine State a focus of attention.

In 2019, the party won only six seats in Queensland, down two, to the Liberal National Partys 23.

On Labors radar for the next poll are the seats of Longman, Leichhardt, Dickson, Brisbane, Flynn, Bowman, Capricornia, and Dawson.

Albanese has told Labors Queensland faithful the Morrison government has forgotten their state, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk often having to step up to fill the void.

He cited the example of the proposal to build a quarantine facility at Toowombas Wellcamp Airport, which the prime minister has argued does not stack up.

We see a real plan for quarantine dismissed without examinationeven though it would make perfect sense to build a dedicated quarantine facility in Queensland. Scott Morrisons response to the proposal was to pick a fight, he said on Saturday.

However, the plan for the site near Wellcamp airport does not meet the requirement of proximity to an international airport, nor is it close to existing hotel quarantine venues.

The proposed site, about 150km from Brisbane, is also considered to be too far from a tertiary hospital.

Queenslands proposal is believed to have been scant on detail compared to an 80-page comprehensive document from Victoria, which signed an MOU with Morrison this week for their own purpose-built facility.

Albanese says the pandemic offers a chance to build back stronger, including boosting public service roles in regional areas, improving health and education services and growing both traditional and new industries.

Having faced a backlash in regional seats at the last election over climate and energy policy, Labor is fine-tuning its message on coal and mining more broadly.

We believe in ensuring Queenslands traditional industries have a future, Albanese said.

Mining, for example, makes up almost 12 percent of Queenslands economy.

Queenslands huge coal and bauxite reserves are of such high quality, they areand will remainhighly sought overseas.

But we also know its crucial to back emerging industries. And in many cases, the new industries are being supported by our traditional ones.

For example, it takes more than 200 tonnes of metallurgical coal to produce one wind turbine.

Palaszczuk earlier told the conference a regional quarantine centre could be built right now with planes landing next door if only the prime minister was willing to say whether he supported the move or not.

We are not proposing construction of an international space station, she said.

These are reasonably basic structures but they can provide the safety and the certainty our country needs.

The premier said Queensland was prioritising residential aged care and disability workers at vaccination hubs, with over 3,000 already registered.

There were 18 sites open on Saturday and together with existing hospital clinics, it would mean more places where people aged 40 to 49 can register to get Pfizer jabs.

Palaszczuk also promised the June 15 state budget would focus on more jobs, more industries, more manufacturing and more Queensland made products.

By Paul Osborne
A man shoots an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle during a demonstration at the Angeles Shooting Ranges in Pacoima, Calif., on May 20, 2019. (Augustin Paullier/AFP via Getty Images)

Californias Assault Weapons Ban Violates Second Amendment: Judge

Californias ban on so-called assault weapons violates the Second Amendment, a federal judge ruled on June 4.

The state government, through the law, bans an entire class of very popular hardwarefirearms that are lawful under federal law and under the laws of most states and that are commonly held by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in his 94-page ruling in Miller et al. v. Bonta et al.

Under no level of heightened scrutiny can the law survive.

California laws prohibit the manufacture, use, or sale of an assault weapon, defined as a semiautomatic rifle with certain characteristics such as a fixed magazine that has the capacity to hold more than 10 rounds. People who violate the laws can be charged with a felony or a misdemeanor and face prison sentences of up to eight years.

James Miller, a California resident who has a concealed carry permit, sued the states top law enforcement official in 2019 over the laws, alleging they violate his Second Amendment rights.

Plaintiff Miller seeks to use his lawfully acquired large-capacity magazine(s) in his California-compliant, fixed magazine rifle. However, Plaintiff Miller is prevented from lawfully doing so without risk of persecution resulting in injury to his life and liberty; and the unlawful confiscation and loss of his personal property because said use would reclassify his rifle as a prohibited assault weapon,' the lawsuit stated.

Xavier Becerra, the attorney general at the timewho has since become President Joe Bidens health secretary, and has been replaced by Rob Bontaargued that the plaintiff lacked standing and that all federal circuit courts had previously upheld the constitutionality of assault weapon restrictions such as the laws in question.

But Benitez said the Supreme Court recognizes that the Second Amendment guarantee includes a right to keep and bear firearms that have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia,' quoting from Millers filing.

He referenced the Supreme Courts ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller, which broadly found that the Constitution protects Americans rights to own guns.

The Heller test asks: is a modern rifle commonly owned by law-abiding citizens for a lawful purpose? For the AR-15 type rifle, the answer is yes. The overwhelming majority of citizens who own and keep the popular AR-15 rifle and its many variants do so for lawful purposes, including self-defense at home. Under Heller, that is all that is needed. Using the easy to understand Heller test, it is obvious that the California assault weapon ban is unconstitutional. Under the Heller test, judicial review can end right here, Benitez wrote.

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), a nonprofit that advocates for constitutional rights, said the ruling was the correct one.

In his order today, Judge Benitez held what millions of Americans already know to be true: Bans on so-called assault weapons are unconstitutional and cannot stand, said Brandon Combs, FPC president, in a statement. This historic victory for individual liberty is just the beginning, and FPC will continue to aggressively challenge these laws throughout the United States. We look forward to continuing this challenge at the Ninth Circuit and, should it be necessary, the Supreme Court.

But others, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, disagreed with the ruling.

Overturning CAs assault weapon ban and comparing an AR-15 to a SWISS ARMY KNIFE is a disgusting slap in the face to those who have lost loved ones to gun violence, Newsom, a Democrat, said late on June 4. This is a direct threat to public safety and innocent Californians. We wont stand for it.

An appeal to the ruling will be forthcoming, according to the current California attorney general.

Todays decision is fundamentally flawed, and we will be appealing it. There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with Swiss Army knives, Bonta said.

The decision was stayed for 30 days to allow Bonta to appeal it; he said he will be appealing the ruling.
Cat Trappers Plea for Help Sterilizing Free-Roaming Felines

Animal advocates in Orange County, California, say theyre bracing for the worst kitten season as they struggle to have feral cats spayed or neutered.

Before shutting down a few months into the pandemic, Orange County Animal Cares (OCAC) Return to Field (RTF) program assisted in trapping feral felines, transferring them to shelters to be sterilized and vaccinated at no cost, and releasing them back into their colonies.

But when the program halted last year, trap-neuter-and-release (TNR) volunteers and nonprofits that trap and help feral cats have taken on full responsibility for the animals. With limited resources, trappers are overwhelmed as concerned about the feral cat situation worsening.

In Santa Ana, a foster is holding more than 50 cats and is paying out close to $400 of pocket for health services, TNR volunteer Romina Y. told The Epoch Times.

Its really hard for us to keep everything under control, and a lot of the cat rescue groups are nonprofit, and they rely on donations, said Romina, who didnt want her last name used.

Previously, the RTF program helped control an overpopulation of feral cats and protect them from contacting diseases, independent Trapper Erika Rasmussen told The Epoch Times.

In 2019, the RTF program received a cease-and-desist letter from a community member accusing the shelter of breaking the law by abandoning animals. Shortly after, the RFT services stopped with no mention of resuming.

Locally, OCAC has been advised that the release of unowned cats into the community is prohibited, Orange County Animal Care Assistant Director Monica Schmidt told The Epoch Times. We are working internally and with members of the TNR and RTF communities, to identify and develop options that support public safety and animal welfare.

Rasmussen is advocating for the shelter to bring back the RTF program at least a few days per month for community members to deliver feral cats to be spayed and neutered. The public would also take responsibility in taking the cats back, she said.

Without help, more cats will be wandering the streets of Orange County as the worst kitten season approaches, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said that nonprofits supply vouchers for trappers to take cats in for health services. However, the cost of the service is not fully covered, and trappers end up paying out of pocket.

Meanwhile, trappers such as Romina said theyre concerned about the fate of the cats.

Everyone is super overwhelmed, especially because the shelter is not taking any animals, and the ones that they do take in are kittens, [and] theyre not healthy, Romina said.

Kittens accepted at the shelter for treatment are then put up to foster before being added to a euthanasia list, she said.

There are kittens three or four weeks old, with something as simple as an upper respiratory infection that is easily treatable with medication, Romina said. It kills us seeing all the pictures of those little kittens with a simple cold or ringworm being put in the euthanasia list.

A peaceful protest to pressure the Orange County Animal Care to return the RTF services is occurring on June 4 in Tustin.
Confucius or Karl Marx: Whos to Blame for Chinas Clash With the West?

In this special report, we explore how compatible traditional Chinese culture is with western civilizationand question whether Confucius or Karl Marx is to blame for the clash between China and the free world.

Some frame the Wests conflict with China as a clash of opposite societies. The theory was first brought about by American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington in the 1990s. He argued that peoples cultural and religious identities would be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world.

But what defines the society theyre talking about? Is it Chinas 5,000 years of culture, deeply influenced by Confucianism, Buddism, and Daoism? Or is it the communist ideology thats occupied China for the last hundred years?

Tune into this special report as we explore those questions and more.

Stay tuned for our newsletter so you wont miss out on our exclusive videos and private events.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
A Delta flight from Los Angeles International Airport bound for Nashville makes an emergency stop in Albuquerque, N.M., after a passenger attempted to breach the cockpit on June 4, 2021. (Courtesy of KOAT)

Delta Air Lines Flight Diverted to New Mexico After Passenger Tries to Breach Cockpit

LOS ANGELESAn unruly passenger who tried breaking into the cockpit of a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Tennessee from California was subdued by cabin crew and fellow passengers as the plane was diverted to New Mexico, officials said on Friday.

Delta Flight 386, from Los Angeles bound for Nashville, arrived around 2:20 p.m. local time at Albuquerque International Sunport, where authorities removed the passenger from the plane and took him into custody, an airport spokesperson said.

Delta said the Boeing 737-900 had 162 passengers and six crew members aboard.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Albuquerque said on Twitter that it was responding to the incident and that there was no threat to the public at this time. The FBI provided no further details.

The #FBI is responding to a report of a diverted flight at @ABQSunport. There is no threat to the public at this time. pic.twitter.com/GmnOdZPact  FBI Albuquerque (@FBIAlbuquerque) June 4, 2021

The airline and law enforcement did not say whether the individual was armed, whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or what may have prompted his outburst.

No one was hurt during the incident, and the flight resumed its trip to Nashville after the diversion, the airport spokesperson said.

Los Angeles-based CBS News affiliate KCBS-TV posted cellphone video taken by several passengers showing a man lying on his stomach in the aisle of the aircraft repeatedly yelling Stop this plane as he was being restrained.

A flight attendant and passengers bound his hands and feet with yellow cord, then carried him to the rear of the aircraft, where he was placed face down in a seat, the video clips showed.

Thanks to the crew and passengers of Delta Flight 386  who assisted in detaining an unruly passenger as the flight diverted to Albuquerque, Delta said in a statement, adding that the aircraft landed without incident and the passenger was removed by law enforcement.

By Steve Gorman and Brendan OBrien
Founders Brian Ross (L) and Kathy Ly stand next to an exhibit in the Donut Life Museum in Westminster, Calif., on May 28, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Donut Museum in Westminster Offers Hole-some Family Fun

WESTMINSTER, Calif.For doughnut lovers in Orange County, California, the Donut Life Museum offers a sweet experience they definitely do-nut want to miss.

The owners of the pun-heavy, brightly colored pop-up museum drew inspiration from the tasty pastries to create a cheerful adventure for their guests.

When life gives you lemons, make a lemon-filled doughnut, Kathy Ly, the leading founder of the museum, told The Epoch Times.

Ly and her partners, Alix Luu and Brian Ross, wanted to create a unique, interactive space where people could connect, spend some quality time, and make memories together.

I wanted to offer something inspirational and very upliftingespecially after such a difficult year. We wanted to bring some sweetness back to peoples lives, Ly said.

The Donut Life Museum, located inside the Westminster Mall, is Lys brainchild. Though she doesnt consider herself artistic in terms of drawing or sketching, the exhibit overflows with the hallmarks of her distinctive imagination.

To help bring her vision to life, Ly sought out a number of artists throughout Los Angeles and Orange County, including students at Irvines Northwood High School who designed one of the museums best-selling T-shirts.

I wanted to find an element thats really common, something that we can all connect to, she said. A doughnuts circular shape reminded us of the circle of life. So we highlighted significant moments of lifeall told through the world of doughnuts, using art and puns to help tell that story.

An exhibit of doughnuts decorated as flags in the Donut Life Museum in Westminster, Calif., on May 28, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Visitors wait to enter the Donut Life Museum in Westminster, Calif., on May 28, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Donut Ever Grow Up

First, the museums guests enter the International Room, where theyre greeted by a wall of doughnuts that are individually hand-painted to resemble flags from countries all over the world.

We eventually want to do something where kids can guess the flag and see which country it is, Ross told The Epoch Times.

From there, guests embark on their journey through life by entering a baby room decorated with everything doughnut-related. The walls are rose-pink, and crowned with oozing, thick white icing and sprinkles. A giant crib accommodates anyone whos hungry to capture a unique picture for their social media account.

The name of this room is Donut Ever Grow Up, said Ly. Its always acceptable to be a kid at heart and always let your inner child shine, even as you become an adult.

Along the way, guests are treated to fun facts about the history of the doughnut, which originated from a Dutch pastry called ollie-bollen.

But that translated to oil ball, so nobody really liked that, Ly said. So they were like, Lets name it the doughnut, because its a much better name.

Visitors are encouraged to linger in the Donut Love Room to write a message about something or someone they love and stick it to the wall.

Love makes the world wholekind of like a doughnut hole, Ly said.

Before the tour concludes, patrons can pause for a selfie with a giant heart-shaped doughnut, or briefly enjoy the solitude and grandeur of the Sweet Dreams Room, which was partly inspired by Yayoi Kusamas temporary Infinity Mirror Room exhibit at The Broad art museum in Los Angeles.

After a recent tour, Ly told her guest to have a dough-lightful weekend! before adding, We use a lot of puns here, so its pretty cheesy.

Families, Influencers, and Furry Friends

The museums latest offering is a carnival-themed exhibit in honor of National Doughnut Day on June 4a holiday that coincided with Donut Lifes one-year anniversary. To celebrate, they partnered with several vendors, including Tustins Woofpack Pet Kitchen.

Ly pointed to a display of a dozen doughnuts that the company handcrafted for dogs. She said some guests will bring their pets to stage pictures within the installations. One pair of dogs even came prepared with wardrobe changes.

Their owners brought a bag of clothes for them and swapped them out in each room, Ly said.

The dogs, Hank and Masha, are well-known public figures on Instagram, where they have almost 12,000 followers.

But while the museum is dog friendly, Ly mentioned that some guests wanted to bend that rule for more exotic pets.

People have asked if their snakes or their iguanas can come in, but we usually say furry friends onlyno reptiles, she said.

Ly recalled one occasion when a guest brought their guinea pigs to pose in the center of the museums giant heart-shaped doughnut.

It was super funny and cute, Ly said. It was the first time I saw someone be able to train their guinea pigs to be models.

The holiday and anniversary celebration will kick off with a doughnut-themed paint night. Throughout the weekend, guests will be given doughnuts provided by Krispy Kreme, Donut Lifes sponsor. The first 100 kids to visit will receive balloons and a gift bag.

We have people of all ages come, but the majority of our customers have been parents with younger kids and millennials, because they love to create content, Ly said. I would say thats probably like 90 percent of our audience.

She said some prominent influencers with a couple million followers also visited to create content.

Weve been getting some great feedback, especially from families with children. Their kids have been cooped up this last year, Ross said. [So] to come out to a place so colorful and so interactive, where they can take some really good photography and selfies  people have just been enjoying the experienceespecially since weve been giving a doughnut at the end.

Getting that sweet treat to walk out of here with puts a smile on their face.
Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 3, 2019. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Former Congresswoman Katie Hill Who Resigned Amid Scandal Hit With $220,000 Legal Fee

LOS ANGELESFormer California congresswoman Katie Hill has been ordered to pay about $220,000 in attorneys fees to a British tabloid and two conservative journalists she had sued after the publication of intimate photos without her consent.

The Democrat, who briefly represented a district north of Los Angeles, had accused them in a revenge-porn lawsuit of violating the law by publishing or distributing the compromising photos. The lawsuit was thrown out earlier this year on First Amendment grounds, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Hill resigned in 2019 after the publication of the photos and amid a House ethics probe into allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her congressional staffers, which she denied.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco awarded about $105,000 to the parent company of the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. Hill had called for a boycott of the tabloid on Twitter and sought donations for her legal costs.

A spokeswoman told the newspaper that Hill plans to appeal the rulings that dismissed her lawsuit. An attorney for the Daily Mail did not respond to a request for comment.

The judge previously ordered Hill to pay about $84,000 to the attorneys of Jennifer Van Laar, managing editor of the conservative website Red State, and about $30,000 to lawyers representing radio producer Joseph Messina. Hill initially accused Messina of being part of a conspiracy to distribute the pictures, but dropped her claim against him earlier this year.

Krista Lee Baughman, an attorney representing Van Laar and Messina, told the Times that the ruling showed that those who file speech-chilling (intimidation) lawsuits must pay the price.

Hill, 33, gained national attention in 2018 when she was elected to Congress in a district long under Republican control.

Less than a year later, as Hill was going through a divorce, Red State published stories alleging that she had an affair with a male congressional staffer and that she and her husband, Kenneth Heslep, had a previous relationship with a female campaign worker. The website and the Daily Mail also published provocative pictures.

Hill confirmed that she and Heslep had a relationship with the campaign worker, which she conceded was inappropriate because the woman was a subordinate.

In December, Hill sued the two media outlets, Van Laar, Messina, and Heslep, arguing that they violated Californias revenge-porn law by distributing or publishing intimate images.

The publications and Van Laar successfully argued that Hills lawsuit failed to meet the requirements of the revenge-porn statute. They also asserted that they had a First Amendment right to publish information about an elected officials behavior that is newsworthy.

The parent company of Red State has not sought attorneys fees, the newspaper said. Heslep has not filed any legal responses and does not have a lawyer on record in the case.
Chow Hang Tung, Vice Chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Democratic Patriotic Movements of China, poses after an interview in Hong Kong, on May 24, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

Hong Kong Organizer of Tiananmen Vigil Released on Bail

HONG KONGHong Kong activist Chow Hang Tung was released on bail on Saturday, June 5, a day after she was detained on suspicion of promoting an unauthorized assembly to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre on pro-democracy activists in Beijing.

Police arrested Chow, vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, alleging she promoted an unauthorized assembly early on Friday morning.

Theres no logic in that. Its a completely absurd charge, [a] complete abuse of power. I reject all the allegation, she told reporters outside the police station.

The ban on the vigil and at least six arrests came amid growing concern in the pro-democracy movement and internationally about the suppression of the semi-autonomous citys traditional freedoms, notably a national security law imposed by Beijing last year.

Chow Hang Tung, Vice-chairwoman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, poses with a candle ahead of the 32nd anniversary of the massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators at Beijings Tiananmen Square in 1989, in Hong Kong, on June 3, 2021. (Lam Yik/Reuters)

I want to tell all who participated in this suppression of the Tiananmen remembrance event this yeardont hide behind the technical provision of the public order ordinance anymore, Chow said.

Open your eyes and see what you are actually doing, what you are actually doing is to cover up the crime of the killers in 1989.

Friday saw the authorities sealing off Victoria Park, site of the worlds largest Tiananmen vigils for more than three decades, to enforce a ban on the annual assembly for a second year due to coronavirus restrictions.

People hold candles and walk past police officers near Victoria Park, a place in the past years for people to gather during a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary of the military massacre of a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, in Hong Kong, on June 4, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

Some churches opened their doors for memorial masses for the victims of Tiananmen, with people filling up the venues amid fears of being arrested on the streets. In an unprecedented diplomatic gesture amid the police ban on the vigil, candles flickered in the windows of the United States consulate and European Union office in the city.

Before her arrest, Chow told Reuters that June 4 was a test for Hong Kong of whether we can defend our bottom line of morality.

As long as they havent said candles are illegal, we will light a candle, she said.

People hold up their lighted phones as they walk near the Victoria Park after police closed the venue where Hong Kong people traditionally gather annually to mourn the victims of Chinas Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, in the Causeway Bay district in Hong Kong, on June 4, 2021. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

Although she could not light a candle while in detention, she said she fasted during her detention.

Chow was released with cash bail HK$10,000 and due to report to the police station on July 5.

Lee Cheuk-yan, the alliances chairperson, is in jail for an illegal assembly in 2019. Chow herself is facing a charge of inciting and participating in an illegal assembly on June 4 last year.

By Jessie Pang
How William-Adolphe Bouguereau Dealt With Grief

The Story of Art: What we can learn from the lives of artists

As human beings, we try our best to deal with the pain of death. Today, we will look at how one of the greatest artists of the 19th century, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, dealt with death through his paintings.

Bouguereaus Artistic Development

Bouguereau was born in 1825 in La Rochelle, France, and at a young age entered the local school, where he impressed his classmates with the drawings he did in his notebooks and school texts. However, his fathers business was failing, and their financial situation often led to arguments between his parents. It wasnt long before Bouguereaus parents sent their children to stay with relatives.

The young Bouguereau went to stay with his uncle, who showed him love and affection and encouraged the boys love of classical culture. In 1839, when Bouguereau was 14 years old, his uncle enrolled him in the college of Pons to study religion and classical literature, which would influence much of his later artwork.

At Pons, Bouguereau received some of his first drawing lessons from a professor named Louis Sage, a pupil of the great neoclassical painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.

After several years, Bouguereaus father began trying his hand at the olive oil trade and wanted his son to help with the family business. Thus, at the age of 17, Bouguereau returned home, despite wanting to continue his art studies.

Yet his artistic gift was undeniable, and his family and friends helped convince his father to enroll the boy in art courses at the municipal art school, where he won the Best Historical Painting Prize. Then, with his fathers blessing, Bouguereau decided to study art full-time.

Needing money to study in Paris, he earned his income by painting portraits, while his uncle provided him lodging.

In Paris, Bouguereau entered French artist Francois Picots studio. As the new student at the studio, he was hazed, forced to buy drinks, and made to complete menial tasks. These chores would be his responsibility until a new student arrived.

Bouguereau, however, loved Picot, and he endured to become the best artist he possibly could be under Picots tutelage. By 1846, Bouguereau was barely admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, a prestigious school for learning traditional fine arts.

In 1850, through hard work and perseverance, he was able to win the Grand Prix de Rome, which was the Ecole des Beaux-Arts highest competitive prize. Winning the Grand Prix allowed Bouguereau to enjoy a year-long trip to Rome, where he studied the art of the great masters.

Upon his return to France, he quickly became one of the most popular and sought-after painters. He settled down, got married in 1866, and had children. And this is where Bouguereaus story becomes one of repeated loss. He had five children with his first wife, Marie-Nelly Monchablon; four of these children and his wife would die before him.

Painting the Pain Away

Painting became the way Bouguereau dealt with his losses. Creating brought him comfort. He said, Each day I go to my studio full of joy; in the evening when obliged to stop because of darkness[,] I can scarcely wait for the next morning to come  if I cannot give myself to my dear painting[,] I am miserable.

So what did he paint after his children died? How did he deal with his pain? How did he memorialize his children?

Several of his paintings give us insight into these questions.

According to William Bouguereau: His Life and Works by Damien Bartoli and Frederick Ross, Bouguereau re-immersed himself in his art, his only effective palliative against grief. After the death of his eldest son, George, Bouguereau wished to complete a project that was now constantly on his mind, one in fact that haunted him, for he wanted dearly, by means of his art, to pay one final, sublime tribute to his unfortunate son George.

This project would be his version of the Pieta, which is an Italian word meaning pity or compassion. In Pieta, Bouguereau depicts the Virgin Mary dressed in black to mourn her sons death, whom she now holds tightly in her arms.

The Virgin Mary seems to stare out at us directly, though she may be looking up. Either way, her stare asks us to share her loss. Both she and Jesus are adorned with a gilded halo, which suggests their divinity.

Nine angels surround the two central figures, and in contrast to the black worn by the Virgin and the white worn by Jesus, the nine angels wear the colors of the rainbow. Along with the black worn by the Virgin Mary and the white worn by Jesus, the rainbow represents all of the possible colors used to paint an image.

According to Kara Ross of the Art Renewal Center, in this painting the rainbow symbolizes that the sacrifice of Jesus was complete and that the human soul can be born anew and ascend to God after death.



Pieta, 1876, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Oil on canvas, 87.7 inches by 58.7 inches. Private Collection. (Public Domain)

The Solace of Art

Did Bouguereau simply paint an image that he could relate to in his time of suffering? Or did he also ask the viewer to feel his pain? Or perhaps he believed that creating divine images could help ease his suffering and help his soul be born anew?

Shortly after the death of his son, Bouguereaus wife, Nelly, became very ill. She had just given birth to a son they named Maurice. Within approximately two months, both Nelly and Maurice died.

This time, Bouguereau put his sorrow into two paintings: The Virgin of Consolation and A Soul in Paradise.

The Virgin of Consolation depicts a sorrowful mother dressed in black who has thrown herself over the Virgin Marys lap because of the death of her son. The Virgin Mary sits on an elegant throne and has a halo of gold. She puts her hands up and looks up as if to say that these things are in the hands of God.

The Virgin of Consolation, 1877, by William Bouguereau. Oil on canvas, 80.3 inches by 57.8 inches. Strasbourg Museum of Fine Arts, France. (Public Domain)

A Soul in Paradise depicts two angels carrying a young woman from the darkness below to the yellow light of heaven, which the silhouetted angel at the top right of the composition represents.

Here again, Bouguereau used the creation of divine imagery to suggest that these painful circumstances in life are beyond our control, that they are in the hands of God, and that the divine light of heaven is potentially open to us all.

A Soul in Paradise, 1878, by William Bouguereau. Oil on canvas, 70.8 inches by 108.2 inches. Museum of Art and Archeology of Perigord, France. (Public Domain)

Art can provide solace and comfort, not only for the artist but also for those who view it. Art can also encourage compassion. By showing the suffering of other human beings, works of art can invite us to share in this suffering. Finally, art can encourage us to reflect on what might be beyond our human lives.

Art history is a story that forever unfolds. It is also our story, the story of the human race. Each generation of artists affects their respective cultures with their works of art and their decisions in life. This series will share stories from art history that encourage us to ask ourselves how we may be more sincere, caring, and patient human beings.

Eric Bess is a practicing representational artist and is a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA).
People light LED candles to mark the anniversary of the massacre of a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, on June 4, 2021. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Hundreds Gather Near Hong Kong Park Despite Vigil Ban

HONG KONGHundreds of people gathered near a Hong Kong park on June 4 despite a ban on an annual candlelight vigil to remember the Chinese regimes deadly Tiananmen Square massacre, and the arrest earlier in the day of an organizer of previous vigils.

Hong Kong police banned the vigil for a second straight year, citing coronavirus social distancing restrictions, although there have been no local cases in the semi-autonomous Chinese city for about six weeks.

Police closed off parts of Victoria Parkthe venue of past vigilsin the citys Causeway Bay shopping district and warned people not to participate in unauthorized assemblies, under threat of up to five years imprisonment.

Despite the ban and a heavy police presence, hundreds of people showed up Friday night to walk along the parks perimeter.

People hold candles and walk past police officers near Victoria Park, a place in the past years for people to gather during a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary of the massacre of a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, in Hong Kong, on June 4, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

Many illuminated the flashlights on their smartphones while others lit candles in remembrance of the estimated 10,000 who lost their lives when the Chinese military massacred student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing at Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.

In past years, tens of thousands of people have gathered in Victoria Park to honor the dead. Thousands attended last year despite the ban, lighting candles and singing songs. Police later charged more than 20 activists with participating in the event.

Edward Yeung, one of those participating in Friday nights event, flicked on a lighter instead of a candle and said authorities are scared of the people.

Theyre scared that people will remember all this. They want to wash it all away, he said.

The (Chinese Communist Party) CCP has never allowed public events on the mainland to mark the anniversary and security was increased at the Beijing square, with police checking pedestrians IDs as tour buses shuttled Chinese tourists in and out.

People light candle to mark the anniversary of the massacre of a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, on June 4, 2021. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Efforts to suppress public memory of the Tiananmen events have lately turned to Hong Kong. Apart from the vigil ban, a temporary June 4 museum closed after a visit from authorities earlier this week.

The efforts came amid sweeping moves to quell dissent in the city due to a new national security law, election system changes, and the arrest of many activists who participated in pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019.

Earlier Friday, police arrested Chow Hang Tung, a vice chair of the Hong Kong Alliance that organized Hong Kongs annual candlelight vigil, the group said.

Although police did not identify Chow, they said they arrested a 36-year-old woman from the Hong Kong Alliance as she was publicizing an unauthorized assembly via social media despite the police ban on the vigil.

After the ban was issued, Chow urged people to commemorate the event privately by lighting candles wherever they are.

Chow, a lawyer, said in an earlier interview with The Associated Press that she expected to be jailed.

Chow Hang Tung, Vice Chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Democratic Patriotic Movements of China, poses after an interview in Hong Kong, on May 24, 2021. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

Im already being persecuted for participating and inciting last years candlelight vigil, she said. If I continue my activism in pushing for democracy in Hong Kong and China, surely they will come after me at some point, so its sort of expected.

Two other key members of the Hong Kong Alliance, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho, are behind bars for joining unauthorized assemblies during the 2019 protests.

At the University of Hong Kong on Friday afternoon, students took part in an annual washing of the Pillar of Shame sculpture, which was erected to remember the victims of the Tiananmen massacre.

In cleaning the Pillar of Shame, we shall learn how our predecessors defended the freedom of expression before, and we shall not easily give up, said Charles Kwok, the president of the students union.

Some gathered in churches Friday night to mark June 4 and pray for the victims.

Clare Ho, a postgraduate student, said she participated in previous vigils but decided to attend Mass this year to pray for the victims because the vigil was banned.

A student before the Pillar of Shame in Hong Kong, with the statues base showing the words June 4th Massacre. (Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times)

I feel like the least I can do as a Hongkonger, and as a Catholic, I just feel like coming here to pray for them is something I should do, she said.

The government made no response to an appeal from Tiananmen Mothers, published on the Human Rights in China website, urging the party to release official records about the massacre, provide compensation for those killed and injured, and hold those responsible to account.

Tiananmen Mothers said many young Chinese have grown up in a false sense of prosperous jubilance and enforced glorification of the government [and] have no idea of, or refuse to believe, what happened on June 4, 1989.

The suppression of the Tiananmen commemorations has been accompanied in recent years by harsh repression of religious and ethnic minorities in Tibet, the northwestern region of Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, along with the sharp curtailing of political rights in Hong Kong.

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese gather in Tiananmen Square around a 10-meter replica of the Statue of Liberty (C), called the Goddess of Democracy, on June 2, 1989. (Catherine Henriette/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinas authoritarian regime has used another kind of force, enforced amnesia, in its attempts to bury the truth of the brutal crimes it committed against its people, Human Rights in China said in a statement.

In Taiwan, activists who host an annual Tiananmen memorial moved mostly online as the island faces its worst outbreak of the coronavirus since the pandemic began. A temporary memorial pavilion was set up in Taipei for people to leave flowers and other mementos.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement of support for those advocating for victims and pursuing the truth.

We must never stop seeking transparency on the events of that day, including a full accounting of all those killed, detained, or missing, the statement said.
Hungarians Protest Against Planned Chinese University Campus

BUDAPESTThousands of Hungarians, some of them holding banners declaring Treason, protested on Saturday against a Chinese universitys plans to open a campus in Budapest.

Liberal opponents of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban accuse him of cozying up to China, and fear the campus could undercut the quality of higher education and help Beijing increase its influence in Hungary and the European Union.

I do not agree with our countrys strengthening feudal relationship with China, Patrik, a 22-year-old student who declined to give his full name, said at the protest in the Hungarian capital.

He said funds should be used to improve our own universities instead of building a Chinese one.

A demonstrator holds a placard reading Treason during a protest against the planned Chinese Fudan University campus in Budapest, Hungary, June 5, 2021. (Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

The government signed an agreement with Shanghai-based Fudan University in April on building the campus at a site in Budapest where a dormitory village for Hungarian students had previously been planned.

Opposition politicians and economists have criticized what they say will be the high costs of the project and a lack of transparency. Budapests mayor opposes the plan.

Fidesz is selling out wholesale the housing of Hungarian students, and their future, just so it can bring the elite university of Chinas dictatorship into the country, the organizers of Saturdays protest said on Facebook.

Orban has built cordial ties with China, Russia, and other illiberal governments, while locking horns with Western allies by curbing the independence of scientific research, the judiciary, and media.

He faces a unified opposition for the first time since assuming power in 2010 before a parliamentary election due in 2022.

By Anita Komuves
Illinois Approves Fixes to Criminal Justice Overhaul to Address Police Concerns

CHICAGOIllinois lawmakers passed a bipartisan trailer bill on Wednesday to improve a month-old criminal justice reform legislation that has been criticized as an anti-police measure by the law enforcement community.

The recently enacted SAFE-T Act was hailed by Governor J.B. Pritzker as ensuring true safety, true fairness, and true justice. The legislation has been derided by members of the Illinois law enforcement community, who claim it punishes police officers for doing their jobs and would ultimately imperil the safety of law-abiding citizens.

For example, SAFE-T Act makes it a felony for officers if they forget to turn on body-worn cameras while on duty, prohibits officers from reviewing body-camera videos before writing police reports, and has ambiguous language that appears to prohibit officers from aiming a taser at an offenders backwhich is a common practice recommended by many taser manufacturers, according to a fact sheet (pdf) from Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).

The trailer bill, spearheaded by Democrat state Sen. Elgie Sims and state Rep. Justin Slaughter, gets rid of the above felony offense and other prohibitions for officers. The bill also has less ambiguous language on imminent threats and use of force.

The bill was introduced and passed in three days, right before the extended spring session of the state legislature concluded. The measure received more than two-thirds of yes votes from bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers.

Sims said in a statement to The Epoch Times, House Bill 3443 [which includes the trailer bill] moves us another step forward in our efforts to reimagine public safety. I remain committed to transforming the criminal justice system in Illinois in such a way that will uplift our communities while supporting our law enforcement.

Both Sims and Slaughter were major sponsors of the SAFE-T Act opposed by the law enforcement community. The two got on board with the trailer bill after months of negotiations with the IACP.

Ed Wojcicki, the executive director of the IACP, told The Epoch Times, I think that sometimes people portray the law enforcement and certain legislators as being adversaries. But in this case, senator Sims and representative Slaughter really listened to our concerns and understood. We showed great respect for each other and thats going to bode well for the future.

Not all problems in the SAFE-T Act are cleaned up by the trailer bill, according to an IACP statement. For example, funding for mandatory body cameras still hangs up in the air. IACP plans to continue working the address parts of the SAFE-T Act that come with a future effective date, such as starting to allow anonymous complaints against police officers in 2023.

Illinois State Police also supports the trailer bill. Two major Illinois law enforcement organizations, the Illinois Sheriffs Association and the Fraternal Order of Police, remain neutral on the bill.

The trailer bill now awaits Gov. Pritzkers approval or veto. Enough votes were cast in favor of the bill to override a veto. If Pritzker does nothing, the bill will automatically become law within 60 days after it is presented to him.
The LinkedIn app is seen on a mobile phone in London, U.K. on Jan. 11, 2021. (Edward Smith/Getty Images)

LinkedIn Blocks Some China Critics on Eve of Tiananmen Anniversary, Including Epoch Times Staff

LinkedIn has censored some critics of the regime in Beijingincluding some staff members of The Epoch Timesby blocking their accessibility in China in connection with the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

On the morning of June 3, a number of people within The Epoch Times network, including some staff members based in the United States, Sweden, and Turkey, received notifications alerting them to the decision.

The message, titled Official Message From LinkedIn Member Safety and Recovery, began by thanking the users for using your LinkedIn profile to represent yourself professionally.

We want to make you aware that due to legal requirements impacting the accessibility within China of some publishing organizations, your profile and your activity, such as items you share with your network, are not visible to those accessing LinkedIn from within China at this time, it stated. It added that the profile and activity remain visible throughout the rest of the world where LinkedIn is available.

The exact number of people affected within The Epoch Times network remains unclear.

The company is a global platform with an obligation to respect the laws that apply to us, including Chinese government regulations for our localized version of LinkedIn in China, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn said in a statement to The Epoch Times.

Due to local legal requirements within China, the profiles and activity of some LinkedIn members associated with certain publishing organizations are not visible within China at this time.

A redacted LinkedIn message received by employees of The Epoch Times on June 3, 2021. (Screenshot via LinkedIn)

Two days earlier, LinkedIn took similar action against China critic J. Michael Cole. In a more elaborate version of the same message, the company offered to work with Cole to minimize the impact and said it could review his profiles accessibility within China if he updated the Publication section of his profile.

The blockage came on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, a bloody crackdown that saw the Chinese regime open fire on students calling for democratic and economic reforms in China, killing hundreds if not thousands of them.

The Epoch Times is one among a range of international sites that remain inaccessible to users behind the Great Firewall, the online censorship machine that allows the regime in Beijing to filter out unwanted voices. The publication has been at the forefront of covering topics related to China, such as the CCPs infiltration in the West, human rights violations, and illegal harvesting of organs from prisoners of conscience in China, as well as the outbreak of the CCP virus in Wuhan.

LinkedIn, which launched a simplified Chinese site in 2014, is one of a handful of Western social media platforms still allowed in mainland China, due to its agreement to follow the regimes restrictions. It currently has 53 million mainland Chinese users.

LinkedIn didnt answer questions from The Epoch Times about the reasoning behind its decision and the specific local requirements it was referring to, nor would it say whether it had similar agreements with other nations. Instead, the company pointed to a Feb. 24, 2014, statement from then-LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner justifying the companys expansion to China.

LinkedIn strongly supports freedom of expression and fundamentally disagrees with government censorship, Weiner said in the statement, while noting that LinkedIns absence from China would limit the ability of individual Chinese citizens to pursue and realize the economic opportunities, dreams, and rights most important to them.

Benjamin Weingarten, a fellow at the California think tank Claremont Institute and an Epoch Times contributor who received the LinkedIn message, said: Freedom of expression and opposition to censorship are incompatible with Chinese regulations.

Chinese regulationsthat is, Chinese Communist Party ruleultimately stifles the economic opportunities, blots out the dreams, and violates the rights of Chinese citizens.

Noting the timing of the LinkedIn action, Weingarten said it was unbelievable, yet totally believable.

On the eve of the Tiananmen Square massacrea subject that has been censored on Chinese social media and airbrushed out of Chinese textbooksit is clear that the West took all the wrong lessons, he told The Epoch Times in an email.

Accounts of CCP leadership at the time demonstrate that they believed our perceived self-interest in doing business with China would lead us to look the other way in the face of the regimes tyranny. Groveling entertainers, censorious platforms, and kowtowing corporations have unfortunately proven it right.

Over the years, LinkedIn has drawn heat for a number of censorship moves, including blanking out posts about the Tiananmen protests, blocking the account of a protest leader, and more recently, suspending a China critics account after removing his comments that referred to the regime in Beijing a repressive dictatorship.

On March 9, LinkedIn temporarily stopped Chinese users from registering new accounts in the country, again citing unspecified Chinese laws.

The companys advertising policy also includes terms banning any advertisements that contain criticism of the Chinese Communist Party, the Peoples Republic of China, or the Chinese Liberation Army, excerpts of the [Chinese] national anthem, any promotions of a virtual private networka tool that would allow users to bypass the censorshipor those related to satellite services.

Cedric Alviani, the East Asia bureau director for Reporters Without Borders, told The Epoch Times that Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounces the pressure applied by the Chinese regime on social platforms like LinkedIn to force them [to] contribute to its censorship campaigns.

RSF rated China 177th out of 180 nations on its 2021 World Press Freedom Index, calling it worlds biggest jailer of press freedom defenders.

Its true that everybody would greatly benefit if Chinese were connected to others around the world on a platform that focuses on learning and sharing. But thats not what LinkedIn is, according to a co-founder of the anti-censorship group GreatFire.org, who goes by the pseudonym Charlie Smith.

LinkedIn is a sanitized, harmonized, and uninteresting job board. The last thing the platform values is freedom of expression. Microsoft rewards users who are afraid to speak up, who avoid asking hard questions, and who skirt around sensitive issues.

Microsoft officials didnt respond to a request for comment.
Massachusetts Officer Dies Trying to Save Drowning Boy

A police officer from a Massachusetts city died Friday while trying to save a drowning teen, who also died.

The City of Worcester has lost a hero, Worcester police chief Steven Sargent said during a news conference, referring to the tragic drowning of Officer Enmanuel Manny Familia.

According to the Worcester Police Department (WPD), officers responded to a drowning incident at Green Hill Park at about 1:35 p.m. Upon arrival, officers saw several people in the water, including a male toward the center of the body of water reaching an arm up and struggling.

WPD said in a Facebook post that five officers entered the water and pulled two individuals out. After that, officers on the scene realized that Familia was missing.

At approximately 2:28 p.m., divers located Familia and brought him to shore. The five-year veteran of WPD was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center and later succumbed to his injuries. He leaves behind his wife Jennifer, his daughter Jayla, son Jovan, and his parents.

We will remember and honor his selfless devotion to Worcester and his ultimate sacrifice to save someone he didnt know, Chief Sargent said.

According to WPD, divers also located the body of the boy that Familia tried to rescue. The identity of the 14-year-old teen was not released.

WPD said that seven divers were involved in the search and one of them suffered minor injuries.

In the afternoon, the WPD stations American flag was lowered to half-staff to mourn Familia. A procession on Saturday will bring his body from the hospital to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Westfield.

Officer Familia is a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice while attempting to save the young man. We are thinking of all those grieving tonight, and of Mannys brothers and sisters at the

@WorcesterPD, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker tweeted on Friday night.

The men and women of the [Boston Police Department] wish to extend their sincere sympathies following the tragic loss of Worcester Police Department Officer Enmanuel Manny Familia who gave his life earlier today while trying to save the life of another while in the line of duty, the Boston Police Department said in a Facebook post.

Rayla Campbell, a candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor, remembered that Familia attended a rally last summer and introduced her to other attendees outside the Massachusetts State House.

Officer Enmanuel Manny Familia (front left) and Rayla Campbell (front middle). (Courtesy of Rayla Campbell)

Manny was such a sweet amazing humble man with a smile that light up the world. My heart is terribly broken especially for his wife and small children. He gave his life to save two children and thats an incredible hero. I am honored to have met Manny. God has another angel by his side, and we know he will be watching over all of us, Campbell said.
Michigan GOP Files Campaign Complaint Over Whitmers Flight to Florida

By Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger

From The Detroit News

LANSING, Mich.The Michigan Republican Party is now challenging Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmers use of campaign money to help pay for a private jet she used in March to visit her father in Florida.

The Friday complaint to the state Bureau of Elections, signed by Jason Roe, the state GOPs executive director, is the highest profile campaign complaint yet against the plane arrangement, following a previous one by Republican activist Brandon Hall. It argues the $27,521 cost of the flight falls outside of an incidental office expense that could be covered by Whitmers campaign committee under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act because it was a personal trip not related to any official business or campaign activity.

There is no other individual or organization who should have paid for the governors luxury personal travel to Florida except for Governor Whitmer herself, Roe wrote in the complaint.

The Michigan Democratic Party defended Whitmer in a Friday statement, calling the GOP complaint the latest partisan attack against the governor.

This is yet another bogus complaint in the MIGOPs never-ending obstruction of Governor Whitmers success in combating COVID-19, while theyve simultaneously been doing everything in their personal, professional and legislative capacities to set Michigan backwards, prolong the pandemic, and make it harder for our economy to recover, said Rodericka Applewhaite, a spokeswoman for the state Democratic party.

Whitmers campaign attorney, Christopher Trebilcock, said last week that the Whitmer for Governor candidate committee would pay for the controversial flight to and from Lansing and West Palm Beach March 12 and March 15. He said Whitmer would personally reimburse her campaign for the cost of a first-class ticket for herself and her two daughters, who accompanied her on the return flight.

Trebilcock maintained Whitmers candidate committee was a valid source for the payments because state law allows such committees to pay for expenses paid or incurred in carrying out the business of an elective office. Were it not for her elected office, Whitmer wouldnt have to incur extra costs to travel with a security detail, he said.

Whitmer has said she held meetings while taking care of her father, Richard. Her dad is battling a chronic illness, according to the governors office.

Campaign finance experts disagree over whether the use of the plane by the candidate committee will stand up to legal scrutiny. The Michigan GOPs complaint will be handled by employees of the Michigan Bureau of Elections, which is a part of Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Bensons department.

Campaign finance complaints often take months to be investigated and resolved. Penalties usually involve fines levied against committees.

In February 2019, Benson negotiated a $37,500 campaign finance settlement with Build a Better Michigan, which spent more than $2.4 million in 2018 backing Whitmer as a form of issue advocacy.

Some of the groups pro-Whitmer ads, which starred the candidate herself, violated the law by identifying Whitmer as a candidate for governor, the Democratic secretary of state decided. The groups spending also could not be considered an independent expenditure because of apparent coordination with Whitmers campaign, Benson ruled.

Republicans and a conservative group argued the fine amounted to a pittance. They argued the pro-Whitmer group should have paid a fine worth millions of dollars, pointing to a 2016 incident in which a GOP independent group backing senator candidates was forced to pay a fine that was the same amount it had illegally spent.

On the plane arrangement, the governors office initially said Michigan Transition 2019, a nonprofit organization tied to the administration, would pay the $27,521 cost to use PVS Chemicals Gulfstream G280 flown by Air Eagle.

But PVS told the nonprofit that Federal Aviation Administration rules prevented the company from taking reimbursement from a social welfare organization like Michigan Transition 2019, Trebilcock said. Instead, the cost of the flight would be paid by the governors campaign account.

As of last week, the Whitmer for Governor campaign account had not yet paid PVS for the flight because PVS first wanted to make sure that the changed payment arrangement would resolve an Federal Aviation Administration inquiry into the flight.

In his letter last week to the House Oversight Committee chairman, Trebilcock argued that the cost was considered an incidental office expense because, were she not governor, Whitmer would not need additional accommodations to travel with security.

But the Michigan Republican Party in its Friday letter argued Whitmer could have flown commercially with her security detail, similar to other high-ranking officials.

First, payments for private travel are not, and have never been, considered to be a necessary security expense by any legal authority, Roe wrote. When the Secretary of State approved the use of campaign funds for necessary security expenses, she considered items such as home security systems or ballistic vests, not private jets.

Roe said the trip could not be considered an incidental office expense because it was personal and did not meet the definition of ordinary and necessary expenses created for the purpose of carrying out the business of an elective office.

Whitmers attempt to pay for her seat on the flight does little to alleviate the concerns regarding campaign funds paying for the rest of the $27,521 bill, the letter said.

Further, until the campaign actually pays PVS, the use of the plane would fall under a prohibited corporate contribution under campaign finance law, Roe said.

The governors 3% payment for the flight, while a clever superficial attempt to alleviate the horrible optics surrounding this trip, does not cure any violation of Michigan campaign finance law, he wrote.

Michigan Republicans have repeatedly criticized Whitmers trip to visit her father since it was first acknowledged on April 19, a month after it occurred. Last week, the Republican Governors Association announced plans to air more than $500,000 in television ads targeting the governor over the travel.

Its maddening, Whitmer said about the GOP criticism in April. A lot of these same people would accuse me of not having family values if I didnt show up when a family member needed some help.

2021 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Canada's 29th Governor General Julie Payette looks on alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Senate chamber during her installation ceremony in Ottawa on Oct. 2, 2017. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

MP Tables Bill That Would Prevent Governors General From Receiving Pension and Benefits Unless They Serve Full Term

A private members bill that seeks to ensure governors general do not qualify for lifetime pension and expense reimbursement programs unless they fully serve their term has been introduced by Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu.

Bill C-305, An Act to amend the Governor Generals Act, proposes that governors general be eligible for the customary pension and benefits after leaving their post only if they held office for at least five consecutive years.

Canadians were outraged when they saw that the former governor general, Julie Payette, left the job in disgrace and was still going to be entitled to $150,000 of pension every year, as well as up to $200,000 of expenses, Gladu said in an interview.

This bill would ensure that in the future, any governor general that doesnt complete their full term for any reason other than medical would not be eligible for the pension and benefits.

Payette, who was sworn in on Oct. 2, 2017, resigned on Jan. 21 this year. Her departure occurred just a few days before the release of an independent review of complaints about the environment at Rideau Hall during her tenure, described by dozens of people as hostile or toxic.

The independent review, released by the federal government on Jan. 27, includes allegations of repeated yelling, screaming, aggressive conduct, demeaning comments, and public humiliation by Payette toward the staff.

Payette noted in her departure statement that there were no formal complaints or grievances made against her during her tenure. Nonetheless, she decided to resign because Canadians deserve stability in these uncertain times, she wrote.

Despite leaving the post early and under a cloud of controversy, Payette still qualifies for a lifetime pension of at least $149,484 per year, the National Post reported in January. She is also entitled to a lifetime expense program that gives her access to up to $206,000 per year from the budget of the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General.

Gladu said its crucial to protect taxpayers and make sure those selected to be governors general serve their terms and represent Canada well in order to earn the pension and perks that come with the position.

Its very important because the amount of pension and benefits that the governor general receives for five years of service is really out of line with what you would get in the private sector, she said.

So where taxpayers are concerned, they dont mind rewarding somebody for serving in that honourable role, but when they left in disgrace, under a shadow of harassment, that the person would still be entitled, its just not acceptable.

Marilyn Gladu addresses the crowd at a federal Conservative leadership forum during the annual general meeting of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative party in Halifax on Feb. 8, 2020. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

Gladu said she would expect the Bloc and possibly the NDP to support the bill, as they have indicated previously in their speeches that future governors general should be prevented from benefiting when they dont fulfill their terms.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in January that hed be open to amendments to the terms regarding what governors general receive upon their departure.

I think that we should not be rewarding that type of behaviour when someone resigns in light of a report like that, he said.

Gladu said the vetting of the next governor general is vital. In selecting Payette, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abandoned a panel established by the Harper government in 2012 that included constitutional experts making recommendations for vice-regal appointments. Instead, Trudeau moved the selection process to his office.

I think proper vetting with an all-party committeelike what was done when Stephen Harper had the vice-regal [appointments advisory committee] choose the Honourable David JohnstonI think that was an excellent selection, and that kind of diverse review of a candidate is important, Gladu said.

Johnston, who served from October 2010 to September 2017, is the only former governor general who has publicly disclosed his expenses after leaving his post.

Gladu hopes Bill C-305 will prevent a situation similar to that of Payette from occurring in the future.

It is time to fix this. This private members bill would do that, she said in the House of Commons on June 2 when she introduced the bill.

With files from The Canadian Press
The USS Hornet is open for a Memorial Day tribute in Alameda, Calif., on May 31, 2021. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times)

Navy Veteran Best Friends Still Work on USS Hornet

ALAMEDA, Calif.Two best friends and Navy veterans shared with NTD Television some of their most memorable Vietnam War experiences.

Bill Fee, 73, joined the Navy in 1968 and served for four years at sea. As a then-20-year-old, he didnt fully understand what patriotism means, he said. He grew to understand it after experiencing war.

The most memorable, hardworking time was when the USS Pueblo got captured in North Korea, he said. We were in Vietnam, and we were sent to North Korea. It was snowing. All the guys on the flight deck were freezing, and our job was to show might and strong authority.

Bill Fee, emcee for USS Hornet events like the Memorial Day tribute, in Alameda, Calif., on May 31, 2021. (David Zhang/The Epoch Times)

When asked if he was ever afraid to be in combat, he replied: 18 to 22 years of agewe were all invincible. Nobody was really scared.

Here on the ship, we learned and we improved the strength of the military; today, all branches, overseas, any other countries, we are the strongest nation in the world, he said.

He feels fortunate to have returned alive.

Fee has worked at the USS Hornet for 21 years. The ship is now a sea, air, and space museum, and he is an emcee and program manager for all the events on the ship.

He served on an aircraft carrier with his best friend, Lewis Ross, for two years, in 1969 and 1970.

Navy veteran Lewis Ross in Alameda, Calif., on May 31, 2021. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times)

Ross joined the Navy in New York in 1960 when he was 17 years old and served until 1987.

He had a poor childhood and had only been through the sixth grade.

My first really good father figure was a black first-class petty officer who said, Do this, do this; oh, by the way, youre going to finish high school. So they sent me to high school on this ship, and I was taught there. I passed all the tests, and I finished high school, Ross said.

He served in the Cuban Missile Crisis on the USS Independence, Coral Sea, Ranger, Bonhomme Richard, Constellation, and Enterprise.

Ross retired on the USS Enterprise on the pier where the USS Hornet now resides.

Traveling around the world allowed him to have an appreciation for other people, including fellow Navy pilots.

Having landed on an aircraft carrier, not being a pilot, just as a passenger, was an experience that is unbelievable to a personor launching, getting catapulted off a carrier, thats an experience. And these guys did it every day, sometimes four and five times a day. And they face the enemy every day.

A wreath toss honors fallen soldiers in a Memorial Day tribute in Alameda, Calif., on May 31, 2021. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times)

Ross recommends young people join the Navy, because he learned so much in his 30 years of experience.

The Navy taught me electronics, taught me how to repair, taught me how to troubleshoot, taught me how to stay with a project. And thats the best thing I have to say about the Navy, is I was told, you need to finish your job, and by God, Im never going back on my word, Im always going to do my best to finish the job, Ross said.

I worked on military aircraft; I worked on weapons systems; I did a lot of bombs, lot of guns, all that stuff, all aircraft related. I got to go on six aircraft carriers; I got to go around the world twice, cross the equator six times, and through the Suez Canal, when Gaddafi did me a favor and prevented me from meeting my wife in Australia, which was not a happy time, he said, chuckling.

Today, they stay with the USS Hornet to teach the younger generation about history and learning from mistakes.

Visitors walk around inside the USS Hornet Museum and learn about the ships history and World War II, in Alameda, Calif., on May 31, 2021. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times)

I like it here because we get to educate the people about World War II, this ships history with Apollo, all that going down, Ross said. I get the chance to give back what the military gave to me, and the military gave me everything I am today.

The USS Hornet was commissioned in November 1943. It was awarded 11 battle stars for its service in World War II. It also served in the Vietnam War and recovered the Apollo space flight landings.
Newly appointed NSW Labor leader Chris Minns speaks to the media during a press conference at NSW State Parliament, Sydney, Friday, June 4, 2021. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

New NSW Opposition Leader Minns to Recruit Shadow Cabinet

Chris Minns will spend the weekend drafting MPs into his shadow cabinet and touring western Sydney, ahead of his first sitting week as NSW opposition leader.

The 41-year-old Kogarah MP declared on Friday that the 2023 election campaign had begun, just hours after he was elected leader of the NSW parliamentary Labor party.

He is expected to unveil his frontbench line-up next week, though on Friday he would not commit to having it set by the time parliament resumes on Tuesday.

Its a busy month for the NSW parliament, with Treasurer Dominic Perrottet set to hand down the budget on June 22.

Theres likely to be fresh blood in the mix when Minns does reveal his leadership team.

There are some fantastic people that need to have a shot on the frontbench, they need frontline responsibilities  Im very excited about giving them the opportunity to do that, he said.

The new opposition leader will spend his first full day on the job touring the key electoral battleground of western Sydney, with appearances at Carnes Hill and Penrith.

He singled out the impact of tolls on the cost of living for western Sydney families in his debut media conference on Friday.

The government should stop signing contracts with escalating toll costs built in, he said.

We will have a package to take to the next election that deals with what is a serious issue for western Sydney families, he said.

Some families are paying more than $5,000 a year in tolls. They simply cant afford it.

Minns nomination for the leadership was unopposed at a caucus meeting on Friday morning, after rival Michael Daley pulled out.

Both Minns and Daley claim the party is now unified, despite the bitter divisions that led to Jodi McKay stepping down.

There is bound to be scrutiny on whether those seen to be in Daleys campincluding McKay, former deputy leader Yasmin Catley and Daley himselfare given frontbench spots.

Daley said on Friday hed be happy to serve if tapped by Minns, but that he hadnt asked for a spot in exchange for his decision to pull out.

McKay tweeted her support for Minns on Friday afternoon.

She had previously suggested she stepped down from the leadership because Minns supporters never accepted his loss against her in the 2019 leadership battle.

By Hannah Ryan
Students file into their classroom at a middle school in New York City, N.Y., on Feb. 25, 2021. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

New York State No Longer Requires Masks in Schools, Camps

Decision up to local districts

New York state will no longer mandate masks in K-12 schools and camps statewide beginning on June 7, with the decision on whether to keep the requirement in place to be left to local districts, barring any guidance otherwise from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But New York City public schoolsthe largest school system in the United Stateswill continue to require the face coverings.

In a letter (pdf) to the CDC, New York State Commissioner of Health Howard Zucker said that the state will update its school and camp mask guidance.

If there is any data or science that you are aware of that contradicts moving forward with this approach, please let me know as soon as possible. We plan to make this guidance effective on Monday, June 7, Zucker wrote to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Wallensky.

The new guidance states that those who are fully vaccinated dont need to wear masks in both indoor and outdoor settings. For people who arent vaccinated, or not fully vaccinated, masks arent required for outdoor settings, though theyre encouraged for higher-risk circumstances outdoors and strongly encouraged but not required for indoor settings. Schools and camps may choose to implement stricter standards, according to Zucker.

The state wanted to align its school and camp mask guidance. Zucker noted the CDC gave different guidance on mask-wearing in the setting of K-12 schools compared to youth camps.

The current CDC guidance for K-12 schools is consistent use of masks, with no distinction between mask-wearing for indoor and outdoor activities, and doesnt address vaccinated individuals, he wrote.

Meanwhile, the current CDC guidance for youth camps is similar to the new guidance that New York state seeks to implement on June 7.

New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) President Andy Pallotta said in a statement that the release of the letter on June 4 is whiplash-inducing news. He noted that there are only three weeks remaining in the school year.

Short of any additional guidance from the state or the CDC before Monday, we implore school districts to closely evaluate local conditions and connect with their educators and parents to decide the best course of action for protecting their school community, he said.

The CDC hasnt directly responded to the letter as of June 4.

A CDC spokesperson told The Associated Press that the agency recommends consistent indoor mask use for the rest of the school year.

Current evidence demonstrates that consistent mask use indoors among people two and older who are not fully vaccinated, along with other preventive strategies, is key to reducing the spread of COVID-19, CDC spokeswoman Jade Fulce told the AP in an email.

The recommendation to continue with these prevention strategies is based on youth aged 12-15 not being able to be fully vaccinated before the end of the current school year and youth under 12 not yet being eligible for vaccinations. Additionally, schools need time to make systems and policy adjustments.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari in Paris, France, on May 18, 2021. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)

Nigeria Suspends Twitter Days After Presidents Post Removed

ABUJANigeria said on Friday it had indefinitely suspended Twitters activities, two days after the social media giant removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government had acted because of the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigerias corporate existence.

Mohammed did not spell out what form the suspension would take or give more details on the undermining activities. His ministry also announced Twitters suspension on Twitter.

Nigerias Information Minister Lai Mohammed speaks during a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria, on Nov. 19, 2020. (Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

When asked about the details of the suspension, a ministerial aide told Reuters: Wait and see how things will turn out.

As of the early hours of Saturday, Twitters website was inaccessible in Nigeria on some mobile carriers, while its app and website worked on others, according to Reuters tests in Lagos and Abuja.

Twitter is investigating its deeply concerning suspension of operations by the Nigerian government, and will provide updates when we know more, the company said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the Twitter said Buharis post threatening to punish groups blamed for attacks on government buildings had violated its abusive behaviour policy.

In April, the information minister reacted angrily when Twitter chose neighbouring Ghana for its first African office. He said the company had been influenced by media misrepresentations of Nigeria, including reports of crackdowns on protests last year.

Demonstrators calling for police reform had used social media to organise, raise money and share alleged proof of police harassment. Twitters chief executive, Jack Dorsey, wrote on Twitter to encourage his followers to donate.

In the protests wake, Mohammed called for some form of regulation on social media to combat fake news.

A spokesperson for Airtel, one of Nigerias largest mobile carriers, on Friday declined to say whether the company had received any government directives about the suspension.

MTN, the largest mobile carrier, did not respond to calls and a message seeking comment.

By Felix Onuah
NRA Drops Federal Lawsuit Against New York Attorney General

The National Rifle Association (NRA) dropped a lawsuit on June 4 the group had filed last year against Letitia James, New York states attorney general.

An attorney for the NRA told a federal judge that the plaintiff wants the suit voluntarily dismissed without prejudice.

The NRA filed the suit on Aug. 6, 2020, asserting James, a Democrat, was committed to targeting it for political reasons, based on statements she made during her campaign. At one point, James vowed to take down the NRA.

In a lawsuit filed in state court against the NRA earlier on June 4, James argued the nonprofit was exploited by CEO Wayne LaPierre for his financial benefit and for the benefit of a close circle of staff, board members, and vendors.

The voluntary dismissal will ensure that the NRAs claims proceed promptly to discovery and a full vindication of its members rights, NRA lawyer William Brewer said in a statement, referring to counterclaims in the same court in which James filed.

James said in a statement that the move is an implicit admission that their strategy would never prevail.

Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The truth is that Wayne LaPierre and his lieutenants used the NRA as a breeding ground for personal gain and a lavish lifestyle. We were victorious against the organizations attempt to declare bankruptcy, and our fight for transparency and accountability will continue because no one is above the law, she said.

The dismissal came roughly a month after a federal judge threw out the gun rights groups January bankruptcy case, which he called an improper effort to avoid Jamess regulatory oversight and gain an unfair litigation advantage.

In dismissing the bankruptcy case after a 12-day trial, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale in Dallas faulted LaPierre for arranging it without telling his board of directors.

Hale also warned that another bankruptcy filing could result in the appointment of an outside trustee to run the organization, while adding that trial testimony suggested the group now understands the importance of compliance.

The NRA, one of the largest gun rights groups in the United States, has seen membership jump by more than 150,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano speaks the Let the Church ROAR National Prayer Rally on the National Mall in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Pennsylvania Republicans Split Over Proposed 2020 Election Audit

Update: Sen. Argall later said he supports an audit.

Original story below.

While some Republicans in the Pennsylvania legislature support an audit of the 2020 election, others do not, making the prospect that a review happens unclear.

State Sens. Doug Mastriano and Cris Dush, along with state Rep. Rob Kauffman, traveled to Maricopa County, Arizona this week to tour the forensic audit taking place there. Afterward, Mastriano and Dush expressed support for an audit and said theyd take what they learned to the Pennsylvania Senate GOP leadership.

Sen. Jake Corman, the Pennsylvania Senates president pro tempore, declined to comment through a spokesperson. Sen. Kim Ward, the Pennsylvania Senate GOPs floor leader, did not respond to an inquiry.

State Sen. Dave Argall, a Republican who chairs the Senates State Government Committee, told the Pennsylvania Capital-Star that we are still reviewing the pros and cons of a possible audit.

An Arizona Senate panel last year subpoenaed ballots and election machines from Maricopa County. After a court battle over the scope of the subpoenas was resolved, an audit started in Phoenix in April.

Republicans control the Pennsylvania Senate. The GOP has seven members on the Senates State Government Committee, compared to four for Democrats. Both Mastriano and Dush sit on the panel.

When a state does an audit, it needs to be modeled after this, Mastriano told One America News at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum after touring the facility.

Pennsylvania lawmakers, including House Speaker Bryan Cutler, have previously pushed for an audit, but were unable to get enough support to order one.

Pennsylvania House State Government Chairman Seth Grove, a Republican, does not want an audit to be done.

Maricopa County ballots cast in the 2020 general election are examined and recounted by contractors working for Florida-based company, Cyber Ninjas, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 6, 2021. (Matt York/Pool/AP Photo)

On November 19, 2020 the Pa [sic] House of Representatives authorized an audit of the 2020 General Election through the General Assemblys audit arm, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) through HR 1100. The LBFC rejected taking up the audit on a party line vote, he wrote in a statement on Twitter.

The PA House of Representatives will not be authorizing any further audits on any previous election. We are focused on fixing our broken election law to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat, he added.

Pennsylvanias former secretary of state, Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, in February announced that a statewide risk-limiting audit pilot, which featured a review of over 45,000 randomly-selected ballots, showed strong evidence that the ballot count was correct. Pennsylvania Democrats have largely opposed other audit efforts.

This has been litigated and relitigated; there was no widespread fraud in Pennsylvania, state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa told the Capital-Star. Lets move on and make it easier for folks to vote and counties to process those votes.

Former President Donald Trump earlier Friday expressed support for the Pennsylvania lawmakers who do want an audit.

Mastriano, Dush, and Kauffman went to Arizona to learn the best practices for conducting a full Forensic Audit of the 2020 General Election, he said in a statement.

Now the Pennsylvania Senate needs to act. Senate President Jake Corman needs to fulfill his promise to his constituents to conduct a full Forensic Audit. Senator Dave Argall, Chairman of the State Government Committee, has to authorize the subpoenas, if necessary, he added. The people of Pennsylvania and America deserve to know the truth. If the Pennsylvania Senate leadership doesnt act, there is no way they will ever get re-elected!
Putin Says Dont Spoil Russian-British Relations After MI6 Chiefs Criticism

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged against interference in Russian-British relations after the head of MI6 described the nation as a declining power and criticised the Kremlins reckless behaviour.

Putin stressed on Friday evening that Richard Moore, chief of MI6, is new to the role as he suggested the spy chief would revisit his assessments of Moscow. Moore, who began in the role in October, described Russia as an objectively declining power economically and demographically as he struck out against the Kremlins actions.

Asked about the remarks in a press conference, Putin said: You said that the new head of MI6 has given these assessments, so he is new and I think he is going to get some experience and he will probably revisit his assessments [on] if Russia is a declining power. So why bother, why be concerned, just live your life and dont try to spoil the Russian-British relations further.

Speaking through a video link from St Petersburg, he said the UK and Russia had seen a growth in trade last year, adding: So if you dont try to interfere into this process then everything is going to be good.

In April, Moore spoke of his continued anger about the Novichok attack in Salisbury, in which two alleged Russian operatives targeted Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy turned double agent for MI6.

And the spy chief highlighted allegations that Russias military intelligence agency, the GRU, was behind a blast at a Czech arms factory in 2014, killing two.

When you get that pattern of reckless behaviour, of course you then look at what is happening around Ukraine and of course it worries us. It is why we have coordinated so closely with our allies to make sure we are getting firm messages back to President Putin, he told Times Radio.

Moore also said the regime was under pressure as Russia faced a decline.

Russia is an objectively declining power economically and demographically, he said.

It is an extremely challenged place. And clearly the treatment of Alexei Navalny as we saw with the thousands of protesters on the streets of wellnot just Moscowof a number of cities shows that there is a deal of disaffection with Mr. Putin.

Relations between Moscow and London have been particularly strained since the nerve agent attack on British soil in 2018.

Skripal survived but it killed 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess after she unwittingly sprayed herself with the chemical stored in a perfume bottle found by her partner, who was also left seriously ill.

Accusing Russia of being a hostile state, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has recently led a push for NATO to use political pressure to combat the threat from Moscow.

Raab has also said it is very difficult to believe the arrest of a prominent critic of the Belarus regime from a diverted Ryanair flight could have taken place without at least the acquiescence of the authorities in Moscow.
Restaurant Owner Jason Monn Running for Pennsylvania Governor

Republican Jason Monn, a restaurateur and former mayor of Corry, Pennsylvania, has set his sights on the 2022 Pa. Governor race. The owner of Fat Monns Grub restaurant identifies himself as a family and community-oriented common guy, who understands the struggles of the everyday Pennsylvanian.

Monn was raised by a single mom and spent his childhood on welfare. Without a father figure to guide him, he grew up very fast and quickly learned how to take care of himself.

Monns experience in government began as a city council member in 2012. He was elected mayor three years later.

The impetus in driving Monn to seek the governorship came at the end of 2020, after watching working-class families suffer from the lockdowns.

Monn turned to his wife Janet of almost 23 years and asked what they can do to help parents and their children who were not getting their lunch at school anymore. That night they decided to offer them dollar lunches, including a bag of chips, a sub, and a drink.

The next day they made a video on their Facebook page: The video blew up, it went berserk. And I think in that first day, I think we had about 50,000 views on it from it being shared. And people started donating money to the cause so that kids didnt have to pay $1 for a lunch.  we ended up giving away 31,103 free meals.

Jason Monn, the owner of Fat Monns Grub restaurant has initiated a campaign to give away 31,103 free meals during pandemic in 2020. (Courtesy of Janet Monn)

While Monn and Janet had initially thought they would only do it for a couple of weeks, they ended up providing free lunches for the rest of the school year.

Monn and Janet also gave the teenagers in the area an outdoor prom. They received local donations for this event and even got donations from as far as Florida and Wyoming.

While Fat Monns was able to weather the storm of the pandemic through creative measures such as converting the restaurants parking lot into outdoor dining and doing a lot of take out, Monn was very concerned about so many businesses shutting down. I was upset because it was Christmas time. Places had a chance to earn back some of that money, doing Christmas parties, doing catering events. And I wanted somebody to explain to me why the big chain stores were able to be open, why you could go places, but restaurants were being shut down, hairstylists, were being shut down. What was the reasoning?

On December 11, Monn got up early and drove about five hours to Harrisburg. He sat on the steps for several hours, hoping to talk to elected officials and their staff to help him understand why the Pennsylvania government was making the choices that it was. Monn could not get anyone from the government to talk to him, but he did speak to about 300400 passersby, who were able to share their experiences with him.

Monn believes that good leadership depends on direct engagement with constituents and a healthy dose of humility, were all links in a chain, you know, and if one of those links is broken, that chain falls apart, we have to be able to team up and work together.

Monn is joined by four other Republicans who are seeking the nomination: Pa. Commissioner Joe Gale, former congressman Lou Barletta, Pittsburgh attorney Jason Richey, and cardiothoracic surgeon Nche Zama.

Only one Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, is running for Pennsylvania governor.
Cruise ships dock at PortMiami as the cruise line industry waits to begin operations again, in Miami on May 26, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Royal Caribbean Wont Force Passengers on US Cruises to Be Vaccinated

Royal Caribbean has decided not to require passengers on U.S. cruises to be vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19.

A battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has apparently concluded as the company announced on June 4 that passengers dont need a COVID-19 vaccine.

Guests are strongly recommended to set sail fully vaccinated, if they are eligible. Those who are unvaccinated or unable to verify vaccination will be required to undergo testing and follow other protocols, which will be announced at a later date, Royal Caribbean said in a statement, which also alerted Americans that the cruise lines U.S. comeback is slated to start on July 2 in Miami.

DeSantis, a Republican, recently signed a law that could fine companies up to $5,000 for each person who is asked to provide proof theyve received a vaccine against the CCP virus.

Royal Caribbean had previously indicated that at least some passengers would need a COVID-19 vaccine.

We expect all of our guests who are eligible for a vaccine to have it, Richard Fain, the companys CEO, told the BBC last month.

On its website, Royal Caribbean still says passengers 16 or older leaving from Seattle or The Bahamas or sailing to Alaska must be fully vaccinated.

Royal Caribbean didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

All workers will be vaccinated against the virus, the company said in the new statement.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is interviewed by The Epoch Times after signing into law Senate Bill 7072 at Florida International University in Miami on May 24, 2021. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Celebrity Cruises, also owned by the Royal Caribbean Group, is still requiring vaccines for all passengers 16 or older. As of Aug. 1, U.S. passengers as young as 12 must be fully vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is conducting strict oversight of the cruise industry, recommends that all eligible passengers and crew get a COVID-19 vaccine when one is available to them.

The CDC is requiring cruise ships to go on trial voyages as it gradually eases rules governing the vessels. In lieu of conducting a simulated voyage, a cruise ship operator can submit to the agency an attestation that 95 percent of crew members are fully vaccinated, as well as a clear and specific vaccination plan and timeline to limit cruise ship sailings to 95 percent of passengers who have been verified by the cruise ship operator as fully vaccinated prior to sailing.

The CDC has approved at least five Royal Caribbean ships for test cruises.

A spokeswoman for DeSantis told The Epoch Times in an email that the governor has been leading the fight for the cruise industry to operate since last year, and he has been working with with the cruise lines so that they will be able to set sail soon in compliance with Florida law.

Governor DeSantis took a strong, principled stance, and to the corporate medias surpriseand to the benefit of all Floridiansit worked, she said, noting that DeSantis previously sued the CDC over its actions relating to the cruise industry.

DeSantis in April signed a mandate that bans attempts to require so-called vaccine passports, or proof of vaccination. Floridas Senate Bill 2006, which the governor signed the following month, says that any business operating in the state may not require patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business operations in this state.

The law goes into effect on July 1.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, on June 4 thanked the governor and other officials for their steadfast support of our industry and for providing access to vaccines to the thousands of crew on our ships off the Eastern Seaboard. He said that 90 percent of people who have booked cruises so far are either vaccinated or planning to get vaccinated before they sail.

Vacationers can finally plan to take their precious time off this summer and truly get away after what has been a challenging time for everyone, he said in a statement.
A perimeter fence is constructed around what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, on Sept. 4, 2018. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Canadian Senate Demands Feds Impose Sanctions Against Chinese Officials Involved in Uyghur Genocide

The Senate of Canada approved a motion on June 3 that demands the government of Canada impose sanctions against Chinese officials involved in the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Chinas western Xinjiang region.

Submitted by Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos, the motion calls upon the federal government to impose Magnitsky sanctions against members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) who have taken part in the human rights abuses and systematic persecution of Uighur Muslims in China.

We can not continue to claim to be defenders of human rights and religious freedom while at the same time turning a blind eye to what is happening to Uighur Muslims in China. The time for words is over. Now is the time for action, Housakos wrote on Twitter on June 3. Impose Magnitsky sanctions against the CCP.

During a debate in the chamber prior to the passing of the motion, Sen. Julie Miville-Dechene said she couldnt remain silent about the human rights violations that the Uyghur Muslims are experiencing at the hands of the Chinese communist regime.

The Uyghurs being forced to labor in factories both within and outside the autonomous region of Xinjiang have been the most visible face of this problem during the pandemic, she said.

Along with this forced labor, the Uyghurs are also enduring torture, sexual violence against women in re-education camps, sterilization, and assimilation techniques, as my colleagues described. It is disgusting.

An independent report published in March by think tank Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy concluded that the CCP is responsible for the ongoing genocide against Uyghur Muslims.

The report noted that the genocide is conducted systematically, starting by collecting Uyghurs biometric data and assigning Party cadre teams to monitor them, and subsequently destroying their cultural and religious site, language, and poetryall central to their identity and life.

The CCP next criminalized their religious practices, and built and expanded the internment camps and detention facilities where between 1 and 2 million Uyghurs have been detained.

In February, the majority of MPs officially recognized the CCPs campaign against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities constitutes a genocide after a 266-0 vote, which the Conservatives motion gained support from the Bloc Quebecois, the NDP, the Green Party, and non-cabinet Liberal MPs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Cabinet didnt show up, except for Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau, who voted on behalf of the body to abstain from voting on the motion.

On the Senates end, a similar motion concerning recognition of the Uyghur genocide was introduced by Housakos on March 15, and debated on June 3. The motion, however, was voted to adjourn to a future date for further debate, which Housakos called disappointing.

Miville-Dechene remains positive that the Senate can still make a difference in sounding out the atrocities committed by the Chinese regime.

The Senate may not have the power to force the Government of Canada to impose sanctions on China, but we can join the House of Commons in speaking out loud and clear against the persistent human rights violations in China, she said.
Southern California Community Choice Energy Company Files for Bankruptcy

A community choice aggregation (CCA) company that was formed to procure energy for several cities in Southern Californias Riverside County has filed for bankruptcy, citing increased costs and lower revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Western Community Energy (WCE) is a joint powers authority (JPA) consisting of the cities of Eastvale, Hemet, Jurupa Valley, Norco, Perris, and Wildomar. The JPA was formed last year to develop a CCA program and purchase energy on behalf of residents and businesses as a cost-competitive alternative to electricity offered by Southern California Edison (SCE).

The companys board of directors declared a fiscal emergency and authorized its legal counsel to file for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy protection on May 24. In a press release, WCE reported that several external contributing factors impacted the companys financial situation since the program was implemented in April 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.

Last August, California experienced an unprecedented heat event which resulted in substantially higher power needs and a spike in the cost of energy, according to WCE.

Although WCE had secured 90 percent of its electricity needs for the summer of 2020, the heat storm exhausted the projected supplies prematurely, the release stated. An additional $12 million in energy costs were incurred throughout the 2020 summer season due to the unanticipated warm weather.

In addition, a tightening of the states requirements for resource adequacy created a shortage in the market, significantly increasing the cost of regulatory compliance.

WCE stated that it lost revenue because many customers did not pay their bills during the COVID-19 pandemic following a mandate by Gov. Gavin Newsom. SCE also blamed Newsom for his mandate that no customers could be disconnected due to non-payment of their utility bills during the pandemic. The order was implemented by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Over the last year, delinquencies averaged ten times higher than pre-Pandemic industry standards and have cost WCE millions of dollars in added cost burden, WCE stated.

WCE Chairman Todd Rigby said that the ongoing impacts of the pandemic severely limited the organizations options moving forward and forced the company to take bankruptcy action.

Chapter 9 protection gives us the opportunity to restructure the organization and reorganize our finances. We look forward to working with our legislators, the Governor, and other parties to identify a pathway forward for WCE, Rigby said in a media release.

WCE assured customers they will not experience any service disruptions as a result of the bankruptcy, and said it will keep them informed and updated as it restructures its debt.
Chinas Tibet embraces new chapter in development in new era

11:01, June 05, 2021 By Shen Lin, Yuan Quan ( People's Daily

In the Ngokjetang neighborhood in Lhasa city, capital of southwest Chinas Tibet autonomous region, where streets are neat and tidy, stores see booming business, and good governance and social order are maintained, residents of various ethnic groups, including the Tibetans, the Han and Hui people, enjoy close ties of kinship, and always gather together when celebrating Spring Festival and the Tibetan New Year.

Thanks to the unremitting efforts of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet and with the vigorous support of the whole country, the region has bid farewell to poverty that had plagued it for over a thousand years and embraced a well-off life.

A brand new Tibet, which enjoys all-round social progress, economic and cultural prosperity, and a sound eco-environment, and sees its citizens lead better lives, has taken shape.

Photo taken on August 28, 2020, shows a freight train running on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. (Photo by Peng Huan/Peoples Daily Online)

Due to historical and natural factors, Tibet used to be a region with the highest poverty incidence and severest level of poverty in China, where the cost of poverty eradication was the highest and the difficulty greatest in the country.

After painstaking and untiring efforts made by the Chinese government and the local people for many years, all the 628,000 registered poor people and 74 designated poor counties in Tibet have shaken off poverty, marking the end of absolute poverty in Tibet for the first time in history.

Last year, the average per capita disposable income of rural residents in Tibet reached 14,598 yuan (about $2,279), up 12.7 percent over the previous year while representing double-digit growth for the 18th consecutive year.

Today, Tibet spends more than 70 percent of its fiscal revenue on safeguarding and improving peoples livelihood every year, continuously enhancing local peoples sense of gain, happiness, and security.

On July 1, 2006, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened to traffic. It is the first railway connecting Tibet with other parts of China.

The track-laying work of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway in southwest Chinas Tibet autonomous region is completed by construction workers with China Railway 11 Bureau Group Corporation, Dec. 31, 2020. (Photo by Xu Yunhua/Peoples Daily Online)

After the railway opened to traffic, the places that used to take a day to get to can now be reached in two to three hours by train, according to Yuru, head of the villagers committee of a village in Amdo county, Nagqu of Tibet, who travels a lot between Amdo county and Nagqu and Lhasa.

Whenever new commodities are launched, we can get them soon, Yuru said.

As of December 2020, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway had accumulatively carried nearly 64.7 million tons of goods in and out of Tibet, and transported a total of about 28.7 million passengers to and from the region.

The Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway, the first electrified railroad in Tibet, is slated to begin service on June 30. And Chinas independently-developed Fuxing high-speed Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains powered by both internal-combustion and electricity are expected to run along the railway.

The Lhasa-Shigatse expressway under construction in Tibet, which connects Lhasa and Shigatse city of Tibet and is expected to stretch 166.98 kilometers, will cut the driving time between Lhasa and Shigatse to less than three hours from nearly six hours after it is completed.

Local electricity workers install a new transformer without cutting off the electricity at Kesong village, Shannan city, southwest Chinas Tibet autonomous region, with the help of technicians sent from east Chinas Anhui province to aid Tibet, Dec. 4, 2019. (Photo by Ma Yong/Peoples Daily Online)

From 2016 to 2020, Tibets total length of highways in service rose to 118,800 kilometers, an average annual growth of 8,100 kilometers, according to the head of Tibets department of transportation.

Apart from railways and highways, Tibet has also seen improvement in its electricity network. So far, four major electricity transmission and transformation projects have been built for Tibet, including a power grid interconnection project in Ngari prefecture of the region, which was put into operation in December 2020 and has ensured safe and reliable electricity for 380,000 farmers and herdsmen in 16 counties along the route.

As its infrastructure has been continuously improved, Tibet has attracted a lot of companies engaging in cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and other new industries.

Photo taken in August 2020 shows Tibetan people at the Drepung Monastery, the largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhisms Gelug Sect, in Lhasa, southwest Chinas Tibet autonomous region. (Photo by Tang Mingdeng/Peoples Daily Online)

The Tibetan plateau has natural advantages for developing big data industry, such as the clean and low-sulphur air, cold climate, and cheap electricity, said Jiang Ning, president of Ningsuan, a Tibet-based big data service provider.

With an investment of 11.8 billion yuan, the company hopes to build a cloud computing data center that can accommodate 70,000 equipment cabinets in Tibet, according to Jiang, who disclosed that once completed, the data center will bring in an annual operating income of about 10 billion yuan.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Southern Californians Stay True to Their Fluffy Pandemic Companions

Pet owners in Southern California who rushed to find a furry friend at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic are keeping their pets when they return to the office, shelters say.

Despite alarmist headlines tied to regional reports of a surge in owner surrenders, this trend is not currently evident on a national level, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) said in a statement. The vast majority of these households still have that pet in the home90 percent for dogs and 85 percent for catsand are not considering rehoming their pet in the near future.

According to a survey by the ASPCA, close to one in five households, or 23 million American households, acquired a cat or dog since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Los Angeles and Orange County Animal Services confirmed that despite reports of pets being left behind, the county has not seen an increase in returns.

We have found that because owners have been home during the pandemic, they have been able to work with their new family members to help them adjust to their new environment, Los Angeles Animal Services spokesperson Agnes Sibal told The Epoch Times. That has resulted in a really strong bond between pets and people.

To support pet owners, Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) provides residents with programs, such as a food pantry to assist in feeding pets, and online forums to help overcome challenges.

At the beginning of the pandemic, LAAS joined the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) international coalition. The HASS joined with other animal organizations from around the county to discuss how to keep more animals in their homes and out of the shelter system with community programs to assist pets and owners.

LAAS said it strives to provide solutions and services to pet owners facing hardships to help keep families together.

Orange County pet lovers looking to add a furry companion to their homes might find one during a Super Pet Adoption event happening June 6 in Irvine.

The June 6 event, hosted by the Irvine Animal Care Center, will feature upwards of 150 animals.

Making sure pets in need continue to find homes during COVID-19 has been important to the city, and weve been proud of our efforts to keep animal adoptions safe and accessible over the past year, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan said in a statement.

We look forward to finding homes for our many four-legged friends this June.

Advanced ticket reservations are required for all attendees, including children. Tickets are available for specific entrance times to ensure social distancing and limited gathering.

The 6443 Oak Canyon event runs on June 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijings Avenue of Eternal Peace during the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 5, 1989. (Jeff Widener/AP Photo)

Tank Man Image Search Showed No Results on Bing Due to Human Error, Microsoft Says

Microsoft on Friday said that its search engine Bing yielded no results when users entered the query tank man in the United States and elsewhere for part of Friday because of accidental human error.

Users in the United States and other countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and Singapore, reported that Bing returned the message There are no results for tank man when they tried to search the term.

Meanwhile, rival search engine Google, on the other hand, returned many results for the image when the tank man query was entered on Friday.

Some social media users raised concerns that Bing, one of the few foreign search engines available in China, may have been censoring the term on the 32nd anniversary of June 4, 1989, the Tiananmen Square massacre.

This is due to an accidental human error and we are actively working to resolve this, Microsoft said in a statement to news outlets. Smaller search engines such as DuckDuckGo that license results from Microsoft faced similar issues around tank man searches and said they expected a fix soon.

Several hours after the issue was reported, Bing returned images of the iconic tank man for the search query as of early Saturday eastern time.

Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, said on Twitter that he found Microsofts statement hard to believe.

Outrageous: on the anniversary of the murderous Tiananmen Square crackdown, Microsofts Bing search engine suddenly wont return any images if you search for tank man, the iconic photo. I just tried, he wrote. Hard to believe this is an inadvertent error.

Tank man refers to the iconic unidentified man who was pictured standing in front of a line of tanks near Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989a day after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ordered their troops to roll in tanks and open fire on civilians following weeks of protests centered in Tiananmen Square.

The CCP has never released a full account of the violence. Days after June 4, 1989, the CCP announced a death toll of about 300, most of them soldiers. However, rights groups and witnesses say thousands of people died. Unnamed sources within the CCP say at least 10,000 people were killed, according to a declassified British diplomatic cable and declassified White House documents.

A significant percentage of the Microsoft employees who work on Bing are based in China, including some who work on image-recognition software, according to a former employee, Reuters reported.

China is known to require search engines operating in its jurisdiction to censor results, but those restrictions are rarely applied elsewhere.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 2020. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool via Reuters)

The Epidemic Empire Strikes Back: Critics of Chinas Wuhan Lab Face Threats, Censorship, Smear Campaigns

Commentary

In a recent dump of Dr. Anthony Faucis emails, Peter Daszak thanks Fauci for publicly standing up and stating that the scientific evidence supports a natural origin for COVID-19 from a bat-to-human spillover, not a lab release from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In reality, evidence has been mounting that the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) was responsible for the lab release.

Daszaks EcoHealth Alliance received $3.7 million in grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study bat coronaviruses at the WIV, which also received shipments of deadly pathogens transferred from a lab in Canada. The WIV conducted dangerous gain-of-function research, which makes viruses more lethal and transmissible.

WHO team members Marion Koopmans (L), Peter Daszak (3rd R), and Peter Ben Embarek (2nd R) pose for a picture in Wuhan, in Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 10, 2021. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Money is fungible, and the WIV, controlled by a communist dictatorship, is not accountable to American taxpayers. As Sharyl Attkisson documents, U.S. taxpayer money did indeed fund gain-of-function research in China. In addition to the grants channeled through Peter Daszaks EcoHealth Alliance, the WIV received direct financial support from the United States.

Daszak, a zoologist, branded as a conspiracy theory any possibility that the virus that causes COVID-19 was the result of gain-of-function research or had escaped from a lab. He was a signatory to a letter to The Lancet intended to smear those who suspected a WIV or lab-leak origin. For Daszak, who had funded the WIV, it was a conflict of interest, and he should have played no role in any investigation. Before these revelations, a campaign against coronavirus dissidents was ramping up in force.

Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr. Robert Redfield is a veteran of the U.S. Army Medical Corps and co-founder of the University of Marylands Institute of Human Virology. In March, Redfield told reporters: Im of the point of view that I still think the most likely etiology of this pathology in Wuhan was from a laboratory. You know, escaped. Other people dont believe that. Thats fine. Science will eventually figure it out.

Shortly thereafter, Redfield began to get death threats.

I was threatened and ostracized because I proposed another hypothesis, Redfield said. I expected it from politicians. I didnt expect it from science. In similar style, State Department staffers were warned against investigating the origins of COVID-19. Four State Department officials said they were warned against a probe of the lab-leak theory because it would open a Pandoras box.

When the officials asked what they could reveal, the State Departments Office of Biological Policy Staff Director Christopher Park told them to say nothing that could point to the American governments own role in gain-of-function research. The staffers were shocked that a government official could make an argument that is so nakedly against transparency, in light of the unfolding catastrophe.

Biden adviser Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984, labeled an April 16, 2020, email conspiracy gains momentum and linked to a Fox News story claiming the pandemic originated in a Chinese lab. The next day, in a White House news conference, Fauci said a study by highly qualified evolutionary virologists confirmed that it is totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human.

Then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks during a press conference on the coordinated public health response to the 2019 coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Washington, on Jan. 28, 2020. (L-R) Secretary Azar, then-CDC Director Robert Redfield, then-NCIRD Director Nancy Messonnier, and NIAID Director Anthony Fauci. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Faucis main challenger in Congress has been Sen. Rand Paul, a medical doctor. In late May, when Fauci was coming under fire, somebody sent Paul a package of mysterious white powder. The envelope bore a picture of a bandaged Paul with a gun to his head and a death threat printed below. In a statement, Paul said: I take these threats immensely seriously. I have been targeted multiple times now.

Before Fauci hit stride in 2020, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), took the lead on pandemic news. In a series of telebriefings from January into March, Messonnier praised China and named the Wuhan market as the source of the deadly new virus for which there was no immunity.

When asked about travel from Wuhan, Messonnier, told reporters that was not something that Im at liberty to talk about today. The CDC official didnt reveal which government official was laying down the rules.

Like Fauci, Messonnier earned a medical degree, but her bio shows no advanced degrees in biochemistry or molecular biology. Unlike Fauci, Messonniers emails have yet to be made public and subject to examination.

Biden advisers planned a high-profile role for Messonnier, but she was reassigned in April, and in May, she resigned from the CDC. Messonnier now serves as the executive director for pandemic prevention and health systems with the Skoll Foundation. She leaves behind many questions about the destructive pandemic that the CDC failed to prevent and proved ill-equipped to manage.

Lloyd Billingsley is the author of Yes I Con: United Fakes of America, Barack em Up: A Literary Investigation, Hollywood Party, and other books. His articles have appeared in many publications, including Frontpage Magazine, City Journal, The Wall Street Journal, and American Greatness. Billingsley serves as a policy fellow with the Independent Institute.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Twitter App is seen on an iPhone in Los Angeles, Calif., on July 22, 2019. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Twitter Access Suspended by Nigerian Telecoms After Tech Giant Removes Presidents Post

The Nigerian government has directed the countrys telecommunications operators to shut down whatever access is left to Twitter within the countrys borders by June 12, after the social media giant deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Our members received formal instruction from the Nigerian Communications Commission, the industry regulator, to suspend access to Twitter, Gbenga Awonuga, executive secretary of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ATLON), told NewsMax. We are only following the directive of the government, as we are licensees of the government.

While the indefinite ban was carried out by network providers on June 4, in some instances, the platform was still accessible by the next morning. Awonuga said that those network carriers are in the process of disconnecting access.

The countrys attorney general declared that anyone who breaks the rules that ban Twitter would be immediately prosecuted, without elaborating on the exact nature of what a violation would constitute.

Based on national interest provisions  our members have acted in compliance with the directives of the Nigerian Communications Commission, ALTON said, according to Reuters.

The Nigerian governments move came two days after Twitter removed a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists in the West African country.

The removal of the presidents post was addressed by Information Minister Lai Mohammed, who maintained that the president has the right to talk about security matters, and criticized the tech companys actions.

The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very, very suspect, Mohammed said.

Twitter may have its own rules, but its not the universal rule. If Mr. President, anywhere in the world, feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views. Any organization that gives directives to its members to attack police stations, to kill policemen  you are saying that Mr. President does not have the right to express his dismay and anger about that?

Mohammed compared the situation in the United States, when rioters were burning police stations and killing policemen, to that of demonstrations in Nigeria against police brutality, saying that Twitter held that it was their right to protest.

But when a similar thing happened at the Capitol, it became insurrection, he said, referring to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach, which prompted Twitter to ban over 70,000 accounts, including then-President Donald Trumps account, saying that his posts posed a risk of further incitement of violence, even though Trumps posts specifically urged protesters to be peaceful.

On June 5, British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria Gill Atkinson wrote on Twitter that all Nigerians have the right to freedom of speech and the responsibility not to misuse that right.

Any action taken by government must be measured, proportionate and not suppress basic freedoms.

On the same day, Twitter announced that they would work to reestablish access for all the people in Nigeria that want to use the platform and said that the indefinite suspension was deeply concerning.

Amnesty International criticized the move and asked Nigerian officials to immediately reverse the unlawful suspension and other plans to gag the media, repress the civic space, and undermine Nigerians human rights.

Twitter didnt immediately return a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
University of Michigan to Keep GOP Chair, University Regent Weisers Name on Building

By David Jesse

From Detroit Free Press

DETROITThe University of Michigan will not strip state Republican chairman Ron Weisers name from a major campus building, the university said Friday. Weiser is also one of the universitys largest donors and a member of the Board of Regents.

Having considered these factors and weighed the difficult questions they raise, I have determined that I will not recommend to the regents that they violate the gift agreement and change the name of Weiser Hall, university President Mark Schlissel wrote in response to faculty seeking to have Weisers name stripped. I have opted to continue to build on the shared ground with Regent Weiser in support of core mission work of the university and will continue to assert university values when there is disagreement.

I appreciate that this decision may be disappointing, but I do believe it is the right one for the university.

Weiser was unable to be reached for comment.

He has been under fire since comments in March during a political event. He referred to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as witches and used the word assassination when asked what Republicans could do about U.S. Reps. Peter Meijer and Fred Upton, GOP congressmen who voted in favor of impeaching then-President Donald Trump.

Schlissel, Provost Susan Collins, the deans of the Ann Arbor campus, and the Board of Regents all condemned Weisers comments at the time. The board also voted to censure Weiser over the remarks and called on him to resign.

Faculty and staff members submitted a petition asking for Weisers name to be removed.

The building is home to several interdisciplinary and international-focused units within the universitys Literature, Science and Arts college and is a center for active and engaged learning.

In his letter, Schlissel said he thought about many factors.

One of the most challenging aspects of controversies about building names is that individuals lives and their legacies are complex and sometimes even contradictory, he wrote. While Regent Weisers recent comments in no way reflect our values, he has done much good upholding democratic values as our nations Ambassador to Slovakia and as a philanthropist. Over several decades, he and his family have demonstrated extraordinary support for the academic mission of our university, including a broad array of initiatives ranging from research into democracy and diplomacy to food allergies, diabetes, and student support on all three U-M campuses. In addition, he has served U-M as regent since 2016.

There are other complexities to consider when it comes to any gift to the university. As you may know, the naming of Weiser Hall was part of a gift agreement with Ron and Eileen Weiser, made years before he was elected to the Board of Regents. When campus facilities are named to recognize a donor, the naming is part of a negotiated gift agreement, which is a contract between the donor and the university. It is important to all those who enter into agreements with the university that we maintain our reputation for honoring our contracts. In addition, were we to decide to violate the contract and remove his name from a building, we would be obligated to return the associated gift.

Among other gifts, the Weiser family donated $50 million in 2014, which was used to renovate the building now bearing the family name.

2021 www.freep.com. Visit at freep.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Unrest Erupts in Minneapolis Amid Protests Over Police-Involved Shooting

Minneapolis saw an outbreak of unrest on Friday night, after a vigil and protests over the shooting death of a man by members of a U.S. Marshals task force devolved into chaotic scenes of looting, arson, and vandalism.

The second night of protests followed Thursdays fatal shooting of 32-year-old Winston Boogie Smith Jr., who was wanted on a weapons violation and fired a gun before two deputies shot him.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were trying to arrest Smith on a warrant for allegedly being a felon in possession of a gun, according to authorities. The Marshals Service said in a statement Thursday that Smith, who was in a parked vehicle, didnt comply with law enforcement and produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject.

Family and friends of Smith Jr. spoke at a vigil on Friday at the location of the fatal shooting, with video from the scene showing an unidentified man calling for justice and for the crowd to say his name.

Later, protesters blocked parts of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street in Uptown Minneapolis, police announced in a tweet, urging people to avoid the area.

Footage from later in the evening showed multiple fires burning, and police making arrests.

Police in riot gear faced off with some protesters, asking them to clear the area. At around 2 a.m., there was still a large police presence in the area, with footage showing a vehicle surrounded by law enforcement and additional arrests being made.

Video shared on social media showed a crowd of mostly masked individuals breaking into a T-Mobile outlet, with two men hoisting a third as a battering ram to shatter the window.

Moments later, people were seen rushing into the store through the broken window before exiting sometime later, with an alarm sounding in the background.

Police said at least nine people were arrested on possible charges including suspicion of riot, assault, arson, and damage to property.

The unrest came as Minneapolis has been on edge since the death of George Floyd just over a year ago, and the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by an officer in nearby Brooklyn Center in April.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 11, 2021. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via AP)

US Gave More Money to Chinese Lab for Bat Research Than Fauci Claimed: Documents

The United States gave more than $800,000 to the top-level laboratory in China from which some believe the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus emerged, according to newly released documents.

Internal emails from officials with the National Institutes of Health and an office inside the agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), show they discussed a question posed by Republican members of Congress in 2020 regarding how much the agencies sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The total amount sent between fiscal years 2014 and 2019 was $826,777, according to the emails.

The funding went to EcoHealth Alliance, which channeled money to the lab for the purpose of understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence.

The total amount is different from the amount that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of NIAID, told members of Congress the Wuhan lab received from the U.S. government.

We had a modest collaboration with respectable Chinese scientists who are world experts on coronavirus, and we did that through a subgrant from a larger grant to EcoHealth. The subgrant was about $600,000 over a period of five years, Fauci told members of the House Appropriations Committee during a hearing last month.

NIAID told The Epoch Times in an email that the $826,777 was what was budgeted while just $600,000 was actually spent. There is no indication in newly released email that any of the money was not spent.

The newly released emails show one chain involving Fauci in April 2020. In it, a top NIAID official, Dr. Emily Erbelding, informed Fauci and others that a new grant to EcoHealth was for $3.6 million. Of that, approximately $750,000 would go to the Wuhan lab. Roughly $75,000 had already been sent to the lab during year 1 of the grant, she said.

This is higher but not extraordinarily higher than I originally indicated which was for some earlier work, Hugh Auchincloss, another agency official, wrote to Fauci, who responded, Thanks.

In another message sent at around the same time, Fauci and National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins were informed by health officials that the White House has strongly embraced concerns raised by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) regarding the U.S. funding for the bat coronavirus research in China.

HEADS UP: Wuhan lab research, Lawrence Tabak wrote, labeling the email as high importance.

Fauci and Collins were told that the multi-country study in question, which included sites in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Burma, was given $3.7 million over six years and that the Wuhan lab received approximately $826,300 and would get approximately $80,000 more per year for the following four years.

More by phone, Tabak said.

The emails were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch.

These new documents show that funding for the Wuhan Institute was greater than the public has been told, Tom Fitton, president of the watchdog, said in a statement. That it has taken a year and a federal lawsuit to get this first disclosure on COVID and Wuhan is evidence of cover-up by Faucis agency.

Previously released emails obtained through a separate request showed Fauci and his team scrambled to respond to people wondering whether the CCP virus, which causes COVID-19, escaped from the Wuhan lab.

Fauci has insisted the grant funding went for appropriate research that could only be done properly in China.

Clearly the bats that have the coronaviruses are in China. They are not in Fairfax County, Virginia, or in New York. Thats where the bats are, Fauci told Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last month.

Some experts say the funding went to gain of function research, or efforts of making coronaviruses more transmissible, but Fauci has said the money didnt go toward that work.

Kennedy asked how Fauci was sure that Chinese scientists, often working under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, didnt shield their true work.

We have seen the results of the research that were done and that were published. And the studies are public, and on public databases now. None of that was gain of function, Fauci said.

Editors note: This article has been updated with a comment from NIAID.
Afghans stand near a mosque after a bomb exploded in the Shakar Dara district of Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 14, 2021. (Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

US Government Announces $266 Million in New Aid to Afghanistan

The U.S. government has announced more than $266 million in new humanitarian aid for Afghanistan while urging allies to contribute more generously to address the conflict-stricken countrys immediate humanitarian needs.

This funding will allow our partners to provide lifesaving protection, shelter, livelihoods opportunities, essential health care, emergency food aid, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to respond to the needs generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the State Department said in a June 4 release.

The department said the funds would help address the needs of the most vulnerable Afghans, including women and girls facing particular risks, including gender-based violence, as a result of the pandemic and decades of conflict.

The announcement comes as the United States continues to wind down its military presence in Afghanistan to meet the Sept. 11 deadline for a full withdrawal, which has sparked fears of renewed conflict and a Taliban return to power.

Michael Johns, a former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation foreign policy analyst, called for the United States to maintain an active role as a peace broker in the region.

The greatest threat to peace and stability in Afghanistan is the Taliban seeing the departure of U.S. troops as an invitation to utilize military force in ways that undermine power-sharing and contradict the commitments it has made, Johns told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. That threat would be amplified considerably should any regional power assist the Taliban in such a pursuit.

The U.S. must reinforce that any effort to undermine the peace and stability of Afghanistan by Russia, China, Iran, or any other force would be viewed as an act of immense hostility against the U.S. and would be met with punitive measures.

In its announcement, the State Department signaled its continued engagement in a nonmilitary capacity.

As the United States withdraws military forces from Afghanistan, our enduring commitment is clear, the State Department said. We remain engaged through our full diplomatic, economic, and assistance toolkit to support the peaceful, stable future the Afghan people want and deserve.

At the same time, the State Department renewed its call for Afghan leaders and the Taliban to negotiate a political settlement and permanent ceasefire that would bring an end to over 40 years of conflict that has led to the internal displacement of over 4.8 million Afghans.

This year alone, more than 115,000 persons have been displaced by conflict inside Afghanistan, and nearly 500,000 have returned to Afghanistan in need of assistance, the State Department said.

Hamid Bahrami, an author and independent Middle East analyst based in Glasgow, Scotland, called for pressure on countries that provide money and weapons to the Taliban.

Because Afghanistans conflicts are rooted in the region, the solution also requires pressure on countries like Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar to end their financial and weapons support to the Taliban and pursue their interests through multilateral diplomacy, Bahrami told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

The multifaceted use of the Taliban and the Afghanistan government as tools of pressure on each other will only increase regional warfare and the export of terrorism.

The State Departments newly announced aid brings the total U.S. humanitarian aid for Afghanistan to nearly $3.9 billion since 2002.

Venus Upadhayaya contributed to this report.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott poses at the Tunbridge World's Fair in Tunbridge, Vt., on Sept. 14, 2018. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)

Vermont Governor Seeks to Allow Noncitizens to Vote in Local Elections

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott indicated on Tuesday that he wants state lawmakers to pass legislation that gives voting rights to all legal residents statewide in local elections.

Scott made the comments in his official letters vetoing two bills, H.177 (pdf) and H.227 (pdf), which proposed to allow noncitizen residents of Montpelier and Winooski to vote in local elections, respectively.

This is an important policy discussion that deserves further consideration and debate, Scott said in the letters. I understand these charter changes are well-intentioned, but I ask the Legislature to revisit the issue of non-citizen voting in a more comprehensive manner and develop a statewide policy or a uniform template and process for those municipalities wishing to grant the right of voting in local elections to all legal residents.

State House Speaker Jill Krowinski opposed Scotts veto and signaled shes working to override the veto.

I can appreciate the Governors desire to have a statewide framework for policy, and that is important in some policy matters, but it simply doesnt work in situations like this that require charters to be tailored to a specific community, Krowinski said in a statement.

The legislature is returning on June 23 to June 24, and this is something that we feel strongly must be addressed to recognize and honor the voices of the citizens of Montpelier and Winooski, Krowinski added.

Democrats control both the House and Senate in Vermont.

Scott, a Republican, notably voted for President Joe Biden in last years election.

As many of you knew, I didnt support President [Donald] Trump. I wasnt going to vote for him. Then I came to the conclusion that it wasnt enough for me to just not vote. I had to vote against, Scott said at the time, VTDigger reported.

Last month, Scott also expressed his willingness to sign a bill that would allow sending general election mail-in ballots to all active voters.

Mail-in ballots at the Salt Lake County election office in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Oct. 29, 2020. (George Frey/AFP via Getty Images)

I think that getting more people out to vote, making it as easy as possible for them to do so, to exercise this right was something that was beneficial to Vermont, Scott said.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill, S. 15 (pdf), which would make permanent the measures used last year during the pandemic. The bill was delivered to Scott on Tuesday.

Vermont would become the 7th state to allow permanent mail-in voting if Scott signed it into law.

Nevada just became the 6th state to allow universal mail-in voting when Gov. Steve Sisolak signed a law on Wednesday. The other five states are Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
NORWALK  A man was stabbed by an unknown assailant at Norwalk Hospital on Saturday morning, according to Norwalk police.

Dispatchers received an emergency call regarding a stabbing in a parking lot at the hospital at 10:42 a.m., Sgt. Sofia Gulino said in an email.

The victim had parked his vehicle in a Norwalk Hospital parking lot off of Rhodonolia Drive, and was preparing to receive a patient who was in the process of being discharged. The victim was loading the patients items into the back of a vehicle when a male, unknown to the victim, rushed the victim, stabbing him twice, Gulino said.

The assailant ran in the direction of Woodbury Avenue, while the wounded man made his way into the hospital to seek assistance, Gulino said.

Multiple police officers responded to the area in search of the suspect, who was described as a black male in his mid-20s, possible about 58, short hair style, with a black hooded sweatshirt and brownish sweatpants. The victim is being treated for serious physical injury and is expected to recover. It is unclear why the victim was attacked at this time, Gulino said.

Police are asking for help from the public in investigating the incident, Gulino said.

Anyone with knowledge or information regarding the matter or the suspect is asked to contact the case investigator, Detective Hudyma, at 203-854-3189, or by email at dhudyma@norwalkct.

Gulino said those wishing to remain anonymous can call in a tip to the department at 203-854-3111, message the department at www.norwalkpd.com, or text the department by typing NORWALKPD into the text field, followed by the message, and sending it to TIP411 (847411).

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP)  The U.S. State Department on Friday called on Nicaragua to free opposition figure Cristiana Chamorro, who is being held incommunicado at her home after her laptops and cellphones were taken away.

Chamorro is a potential presidential candidate in the Nov. 7 elections and the daughter of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. Her detention is the latest in a series of moves by President Daniel Ortega that his critics say are to prevent candidates from running against him in his re-election bid.

On Tuesday, the government charged Chamorro with money laundering involving alleged financial irregularities related to the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation for Reconciliation and Democracy, which she headed. The nongovernmental group is named after her mother. The State Department called for the release not just of Chamorro, but of two foundation employees as well.

Their detention on trumped up charges is an abuse of their rights, and it represents an assault on democratic values as well as a clear attempt to thwart free and fair elections, according the U.S. statement.

Ms. Chamorros arrest comes amid unrelenting attacks on pro-democracy presidential candidates and independent media. The Ortega regime has pledged to bar Ms. Chamorro from participating in November elections and, in May, baselessly canceled the legal status of two opposition political parties.

On Wednesday, police raided the home and placed Chamorro under a form of house arrest, and a court granted a request from prosecutors to bar Chamorro from running in the Nov. 7 elections or holding public office, citing the charges against her.

She was expected to challenge Ortega for the presidency.

Chamorro has said the allegations were trumped up to keep her out of the race.

In January, she stepped down from her role at the foundation. A month later, it closed its operations in Nicaragua after passage of a foreign agents law designed to track foreign funding of organizations operating in the country.

Nicaraguas Supreme Electoral Council and congress have been narrowing the maneuvering space of the countrys opposition. In May, the council cancelled the legal status of the Democratic Restoration Party, which was expected to potentially be a vehicle for an opposition coalition bid against Ortega.

Cristiana Chamorros mother beat Ortega to win the presidency in 1990 and served until 1997.

Her husband, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, had run his family newspaper La Prensa and was jailed and forced into exile multiple times by the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza. He was eventually assassinated in 1978. Cristiana Chamorro is the vice president of La Prensa.
NORWALK  Two newly appointed Norwalk police officers have resigned following community backlash, after the mayor found out about allegations he claims were not disclosed by the Bridgeport Police Department, according to city officials.

Officer Pecirep and Officer Ortiz have resigned, Mayor Harry Rilling said in a statement Friday afternooon, referring to officers Mario Pecirep and Chealsey Ortiz. They will not be Norwalk Police Officers. I thank the community for bringing this situation to our attention on social media, sending emails and making phone calls. We heard you.

Rilling, who is also a member of the citys Police Commission, said he was incredibly disappointed that the allegations were not shared with him, other members of the commission or Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik by Bridgeport police. Earlier in the day he recommended offers of employment to the recently hired police officers be rescinded.

These are serious allegations, and specific details were not available to us before we recommended these hires, Rilling said. I read the reports today, and immediately called the chief to express my anger and disappointment, and I recommended that these offers of employment be immediately rescinded.

Rilling did not detail the specifics of those allegations. The mayor did not immediately return request for comment Friday, nor did city and police officials in Bridgeport.

During executive session at the May 17 commission meeting, commissioners discussed and evaluated proposed officers, including a review of their background application for appointment to the department, according to meeting minutes.

The commission voted that day to hire three individuals effective June 3. Among them were two former Bridgeport officers: Chealsey Ortiz and Mario Pecirep.

Chealsey Lancia was named, along with Bridgeport Police Sgt. Ronald Jersey and Bridgeport police officers Luis Ortiz and James Boulay, in a federal lawsuit filed by Lisa Moragne, a former board member of Bridgeports Success Village co-op, claiming the officers used excessive force and falsely arrested her during a board meeting almost three years ago. Chealsey Lancia and Chealsey Ortiz are the same individual, according to city spokesperson Josh Morgan.

Pecirep was partnered with Boulay on May 9, 2017, when Boulay fatally shot 15-year-old Jayson Negron.

Boulay, also named in a federal lawsuit filed by Negrons family, recently applied for a job with Hamden police, but the commission opted not to hire him. Boulay was cleared of any wrongdoing and has denied the allegations in a civil lawsuit.

Pecirep was driving the two-man police cruiser with Boulay in the passenger seat the day of Negrons death. He didnt fire any shots but did force open the passenger door of the vehicle Negron was driving to get to the passenger and take him into custody. He said in a statement to state police that he saw the passenger was bleeding and called for ambulances for him and the driver. He told investigators he patted the passenger down, finding no weapons.

Kulhawik claimed that, since the lawsuit against Ortiz was recently filed, the Norwalk department was not aware of it prior to her hiring.

For Pecirep, Kulhawik said no red flags were raised as he was cleared in the investigation of Negrons shooting, but admitted the department should have followed up.

However, in retrospect, it is clear that based upon the information available, we should have followed up and clearly determined the specific incident in question involved him and that information should have been relayed to the Commission when the backgrounds were evaluated, Kulhawik said. Although he was cleared, it is a sensitive issue and as a result it should have been highlighted in the background report. Since it was not, the Commission did not have all pertinent information available when the backgrounds were evaluated.

Kulhawik also said the background check and evaluation process was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Normally, the commission reviews an applicants background investigation booklet, but as the meetings were held virtually, the physical booklet was not available, he said.

During the hiring process, Norwalk Police Department conducts a review of previous employers, interviews with neighbors and family, home visits, a review of social media as well as credit and driving histories, Kulhawik said. Applicants also undergo medical examinations including drug screenings, psychological and polygraph exams.

Going forward, the police chief said he plans to review this process.

As a result of what occurred, we will be reviewing our background process, especially as it pertains to lateral candidates to assure that all pertinent information is cross checked and all information that may impact the Police Commissions decision to hire is available to them as well as me and my Deputy Chiefs, he said.

Rilling also ordered a review of the hiring process and policies to determine what was missed in the vetting of Ortiz and Pecirep. The results of the review are to be presented at the next police commission meeting.

I want residents to know that while we do a lot of things right, we got this one wrong, Rilling said. I pledge that we will do better in the future.

In a statement on Thursday, Justice for Jayson  an activist organization that carries Negrons name, formed in the aftermath of his death  also urged Norwalk to rescind both their offers of employment.

Ortiz and Pecirep were both transferring to the Norwalk department after five years in the Park City, Norwalk police said in a hiring announcement on Thursday.

The announcement said Pecirep was a member of the Project Longevity Community Engagement Unit and has a degree in criminal justice from the University of New Haven. It said Ortiz was assigned to Bridgeports Fusion Center and is currently studying criminal justice at Sacred Heart University.

While their hire date was set for June 3, they were set to undergo two weeks of in-house training and then be assigned to field training for a brief time as they got acclimated to the new city.
WOOD RIVER  The Madison County Health Department (MCHD) is discontinuing daily data updates on the weekends. beginning June 5.

There will be no daily data about number of COVID-19 cases or deaths provided at the MCHD website, social media accounts or data dashboard. But the department will resume daily data updates on Mondays, when it will update its data dashboard to include the weekend data.

MCHD continues to offer COVID-19 vaccination opportunities at its mass vaccination clinic site at the Gateway Convention Center, in Collinsville, as well as several community and school locations throughout the county. These clinics will continue to operate at least through June, with the continued support of the Illinois National Guard.

Regardless of where someone lives, works or attends school, anyone who is age 12 and older is eligible to receive the vaccine (minors age 12-17 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian and only can receive the Pfizer vaccine) at any of the countys mass vaccination clinics. Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome.

The COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved for vaccinations of minors (age 12-17), who do not need an I.D. or birth certificate, but the parent/guardian will be asked to show I.D. The Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines only are approved for those age 18 and older.

A limited amount of Moderna vaccine is available by appointment only for second doses and offered only at the Madison County Health Department, 101 E. Edwardsville Road, in Wood River.

Call 618-692-8954, extension 2, if needing the final dose of Modernas.

This weeks Madison County upcoming vaccination clinics, where the Pfizer vaccine is available at all listed clinics:

 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, June 6, through Thursday, June 10, Gateway Convention Center, 1 Gateway Drive, Collinsville

 3:30 -7:30 p.m. Monday, June 7, Collinsville Middle School, 9649 Collinsville Road, Collinsville

 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, VFW Post 2859, 231 E. Edwardsville Road, Wood River

 3:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, Liberty Middle School, 1 District Drive, Edwardsville

 3:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 9, Highland Primary School, 1800 Lindenthal Ave., Highland

 3:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 10, Rox-Arena, 2 Park Drive, Roxana

Visit www.madisonchd.org to follow links to schedule appointments. Click on the green appointments bar at the top of the homepage, which will show all links for the vaccine sites.

If someone needs assistance scheduling their appointment, call 618-692-8954, extension 2, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.Monday-Friday.
SPRINGFIELD  Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed new maps for the General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Cook County Board of Review.

Republicans had voted against the new maps last week in the General Assembly, saying they were not allowed to participate in the Democrats creation of them. They urged Pritzker to live up to his campaign promise that he would veto maps drawn by politicians.

On Wednesday, state Rep. Amy Elik, R-Fosterburg, said she expected court action if Pritzker approved the maps.

In a released statement Friday, Pritzker said the maps met federal requirements to adequately preserve minority representation and reflect the diversity of our state.

Illinois strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government, said Pritzker.

He also said the district boundaries account for population changes in the state.

Not only does this map adhere to state and federal laws, but it is a product of more than 50 public hearings where citizens came to tell us what their communities look like to them, said Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, D-Hillside.

Republicans and grassroots activist groups have decried the redistrict process that concluded without the use of official U.S. Census numbers, which have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, state Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said he was disappointed in Gov. Pritzker for breaking his promise to the people of this state.

These are partisan maps drawn by self-serving politicians who ignored the testimony from good government groups and communities of interest, McClure said. During this entire process, there was no transparency, the people were ignored, and this was done in a way that was bad for our government.

Assistant Republican Leader C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, last week said the maps were drawn by politicians behind closed doors, using inaccurate data that does not reflect our states real population, but rather a snapshot from 2017.

This story is developing. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP)  Slovenia and Italy said Friday they will soon start joint police patrols along their common border, which lies on a route used by migrants trying to reach Western Europe.

The patrols were announced after a meeting in Slovenia between Interior Minister Ales Hojs and his Italian counterpart Luciana Lamorgese, Slovenia's STA news agency said.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP)  Greek police said Friday a car suspected to have been ferrying migrants from the Turkish border toward the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki crashed, killing two people and injuring six.

A passing driver saw an overturned car off the road on the route between the northern Greek towns of Kavala and Serres at around 6:30 a.m. Friday and alerted authorities, police said.
Editors note: This story first appeared in the April 2013 edition of The Lo-Downs print Magazine.

One of the things that makes New York City great is its classic neighborhood diners. On the Lower East Side, weve got our share of these old-school spots  places that are so familiar some of us think of them as extensions of our own apartments. In a world thats becoming more impersonal, theres something comforting about these no-nonsense hangouts. Theyll make you anything you want, exactly the way you want it, and fast! The guys behind the counter are quick to refill your coffee and will remember exactly how you like your eggs in the morning. Youve got to admire their ability to handle just about anything, or anyone, and usually with a smile.

As gentrification changes the LES and real estate prices skyrocket, we fear these classic spots may be in danger of extinction. But theyre here now, continuing to ride the ups and downs of the restaurant business, seemingly stronger than ever. Recently, photographer Alex M. Smith and I spent some time hanging out at our local diners, photographing the people who make them tick. These guys have clearly seen it all, having experienced decades of changes in the area. Heres our tribute to the classic diners of the Lower East Side. (Click through for each owners fascinating story and some excellent words of wisdom.)

EVEREST DINER  23 Chatham Square (East Broadway at Bowery)

Owner: Teddy Vasilopoulos

Years in business: 5

History: Vasilopoulos and his family have owned diners throughout the city since emigrating from Greece in 1973. (His younger brother John runs Cup and Saucer.) At this location since 2008, the diner was formerly a small luncheonette when he took it over. Vasilopoulos and his partner have also owned Landmark Diner at 158 Grand St. for the past 32 years. Their first diner was in the Chrysler Building, but rent increases quickly brought them downtown.

Rent: Vasilopoulos is confident about staying on Chatham Square, saying he knows the landlord would be hard-pressed to find another tenant whos so reliable.

Words of wisdom: I always make my food fresh. And I always have a smile for my customers.

CLASSIC COFFEE SHOP  56 Hester St. (at Ludlow Street)

Owner: Carmine Morales

Years in business: 37

History: As the menu states, this place has been, Serving Real Lower East Siders Since 1976. Morales has lived in the neighborhood his whole life. He attended public school across the street. After emigrating from Puerto Rico, his father opened Classic Coffee 37 years ago. Carmine worked in the shop with his father and then took it over.

Rent: Its been pretty touch-and-go. The landlord raises the rent every few years and Morales is not sure hell stay open if it goes too much higher. The area around Hester Street is booming right now.

Words of wisdom: Neighborhoods change, thats what they do. I dont mind it. Things are a lot better here now than they used to be. I dont make a lot of money but I work for myself, set my own hours and dont have to worry too much. Overall Ive been pretty lucky.

ZAFIS LUNCHEONETTE  500 Grand St.

Owner: Nodas Kekatos

Years in business: 35

History: Kekatos has owned the restaurant since 1978. He came to New York from Kefalonia, the Paradise Island in Greece. His son, Mike, took the lead about 10 years ago, but Nodas still works a couple of days a week. The original Zafiropolis opened the diner in 1948; there were two other owners before Kekatos took it over.

Rent: Its not a concern since Zafis is one of the few dining options on this part of Grand Street. The space is owned by the Hillman Cooperative, whose residents are some of the diners best customers.

Words of wisdom: Every morning I look at myself in the mirror and I see some flawsa wrinkle here, something else thereand I say, You arent perfect. Then when I come in and I have [a disgruntled customer] I dont get upset. I remind myself no one is perfect.

EL CASTILLO  131 Rivington St. (between Essex and Ludlow streets)

Owner: Luis Miguel Collado

Years in business: 27

History: The place was a Chinese restaurant before he took it over in 1986. Collado came to New York in 1963 from the Dominican Republic. He owned a couple of restaurants previously, including Jagua Restaurant on Clinton Street, which was sold in 1977. That restaurant would later became the Spanish restaurant, Alias (long before what we now know as Alias). Collado opened the second El Castillo at 521 Grand St. in 2003. He built the diner from scratch and now his daughter, Yreinel, runs it.

Rent: Collado is not worried yet. He has a long-term relationship with the landlord.

Words of wisdom: My food is always fresh and I keep the prices down. People want a place that is affordable. Even if you spend a lot to go out for a special night, you need a place to come to the rest of the time.

OLYMPIC DINER  115 Delancey St. (at Essex Street)

Owners: Steve Palakas (above) and Spiros Nakos

Years in business: 33

History: The place used to be a Jewish diner. Palakas came over from Greece in 1969 and took over the diner in 1980.

Rent: Although the city is on the verge of demolishing the building, part of the Essex Street Market, to make way for the Seward Park redevelopment project, the owners are not too concerned. Theyve been hearing about the project for 40 years.

Words of wisdom: Give the customers what they wantFlirt with the ladiesWe always welcome you back.

CUP & SAUCER LUNCHEONETTE

89 Canal St. (at Eldridge Street)

Owners: John Vasilopoulos (above) and Nick Castanos (below)

Years in business: 25

History: The place has been open since 1940 and was always called Cup and Saucer. It was originally a Jewish luncheonette. They took it over in 1988 when the area was mainly made up of Jewish-owned jewelry stores. Then Chinatown began expanding in the last decade or more. Like his older brother, Teddy, who runs Everest, John is from Kalavrita, Peloponisos, in Greece. Nick is from Cuba.

Rent: They recently renewed their lease for another five years but are worried about a steep rent increase in the future because the building recently sold.

Words of wisdom: We work hard, we love our customers, we have great service, especially now we have these nice, lovely ladies working with us.
Theres another chance tonight to voice your opinion about the citys revamped plans to build a flood protection system along the East River.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is hosting a public hearing at 6 p.m. at the Mt. Sinai-Beth Israel Bernstein Pavilion, 10 Nathan D. Perlman Place (between 15th and 16th streets).

In the spring, the city certified the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, triggering the public land use review process. Community Board 3 has already approved the ULURP application with conditions. Public comments tonight will help inform the borough presidents advisory opinion. The City Council and the City Planning Commission will vote on the proposal later this year.

The East Side Coastal Resiliency project covers an area along the East River from 25th Street down to Montgomery Street. The city scrapped the original community-driven plan in favor of a new scheme that will mean the destruction of East River Park before it is rebuilt above FEMAs 100 flood elevation. The park is likely to be closed for at least 5 years beginning next spring.

You can see the latest renderings from city planners here. City Limits filed a report yesterday on the proposal, which has caused a lot of consternation in parts of the Lower East Side. Brewer asked the mayors office for a two month delay in the land use process to answer community concerns.
Were you in Lower Manhattan between September 11, 2001 and July 31, 2002? If you or a loved one were exposed in Lower Manhattan, south of Houston Street, between 9/11/01 and 7/31/02, you may be eligible for free healthcare and financial compensation.

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If you are suffering from symptoms or conditions or have lost a loved one due to a 9/11-related condition, you may be entitled to free healthcare and compensation now. Contact a 9/11 lawyer now. Critical deadlines apply.

Upcoming Deadline: July 29, 2021 is the final deadline for families of those who have since passed away due to 9/11 conditions prior to July 29, 2019, and for those who certified by the World Trade Center Health Program prior to July 29, 2019. If you suspect 9/11 toxins exposure may have played a role in your loved ones death or if you are unsure whether you are in the World Trade Center Health Program, the time is now to protect your rights.

Pitta & Baione LLP represents 9/11 victims and their families seeking benefits from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund created by the Zadroga Act. For years, our attorneys fought to pass the Act through Congress  securing over $12 billion in funding. If between 9/11/01 and 7/31/02 you or a loved one were in Lower Manhattan south of Houston Street, or serving in responder locations, you may be entitled to health and compensation.

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Customers lined up outside Jing Fong in February of 2021.

Jing Fong, once Chinatowns largest restaurant, will completely vacate its space at 20 Elizabeth St. by the end of the month. The dim sum destination and banquet venue closed its 800-seat dining room back in March, promising to find a new smaller location somewhere in the neighborhood. Thats apparently happening. Claudia Leo, the restaurants marketing manager, told the New York Post that Jing Fong would move to a 125-seat spot in late June, although she did not disclose the location.

The restaurant had kept a kitchen going even after the dining room went dark to support outdoor dining, takeout and delivery. While its a positive sign that Jing Fong may survive in some form, the downscaling leaves Chinatown without a large banquet hall. Thats something many family associations and nonprofit groups counted on for large gatherings, especially during Lunar New Year celebrations.

Management at Golden Unicorn, the second largest restaurant in Chinatown, is also sounding the alarm. Through n interpreter, owner Johnny Liu said, We need more support on the government level. Although indoor dining was raised to 50% capacity (and will soon rise to 75%), Liu noted that Golden Unicorn is only bringing 10-20% of its pre-pandemic revenues.

Chinatown business owners and community organizers have called on the city to provide specific programs to help the neighborhood recover not only from the pandemic, but from the wave of xenophobia and racist attacks aimed at Asian Americans.

The NYC Department of Small Business Services has increased outreach and has been publicizing the federal governments new Restaurant Revitalization Fund, but has not created any Chinatown-specific programs.
Here are some of the stories that made news on the Lower East Side in the past week:

48-year-old Alexander Wright was arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime after an attack on a woman of Asian descent in Chinatown on Monday. Wright is homeless and has a long criminal record. He was taken to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. [Channel 7]

The latest Chinatown attack became a topic of debate amongst the candidates running for New York mayor. [NY1]

A 24-year-old man, William Rivera was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of Amos Singleton, 27, at Coleman Skatepark. [New York Post]

Heres an overview of the race to replace Margarret Chin in the City Council. Nine candidates are competing for the District 1 seat, covering Lower Manhattan, including the Lower East Side and Chinatown. [Gotham Gazette]

City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera only has one opponent in the upcoming primary election. Former attorney Erin Hussein is running a long-shot bid to unseat the sitting District 2 office holder. [City Limits]

The governors midnight curfew has been lifted, but restaurants serving NYC night owls still have a ways to go before they shake off the effects of Covid. Katzs Deli, which pre-pandemic stayed open all night long on weekends, wont extend its hours past midnight until bars and clubs do the same. Punjabi Deli, heavily dependent on the decimated taxi cab industry, is also holding off in extending its hours. And Veselka will probably reinstate 24-hour service sometime soon on weekends, while taking a cautious approach to weekdays. [Grub Street]

A slow recovery is expected in Chinatown where large restaurants like Golden Unicorn are still hoping diners return in bigger numbers later this year, while smaller businesses deprived of federal relief funds try to hang on long enough to survive. [PBS Newshour]

The Avenue A diner, Odessa, which closed almost a year ago, is for sale via Craigslist. [EV Grieve]

The Metrograph launches a new tv app and hints at a September re-opening for in-person film screenings, but details are still scarce. [Indie Wire]

Ian Schrager is revamping the restaurants at the Public Hotel, bringing in star Peruvian chef Diego Munoz for the relaunch of the dining operations on Chrystie Street. [The New York Times]

Hannah Goldfield reviews the Japanese spot, Dr. Clarks, in Chinatown. [The New Yorker]
Take a few minutes to catch up on some of your local news:
Sterling Heights, MI (48312)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 84F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening. Increasing clouds with periods of showers late. Low 62F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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Intersociety, Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria, Sat, 5th June 2021:With the latest entry into information dark ages by the Muslim dominated and controlled central Government of Nigeria, the country is not only closest to the abyss of doom and ruination but has also become birds of the same feather with Somalia, Afghanistan, Iran, Cuba and North Korea in international isolationism or worlds club of most secretive and closed societies. Nigeria has also speedily made the list of worst of the worst category which it shares with the failed and battered States of Somalia and Afghanistan. In the category of countries in information dark ages, Nigeria shares same with closed societies of Cuba, Iran and North Korea; but unlike Iran, North Korea and Cuba, rated high in the category of massive armaments and other military weaponry, Nigeria is paired with Somalia and Afghanistan as countries at the stages of sociopolitical implosion and explosion and information dark age. In the immortal words of Julius Nyerere, it is sad and unfortunate that when the Europeans, North Americans and Asians are busy finding their way into the moon, Africans are busy moving back to the cave. In other words, Nigeria has speedily gone back to the cave including dark era of information and its dissemination.

It is therefore saddening and shocking that the countrys leaders have, by their latest act, further retrogressed and internationally darkened Nigeria and the citizenry including children, wives, relatives, friends and stooges of the leaders. It is so bad that the country is now pushed back to the cave of information dark age. The Taliban era cultural intent of the present Islamist central Government of Nigeria is now played out opportunistically using Twitters deletion of the countrys presidential genocidal war threat against the mostly Christian regions of the country. Truly and circumstantially speaking, Intersociety does not see the Nigeria Governments indefinite ban on Twitter and moves to stifle others as accidental or momentary decision. Rather, it is an intended policy kept in coolers waiting for its maturation time.

As Information Communications Technology (ICT) and its computer tech is facing and battling with challenges of scamming and viruses, it is also a truism that the present Nigerias Ministry of Information is not manned by information literate and ICT compliant Minster of Information, but a legendary propagandist, best described as Minster for Information Dark Ages. The countrys Ministry of Digital Communications is also not manned by an ICT lettered and compliant Minister of Digital Communications but by an opposite, best described as Minister for Digital Viruses and Shariah Enabling who is also an internationally profiled jihad enabler. Evidentially, the present Government of Nigeria has not hidden its contempt for free speech and social communications as it had since 2016 worked hard by way of policy, legislation and conduct to achieve same.

It is therefore not enough for international super powers and democracies to merely condemn the Nigerian Governments ban on Twitter and moves to stifle others but they must go beyond such condemnations and place the country on red alert and watch list. The stark truth remains that the countrys leaders are incorrigibly and immorally bent on plunging the country into complex humanitarian emergencies or catastrophes, starting with its planned industrial scale attacks on Christian regions of the country and ban on Twitter and moves to stifle others; all designed to cut off the rest of the world from getting to know the gravity of the planned industrial scale atrocities in Old Eastern and Mid Western Regions when fully implemented. The moves by the Nigerian Government are to further cut off the countrys citizens from outside world including denying them right to be heard and document, present and publicize evidence of the planned genocide to the outside world. The global democracies including the super powers must therefore not wait for Nigeria to become another Rwanda or Syria before they act including offering of medicine-after-death humanitarian assistance. Nigerian Government must therefore be compelled locally and internationally to rescind such ignoble ban and moves to stifle others.

Principal Officers:

Emeka Umeagbalasi, * Chinwe Umeche, Esq., * Chidimma Udegbunam, Esq.

Contacts: Phone/WhatsApp: +2348174090052, Email: [email protected] , Website: intersociety-ng.org
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After the Second World War which ended when the allied forces defeated the axis alliance in 1945, the world was polarized between two broad ideological lines. The United States led the free world with values of free speech, free enterprise, open governments, accountability, periodic elections while the defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics led the communist world with authoritarian government, limited freedom of speech, state controlled economies. The fall of the Berlin world in 1989 and the collapse of the USSR a year later signaled the supremacy of the values of the free world where free speech was a key attribute.

The British writer Eric Blair who was more known by his pen name George Orwell had two novels which highlighted the threat of free speech in a totalitarian state  The allegory Animal Farm and 1984.

Free speech was badly compromised when Nigeria was under the jack boot of military rule. Nigerians recall that in 1984 during the regime of the current President Muhammadu Buhari when he was the Military Head of State, he promulgated the infamous Decree 4 which took away press freedom leading to the unjust incarceration of Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of the Guardian Newspapers who dared to stand up to his repressive policies.

In 2015, Buhari as a then opposition candidate repackaged himself as a reformed democrat never mind that he refused to participate in any of the debates which would have exposed his shallow thoughts and tragically even the brightest of minds in the country believed him and promoted his candidacy till he found his way into Aso Rock.

He never hid his disdain for the media and rarely addresses journalists preferring his aides to do it. There was also a move to regulate social media which was met with a loud outcry by many Nigerians.

When micro blogging giant, Twitter chose Ghana as its African Headquarters, there was a massive backlash by many Nigerians who felt that with a Twitter population of over 39 million which is more than the 32 million Ghanaian population, Nigeria should have been the natural destination. However, Twitter gave their reasons among which were: Ghana was described as a champion for democracy, a supporter of free speech, online freedom and the open internet.

Can Nigeria in all honesty lay claim to possessing any of the aforementioned attributes under this current civilian dictatorship?

Nigerians woke up to the rude shock of the indefinite suspension of Twitter by the Federal Government yesterday, June 4. The remote cause of this was as a result of a deleted tweet made by President Muhammadu Buhari as a result of a controversial tweet made about a secessionist group. Ironically, the announcement was made on Twitter  the platform it suspended by Segun Adeyemi, the media aide to the Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed.

The move by the FG is highly condemnable and shows a gargantuan contempt not only for the media but for free speech which is the engine room of the Press which is the Fourth Estate of the Realm. Former United States President, Donald Trump was suspended indefinitely not only by Twitter but also by Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for his alleged role in the Capitol Hill insurrection on January 6, 2021. The American government didnt order an indefinite suspension of these giant platforms simply because the most powerful man in the world had been taken off their platforms. It is tragic that Buharis hatred for the media has not changed since 1984. The passage of time has indeed done nothing to alter his thoughts process. How tragic!

The critical role played by a free press was encapsulated by the third US President, Thomas Jefferson who wrote the American Declaration of Independence that spurred his countrymen to take up arms against the tyrannical government of King George III. He said: Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

Lai Mohammed talked about the government owning its own social media platform. Does he think an extension of the Nigerian Television Authority can work in this day and age? Who watches NTA  the organ of government propaganda? Free markets and media liberalization as well as social media has rendered NTA irrelevant in the current scheme of things and any attempt by the government to create its own social media for Nigerians will be utterly resisted by the emotionally battered and psychologically scarred Nigerian people.

This suspension is a huge anti-climax because of the importance of free speech in any democracy. We have had over 22 years of unbroken democracy since 1999 and it cant still be said to be a nascent one. Many journalists put their lives and careers as well as personal safety on the line during the fight against military rule. Some like Dele Giwa, Bagulda Kaltho, Chris Imodibe etc paid the supreme price. Others like Babafemi Ojudu, the current Political Adviser to President Buhari and former Senator, Chris Anyanwu, a former Magazine Publisher and Senator and many others were unjustly incarcerated. Others like Dapo Olorunyomi of Premium Times, Dele Momodu etc were forced into exile for fear of being gunned down by General Sani Abachas heartless goons. Were their noble efforts in vain? Nigeria looks for every way to continually break your spirit and crush even the most optimistic of people.

There is an economic angle to the banning too. Being on Twitter as a social media influencer is a source of livelihood to many young Nigerians who have invested their time, money and emotions building a huge audience on the platform. When they achieve that, they help brands sell their goods and services as Twitter brand ambassadors. A popular one is Japheth Joshua Omojuwa who has over a million followers there and is a renowned socio-political commentator as well. The ban will render them economically prostrate and some may even have to refund the money paid to them by brands as a result of the force majeure. The current unemployment rate according to the National Bureau of Statistics is put at 33% which is one of the highest in the world. This ban will in no miniscule measure exponentially increase the unemployment rate. Why does the government not think public policies carefully before enacting them? What then becomes of the youths who are already currently impoverished? The other day, the Minister for the Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola was saying that Nigerian youths shouldnt renounce their Nigerian citizenship. What does the Nigerian State give as a reward for being a loyal citizen? Rather than give anything tangible, it takes your entire being from you and spits you out like chaff after sucking you dry.

We call on the Federal Government to immediately reverse the indefinite suspension ban as it is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. All Nigerians should take to the barricades to vehemently resist this latest act of tyranny.

For how long will these evil men in power take us for a cruel ride? We owe it to the generations yet unborn to secure their future where their inalienable right to free speech wouldnt be compromised by the whim of an insensitive government.

Our mumu don do apologies to Charles Oputa a.k.a Charly Boy.

Tony Ademiluyi is the Co Founder of The Vent Republic Media  www.theventrepublic.com and wrote from Lagos
RIDGEFIELD  In an unarguably atypical year, Ridgefield High School seniors will have a near-typical graduation ceremony this week.

On Friday, the Class of 2021 will take to the field at Tiger Hollow Stadium to receive their diplomas  a welcome depature from the drive-thru model seniors followed last year.

In 2020, friends and family members cheered from their cars as commencement exercises were livestreamed on a series of big screens in the schools parking lot. This year, three guests per student will be allowed to sit in the stadium, but all must wear masks and practice social distancing.

As was the case last year, the 2021 commencement program has been trimmed in response to the pandemic.

We have removed a few items from the program ... to accommodate the longer ceremony time because of the need to follow COVID safety measures, Assistant Principal Jennifer Phostole said. The Class of 2021 has made a lasting impact on the RHS community because of their ability to overcome unforeseen challenges, their commitment to making their school a more inclusive space and for their general creativity and enthusiasm.

The schools 105th annual commencement will feature speeches from senior class president and master of ceremonies Charles DeMatteo, class speaker Ellie Carter and valedictorian Kenneth Choi.

DeMatteo said he didnt expect an in-person ceremony earlier this year, but looks forward to sharing the day with his classmates. A lot hasnt gone our way this year (so) to have a somewhat normal graduation is amazing, he said.

After nearly a year of hybrid learning, cancellations and quarantines, Choi said graduating in person would be a breath of fresh air.

In the winter it was hard to have hope that things would get better, but once I heard the news (about graduation) I was rejoicing, he said. These events are meant to commemorate and celebrate seniors and recognize (our) endurance throughout the past four years.

Carter, who spent most of her senior year learning from home, said she was excited to graduate alongside her peers.

Its one of the most significant and distinctive parts of the typical senior experience, and considering how much we did miss out on, it makes this ceremony even more special, she said. We have experienced a lot of ups and downs throughout our time at RHS, but we have really come together as a community to make the best of every situation.

As part of his speech, Choi plans to address the class common experience of COVID and emphasize how the pandemic acted as a catalyst for academic and personal growth.

As seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to learn about how we learn and what approaches we can take to stay focused, he said. Since everything was virtual, we learned to cope with daily struggles that were usually supported by other people. We learned to get through it ourselves.

Choi plans to attend MIT in the fall and will major in computer science and engineering, Carter will study at both Columbia University and the Paris Institute of Political Studies through their dual degree program and DeMatteo is headed to Boston University.

The class of 2021 has continued to excel despite the circumstances of this most challenging year, RHS Principal Jacob Greenwood said. Their resilience is unquestionable and flexibility unmatched. We are proud of all of their accomplishments and know they will achieve all of their goals in life.

alyssa.seidman@hearstmediact.com
What do Canadians plan to do when the restrictions are lifted? Leger poll results
EDWARDSVILLE  A bill awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzkers signature could delay debate on redistricting in Madison County for months.

Senate Bill 825, the Omnibus Election Bill, would delay the 2022 primary election to June. Candidates would not have to begin circulating nominating petitions until early January 2022, meaning the Madison County Board has additional time to consider redistricting and use actual census data rather than American Community Survey data available now.

County board changes have been a hot topic. Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler had proposed reducing the board from 29 to 25 seats, which was soundly shot down at a special meeting.

Alternative proposals would reduce the board by two members or leave it at 29c, as proposed by the Government Relations Committee and its chairman, Board Member Chris Guy, R-Maryville. Many board members have said they prefer to maintain the current number of members, the maximum allowed by the Illinois Constitution.

Redistricting occurs every 10 years after the decennial census.

There had been a sense of urgency in creating the new board districts because of an early July deadline that would allow candidates to know what district they would be in when they started seeking nominating petition signatures in September.

SB 825 would delay the petitions until early January, giving the board more time.

With the new election bill expected to be signed by the governor giving counties until Dec. 31 to pass a map, I think its best to wait another couple of months for census data, Guy said. He added he still needs to talk to other board members about the issue.

Prenzler echoed support to wait for actual census data. That data was supposed to have already been available, but is now expected to be delayed until late September.

In its place, all of the proposed redistricting maps have used data from the American Community Survey. Those numbers also are produced by the U.S. Census Bureau, but are not based on the actual decennial census figures.

The advantage to that is well have more accurate census numbers, Prenzler said.

When youre dealing with these numbers, those survey numbers are pretty good for comparing states, he said. But when you get down to precinct levels, there is the advantage (to census data).

Madison County Clerk Debra Ming-Mendoza said the delay is not a terrible imposition.

My state of mind right now is I want it to be over, she said.

It does allow me the opportunity for further recruitment of election judges, she said. The tax bills are going to be out next week early, and in the tax bill theres an insert for recruitment of election judges.
MASCOUTAH  Passengers using MidAmerica St. Louis Airport can offset the negative impact their air travel has on the environment.

Fuel consumed during air travel releases a large amount of carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere, which can be a cause of concern for travelers seeking a more sustainable lifestyle.

MidAmerica Airport is now part of the Good Traveler program which allows passengers to buy carbon offsets, an official recognition of the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions.

Passengers calculate the length of their trip and buy carbon offsets to cover the estimated emissions for that distance. The Good Traveler Program invests the money in carbon reduction projects across the country certified to offset the impact of air or road travel by keeping greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere elsewhere through projects such as restoring wetlands.

As a new member of the Good Traveler program, were excited to provide options for passengers utilizing MidAmerica St. Louis Airport to offset the carbon impacts from their air travel, Airport Director Bryan Johnson said. We are always seeking innovative ways for MidAmerica to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and this program is a wonderful way to do that.

For those flying to the 12 destinations served by Allegiant from MidAmerica Airport, the carbon offsets for a round trip flight are $10 to $15. A 2,800-mile round-trip flight from MidAmerica Airport to Las Vegas, for example, would release 1,376 pounds of carbon dioxide and be offset by travelers for $14.

The Good Traveler was founded in 2015 by San Diego International Airport. The group says it used by nearly 20 of the busiest airports in the world and has helped reduce more than 86,000 metric tons of carbon.

When passengers buy a carbon offset from the Good Traveler to go with their plane ticket, they are funding the efforts of people nationwide who are working to restore the climate balance, said St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern said. And thats an initiative were proud to be a part of, as we make this option available to those flying through MidAmerica Airport.

For details visit https://flymidamerica.com/traveler/good-traveler-program/ or Facebook @midamericablv.
In April, during the fetchingly (or chillingly) titled Black Hole Week, a group of astronomers initiated what amounted to a kind of cosmic Rorschach test.

The astronomers work on planning for the European Space Agencys Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or LISA, a gravitational-wave detector that, once in orbit, could harvest the signals of black-hole collisions and any other events or objects that rumple space-time, going all the way back to the Big Bang.

What, they wondered aloud on Facebook, should we should call a bunch of black holes?

Jocelyn Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, an astronomer at Vanderbilt University and chair of the NASA LISA Study Team, which provides the American space agency with information about the mission, described herself as giggling like a loon at some of the names that came up: hive, asterisk, kitchen sink and sock drawer.

After I reported on this quest a month ago, nearly 1,000 readers weighed in on the comment section to offer names ranging from the silly to the profound.

Now, members of the LISA Study Team, after a grueling smackdown of several hundred possibilities, have compiled a list of their own 10 favorites (in no particular order): cacophony, graveyard, horde, perforation, swarm, colloquium, disaster, sieve, brood and doom.

There were strong feelings about the results, said Holley-Bockelmann, who lamented that a few of her own favorites  convergence, choir and void  hadnt made the cut.

It all means nothing and everything.

Anybody who has ever been tormented in a schoolyard or a locker room knows that names, and nicknames, matter. I have never outgrown or outrun Dennis the Menace, and in college the similarity of my last name to the word ovary provoked much mirth around the fraternity house. Part of Donald Trumps success on the campaign trail owed to his inimitable way of branding his opponents: Crooked Hillary, Lyin Ted, Low-Energy Jeb.

Names matter in science, too. Twenty years ago the astronomical community tore itself apart over the definition of the word planet, at least as it refers to bodies in our solar system. In the end, by an argument few understand, Pluto was demoted to the status of a dwarf planet.

But the name black hole is one of the great branding successes of modern science. Black holes are objects or realms in space-time where gravity is so great that not even light can escape. Their existence was effectively predicted in 1916, when German physicist and astronomer Karl Schwarzschild solved Albert Einsteins equations of the general theory of relativity for a single point mass, a star.

In the 1960s and 70s, when such objects were first being found, some Russian theorists called them frozen stars, because of a quirk in relativity that makes time appear to slow down in a gravitational field. A stars collapse  the prototypical origin of such a phenomenon  would appear to stop in time altogether at the edge of a black hole. It would never age, nor would we ever see it go over the edge of the hole into complete collapse from our point of view.

But if the star could see, it would observe itself falling freely past the edge and being crushed out of existence at the black holes center, where, according to Einsteins equations, space, time and the laws of physics would cease to exist.

John Archibald Wheeler, a theoretical physicist at Princeton and the University of Texas at Austin, did not invent the name black hole. But it was he who seized on it after an audience member reportedly tossed it out during a talk Wheeler was giving on what he considered the greatest crisis in the history of physics. Calling these things black holes was a master stroke, Stephen Hawking, the Cambridge University astrophysicist, once told me. Theyre named black holes because they related to human fears of being destroyed or gobbled up.

For what its worth, there is nothing official going on here. Nor will there be any prize for coming up with the winning name.
June 5, 1946

58 dead in Chicago hotel

fire; 2 local men alive

Fifty-eight were dead and hundreds more injured following an early morning fire at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago.

The fire started in one of the hotels elevator shafts, according to the Chicago Fire Department. The flames then spread from the shafts into a cocktail lounge and then into the hotels lobby. The leather upholstery and wood paneling in the lobby fueled the flames.

Thousands of spectators gathered around the hotel, making it hard for the firefighters to combat the flames. It was reported that some guests were jumping from their windows in attempts to escape the flames.

Chicago Fire Commissioner Michael Corrigan said that many of the deaths were tragically unnecessary. Cook County Coroner A.L. Brodie said many of the fatalities were the result of mass hysteria and panic.

On the injured list was the Rev. Dr. Fred Fiedler, a Scranton native, who was taken to Cook County Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Fiedler, who had lived in Reading with his wife, was in Chicago to attend a three-day conference of the Board of Foreign Missions of the United Lutheran Churches of America.

A friend and fellow minister of Fiedler, the Rev. A.F. Schmittenhenner, of Chambersburg, died in the fire.

Not injured in the fire was Scranton resident Edwin Jones. Jones, a purchasing agent for the automotive department of Charles Scott Co. on Franklin Avenue, made it out of the burning hotel wearing only his topcoat and shoes.

Jones told his wife he was in the bath when he heard screams in the hallway. He opened the door and saw flames. He rushed back into his room and threw on his topcoat and shoes. He said a voice led him through the smoke to the stairwell and he traveled down 17 flights to safety.

Jones also told his wife that the scene of the burning hotel was beyond imagination and the screams of the dying guests were heart-rending.

A family living near the hotel took Jones in and gave him a place to stay for the night. Jones reportedly continued on his business trip to St. Louis.

Cost for collecting garbage, ashes at high

Scranton officials released information that the collection of the citys garbage and ashes had reached an all-time high during the second half of May.

The expenditure for garbage collection in the city in May reached $11,258.20. In May 1945, the city spent $4,947.91.

Over the prior five months, the department had already spent $94,520.42 of its budgeted $147,000.

Council issued a warning about the departments spending to Mayor James Hanlon and Public Works Director Joseph T. Halpin. Hanlon said they would work to get payroll reduced within the public works department.
WILKES-BARRE  Staff from The New York Times searched the country for a downtown to profile about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They chose Wilkes-Barre.

With a headline of How a Hobbled Main Street Survived the Pandemic Asteroid, the newspaper of record recently published a comprehensive piece about South Main Street businesses.

A crew from The New York Times spent four months in the city working on the project, the story said.

We picked Wilkes-Barre for our project because the citys Main Street has a real diversity of business and the stories of the business owners and restaurants enduring through the pandemic were quite inspiring, the storys lead reporter Michael Corkery wrote in an email. Another factor is that the story was mostly driven by the photographs and Wilkes-Barres Main Street is visually interesting. We looked at profiling several other cities around the country, but Wilkes-Barre stood out to us.

The online story featured interactive graphics depicting panoramic views of four blocks of South Main Street  two blocks on each side.

The graphic was pieced together with individual photos to make the panoramic view  such as from Dunkin on Public Square to the Movies 14 complex on Northampton Street.

A theme of the article was the resiliency of longtime business owners and the ability of the downtown to embrace change by ushering in various new ethnic restaurants that illustrate the citys growing diversity.

Some city leaders do call it Restaurant Row, after all.

Among the businesses featured were Boscovs department store, the Hartman Jerk Center, Istanbul Grill, CDE Exotics and Circles on the Square deli.

While those were the places featured in the article, all businesses along the way made the photo graphic.

Did you hear the news?! Downtown Wilkes-Barre was featured in the @nytimes! the Diamond City Partnership said in a Facebook post. We are beyond grateful to be able to help bring national attention to some of our downtowns incredible business owners and their individual stories, as well as to the amazing city that we call home.

Larry Newman, executive director of the Diamond City Partnership, a nonprofit involved in downtown economic development, was quoted extensively in the article.

One of his quotes inspired the headline of the story.

The pandemic was like an asteroid heading toward Earth, Newman told The New York Times.

The story noted how the downtown struggled for years as city residents fled to the suburbs and had to rebound from the 1972 flood.

We already had to learn how to reinvent Main Street once after the decline in retail, Newman said. Now we have to figure out how to get through this.

Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown said The New York Times article cast Wilkes-Barre in a very positive light.

Brown said the article highlighted the type of people invested in downtown Wilkes-Barre. They are sticking with us in the hard times, Brown said.

The mayor said hes been touring downtown businesses in recent weeks and said many of the owners are becoming optimistic about a rebound, like The New York Times article suggested.

We are opening up the city. We are getting back to normalcy, Brown said. They have faith in the city and they have faith in the future.
The third leg of horse racings Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes, will be run today amid renewed controversy.

Churchill Downs has precluded Bob Baffert  the human face of thoroughbred racing  from entering any horse in any race at the famous track that hosts the Kentucky Derby.

Baffert trained Medina Spirit, this years Derby winner. Two tests later revealed that the horse had the anti-inflammatory drug betamethasone in its blood. Racing rules preclude use of that substance on race days. The Kentucky Racing Commission will decide whether to void Medina Spirits victory.

The Triple Crown and the Breeders Cup are the most elite events in the sport. Every day, hundreds of horses compete at lesser levels.

In Pennsylvania alone, as reported in an investigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer, more than 1,400 racehorses have died at tracks since 2010, 704 at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Bucks County. Most of those horses died of catastrophic injuries while racing but some dropped dead in their stalls.

Nationwide, according to the U.S. Jockey Clubs Equine Injury Database, 6,908 horses died at U.S. tracks from 2009 through 2020, in more than 3.2 million races.

Part of the carnage is due to overbreeding for speed that makes horses susceptible to deadly orthopedic injuries, and part is due to the use of substances that enable the horses to race while injured.

Fortunately, in December Congress passed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. It mandates creation of an anti-doping, end-medication program and a racetrack safety program. And, crucially, it turns over drug-testing and enforcement from self-interested state racing commissions to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which will increase deterrence.

Unfortunately, the law will not be implemented fully until July 2022. But that law has resulted from enormous public pressure for humane treatment of horses and greater safety at the tracks, which should continue until the industry earns the publics trust.
Editor: There obviously are many issues and events about which readers of The Times-Tribune can express points of view in letters to the editor, ranging from profoundly insightful to humorous to, of course, the patently absurd.

Today, readers have the worthy opportunity to credit The Times-Tribune for its regular and ongoing support of the achievements of our young people.

The May 27 front page story, Our Best and Brightest, clearly lifts the spirits of those who pine for the reinvigoration of thoughtful and far more analytical engagement in a seriously challenged society. It does so by recognizing the accomplishments and contributions of young folks who already are well on that path.

So, readers have the dual opportunity to applaud the awardees accomplishments and to credit the editorial decision of The Times-Tribune to recognize them emphatically.

RICHARD A. YARMEY

CLARKS SUMMIT

Editor: Congratulations to students selected as 2021 Scholastic Superstars and to all nominated for that honor.

Once again, I call out The Times-Tribune and PPL Co., sponsors of this recognition, for not allowing the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County to nominate a scholar. Readers may have heard my pleas before about the narrow vision of scholarship. Allow me to share a view of scholarship from Charlene Dixon, CTC health occupations student, NEIU scholar of the year from CTC. Following are parts of her speech for induction into the National Technical Honor Society:

I am honored to speak about one of the many qualities that our students here possess today, which is scholarship. ... I believe that it is the commitment to learning and obtaining knowledge, willingly, to nourish your mind and benefit yourself and others in the long run. ... The work we do here at CTC makes us our own kind of scholars. We define scholarship by taking the extra mile to educate ourselves in the field of study we would like to pursue in the future. As well as knowledge, we have the privilege to be instilled with creativity.

 ... As scholars, we have something I would like to call fluid intelligence, which is the ability to reason and solve problems in unique and novel situations. So yes, technically, scholarship means academic study or achievement, learning of a high level, but we have created a different definition by our hard work that has led us to be inducted into the National Technical Honor Society. Tonight I would like to end my speech with a quote from Nnamdi Azikiwe, Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar. 

Charlene would have been a CTC scholastic superstar nominee.

THOMAS BAILEYS, Ed.D.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR,

CAREER TECHNOLOGY CENTER OF

LACKAWANNA COUNTY

Editor: Tom Zeke Dziki immediately should be hired, put on the payroll and given a desk of his own at The Times-Tribune (Groans assured, May 29).

Seldom, if ever, have I laughed so heartily while reading the newspaper. As my dad used to say, Now that banana has appeal! Of course, I also heard at least once a month, Are you getting a haircut? No, Im getting them all cut!

LINDA DEMUTH

SCRANTON

Editor: The May 21 issue of The Times-Tribune showed a full-page ad from the National Mint and Treasury LLC, announcing the sale of rolls of Morgan Silver Dollars at outrageous prices.

The big con is on again. Yeah, its all legal but if you buy you will be taken for a ride. The seller implies that these coins can only be sold to Pennsylvanians by calling them state restricted bank rolls. Any restrictions on these sales are an invention since neither federal nor state officials care who purchases them. The rolls are made to look official with PA written on an outline of the state. The wrappers were not made by the U.S. Mint but rather by or for the seller.

When the Mint did roll Morgan dollars they were in rolls of 20 and the writing plainly indicated that they were wrapped by the Mint. The ad is designed to draw eyes to the big rolls.

These coins probably come from the millions of Morgans that have been sold for their silver value by collectors and dealers and the chance of finding anything worth more than the $22 melt value is highly remote. If you have a desire to buy common date Morgan dollars they are available from local coin dealers for well under $59 each.

ROBERT CUDWORTH

MOOSIC

Editor: In a New York Times article printed on the cover of the May 28 Times-Tribune (Bidens silence on abortion rights at a key moment worries liberals) writer Lisa Lerer reports that President Joe Biden has spoken little about abortion publicly in office and hasnt said the word itself.

She seems to object to presidential press secretary Jen Psakis use of euphemisms like womens fundamental rights. The article quotes an abortion rights activist who said, If youre unable to say the word, youre also going to have trouble making sure that people who are most impacted get the care and protections that we need.

Is this a ploy to normalize the word abortion and reduce its stigma?

Say the word  abortion. Say it loud, clear and often. Bring it to the fore. Maybe America will wake up from its self-absorbed apathy toward this intrinsic evil.

ANTHONY DePAOLA

DUNMORE
Many state lawmakers who gleefully have given billions of dollars in tax credits to the natural gas industry and its derivatives are far more suspicious of state tax credits for film production because ... well, you know, Hollywood.

But in terms of state incentives, the difference between the two industries is that the gas industry is in Pennsylvania because the gas is here, whereas most film projects can be produced anywhere. Film incentives truly help to make the state competitive.

And in 2019, the states nonpartisan Independent Fiscal Office reviewed the existing Film Production Tax Credit program. IFO director Matthew Knittel told lawmakers that the credit produced a net economic gain for the commonwealth.

Under the program, a production is eligible for a 25% state tax credit if at least 60% of its total production budget is spent in Pennsylvania. It covers feature and television films, television talk or game show series, television commercials, TV pilots or each episode of a television series intended as programming for a national audience.

The Pennsylvania Film Office, which administers the program, lists at least 36 major movies that have been made in Pennsylvania over the past 12 years, with assistance from the tax credit. They include The Dark Knight Rises, Silver Linings Playbook, Foxcatcher, The Fault of Our Stars, Jack Reacher and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

Even so, Democratic state Rep. Joe Ciresi of Montgomery County and Republican Rep. Kathleen Tomlinson of Bucks County say that the state loses many productions every year to other states because the film production tax credit is capped at $70 million. They have introduced a bill to increase the tax credit, renaming it the Film Industry Incentive, to $125 million a year.

Lawmakers should seize the opportunity to keep Pennsylvania competitive in seeking film productions that boost local and state economies.
MARISSA BERGEL, Wheeler softball, senior: Bergel hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning to lift Wheeler past Holy Cross, 9-7, in the Class S state tournament. The hit was part of a five-run rally in the inning.

JOEY GUARNIERI, Westerly track & field, senior: Guarnieri placed first in two sprints at the Southern Division championships. He won the 100 (11.19) and the 200 (22.73).

JOSH MOONEY, Stonington track & field, sophomore: Mooney placed first in the 110 hurdles at the Class M state meet in 14.65. He also finished second in the 300 hurdles (39.87) and second in the javelin (160-0).

MARGARET WEEDEN, Chariho track & field, junior: Weeden finished first in the high jump at the Southern Division championships. Weeden cleared 5-1 and also placed sixth in the triple jump at 31-5.

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Rishi Sunak's Covid halo will glow even brighter should he convince G7 finance ministers that there can be no delay in adopting a universal approach to taxing global companies and forcing the digital giants to pay their way.

The ultimate objective is to ensure that Amazon, Google et al pay a levy on sales in the country in which they are earned, ending the advantage over domestic players, whether they be Tesco or John Lewis.

Whatever great tax triumph is declared in London and in Cornwall, when the heads of government meet next Friday, one shouldn't count on an early breakthrough.

Optimism: Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he is 'confident' of reaching an agreement with his fellow G7 finance ministers on taxing the tech giants

Best that might be hoped for is that the current US dispute with Britain, France and Italy over digital services taxes can be hosed down.

The Americans are threatening a 25 per cent tariff on certain goods unless the taxes are axed. Instead, the leaders would agree in principle to a minimum global corporation tax rate of 15 per cent.

And digital firms would be taxed on the sales in the countries in which they operate.

Even if all, or some, of this is decided, it will need a buy-in from the wider G20 group of countries and the Paris-based OECD.

None of this will be easy. I recall being present at an International Monetary Fund press conference several years ago when then Tory chancellor George Osborne declared that the G7 industrialised nations had agreed on collective action to prevent multinational companies from shifting profits from the countries where they are earned to offshore locations.

Osborne hailed the deal, to be finalised by the OECD, as 'incredibly important'.

The Biden administration may be more sympathetic to a global tax deal than Donald Trump, but it cannot deliver it alone.

There is a long-standing angst in Washington to any accords with a scent of extra-territoriality where sovereign US decisions could theoretically lead to global sanction.

More significantly, the president is currently involved in negotiations with Congress over the approval of a package of up to $1.7 trillion of infrastructure spending in addition to the $5 trillion which the US has already spent on combating the pandemic.

Under the original proposal, Biden's plans would partly be financed by raising corporation taxes from the 21 per cent set by Trump back up to 28 per cent.

Republicans on Capitol Hill don't like the elements of the infrastructure plan which provide more money for childcare and education.

It is regarded as extravagant and they want the plan pared right back in the name of fiscal responsibility.

Paradoxically, the same conservative voices in Congress oppose tax rises, even though they could be presented as easing budgetary pressures.

What is clear is that the bandwidth of the US Treasury is far more occupied at this juncture in sorting out domestic fiscal policy than taking urgent action on a global tax, which will require Congressional assent.

Passage won't be eased by the unrelated decision of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority to launch a probe, working closely with the European authorities, into whether Facebook might be abusing its dominant position in the social media or digital advertising markets through the way it collects and uses data.

Asking the US to effectively agree to new taxes on Silicon Valley while probing Facebook at the same time will not be helpful with heavily-lobbied legislators.

As useful as it would be to make progress on the digital tax agenda, G7 citizens in the countries represented will want to hear more about the pandemic.

Ahead of the meeting, the IMF unveiled its $50billion plan to vaccinate the world by the end of 2022.

If it really unleashed the $9 trillion of output forecast, it could go a long way towards easing pressure for more taxation.

Practical obstacles to defeating Covid formed part of the discussion at a G7 meeting of health ministers and pharma companies this week.

European life science executives argued that waiving the intellectual property behind vaccines would not get the world vaccinated any quicker.

Nor would it encourage pharma firms to speed up innovation within 100 days to deal with the next health crisis.

The real work that needs to be done is to ramp up vaccine manufacture, unblock component bottlenecks and find practical ways to get vaccines into the arms of people in less developed societies.

Those are worthy and achievable goals.
Transparency makes for a fairer personal finance world. Sadly, many myopic financial companies resist it, even though it tends to work in their best long-term business interests.

A few years ago, I remember some financial protection insurance companies crying wolf over plans to get them to disclose details of their claims data.

Yet the information, now made available by most (annoyingly, not all) insurers, has helped remove some of the myths surrounding the industry's handling of claims: namely that more are rejected than accepted.

Accountability: Although we know that more than half of the money lost by customers to 'bank transfer' scams is not refunded, data on the reimbursement rates is not universally available

In publishing data showing that claim acceptance rates are often above 85 per cent, the industry has gone some way to restore consumer confidence in its products.

Yes, critical illness cover does actually pay out if someone has a stroke. Similarly, income protection insurance will pay a regular income if a policyholder suffers a serious long-term illness.

It is now time for transparency to be applied to the banks' handling of customers who have been victims of 'bank transfer' scams by fraudsters.

Although we know that more than half of the money lost by customers to such scams is not refunded, data on the reimbursement rates is not universally available.

Only Barclays and TSB play ball, primarily because their refund rates are way above the industry average. Others, shamefully, hide under a convenient cloak of anonymity.

Given this inconsistent approach to victims of fraud, it's high time the banks were required by the Payment Systems Regulator to publish refund rates on a regular basis.

Customers could then get an idea as to whether their bank is playing hard ball or fair.

The fact that the industry's flag waver, UK Finance, vehemently opposes such a move is all the more reason why transparency should be forced on the banks. As our mailbag indicates, too many scam victims are being unfairly treated.

Of course, transparency wouldn't end this, but it would make some banks think twice before routinely rejecting a fraud victim's plea for help.

......................................................................................................................................

It is blindingly obvious that shared bank branches could help arrest the decline of the high street.

As Toby Walne reports, such a branch (a bank hub) is transforming the fortunes of Cambuslang just outside Glasgow by giving residents and local businesses access to banking services.

And if it works in Cambuslang, there's no reason why such hubs could not revitalise other communities that have been made bankless.

The bank hub's time has come. The banks, regulators and those inside Government know it. They should, therefore, move heaven and earth for hubs to become a common feature of the high street up and down the land.

......................................................................................................................................

Tomorrow is the start of Carers Week, an annual campaign highlighting the challenges many of the countrys 6.5million unpaid carers face looking after family or friends.

Supported by many splendid charities, including Age UK and the Motor Neurone Disease Association, Carers Weeks aim is also to recognise the wonderful work that unpaid carers do. Work overwhelmingly driven by love.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

Oversold: One of the cheap booklets that list only self-evident tips on safety

Ms D.P. writes: I received a phone call, asking me to donate to the Children's Information Centre, to pay for anti-bullying booklets.

At the time, my son was being bullied and I agreed to donate, with booklets sent to my chosen school. A few months later, I was called again, telling me I had not yet paid. This was during a Covid lockdown and I was not in a good place, so I paid again.

Recently, I was called and told my third payment was now due. I insisted I had only agreed to pay once, but I was told the printing had already been done, and stupidly I paid. Now I have found that the school has not received any booklets at all.

Tony Hetherington replies: This is a scam based on false impressions and false claims. It behaves like a charity, but in fact it is a commercial enterprise designed to make profits.

Its proper name is Kids Information Centre Ltd and, although it uses an address in London, its base is Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester.

I sounded the alarm over this ripoff in August last year, and it dropped out of sight. It seems to have emerged again a couple of months ago.

It claims: 'With thousands of free classroom activity ideas, downloadable resources, and display photos, our library is a brilliant resource for lesson planning inspiration.'

And, impressively, it advertises that it has partnered with World Book Day and the Royal Geographical Society.

Less impressively, these are false claims, misusing the names and reputations of genuine organisations. A spokesman for World Book Day told me: 'World Book Day has absolutely no connection with Kids Information Centre Ltd.'

The Royal Geographical Society has no connection either, let alone a partnership deal.

In fact, the only activity I have seen from Kids Information Centre Ltd is the production of cheap booklets giving basic advice about bullying, fire safety, road safety, and keeping out of trouble online.

I say cheap, but you were invoiced for 169. I understand this was so 100 copies of the booklet could be sent to the school you nominated.

The calls you received afterwards, claiming you had not paid, and that you had placed a repeat order, are standard practice for tricksters.

Company records show that the man behind Kids Information Centre is 26-year-old Paul Chalmers. I asked him for a copy of whatever contract he believed entitled him to three payments from you.

I also requested details of the schools that should have benefited. And I invited him to explain why he was using the names and logos of genuine organisations such as World Book Day. Chalmers offered no answers, no explanations and no comments.

Report this to the police. Show them this report and tell them I will happily co-operate in any investigation.

Bullying people into paying for booklets about bullying, and then failing even to come up with the goods is unacceptable.

WE'RE WATCHING YOU: Fraudster I warned about in 2013 gets 13 years in jail

The ringleader behind a 30million investment fraud has been jailed for 13 years following a 16-week trial.

Paul Seakens, 60, from Enfield in North London, was at the centre of a network of scam companies that sold carbon credits as investments.

Police say 73 fraudulent brokers used Seakens to launder money from victims. They sold carbon credit certificates that were said to be in demand by industries to allow them to release carbon into the atmosphere.

But the certificates were not those used by industries and there was no market to allow investors to turn their pieces of paper back into cash.

Locked up: Paul Seakens led a 30million investment scam

The crooks bought the certificates for pennies and sold them with mark-ups of as much as 1,000 per cent, making it impossible for their victims to profit, even if there had been a two-way market.

As well as controlling Carbon Neutral Investments Ltd  the company at the heart of the scam  Seakens and Luke Ryan, 33, from Eastleigh in Hampshire joined forces to operate Enviro Associates Ltd.

This sales operation, based in Winchester, raked in about 2million. Ryan, who was already banned from working in any authorised investment firm after earlier scams, was sentenced to six years.

At Southwark Crown Court in Central London, Her Honour Judge Cahill QC told Seakens, a former stockbroker: 'Not a single word that comes from you can be trusted.'

And she asked Ryan: 'How did your conscience ever let you take thousands of pounds from innocent and trusting members of the public?'

The convictions and sentences follow an investigation lasting eight years, carried out by the City of London Police and officers in Hampshire.

Judge Cahill commended the police, including Detective Constable Kip Malek, who was at the court throughout the trial, which began in January.

The judge also commended me for carrying out The Mail on Sunday investigation published in March 2013, warning against Seakens and his scam. Evidence uncovered then, including the 2013 article, was given as prosecution evidence at the trial.

Seakens' firm, Carbon Neutral Investments, was authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Its licence was cancelled in March 2017, four years after The Mail on Sunday's warning.

However, Seakens, though he is now in jail, still appears on the FCA's public register of financial advisers with a note saying simply that he no longer works in a job that needs FCA approval, and that he has faced no disciplinary action.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
More than a third of Britons are uninterested in buying into cryptocurrency because of a lack of regulation of the sector, new research suggests.

Some 34 per cent of the population, and three-quarters of people in their thirties familiar with the likes of bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin said better consumer protections would make them likelier to invest.

According to exclusive research carried out for This is Money by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, half of those surveyed aged between 30 and 39 also said more accessible information would make them more interested in investing.

Wild West: Cryptocurrency trading is currently unregulated by the FCA

Charlie Barton, from the personal finance comparison site Finder, said: 'It makes sense that people want to learn a little more, and want reassurance that there's regulatory oversight before making an investment.'

Cryptocurrency investing has become increasingly mainstream among both everyday and institutional investors, which has helped propel the prices of cryptoassets like bitcoin to record highs over the past few months.

However, the industry remains unregulated in the UK and this, coupled with the intense volatility of the likes of bitcoin, means it can resemble something of a Wild West.

Since reaching an all-time high of more than $63,000 a coin in mid-April, the price of bitcoin has plummeted by 46 per cent in recent weeks, and currently sits at around $36,000.

The city regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has warned consumers they 'should be prepared to lose all their money' if they make such 'very high risk, speculative purchases'.

It has also banned everyday investors from purchasing crypto-derivatives which follow the price but do not provide investors with ownership, and can help magnify any losses.

Bitcoin has exploded since last March but has been on a wild ride recently, with the price falling 46% since its latest peak in mid-April

Cryptocurrency exchanges, which allow investors to buy the likes of bitcoin, ethereum and a myriad of other cryptoassets, are currently only regulated by the FCA for money laundering and counter-terrorist financing purposes.

This means that while some appear on a list of regulated platforms, those who hold money with them do not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme safety net if things go wrong.

Some banks have also banned investors from transferring money to cryptocurrency exchanges, while there are increasing concerns about 'get rich quick' cryptocurrency scams.

Two in five don't really know what crypto is as fears of fraud mount Coinbase's findings also revealed a sizeable proportion of people who claim to be 'somewhat familiar' with cryptoassets don't really know what they are. Two in five said they didn't know what it is or how it is created, which is through 'mining' using computer programs, which rises to 63 per cent of those in their sixties. Only 4 per cent of those aged between 60 and 69 felt they had a good understanding of what cryptocurrency is. Those findings are particularly stark given the increased concerns about fraud. Close to 45 per cent of investment scams involving social media platforms between April 2020 and March 2021 were to do with cryptocurrency investing, according to the fraud reporting centre Action Fraud. Often these involve fake celebrity endorsements, like this bitcoin scam we reported in 2019. There were 5,039 reports of investment fraud stemming from social media platforms in all, Action Fraud said, with victims losing 12,500 on average. Meanwhile high street bank NatWest said it received a record number of fraud reports about cryptocurrency in the first three months of this year. The FCA has said prospective investors should be 'extremely cautious' before investing. 'Make sure that you check and carefully consider the cryptoasset business', it said on its website. 'You should know who you are dealing with and whether a cryptoasset is suitable, especially considering the risk of such products. 'For example, when entering a business relationship, you may want to consider whether the business is based in the UK, or if it is registered with us.'

Glen Goodman, an investor and author of the book The Crypto Trader, said: 'I'm not surprised so many are reluctant to invest in crypto, as it's not protected by the FSCS.

'If you invest in the stock market and the trading platform goes bust - taking your money with it - you're eligible for up to 85,000 compensation. If the same happens with a crypto platform, you may lose everything.'

However, FSCS protection does not cover investors if their investments lose money or those companies go bust, only if the platform does.

And this is only the case if an investment platform or provider is regulated by the FCA or the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority and, as a result, the FSCS. It is important to check the FSCS's website, as well as that of your investment provider, to ensure you are covered.

Barton added: 'The stat that stood out was that 75 per cent of those in their thirties are waiting for regulation before making an investment in crypto. Those people are in a unique position.

'For them, it may not be a "YOLO" move into crypto - that's more for people in their late teens and twenties, who can afford the risk, with a lifetime of earning ahead of them.

'People in their thirties, however, may be looking to settle down, have a family and buy a house and it's a big risk to bet on "fake internet money".

Meanwhile, they are too young to have enjoyed the wage growth, lower house prices, and more generous pension schemes that older generations enjoyed.'

Stablecoins, a type of cryptoasset pegged to an existing currency like the pound or dollar and used to make payments, are currently being consulted on as a means of payment by the Government, the FCA said.

If they were adopted, the FCA would likely work to regulate the sector and provide consumer protections.

Marcus Hughes, Coinbase's managing director for Europe, said of the findings: 'It is essential for us to understand why some consumers remain reticent to engage with crypto so that we can help to demystify the space and build their trust.

'It is unsurprising that a perceived lack of regulation around cryptocurrencies unsettles some people.'

Currently, only four cryptocurrency exchanges are fully registered with the FCA.

Dozens more, including well-known names such as eToro and Revolut, have been placed on a temporary permissions register introduced at the end of last year.

This was due to expire next month, but on Thursday morning was extended until March 2022 to give exchanges more time to work with the regulator.

Coinbase is not listed on the FCA exchange as it provides crypto services to UK customers from an Ireland-based entity called Coinbase Europe.

It will soon register with the Central Bank of Ireland due to it launching a similar registration regime to the FCA.

Hughes added: 'If the industry is to gain the trust of the broader public, it is essential that further regulation is implemented consistently across the board.'

Goodman added: 'The sensible thing to do is buy crypto through a platform and then transfer it into your own private virtual wallet for protection. The problem is that's a fiddly process and people sometimes lose their passwords and their cryptocurrency.

'It would be much easier if the FCA extended their protective umbrella to crypto investors, so they could invest using intuitive platforms and apps, with the peace of mind the FSCS provides.'

Charlie Barton also agreed cryptoasset investing 'needs more regulatory infrastructure around it.'

Asked by This is Money whether it would consider this in light of the findings, the FCA said its remit was a matter for the Government.
Investing in shares listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) provides a chance to participate in the success of some of the country's  indeed, the world's  fastest growing companies: the likes of drinks mixer producer FeverTree and online fashion retailers Asos and Boohoo. But it's not without risk.

For every success story such as Fever-Tree  its share price is up by 265 per cent over the past five years  there is a failure like high street cafe chain Patisserie Valerie, which collapsed into administration in 2019, leaving investors holding worthless shares.

It explains why many prefer to invest in such businesses through a smaller companies investment fund that has exposure to a broad portfolio of firms, some of which are listed on AIM.

The top performing UK smaller companies fund over the past year  Premier Miton UK Smaller Companies  has 65 per cent of its portfolio invested in companies that form the FTSE AIM All-Share Index. It has delivered a rousing return of nearly 95 per cent.

As its name indicates, Stonehage Fleming AIM is a smaller companies fund primarily focused on AIM-listed stocks.

Although it hasn't matched Premier Miton's returns, it has still recorded a one-year return of 60 per cent.

By comparison, the index has risen by 38 per cent. The 135million fund is jointly managed by Nick Burchett and Paul Mumford, who constantly scour AIM for investment opportunities, analysing daily regulatory news service (RNS) announcements on companies they are either interested in or already invested in.

They also devour any brokers' comments on companies that they are keeping an eye on.

'It's such an exciting market to be invested in,' says Mumford. 'It's about looking under the bonnet of companies and speaking to brokers and the management of companies you're invested in.'

He adds: 'Unlike FTSE100 companies where access to senior people is nigh on impossible, we can pick up the phone and usually speak straightaway to any of the directors who run the businesses we have a stake in.

'Sometimes, we even help companies become better businesses by giving them some advice.'

The managers are also keen advocates of 'capital market days' where companies make presentations about their businesses and investors can ask questions.

These are now often conducted via Zoom although before the pandemic struck, they would often involve a visit to a factory.

'Nick likes to kick tyres,' says Mumford. 'Just by visiting a company site and seeing how the management and workforce interact, you can get a good feel for how a business is run.'

The Stonehage Fleming AIM fund is invested across 70 companies  a strategy designed to minimise any losses if a particular holding turns sour (it was an investor in Patisserie Valerie).

Certain sectors of the market tend to be avoided for risk reasons, such as mining, financials, biotech and hotels. The managers are also not keen on companies that join AIM from overseas. 'A lot can go wrong,' says Mumford.

Recent additions to the portfolio include robotics company Blue Prism and property business Hargreaves Services.

The biggest holding is healthcare company Totally, which accounts for 3.7 per cent of the fund. 'It's rare for a holding to account for more than five per cent of the portfolio,' says Mumford, 'but we do like to run with our winners.'

The fund's ongoing annual charge is 0.68 per cent and the stock market identification number is B0JX3Z5. Stonehage Fleming is a wealth manager that looks after the financial interests of wealthy families.
House prices have increased by nearly 11 per cent in the past year  fuelled primarily by the stamp duty holiday, ultra-low borrowing costs, and savings built up by households during the pandemic.

Although most homeowners have properties worth more than ever, investors have also participated in this housing boom.

For example, over the past year, shares in Barratt Developments and Persimmon  both constituents of the FTSE100 Index  have risen by 52 and 35 per cent respectively.

Through the roof: Over the past year, shares in Barratt Developments and Persimmon have risen by 52 and 35 per cent respectively

And while some investment experts warn of a possible housing market correction hitting profits housebuilders make from new builds, most believe the outlook is positive.

Demand for new homes, they say, will continue to be fuelled by an acute shortage of residential property  and also by the desire of many people to take advantage of changing working practices brought about by the pandemic and move to more suburban or rural locations.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at wealth manager Interactive Investor, says many housebuilders were well placed as they went into the pandemic last year.

On the back of a strong housing market, their financial position has strengthened, resulting in the likes of Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey continuing to pay punchy dividends.

Susannah Streeter, senior investments and market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, is a fan of Taylor Wimpey.

She says: 'It has been on a spending spree, buying land in prime locations to keep up with demand. While some of its peers tightened their budgets in response to the pandemic, it seized the moment and snapped up some cheaper housing plots.

'If it maintains its build momentum and brisk house sales continue, the group could come one step closer to its goal of delivering profit margins on sales of more than 21 per cent.'

But it isn't just house builders that investors should look at to take advantage of the buoyant housing market. Companies that supply the materials used in new builds are also worth close scrutiny.

They include brick manufacturer Ibstock, which has recently revived plans to spend 60million on revamping two factories in the West Midlands in response to rising demand for bricks  and also door and window manufacturer Tyman.

Another beneficiary of the housing boom has been flooring supplier Headlam, the UK's largest distributor of carpets, vinyl and wood coverings.

It saw a good recovery in sales in the second half of last year and has forecast a busier period ahead as the economy reopens.

DIY retailer Wickes has benefited from a surge in people embarking on home improvements.

While the appetite for DIY may wane a little as furloughed workers return to work, analysts believe sales should remain brisk  although Wickes warns that supply shortages are pushing up prices across its product range.

Investing in property via an equity fund

Jason Hollands of wealth manager Tilney lives in Kent and says it's 'incredible' to see so much major housebuilding activity underway.

He is not surprised that a number of UK investment funds have 'filled their boots' with shares in housebuilders, suppliers of building materials and companies involved in home furnishings and DIY.

He says: 'One of the investment funds most exposed to housebuilders is Man GLG Income.

It has nearly 11 per cent of its assets in stocks such as Bellway, Barratt Developments, Redrow and Taylor Wimpey.'

Country life: Housebuilders have benefitted from an increased desire to move out of cities during the pandemic, as people have embraced new ways of working

Another attractive property-oriented fund, says Hollands, is Ninety One UK Special Situations.

Its has big positions in a number of builders merchants and suppliers including Grafton Group (5.2 per cent) and Travis Perkins (3.9 per cent). It also has stakes in Wickes, Redrow, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey.

Meanwhile, fund Jupiter Income has a 5.1 per cent holding in B&Q owner Kingfisher.

Axa Framlington UK Mid Cap has exposure across housebuilders and suppliers, including Grafton Group, Bellway, furniture business Dunelm Group, construction materials company Breedon and home improvement and landscaping firm Marshalls.

Hollands adds: 'A buoyant residential property market is also welcome news for estate agents and property portals  the likes of Rightmove.' Investment fund Baillie Gifford UK Alpha has more than seven per cent of its assets in the FTSE100 listed company.

Moira O'Neill, head of personal finance at Interactive Investor, says: 'For those seeking to obtain exposure to residential property, investment trust TR Property could provide a good solution.

'It is the only investment trust which invests mainly in the shares of property companies rather than physical property. Almost 30 per cent of the trust is invested in residential property and its shares provide a dividend income equivalent to around 3.3 per cent.'

Ben Yearsley, a director of financial adviser Shore Financial Planning, likes Man GLG Undervalued Assets  a fund that has stakes in Redrow, Bellway, Irish housebuilder Glenveagh, Barratt, Tyman and Breedon.

He is also a fan of Fidelity Special Situations and investment trust Fidelity Special Values, which have 11.6 per cent and 13.7 per cent exposure respectively to housing related companies.

And what about commercial property?

The commercial property sector  offices, shops and industrial units  is going through a major state of flux. It means investors need to tread carefully if they want to make money.

Hargreaves Lansdown's Streeter says: 'Despite the reopening of the high street, the shift to digital sales shows little sign of reversing and it is likely to tick up as new-found buying habits become hard to break.

'That's likely to continue to benefit property companies servicing the e-commerce revolution such as investment trust Tritax Big Box. It owns and leases out giant warehouses to a range of tenants that include Ocado, Next and Amazon.'

Keith Bowman of Interactive Investor agrees. He says real estate investment trusts such as Tritax Big Box and Segro have benefited from the sustained consumer desire to shop online.

He says: 'Segro, the largest UK real estate investment trust by market value, has tenants that include Sainsbury's, Amazon and Tesco-owned Booker.

'It has suffered little adverse impact on rental collection during the pandemic. Segro's shares are up by more than 50 per cent since the pandemic-induced market low back in March last year while shares in Tritax Big Box have almost doubled over the same period.'

Bowman says the Covid crisis has been much tougher for the likes of office and shop owner Land Securities. 'Pandemic lockdowns closed most of its retail and leisure properties impacting its 2020 rent collections,' he says.

But Bowman says the easing of Covid restrictions and a return to the trust paying dividends has brightened prospects, helping its share price rise by around a quarter since March last year. He considers the trust's shares a buy.

Another trust favoured by Interactive Investor is BMO Commercial Property. It offers shareholders a monthly income equivalent to around 3.5 per cent a year.
The pandemic has created a growing demand for organ donations, but you can save money for the National Health Service as well as lives by agreeing to be a donor.

And by joining the millions of people who have downloaded the NHS phone app, you can register your intention to donate in seconds.

More than 5,000 people are awaiting a potentially life-saving donation.

Life-saver: But donating organs such as your liver, heart, lungs or pancreas can also help to put money back into other NHS services, as it means patients no longer need expensive treatment

Last year, coronavirus put almost all operations on hold, and the need for donors is now getting near desperate.

According to the NHS, more than 100million a year is spent on kidney dialysis alone  money that could be saved if 3,600 patients were able to receive transplants.

Many millions more could be saved if an increasing number of people donate other organs such as liver, heart, lungs or pancreas when they die.

Rules in England mean that every adult now agrees to be an organ donor  unless they have specifically said otherwise.

This is a result of a so-called 'opt out' system introduced last year which did away with the need to carry a donor card.

Similar rules were applied in Scotland in March this year and are already in place in Wales. Northern Ireland still uses donor cards.

Sabrina Kumari, a spokeswoman for NHS Organ Donation, says: 'Your support can save the NHS millions of pounds  and has the potential to save or change the lives of half a dozen people.

'But it is important to be aware nothing is taken if your loved ones decide against it. This is why it is vital you share your wishes as a donor while you can.'

There are now more than five million registered users of the NHS phone app  and you can pledge support to donate organs on its 'your health' link.

Those who feel squeamish about certain parts of their anatomy being used  such as eyes  can put this down on a checklist. Information on organ usage can be found at organdonation.nhs.uk.

There is also an option to be a living donor where you might donate one of your kidneys or part of your liver. About a third of all kidney transplants come from living donors.

The gift of life: Blood is worth 35 a pint in the US, while Britons donate for free. A single pint could save 3 lives

You will not be paid for providing this wonderful gift of life. But thanks to a 'sharing pool', if one of your family requires a kidney and your blood group means you are not a good match you can still donate to someone else in need  in exchange for a matching kidney from the pool.

It is not just organs that are required by the NHS  blood is too. In England, more than a million pints a year are needed.

It is hard to quantify the value of this blood, but American hospitals can pay $50 (35) for every pint that is given. In Britain we donate blood for free.

All blood is welcome, but some groups are in particular demand. AB negative is the most rare blood type  just 1 per cent of donors have it. There is also a variant of rhesus positive blood  whether you are blood group O, A, B or AB  known as Ro in demand.

Just 2 per cent of all donors have this blood, but it is required for a large number of people suffering from sickle cell disease who need a transfusion.

The most common blood group in Britain is O  about a third of us are O positive  but that does not mean it is also not highly prized. Blood has a typical shelf life of 35 days, so it is always needed.

Rob Knowles, from NHS Blood and Transplant, says: 'We calculate you can help save as many as three lives by giving blood. It is an altruistic gesture that is absolutely priceless for others. We pay you in tea and biscuits.'

There are 23 blood donor centres across England alone and 50 mobile collection teams. Due to lockdown they have not been operating as usual  but if you visit the website link nhsbt.nhs.uk it is possible to find details of local centres you can visit.

Donors typically give about one pint of blood each visit  nearly an armful. Most human bodies carry about ten pints of blood and can regenerate the amount taken in about two days.
Royal Mail is planning to offer timed delivery slots for the first time next year as it attempts to win customers from rivals such as Amazon, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The 500-year-old postal firm is planning a three-tier system allowing customers to pay more to send and receive letters and parcels on specific days and times.

In a video message to its 140,000 staff, seen by The Mail on Sunday, chief commercial officer Nick Landon said the company is stripping back its current range of services and is in the early stages of developing new options for customers.

Shake-up: Royal Mail is poised to give customers a range of delivery options

He said: 'Longer term, we're looking at what customers actually need and how we can reflect that in our products. And we want a three-tier product portfolio because three is a magic number. People always like to choose from three.'

Describing the three tiers as 'good', 'better' and 'best', Landon said: 'We're looking at a 'good' product, the base product, and this will be built around [the idea of]: 'I'll leave it to Royal Mail to choose how it comes to me'.'

He said the benefit of this option was that Royal Mail could move a parcel 'as efficiently as we want through our network', reducing its own costs and the price charge to customers.

The middle tier  or 'better'  product would be more expensive and is likely to be called 'My Choice'.

Landon said: 'Customers will be able to select the day they want it delivered and they will have a choice of product features they can add on.'

He said the options would include the customer being able to choose the day of delivery and the selection of a safe place to hide the parcel if no one is home.

Finally, Landon said customers who select the 'best' product will in addition be able to choose a time slot for the delivery as well as the day.

The top tier service would help to slash the number of 'Something for you' red slips posted through front doors. These create extra administration and additional costs for delivery offices.

Royal Mail sources said the services were unlikely to be introduced until next year.

The shake-up comes as new chief executive Simon Thompson, who took over in January, attempts to modernise the former state monopoly which had been battling a long-term decline in letter volumes and increasing competition.

The pandemic has revived the fortunes of Royal Mail. Former chief Rico Back was ousted last year and the boom in ecommerce sparked a spike in profits.

Its stock has rallied strongly, bringing the firm back into the FTSE100 after a two-year hiatus and making a paper profit of more than 500million for its main shareholder, Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky.

Thompson has been trying to fight back against rivals including FedEx, DHL and, notably, Amazon which is increasingly handling its own logistics.

Amazon currently offers rapid delivery options including four-hour delivery windows for large items, up to 14 days in advance.

The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that Amazon is more trusted than Royal Mail to deliver parcels safely to homes  a fact which Landon dubbed 'very worrying'.

Amazon's innovation in rapid delivery has helped its meteoric growth in the UK.

Natalie Berg, a retail analyst and co-author of a book on Amazon, said: 'Shopper expectations around delivery have changed drastically over the last decade and a lot of that is driven by Amazon.

'Shoppers expect it to be fast, reliable and free and Amazon has been phenomenal at that.

'Free delivery is not free so we know that's not sustainable. It's hard to put the genie back in the bottle, of course, but a tier system which offers greener, slower options makes sense.'

Landon said the company has conducted a review across its Royal Mail, Parcelforce and international divisions of 'products that overlap' to simplify them down to 'one product for each customer need across our different brands'.

He added: 'We're looking at [whether there are] some products where we've got different variants which probably had a very good reason for being launched at the time, but we can now simplify that product set down.'

The company's Parcel Collect service currently allows customers to pay for postage online, print the address labels and to send up five items, which are collected from their home by a postal worker.

Now Royal Mail is looking at providing an estimated collection time window and removing the restrictions on the number of parcels that can be sent. It is also exploring options for label-free parcels for customers without printers.

Chief executive Thompson said: 'We're exploring other changes to make it even easier for customers, such as whether we could remove the need for packaging at all.'
BT is pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into winning business from the army of start-ups that have launched during the pandemic.

The telecoms giant will offer marketing services to lure the smallest new firms to sign up to its phone and internet packages.

BT has identified a 1.5 billion market in offering telecoms for micro-businesses after 800,000 new companies were set up in Britain in the past year.

It expects to spend a 'large chunk' of the 500 million set aside for its business-to-business enterprise arm on a new division called SoHo, which will target the smallest 'single office, home office' businesses.

Investment: The telecoms giant will offer marketing services to lure the smallest new firms to sign up to its phone and internet packages

Chris Sims, managing director of the SoHo unit, revealed that it will offer a service that allows small firms to advertise easily on websites and social media, with BT acting as the middleman.

He said the service would launch 'within a matter of weeks' after a successful pilot which has seen retailers, plumbers and electricians advertising through the online tools.

Sims said the 'simple' service would free up entrepreneurs to spend time in other areas: 'Small businesses are time poor. You've got to make the benefit and the return on investment really clear. What we want to do is to help drive sales for these businesses.'

Sims added: 'The labour market is going to change as well, with more people choosing to work flexibly and contractors setting up their own organisations to do that.

'So we see significant growth in that market, not least over the next 10 years, as older millennials come through who really work in fundamentally different ways to the more established workforce.'

The SoHo unit will launch with an 'unbreakable' Wi-Fi package where internet coverage automatically switches to a 4G back-up if a firm's broadband goes down.

It will offer digital phone lines which divert desk phones to mobiles and transcribe voicemails. The UK's analogue phone network will be switched off in 2025.

The unit also plans to offer cyber security support and digital training to its customers.

More than 95 per cent of the UK's private sector companies, around 5.7 million firms, have up to nine employees.

BT said lack of experience, time and budget are holding 2.4 million small businesses back from running their own paid digital media campaigns, fuelling its decision to offering marketing services.

A BT study showed that while 64 per cent of small businesses think digital marketing is 'vital to their survival and growth', almost 60 per cent need more support with digital marketing skills.
Bankers based in London are digging in their heels at being asked to relocate to other European hubs after Brexit.

Staff at some of the City's largest companies are quitting their jobs rather than move abroad, as alternatives including Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam are proving less than alluring.

Wall Street titans such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, and Japanese giant Nomura are trying to convince traders to leave London for the Continent to staff desks which must be based in Europe due to rule changes after Brexit.

London calling: Staff at some of the City's largest companies are quitting their jobs rather than move abroad

One JP Morgan banker told the Mail: 'There have been problems  people don't, and won't, go to Frankfurt or Paris.

'It's not a surprise. They've got their kids and lifestyle set up. Frankfurt isn't a great city. The French are not very welcoming to foreigners. The big cities are still London, New York and Hong Kong if you want to make real money.'

JP Morgan has seen a number of staff leave this year, which insiders have blamed on efforts to transplant teams to Paris.

But when a team of 15 London-based traders were asked to move to the French capital earlier this year, around half chose to quit rather than leave the UK, Bloomberg reported.

Eva Kingston, a partner specialising in financial services at recruiter Stanton Chase, said: 'Where there is resistance, I think it's usually to do with family circumstances  they have partners who want to stay here, or children in school.'

Kingston said she was meeting several bankers who would rather quit their job than leave London.

'We have had a lot of people coming to us who have been told to relocate, and they want to explore what other opportunities there might be in London rather than having to move abroad.

'Being asked to move to Frankfurt seems to be a particular problem  maybe it's the distance.'

Nick Miller, a partner in the financial services practice of recruiter Odgers Berndtson, said some of the resistance to moving abroad might be due to a 'Covid overlay'.

He said: 'To people who have moved internationally in the past, the world felt increasingly small because you could just hop on a plane anywhere.

'Now you're weeks away from anywhere because of quarantine. We've had conversations with people about elderly parents and kids at school.'
Cresaptown, MD (21502)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 82F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, then becoming mostly clear after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Barre, VT (05641)

Today

Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 81F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.


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Thomasville, GA (31792)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 89F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
This is How Many People Work for the Government in Tennessee
COLONIE  A 34-year-old woman from Clinton County in the Adirondacks was arrested Friday at Albany International Airport after she slipped through a security door to try to get her luggage from an Allegiant flight, the Albany County sheriff's office said.

An airport employee and a sheriff's deputy spotted the Peru woman at about 9:07 p.m. underneath the C1 ramp where she had apparently gone to retrieve her luggage after Flight 2830, an Airbus A320 to Nashville, was canceled. The woman had allegedly gotten access to the secure part of the airport by following an airline employee through a restricted access door near the Allegiant ticket counter.

The passenger apparently got through the door before it had closed behind the employee.

The sheriff's department said the woman resisted arrest and then assaulted a deputy once she was brought to the sheriff's department's substation.

She was charged with felony assault and misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest.

She was being held at the county jail until her arraignment could be scheduled, deputies said.

Friday's incident didn't sit well with Sheriff Craig Apple.

The Allegiant flight to Nashville had been scheduled to depart at 12:30 p.m. Friday but was delayed after a screw was found embedded in one of the aircraft's tires, airport spokesman Doug Myers said. It was eight hours later that Allegiant decided to cancel the flight.

"I'm very, very frustrated with Allegiant," Apple said Saturday. "Many of the fliers sat in the bar for six or eight hours. Tempers got hot."

Apple said his deputies have had to cope with other disturbances in the terminal because the airline hadn't "engaged" with its passengers when delays and cancellations occurred. One woman even called him because she urgently needed the medicine that was in her checked luggage.

The airline is known as an "ultra low-fare carrier," that targets leisure travelers with flights to vacation destinations at rock-bottom fares. But when a flight is canceled, it's not easy to quickly rebook passengers.

Passengers likely faced the loss of a night's hotel payment and other costs. Allegiant Air told airport officials it plans to offer vouchers to the passengers, although it didn't provide any details.

"We understand the stress that unanticipated delays or cancelations can cause for our passengers, and always strive to communicate the latest information available both in person at the airport, and through electronic tools including our mobile app and text messaging," Allegiant Air said in an emailed statement to the Times Union. "On Friday, we experienced several unusual delays due to runway closures in Florida which were outside of our control. We deeply regret the inconvenience to our passengers and stress, but unruly behavior or violence of any kind is never acceptable and endangers everyone. We appreciate law enforcement's steps to deescalate this incident and share their frustration."

"This was a preventable incident," Apple said. "This is their fault," he said of Allegiant. Apple said he plans to meet with airport officials on Monday in an effort to prevent future incidents.

The Allegiant Air flight, meanwhile, did finally take off, departing Albany International Airport at 10 a.m. Saturday with 85 passengers on board. It arrived in Nashville at 11:24 a.m. CDT, according to data from FlightAware.
ALBANY  Elizabeth Crothers was young and idealistic when she came to the New York State Capitol. She fled a few years later, disgusted and disillusioned.

Working as a legislative aide, she told me on a recent day, was eye-opening from the start. For one thing, Crothers was warned about the men  there were many  that a young woman should do her best to avoid.

Thats just how the Legislature was two decades ago. As the saying went, what happened north of Bear Mountain stayed there. Har, har. Snicker, snicker.

And thats the environment Crothers confronted when, she says, a top aide to former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver raped her in his Albany apartment

Crothers, then 24 years old, went to the police but didnt press charges against J. Michael Boxley, then 41, when detectives explained the difficulty of the road ahead. She instead pursued her claim in the Assembly.

Boxley denied the 2001 allegation, and Silver responded with a sham of an investigation that included phone calls to Crothers parents and former employers. Meanwhile, Silver told Crothers his priority was to protect the institution.

Oh, but how that's bitterly hilarious with the benefit of hindsight. Nobody, after all, has done more to damage the Assembly than Silver, now sitting in prison for his all-consuming corruption. Protect the institution. Please.

But at the time, Silver had power that Crothers describes as creepy. It was like, she says, the Manhattan Democrat and his staffers were gods beyond reproach. They were people you did not cross.

You certainly didnt accuse one of them of rape. For doing so, Crothers paid an immediate price. In the halls of the Capitol, she became a ghost.

"I was invisible," she told me. "No hellos, no anything. All of a sudden, I just didnt exist."

Hearing that, its hard not to think of the woman who recently accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of groping her at the Executive Mansion. The unnamed staffer continues to go to work, were told.

How is she being treated? Is she also a ghost? Think of the courage, the strength, needed to walk into that building every morning.

How many of us could do it?

Back in 2001 Crothers quickly figured out protecting the institution was Silvers way of safeguarding his own power. He quickly announced his faith in Boxley, calling him "a man of integrity." Nevertheless, Crothers suspects Silver believed her.

"If he didnt then," she added, "he did two years later."

That's when Boxley was led out of the Capitol in handcuffs and charged with raping another legislative staffer who said she remembered feeling disoriented in a bar and woke up to find the attorney having sex with her.

"On that evening, I had sexual intercourse and there was not consent," Boxley would later admit as he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, misdemeanor sexual misconduct. He received six years' probation and a $1,000 fine, and went on to work at a fancy Albany lobbying firm. (Boxley couldnt be reached for comment.)

Crothers had fled Albany by the time of his arrest. She could take life as a pariah for only so long before she needed to escape. She left with wounds that never quite healed.

She told me, with some hesitation, that she wouldn't advise anyone to do what she did. In other words, she'd recommend that a young victim keep quiet. The personal consequences are just too great, too damaging. They never go away.

Disgusted by Silvers self-aggrandizing reign, Crothers gave up on a government career and went into teaching instead. She wanted no part of the sycophancy she had seen, the craven acquiescence to power.

"People would sell their highest-held values for a parking spot, or some paper clips or even just a pat on the back," she said. "People would rather be invited to a party or get Christmas cards than say hello to me in an elevator."

To the extent Crothers remains involved in government, it is for victims. So as the current legislative session in New York nears its end, she and other advocates are pushing for new laws.

One is the Adult Survivors Act, a sequel to the much-celebrated Child Victims Act that would open a window for sexual-abuse claimants to file lawsuits. It would allow Crothers to sue the Assembly, for example, despite the statute of limitations.

Another bill would clarify that employees in the Legislature and governor's office enjoy full sexual harassment protections. A third would prevent the retaliatory release of personnel files after allegations are lodged, as Cuomos team did to former staffer Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment.

Those bills, and others, have passed in the state Senate but seem stalled in the Assembly. Why is that?

"Habit," said Crothers.

Well, yes. Theres that. But many suspect another factor: The sexual harassment allegations against the governor from at least eight women. As one lawmaker acknowledged, the timing is "super awkward."

Crothers sees a repeat of Silvers protect the institution baloney. Times have changed, in certain respects, but powerful politicians havent. Everything is still all about them.

Thats among the lessons Crothers learned in Albany.

When she looks at photos taken before her time here, she thinks she had a better smile. She was happier, more optimistic, more trusting. She knew less, then, and that was good.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
ALBANY  Dozens of Albany families marched in 94-degree heat Saturday, with babies and toddlers in tow, to try to make a point that people must stop shooting guns on the busy Albany sidewalks.

The city's nine shooting deaths this year have been terrifying, but even worse, they said, have been the number of cases in which shooters sprayed a crowd or an entire sidewalk with bullets, not caring who got in the way of the person they were targeting.

Let us play outside safely, said Valerie Evans, who lives between Arbor Hill and Washington Park.

Her children range in age from one to 14. Normally, shed let her older children walk to the nearby park.

Now, I dont feel comfortable, she said, so theyre staying in family members backyards if they play outside.

She brought the whole family on a Stop The Violence march Saturday, chanting, This is what community looks like.

But right now, the community is afraid.

I have a 15-year-old son. I encourage him to be outside and interactive, but Im not bothered if he stays inside. His room is safe, said marcher Tamara Holmes.

Marcher Candace Showers moved from Albany to Troy, but she hasnt escaped the gun violence.

I have a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old. We dont go to the park, she said. Where do we go to feel safe?

She cant understand why people are so willing to shoot indiscriminately.

I have never in all my life seen so much violence, so much death, she said. Ive lost cousins and friends on 1st and Quail. Now these kids and these women are being killed. Theres no control. Youre not even thinking: over here theres families. Youre shooting innocent babies.

At least three people this year have been killed by bullets meant for others, according to Albany police. In those cases, shooters also hit many other passersby who survived. The three killed were Sharf Addalim, a store clerk who died outside the shop where he worked; Shanita Thomas, killed in a crowd on Central Avenue; and Chyna Forney, 18, a student at Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls.

Marchers said they werent just frightened by those deaths but by the way in which shooters fired into crowds and injured many people in an incompetent effort to hit one person.

When Addalim was killed, five others were injured in the hail of bullets. When Thomas was killed, her shooter opened fire on a crowd on Central Avenue, hitting four others as well. In Forneys killing, police found more than 40 bullet casings around her and said the shooter was aiming for a man nearby who was not hit.

No consensus on how to stop the violence

A Buddhist monk from Japan joined Saturdays march, saying the solution was to help everyone realize they are part of the community.

The Buddha says, all the children are mine, said monk Ishibashi.

Buddhists have been holding peace walks through Albany in an effort to raise awareness.

But some marchers, who came because family members had been killed, said more direct action is needed.

Get more officers on the street, said Hitavia Sprague, who said her cousin was killed in Albany. I think that would help: more of a police presence.

Holmes wants to marshal male role models to get involved.

We need a lot of men, she said. Boy Scouts, fishing, camping, even teaching them how to manage emotions.

But that will take money, she said: funds for starting troops, buying fishing poles or tents, paying for camping fees.

We lack resources, or funding is taken away, she said.

Showers said would-be killers need to make a deliberate choice to not turn to murder.

Figure out a different solution, she said. SNUG is an option. The Boys and Girls Club is an option.

SNUG runs a street outreach program to help mediate conflict. It can be reached at 518-449-5155.

Speakers at the march also offered differing proposals.

If you want to correct the violence, you create opportunities for the youngins who are pulling the trigger, said Sjhon Brown of the Capital Area Urban League. Dont make this political. Make it about people.

He said the community should embrace help from anyone  including police and the mayor.

But Lexis Figuereo of Black Lives Matter Saratoga said the last thing the neighborhoods need is more police.

Dont turn our neighborhood into a state of police, like were in a jail, he said, adding that it would make things worse.

Instead, he said, the community must create change.

We cannot rely on anyone else to keep us safe, he said.

Curious residents stood on their porches watching as the crowd marched by.

They said they hoped those who are willing to fire a gun on the city streets are getting one message: stop shooting.
BEIRUT (AP)  Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has answered hundreds of questions by French investigators over the past week in Beirut and was happy and satisfied to have had the opportunity to explain himself over accusations of financial misconduct, his lawyers said Friday.

The four and a half days of questioning marked the first opportunity for Ghosn, a French national, to defend himself against the French allegations  including spending on lavish parties and private planes  since his 2018 bombshell arrest in Japan and escape to Lebanon a year later.

However, as Ghosn was being interrogated outside of French soil, it was unclear how he could, if at all, be handed down preliminary charges. His lawyers said they will now seek the right to ask for witnesses and expert testimony in the French investigation.

Earlier, the auto magnate-turned-fugitive told The Associated Press that he has done nothing wrong and hopes the investigations are eventually dropped. He didn't speak to reporters throughout the Beirut interrogation, which began on Monday.

It is an unusual move for French magistrates to question a suspect abroad. Ghosn, who was given sanctuary by Lebanese authorities, grew up in Lebanon and also has Lebanese citizenship. Lebanon will not extradite him. He is Brazilian-born.

Ghosn was questioned about the financing of parties he threw at the Versailles Palace as the head of the Renault-Nissan car alliance. The French investigators, in cooperation with Lebanese judicial authorities, were also examining 11 million euros in spending on private planes and events arranged by a Dutch holding company, and subsidies to a car dealership in Oman.

It was his opportunity to explain his positions, said Jean Yves Le Borgne, a member of Ghosn defense team. It has now happened and he is satisfied and happy.

Still unresolved, of course, is the problem of the next step in this procedure, Le Borgne added.

Ghosn has not so far been charged with anything in France, but could be, given preliminary accusations of fraud, corruption, money laundering, misuse of company assets, or aggravated breach of trust.

Whether Ghosn could be charged or not by the French, Carlos Abou Jaoude, his Beirut-based lawyer, said Lebanese and French authorities have to determine what Ghosns status will be.

Ghosn is campaigning to clear his name against multiple legal challenges in France after Japanese accusations triggered scrutiny of his activities there. He told the AP he had much more confidence in the French legal system than the Japanese system he had fled.

He was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on accusations of financial misconduct and was kept in solitary confinement for months without being allowed to speak with his wife. He fled to Lebanon a year later in a dramatic escape that stunned the world. Meanwhile, several associates are in jail or on trial in Japan and Turkey, in cases related to his financial activities or escape.
BERNE  A couple who were well-known and beloved in this rural community were killed following a massive explosion that leveled their home Friday night.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple confirmed late Saturday morning that Victor and Lois Porlier, ages 83 and 72, respectively, died in the powerful blast that was felt miles away and has cast a pall over the Hilltowns as fire and sheriff's investigators search for answers.

Apple said early Saturday afternoon that based on the damage, it appears the ferocious blast originated in the northwest corner of the house either in the basement or the first floor of 1470 Hilltop Lane in the hamlet of East Berne.

"It's going to be a very lengthy search because we have 3 1/2 stories of house in the basement," he said, adding that the debris field "in diameter is probably 12o yards out. "We have a very lengthy and methodical search ahead of us; we have to search that debris field as well as the contents of the basement."

Lois Porlier was discovered in the bed while the impact of the explosion, which occurred at 8:20 p.m. Friday, resulted in Victor Porlier being hurtled several yards away outside the dwelling, Apple said. His body was found Friday night.

"Explosion shows signs of propane explosion but also there are several other pieces to factor in," Apple said earlier Saturday morning.

Located in a secluded location off Thacher Park Road, the home was already engulfed in flames when first responders arrived at the scene after a neighbor called authorities to report the explosion followed by heavy smoke, the sheriff's office stated. The state park was closed after the blast.

Berne is a town of roughly about 2, 771 people that is about 20 miles outside the city of Albany.

Multiple fire departments and EMS personnel arrived at the scene, with many working overnight to extinguish the fire, the sheriff's office said.

Online listings describe the home as a three-story, 5,600-square-foot structure sitting on 16 acres of land. Apple said the couple had been seeking to sell the property.

Kyle Fosse, who lives about five miles from the explosion site, said he and his wife were inside their East Berne home when they felt a "thud, like a bookshelf falling" and their "dogs went crazy." They went outside to see if a tree had fallen and were met by neighbors who also felt the disturbance.

Berne Supervisor Sean Lyons said Saturday morning that the explosion reverberated through the area.

"The explosion rocked the whole community  there's not a corner of the town of Berne that somebody didn't report hearing it last night," said Lyons.

The supervisor, who is out of town, said not long after the explosion, he received a call from the Highway Superintendent alerting him about what just happened.

He said that the town's code enforcement office and building inspector were on scene Friday night.

Lyons said pictures of the utter devastation posted on social media have led to frayed nerves and fueled speculation among this small community about what might have brought down the home in a community where propane tanks are often used as a source of fuel.

"I think for many in the community, people are waking up this morning in shock," he said. "One of the biggest takeaways now is people are very nervous about how this happened, and what do they do to protect themselves now. Is this a random event that just happened? So people are very concerned about the root cause and how that will affect them and their homes."

Neighbor Helen Lounsbury Galicki who said she lives on Saw Mill Road less than a mile from the Porliers, said Saturday afternoon that "her whole house shook" following the explosion.

She's "dumbfounded" something like this happened to such good humble people.

"They were both very brilliant people," she said of the Porliers. "We found them to be very good company, they weren't braggarts, and this information I'm sharing with you was learned over a period of time."

Lounsbury Galicki, a retired school teacher who also served on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo school board, said Victor Porlier worked in campaign management and decades ago helped out with the campaign of late president Ronald Reagan.

"I found it interesting, one of the things about Victor is that he went to the (University of California) Berkeley, he was very liberal at one point and then he became extremely conservative, so there was a major change in his stance," said Lounsbury Galicki.

She said Porlier traveled a lot for one of his jobs "and I think his viewpoint of the world started to change."

The husband and wife grew their own vegetables because of Lois Porlier's strict organic diet and she spoke several languages, said Lounsbury Galicki.

She recalled how her cousin from Dublin, Ireland, himself multi-lingual, marveled after meeting and speaking with Lois that her Irish "accent was perfect."

The couple's sprawling property provided them with an "uninterrupted and breathtaking view" of the Heldeberg mountains, their neighbor said.

Still, they had recently sold off a lot of their possessions through an auction and were making plans to sell the home and relocate down South to be closer to Victor Porlier's son, Lounsbury Galicki said.

She and Randy Bashwinger, Berne's Highway Superintendent, said the house also featured a spectacular library with thousands of books, which is also mentioned in an online real estate listing for the place. She said Victor Porlier was also "extremely well versed in technology" and wrote books about the Y2K phenomenon.

The real estate listing indicates the 3-bedroom 2.5 bath residential structure "situated between lakes and parks" is 1,440 feet above sea level with rock walls, solar panels and a private pond with "over 15 acres with panoramic views to the south and north."

Some of the other amenities listed included a mahogany custom staircase with vaulted ceilings and skylights, 54 raised and insulated garden beds, 5 outbuildings, including 2 Amish barns, a 2-story horse barn and solar panes with battery backup, and geothermal heating and cooling with Air Knight purification.

Lounsbury Galicki said Victor Porlier preferred solar panels and had reservations about propane tanks.

"I know that Victor never liked propane, he said he would never have it, but maybe he had to have a tank for something, " she said, adding the couple were "environmentally friendly."

Lyons said the use of propane tanks is a part of everyday normal life in Albany County's Heldeberg Hilltowns.

"Many of us in the Hilltowns, including myself, we have large supplies of propane tanks at our homes because of delivery so it will be a concern for many people now, making sure that it's always off and there's no leaks..." he said.

Asked about the Porliers, Lyons described Victor Porlier as "a genius and a very smart man," and said the couple were good friends with a number of people who work for the town.

Lyons, a lifelong Berne resident who has served as supervisor for about 4 years, said he can't recall a tragedy of this magnitude occurring in town.

Bashwinger, who is also on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo school board, said Victor Porlier was a regular at meetings.

"He was very dedicated to going to meetings, and he just loved education for young kids," said Bashwinger, also the Albany County Republican chairman.

He said Victor Porlier was his wife's caretaker because of her health problems.

Apple remarked on the degree of devastation.

"I've been doing this a long time, we've had a couple of house explosions, but never anything to this magnitude, " he said.

East Berne Fire Department, Berne Fire Department, Altamont Fire Department, Westerlo Fire Department, New Salem Fire Department, Onesquethaw Fire Department, Helderberg Ambulance, Albany County Sheriffs Office EMS division all responded to the incident. New York State Police also assisted in the investigation.

Mike Goodwin and Susan Mehalick contributed.

.
VIENNA (AP)  The 35-year-old woman was working at a tobacco shop in Vienna when authorities say her ex-boyfriend doused her in gasoline and set her ablaze in March. In April, another woman of the same age was found shot to death in her home in the Austrian capital, also reportedly by her ex-partner.

They were the sixth and ninth women to be killed in Austria this year, and five more have followed in the weeks since. That has brought this years total so far to 14 slain women, making the Alpine nation one of the few European Union countries where the number of women killed is higher than the number of men.

The recent high-profile cases have led to widespread protests, demands for government intervention, and condemnations from Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and President Alexander van der Bellen.

Too little is being done to protect women from violence, van der Bellen said recently after meeting with representatives of womens shelters and violence prevention organizations.

Experts say a variety of factors have caused the long-standing problem. Those include a view of women as subservient by some in Austrias conservative Catholic  and more recently Muslim  populations. They also blame the normalization of sexist language by the far-right Freedom Party, which is now in opposition but has been part of two national coalition governments in Austria.

Weve seen that the language about and toward women has become more radical, said Maria Roesslhumer, who heads Austrias biggest network of womens shelters and has been sounding the alarm for years. And when this kind of verbal violence is possible in a country, then the path to physical violence isnt far.

The financial crisis of 2008 magnified the problem, as financial insecurity stoked domestic violence. Women's advocates say the coronavirus pandemic is having a similar effect, with many people out of work and stay-at-home orders leaving many victims trapped with their abusers.

Roesslhumer hopes leading politicians have finally gotten the message and will commit to more funding for organizations like hers as well as better enforcement of existing laws on domestic violence.

We have good laws, but theyre not being enforced, Roesslhumer said. If you truly want to guarantee the safety of women, or to improve the safety of women, you need to invest in it.

In the case of the 35-year-old woman killed at home in April in the capital's Brigittenau neighborhood, the main suspect had previously sent threatening, sexually explicit messages to a female politician from the Greens party in 2018. And in the weeks before the killing, he reportedly verbally threatened the victim and her family.

He took out a pistol and said, You know what this is, the victims father told Austrian television.

Austrias homicide rate is low, at fewer than 1 per 100,000 people, but its proportion of women killed versus men is high. Last year, 31 of the country's 43 total murder victims  72%  were women, according to Roesslhumer's Autonomous Austrian Womens Shelters, a non-governmental organization that tracks the issue.

There are a handful of countries where the rate of femicides is slightly higher, including tiny Luxembourg, but Europe-wide about 75% of slayings are of men, according to the European Union's Eurostat statistical office.

In Austria, femicides almost doubled from 2014 to 2018, going from 23 cases to 44, according to Eurostat.

The victims in Austria came from all ages and backgrounds, but nearly all were killed by their current or former partners, the vast majority in their own homes.

These recent cases, and the rise in domestic violence since the start of the pandemic, are no surprise to people working in this field, Laura Wiesboeck, a Vienna-based sociologist who focuses on the issue, told The Associated Press.

Many experts ... predicted that there would be a rise in male violence against women, especially in the context of intimate partner relationships, she said. But politically this hasnt been heard or prioritized.

Activists have organized a series of protests in Vienna in the wake of the recent murders and are exploring other ways to highlight the problem.

This is a societal issue. It affects all of us, Vienna-based writer and musician Gerhard Ruiss, who organized writers and artists to call for more decisive action from the government, told the AP.

After a virtual roundtable on the issue in May, the Austrian government pledged an additional 24.6 million euros ($30 million) for violence prevention  a significant increase over existing funding, but a small fraction of the 228 million euros requested by organizations in the field.

Kurz suggested, however, that more funding could be made available if needed for measures to protect women and children from violence.

It will not fail because of money, he said.

Roesslhumer and other advocates say an additional 3,000 jobs in violence prevention are necessary, and more training is needed for those who work in law enforcement, justice and education to ensure that violence-prevention laws are better enforced. They're also urging police to keep closer tabs on men under restraining orders.

Roesslhumer said the current discussion could be a turning point for more decisive action.

We hope that its a lasting shift, not just a short flare-up that simply fades away, Roesslhumer said. I have the impression that theres a change underway, and that many people understand we cant go on like this.

But, she cautioned, its too early to tell.

_____

Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin.
Soteavy Som / EyeEm

The article Neonic-treated seed fray on to Legislature," May 21, fails to capture the views of the many New York farms that depend on the bee and pollinator populations decimated by neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics).

At White Feather Farm, a non-profit, regenerative farm in Saugerties, bees are essential to pollinate our high-value greenhouse crops, diverse orchard, and the 80-plus varieties of fruits and vegetables we grow in our highly diversified farm fields.
As a white kid who grew up in the suburbs, I am (obviously) a fan of the "Back to the Future" films  but not for the reasons you might expect.

Sure, they offer zippy entertainment and ingenious plotting, as well as the repeated pleasure of studying the clean lines of a vintage Delorean sports car. But they are also sneakily subversive (or at least they were for me) in the way they present a pocket history of a community  the paradoxically named Hill Valley, an inland southwestern small city as generic as the dreams of decades of TV sitcom writers  as a place that was shaped and changed by the decisions of the powerful, in ways that could be either beneficial or damaging.

Because these are time travel stories, we see this process in stark relief: The main square can be a slightly crumbling but nonetheless walkable center or a blaring hellscape dominated by a thoroughly Trumpish casino tower, depending on who wields power and influence. As a teen who grew up in a neighborhood that was only about a decade from being untracked forest when my family moved in, it was a notion that could crack your head open. And did I mention the Delorean?

All of which is a slightly unserious way to talk about a very serious undertaking that begins in the Times Union on Sunday and continues through the week: "A City Divided," a series examining how Albany came to be splintered along racial lines.

The project's roots go back about four years, when reporter Massarah Mikati was in the middle of her year-long rotation as a Hearst Fellow and expressed interest in doing a broad series on the subject. Massarah was, however, busy in other quarters: She had upon arrival been handed a newly created beat we dubbed "New Americans," covering the Capital Region's immigrant communities. She excelled at that work, contributing stories that portrayed challenges and triumphs, and then went off to do equally strong journalism for the Houston Chronicle.

Lucky for us she ended up back in upstate New York, and rejoined the Times Union as a staff writer at the beginning of 2020. Because of her experience covering minoritized communities, she has been a key player in the paper's coverage of the racial reckoning that followed the killing of George Floyd, and our internal work overhauling many of the ways we cover communities of color.

For "A City Divided," she teamed up with Eduardo Medina, a Hearst Fellow with similar skills and interests who since last summer produced several deeply reported stories on life in Albany's neighborhoods  from a pandemic Friday night in the Pine Hills student zone to a profile of a West Hill 19-year-old trying to make his way through an especially perilous summer. (Eduardo recently jumped from the Hearst program to begin an internship with the New York Times, which indicates that they also have high standards for young talent.)

To produce "A City Divided," they spent five months interviewing local residents as well as historians, community organizations and elected officials. They devoured data on racial demographics and homeownership from the U.S. Census, as well as Brown Universitys Diversity and Disparities project and Mapping Inequality, a remarkable collaboration between multiple universities that lays out the process of "redlining" across the nation.

One of the most compelling elements in the first story is a digital version of the 1938 map drawn up by the federal Home Owners' Loan Corp., which classified neighborhoods in cities across the nation in terms of the security of real estate investment. Zones shaded in red were deemed "hazardous" for such investment. On Albany's map, the '38 redlined neighborhoods are the ones that almost a century later continue to struggle with the legacy of disinvestment.

I live in an Albany neighborhood that the Depression-era map describes as "still desirable": "Market is very poor on two family houses although rentals are good," some long-ago bureaucrat wrote. "This is still regarded as a desirable and convenient neighborhood." And so it remains, 83 years later: Back to the future, anyone?

To give the broadest possible explanation of how the city changed  or, more to the point, failed to change  the reporters reviewed documents you've probably never heard of, such as a 1961 State Investigative Commission report on Albany Countys tax delinquency (a major factor in the current epidemic of structurally deficient buildings in the city) and combed the archives of this newspaper to uncover work we can be proud of and a few things that made us cringe.

A community that does not understand its past can't realistically hope to comprehend its present  and almost certainly imperils its future.

No single news story or series can capture the experience of an entire community, but we hope these articles will contribute to the ongoing public debate over how this city  and others grappling with similar issues  can be a vibrant, prosperous and more equitable community for all of its citizens.

cseiler@timesunion.com
Farmington, WV (26555)

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Partly cloudy this morning with thunderstorms becoming likely this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

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Two more former Boston police officers are pleading guilty to federal charges in connection with an investigation into overtime fraud at the departments evidence warehouse
Plan would add to national wildlife refuge in New Orleans

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has plans to add some wetlands to a national wildlife refuge in New Orleans, and is seeking public comment
Officials in Georgia's oldest city say they plan to start collecting soon on some long overdue utility bills
Cambodian official congratulates CPC on centenary, praises China for tremendous development

Xinhua) 11:06, June 05, 2021

PHNOM PENH, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian official has congratulated the Communist Party of China (CPC) on its 100th anniversary, saying that under the CPC's leadership, China has enjoyed enormous development in all spheres.

"Congratulations to China on the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, and I wish you all the best, prosperity and more development so that you can continue to help other countries," said Or Vandine, secretary of state and spokesperson for the Cambodian Ministry of Health, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

China has achieved a remarkable success in economic development, diplomacy, poverty alleviation, infrastructure, and science and technology, among others, she said.

China's peaceful development is a boon not only for the Chinese people, but also for people around the world, Vandine said, adding that China's kind support for other countries in the fight against COVID-19 is admirable.

"China is doing its great job in helping other countries to fight against the COVID-19," she said. "For China and Cambodia, we would like to see closer cooperation in all fields, especially in the field of health."

Meanwhile, she also spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative, saying that it has become an important platform for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Former bank building could become restaurant in Natchez

An old bank building in Mississippi could become a new restaurant
[June 04, 2021] SHAREHOLDER ALERT: CLAIMSFILER REMINDS ARRY, CCXI, PCT, WISH INVESTORS of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuits

NEW ORLEANS, June 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors of pending deadlines in the following securities class action lawsuits: ChemoCentryx, Inc. (CCXI)

Class Period: 11/26/2019 - 5/3/2021

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 6, 2021

SECURITIES FRAUD

https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-chemocentryx-inc-common-stock-ccxi-securities-litigation PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (PCT) f/k/a Roth CH Acquisition I Co. (ROCH)

Class Period: 11/16/2020 - 5/5/2021 and/or were holders of Roth securities entitled to participate in the March 16, 2021 shareholder vote on the merger with PureCycle.

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 12, 2021

SECURITIES FRAUD, MISLEADING PROSPECTUS

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/iew-purecycle-technologies-inc-common-stock-pct-securities-litigation



Array Technologies, Inc. (ARRY)

Class Period: 10/14/2020 - 5/11/2021, or purchase of shares issued either in or after the October 2020, December 2020 or March 2021 public offerings

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 13, 2021

SECURITIES FRAUD, MISLEADING PROSPECTUS

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-array-technologies-inc-common-stock-arry-securities-litigation ContextLogic Inc. (WISH)

Class Period: 12/16/2020 - 5/12/2021, or purchase of shares issued either in or after the December 2020 Initial Public Offering

Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: July 16, 2021

SECURITIES FRAUD, MISLEADING PROSPECTUS

To learn more, visit https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-contextlogic-inc-wish-securities-litigation

If you purchased shares of the above companies and would like to discuss your legal rights and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact us toll-free (844) 367-9658 or visit the case links above. If you wish to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the class action, you must petition the Court on or before the Lead Plaintiff Motion deadline. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com



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Thankfully, it was a totally peaceful protest and not just a "mostly peaceful" event. There were at least a couple of hundred people at the peak of the demonstration that culminated with speeches outside of KCPD HQ.



Here's the news roundup . . .



One year later, group continues to hold protests outside KCPD headquarters KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On Friday night, local activists marked one year of weekly protests in Kansas City following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The group has been pushing to raise awareness about local police brutality and killings and continuing its calls for change.

Protesters hold Friday night march, protest in front of KCPD headquarters For over a year, protesters have been gathering in front of Kansas City Police Department demanding change within the department. On Friday, organizers held another protest to culminate their yearly effort. "We have police problem here in Kansas City, so we should go the police headquarters," said Steve Young, an organizer.

Families of men killed by police share grief and demand change KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - For a year, a group of people who want to see a change in policing have gathered outside Kansas City Police Headquarters on Friday nights holding signs with the names of local residents killed by police. It started one week after George Floyd's death.

Advocates gather at KCPD Headquarters on anniversary of KCMO police brutality protests KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Days after videos emerged of a shooting in which a Kansas City, Missouri, police officer killed a 31-year-old man , dozens of people came together on the anniversary of local protests that ignited following George Floyd's murder. Friday's protest was expected to begin around 6 p.m.

Developing . . .
Johnstown, PA (15901)

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Mark Bennett has reported and analyzed news from the Wabash Valley and beyond since Larry Bird wore Sycamore blue. That role with the Tribune-Star has taken him from Rome to Alaska and many points in between, but Terre Haute suits him best.

Follow Mark Bennett Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
The Ball Ground City Council will soon consider a possible land swap and annexations into the city, although both its June and July meetings h
12 year old son lives in Norway I live in UK, can he travel?

12 year old son lives in Norway I live in UK, can he travel?

Dilemma, been trying to organize my son to come to UK after not being able to for a long time due to COVID. I used to go fetch him and fly him back and forth. I became ill with a collapsed lung and couldn't fly, so I then arranged the chaperone service with SAS, which was great. COVID then comes in and obviously we all know the rest.

A few points,

He is 12 now and can fly on his own with SAS without chaperone (not available anyway).

Norway is on the Amber list. I cant fly there and collect.

His grandfather works for SAS and can go airside and take him to the gate.

He only has a Norwegian passport, wasn't allowed to have 2 (the British one)

He has not had any vaccines.

Really struggling getting answers anywhere for this scenario;

Can he fly to the UK on his own at the age of 12 in this time of COVID and i meet him at the arrivals gate at Manchester Airport ?

Can he fly back to Norway from the UK on his own at the age of 12 in this time of COVID to meet his mother at the arrivals gate in Norway after being here for 6 weeks in the UK?

I believe he can isolate at destination (my place) coming from Amber list country but has to take 2 covid tests.

any help advice would be greatly received or a point in the right direction.
?? Ahora | La presidenta del Consejo de Ministros, acompanada por los representantes de la @ONUPeru, @UNICEFperu y @EmbSuizaPeru, supervisan el arribo de un lote de 242 mil vacunas contra la #COVID?19, gestionadas por el mecanismo COVAX Facility. pic.twitter.com/NpE8AnX0k3
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Tucson, AZ (85741)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. Very hot. High 113F. SSE winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 80F. NNW winds shifting to ENE at 10 to 15 mph.
Writer and performer Kyle Hernandez of Trinidad is receiving death threats, following a performance he did on local television station WESN, where he seemed to insult not only Tobagonians but the national bird of the island.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) made a decision to deepen Ukraine's integration into NATO and approved a report on the inspection of the national anti-terrorism system.

NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said this at a briefing after the NSDC meeting on June 4, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

During the meeting, the NSDC members considered urgent measures to deepen Ukraine's integration into NATO. Danilov noted that these issues had been considered in secret, and all the necessary decisions had been made unanimously.

According to him, the NSDC members also heard a report by the deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine on a review of the nationwide counter-terrorism system. "The report on the nationwide counter-terrorism system was approved," the NSDC secretary said.

Another issue considered was the improvement of the network of situational centers and the digital transformation in the field of national security and defense. As Danilov explained, a single system for managing national security will be created throughout Ukraine.

In addition, a decision was made on the development of the domestic aircraft industry in the coming years.

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The discussion of compensation to each family of those killed in the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash is possible only after establishing all the circumstances of Iran's downing of the plane and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko said this in a comment to Ukrinform.

He noted that the ultimate goal of the efforts of Ukraine and other affected states should be to ensure justice for the victims of the tragedy and their relatives and not to repeat such a crime in the future.

Of course, the issue of payment of compensation is an important element of this process. At the same time, it must be preceded by establishing all the circumstances of Iran's downing of the plane and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Only after that we can talk about the amount of cash payments, Nikolenko said.

He added that the specific amount of compensation should be the result of an agreement between the governments of all states, the citizens of which died in the plane crash, but not a unilateral decision.

"Instead, we expect Iran to faithfully implement the agreements reached in the third round of consultations in Kyiv on June 2-3, as well as in the previous two rounds," the Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported, the Iranian side during the third round of negotiations declared its readiness to pay USD 150,000 in compensation to each family of those killed in the downing of a UIA passenger plane.

The third round of talks between Ukraine and Iran on the UIA plane shot down near Tehran in 2020 took place in Kyiv on June 2-3.

On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. There were 176 people on board  nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK). All of them died.

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The United States condemns the sentence passed on Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov by a so-called Russian court in Simferopol on June 1.

Charge dAffaires of the U.S. Mission to the OSCE Courtney Austrian said this at an online meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Last week, we condemned Russias efforts to harass and intimidate Crimean Tatar leaders, including the in-absentia trial of Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov. We were appalled to learn of the Russia-controlled Crimean Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday to sentence Chubarov to six years imprisonment and a 200,000 ruble fine under politically-motivated charges," she said.

According to the diplomat, this is just the latest example of Russias efforts to silence those who oppose Russias occupation of Crimea and promote a climate of terror and repression.

In addition, Austrian called for the immediate release of Crimean journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko and more than 100 political prisoners, most of whom are Crimean Tatars. We urge Russia to end its occupation of Crimea, to cease its harassment of Crimean Tatars, ethnic Ukrainians, and other ethnic and religious minorities, and to release all political prisoners from Ukraine it holds in custody," she stressed.

As reported, on June 1, a so-called Russia-run court in Crimea sentenced in absentia Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov to six years of prison and a fine for politically-motivated charges.

Chubarov said that any decision made by the Russian occupation court on the basis of Russian legislation is "illegal and null and void" for him.

He appealed against the sentence.

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Presidente @FSagasti: Los peruanos participaremos en uno de los eventos fundamentales de nuestra democracia: el acto electoral en el cual mas de 25 millones de ciudadanos elegiremos a quien conducira el destino de nuestro pais a partir del proximo 28 de julio. pic.twitter.com/FCaBZjC34q
Bensalem Township Police Director Fred Harran (front) and Police Sgt. Greg Winokur (behind the wheel) pose with The Bensalem PD's new ice cream truck - aka the Copsicle Cruiser - a converted school bus manned by police officers who dispense free ice cream to the public. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)
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Elmer Wayne Cruey, 77, passed away Sunday, May 9, 2021, at his home in Milledgeville. He was a native of Tazewell, Va. and resident in Milledgeville for the past 20 years. Wayne was preceded in death by his mother, Cordelia Pauley Cruey, and father, Charles Patterson Cruey; sisters, Mercedes
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. United States Acting Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip T. Reeker will travel to Tbilisi (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Yerevan (Armenia) June 6-13 to advance bilateral and regional priorities and to express U.S. support for democratic and economic development across the region, the U.S. State Department reports.

Acting Assistant Secretary Reeker will meet in Georgia with government, opposition, and civil society leaders to discuss full implementation of the April 19 agreement among Georgian political parties.

In Armenia and Azerbaijan, Acting Assistant Secretary Reeker will meet with government, civil society, and business leaders to discuss bilateral priorities and issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Kano, Nigeria, June 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Jun, 2021 ) :Thirteen people died in northwest Nigeria's Sokoto state when a boat ferrying wedding guests capsized, officials said, a week after 150 people went missing in another boat accident.

The boat was conveying 18 people returning from a wedding in Shagari district when it overturned on Friday.

"Thirteen people travelling from Dorowa to Ginga village died in the boat mishap," Sokoto state government spokesman Muhammad Bello said.

The passengers were all members of the same family heading home after attending the wedding ceremony, local lawmaker Maidawa Kajiji said.

"It was a small boat loaded with 18 passengers but only five survived and were rescued," Kajiji said.

Overcrowding, weather and lack of maintenance contribute to frequent river boat tragedies on Nigerian waterways.

Scores of traders drowned when their overloaded boat split and sank on the Niger River in neighbouring Kebbi state last week.

The boat was ferrying 180 passengers but only 20 survived. Rescuers recovered 96 bodies after days of searching before the operation was called off.

The National Inland Waterways Authority has banned night-time sailing on the rivers to stop accidents and says overloading ships is a criminal offence, but skippers and crews often ignore the regulations.
Rome, June 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Jun, 2021 ) :The Italian coastguard has stopped a migrant rescue boat belonging to the German group Sea-Eye from operating due to safety breaches, it said on Saturday.

"An inspection revealed various technical irregularities which could compromise not only the safety of crew members but also those who have been rescued," the coastguard said in a statement.

Among other things "the inspection confirmed that the ship's life-saving equipment is sufficient for a maximum number of 27 people... which means that in an emergency the crew would not be able" to guarantee the evacuation of all the people on board, it added.

It said the ship was, as of Friday, the subject of an "administrative immobilisation until the rectification of the noted irregularities".

The German group's hospital ship was anchored in the port of Palermo after disembarking 415 migrants in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo and observing a period of quarantine imposed by the health authorities.

In a statement to AFP on Saturday, the German non-governmental organisation condemned the coastguard's decision.

"As for other civilian rescue ships, the same technical reasons are now invoked to put an end to the Sea-Eye 4's missions ," it said.

"The argument is still that the German rescue ships routinely save too many people from drowning," said the NGO's president Gorden Isler, quoted in the statement.

"Our captain fulfilled his duty of rescue at sea in an exemplary manner. He saw emergency situations at sea and carried out rescues in complete safety. EU states can draw inspiration from this," he added.

Italy is one of the main entry points into Europe for migrants from North Africa, mainly from Tunisia and Libya, from where departures are now far higher than in previous years.

Around 15,000 people have arrived on the Italian coast since January, almost three times more than at the same time in 2020, according to the Interior Ministry.
Paris, June 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jun, 2021 ) :Serena Williams sent out a warning to the rest of the depleted women's draw on Friday with a dominant straight-sets win over Danielle Collins to reach the French Open last 16 for the first time since 2018.

The 39-year-old, still one short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, saw off fellow American Collins 6-4, 6-4, fighting back from 1-4 down in the second set.

"I needed to win being down. I needed to find me, know who I am," said Williams, who had only won one of three clay-court matches this year before the tournament.

"Nobody else is Serena out here. It's me. It's pretty cool." Williams is now the highest seed left in her half of the draw, with all of the world's top four absent from the second week.

"There's still a lot of matches, a lot of great players, as we can see," she added.

"There's so much depth in this game now, it doesn't matter if you're playing in the first round or not, you really have to fight for every match and nothing comes easy." Williams will next face Kazakh 21st seed Elena Rybakina, with a potential quarter-final against old rival Victoria Azarenka up for grabs.

The 21-year-old Rybakina described her fourth-round opponent as "the legend of the sport" after beating Elena Vesnina on Friday.

"It's an interesting position to be in because I've been in that position, too, where I've played people that I really admired, but at the same time I wanted to win the match," said Williams.

"The tables are turned. So now, I feel like that's the same situation, but they want to win.

"Then they have nothing to lose. They just are hitting lines. You have to just realise that you can hit the lines, too." Williams, seeded eighth, had a slight scare in the second set when she fell a break down to 2020 quarter-finalist Collins, but won the next five games to secure victory.

When Williams last made the fourth round three years ago, she withdrew injured before a scheduled clash with Maria Sharapova.

The former world number one also pulled out last year following the opening round, but she looks in strong form this time around, despite sporting some strapping on her right thigh.

Williams thundered down five aces and hit 22 winners against Collins, winning in just 85 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday the opposition had an important role in a democratic dispensation and PPP, PML-N should support the government in passage of election and judicial reforms initiatives

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Jun, 2021 ) :Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday the opposition had an important role in a democratic dispensation and PPP, PML-N should support the government in passage of election and judicial reforms initiatives.

Talking to the media here at the launch of a clothing brand in Gulberg, he said the electronic voting was the remedy to the alleged election rigging claims by political parties, adding that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) could be tried in the coming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections.

The Minister said the government wanted to improve working relations with the opposition, adding that the government was making sincere efforts to bring round the opposition so that constructive discussion could start on election reforms in the country. He urged Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to name a focal person so that dialogue of reforms could be undertaken.

Fawad Chaudhry dispelled the impression that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had raised any objections to the use of technology, and said that it was the government which gives rules and regulations while the ECP was supposed to adopt technology and give feedback on its pros and cons.

He said a PTI delegation would meet the ECP officials on Wednesday and would share policy guidelines of the government on elections reforms.

About the budget for the new fiscal year, Fawad said the federal and provincial budgets would be a smooth sailing for the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) government, adding that all the allied political parties had assured the government of their support and all are on one page.

The Information Minister said the country's economy was stable and fast improving despite the ill economic effects of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, adding that economies of the neighboring countries had faltered significantly during the pandemic. He said the main goals of the budget 2021-22 were to enhance development budget, control dearness in the country and provide relief to the salaried class besides increasing revenues.

On FATF, he said the government had achieved great success after country's rating on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) improved, adding that efforts of federal minister Hammad Azhar and the law ministry were laudable in this regard.

Comparing the opposition with fragmented straws of a stack, Fawad Chaudhry said that opposition parties were faced with internal disintegration as there were differences between Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz within PML-N, besides the fissures in PPP as Bilawal Bhutto and Faryal Talpur were embroiled in power struggle.

Vis a vis PDM Chairman Maulana Fazalur Rehman's remarks, he said the power of votes of 20 million people brought PTI into power in the general election 2018, adding that Fazalur Rehman could not win that power even in the next 200 years. He said Maulana Fazalur Rehman had badly failed in keeping political movement alive, adding that he should quit politics and pursue his own trade of solemnizing marriages as a religious leader instead.

When asked about Jahangir Tareen cases, he said the PTI parliamentarians have personal; relations with Jahangir Tareen and have been appearing alongside him during court hearings, adding that there was nothing abnormal about it.

"All PTI parliamentarians and Jahangir Khan Tareen believe in the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and they know the premier will not allow any injustice to anybody", Fawad Chaudhry responded.

About the audit reports on Covid-19, the minister said the finance ministry had submitted its detailed report to the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR), adding that as far as the government was concerned, it had already submitted its audit report.

Fawad Chaudhry, when asked about the corporations, said that these organizations faced crisis due to politically motivated recruitments during the previous regimes, adding that political recruitment may give one political clout but it was a death knell for the organization.

About Indian propaganda on freedom of press, the Information Minister said that press was free in Pakistan, adding that there were 112 local and 43 foreign channels currently being run in the country. He said Indian network was responsible for creating such uncertainty and 825 fake websites being run by India were recently discovered, adding that such freedom of press was not possible in the Third World countries.

The Minister said even the First World could not boast of such freedom of press, saying could anybody write on the holocaust in Germany or about Israel in the United Sates. He said the countries had their red-lines and all should live with them, adding what was freedom of expression for the West, its blasphemy for us.

On Shehbaz Sharif being allowed to go abroad, he said the government had placed him on the Exit Control List (ECL), and he should contest his case in the court for any permission and the government would contest the case.

Fawad Chaudhry said the EVMs could be used in some of the Constituencies in the AJK elections, adding that he would soon give a demonstration of EVM at the Lahore Press Club and National Press Club besidesthe Bar Councils in Rawalpindi-Islamabad, Multan and Lahore where elections were held annually so thatelections could be held on EVMs.
ANKARA , 5 June (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Jun, 2021 ) :- Turkey has so far administered over 30.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January, according to official figures released on Friday.

More than 17.23 million people have received their first doses, while over 12.89 million have been fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry's count showed.

The official data also confirmed 6,169 new coronavirus cases, including 552 symptomatic patients, across the country in the last 24 hours. The number of new cases on Thursday was 6,602.

Turkey's overall case tally is now over 5.2 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 47,976 with 94 new fatalities.

As many as 7,617 more patients won the battle against the virus, raising the total number of recoveries past 5.1 million.

Over 55 million coronavirus tests have been conducted to date.

The latest figures put the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition at 1,183.

Turkey is imposing a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m on weekdays and Saturdays, and a full lockdown on Sundays till July.
BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th June, 2021) The Egyptian and French navies held a joint exercise in the Mediterranean Sea, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.

"In line with the action plan of the armed forces' command and in continuation of joint drills with friendly states, the Egyptian navy held an exercise in the Mediterranean Sea together with the French counterparts," the ministry said in a statement.

Egyptian and French navies were drilled for air defense, tactical exercises and radio-electronic warfare, according to the statement.

The two countries held similar drills in late March.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on Saturday hailed a G7 commitment for a minimum global corporate tax of 15 percent as "very good news for justice and fiscal solidarity"

Berlin (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Jun, 2021 ) :German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz on Saturday hailed a G7 commitment for a minimum global corporate tax of 15 percent as "very good news for justice and fiscal solidarity".

"Enterprises can no longer shy away from their fiscal obligations by cunningly transferring their profits to countries with opaque tax structures," he said, calling the move "bad news for tax havens".
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. Lead spokesperson for the external affairs of the EU Peter Stano called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the humanitarian issues, including the release of captives.

Commenting on yesterdays landmine explosion in Karvachar as a result of which Azerbaijani reporters were killed, Peter Stano tweeted: Civilian casualties of landmines must be prevented. All information necessary for demining must be exchanged. The EU supports ban on land mines and urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve pending humanitarian issues, including release of detainees.
Valdosta, GA (31601)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 91F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms mainly during the evening. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Archbishop Jurkovic has represented the Holy See at the UN and specialized institutions in Geneva since 2016 and now moves on to continue his service as Apostolic Nuncio to Canada. The 69-year-old Slovenian archbishop has served previously in a number of countries.

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic as Apostolic Nuncio to Canada. Archbishop Jurkovic has been serving as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, to the World Trade Organization and, also as the Holy See's Representative to the International Organization for Migration.



Born in Kocevje, in southern Slovenia, Ivan Jurkovic was ordained a priest on 29 June 1977. He graduated in theology from the University of Ljubljana, then trained as a diplomat at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. In 1984 he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, serving as secretary at the nunciature in South Korea. In 1988 he received his doctorate in canon law and until 1992 served as financial auditor at the nunciature in Colombia. From 1992 to 1996 he worked at the nunciature in Russia.



He also taught dedicated his time to teaching as a university lecturer in canon law, philosophy, theology and history, publishing several books. He served as a a consultant at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

On July 28, 2001, Pope John Paul II appointed Archbishop Jurkovic titular archbishop of Krbava and apostolic nuncio to Belarus. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 October in Ljubljana from Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and was then appointed nuncio to Ukraine on 22 April 2004.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him nuncio to Russia on 19 February 2011, just over a year after the official establishment of full diplomatic relations between Russia and the Holy See. In the same year, he was appointed nuncio to Uzbekistan.



On 13 February 2016, Pope Francis chose him for the role of Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva. His latest diplomatic assignment will take him to Canada.
A variety of policies for expansion of exports and further industrialisation are also thought to have played an important role in the recent rapid economic development.

The expansion of exports from $96.9 billion in 2011 to $281.5 billion in 2020 suggests that industrial policies have brought significant contributions to the continuous growth of the economy. On the other hand, it seems that a large part of intermediate inputs used to assemble exported products have been imported, not produced domestically.

For instance, an article in local media on May 17 described the localisation rate of the electronics industry at only 5-10 per cent. The number implies that economic effects brought by exports of capital intensive products such as electronic products would have been largely driven away to foreign economies. This situation would prove appropriateness of the industrial policy that the Vietnamese government has carried out to develop supporting industries in the country. Generally, the expansion of supporting industries would reduce the dependency of intermediate inputs on imports from foreign economies, and economic benefits by exports would spread to a larger part of the Vietnamese domestic economy, which would lead to realisation of sustainable economic development.

In order to expand supporting industries, business activities of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) would need to be promoted, and their entrepreneurship must flourish because SMEs, as seen in overseas economies, are the main players in the sector. The Vietnamese Enterprises White Book published in April 2020 by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam indicates that about 97.2 per cent of businesses were SMEs (including micro businesses) in Vietnam in 2018. It suggests that Vietnam has strong foundations of supporting industries. In addition, desires of foreign SMEs to expand their business in Vietnam look significantly positive even in the current global situation.

A result of a business survey conducted by Japan Finance Corporation in August and September 2020 shows that 48.1 per cent of Japanese SMEs with subsidiaries in Vietnam have willingness to expand their business in Vietnam; on the contrary, only 3.8 per cent signalled a reduction of business. The survey also notes that Vietnam has been chosen for seven consecutive years as the most promising economy for business expansion by Japanese SMEs with overseas subsidiaries.

The recent trend of foreign direct investment (FDI) would also explain the positive attitude of foreign SMEs towards the economy. As seen in data published by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam (see graph), the FDI amount per case has been getting smaller, which would imply that investments originated from foreign SMEs and targeted to domestic ones have been increasing in terms of both amount and number of cases.

However if dominant companies, for example, abuse their superior bargaining position against SMEs, substantial disadvantages in trade would be brought to SMEs.

Moreover, the recent upward trend of FDI would be interfered with such abusive conduct. FDI that seems to be largely carried out through merger and acquisition (M&A) would be one of the most effective tools when Vietnamese SMEs need specific technologies or funds to develop their business. But, if abusive conduct is seen in the market, it would make investments in SMEs unattractive because potential of SMEs would not be demonstrated in such circumstances.

Thus, in a situation where the Vietnamese economy needs further development of the supporting industry, maintaining and promoting a fair and free business environment for them is crucial.

In Vietnam, like other jurisdictions, regulations against abuse of dominant market position and control of economic concentration have been implemented in accordance with the Law on Competition that will be legitimately enforced by the National Competition Commission (VCC) to be established under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoIT).

As the commission has not been established yet, the MoIT, responsible for state management on competition, has designated the Vietnam Competition and Consumer Authority (VCCA) to provisionally implement the competition legislation in Vietnam.

The VCCA, for the jump-start of full-scale law enforcement by the VCC, has made efforts to draft guidelines on regulations against abusive conduct and anti-competitive economic concentration, where the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been supporting such efforts by implementing a project for improving competition policy and enhancing the effective enforcement of the competition law in cooperation with the Japan Fair Trade Commission.

These guidelines would indicate what kinds of conduct would be illegal anticompetitive activities and what factors would constitute violation of the Law on Competition, among others, which would help the authority investigate cases more efficiently and effectively to secure fair and free competition. Once released (when the VCC formally established), these guidelines are about to be important tools for large enterprises to understand the regulations and actively comply with provisions on abuse of dominant market position and control of economic concentration. The usefulness would be found for SMEs too. Once they understand what abusive conduct would be, they would be able to ask the authority to exclude such conduct in case they face such abuses. When SMEs want to expand their business with investments from other enterprises, the guidelines on economic concentration would be helpful for investors to conduct M&A abiding by the Law on Competition.

There would be no doubt that the current efforts of the VCCA will lead to effective law enforcement of the VCC to secure a fair and free business environment, which is essential to realise the sustainable economic development of Vietnam.
HDBank announced the distribution of dividend and bonus shares to increase its charter capital

Information published by the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange shows that the Board of Directors of HDBank has approved the plan to increase charter capital in 2021 in line with the proposal submitted at the bank's annual shareholders' general meeting.

The bank will increase its charter capital by VND3.98 trillion ($173 million) by issuing more than 398 million dividend-paying shares in 2020 at a rate of 25 per cent. The capital source for issuance from undistributed profits has been fully audited and set aside for funds as prescribed.

In addition, HDBank will issue 20 million shares to employees under an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) at the price of VND10,000 (43.5 US cents) apiece.

Once the above issuance plans are completed, HDBank's charter capital will increase from VND16.08trillion ($699.13 million) to VND20.27 trillion.

Closing the session on June 3, the price of HDB shares reached VND35,800 ($1.56) with an active net buying from foreign investors.

In the first quarter, HDBank posted a pre-tax profit of over VND2.1 trillion ($91.3 million), an increase of 68 per cent on-year thanks to income from services. Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA) were at 26.3 and 2.1 per cent, a sharp increase against the corresponding period last year. The capital adequacy ratio reached over 12 per cent according to Basel II standards while individual bad debts ratio was below 1.1 per cent.

HDBank has been assessed to have high growth potential in bancassurance, consumer finance, credit cards, as well as other product and service lines. HDBank is one of the few banks that has yet to sign an exclusive cooperation agreement in the life insurance business and as such is being courted by several major partners.

International credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) recently upgraded HDBank's outlook from "stable" to "positive". Moody's assessed that HDBank's Base Credit Rating (BCA) may be adjusted and upgraded in the next 12-18 months thanks to its constant improvements in asset quality and profitability.
The technology centre for COVID-19 fight

Located in Cau Giay district, Hanoi, the centre will consist of department leaders of the MIC and the Ministry of Health.

Some business leaders have also been also invited to join the centre members, including Nguyen Tu Quang, CEO of Bkav  a famous anti-virus software company in Vietnam, and Ngo Vinh Quy, deputy general director of Viettel and others.

At noon of June 5, Vietnam reported 96 new COVID-19 infections, including 91 locally-transmitted cases: Bac Giang (65), Ho Chi Minh City (15), Ha Tinh (2), and others in other cities and provinces.

So far, Vietnam recorded a total of 6,910 infections and 51 cases of death.
More than 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been disbursed in 212 countries. However, the World Health Organization said the distribution has been far from equal. It notes 75% of doses have gone to just 10 countries, with three countries  China, the United States and India  accounting for 60% of all doses.

Senior adviser to the WHO director general, Bruce Aylward, says one-half-percent of doses have gone to the lower income and lowest income countries, that account for about 10% of world population.

So, we are increasingly seeing a two-track recovery and rollout of the vaccines with that high coverage deep into the high-risk populations and younger populations even in high income and producing countries," Aylward said. "While in the lower income countries, we are still struggling to get sufficient product just to be able to vaccinate the health care workers, older populations.

Aylward said immunizing health care workers and older people is key to getting out of the global health, societal and economic crisis. To achieve that, he says, rich countries must donate a quarter-of-a-billion doses to low-income countries through the end of September. He adds, at least 100 million must be donated through June and July.

That is what we need to get the system going. Now we had a great start yesterday [Thursday] with the U.S. announcing it is going to contribute up to 80 million doses and it gave the first 25 million doses that it would be donating, 75% of that through COVAX yesterday," Aylward said. "That is an important start. We need many other countries to be joining and important for the U.S., right, crucially, is they said these doses are going to come in June.

COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing facility, aims to provide two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to low-and-middle-income countries by the end of 2021.

A report by the International Monetary Fund on May 31 says by vaccinating 60% of the global population against COVID-19 by the middle of 2022, the world would reap an economic benefit of more than $9 trillion over the coming three to five years.
Three children of the late former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe have filed a court application challenging a traditional chiefs order for the body to be exhumed and reburied at the National Heroes Acre.

According to the court documents, Bona Mutsahuni Mugabe (Executor of the Estate of late Robert Mugabe), Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe and Tinotenda Robert Mugabe argue that Chief Zvimba, whose real name is Stanley Wurayayi Mhondoro, acted outside his jurisdiction when he approached the village court to summon their mother, former First Lady Grace Mugabe, to answer to accusations that she broke with tradition when she buried her late husband.

Fungai Chimwemurombe, the lawyer representing the three children, confirmed that he has filed a Notice of Appeal at the Chinhoyi Magistrates Court and the case will be heard on June 29, 2021.

"They disagree with Chief Zvimbas judgment and they feel the traditional court should not have heard the case in the first place because the case is outside its jurisdiction and interestingly government was involved in Mugabe's burial in Zvimba," said Chimwemurombe

Chimwemurombe said the court case indicates that the three children are not happy about Chief Zvimbas actions.

"Since the Mugabe family is not happy with the outcome of the lower court we are looking at what the law states. The case that the magistrate will be looking at is whether it was proper for the traditional court to have heard the case. For now, we can't say more since the case is now before the courts," said Chimwemurombe.

Mrs. Mugabe did not attend the village court hearing, which ruled in Chief Zvimba's favor, and ordered Mrs. Mugabe to exhume and rebury her late husband's remains at Heroes Acre, and also pay a fine of five cows and two goats as punishment for burying Mugabe at his homestead in Kutama, Zvimba.

Reached for comment about the Notice of appeal, a person who answered Chief Zvimba's mobile phone, told VOA Studio 7 that Chief Zvimba wont comment since he was the presiding officer at the traditional court.

"You can't ask the chief such questions. The chief just presided over a case go and ask the appellant," the unnamed person who answered the phone, said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is in Kazakhstan on a working visit, met with Minister of Industry and Infrastructural Development Beibut Atamkulov, the Armenian Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The officials discussed a broad range of issues relating to the Armenian-Kazakh commercial and industrial cooperation. They both noted that a lot still needs to be done to further strengthen the bilateral ties economically and utilize the existing potential completely. The sides emphasized the need for developing concrete programs. In particular, they touched upon expanding the cooperation in IT, food safety, agriculture, energy and a number of other areas, as well as boosting business ties.

The Armenian President and the Kazakh Minister attached importance to the necessity of more effectively and completely using the opportunities existing within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
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MEMORIAL DAY PARADE AND CEREMONY ONE TO REMEMBER: On a beautiful day, May 31, Our Town watched the parade along Washington and attended a meaningful ceremony at city hall that honored our fallen heroes. The gathering was among the largest in memory for this important day in Our Town. First, 
We have re-opened our newspaper office to the public in Stowe. Our South Burlington and Morrisville offices remain closed, except by appointment. Face masks are mandatory, and appropriate social distancing must be practiced, at all locations. Please email or call us with questions, news or updates; and read our local coronavirus coverage.

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A song, a painting, space and sawdust. What do all these things have in common? Huntsville! Through a story that is interconnected. It's a unique one with lots of moving parts.

The seeds one Florida Sycamore tree started as have made quite the journey. "Those seeds went to the moon, then came back from the moon," said artist Chris Calle.

They were brought there by the crew of Apollo 14, 50 years ago.

After returning to Earth, the seeds were planted at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The tree grew quite large until a hurricane knocked it down in 2017. "All this dust...all this sawdust was created and it was almost like a lightbulb," said Calle.

That sawdust now lives on. In Calle's painting.

Artist Chris Calle has his artwork on display at Huntsville's Space and Rocket Center.

He says the inspiration for his sawdust-filled painting comes from astronaut turned artist Alan Bean, who also has artwork on display at the Space and Rocket Center.

"Apollo 12 Astronaut Alan Bean, who became an artist, would incorporate it into all of his paintings. He took some of the fabric from his space suit and cut it up into little pieces and incorporate that," said Calle.

And that sawdust painting isn't the only story to tell.

"The song was great," said Calle.

Lana White - who's from Huntsville - wrote the song "Earthrise."

That song is the story of Calle's painting.

"It just sprouted, like, 'nothing's wasted.' The photograph spurred the idea of the painting, you know, the seeds, you know the dust from the seeds."

"To tie the song, the painting, the history all together in a really unique way, I think," said Calle.

Apollo 14's mission now lives on. And Huntsville plays a big role in that.

Calle says he has some sawdust left. He'll add it to more paintings in the future.

The painting is at Calle's home in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He says he's going to keep it there as part of his personal collection.

For all of our 'Alabama Originals," click HERE.
Local agencies are working to ensure that a national decrease in first responders doesnt impact the safety of those in North Alabama.

Part of that process happened Friday night at the Public Safety Training Center as Huntsville Fire and Rescue held a graduation ceremony for its Bravo class.

We have a need and were trying to stay on top of that curve and have adequate personnel to meet the needs, Chief Howard Mac McFarlen said.

15 cadets (13 Huntsville and two Madison) officially became firefighters during a Friday ceremony. McFarlen described this class as essentially a backfill -- replacing firefighters who have recently retired.

The department has seen the number of applicants decrease in recent years, but emergencies still require the same amount of attention.

In the past, Huntsville Fire had recruit classes graduate months, sometimes years apart. Fridays event pinned their second of 2021 and a third could very well follow.

The most important resource anyone has got in this business is your people, McFarlen said. So youve got to have trained personnel to be able to do the job and meet the needs of the public.

The Huntsville Police Department is also working to reload, looking for candidates for their 2022 police academy.

The department's recruiting coordinator, Paul Nordan, said he believes a decrease in applicants is a nationwide issue. But it also has its benefits.

The quantity has probably backed off a little bit but the quality is getting better. because to do this job right now, youve really got to want to do this job, he explained.

Applications for the police department are open until Oct. 1 and Nordan said they'll take as many qualified, quality candidates as they can find.

McFarlen hinted that the fire department will also be looking for more fighters in the next few months.
Morgan County Sheriff's Office is working to cut down on drug-related crimes.

Mike Swafford, the Spokesperson for Morgan County Sheriff's office, said they're in the process of applying for a $1.5 million anti-meth grant.

If they get the grant later this year, it will give the sheriff's office additional resources.

"That will fund additional agents, additional resources, and equipment," said Swafford.

As they await potential funding, Swafford said they're working with different local agencies.

"We re-assembled the task force," said Swafford. "We got Hartselle in on it and we got ALEA region task force, which makes us more regional, so we can understand more of the supply."

Swafford said the community also plays a large role in executing search warrants.

"They just submit what they see, which is a lot of cars coming to the house, we look into that and sure enough drugs are being sold out of that home," said Swafford.

Swafford said community tips and a re-established task force have helped combat drug-related crimes in Morgan County.
Soldier's letter reaches his family 78 years after he died on the battlefield in Russia.

A letter written by a young Italian soldier on the Russian Front during world war two has been delivered to his niece 78 years after his death on the battlefield.

The 23-year-old Lieutenant Vincenzo Fugalli wrote to his parents on Christmas Eve 1942 but the letter would never reach his home in Barletta, in Italy's southern Puglia region.

"This is Christmas Eve... in the shelter next to mine they are singing the Pastorella and they even forget the rations that are late in arriving" - wrote Fugalli - "Outside it is snowing hard, you can see that the Christ Child must be born here too, the environment is as favourable and evocative as could be."

The long-lost letter written by Vincenzo Fugalli

The young soldier tells his family not to worry, assuring them of his conviction that "nothing will ever happen to me even if we walk in the midst of mines and if I go on a hundred assaults."

He writes of his pride in his "magnificent" fellow soldiers, saying that the satisfaction he feels in being their "boss, confidant and friend" will "certainly be the most beautiful of my entire life."

A month later Fugalli was killed during the Battle of Nicolajevka, part of the larger Battle of Stalingrad, in a breakout involving the Alpine regiment of the Italian 8th Army on 26 January 1943.

The letter was subsequently found in Russia by an Italian war veteran, Tino Davini from Mantua, who kept it in a book.

By chance his daughter Olga opened the book and stumbled upon the letter, prompting her to seek out the soldier's family.

With the help of the media and social networks, she eventually tracked down Fugalli's niece, continuing her father's work of returning the bodies and personal effects of Italian soldiers from Russia.

The letter, of priceless sentimental value, was presented to Serena Fugalli yesterday at a ceremony in Barletta whose mayor Cosimo Cannito hailed Davini's work as "a mission charged with humanity."
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. Irans Minister of Energy Reza Ardakanian said Irans exports increased by 40% during the 18 months of temporary activity of the Eurasian economic agreement, IRNA reports.

Expressing that during about 18 months of the temporary performance of this agreement, there was about 40% increase in exportation, the minister added: There was a decrease of about 13% in imports from EU member states.

He stated that detailed negotiations are underway between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union on ensuring the continuation of the agreement.

The interim agreement on free trade zone between EAEU, member states and Iran has been signed on May 17, 2018, on the sidelines of the Astana Economic Forum.
Interview: Hereditary prince of Liechtenstein hopes to deepen ties, cooperation with China

14:39, June 05, 2021 By Chen Junxia and Martina Fuchs ( Xinhua

VADUZ, Liechtenstein, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein hopes his country can further boost bilateral ties and cooperation with China, the world's second largest economy.

The relationship between Liechtenstein and China has been strengthened, "particularly over the last 10, 15 years," Alois told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview at Vaduz Castle, the palace and official residence of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.

"We saw a strong development of our relationship after Liechtenstein participated in the world exhibition in Shanghai," he added.

The hereditary prince noted that Liechtenstein has a very broadly diversified, very export-oriented economy.

"We have companies in all different types of sectors of the manufacturing industry, but also in the service sector, particularly financial service sector," he said.

Liechtenstein, despite being the sixth smallest country in the world, is known as a key financial hub with one of the highest per capita incomes across the globe.

"I see the main boost in the future, as in the past, with our larger companies that are active in the international field, and for them certainly China is an interesting market," he said.

"On the service side, also with regard to a double taxation agreement, it could make sense that we try also to work for further improvements to further ease trade between our countries on a bilateral level," he added.

The hereditary prince said he is optimistic that tourism flows from China will increase again. "The pandemic situation is likely to make it still difficult over the next two, three years ... but I'm confident on the longer run that we will see a good pickup."

Alois noted that both Liechtenstein and China have "companies that offer products that can help with climate change."

"I think we can work on the cooperation on that side, offering each other those products," he said, adding, "We can also try to work together at the international level, particularly at the UN for having good initiatives with regard to climate change."

"As a very small and export-oriented country, Liechtenstein understands the importance of the international relationship, multilateralism," Alois said. "We will try to do our best in this regard."

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expects that their party will get a power of replacing the velvet mandate with a steel mandate from the people during the upcoming parliamentary elections, in order, as he says, to correct the spine of the country.

I was telling the representatives of our team the following: now our responsibility is higher than in 2018, because in 2018 the situation was different. In fact, the entire Armenia was supporting our position, but today the position of every person standing by us is ten times more important for us, he said during the meeting with the residents of Abovyan town in Kotayk province.

He stated that from now on they have no right to make a mistake on any issue. Pashinyan thanked the supporters of his team for the trust and urged not to doubt his words.

I love, respect and appreciate each of you, like anyone in my family. I also have a duty before each of you, like I have before each member of my family. I have a duty before each fallen soldier like I have before my son, he said.

Huge efforts and capabilities are required from us. And today we came to say that we will make these efforts, he noted.

According to him, these meetings now are more necessary to them, rather then citizens, in order to get the mandate, the power and energy. We must receive the power from you on replacing the velvet mandate with a steel mandate and correct the spine of our country with that steel mandate, he said.

Snap parliamentary elections in Armenia will be held on June 20, 2021.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited today the Scientific-Practical Center of Forensic Medicine in Abovyan town of Kotayk province, his Office told Armenpress.

Pashinyan toured the Center, got acquainted with the conditions.

Caretaker Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan presented the works aimed at upgrading such centers in Aboyan and other towns.

Clarifications were made to the PM over the recent photos published from the Aboyna morgue. Currently, the bodies are in the morgue of Martuni and are being kept in respective freezing conditions.

Pashinyan said the government will be consistent with the systems rapid reform, formation of necessary professional and working capacities, and tasked the responsible persons to keep in spotlight the process.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Brian Gregory Robling of Washington, 23, passed away Monday, June 7, 2021. Brian was born July 11, 1997, in Washington, to Amber (Robling) Whiteman and Michael Bernard. He graduated from Washington High School in 2016. Brian is survived by his parents; his son, Zyler Mehrer of Washington; da
Executive Director Tina Cook of the Athens-Limestone County Family Resource Center presents Theresa Chambers with a $25 check to help fund her Ed U Boxes, repurposed cereal boxes filled items and given to children at the center. Chambers and her mother Mary began donating the boxes in 2016.
In other circumstances I might have run out of puff and started to second-guess myself before getting it to the level where I was happy to have others read it, she said.

At a ceremony at the Edith Cowan University Spiegeltent on Wednesday night, Brooke Dunnell took home the $20,000 cash prize from the Fogarty Foundation and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press for her winning manuscript The Glass House.

A South Perth resident has won the 2021 Fogarty Literary Award for Western Australian writers aged 18 to 35, having turned 35 just one week after entries closed.

Because I began and finished writing the manuscript so close to the deadline, I didnt have the chance to share it with [my] readers  so I couldnt be sure whether everything was working the way I intended.

The Glass House centres on 36-year-old Julia, who takes a break from her faltering marriage in Melbourne to help her ageing father move out of the family home in Perth. While visiting, she bumps into a childhood friend, Davina, who is keen to reignite their friendship and gets overly involved in Julias life without being very open about her own. At the same time, Julia starts having dreams about a shadowy male threat against her stepdaughter, Evie.

Dunnell, who has a PhD in creative writing from the University of Western Australia, said she had the spark of an idea in which one woman offered to be a surrogate for an old friend in a way that seemed promising at the start, but slowly unfolded as a power play.

The final element that brought the whole thing together came from thinking about inappropriate behaviour between adults and teenage girls, she said.

How the girl can mistakenly believe she has some agency in whats going on, only to later realise that  she was being manipulated.
Despite being the most common infectious cause of disabilities in newborns it is still largely unheard of by most newly pregnant women, says Dr Antonia Shand, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at the Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick.

About 1 in 150 women will contract CMV during pregnancy in Australia and about 350 babies will be born with a medical problem due to the virus.

They all say to me theyve never heard of this infection. And then are shocked to hear something could have been done about prevention, Dr Shand says. Everyone knows you shouldnt drink or smoke or eat ham  but women dont know about the steps they can take to reduce their risk of CMV.

She said washing hands, avoiding sharing food and drinks with young children and not kissing young children on the lips are critical in reducing infection. Women can often pick up the virus from other children, many bringing the infection home from childcare. It is frequently transmitted via saliva, tears, urine and breast milk, with most people contracting it during their lives.

It is so important for women to know about it before they are pregnant. By the time a woman is already pregnant they are already at risk, Dr Shand said, noting that only about 20 per cent of women consult a doctor in pre-pregnancy. Current RANZCOG guildelines state that women should be warned about CMV and prevention as part of routine antenatal care, including hygiene measures to reduce risk. The official guidelines were released in 2019.
We were so stretched that even contracting this virus would not let them miss work, if they were healthy in other ways, Terry said. "We had members that had to float in clusters from home to home, which likely spread the disease into different homes among staff and residents."

Yvette Watts, executive director of the New York Association of Emerging & Multicultural Providers, said there's still a very high rate of hesitancy to get vaccinated among group home staffers, especially in Black and brown communities.

Watts said low pay doesn't help: Many of them feel and they said it to me, Why should I trust someone to vaccinate me when they cant even compensate me or understand that what I do is important?"

Meanwhile, group homes were left scrambling to purchase costly protective gear without the promise of reimbursement, while competing for everything from face masks to nurses to rapid tests.

In early 2020, State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker repeatedly assured the public that New York had enough stockpiles of medical supplies. At a Feb. 6 meeting of the states public health and planning council, Zucker said New York could tap into an incredible stockpile and was very well prepared for this response.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size With cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin taking the world by storm, it seems the technology that underpins them  blockchain  is having its moment. But experts say blockchain is still a long way from reaching its potential as perhaps the underlying technology of the 21st century. Bitcoin was touted as the future of money, but what is the future of blockchain technology beyond it? Credit: Bloomberg Blockchain is a digital ledger containing information, which can not be altered once it is recorded in that ledger. This is achieved by adding to the information a tag, called a hash, which is generated by making a computer solve an extremely difficult computational problem. The process is called proof of work and is both the great strength and one of the major criticisms of blockchain technology. This digital tag is now permanently associated with that block of information, and it permanently links it in sequence to all the other blocks of information in the chain. Any computer can recognise and verify the information because of the blockchain in which it sits. While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have seen huge surges in value in recent months, there has been volatility, leading to fears the sector is another tech bubble in the making.

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The market in fake Indigenous artwork in Australia is estimated at $200 million annually. On top of that, many actual Indigenous artists are at risk of exploitation, having their work bought up and resold at marked-up prices without any of it flowing back to them and their communities. Brisbane-based entrepreneur and Quandamooka man Adam Robinson said he had been worried about the issue of counterfeit Indigenous artwork, before he realised he could use emerging blockchain technology to help secure it. IndigiLedger founder Adam Robinson (right) with artist Richard Bell in his studio. Credit:QUT He set up his company IndigiLedger to use the cutting-edge blockchain to help secure the trade of authentic artwork. We created a business rules engine  how can an Indigenous person create a piece of art and describe that as traceable and authentic? Robinson said. The company records a piece of Indigenous art in an online ledger, which forms the basis of its blockchain. That is then encoded into a digital fingerprint, which can be attached to the artwork and scanned by anyone seeking more information about it.

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On scanning and looking at the Indigenous product or artifact, using that one-off ID, the consumer is able to engage with that chain of traceability, Robinson said. So they know that what theyre getting is 100 per cent authentic. Because it is linked to a blockchain, the information encoded on the ID can not be altered once it is entered, and it is extremely hard to fake. Since launching in late 2020 Robinson said the company has secured tens of thousands of pieces of Indigenous artwork which have travelled around the world. Our north compass is to work with Indigenous businesses, because a lot of the other sectors are being looked after already by other blockchain providers, he said. Thats what were really enjoying, were dealing with one of the harder sectors to bring on board with this, so if we can get this right then theres a universal nature to what we do, we can spread our wings further. Because the technology is still so relatively new, even people who claim to understand how blockchain works can struggle to explain it to others.

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I attended one of the biggest blockchain meet-ups in the world, in Manhattan two years ago, Griffith University ICT expert Professor Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy said. In the opening statement the organiser said the previous year, 2018, they had 17,000 people show up and two of them could explain what blockchain was. This year, they said, we hope it will be four. They had 17,000 people show up and two of them could explain what blockchain was. This year, they said, we hope it will be four. Every individual Bitcoin that exists in the digital world has been mined using computers and a hash added to them. Whenever someone trades a Bitcoin, everyone involved in the transaction can see the hash and verify that it is a real Bitcoin. This is what prevents someone mocking up a digital wallet with 1 million Bitcoins inside. Beyond Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, experts have long seen potential in blockchain technology for things such as securing supply chains, providing secure data transfers without the use of passwords, and verifying the provenance of items such artwork, as it is being used by IndigiLedger.

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Crucially, there is no central bank regulating the flow of Bitcoins, and no central arbiter deciding what data passes through a system. The verification comes from all the nodes in a given network agreeing that the data they can see is the same across every node. Dr David Hyland-Wood, a multi-disciplinary engineer and blockchain entrepreneur, said at its core, a blockchain system creates trust where usually there is none. The thing about blockchains is, when you strip away all the stuff about non-fungible tokens and cryptocurrencies and what have you, fundamentally, theyre trust engines, he said. They can prove that the nodes that operate the blockchain all agree with something, their records are immutable, meaning they cant be overridden. Its not like a traditional database where you can rewrite history  you cant do that on a blockchain, the whole thing would stop working. There has been a big boom in interest in blockchain systems over the past few years, and 2020 saw interest climb from sectors which had not been thought of as needing blockchain. Lachlan Feeney is the founder and chief executive of Brisbane blockchain consulting company Labrys, which has moved to capture the market of existing companies wanting to explore what blockchain can enhance about their business.

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A cold blast of polar air sweeping across south-east Australia is expected to bring icy temperatures and heavy rains to parts of NSW and Victoria next week, as well as a possible rare dusting of snow in southern Queensland.

The large mass of frigid air swirling around the Southern Ocean near Antarctica will push north into Western Australia and South Australia on Monday afternoon before moving east to Victoria, western Tasmania and NSW.

A polar blast will see more snow dumped on the Australian alps. Perisher opened a week early on Friday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

We have a strong cold front crossing south-eastern Australia on Monday and Tuesday which will bring a polar air mass, Weatherzone meteorologist Esteban Abellan said.

Theres usually cold air circulating around Antarctica but this time one of the polar air masses is going to head into southern Australia.
Then COVID hit, and the planned 2020 opening of this ambitious new venture by three of the brightest stars in the Australian food firmament stalled.

Benn and Lucas made an unlikely pairing, the introverted, top-end chef judged one of the best in the country and the brash, canny businessman who made his reputation with more mid-market fare. The food world watched and waited with interest  many with one eyebrow cocked  to see what would come of it.

Its nearly two years since the married couple and partners-in-everything handed back the keys to Sepias gilded Sussex Street, Sydney premises and, at Christmas 2018, moved south, across the Murray. In something of a bloodless coup, Chris Lucas, the high-flying Melbourne restaurateur behind the popular Chin Chin casual Asian eateries in Melbourne and Sydney, had poached the stellar duo to helm a restaurant he hoped would do nothing less than change the face of contemporary Australian dining.

Benn himself is more matter-of-fact about the pros and cons of enforced hibernation, as is his way. We havent had a restaurant for almost two years, he says with a hint of frustration. Nor have they been able to travel, talk to other chefs or dine out. Those evolutions dont just come by sitting around at home, you know, we have to keep working on developing and evolving all the time.

Martins never cooked at home so much, Wild enthuses, upbeat as ever. Among the loads of new ideas Benns been testing at home is an impressive 130-step toffee apple dessert, created for a MasterChef Australia semi-final challenge which the media-shy chef only hesitantly agreed to.

Its September 2020 and Melbourne is barely two months into a 112-day lockdown. Martin Benn and Vicki Wild are holed up in Toorak, in a modern two-storey townhouse theyre renting in the citys affluent south-east. The one-time darlings of Sydneys restaurant scene, who together ran the three-hatted Sepia for a decade  Benn the consummate chef with a bent for Japanese, Wild the infectiously warm front-of-house host  are sitting out the citys second lockdown, like the rest of Victoria, amid fears of another COVID-19 wave.

Its a massive amount of new dining options in a city that still bears the scars of last years lockdowns, the longest anywhere in the country, and is midway through its fourth lockdown right now. Snap state shuttering remains an inconsistent feature of Australian life, meaning restaurants can be forced to temporarily close at a moments notice  or in this case, probably delay their openings. Asked what this weeks lockdown means for the planned July opening of Society, Lucas, who has been a vocal critic of the Andrews governments handling of the pandemic, could not hide his disappointment.

But wait, theres more. On the floor below the main restaurants theres an entirely separate collaboration between Lucas and Benn  Yakimono, a 200-seat Australian-Japanese grill, set over two levels, based on Benns Yakitori bar at Sepia, only on steroids. This is due to open later in the year.

Between these dining rooms is a 50-seat lounge with an 11-metre marble bar  much like youd find in a hotel lobby  inviting people to drop in for a snack or drink, a more affordable option that will drive foot traffic through the door. And on the mezzanine floor above all this are three private dining rooms that can seat another 80 in total, one with its own show kitchen, as well as a bar and production area.

Owned wholly by The Lucas Group, of which Chris Lucas is founder and chief executive, with Benn and Wild its culinary and vision directors respectively, its centrepiece is the main Society dining room, which will showcase the best of Benns innovative, Japanese-inspired cooking for 100 guests at a time. A second more relaxed dining area, seating a similar number, will have more of a traditional Melbourne spin, serving classic Euro-centric dishes from Benns early career. Named the Lillian Terrace, this space pays tribute to the late Lillian Wightman, whose high-society boutique Le Louvre ran on Collins Street for more than 70 years.

Perched on the podium of 80 Collins, a spanking new precinct boasting a hotel, luxury boutiques, myriad eateries and a blue-tinted glass office skyscraper, Society is, in reality, a 330-seat multidimensional project, one that spans numerous levels and dining options across some 1600 square metres.

Now, finally, Society is due to get off the ground. But when, exactly? Victorias latest lockdown has meant its opening, slated for some time in July, may yet again be delayed.

Its a mild day in February this year as I step off the tram at 80 Collins and catch the lift up a couple of floors to see how this audacious gamble is progressing. Telltale signs confirm Society is still some way off opening: a ladder and dangling wires here; plastic drop sheets with opened paint tubs there; and, in the main dining room, stacked chairs and a noticeable lack of tables. Even so, they arent enough to mask the elegance of the interiors. Jaw-dropping cathedral ceilings and giant tiered chandeliers, marble and travertine walls, hand-carved bar stools and plush furniture are all clues to the fabulous experiences in store  and a reminder of the eye-watering cost.

The 60-year-old Lucas admits the climate is a far cry from what he imagined when he first conceived of a restaurant with Benn and Wild, but insists his vision for Society remains steadfast  and suited to the times. We need to create a modern evolution in dining, he says simply. I may be proven wrong, but Im backing the horse that says [when we emerge from the pandemic] well want a bunch of dining experiences we can call the shots on.

In this climate, opening a multi-pronged dining complex rumoured to have cost upwards of $15 million is either brilliant  build it and they will come  or foolhardy. Its either perfectly pitched for a country tipped to enjoy another roaring 20s as it emerges from COVID-19, or an ambitious gamble that has the misfortune of launching amid the worlds worst health and economic crisis since World War II.

When it does finally open, the challenges will remain large. Interstate tourism is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, there are no international visitors to speak of, and many city workers are still spending most if not all of their week in their home office. Even the number of Melburnians getting the tram into town for lunch remains depressed on where it was in 2019, when about a million people poured into the CBD each day.

We will gather our thoughts and our energy as we have in the past 12 months and work to a new plan for opening this amazing complex. Once I get a chance to asses the impact of this latest lockdown and its imposed restrictions we will move to announce a new date. As I have said in the past, no pandemic will stand in the way of us opening Australias most beautiful and exciting restaurant. My thoughts go out to everyone in Victoria and I know that us Victorians will again rise to the challenges with our usual grace and a sense of humanity.

With only a few weeks left before we were scheduled to open the doors to Society we have again been forced to shut down, he says. This current lockdown has devastated our staff and our dreams. Once again we face the task of having to pick up the pieces and gather the will to not only survive but open this most beautiful of restaurants.

This is Benns dream kitchen and hes had a big hand in designing it. Centre stage are three custom-made Bonnet Maestro cooking suites, imported from France, which are so massive they had to be craned into the building. Theres a Josper grill, smoking chamber, top-of-the-range combi ovens and just about every kitchen bell and whistle you can think of. Its incredibly roomy  two huge passes (counters where dishes wait to be served to tables) and generously spaced food sections, which will accommodate more than 30 chefs once the restaurant fires up for service, working like a finely tuned motor to feed 200-plus diners across all the different venues.

Its good to be back, he says matter-of-factly. Were getting there slowly but surely. Its a little daunting. He confesses he hasnt been sleeping well. It was constantly going through my head, 30 dishes on this one menu for Society. He wakes most nights like this, no surprise to those who know him well. Hes always on, one ex-colleague tells me. Former Sepia manager Ben Brown puts it this way: Even when hes doing other things hes thinking about food.

And now, Melbourne. On this day, in their soon-to-be restaurant, the pair are dressed head to toe in black, apt given the city they now call home but also their trademark shade. Benn has shed 10 kilograms since emerging from lockdown and is finally where hes longed to be, in the kitchen of a restaurant whose planned opening is probably the most anticipated in the country, the build-up only heightened by the COVID-induced delay.

A good deal shorter and blonder than her husband, Wild has a no-nonsense way about her, twinned with a cheery smile that suggests shes the more social of the two. Love blossomed in tandem with Benns career, who after becoming head chef left Tetsuyas in 2004, only to return again before trying his hand in Hong Kong. He and Wild finally opened their own place, Sepia, in Sydney in 2009, which went on to win every foodie award under the local sun.

British-born Benn arrived in Sydney from London in 1996, a 20-something looking for a change of scene after working in Michelin-starred restaurants such as the Oak Room and Marco Pierre Whites The Criterion. It took him a while to settle before landing a plum gig at Tetsuyas in 1999, one of Sydneys best-loved restaurants, where he found not only his affinity for Japanese food but also a Wagga Wagga girl named Vicki Wild, then employed as assistant to owner Tetsuya Wakuda.

The one thing thats pretty much complete is the kitchen, in which a small brigade of chefs is busy researching new recipes and tweaking old ones. It doesnt take a second to spot among them the man on whose shoulders the success of this mighty endeavour sits. At 188 centimetres, Martin Benn stands out in a crowd. With dark-framed glasses and a greying beard, the 47-year-olds vibe is more jazz than rock, appropriate given the former is a style of music hes partial to.

The moment provides an endearing snapshot of how the pair work  a loving relationship, like a secret ingredient, each knowing how to get the best from the other. It also offers insight into how Benn ticks  precise, disciplined, obsessive. A chefs chef. Martin is the tortured artist, Vicki the enabler, is how The Sydney Morning Herald food writer Jill Dupleix sees it. They have such fun together.

The other thing Benn does religiously is record every single recipe, whether it makes it onto a menu or not. Wild will snap the dish on her iPhone and enter the details into an Excel spreadsheet, something shes done thousands of times since Sepia first opened. She shows me an image of a tuna tartare dish with goats milk fromage blanc and dashi jelly, a reworking of a Sepia classic. The dashi is a dead giveaway to Benns Japanese leanings, the tuna his love for seafood. My thing is to record everything you do, Benn says. If you dont, you forget it next year.

This is Benns way. Quietly challenging, pushing, mentoring, while also letting a chef try his own ideas. Hell give you complete freedom to trial something, recalls Dan Puskas, chef-owner of Sydneys three-hatted Sixpenny, who worked with Benn at Tetsuyas and Sepia. Let you set your own trends.

The biggest challenge for them all is to get in sync with Benns idiosyncratic thinking. Woods brings Benn a john dory dish hes trying to evolve. To Benn, its worthy of any good Italian restaurant  but not his. It needs to be elevated. He doesnt bark or bash the young chef with an olive tin, as happened to him early in his career. Rather, he delivers his critique, then asks: Youre not upset, are you? Woods is not. Very rarely do we knock a dish out of the park straight away, explains Connell. We work together and refine it and refine it and refine it.

For the moment, though, its very much heads down. Head chef Rhys Connell, who followed Benn from Sepia, is working on a duck main with apple cannoli, while head pastry chef Jo Ward is finessing a cheese dessert. Ex-Fat Duck chef Luke Headon is playing with ways to cook various rib-eyes, while Thomas Woods, who worked for renowned chef Jacques Reymond before establishing Prahrans now defunct two-hatted Woodland House, has fish on the go for the Terrace hell be in charge of.

The seed for Society was planted in late 2016. In Sydney on Chin Chin business, Chris Lucas decided to dine at Sepia, having heard good things. A shrewd and savvy operator who has earnt the moniker of Melbournes restaurant tsar, Lucas had jumped from IT to hospitality with his first restaurant in 1995, then spent 16 years moving from one restaurant to another.

After great success relaunching South Yarras Botanical in the early to mid-2000s, he moved to Flinders Lane, where he opened another wildly popular venue, Chin Chin, in 2011. He followed it with a string of hip eateries in inner Melbourne suburbs: Baby in 2012, Kong in 2014, Hawker Hall the year after and Kisume, a multi-level Japanese eatery, in 2017, the same year he expanded into Sydney with a second Chin Chin.

Wowed by his experience at Sepia, he stayed back to chat with Benn and Wild, who not only ran the restaurant but co-owned it. The trio discovered they shared views about the state of hospitality and destination dining. Lucas is the kind of restaurateur whos always on the make, should the right chef come along. He left Sepia that night thinking he may have found that chef in Benn.

I was looking for a chef prepared to take on board my creative input and someone whom Im prepared to take on theirs, he says.

Around this time, Benn and Wild were deciding whether to renew their Sepia lease which, while still two years from being up, would mean another 10-year commitment. Their financial partner, George Costi (of fishmonger fame), was looking to retire and they were fielding overseas offers. Importantly, Benn felt hed pushed his creativity at Sepia as far as he could. The restaurant had snaffled just about every culinary gong that mattered, including being thrice awarded restaurant of the year by dining-out bible the Good Food Guide  first in 2012, the year it cracked it for three hats, then again in 2014 and 2015. Easily bored, Benn had grown tired of the degustation style of dining and was up for a new challenge.

Martin Benn, left, and Chris Lucas: creating Society is a chance to launch a destinational restaurant. Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen

For his part, Lucas believed fine dining  a term he hates and avoids  had lost its way. It had become stuffy, predictable and boring, attracting only a small segment of the eating public. To him, it just didnt add up. Im a restaurateur who deals every day with the democracy of dining, he says. Thousands and thousands of people come through my restaurants, so I get a direct sense of what people want.

His successful slide upmarket with Kisume proved he could offer a range of dining price points, from the chefs table, a 12-seat $225 omakase menu on the top floor, to the cheaper sushi bar and izakaya-style dining on the lower levels. Suddenly he had a taste for what he could do with the top end of the market  and an appetite for more. With Benn and Wild, Lucas saw the chance to step it up and launch a new kind of coming-of-age restaurant for Melbourne: sophisticated, global and destinational. Crucially, as with all his venues, one that appealed to a broad cross-section of the dining public.

But will it? Walking about the restaurant, the word that springs to mind is swanky. From the bespoke Melbourne-designed chandeliers and Italian Fanuli Coppa bar stools that have been hand-carved from salvaged trees, to the $1000 Eichholtz Volante midnight-blue velvet dining chairs and solid timber dining tables, youd be forgiven for thinking the place has been designed with corporate diners, special-occasion dinners and  when they return  tourists in mind. The restaurant sits at the Paris end of Collins Street, surrounded by luxury boutiques. Even its name plays into this sensibility, suggesting high society more than it does democracy.

Lucas doesnt see it like that. To him, the restaurant is more a series of contemporary and approachable spaces, which feel as if they have always been a part of the city. He chose the name because of its historical connection to the old Society restaurant a block away in Bourke Street, which closed in 2016 after 84 years.

He believes a range of discrete dining spaces within the one venue  each offering distinctly different menus, experiences and prices  will have wide appeal. While loath to discuss prices, when pushed he says mains in Society will sit roughly between $40 and $50, with Lillian Terrace more in the $30 to $40 bracket. Not everyones idea of democratic. But  and this is the important bit, to him  there will be plenty of options either side of those price points in both spaces, with diners free to choose anything from any of the menus rather than forced to stick to the tired old entree, main and dessert trope. The idea is you can tailor your dining experience, spending as little or as much as you want.

Kids on the internet can look at restaurants all over the world, [they] may not have visited but their expectations, their tastes, have all changed, become more sophisticated, more global, he says. The future of dining has always been about creating a number of experiences.

In the Society dining room, for example, therell be oyster and caviar services, a tuna and vegetable raw bar as well as a mid-course  probably lobster, snow crab or wagyu rib-eye  between entrees and mains and desserts. We want a menu that, when you look at it, you want to order everything and already know youre coming back before youve finished your meal, adds Wild.

The future of dining has always been about creating a number of experiences.

This kind of construct-your-own meal  with in-built tasting and sharing options, especially appealing to larger groups  speaks to Lucas notion of democratic dining, but it can also draw out the dining experience, during which guests will order more and spend more, with front-of-house staff trained to sell, not just serve. Its then up to the kitchen to produce things they can sell, says one industry observer. Cue Benn.

Time will tell, but for her part, food writer Jill Dupleix believes the trio may be on the right track. She thinks restaurants have an opportunity in COVIDs wake to take the shit out of fine dining and shape it as a freer, more individual way of eating: less chef ego, more what we want. We also want the experience to have purpose, she says. We dont want to go back to an era of the meaningless, unmemorable meal that was a bit of fun and $280 later, you go home. She says Andrew McConnells latest Melbourne restaurant Gimlet is already doing this: Hes synthesised a whole lot of things we love about dining out in Melbourne.

Benn explains that Society will be a progression of his Japanese-influenced cuisine from Sepia, where he established a reputation for daring food that was exquisitely pleasing to the eye and intense on the palate. Its about concentrating on the purity of the ingredient. He estimates about 80 per cent of Societys dishes will have evolved from Sepia  but be simpler, more accessible, with more refined flavours, and more graphic.

Interestingly, the transition from Sepias tasting menu to Societys a la carte dining has been one of Benns biggest headaches. Hes had to think hard how to transform small, delicate tasting courses into larger portions and shared dishes  visually, but also how well eat them individually and as a group. He shows me images of dishes then  and possibly now  to illustrate. Its hard to spot huge differences  both are so beautiful. But what I do see is what Lucas wants to see: everything, down to bar snacks, has that Martin Benn look.

What does stand out are his afters  what Benn is best known for, not only to his legions of loyal diners but MasterChef audiences. Sepia desserts such as The Pearl, Japanese Stones and Chocolate Forest Floor (which also featured on the hit cooking show) are three that won him huge accolades. He shows me an early working of his reimagined urban Forest, The Metropolis, the faceted facade of 80 Collins and new toffee apple, stepped up from his MasterChef spectacular, among other surprises. These will draw the crowds.

It was a classic dining destination  Benn and Wilds favourite  that proved the inspiration for Society: New Yorks Four Seasons, a ground-breaking restaurant embodying all the glitz and glamour of J. F. Kennedys early-1960s Camelot inside the iconic Seagram Building. It wasnt the food they loved as much as the ambience and urbane mid-century architecture. In May 2018, on Benns 44th birthday, the trio dined there. The thing that excited me was the energy and buzz, says Lucas of the experience. It was a destination restaurant that changed the face of the building.

The man behind Society, Chris Lucas. Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen

Thats what he wanted for Society from his designers Russell & George: mid-century for the 21st century. By then, Lucas had signed onto 80 Collins, its prime location and scale only stoking his hunger to create something unique. He worked on the concepts with Benn and Wild through 2018 and 2019, while the tower was being built. Benn spent much of this time in a test kitchen Lucas set up in the basement of his office building in nearby Oliver Lane, working with Connell and Ward to develop a 200-dish tasting program.

The planning and testing continued after COVID-19 hit, albeit with everyone on tenterhooks about if and when it would get off the ground. When Melbournes second lockdown hit and seemed likely to never end, a cloud formed not just over the future of this restaurant, but much of the hospitality industry.

It was at this point that Lucas came close to chucking it in. Surprisingly, he appears relatively calm when discussing it. It may be the casual get-up  T-shirt and slacks  that projects that impression. The hospitality kingpin has a reputation for many things, but calmness isnt a quality usually singled out. We went to the cliff face many times last year and looked over the edge, he says.

Wild recalls the moment Lucas returned from a walk. I asked, Are you all right? He said, I dont know whether this is going to happen. I went to Martin and said, It might not happen. 

Until then, Lucas first priority had been to support his other restaurants and his 1000-odd workers. We were all traumatised, he says. With Society on the backburner, what were their contingencies? Should they think of something new? Benn had fed Lucas other concepts. Lucas felt he owed it to Benn and Wild to see the restaurant through, although he was prepared for them to pack up their knives, if they wanted to. They had moved from Sydney and had been here a year with months away from opening, he says. Thankfully, Lucas was able to renegotiate his debt with his bank. His landlords, Dexus, who bought the office tower from the original developers, QICGRE, for $1.5 billion in May 2019, threw him a lifeline, offering financial assistance until the restaurant opened.

In the end, Lucas felt he was too far down the track to turn back. The trio resolved to stick to their plans. I remember sitting down with the financiers and they said, Why not cut this out, change this or that, says Lucas. I said, Its too late. The kitchen is built, the restaurant is pretty much built.

New dishes Albacore (shiso, rhubarb and goats milk yoghurt) and Tuna (jamon iberico cream, aged soy and dashi jelly). Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen

Im sitting at the kitchen bench in the rather monochromatic apartment Benn and Wild have recently moved into: white walls, grey marble benchtops, the restaurateurs in black. Its so neat and uncluttered it strikes me as more display home than temporary abode to one of the countrys best chefs. The couples child, a Burmilla (Burmese-chinchilla cross), is stalking the kitchen, still adjusting to the recent loss of the couples other child, a Burmese, whose ashes are interred in a potted Japanese maple on the terrace.

After more than two years in Melbourne, Wild indicates she and Benn now feel part of the fabric of the city. Naturally theyve picked a footy team  the Melbourne Demons  and may still buy a home here, if and when they decide to sell their place in Sydneys Gladesville. She loves the bushy Studley Park pocket of Kew in the inner north-east. Both love to walk and run, which they did twice daily during lockdown to help them through.

Wild confesses they miss Sydney. But Melbourne represented the fresh start they needed to tackle a new restaurant, free of the enormous expectations theyd face if theyd launched a new venture in Sydney. Nor in Melbourne would they need to worry about the financial pressures of establishing their own place. Theyd had all of that at Sepia. As consultants, technically at some point, they can work on other non-competing projects in the future and walk, presumably, if they choose.

Not that theyre entertaining this right now. Why would you when you have one of the countrys most successful restaurant operators tending to the business side of things, letting you create the most delicious food possible in a state-of-the art kitchen?

Lucas calls it a creative collaboration. Theyre like two brands, partnering up. Benn, who has his own eponymous web address, makes no bones that this is how he sees himself  as his own discrete brand.

At the same time, its fair to say the collaboration has some querying the fit of personalities. Benn comes across as shy and introspective. He suffers from a sense of what former The Sydney Morning Herald restaurant critic Simon Thomsen calls imposter syndrome. Martin is one of those chefs who thinks, agonises and really tries to unpack whats going on [in his food], Thomsen says. They have a vision and drive but are smart enough to doubt themselves.

Lucas, on the other hand, doesnt strike you as someone who harbours too many doubts. He has a steady confidence and coiled energy and can be quite animated when he makes a point, sitting forward, eyes fixed, punctuating his sentences with a subtly persuasive right.

Those whove dealt with Wild say theres a tough side to her in business, different to the smiles and friendly banter. Wild happily confesses shes a ballsy control freak and has had to adjust to not fully holding the reins here. But shes influential with what Benn does. Vicki is a powerhouse, says Connell. Her opinion is invaluable.

Vicki Wild at the new Melbourne dining precinct. Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen

I observe it myself in the kitchen. Benn and Connell are working through various combinations for their duck and apple cannoli dish. Nothing clicks. Without the right plate, Benn struggles to visualise the dish. Up pops Wild, suggesting a flat plate with lip. Presto, it comes together  enough for her to photograph it.

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If the Lucas-Benn-Wild partnership is to work, as in all collaborations, there has to be give and take. Menus are a case in point. Lucas is known for being very hands-on with them (as he is with every aspect of his business). I havent quite given them a blank canvas with the menu, he says. Its a respectful collaboration. Just like we collaborated on the concepts, we have done that on the menu as well.

Benn says he has no issue. Its Lucas restaurant. Society isnt Sepia. At the end of the day, Chris has to get what he wants, he says. He knows the market.

He mentions a rib-eye. Do I want to put a rib-eye on the menu? Probably not. That is probably driven more by Chris. How do I do that? Hell say, make it a Martin Benn rib, so there has to be compromise. Its an awareness of a simple economic reality: the restaurant needs to appeal widely to put hundreds of bums on seats at each service.

At the same time, Benn stresses the food is 100 per cent his. He mentions a tuna dish in which he used only anchovy as seasoning. Lucas had argued for more anchovy. I said, Fine, Ill just take it off [the menu].  His point: If it doesnt work for Chris, it doesnt work for me.

There have been other minor brushes along the way: for instance, the use of the second kitchen (Benn had initially wanted a test kitchen upstairs but Lucas saw it better used for private dining), as well as concept and design issues. In the end, a common purpose to create a top destination settles most arguments. Chris really respects what Martin does and Martin really respects that Chris knows the market, says Wild.

I dont know whether Melbourne will take to what I do, but I dont feel I have anything to prove.

Theres a degree of pragmatism to this relationship. Lucas plays a very long game. He has other ventures on the boil that Benn can help with. For Benn and Wild, its a meal-ticket that will help set them up financially and ultimately let them establish a better work-life balance. Wild even jokes 50 isnt too old for her husband, the frustrated architect, to take up design. But theres probably better potential in cultivating the Benn brand.

Benn also is clear, at this stage in his career, that he wants to give back to the industry by mentoring young chefs and passing on knowledge. Its my name on the door [of Society] and Chris name  but I want the guys coming through to make a name for themselves. But they have to earn it.

Benn, Lucas and Wild in Society. Lucas sees the venture as a chance to rev up stuffy fine dining  a term he hates: Im a restaurateur who deals every day with the democracy of dining. Credit:Kristoffer Paulsen

I duck back into Society in April to check on its progress. Tables and chairs are in place now, as are diaphanous curtains to filter daylight and a walk-through wine cellar. The joint looks ready to welcome guests.

The challenge ahead is to rebuild Melbournes battered image and encourage greater numbers of city workers back to the office. With less than half the 75 per cent office occupancy Lucas had hoped for in March, hes had to progressively push back the launch. We need stability, he says. And the atmosphere of a full restaurant.

Still, in the month before the current lockdown, hed been heartened by the growing traffic moving through his other CBD venues. The delay has also given him time to recruit and train the imposing 300-strong full-time staff  chefs, sommeliers, waiters and bartenders  needed to run Society, and another 150 for Yakimono.

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Its also given Benn the luxury to fine-tune, filter and cost his menus  more than 80 dishes, which have been fully tasted by Lucas, Wild and the restaurants two general managers, Danilo Mancini and head sommelier Loic Avril. Its allowed them to put the restaurant through its paces, too: sit at the table; experience the room; look at dishes served in each of the dining spaces under different lighting conditions throughout the day and night.

Nothing, though, can replace the real thing  cooking for guests, engaging with them on the floor, the cacophony and euphony of back and front of house, the sights and smells. Small-s society, if you like, on a small scale. Thats what Benn and Wild hunger for most after two and half years without a restaurant.

I dont know whether Melbourne will take to what I do, says Benn, characteristically coy. But I dont feel I have anything to prove. Im not chasing stars. Im simply hoping to add a layer to what Melbourne already does really well.

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.

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The Ages health editor Aisha Dow spoke to Victorias Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton yesterday afternoon.

As reported earlier, he gave some insights into how the Delta outbreak was being managed in Victoria, including through stricter isolation requirements for those who may have only had brief encounters with positive cases.

Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton. Credit:Eddie Jim

But he also had some other things to say that we werent able to squeeze into todays story.

On lockdowns:

Professor Sutton was asked if he expected more lockdowns to be required in Victoria in the months to come, given the increasing number of leaks from hotel quarantine around the country  at least 21 since the pandemic began.

He said he hoped not but until a high level of vaccination coverage was reached there would still be residual risk that was very hard to manage without purpose-built facilities.

For that imported case, do they interact with someone whos vaccinated? Or do they interact with someone who is not?

Professor Sutton said while he expected the vaccine rollout could be complete in Victoria by the end of the year at the current pace of around 300,000 doses a week, the last fortnight illustrated that public health officials needed to have options on the table to respond to outbreaks.

If we are all going to the MCG, crowding on trains and gathering in our hundreds for various indoor events, its going to take off extremely quickly until we get that high vaccination coverage.

Whats the high level of vaccine coverage were aiming for?

Professor Sutton said it was hard to say as it would depend on what types of vaccines Victorians were given in the future, and the impact of variants on their effectiveness, but he said hed been looking at least around 70 to 80 per cent of the eligible adult population.

He said in the US and the UK where there was also a mix of vaccines, coronavirus transmission seemed to be suppressed when about 60 per cent of the population was fully vaccinated.

I think well want to go higher than that because we dont have an additional 10 per cent of the population that has been infected with COVID.

As other experts have previously suggested, booster vaccines or modified vaccines may also be required to tackle variants, Professor Sutton said.
Kali, kid I am not that happy about going back to school tomorrow. We have to go outside in really bad weather. I was surprised that lockdown is ending today, I didnt think it would be that quick. I have got used to lockdown, I can do my work in my own time and if I have any questions I dont have to put my hand up, because that takes forever and my hand gets tired. Its also easier for the teacher because she can turn off the chat on Webex unlike the class when she cant control when everyone is talking. A virtual thank you from Kali I have enjoyed spending more time with my family. Catherine and I can share ideas about anything because sometimes she gets stuck and I can lift her back up. I got to spend a lot more time with Yiayia, who normally I can only see at the end of the day. This diary has given me something to look forward to every morning. Its fun, it gives me something better to do than sit at home on a screen all day. It could turn into a big part of history.

Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me for the Camp Quality sleep-in. I have reached my goal and the donations still keep coming in! I would normally send a card to people to thank them for reading my diary but I dont know you, so I cant send you a card. Here is what I would say: Dear (person), Thank you for reading my diary. From Kali, kid. Bye. Michelle Topple, nurse When social circles shrink and the only human contact is with your colleagues, you might (read as: definitely will) be inclined to share more of your personal life than you normally would. So, I blame COVID and long, endless lockdowns for the fact that I now know their true colours (and I am not just talking about the roots of their hair)!

Turns out one colleague has a mother who has embraced the prepper way of life with gusto  no guns but a whole shed full of food and toilet paper. As lockdown eases later this week, weve all breathed a collective sigh of relief and hope that its the last one well have to endure. Butjust in case our next disaster is a Zombie apocalypse, I will be hitting up my colleague for his prepper mothers address so we can join forces and head for the hills! Who wants to join us? Angela Pope, teacher After the announcement yesterday there was a shift in the air, or was it the wild weather across Melbourne? I was in a meeting with a small group of students when a text from a friend came through saying were back Friday.

I asked the kids how they would feel about coming back to school this week, entertaining responses as you could guess from my previous diary entries. Yes, that would be the best, I hate wearing headphones, and I cant wait to see everyone, to thank goodness because my dad is not very good at helping me like you! When we returned from lockdown last year, their little faces as they ran up to embrace me and their friends was so wholesome to see, until they abruptly stopped to maintain their 1.5 metre distance and give each other an elbow gesture! I wonder if Friday will see a similar embrace. As I enter the last couple of months before maternity leave, I do hope this is the last of the lockdowns. I prefer the experience of panic booking a restaurant for dinner this weekend than witnessing the panic buying of toilet paper and pasta for a snap lockdown!

Karl Richmond, actor I did something I dont think inner city millennials that recently changed from soy to oat milk are meant to do, I prayed last night. Am I religious? God no, but I need a miracle. Coronavirus and its subsequent lockdowns have taught me Im wasting my time. Why is it that when lockdown hits my life falls apart? The problem is the kind of life Ive set up for myself. A life dependent on work and external stimulation, a life devoid of inner peace and gratitude. An addiction to social media and social status, but not booze, I killed that monster. I leave lockdowns more at peace then Ive ever been because Ive been disconnected from the absolute hell of modern life. As we return to normal, I pray for a miracle to help me stay strong in the face of egotistical addictions, because I really cant be bothered anymore. I never should have written this article, Kali and the other writers were the true heroes. Ive just been a boy trying to up his social status. Good luck out there gang! Im signing off, hopefully forever.

Diary Day 6 Paul Birthisel, cafe owner Yesterday the mood in the air had changed. There was increasing hope between customers coming in that all things were pointing to an easing of restrictions. That a return to normal was again back on track. I havent over this lockdown got a sense of people raging against the lockdown, rather a feeling of being at a loss of being here again and feeling like we have gone back to square one. On a much lighter note I also got to play MasterChef with our new sandwich line that has been delayed until after lockdown. We played around with a meatball sub recipe and then a quick photo shoot for the Gram (Instagram content is especially important over lockdown). I really enjoy playing with flavour combos and putting together something people will love.

The other barista in today also broke out a couple of new filter coffees he had for us to try. The moment to just enjoy coffee for what it is, wasnt lost on me. In my mind I drew a parallel to times like this; sometimes you just need to enjoy moments and dont let the overall outlook of the world snuff out all enjoyment for ourselves. Angela Pope, teacher I have been reflecting on the notable differences between teaching online last year to this year. As last year was the inaugural home learning experience, it brought some level of excitement. Students loved that they could eat multiple snacks, be on their own device, control their microphone, wear casual clothes and go to the bathroom without letting the teacher know. Teachers had similar highlights with the added bonus of no yard duty.

This year it is evident these luxuries are not offering the same excitement. We need to push ourselves to bring the energy through sharing work, tours of Lego builds, hot meals for lunch and being grateful that we do not need to wear a school uniform or shoes. Loading Although a student sharing the news his dad found the dinosaur in Queensland brought the energy yesterday  his dad was working at home in the study! Hopefully the coming days bring good news and the energy around Melbourne is reignited with students returning to their school with some of their favourite people. On a side note, a definite energy booster last night was the final episode of Love on the Spectrum. If you have not watched it, add it to your lockdown agenda. It is heart-warming viewing.

Kali, kid Im not sure lockdown will end on Thursday, we are getting way too many cases. On Monday we got 11. Every morning Mum checks the news to see how many cases we have got. Mum also watches the press conferences but none of us do. I just watch Bluey while eating breakfast. Preparing for an at-home camp. I kind of know we are not going back to school this week because this weekend is a long weekend and it is not necessary to go back to school if we are only going to have two days of school.

Im so excited because this weekend we are doing a Camp Quality sleep-in. Camp Quality is a camp for kids who have either had cancer themselves or one of their parents have had cancer. We were going to do the sleep-in at Buckland but COVID came again for the fourth time so we are doing the sleep-in at home. At home campfire. Tomorrow I am going to be decorating the house for the sleep-in. I am going to get sleeping bags out, hang a sheet across the ceiling in the lounge room and put out bowls of lollies. We will probably also go outside and roast marshmallows. For the sleep-in we get sponsored and we raise money to give kids a break from cancer. You can sponsor me here.

Karl Richmond, actor Woke up at 8am and scrolled Instagram for a couple hours. My algorithm has been stuck to content of Timothee Chalamet for the last four years, so I ended watching dozens of fan made videos of his top 10 cutest moments. I then skipped breakfast and somehow managed to make several hours disappear. The only thing I want to do is skate but its way too wet.

Ive got a scheduled Zoom with my workmates today! We might find out if were going back which is a little nerve-racking. Really hoping for good restriction news! Apart from that I might read a book and try to make the time disappear until we reach Friday. Michelle Topple, nurse Its that time of year again  winter is coming and so is the flu! Our Flu Campaign kicked off recently and its been slower going than in previous years because we have to ensure the timing between the flu and COVID shots is adhered to. Lollipop days at the Austin.

The way to every healthcare workers heart is through their stomach! Its for this reason that administration of a flu shot is followed swiftly by the administration of a Chupa Chups. Were mildly perturbed though that there appears to be none that are cola flavoured in our industrial-sized tin of lollies! In fact, the only thing that we dont eat in the hospital is apples. The ban on apples in hospitals is universal. This rule was brought in after a correlation was found between a spike in apple consumption in hospitals and a shortage of doctors. Turns out that an apple a day keeps the doctor away and we really need doctors in our line of work. Diary Day 5 of the second week Kali, kid

I am really upset because today we were supposed to go to camp and 9.30am was the time we were supposed to get on the bus and leave.

My class is getting used to homeschooling. Only a handful of people dont have their cameras on, whereas last year people would never have their cameras on. They were probably on another device texting their friends. But this year people just want to get school over with in the first few hours of the day so they can go for a walk and see their friends. Kalis classmates are now seasoned home learners. Mum helped me draw a pizza for maths. We were doing fractions, I mainly spent most of my time drawing the pizza and then quickly added the observations. The pineapple was on two-eighths of the pizza and the tomato was on one-eighth of the pizza, half of the pizza was a cheese base. One with the (divided) lot.

After school, I played in the yard a bit, bouncing the ball and pretending to play netball with myself. Greek School is normally held out the back of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Yarraville on Monday night but in lockdown it is online on Teams. My iPad is older than everyone elses and I dont have a Microsoft account so I cant get to my homework. Mum took the laptop away from me because she didnt want me to be on a screen all day, but I am going to ask her if I can use it for Greek School and she is probably going to say yes. Karl Richmond, actor

Woke up at 8am to help my housemate with an audition. Since the pandemic began all auditions are now done at home and by lockdown four weve become pros - unless its for an ad. For some reason, auditions for ads are never scripts but instead a loose set of instructions. Todays was have a picnic in your living room and show us how you interact as mates which is difficult when we talk exclusively about my housemates farts (they are so frequent and impressive its akin to a godly ability).

I chose to roast him about the Brisbane Lions loss on the weekend, which turned the audition into a fight. It was hilarious to watch his love for the Brisbane Lions make him disregard what is effectively a job interview. He left for work soon after and I used that time to practice singing and my American accent. I have to find as many ways as possible to keep my voice strong in case I restart the play I was doing before lockdown, The Lifespan of a Fact, but going over the script without my castmates can be difficult. Fingers crossed for restrictions easing in our favour! Angela Pope, teacher

Day twelve into Season Four of Lockdown: Melbourne is a good time to acknowledge the amazing sets where the online meets are held. Some of the unforgettable ones from students are inside a wardrobe with a table and chair set up, or the living room where a student may be doing push-ups or flips off the couch. The kitchen is a common set, often with coffee beans being ground or a smoothie being blitzed, or a sibling being an extra. At times, we catch a glimpse of the outdoors with students participating in the online meets whilst trampolining, walking the dog, sitting in a tent or the cubby house, or casually swinging on the swing.

As the juggle of homeschooling continues, it is important to note there is no need for virtual backgrounds when you have the imagination and creativity of six and seven-year-olds. This shows that students can learn in different environments. Their ability to take ownership of their learning and adapt where necessary cannot be underestimated, and it needs to be embraced. A shout out to the parents and carers who are doing an incredible job. Michelle Topple, nurse

How is it possible that even in lockdown, I can embrace procrastination with a level of dedication that is both alarming and impressive? I recently signed up for a distance-learning course that I really should have finished now that our world fits into a radius of 10 kilometers BUT it lies unfinished, and the cupboards are tidy, the spice bottles are stacked in order of height, and I even contemplated washing and ironing the curtains. What I should have signed up for was my PhD in Delaying the Inevitable.

I think it was Douglas Adams of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fame who said that he loved deadlines as he enjoyed the whooshing sound they make as they go by. I absolutely understand where he was coming from  I am never more focused than in those few hours before an assignment is due. Whats that? You want to know what I am studying? Ill tell you later  Paul Birthisel, cafe owner

New week but its starting to feel a little like the same day on repeat is this week two or three Im not really sure anymore. Monday is the day that my two little girls take over the shop (they do call it their cafe for a reason), for a bit over an hour while they wait for their grandparents to pick them up for the day.

Paul Birthisel cedes control of his cafe to his daughters each Monday. They thoroughly enjoy having a personal chef (Chef Tori) and barista and, now there are no seats taking up space, a perfect dance studio. That hour is always a bit frantic trying to juggle making coffee and being dad, but they are very patient when Im busy. Thinking back while I type, that hour always makes me smile but after the fact. The rest of the day followed a similar lockdown rhythm; a few people through in the morning, mostly our lovely regulars who have made a cognisant decision to come in and also to up their spending level either with an extra trip during the day or a muffin/pastry/food to go with their coffee to try to help out as much as they can. The afternoons are quieter, and I was again quite reflective as I looked out over our little stretch in Hawthorn and across Burwood Road to the currently closed Swinburne Uni.

Diary Day 4 By Paul Birthisel, cafe owner Our little strip on Burwood Road was a very windy and cold place Sunday, our usual walk-in foot traffic was absent. They were probably taking the smart option, sitting at home in the warmth and making it a lazy morning. Something that we as a family have done many times. What changes when youre an owner of a cafe is your outlook on the weather. Rain means a write-off of a day, cold mornings or afternoons mean fewer people out and about and this all hits the bottom line. Sunday was one of these days, it was very, very slow, the type of day when lockdown hits home.

I really enjoy working weekends, there are no emails about orders to be placed, invoices to be paid or other such backend business process. You only have to make delicious things for your customers and work alongside a crew of fun people to pump through it. Sunday was not one of those days. Lockdown means a skeleton crew, so I was lost in my own thoughts. This had me reflecting on the huge reduction in sales we have had over lockdown, how we are going to be able to pay the rent and bills this month while trying to plan for when we are back to normal again.

By Kali, kid We went to the Queen Victoria Market. There were lots of people shopping and not everyone was 1.5 metres apart. We didnt want to enter the big queue to get into the Deli hall, so we grabbed some vegetables from Queens Harvest. We also bought a big fat steak, the bottom was so chunky. Dad has so much more time to cook during lockdown. My older sister Georgia got Dads old phone. She complains the batteries go down too quickly, but shes on it every second of the day. I said: Ill take it if you dont want it. Shes like: Er, no, I want to put it up for trade. Shes just so annoying. Now she has her own room she always says: Get out of my room! But she still stomps into my room without even asking.

Today was really boring, like really boring. We borrowed the neighbours EzyRollers, I didnt even ask, I just went and took them, and went to the warehouses with Georgia, Catherine and Dad. A trip to the shops relieves the boredom. EzyRollers are like a little seat with wheels and a steering bar. You move it by moving your feet from side to side, its fun. The steak was very good but I need to get a filling, so I could only eat on one side. I dont know when I am going to get the filling because of lockdown.

By Angela Pope, teacher A Sunday in lockdown continued with some of the traditions from last year. Recipes are shared amongst family and friends, and afternoon cook ups occur as there is nowhere to rush off to. A song to start the school day. One of my favourite dishes at the moment is my father-in-laws pea and ham soup recipe. I am enjoying the simple pleasure of eating it when I like, as opposed to waiting for the school bell to ring indicating lunchtime! Logging in this morning to see my little friends has been the best part of the day so far.

We usually begin the day singing good morning using an instrument of some sort, my untuned guitar was all I could get my hands on. Nevertheless, they appreciate the chance to sing and dance! Although the challenges of teaching online continue, so does the highlight reel from the kids: My family is wondering why we are singing.

Do we have to do the work or is it optional?

Can I show my Lego?

I have a question ... I lost my tooth.

But what if I dont have time to do a task? By Michelle Topple, nurse

I am a runner  a slow runner I confess, but, in my head, I imagine that I am as light and swift on my feet as a gazelle racing across the African plains. During lockdown last year, I bought myself a shiny new Garmin sports watch. A blunt message for slow runner Michelle Topple I know its unusual to think of your sports watch with affection of any kind, but I thought strapping it to my wrist was like having my very own cheerleader. It was going to measure my steps, record my improvement, and literally be there every step of the way, through rain and shine, helping to drive me to excellence. Turns out my watch is more of the tough love kind of timekeeper. A 6-kilometre run and the verdict of the watch is that my training status is unproductive!?!?!?! Is this reverse psychology? Must be, because Ill be out there tomorrow again trying to prove to my watch I am productive! I have provided a picture so you can share my moment with me.

By Karl Richmond, actor Im not religious so Im not sure how youre meant to quote a bible but, Jeremiah 11:11 says: Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. Eleven cases (including Arcare from Sunday). Eleven. Eleven. Evil will be brought upon us? Coincidence? I think not. Karl Richmond reflects on another kind of lockdown.

Eleven is also a prime number, which makes sense because Im primed to get out of here. The last lockdown I was in I was 11 and in the closet. Restrictions didnt ease on that until I was 16. Bible, John 16:16: A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me. The point is, whilst Im primed to get out of lockdown, a couple painful religious classes in Deer Park when I was 11 and a quick google of bible passages have taught me that we aint getting out of here until the 16th. But then again, Im not religious. Diary Day 3

Michelle Topple, nurse My partner and I are fortunate because, as essential workers, we get to follow our usual work routine. I did one day of home-schooling with my niece and nephewall I can say is hats off to all you home-schoolers out there! Weekends are where the reality of lockdown hits. No leisurely brunch out or catching up with friends and family. Caffeine is essential though so a quick trip to our local was a must! I should be up in Sydney visiting my grandmother, but this is the third time that lockdown has put paid to those plans! Betty is 90 years young and the true matriarch of the Topple family. Topple family matriarch Betty, 90, speaks to her granddaughter Michelle, an intensive care nurse unit manager.

She loves a good book (borrowed from the library), enjoys regular outings with her friends, and has mastered technology to stay close to us in these COVID times. She is a force to be reckoned with and I want to be just like her when I am 90! My picture is evidence a 90yr old can navigate what 2021 technology has to offer. Angela Pope, teacher Day ten into Season Four of Lockdown: Melbourne and the two new local cases today brings a sense that the season climax is not too far away - hopefully this brings good news in the coming days.

Last night we were meant to celebrate our friend Pennys birthday with karaoke. I had my rendition of Bowies Modern Love and Bonnie Tylers Total Eclipse of the Heart ready to go. A modified version using YouTube was not the same, but still a hoot! Season One and Two of Lockdown: Melbourne saw many board games take squatters rights on the dining table, often with an ongoing game of Scrabble. So to keep us entertained on a cold and wintry Melbourne Saturday, Scrabble was resurrected and it is evident our competitive nature still remains. For the record, I am winning, although I have been lucky with the tiles so far! Authors note - our jobs list from yesterday remains unfulfilled.

There was more school work completed than anticipated and an assignment submitted which was a bonus. However, we did view the high watermark of Australian cinema history, BMX Bandits and Nicole Kidmans majestic perm. Kali, kid Usually on weekends we go out so much, we do a three-hour bike ride, but in lockdown we just go out to get groceries from Footscray Market. Everyone was wearing masks and standing around outside the front of the market checking in. Yiayia got her vaccination in Footscray too.

There were about 20 people waiting in the queue for Banh Mi but the queue was massive because everyone had to stand 1.5 metres apart. At the end of all this I was just happy I got cake for my neighbours birthday and a bubble tea. We finished the puzzle and turned it over to reveal the tiger. It was a little bit wrong, but its fine, you can still see what it looks like. I helped my 12-year-old sister Georgia make dream scenes, which are supposed to catch your nightmares. They are made out of little round boxes and we put little characters and moss hills and Fimo feathers into them. They have their own Instagram page.

I have one but it doesnt seem to work because I still got scared when I dreamt Catherine and I were on a camp and we saw this tornado person coming with tornado arms and legs. It jumps on to us and it has eyes and is terrifying. We got sucked out of its foot and we were safe, but still I was terrified and woke up in the night screaming. Paul Birthisel, cafe owner Saturday back at the cafe and on the tools slinging coffee to mostly our regulars but a few new faces as well. We are very grateful for all those who have come in and got coffee on a daily basis, the constant familiar faces are reassuring and the support does truly brighten up our days. So do the shares on social media, the messages we get and the likes we receive. It may seem such a small thing but it really does make the days a touch less depressing. So please like, share and support your local small businesses.

Funnily enough, I have realised particularly during COVID, we are the sober version of the bartender, a sounding board and a place where people feel free to unload their days thoughts or worries in a tiny sound bite while we mix caffeine with their choice of milk. Discussions at the moment always turns from how the weather is, yes so bloody cold, to how we are coping during lockdown and then if we have heard the new lockdown rumours that an extension is seeming like a possibility now ... best leave that one for another day. Karl Richmond, actor I finally woke up early today. Rolled out of bed and straight into a meditation. If youre that way inclined I highly recommend it as a way to start your morning. It stops me from being grumpy for the rest of the day. I really miss my family, especially my six-week-old nephew, Max. Though I feel lucky to have a little one in the family, he reminds me that one day hell be older and this whole pandemic will/should, hopefully, mean very little to him.

I wonder what effects itll have on future Max 20 years from now. Will you learn about this at school? Or are you going to be too busy fighting climate change to care about what is such a small blip in Australias 50,000+ year history. Maybe youve just been drafted into the Melbourne Demons, making your Dad very happy, or maybe youve come to me asking how to become an actor - which I will strongly suggest you dont attempt and instead will tell you to become a respectful doctor like your mother. Whatever the world becomes, I cant wait to see you grow up Max! Youre going to smash it. Diary Day 2

Kali, kid I literally lay in bed until 8.40am and then Mum said: Wake up, you are going to be late for school. We all sleep in longer during lockdown, apart from Dad, who leaves at 5.30am to go to work because he is an authorised worker. Its good during lockdown though because he comes home earlier from work and we get to see more of him. Today was supposed to be Gala Day, where the year fives and sixes do sport (I was going to do hockey) and we get the whole morning off from doing school work.

It was cancelled so we did random activities at home related to it. I made a first place ribbon, which I wouldnt have won, and researched Ash Barty, who is the only famous sports person I know. I have been sooooo sad because I found out the icecream shop that has been here since before I was born is going to close. Its not because of COVID, its because there are lots of ice cream shops in Yarraville now. I have tried so many different flavours but I always go back to my first favourite, choc mint, which they dont have at other shops. I have grown up with it and I love it and I dont want it to close.

We finished a 105-piece section of the tiger puzzle in one hour, which is probably a record. Not much else happened. By Angela Pope, teacher Season One and Two of Lockdown: Melbourne involved Friday night Zoom calls and gin mixes to wind down and debrief the week. Season Four of Lockdown: Melbourne sees the laptop closed to avoid just one more task or email response, home-cooked Mexican and an early night rewatching Ted Lasso. A Saturday morning is also a little different; no gym classes or brunch dates.

With Season Four seeing the introduction of a new character and feeling the baby kick is a reminder this s#@t is getting real! If you want to confuse new parents, advertise 12 different types of floor rugs, all machine washable, multiple eco nappies and the dos and donts of buying a pram. Chris thought the $15,000 Aston Martin pram may be out of our price range! Tasks we cannot put off: Find a cheaper pram;

Google what a new parent needs;

Google what a new parent really needs;

Google where to find a wedding planner for babies;

Google who J-Los love interest in the Wedding Planner was; and

Finish and proofread my school reports.

By Michelle Topple, nurse Today I have spent a lot of time thinking about the concept of team. As a nurse I have only ever worked in large teams. I thought that sense of family we experience as a team can only exist because of the camaraderie we enjoy at the bedside. There is nothing like a busy shift to forge those ties. After a few months of being seconded to work with the Infection Control team, I have realised now that the ties that bind our healthcare family are just as strong in a smaller team. Michelle Topple with her team Credit:Michelle Topple Even though Friday doesnt mean days off for all of us, there was a Fri-yay feeling in the air. Laughter came easily and the lockdown diary was a hot topic as the workday ended.

Our last task before we headed out was to take a socially distanced team photo. I am looking forward to my days off in lockdown, time to check in with friends and family this weekend. By Paul Birthisel, cafe owner First full day proper of lockdown week two and I was away from the cafe, looking after my two girls. One who was recovering from the night previous and my eldest who, with building FOMO, wanted to stay home and not miss out on anything. Funnily enough we ended up in a proper lockdown as my wife took my car keys with her to work, so we were staying at home. The day was a blur of sleep deprivation, arts & crafts, moving from one activity to the next and once we learned we didnt have a car a delivery from a local cafe bringing the goods.

Two coffees for me  for a barista it was a desperate situation of no caffeine all morning, I would have had a few by now while at work. There was also ham and cheese toasties for the girls and baby chinos to wash it down. Just an occasional text from my business partner and watching our Instagram stories was my only connection to the cafe today. Ill look forward to catching up with our regulars tomorrow and possibly whipping up a tasty special sandwich for the menu. By Karl Richmond, actor Accidentally entered Hell! My housemate used Zoom to sing Tiny Dancer for his Mums birthday, but our non-existent NBN connection added a demonic lag, creating a harmony to Elton Johns classic we never needed. My hell is now Elton singing on repeat whilst wearing a harness made from NBN fibre cables.

But really, our internet has gone wack, making acting on zoom difficult. I use these technical difficulties to justify pinning my own video to full screen instead of watching the other actors. All I want is for someone to witness me, which is like its own virus. I was acting in a play when lockdown began and the abrupt stop has left me irritable. My daily phone usage is up 64 per cent, a sign my self-worth is deteriorating, and these journal entries are only helping to feed the monster. Its like posting a picture on Instagram on steroids. Its messed up but I miss lockdown two, when I thought we were going to be alone forever. I gave up on needing the attention of others. Now I feel like an addict whos been cut off. Maybe I have society withdrawal syndrome. Ugh whatever, follow me on Instagram?

Diary Day 1 By Karl Richmond, actor Im submitting my first entry at 2am. The deadline for our diary entries is 11am, but I havent been able to get out of bed before 11:30am since lockdown began, and thats with the help of my four-time lockdown buddy and housemate Nic, whos no longer around. Hes not dead, just at work. Im afraid Ill sleep through the deadline so here we are at 2am.

Ive gone for a midnight walk to clear my mind. Beats lying in bed for hours daydreaming about tomorrows numbers being minus-1000 and the government announcing a free statewide holiday to Bali. I think the first week of a lockdown is the hardest, Im glad its over. That and the first of June marks the death of a loved one, nine years ago. Its never a good week, made harder by lockdown. Miss you James. If there is anything your death has taught me, its to be grateful for whatever time we get, no matter the circumstances. That and the world goes on with or without you. So, lockdown week two. Im with you. Lets do this. By Paul Birthisel, cafe owner

Another week of lockdown when I volunteered for this diary I had a few ideas about what I might put down for my first entry. To try and convey our lockdown experience and share some of the lows but also those little things that make us smile on a hard day. The fragility of the financial state of my business, managing next weeks orders, trying to give staff shift hours if possible, trying to find the right balance with customers to be upbeat but also portraying how things are hitting us during lockdown, trying to find our feet in a takeaway only world. Trying to manage what we can in a time that we have no control over the environment we operate in. These all went out the window yesterday evening when we had to make an unplanned trip to the childrens hospital, my youngest daughter was unwell and all those issues I was facing along with the state as a collective just melted away. My worry was placed elsewhere for the night but I still had no control. All the above matters little compared to the health of those we love.

By Angela Pope, teacher Eight days into season four of Lockdown: Melbourne teaching 23 year 1 and 2 students, and as my husband works in the study, he still hears the same phrases: Mute your mic.

Are there any questions about the task?.....hmm, I am not sure your sister farting is relevant, but thanks for sharing.

You can show your cat when you have answered this question.

Are you still there?.........Oh you have gone to the toilet. I am happy to wait.

Josephine (pseudonym), your toastie looks delicious. How about you finish it after the meet.

Youre right, safety doesnt take a holiday but you can take your helmet off now.

I hear the Minecraft music, is someone playing?

Is that Chris (my husband)? What is he doing? Can we say hello?

We love the tour of your house. Can you find one place to sit, were getting a little seasick! These phrases will continue to entertain us, although hopefully only for another five school days.

A shout out to the teachers having the same experiences, enjoy the lighter moments! By Michelle Topple, nurse Started work early today fortified by a coffee from my favourite barista. Im currently working across Infection Control and ICU (that I manage) so my day was about both areas. This is my view each morning as I walk across the bridge, suck in the fresh air and enter the hospital to start my day.

The view on the way to work for Michelle Topple Credit:Michelle Topple I spent time on Thursday reviewing the care plan for a newly admitted patient with suspected COVID with their treating team. Then visited one of our wards to chat with the nurses about the COVID and flu vaccination campaigns and PPE requirements as this is currently a moving feast with guidelines changing to keep pace with the COVID spread. Lunch was al desko while I worked through my seemingly bottomless email inbox. The afternoon was a blur of virtual meetings before I headed home to dinner, emails and the couch. The highlight of my day was visiting Norma in the print room to pick up some Infection Control posters  her dry sense of humour is guaranteed to make you smile on even the toughest days.

By Kali, kid Today I found out our school camp to Valley Homestead in Ovens - which is the best camp in the whole entire school - has been postponed to next term. Im really annoyed because we didnt have a camp last year because of COVID and now I have to wait another eight weeks. My sister Catherine was dancing around and shoving her fingers in my face. She was ignoring my Yia Yia who was telling her to get off the iPad and sit down and stop being annoying. We didnt have any lunch at home so we walked to Under the Sea fish and chip shop in Yarraville. We never normally have fish and chips for lunch. We also bought cream and eggs to make scones for girl guides because we had to make an English food. I got some of the scone dough on my hands and started eating it.

Girl guides over Zoom is kind of annoying because I have a friendship group of four, but I cant just speak to them, I have to speak to everyone. We couldnt do Our Cabana World Centre, which involves wearing a costume, having a game and making a food. Catherine and I are making an 884-piece puzzle of a tiger. Catherine was pretending I was her mother and saying: I cant find piece 84. So she was still being annoying. The good thing was I wrote a really awesome snapshot about Cedar Glen, a farm stay in Queensland. We were supposed to go last year but it was cancelled because of COVID. Doing a puzzle with my sister. Credit:Kali
The third stark failure is that a very serious cause of last years mass deaths, one we thought had been tamed, turns out to have been unleashed again. Deliberately. One of the biggest spreaders in last years mass deaths was aged care workers moving between two or three different establishments. They were working shifts in different homes to make a living wage in the notoriously underpaid sector. They were inadvertent transmitters of COVID so the Morrison government banned the practice. Loading So we thought. We learned this week that the government had quietly lifted the ban in November last year. All in all, its a terrible state of affairs, in the words of one of the two royal commissioners into the aged care sector, Lynelle Briggs, in her first public response to the debacle that emerged this week. The Department of Health needs to be far more actively overseeing the vaccination program, she tells me. It became apparent last year that the virus was killing older people at a much greater rate than younger people. The lesson the government learned at that time was they needed to do more to protect the vulnerable. So they know the lesson. But, for some reason, mistakes keep being made.

One low point was a painful exchange in the estimates committee where Morrisons Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck, refused to say he was responsible for aged care vaccinations. Labors Katy Gallagher: Tell me: are you responsible? Yes or no? Minister Colbeck: Well, its not a yes or no answer. Labors Murray Watt: So no-one is really responsible. The minister said the Commonwealth was working with the states to supply vaccines to the aged care homes, so it was a collective responsibility.

Watt tried again: The federal government primarily funds aged care. Correct? Colbeck: Yes. Watt: The federal government regulates aged care. Correct? Colbeck: Thats correct. Watt: Isnt the federal government responsible for making sure that aged-care workers get the vaccine, then? Its your job. You fund it. You regulate it. How can it not be your job to ensure that the workers get the vaccine?

Colbeck eventually told Watt he found his approach offensive. Loading But Colbeck can be excused for thinking hes not responsible. After all, 685 people died in the aged care system last year. Colbeck was the minister responsible at the time. The Australian Medical Association said at the time: Hundreds of elderly Australians have died needlessly, and without family by their side. This was in many ways the perfect storm  a system already in crisis was hit by a global pandemic. Morrison kept Colbeck in the post anyway. No wonder he developed the impression hes not responsible. It was a stunning denial of ministerial responsibility. Under the Westminster doctrine, the minister accepts full responsibility for failures in his portfolio regardless of whether he or she has erred personally. An office of the Crown confers a great power. Great standards of public accountability go with it. But not in Morrisons government. Colbeck didnt have the decency to resign and Morrison lacked the political courage to remove him.

Ministers are supposed to resign in the case of serious failure not only to accept responsibility to the public, but to allow someone new to take the post in the hope the new minister will do better. Loading So now there is a new debacle in the aged care system. And no one is responsible. Again. And Colbeck can carry on with the same high level of performance. Lynelle Briggs, former chief executive of Medicare and former commissioner of the Australian Public Service, says she has heard no credible explanation for the slowness of the vaccination program in aged care. I did hear that they wanted people [in aged care] to get the flu vaccination first, but thats no excuse for inattention. Some of the homes were imposing a two-week wait between jabbing people with the flu vaccine and then the COVID vaccine. But thats a two-week hold-up. The program is eight weeks behind.

Briggs: Its becoming pretty clear to me that theres no clear strategy for vaccinating the workers in the sector, and thats dreadful. Theres a litany of examples of poor performance. One, they are not actively prioritising aged care workers despite what they said publicly. Two, because they havent had a recent census of their workforce, they dont know how many workers theyve got, and thats a minimum to know how you are going with the vaccine rollout. The safety of people in aged care is largely dependent on these people  thats how they were infected in the past. They just havent done a good enough job with it, and theyve neglected the workers yet again. Again? The workers are not paid enough. Training support in the budget for workers is inadequate, even after the Morrison government increased funding for the sector overall in last months budget, says Briggs. Also, its necessary professional registration for this group of people who are engaged in personal care services. Morrison says the government has given its full response to the recommendations of Briggs royal commission; Briggs says my view is that the government has room to do more, and should be doing more.

But theres a bigger transformation required. One of the greatest lessons the world has drawn from the pandemic is that there are higher priorities than the profit motive. The absolute imperative of protecting human life has asserted itself. So has the priority of reliable supply lines and sovereign capabilities. Loading In the case of Australias aged care system, the transformation required is massive, says Briggs. Governments and bureaucracies have to move from hands off, let the market manage it to being on top of it  it takes a while. The most common complaint about Labors Anthony Albanese is he lacks cut-through. The tragedy of the governments aged care failures present plenty of opportunity. If he cant cut through on this, where can he? On Friday Morrison abruptly announced federal and state governments had agreed to move towards compulsory COVID vaccination for all aged care workers. Lynelle Briggs endorses this. But should it have taken over a year to come to this epiphany?
St Petersberg: Less than two weeks from his first face-to-face with President Joe Biden in Geneva, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised the US prosecution of the Capitol rioters, calling it an example of American double standards.

The comments are likely to add to the pessimism in both Moscow and Washington that the June 16 summit will lead to a breakthrough between the two countries. Relations remain deeply strained over issues such as cyberattacks that Western intelligence says originate in Russia.

Putin on Friday claimed that the United States wants to suppress Russia.

At the St Petersberg International Economic Forum, Putin said he couldnt care less if he was banned from social media. Credit:AP

He suggested the agenda for the summit with Biden could cover issues of potential common ground, such as climate, the pandemic, disarmament and combating terrorism.
London: Britains medicines regulator said on Friday it had approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for use on 12- to 15-year-olds, following similar clearances in the United States and the European Union.

The regulator said it would now be up to the countrys Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to decide whether to go ahead and inoculate this age group as part of Britains vaccination roll-out plan.

The UK has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in 12-15-year-olds. Credit:AP

Children aged 12-15 are already receiving the Pfizer shot in the US, while France and Germany are planning to start offering it to that age group this month.

Britains Health and Social Care department said it would provide an update once the JCVI had made its decision.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP)  A U.S. judge has rejected the Biden administration's attempt to delay a lawsuit from several states and environmentalists who are seeking to end lease sales for coal mining on federal lands.

The coal leasing program was temporarily shut down under President Barack Obama because of concerns about climate change, and then revived by the Trump administration. There have been few sales in the years since because the use of coal has plummeted as utilities turn to cleaner-burning fuels.

Environmentalists want to shut down the program permanently and have been frustrated by the Biden administration's attempts to delay a legal challenge pending before U.S. District Brian Morris in Montana.

Morris issued an order late Thursday denying the administration's attempt to delay the case for another three months, after already being granted a two-month extension in March.

Morris said lease applications are pending for thousands of acres of land holding at least 1 billion tons of coal, and the plaintiffs in the case face potential damage if their challenge to the program is stalled by the administration.
FILE - In this June 24, 2019, file photo a Delta Air Lines aircraft makes its approach at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas. Delta Air Lines reports earns Tuesday, Oct. 8. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, FIle)
Today

Mostly cloudy; a shower or t-storm, especially late in the day.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with a couple of showers and a t-storm around.

Tomorrow

Clouds and some sun with a stray shower and t-storm at times; a bit warmer and more seasonable.
NEW YORK (AP)  A former federal judge who ensured attorney-client privilege was protected in a review of materials seized from ex-President Donald Trumps personal lawyer three years ago is again the favorite to do the same chore after raids on Rudolph Giulianis home and office, prosecutors said Thursday.

Prosecutors recommended the appointment of Barbara Jones in a letter submitted to a Manhattan judge who plans to appoint a special master to protect privilege in a review of materials seized in the late-April raids on Giuliani and in a look at information on a cellular phone taken from Washington lawyer Victoria Toensing. They said Jones could conduct the review in a fair and efficient manner.

Prosecutors are examining Giulianis interactions with Ukrainian figures and whether he violated a law governing lobbying on behalf of foreign countries or entities. A law firm representing Toensing, a former federal prosecutor and close ally of Giuliani and Trump, has said Toensing was told she was not a target of the investigation.

In the letter to U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, prosecutors said Giuliani and Toensing, through their lawyers, both agreed to the appointment of Jones and they said they were writing on behalf of them too.
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But the killing of Destiny Greene, a 15-year-old from Latham killed when the car she sat in was sprayed with bullets in the Mansion neighborhood, doesnt happen without the gun. Neither does the death of Sharf David Addalim, the corner store worker gunned down in West Hill as he returned from afternoon prayer.

In fact, eight of the nine killings in Albany this year involved guns, an essential fact that cant be ignored. To address spiking violence, then, we must address the guns. Well say it again: To address the violence, this country must take action on guns.

 Albany Times Union

Long Islanders are still hurting. An economic pain ripples through the region more than a year after the start of the pandemic.

Too many cant pay their rent. That, in turn, means landlords across Long Island, large and small, arent getting the income they need. For the region to make a full comeback, rent relief has to get into the hands of those who need it.

Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo just this week announced plans for more rent relief  a total of $2.7 billion statewide, with applications for the new funds to be accepted beginning June 1.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Karla Kovatch

Karla Kovatch (Ballet) is a native of Mountaintop, PA, began her dance training with Peter and Kristin Degnan at the age of 8. When she was thirteen she moved to Connecticut to train with the Nutmeg Ballet Company under the direction of Sharon Dante. While there Karla worked extensively with Eleanor DAntuono. She was afforded lead roles in The Nutcracker, La Fille Mal Gardee and Paquita. In 1990 she was a semi-finalist at the IV Paris International Ballet Competition and in 1992, a semi-finalist at the 20th Prix de Lausanne.



Shortly after High School graduation, Ms. Kovatch joined Boston Ballet II where she performed in Etudes, Don Quixote, and Cinderella. She was promoted to the honor of full company member in 1993. While with the Boston Ballet, she performed such roles as Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker, the Pas de Trois and Lilac Fairy in Sleeping beauty, Zorema in Corsaire, Myrtha in Giselle, the Lark in Lark ascending, The Duet in Paul Taylors Company B and the Siren in Prodigal Son. Other standout performances include, The Taming of the Shrew, Onegin, Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, Serenade, The Four Temperments, Twyla Tharps Waterbabay Bagatelles, Merce cunninghams Breakers, Eliot Felds Contropose and Mark Morris Maelstrom.



After eleven seasons with the Boston Ballet, Ms. Kovatch became a principal dancer with Rhode Island Festival Ballet where she danced lead roles such as Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Michaela in Viktor Plotnikovs world premiere of Carmen, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and Mercedes and the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote.



Ms. Kovatch retired from the stage in 2006 and began teaching full time for Festival Ballets professional training school. She also directed the Festival Ballet Community Outreach Program and was the director of the Companys Summer Dance Intensive Program.
Chinese automotive giant Great Wall Motors may finally be heading to India as it seems to have picked up pace to launch operations after initial roadblocks. The GWM India website went live a day ago, hinting that carmaker may soon be launching its products here.

The website GWM India says that its commitment to India is Building on our strength and core technologies in the new energy field, we are committed to adapt and lead changes in the automotive industry and consumer habits, by reducing carbon footprints, and build a clean, green and healthy environment.

The website showcases Haval brand of SUVs which features the F7 SUV prominently. It could be GWMs first offering for the Indian market. Haval F7 is one of the more popular SUVs from the brand. The five-seater SUV is expected to reach the Indian shore by the end of this year if Great Wall Motors manages to get nod from authorities to finally start India operations.

The Haval F7 SUV for the global market comes with the option of two petrol engines - a 1.5-litre T-GDI turbo and a 2.0-litre T-GDI turbo. Both engines are mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox as standard. In India, the Haval F7 SUV will rival the likes of Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier and MG Hector SUVs when it arrives.

The Haval F7 SUV was first showcased for the Indian audience when Great Wall Motors took part in the Auto Expo last year in Greater Noida. GWM also showcased other vehicles, including electric cars, as a precursor to its India arrival. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with Indias worsening foreign relations with China over Ladakh stand-off, had put a brake on GWM's India entry.

The group is also reportedly trying to finalise its top management in India. Recently, GWM India lost Hardeep Singh Brar, who was the National Head of Sales and Marketing for the group's India operations, to Kia India.

The group had planned to set up its first facility in Maharashtra, but received a setback when the former state government had put on hold investment proposals from three Chinese companies, including Great Wall Motors, in June last year. GWM had planned an estimated $1 billion investment to take over General Motor's Talegaon plant and renovate it to manufacture large vehicles like SUVs. It also planned to invest in EV battery manufacturing in India.

When it begins India operations, Great Wall Motors will be the second Chinese major to enter the domestic market after SAIC-promoted MG Motor made its debut. GWM currently has presence in more than 60 countries across the world. It has its regional marketing centres in Russia, Australia, South Africa, South America, and the Middle East.
Winchester, VA (22601)

Today

Isolated thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Winchester, VA (22601)

Today

Mostly cloudy early followed by heavy thunderstorms this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.


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HONOLULU -- A review of Hawaii Gov. David Iges emails shows the state epidemiologist spent key weeks in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic resisting suggestions and requests that she boost contact tracing to control the spread of COVID-19.

An Afghan doctor checks a COVID-19 patient at the Afghan-Japan Communicable Disease Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 30, 2021. Afghanistan is battling a brutal third wave of COVID infections, while health officials plead for vaccines, expressing deep frustration at the inequities of the global vaccine distribution. Positive COVID cases jump from eight percent to 60 per cent in some parts of the country. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

HONOLULU -- A review of Hawaii Gov. David Iges emails shows the state epidemiologist spent key weeks in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic resisting suggestions and requests that she boost contact tracing to control the spread of COVID-19.

They also showed Dr. Sarah Park repeatedly telling her superiors that the states failure to adequately fund the division she headed was preventing her from quickly expanding their work to respond to the crisis.

The Associated Press obtained the emails last month in response to a May 2020 request submitted under Hawaiis open records law.

Contact tracing was especially difficult for many states. The effort aims to alert people who may have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus and prevent them from spreading it to others. Health experts say its key to containing the virus.

The governors records show that University of Hawaii President David Lassner emailed administration officials on April 16, 2020, to say university researchers had written a report about the need to boost contact tracing and other steps to control COVID-19.

Park didnt outright reject more contact tracing but replied: I am increasingly disturbed that people seem to think contact tracing is somehow easily accomplished as a simple task when it is a part of the practice of applied epidemiology.

MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

 New England's success against COVID-19 could be a model

 Amid brutal case surge, Afghanistan hit by vaccine delays

A nurse approaches people to give them a shot of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines inside the gym of the American Institute school, as people over age 40 are eligible to get vaccinated in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, June 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

 Pilgrims return to Spain's El Camino paths after pandemic

 Heart reaction probed as possible rare vaccine effect in teens

 Experts see strides on AIDS, but COVID-19 halted progress

Follow more of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

PHILADELPHIA  Philadelphia bike riders wont need shirts, pants, skirts or underwear  just a mask.

Organizers of the Philly Naked Bike Ride say this years event will take place Aug. 28 and will require masks, based on the citys earlier coronavirus restrictions.

The city lifted most of those restrictions this week, citing increased vaccinations and decreased cases. But ride organizers say they havent chatted since the citys guidelines changed so for now, theyre sticking with their initial mask guidance.

Ride participants usually gather in a park to undress before carefully hopping on their bikes to promote body positivity and cycling safety and protest fossil fuel dependency.

Organizers canceled the 2020 event, saying it was the most responsible thing to do.

A health worker prepares to administer a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 to a farmer in a paddy field in Tral village south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, June 5, 2021. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)

BANGKOK  Trade ministers from the Pacific Rim were discussing ways to build back better from the pandemic in an online meeting Saturday hosted by New Zealand.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum has long focused on dismantling trade barriers. The meeting of its trade ministers was convened virtually, given travel restrictions in the region as coronavirus outbreaks flare in many countries still struggling to obtain and deploy enough COVID-19 vaccines.

On the agenda was a statement on aiding the movement of essential goods needed to fight the pandemic, in line with global trade rules that have been strained in recent years, especially during the administration of President Donald Trump who favored striking trade deals with individual countries.

The trade ministers conferred with business leaders on Friday on ways to better manage the health and economic crisis brought on by the pandemic.

We must ensure that trade plays a role in combatting the worst, continuing effects of COVID-19 through open and unrestricted trade in vaccines, essential medical supplies and associated products, said Rachel Taulelei, chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council.

In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the share of people vaccinated so far is in the low single digits. That includes places like Thailand and Taiwan that initially managed to avoid initial massive outbreaks but now are contending with their worst flare-ups.

UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations chief is welcoming the Biden administrations announcement that it will be donating millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the U.N.-backed COVAX facility as well as to individual countries and U.N. front-line personnel in challenging and dangerous locations.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also extremely grateful to the U.S. government for including U.N. personnel and diplomats and staff of the 193 U.N. member nations in the U.S. vaccination program.

Biden announced Thursday the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the COVAX program, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries. Overall, the White House has announced plans to share 80 million doses globally by the end of June, most through COVAX.

Dujarric said the donation to U.N. frontline personnel will allow staff members to stay and deliver critical services to vulnerable people around the world in a safe and effective manner.

Guterres renews his call for countries to share vaccines, particularly with countries struggling with new surges and variants, Dujarric said.

There is an urgent need for increased global solidarity to ensure that vaccines are available to everyone, everywhere, he said.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican officials said Friday they will use 1 million U.S. doses of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine to inoculate people along the border.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says the vaccinations along Mexicos northern border with the United States is part of an effort to fully reopen border crossings, which are currently restricted to essential travel.

There is going to be a special vaccination plan in the border communities of our country on the northern border, with the aim of getting border transportation back to normal, Lopez Obrador said.

Mexican officials say they will have to obtain another 2 million doses of the one-shot vaccine  which they might purchase from Johnson & Johnson  to vaccinate 3 million border residents between 18 and 40 years old.

Presumably, those older than 40 will be covered by Mexicos regular nationwide campaign, which does not use Johnson & Johnson, although the shot has been approved for use in Mexico.

On Thursday, an official said some doses might also be used at coastal resorts frequented by Americans, but that possibility was not included in the plan announced Friday.

The announcement came on the same day that Mexico City announced the gradual lifting of a partial coronavirus lockdown that began more than a year ago.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will not lift the coronavirus state of emergency on June 15.

Newsom has said he will lift most of the virus restrictions on that date. But Friday, Newsom said he will not lift the state of emergency that gives him broad authority to issue alter or suspend state laws and regulations.

California has been under a state of emergency since March 4, 2020. Since then, according to a resolution authored by Republican state senators, Newsom has authorized billions of dollars in emergency spending and issued at least 47 executive orders to alter or suspend 200 state laws and regulations because of the virus.

Newsom, a Democrat, said he wont end the state of emergency because the virus is not taking the summer months off.

Republicans in the state Senate have tried repeatedly to pass a concurrent resolution to end the state of emergency. But Democrats in the majority have always blocked their efforts.
I have a confession to make, and some of you are not going to like it.

Opinion

I have a confession to make, and some of you are not going to like it.

Theres no easy way to say this, so Im just going to blurt it out  I miss Donald Trump!

Seriously, my life just has not felt the same since the bombastic alleged billionaire lost the 2020 election and was punted out of the White House.

(Warning to Extremely Right Wing Readers: If you do not agree Trump lost the last election, you probably will not want to read the rest of todays column.)

Its not just that life has become boring now that Trump has been forced to retreat to his private Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, although it is definitely a tad more on the dull side.

Imagine if every day of your life, the moment you climbed out of bed, you were greeted with a spectacular train wreck. Then, suddenly, one morning, you hop out of the sack, peek out the window and  Gasp! No train wreck!

That would be enough to throw any reasonable human being off their stride. But theres a lot more to missing Trumps roller-coaster presidency than simply not getting that daily shot of adrenaline the former president provided.

For me (and a lot of people like me) Trump was the North Star I used to set my moral compass, the yardstick that allowed me to determine whether I was still in full possession of my faculties and standing on the sane side of the spectrum.

Every morning, after reading the paper in the tub and knocking back a cup of coffee, the first thing Id do was sit down at the computer, Google Trumps name, and read whatever inane or deeply offensive quote he had just uttered  "I would bet if you took a poll in the FBI I would win that poll by more than anybodys won a poll"  just to see whether it caused me to become outraged and turn a shade somewhere between purple and crimson.

If that happened, it was a sure sign my mental faculties were intact and my inner compass was set to True North. Then I could safely sit down and hammer out a column making fun of whatever Trump had said, and pointing out that his hairstyle looked as if an injured woodland creature had climbed on top of his head and died.

These columns, without fail, would prompt an angry flood of email from readers you know who you are  who believed Trump when he described himself as, and heres a direct quote, "a very stable genius."

These emails always contained several correctly spelled words and made the central point that I was an idiot and had no business sharing opinions they did not agree with.

With Trump in forced exile, however, I no longer have a reliable way to set my moral compass, leaving me adrift in a sea of relative sanity. I have tried Googling Joe Bidens name in the morning, but it just doesnt have the same crazy cachet.

I mean, even if the new president says something I dont agree with, he says it in a calm, reasonable, low-key manner that does not make me want to kick the nearest puppy.

Bidens daily utterances are not the sort of thing that political junkies want to discuss around the office water cooler or in a local coffee shop, assuming health rules allowed you to hang around the local coffee shop.

Consider the following scintillating political conversation I just made up:

First office worker: "Hey, did you hear what Joe Biden said last night?"

Second office worker: "No."

First office worker: "Me neither."

Less than a month ago, it looked like Id be able to once again get a daily dose of Trumps special brand of truculent lunacy when he launched his blog page, "From the desk of Donald J. Trump," to fill the void left when he was banned from virtually every social media platform on the planet.

Trump touted his blog as "a beacon of freedom" in a "time of silence and lies," which gave me hope it would be a fresh source for his rambling and false statements about how the election was stolen by the forces of evil.

But this week, those hopes were dashed when Trump suddenly pulled the plug on his "beacon of freedom" after just 29 days in existence.

"It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on," Trump adviser Jason Miller told CNBC. "Hoping to have more information on the broader efforts soon, but I do not have a precise awareness of timing."

It has been reported the guy who refuses to admit he is the ex-president elected to cancel his own site after being roundly mocked for the dismal traffic it attracted.

Q: If Donald Trump hit the caps-lock key and no one was around to retweet it, would it make a noise?

A: Apparently not.

It is also being pointed out that Trumps blog didnt last as long as the presidency of William Henry Harrison (31 days) or the lifespan of the biggest marketing flop in history, New Coke (79 days).

"When your blog is shorter than Lori Loughlins prison sentence, then you know it was a fail," one social-media wag sagely tweeted.

The great news for columnists like me is that Trump has not launched his campaign for 2024 because he continues to insist he didnt lose in 2020. He is reportedly telling people close to him that he expects to be reinstated as president as soon as this August.

Maybe my moral compass is out of whack, but how can you not miss a guy like that?

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca
A residential school survivor finally had a face-to-face meeting with the leader of the Catholic Church in Winnipeg on Friday night.

A residential school survivor finally had a face-to-face meeting with the leader of the Catholic Church in Winnipeg on Friday night.

But after 10 hours of waiting on the sidewalk outside St. Mary's Cathedral, Gerry Shingoose said she was disappointed by what Archbishop Richard Gagnon said  and didn't  when he finally spoke with her around 9 p.m.

To read more of this story first reported by CBC News, click here.

This content is made available to Free Press readers as part of an agreement with CBC that sees our two trusted news brands collaborate to better cover Manitoba. Questions about CBC content can be directed to talkback@cbc.ca.
Patti Pastor, culinary arts teacher at Flagstaff High School, said four students were set to compete at the start of the year, but only Smithson saw the process to completion.

She is tenacious and she is super chill, Pastor said. When you do competition, Ive had kids that are stress-mongers and in some ways that served them well, but some kids, it just shut them down, so the ability for her to kind of roll with it really helped her.

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Smithsons success in the competition was based on her holistic culinary skills  including her preparation techniques, the taste of her French omelet, and the appearance of the three recipes she had practiced so persistently  as well as an essay and interviews with program judges.

+6 'A piece of normalcy': FUSD holds high school graduation ceremonies One year after a procession of decorated cars traveled down Fourth Street to honor graduates

Pastor said the founder of the organization even shared an image of Smithsons tourne potatoes from the competition on his social media page, praising her skills.

When other kids were dropping like flies, Logan stood and said, Im know that Im a C-CAP kid and Im going to go through the whole process, Pastor said. She made a name for herself in her quiet little way. Shes not a showy kid. She has a poised, quiet confidence about her.
BANGKOK (AP)  Improved access to coronavirus vaccines and other tools needed to fight the pandemic are vital to crushing the pandemic and hastening a recovery, officials said Saturday in an online meeting of Pacific Rim economies.

FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2013, file photo, banners for the APEC 2013 meetings are on display in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Trade ministers from the Pacific rim were discussing ways to build back better from the pandemic in an online meeting Saturday, June 5, 2021, hosted by New Zealand. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

BANGKOK (AP)  Improved access to coronavirus vaccines and other tools needed to fight the pandemic are vital to crushing the pandemic and hastening a recovery, officials said Saturday in an online meeting of Pacific Rim economies.

The unprecedented crisis brought on by COVID-19 requires a coordinated, cooperative response, said New Zealands Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien OConnor, who hosted the meeting. The 21-member APEC gathers economies all along the Pacific Rim, from tiny Brunei to the United States to Chile and New Zealand. One of its long-term aims is to promote a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific region.

The focus Saturday was on the most pressing problem our region faces, getting people vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible," O'Connor said, adding he would be asking his counterparts how they could speed up trade in vaccines and other needed goods.

The successful distribution of vaccines across our region will be critical to our recovery," he said.

APEC has long focused on dismantling trade barriers, and many of its members are still struggling to obtain and deploy enough COVID-19 vaccines to vanquish coronavirus flare-ups.

Nearly 5 billion doses are still needed for the region of almost 3 billion people, OConnor noted.

In much of the Asia-Pacific region, the share of people vaccinated so far is in the low single digits. That includes places like Thailand and Taiwan that initially managed to avoid initial massive outbreaks but have seen cases rebound recently.

APEC members Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are ranked among the worst among all developed nations in vaccinating their people for COVID-19, below some developing countries such as Brazil and India. Australia is also performing comparatively poorly.

This week, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. will swiftly donate an initial allotment of 25 million doses of surplus vaccine overseas through the United Nations-backed COVAX program, promising infusions for Asia, South and Central America, Africa and others.

That would be a substantial and immediate boost to the lagging COVAX effort, which to date has shared just 76 million doses with needy countries.

While some countries at times have limited exports of vaccines, chemicals needed to make them or of protective equipment such as surgical masks, it's unclear whether tariffs and other trade barriers have been the main problem since countries like Japan and New Zealand imposed onerous approval requirements that have slowed inoculations.

The average tariff on vaccines is a low 0.8%, according to the APEC Secretariat. But duties on some other products such as freezing equipment, vials and alcohol solutions can be as high as 30% for some countries.

Control of patents for the vaccines is a contentious issue. The U.S. has urged countries and pharmaceutical companies to waive COVID-19 patents to help increase supplies, and officials said they expected to discuss that issue during their talks this weekend.

But some say such intellectual property rights are crucial for boosting vaccine production and should not be waived.

A broad waiver of such rights requires a consensus under World Trade Organization rules, O'Connor said.

We're very mindful that the development of the intellectual property is what's enabled us to very quickly get vaccines developed, in a time we previously haven't seen across the globe," he said. We have to respect that intellectual property."

These are extraordinary times," O'Connor said. We believe if there clearly are barriers to the rollout of vaccines caused by IP, then we should seek a waiver."

We're actually really encouraged to see more WTO members come forth with proposals on what they can support at the WTO with respect to the intellectual property rules of the WTO and how they apply to the COVID vaccine," said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

She said the U.S. was carefully reviewing proposals on the issue and hoping to move toward text-based negotiations."

At a vaccine summit last month, the head of the WTO said it was also crucial to diversify manufacturing and have more jabs produced in Africa and Latin America.

Much is at stake. Beyond potential lives saved or lost, trade in vaccines and related supplies and equipment was estimated at $418.5 billion in 2019, according to the latest available data, and likely surged in 2020.

The APEC meeting additionally focused on "building back better" by reallocating resources to improve health care, education and social safety nets.

Even with the region still staggering from the pandemic and tourism still paralyzed by quarantines and border restrictions, Pacific Rim economies are forecast to regain momentum this year, with growth rebounding to more than 6% from a 1.9% contraction in 2020.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden turned to his old boss, former President Barack Obama, on Saturday to help him encourage Americans to sign up for Obamacare health care coverage during an expanded special enrollment period in the pandemic.

President Joe Biden speaks on his phone after he and first lady Jill Biden arrived on the Ellipse near the White House, Friday, June 4, 2021, in Washington. Biden returns to the White House after spending a few days in Rehoboth Beach to celebrate first lady Jill Biden's 70th birthday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden turned to his old boss, former President Barack Obama, on Saturday to help him encourage Americans to sign up for Obamacare health care coverage during an expanded special enrollment period in the pandemic.

Biden used his weekly address for a brief Zoom chat with Obama to draw attention to the six-month expanded enrollment period that closes Aug. 15. Meanwhile the government released a report that claims that nearly 31 million Americans  a record  now have health coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

We did this together," said Obama, whose administration established the health insurance marketplace. We always talked about how, if we could get the principle of universal coverage established, we could then build on it.

The White House effort to spotlight the expanded enrollment and claim strong numbers for the health law comes as the political world and the health care system await a Supreme Court ruling on the law's constitutionality. The Zoom call was recorded on Friday afternoon and released Saturday as Biden's weekly address.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, June 4, 2021. Biden returns to the White House after spending a few days in Rehoboth Beach to celebrate first lady Jill Biden's 70th birthday. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The Health and Human Services Department said in a report that nearly 31 million have obtained coverage in 2021 as a result of the law. That's considerably higher than the more than 20 million estimate thats commonly cited.

The Biden administration has launched a special sign-up period during the pandemic, and Congress passed a big boost in subsidies for private health plans sold under the law. But that alone doesnt explain the increased coverage.

The report says 11.3 million people are covered through the health laws marketplaces, where subsidized private plans are offered. An additional 14.8 million are covered through expanded Medicaid, the report adds. All but a dozen states have accepted the law's Medicaid expansion, which mainly serves low-income working adults. And 1 million are covered by so-called basic health plans, an option created by the law and offered in a limited number of states.

That accounts for enrollment of about 27 million people. But the Biden administration is also claiming credit for four million people who would have been eligible for Medicaid without Obamas law.

Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said the law broke down barriers to enrollment among those who were already eligible by simplifying applications and increasing awareness. He also pointed to the establishment of community-based navigators tasked with helping newly eligible people find coverage and conducting outreach to those who were already eligible but didnt necessarily know it.

It didnt require a sweeping law like the ACA to get people who were already eligible for Medicaid enrolled, but the provisions of the ACA did help to get these millions of people covered," Levitt said

The Supreme Court is soon expected to rule on a challenge to the health law from Texas and other GOP-led states. They argue that because Congress has eliminated the laws penalty for being uninsured, a now-toothless ACA requirement that almost all Americans must have health insurance is unconstitutional and therefore the law should fail.

Those defending the law say that even if the Supreme Court strikes down the coverage requirement theres no reason to tamper with the rest of the law.

The White House says 1.2 million people have now signed up for health insurance through the government marketplace during the special enrollment period that began in February. That number includes people who would have qualified for a sign-up opportunity even without Bidens special enrollment period.

A life change such as losing workplace coverage or getting married is considered a qualifying life event that allows people to sign up any time during the year. Last year about 390,000 people signed up because of life changes from Feb. 15 to April 30, the government said.

Biden, in the conversation with Obama, spoke about the 2015 death of his son Beau Biden from cancer.

I literally remember sitting on the bed with him within a week or so him passing away," Biden said, "and thinking, what in Gods name would I do if I got a notice from the insurance company saying youve outlived your coverage?"

This story has been corrected to reflect that the name of the Kaiser Family Foundations vice president is Larry Levitt, not Leavitt.
VENICE, Italy (AP)  The first cruise ship since the pandemic wended its way Saturday through the heart of Venice, escorted by triumphant water-spouting tugboats and elated port workers as it traveled down the Giudecca Canal but also protested by hundreds on land and a small armada of wooden boats waving No Big Boats flags.

Crews are backdropped by the bell tower of St. Mark's, as they take part in the Vogalonga, a traditional non-competitive rowing boats event, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, May 23, 2021. This edition was dedicated to the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Venice. (Tagliapietra/Masini/LaPresse via AP)

VENICE, Italy (AP)  The first cruise ship since the pandemic wended its way Saturday through the heart of Venice, escorted by triumphant water-spouting tugboats and elated port workers as it traveled down the Giudecca Canal but also protested by hundreds on land and a small armada of wooden boats waving No Big Boats flags.

The battle for Venices future was stark as the MSC Orchestra set sail with some 1,000 passengers. The voyage heralded the return of cruise ships to the historic city of canals after more than 18 months, but the vessel reignited an anti-cruise movement that for more than a decade has opposed the passage of the enormous ships through the fragile lagoon due to environmental and safety concerns.

Italian Premier Mario Draghis government pledged this spring to get cruise ships out of the Venice lagoon, but reaching that goal will take time. Even an interim solution rerouting larger ships away from the Giudecca Canal is not likely before next year. Ridding the lagoon of the ships, which run more than 250 meters (yards) in length and weigh over 90,000 tons, could take years.

Venice has become one of the worlds most important cruise destinations over the last two decades, and in 2019 served as a lucrative turnaround point for 667 cruise ships carrying nearly 700,000 passengers, according to the association Cruise Lines International (CLIA).

Passengers arriving Saturday for the week-long cruise aboard the 92,409-ton, 16-deck MSC Orchestra, with stops in southern Italy, two Greek islands and Dubrovnik, Croatia, were greeted at the port with signs reading Welcome Back Cruises.

Crews are backdropped by the bell tower of St. Mark's, as they take part in the Vogalonga, a traditional non-competitive rowing boats event, in Venice, Italy, Sunday, May 23, 2021. This edition was dedicated to the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Venice. (Tagliapietra/Masini/LaPresse via AP)

Antonella Frigo from nearby Vicenza had her departure date delayed multiple times due to the pandemic and was excited to finally be leaving on vacation. But she also sympathized with activists who want the huge ships moved out of the center of Venice.

I have always said that they should be moved, but Im sorry, I need to depart from Venice, since I am from nearby, Frigo said after being was dropped off with a companion at the cruise terminal. But I hope they can be rerouted. I ask myself, Is it not possible to come up with another solution, so they dont pass where they shouldnt?'

The message for passengers taking in Venice from the ship's decks was mixed as the ship navigated the Giudecca Canal, past St. Mark's Square and the Doges Palace. Hundreds of Venetians gathered at a noisy canal-side protest to demand an immediate halt to cruise ships moving through the lagoon, citing a series of past decrees they say were never enforced.

The the 92,409-ton, 16-deck MSC Orchestra cruise ship exits the lagoon as it leaves Venice, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021. The first cruise ship leaving Venice since the pandemic is set to depart Saturday amid protests by activists demanding that the enormous ships be permanently rerouted out the fragile lagoon, especially Giudecca Canal through the city's historic center, due to environmental and safety risks. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

The MSC Orchestra responded with noisy blasts of its horn, while two dozen boats filled with port employees and VIPs motored alongside, celebrating the renewal of cruises and the return to work for hundreds of port workers. According to the Venice Works Committee, more than 1,700 workers deal directly with cruise ships, from tug boat drivers to baggage carriers, while another 4,000 jobs depend on cruise traffic.

The long battle over cruise ships in Venice ramped up after the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew members. And it sharpened after the MSC Opera struck a dock and a tourist boat, injuring five people, while maneuvering through the Giudecca Canal two years ago this week.

In all those years, no viable alternative has ever gotten off the drawing board.

"No Big Ships" activists stage a protest as the MSC Orchestra cruise ship leaves Venice, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021. The 92,409-ton, 16-deck MSC Orchestra cruise ship, the first cruise ship leaving Venice since the pandemic is set to depart Saturday amid protests by activists demanding that the enormous ships be permanently rerouted out the fragile lagoon, especially Giudecca Canal through the city's historic center, due to environmental and safety risks. The ship passed two groups of protesters: pro-cruise advocates whose jobs depend on the industry as well as protesters who have been campaigning for years to get cruise ships out of the lagoon. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

The Venice Environmental Association, one of the groups against the ships, is demanding that Italian cultural and Venice port officials immediately ban ships from the lagoon, threatening legal action if there is no action within 15 days.

It is a great provocation that a ship has passed, Andreina Zitelli, an environmental expert and member of the association, said. You cannot compare the defense of the city with the defense of jobs in the interest of big cruise companies.

The cruise industrys trade association said it supports moving bigger ships to other areas to avoid traversing the Giudecca Canal but maintains that cruise ships still need access to Venices lagoon.

"No Big Ships" activists stage a protest as the MSC Orchestra cruise ship leaves Venice, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021. The 92,409-ton, 16-deck MSC Orchestra cruise ship, the first cruise ship leaving Venice since the pandemic is set to depart Saturday amid protests by activists demanding that the enormous ships be permanently rerouted out the fragile lagoon, especially Giudecca Canal through the city's historic center, due to environmental and safety risks. The ship passed two groups of protesters: pro-cruise advocates whose jobs depend on the industry as well as protesters who have been campaigning for years to get cruise ships out of the lagoon. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

We dont want to be a corporate villain, said Francesco Galietti of Cruise Lines International Italy. We dont feel we should be treated as such. We feel we are good to the communities.

Galietti said cruise ships account for only a small percentage of the tourism to Venice, somewhere around 5%, and that many passengers stay in the city before or after their cruises, contributing an average of $200 a day to the tourism-dependent economy.

Prior to the pandemic, Venice struggled with over-tourism, receiving 25 million visitors a year. It was about to impose a tax on day-trippers before the pandemic struck, bringing tourism to an abrupt halt.

The MSC Orchestra cruise ship leaves Venice, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021. The 92,409-ton, 16-deck MSC Orchestra cruise ship, the first cruise ship leaving Venice since the pandemic, departed Saturday amid protests by activists demanding that the enormous ships be permanently rerouted out the fragile lagoon, especially Giudecca Canal through the city's historic center, due to environmental and safety risks. The ship passed two groups of protesters: pro-cruise advocates whose jobs depend on the industry as well as protesters who have been campaigning for years to get cruise ships out of the lagoon. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

In Rome, the Italian government said it is organizing bids for a viable alternative outside the lagoon, and the request for proposals should be posted any day now. Still, even an interim alternative route to the Giudecca Canal - moving larger ships to an industrial port west of Venice - wont be ready until next year, Italys Ministry for Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility told The Associated Press.

Preparing the port of Marghera, which is still within the lagoon, requires lengthening existing piers to accommodate larger vessels as well as dredging a canal on the approach, cruise industry officials say. Under current plans, ships over 250 meters, representing about 70% of cruise traffic, would be rerouted.

While some cruise companies have experimented with Trieste to the east or Ravenna to the south as drop-off points for those visiting Venice during the pandemic, industry officials say the lagoon city with 1,600 years of history remains a key port of call for cruises in the Adriatic Sea and eastern Mediterranean.

But environmentalists say the cruise industry must change.

Venice is at water level. There are days when Venice is below water level," said Jane da Mosto, executive director of We Are Here Venice who was also representing the Global Cruise Activist Network. "We need ships that use renewable energy. We need ships that dont bring thousands of people into our narrow alleyways at one time. We need visitors that are interested in learning about Venice.

A previous version corrected the last name of CLIA trade association official from Gallieti to Galietti.
LONDON (AP)  The Group of Seven wealthy democracies agreed Saturday to support a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15% in order to deter multinational companies from avoiding taxes by stashing profits in low-rate countries.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen poses for photographs as finance ministers from across the G7 nations meet at Lancaster House in London, Saturday, June 5, 2021, ahead of the G7 leaders' summit. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

LONDON (AP)  The Group of Seven wealthy democracies agreed Saturday to support a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15% in order to deter multinational companies from avoiding taxes by stashing profits in low-rate countries.

G-7 finance ministers meeting in London also endorsed proposals to make the world's biggest companies - including U.S.-based tech giants - pay taxes in countries where they have lots of sales but no physical headquarters.

Britains Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, the meeting's host, said the deal would reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and crucially to make sure that its fair, so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who attended the London meetings, said the agreement provides tremendous momentum towards reaching a global deal that would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world.

France cheered Saturdays agreement and claimed credit for acting as its catalyst.

EU's Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni poses for photographs as finance ministers from across the G7 nations meet at Lancaster House in London, Saturday, June 5, 2021, ahead of the G7 leaders' summit. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

We made it! After 4 years of battle, a historic accord was reached with G7 member states, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire tweeted. France can be proud!

The meeting of finance ministers came ahead of an annual summit of G-7 leaders scheduled for June 11-13 in Cornwall, England. The U.K. is hosting both sets of meetings because it holds the groups rotating presidency.

The endorsement from the G-7 could help build momentum for a deal in wider talks among more than 140 countries being held in Paris as well as a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice in July.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, left, poses for photos with Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe as finance ministers from across the G7 nations meet at Lancaster House in London, Saturday, June 5, 2021, ahead of the G7 leaders' summit. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

The G-7 has also been facing pressure to provide vaccines for low-income countries facing new surges of COVID-19 infections and to finance projects to combat climate change. A statement Saturday from the two-day finance ministers' meeting said only that they welcomed increased funding commitments by member countries and looked forward to more.

International discussions on the tax issue gained momentum after U.S. President Joe Biden backed the idea of a global minimum of at least 15%  and possibly higher  on corporate profits.

The tax proposals endorsed Saturday have two main parts. The first part lets countries tax a share of the profits earned by companies that have no physical presence but have substantial sales, for instance through selling digital advertising.

Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe poses for photographs as finance ministers from across the G7 nations meet at Lancaster House in London, Saturday, June 5, 2021, ahead of the G7 leaders' summit. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

The G-7 statement echoes a U.S. proposal to simply let countries tax part of the earnings of the largest and most profitable companies  digital or not  if they are doing business within their borders. It also supported awarding countries the right to tax 20% or more of profit exceeding a 10% profit margin.

Part of the agreement is that countries such as France that have imposed digital services taxes would remove them in favor of the global agreement. The U.S. considers those unilateral digital taxes to be unfair trade measures that single out big U.S. tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook.

The other main part of the proposal is for countries to tax their home companies' overseas profits at a rate of at least 15%. That would deter the practice of using accounting schemes to shift profits to a few very low-tax countries.

Nations have been grappling with the question of how to deter companies from legally avoiding paying taxes by resorting to tax havens  typically small countries that entice companies with low or zero taxes, even though the firms do little actual business there.

McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.
Canada is proceeding with its plan to tax technology giants next year even as the world's wealthiest democracies proposed a new global tax framework that includes plans to impose a levee on the firms, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Saturday.

From left, EU's Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, World Bank President David Malpass, Italy's Finance Minister Daniele Franco, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva, Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann, Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso pose for a family photo as finance ministers from across the G7 nations meet at Lancaster House in London, Saturday, June 5, 2021 ahead of the G7 leaders' summit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pool Photo via AP-Henry Nicholls

Canada is proceeding with its plan to tax technology giants next year even as the world's wealthiest democracies proposed a new global tax framework that includes plans to impose a levee on the firms, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Saturday.

Her remarks came following a meeting of G7 finance ministers, who hammered out details of the possible global taxation plan during talks held in London.

The Group of Seven wealthy democracies agreed to support a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15 per cent to deter multinational companies from avoiding taxes by stashing profits in low-rate countries. They also endorsed proposals to make the world's biggest companies  including U.S.-based tech giants  pay taxes in countries where they have lots of sales but no physical headquarters.

Freeland said Ottawa will still unilaterally impose its own digital services tax starting Jan. 1, 2022. Similar measures are already in place in Britain, France and Italy.

But Freeland noted countries would repeal their taxation plans following a transition to the new global system, she said after the meeting.

"We've shown today that it is possible to end the global race to the bottom on taxation and this world's leading liberal democracies are able to work together in the common interest," Freeland said in a media call from London.

"Multinational companies need to pay their fair share of taxes. Jurisdiction shopping allows them to avoid doing that."

Freeland wouldn't say if any Canadian companies would face the proposed new tax formula, but said some domestic firms would be subject to next year's digital tax.

Other G7 finance ministers said the framework agreement is not the end of the story. Instead, they said, is meant to propel long-standing discussions among a wider group of countries and signal that taxation changes are necessary.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the proposal "provides tremendous momentum" for reaching a global deal that "would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the U.S. and around the world."

Nations have been grappling for years with the question of how to deter companies from legally avoiding paying taxes by using accounting and legal schemes to assign their profits to subsidiaries in tax havens  typically small countries that entice companies with low or zero taxes, even though the firms do little actual business there.

International discussions on tax issues gained momentum after U.S. President Joe Biden backed the idea of a global minimum of at least 15 per cent  and possibly higher  on corporate profits.

The meeting of finance ministers came ahead of an annual summit of G7 leaders scheduled to take place from June 11-13 in Cornwall, England. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to attend.

The endorsement from the G7 could help build momentum for a deal in wider talks among more than 135 countries being held in Paris, as well as a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice in July.

"We understand that this whole idea works only if we get the broadest possible group of countries to sign on and for that to happen they need to have a say as well," said Freeland, who is also deputy prime minister.

The framework proposes allocating taxing rights to countries on at least 20 per cent of profit exceeding a 10 per cent margin for the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises. That's something Canada doesn't currently have.

It also commits to a global minimum tax of at least 15 per cent to be levied on a country by country basis.

The framework could force some of the world's biggest companies, including U.S.-based tech giants like Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft, to pay taxes in countries where they generate significant revenue but have no physical headquarters.

The U.S. considers those national taxes to be unfair trade measures that improperly single out American firms.

Facebook vice-president for global affairs Nick Clegg said the deal is a big step toward increasing business certainty and raising public confidence in the global tax system, but acknowledged it could cost the company.

"We want the international tax reform process to succeed and recognize this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places," Clegg said on Twitter.

Freeland said it's important to Canada that a minimum floor be established for corporate taxes.

"We're a relatively high-tax country. We need to be because we have a high level of public services and that means that a corporate tax race to the bottom really hurts us," she said.

Conservative finance critic Ed Fast said the party strongly disagrees with Canada's decision to sign on to a global minimum tax.

"We strongly support efforts to make multinational tax avoiders like Facebook and Google pay their fair share, but that doesn't mean giving up sovereignty over our tax system," he said in a statement. "Canadians, and Canadians alone, determine our nation's domestic tax policy and rates."

Britains Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, the meetings host, said the deal would reform the global tax system to make it fit for the digital age and to ensure "the right companies pay the right tax in the right places."

The global minimum tax rate was backed by U.S. President Joe Biden, who originally pushed for a minimum tax rate of 21 per cent. Biden is proposing a 21 per cent U.S. tax rate on companies' overseas earnings, an increase from the 10.5 to 13.125 per cent enacted under former president Donald Trump. Freeland credited Yellen with proposing a compromise position.

Freeland also said she had a bilateral meeting with Yellin where they discussed Buy America policies, softwood lumber, the Line 5 pipeline, carbon pricing and climate action.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2021.

 With files from The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Foreign keyboard criminals with scant fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered fuel shortages and, most recently, threatened global food supply chains.

The escalating havoc caused by ransomware gangs raises an obvious question: Why has the United States, believed to have the worlds greatest cyber capabilities, looked so powerless to protect its citizens from these kind of criminals operating with near impunity out of Russia and allied countries?

This poster provided by the U.S. Department of Justice shows Maxsim Yukabets. Yakubets, 33, is best known as co-leader of a cybergang that calls itself Evil Corp. Foreign keyboard criminals with no fear of repercussions have paralyzed U.S. schools and hospitals, leaked highly sensitive police files, triggered US fuel shortages and, most recently, a now could be responsible for a disruption in global food supply chains. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP)

The answer is that there are numerous technological, legal and diplomatic hurdles to going after ransomware gangs. Until recently, it just hasnt been a high priority for the U.S. government.

That has changed as the problem has grown well beyond an economic nuisance. President Joe Biden intends to confront Russias leader, Vladimir Putin, about Moscow's harboring of ransomware criminals when the two men meet in Europe later this month. The Biden administration has also promised to boost defenses against attacks, improve efforts to prosecute those responsible and build diplomatic alliances to pressure countries that harbor ransomware gangs.

Calls are growing for the administration to direct U.S. intelligence agencies and the military to attack ransomware gangs' technical infrastructure used for hacking, posting sensitive victim data on the dark web and storing digital currency payouts.

Fighting ransomware requires the nonlethal equivalent of the global war on terrorism launched after the Sept. 11 attacks, said John Riggi, a former FBI agent and senior adviser for cybersecurity and risk for the America Hospital Association. Its members have been hard hit by ransomware gangs during the coronavirus pandemic.

It should include a combination of diplomatic, financial, law enforcement, intelligence operations, of course, and military operations, Riggi said.

A public-private task force including Microsoft and Amazon made similar suggestions in an 81-page report that called for intelligence agencies and the Pentagons U.S. Cyber Command to work with other agencies to prioritize ransomware disruption operations.

Take their infrastructure away, go after their wallets, their ability to cash out, said Philip Reiner, a lead author of the report. He worked at the National Security Council during the Obama presidency and is now CEO at The Institute for Security and Technology.

But the difficulties of taking down ransomware gangs and other cybercriminals have long been clear. The FBIs list of most-wanted cyber fugitives has grown at a rapid clip and now has more than 100 entries, many of whom are not exactly hiding. Evgeniy Bogachev, indicted nearly a decade ago for what prosecutors say was a wave of cyber bank thefts, lives in a Russian resort town and is known to enjoy boating on the Black Sea, according to the FBIs wanted listing.

Ransomware gangs can move around, do not need much infrastructure to operate and can shield their identities. They also operate in a decentralized network. For instance, DarkSide, the group responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack that led to fuel shortages in the South, rents out its ransomware software to partners to carry out attacks.

Katie Nickels, director of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Red Canary, said identifying and disrupting ransomware criminals takes time and serious effort.

A lot of people misunderstand that the government cant just willy-nilly go out and press a button and say, well, nuke that computer, she said. Trying to attribute to a person in cyberspace is not an easy task, even for intelligence communities.

Reiner said those limits do not mean the United States cannot still make progress against defeating ransomware, comparing it with America's ability to degrade the terrorist group al-Qaida while not capturing its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over after U.S. troops killed Osama bin Laden.

We can fairly easily make the argument that al-Qaida no longer poses a threat to the homeland, Reiner said. So short of getting al-Zawahiri, you destroy his ability to actually operate. Thats what you can do to these (ransomware) guys.

The White House has been vague about whether it plans to use offensive cyber measures against ransomware gangs. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that were not going to take options off the table, but she did not elaborate. Her comments followed a ransomware attack by a Russian gang that caused outages at Brazils JBS SA, the second-largest producer of beef, pork and chicken in the United States.

Gen. Paul Nakasone, who leads U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, said at a recent symposium that he believes the U.S. will be bringing the weight of our nation, including the Defense Department, to take down this (ransomware) infrastructure outside the United States.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who is a legislative leader on cybersecurity issues, said the debate in Congress over how aggressive the U.S. needs to be against ransomware gangs, as well as state adversaries, will be front and center of the next month or two.

To be honest, its complicated because youre talking about using government agencies, government capabilities to go after private citizens in another country, he said.

The U.S. is widely believed to have the best offensive cyber capabilities in the world, though details about such highly classified activities are scant. Documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the U.S. conducted 231 offensive cyber operations in 2011. More than a decade ago a virus called Stuxnet attacked control units for centrifuges in an underground site in Iran, causing the sensitive devices to spin out of control and destroy themselves. The cyberattack was attributed to America and Israel.

U.S. policy called persistent engagement already authorizes cyberwarriors to engage hostile hackers in cyberspace and disrupt their operations with code. U.S. Cyber Command has launched offensive operations related to election security, including against Russian misinformation officials during U.S. midterm elections in 2018.

After the Colonial Pipeline attack, Biden promised that his administration was committed to bringing foreign cybercriminals to justice. Yet even as he was speaking from the White House, a different Russian-linked ransomware gang was leaking thousands of highly sensitive internal files  including deeply personal background checks  belonging to the police department in the nations capital. Experts believe its the worst ransomware attack against a U.S.-based law enforcement agency.

We are not afraid of anyone, the hackers wrote in a follow-up post.
NEW DELHI (AP)  Indias government on Saturday warned Twitter to immediately comply with the countrys new social media regulations, which critics say give the government more power to police online content.

NEW DELHI (AP)  Indias government on Saturday warned Twitter to immediately comply with the countrys new social media regulations, which critics say give the government more power to police online content.

Twitter is involved in a tense battle with the Indian government, which has often asked it to restrict content alleging Prime Minister Narendra Modis government is trying to silence criticism, including of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to Twitter, the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry said the new rules came into force on May 26, but the social media site so far hasn't complied. It asked Twitter to treat Saturday's letter as a final notice, otherwise the company shall be liable to consequences, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The letter did not elaborate on what consequences Twitter might face. There was no immediate comment from Twitter.

Last month, the company said it was worried about the safety of its staff in India, days after Indian police visited its office in New Delhi over its labeling of a tweet by a governing party spokesman as manipulated media.

Twitter said in a statement that to keep our service available, we will strive to comply with applicable law in India.

But, just as we do around the world, we will continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law, it said.

The new rules require internet platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to erase content that authorities deem unlawful and to help with police investigations, including identifying the originators of mischievous information.

The ministry's letter Saturday warned Twitter that non-compliance with the new social media regulations could see the company lose its liability protections as an intermediary, meaning Twitter could face lawsuits over content.

Critics accuse Modis government of silencing criticism on social media, particularly Twitter, a charge senior leaders have denied.

Last month, the messaging app WhatsApp filed a lawsuit in Delhi High Court arguing that new government rules that require it to make messages traceable to external parties are unconstitutional and undermine the fundamental right to privacy.
During the pandemic Winnipegs Precision ADM became one of the best examples of a resurgent Canadian supply chain for personal protective equipment and medical device products that have been in great demand to care for the frightening numbers of people who were  and still are  getting sick.

During the pandemic Winnipegs Precision ADM became one of the best examples of a resurgent Canadian supply chain for personal protective equipment and medical device products that have been in great demand to care for the frightening numbers of people who were  and still are  getting sick.

Martin Petrak, the CEO of Precision ADM and others worry that if those gains in the manufacturing sector are not nurtured it will be a massive opportunity lost.

Not only has Canadian industry been successful in rapidly springing to action to replace the previous reliance on foreign imports, but cutting-edge technology has been deployed in a way that could make that kind of domestic production sustainable for the future.

"We hope this "made in Canada" solution is here to stay," said Petrak.

His company was making super sophisticated spinal implants and knee replacements and then utilized its expertise in processes like 3-D printing to make more than one million 3-D printed testing swabs and re-usable and recyclable N95-style respirators.

But Petrak and others understand that there is a risk of losing this new capability.

It will take a rethink of the status quo when it comes to public sector procurement especially on the PPE front, but for the broader manufacturing sector there are many more complex issues at play.

Not the least of them is the demographic reality of an aging workforce. The manufacturing sector is going to lose 25 per cent of its workforce in the next 10 years. Currently only six per cent of that workforce are 25 years old or younger.

Those are some of the realities that the advanced manufacturing supercluster, NGen, is using to frame a new initiative called Careers of the Future, to raise awareness in the general public of the attractive employment possibilities that exist in advanced manufacturing and to prod industry players to get on that advanced manufacturing bandwagon.

Jayson Myers, the CEO of NGen  who previously was the chief economist and then CEO of Canadian Manufactures and Exporters for many years  said the industry is going to change enormously over the next five to 10 years.

There has been plenty of talk for many years about the Canadian industrys productivity gap. Now that digital technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, digital twinning simulation and additive manufacturing are creating exponential improvement in processes, there is an even greater imperative that Canadian companies adapt and make the investments, the way Precision ADM has done.

"If we are looking at re-shoring manufacturing (establishing domestic manufacturing to replace the reliance on foreign imports) innovation has to be key to that," Myers said. "We are not going to re-shore production from China by simply saying come to Canada. Companies need to become much more automated, much more digital in order to survive and grow."

That investment dynamic will generate all sorts of new requirements for digital skills in the sector, which leads to the next challenge  ensuring there are enough people with the right skills and encouraging them to consider careers in manufacturing.

Part of the Careers of the Future initiative is to highlight how all of the sexiest of new digital technologies from gaming to design, to engineering have applications that are in demand in the advanced manufacturing space, not to mention finance and management and all the skilled trades.

"We need to make sure we have a pipeline of well-qualified people coming of the school systems," said Myers.

It was not easy for Petraks business, which grew 10-fold in the past 14 months, to find all the people it needed.

"It was a huge challenge," he said. "We had to bring in experts to help us ramp up. We found people all over the place to come help us."

The pandemic provided a very focused and urgent need that produced some brilliant results.

Petrak and Myers and others in the industry want to channel that execution to service broader industry growth during times of normal market activity rather than relying on a once in a lifetime global crisis to inspire it.

"We cant rely on foreign governments. They want to protect their own people and that wont change in the future," said Petrak who is part of newly created organization called the Canadian Association of PPE Manufacturers.

The concern for that group is that when the pandemic is over the Canadian players will slip back into old habits and long-standing supply chain relationships.

Petrak said, "We have to remember how 2020 played out and embrace local supply chains and then continue to invest in strategic health-care production."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a meeting of his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month, and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Jong Un attends a meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, June 4, 2021. Kim has presided over a meeting of his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month, and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has presided over a meeting of his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month, and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy.

The Norths official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that Kim expressed appreciation that a lot of works were being sped up thanks to the ideological enthusiasm and fighting spirit of self-reliance demonstrated by the party and his people.

But he also said there was a need to correct deflective matters and called for a plenary meeting of the Workers Partys Central Committee to review overall state affairs for the first half of 2021. The party announced that the plenary meeting was set for early June.

Kims appearance at Fridays Politburo meeting was the first time he showed himself in public since May 6, when he held a photo session with families of North Korean soldiers.

North Koreas battered economy has deteriorated further amid pandemic border closures, which significantly reduced trade with China, its major ally and economic lifeline.

The Workers Party last held a plenary meeting of Central Committee members in February, when Kim ripped into state economic agencies for their passive and self-protecting tendencies in setting their annual goals.

While Kim said Friday that North Korea was continuing to face challenges brought by unfavorable subjective and objective conditions and environment, the KCNA report did not mention any comments he made toward the United States or South Korea.

North Korea has so far ignored the allies calls to resume nuclear negotiations that have stalled since the collapse of the second summit between Kim and former President Donald Trump in February 2019. The Americans then rejected North Koreans demands for lifting sanctions in exchange for a piecemeal deal toward partially surrendering their nuclear capabilities.

Following a meeting last month in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a joint statement that Washington would take a calibrated and practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with Pyongyang.

But North Korea has questioned the sincerity of the proposals and claimed that Bidens agreement to end Washington's decades-long range restrictions that capped South Koreas missile development, which was announced after his meeting with Moon, demonstrated continuing U.S. hostility toward the North.

U.S. officials have suggested Biden would adopt a middle ground policy between his predecessors  Trumps direct dealings with Kim and Barack Obamas strategic patience. But some experts say Washington wont likely provide the North with meaningful sanctions relief unless it takes concrete denuclearization steps first. Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons program in recent political speeches, while saying that the fate of bilateral relations depends on whether Washington discards what he perceives as hostile policies.

During a rare ruling party congress in January, Kim urged his people to be resilient in the struggle for economic self-reliance. He called for reasserting greater state control over the economy, boosting agricultural production and prioritizing the development of chemicals and metal industries.

Experts say such sectors are crucial to North Korean hopes to revitalize industrial production that has been decimated by sanctions and halted imports of factory materials amid the pandemic.
When Hannah Tucker is trying to put the transformations unfolding in the food sector into perspective for audiences, she boils it down to a tale of three cheeseburgers.

When Hannah Tucker is trying to put the transformations unfolding in the food sector into perspective for audiences, she boils it down to a tale of three cheeseburgers.

The U.K.-based consultant spoke at a recent City Age webinar on the Future of Food. Her company, Balance Point Ventures, explores how technological advancements are disrupting existing economic models, giving rise to a new food economy.

Spoiler alert: the food system she envisages emerging for tomorrow bears little resemblance to the one we know today.

Back to the cheeseburgers. The status quo or "industrial cheeseburger," produced from beef finished in feedlots, transported long distances to slaughter, processing and then distribution to retail and food-service customers, is the product of an economic model that emerged 150 years ago along with the development of the combustion engine.

"Its no surprise that the industrial cheeseburger is no longer sustainable and it is no longer competitive," Tucker said. "For the same reasons that the industrial economy as a whole is challenged."

The value chain is resource-heavy, commodified, and reliant on a narrow definition of profitability, sourcing raw ingredients from "a select number of domesticated organisms raised in monoculture fields and facilities," she notes.

Tucker said new technologies in computing, data management and storage, robotics, and genomics have become more mainstream and their cost has declined to where they are collectively destabilizing the industrial economy.

That brings us to our second cheeseburger: the "modern indoor cheeseburger."

Data analytics and computing power are creating the opportunity to precisely tap into cells and molecules to make new foods, she said.

Thats the science behind the meatless burgers sold by companies such as Beyond Meat. The company used data analytics to identify all of the molecular components that made beef into beef.

"What it did next was scour the plant kingdom to find to find comparable molecules it could use to replicate this," she said. "It now runs this molecular mixture through precision extruders to replicate the textures desired."

Similar approaches are being used to create meat and dairy products from yeasts. Another manifestation of the manufactured burger is the meat produced from stem cells. Precision fermentation has lowered the previously prohibitive cost of the growth culture without compromising quality. "This is converging with other developments like 3-D printing to enable commercially competitive stem cell meats."

Tucker said vertical indoor farming such as the Plantopia system pioneered by the Ohio-based 80-Acre Farms uses data analytics, robotics and computer software to produce pesticide-free greens indoors, using a fraction of the space and resources of traditional salad green producers.

"So far, compared to the industrial model it yields 300 times more, uses 90 per cent less land, 97 per cent less water, (and is) 100 per cent renewable. It gets to market in one, not 14, days and cuts out food miles," she said.

That leads to her third example the "modern outdoor cheeseburger," the one produced by farming systems that she described as "the previously imperceptible interconnectivity of the biosphere," otherwise known as regenerative agriculture.

"In this model each organism generates multiple sources of value, not just food," Tucker said, noting it scores highly on environmental and health benefits. "Take the cow, not only is this a source of nutrient-rich beef and dairy but the cow also stomps carbon back into the soil and provides fertilizer. It helps keep up the soil microbiome."

She stresses that its not about picking one or the other; indoor and outdoor models are complementary. However, unless there are changes to farm policies and market structure, both of which are built around the industrial economic models, speakers at this webinar warned Canada could be left eating its competitors dust.

Laura Rance is vice-president of Content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com
The property owners are selling the land but demanding to maintain some sort of private control of portions of it, Councilmember Austin Aslan said.

He said he believed if the developers didnt want to allow access to that area, it should not be included in the overall project at all.

But excluding those 2 acres would lower the number of units the project would be allowed to build. The count would fall from 160 units to 137, 16 of which would be designated as affordable.

Jason Morris, who spoke to Council on behalf of Trinsic, said the reduction in the number of units would kill the project and added that they have already reduced the number of units substantially. As originally planned, the project would have contained 197 units.

Morris brought up the public amenities they have committed to provide, including several public pickle ball courts and new sections of the urban trail system.

He also pointed out that while the 2 acres north of High Country Trail will be restricted, they are not relying on any of that area to meet their open-space requirements.

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Winnipeg City Council will soon consider a $32-million, multi-year proposal to add body-worn cameras for police.

Winnipeg City Council will soon consider a $32-million, multi-year proposal to add body-worn cameras for police.

On Friday, the Winnipeg Police Board unanimously called upon council to approve that investment and refer the final say on funding to the citys 2022 budget process.

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth said the cameras would increase the services transparency and accountability, providing a visual record of officer interactions with the public.

"We all know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words and that kind of evidence is huge," said Smyth.

A WPS report notes the service has sought funding for body-worn cameras for more than a decade. A $1-million pilot project of the devices was slated for 2016 but later cancelled over its cost.

The report said adding the technology now would create valuable records that can display entire police interactions, "which will enhance community trust in police."

WPS estimates the project would have a capital cost of $6.8 million in 2022, which would reach a combined $32 million by the end of 2027, including video storage. Police expect the change would also create $717,000 of annual operating costs.

Smyth said police would buy separate cameras to record interactions, not the software some police agencies have added to existing smartphones. He said police have not yet determined exactly what type of recording devices officers should use. Some cameras let police turn recordings on or off, while others automatically start taking video whenever an officer pulls out a gun or Taser.

Smyth said the police service cant afford the program within its existing multi-year budget, unless it cuts other services.

"There is no room in the (police) budget (to find) $32 million," he said.

Coun. Markus Chambers, chairman of the police board, said the cameras would create a valuable public record of police interactions.

"You cant deny that it will increase accountability and transparency," said Chambers.

The councillor said hes listened to demands from some advocates that council defund the police and instead invest more money into social services. However, he believes a visual record of police interactions is worth its cost.

"Its not a panacea but there are opportunities that we get from it, in terms of looking at the interactions that our service does have with citizens and, perhaps, modifying (police) training when it comes to use of force or unconscious bias," he said.

Chambers said he agrees with Smyth that city hall should pay for the cameras but suggests the city could seek provincial help, since officer video could be used as evidence in court.

Winnipeg police, and other law enforcement agencies, have faced growing scrutiny over the past year, including calls for council to cut the services budget.

Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land, who teaches criminal justice at the University of Winnipeg and supports police defunding, urged city council to reject the call to spend millions on body-worn cameras.

"(This is) a reform that puts more money into police department coffers. It gives them more resources, more capacity, more tools at the exact moment that communities are demanding those resources. I think its very, very egregious and disappointing and concerning," said Dobchuk-Land.

She argued video captured by body cams wouldnt heighten police accountability, especially for cameras that officers have the power to turn on and off.

"Its a distraction from the issue of police accountability. It provides this false sense of accountability," she said.

The citys executive policy committee is expected to cast the next vote on the body camera proposal on June 16, which would also require council approval.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
OTTAWA  Anger and grief have boiled over in northern Manitoba, with some Cross Lake residents relieved to see a local former school building go up in flames early Thursday.

OTTAWA  Anger and grief have boiled over in northern Manitoba, with some Cross Lake residents relieved to see a local former school building go up in flames early Thursday.

A week after 215 unmarked childrens graves in Kamloops, B.C., came to light, Ottawa is facing increasing pressure to help First Nations figure out how to search potential burial sites near old residential schools.

"Were not supported," Cross Lake Chief David Monias said, his voice rising at a Friday news conference.

"Its frustration for the lack of address, the lack of community engagement and a lack of partnership."

His band has called in a global body specializing in mass graves to help search Cross Lake reserve.

Meanwhile, another northern reserve has enlisted free help from engineering/construction company SNC-Lavalin to look for unmarked cemeteries.

This week, Ottawa reallocated $27 million for Indigenous research on residential schools to instead be used for archeological surveys.

But the process has been unclear to many of the bands who administer the 14 recognized Indian Residential School sites in Manitoba.

Monias, whose community sits 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, appealed directly to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for help Monday. He said he hasnt had a clear answer since.

"He has not lived up to his word."

On Thursday, a former day school in Cross Lake  a building that had also been used by a former residential school  was severely damaged by fire. RCMP suspect it was caused by arson.

The building had been used for administering flood compensation and maternal health programs.

"Its a resource to us because we dont have many buildings in the community we can use," Monias said.

"For many people, its a constant reminder of what happened in the past of the deaths that occurred, of the sexual abuse that occurred."

Those were documented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which also found nuns addressed students by number, instead of by name when the school ran 1912-69.

Similar accounts stem from the Notre Dame Hostel, which ran in Cross Lake from 1960 to 1967.

Children from different Manitoba reserves attended those schools, as well as some locals whose parents lived just across the river but couldnt visit.

Childrens graves have already been found on the reserve over the years, Monias said.

On Friday, the community announced it has enlisted the help of the International Commission on Missing Persons.

The Netherlands-based organization helps examine everything from mass graves to the 2013 Lac-Megantic oil-train disaster in Quebec.

"We are not waiting for the bureaucracy to open up, or to receive notification that theres a process we have to go through to access funds. (Its) another bureaucracy, to stall the work that needs to be done," Monias said.

Murray Sinclair, the former Manitoba judge who chaired the TRC, has called on Ottawa to fund and help Indigenous groups search burial sites.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg has joined prominent academics by calling on Ottawa to set standards for searches so evidence can be documented and used in potential criminal trials.

Trudeau said Friday hed be open to such standards, but still hasnt promised Ottawa will help set them.

"Obviously, the rigour and the professionalism and the sensitivity  and ideally a certain amount of shared processes across the country  would make sense, but those are things that the government will not be dictating," the prime minister said, in response to questions from the Free Press.

"Those decisions need to be led by and centred on the families, the survivors and the communities that are at the heart of this historical and ongoing tragedy."

Thats not enough for Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton, who said the Liberals are asking traumatized communities to go through an ad hoc process.

"The wounds have been ripped open again; the facade that is reconciliation has been uncovered," Ashton said.

"There has been no intent from the government to bring in any sort of international body or international experts. That is not acceptable; what were talking about here is genocide."

Next week, Opaskwayak Cree Nation will vote on whether to accept an offer from SNC-Lavalin to do a local search using ground-penetrating radar.

"SNC-Lavalin is offering, without charge, our expertise and assistance," reads a Friday letter to chiefs across Canada, obtained by the Free Press.

SNC-Lavalin confirmed the letter, and said it was the result of employees wanting to offer help. It said the Quebec-based firm is deliberately not giving interviews and didnt want to be seen as trying to gain publicity from tragic situations.

The radar passes signals through soil, in order to detect obstructions or changes in the top two metres of soil, such as the presence of gravel and clay. SNC-Lavalin says it takes eight to 10 hours to survey a 10-km-square area.

The firm would then pass along a digital file and graphics that experts can use to perform excavations.

Opaskwayak, 520 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, housed the Guy Hill residential school, and also wants to search its former day school area.

"Its to ensure that we do justice to our ancestors, and the challenges of the past here," said OCN Onekanew (Chief) Christian Sinclair, who was not aware of any prior grave finds.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
A downtown neighbourhood was on high alert after two dozen officers cordoned off an apartment building for hours Friday and evacuated tenants, in response to a report about a man in crisis, who possibly had a weapon.

A downtown neighbourhood was on high alert after two dozen officers cordoned off an apartment building for hours Friday and evacuated tenants, in response to a report about a man in crisis, who possibly had a weapon.

The incident at 444 Kennedy St. began around 8:45 a.m. and prompted the nearby Sister MacNamara Elementary School to go into a hold-and-secure position.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Rob Carver said officers received information that suggested the person might be armed with a firearm.

Police shut down several streets, including Sargent Avenue from Balmoral to Edmonton streets, around 11 a.m. until 3:15 p.m.

Tactical officers carrying carbine rifles were seen around the apartment building as late as 3:30 p.m.

"We didnt believe that there was a particular threat to the neighbourhood, but we couldnt confirm, which is why all of these precautions were taken," Carver said.

The man didn't have a weapon and is receiving medical treatment.

"If you live in this area or work in this area, and we have information, even if its unreliable, that an individual could have a firearm or was making threats, we would not be doing our job in terms of public safety if we werent making sure that everyone is being kept safe," Carver said.

The man was not expected to be arrested, he said.

A tenant of the building described the man as a "nice guy" who is a newcomer to the city.

 Staff
It often started with a knock at the door.

It often started with a knock at the door.

Children were snatched from their parents arms and forcibly transferred by trucks, trains, planes and boats, with trails of tears left in their wake.

They were taken to strange, isolated institutions scattered across the country where they knew no one, had no connection to the land and were forbidden from acknowledging their heritage.

This, their captors called, "uplifting their character and broadening their aims."

The schools were run like prisons: the children were stripped naked and dressed in uniforms, their heads were sheared, they were given identification numbers and new names, and they were beaten if they dared speak their native tongue.

This, their captors called, "elevating the Indian race."

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CANADA ARCHIVES Birtle Residential School students in the 1940s. The school is considered high risk for possible deaths.

Indigenous political and social institutions were targeted for destruction. Land was seized and movement tightly restricted. Most importantly, families were separated to stop the transmission of cultural values from one generation to the next.

This, their captors called, the "inevitable march of civilization."

Spiritual practices were punished and banned, objects of worship were confiscated and destroyed, knowledge-keepers and elders were persecuted and jailed and religious indoctrination was strictly enforced at the barrel-end of a rifle.

This, their captors called, "inculcating truths."

The stated aim was to kill the Indian in the child.

Often, they just killed the Indian.

Children disappeared from the schools and no one searched for them. Some froze to death in harsh Canadian winters as they fled for home on foot. Physical and sexual violence was rampant. Emotional and spiritual abuse was institutionalized as formal policy.

The little ones who died  sometimes as young as three years old  were not afforded decent burials. In most cases, the Department of Indian Affairs refused to ship their bodies home to their parents, coldly asserting it would be too expensive to do so.

Far too often, parents werent even told their children had died, and the only death notification made was to the Indian Affairs civil servant responsible for the file. Meanwhile, political leaders and broader society agreed it was all for their own good.

Justice demands that people accused of crimes be prosecuted, defended and judged. But in this particular Canadian horror story, the majority of the perpetrators are dead, and many of the victims are, too.

What, then, is to be done? What does justice demand of us now?

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver Archives Kamloops Indian Residential School 1935

"It is readily acknowledged that Indian children lose their natural resistance to illness by habituating so closely in the residential schools and that they die at a much higher rate than in their villages," wrote Duncan Campbell Scott, the head of Indian Affairs, in 1910.

"But this does not justify a change in policy of this department, which is geared towards a Final Solution of our Indian Problem."

In 1914, Scott wrote that "fifty per cent of the children who passed through these schools did not live to benefit from the education which they received therein." Six years later, at his behest, the federal government made attendance at residential schools compulsory.

"When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training mode of thought are Indian," said Sir John A. Macdonald, Canadas first prime minister, in 1883.

"He is simply a savage who can read and write."

Vital-Justin Grandin, the Catholic priest and bishop who was honoured by the City of Winnipeg by putting his name on a major thoroughfare, "led the campaign" for the creation of the Indian Residential School System.

"We instill in them a pronounced distaste for Native life so that they will be humiliated when reminded of their origin. When they graduate from our institutions, the children have lost everything Native except for their blood," Grandin wrote in 1875.

There were other, more practical benefits, too  namely, the states possession of Indigenous children would pacify potential revolutionary impulses.

In 1886  one year after the North-West Resistance led by Louis Riel  Indian Affairs school inspector J.A. Macrae noted it was "unlikely" any "tribe or tribes" would give "trouble of a serious nature" when their children were "under government control."

For their efforts, men such as Macdonald, Scott and Grandin were praised and celebrated. They remain praised and celebrated to this day. There are roadways and neighbourhoods and municipalities named in their honour.

Their words and deeds  and the words and deeds of many others like them  bring to mind the famous phrase from the German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt: "the banality of evil."

Evil need not be perpetrated by monstrous men, according to Arendt, who argued it is often the work of mediocre, mundane individuals more motivated by professional promotion and personal interest than fanaticism or sadism.

This is particularly true when individuals are backed by religious authorities. Such men are neither "perverted nor sadistic," but "terribly and terrifyingly normal," and this normality is "much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together."

We instill in them a pronounced distaste for Native life so that they will be humiliated when reminded of their origin. When they graduate from our institutions, the children have lost everything Native except for their blood.  Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin, in 1875

Macdonald was a witty man with many female admirers who had a public reputation for enjoying a drink. When his first child died at 13 months old in 1848, he kept a small box of the boys toys for the remainder of his life, struggling to recover from the loss.

Scott was a successful writer and dramatist, in addition to being an accountant and civil servant, who published a dozen volumes of poetry in his life and helped found the Ottawa Little Theatre and the Dominion Drama Festival.

Grandin was a pious man beloved by parishioners, an early defender of French-language rights in Western Canada and an advocate for the Metis people.

These men were not cartoon villains. Nevertheless, their actions were evil.

They are responsible for a systematic, state-sponsored campaign aimed at the destruction of Indigenous peoples as distinct "legal, social, cultural, religious and racial entities in Canada," which continues to echo through history and reverberate to this day.

It was more than a "dark chapter" in Canadian history, or a "stain" on the legacy of our countrys forefathers.

It was cultural genocide.

A national crime.

There is a painting that used to hang in the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

In it stands a small wooden house: a simple bungalow with multicoloured tiles fashioned to the roof. Dense bush and open fields flank the home to the east, and to the west, dark and foreboding clouds form in the sky.

Three children run from the home at full sprint. Their backs are turned to the viewer as they race for the bush in the distance. The scene they are fleeing  the one transpiring in front of the house  is pure chaos.

Seven Mounties are dressed in traditional red uniforms, with tan, wide-brimmed hats and long leather gloves. One of them stands on the houses front porch with his arm extended to the side, pointing at the children trying to escape.

The rest of the officers are scattered in front of the home; one stands to the side holding a rifle. The others are snatching Indigenous children away from their wailing mothers. Two priests and two nuns help carry out the kidnappings.

Kent Monkmans The Scream. The Cree artist says its the one piece from the exhibit Shame and Prejudice: A story of Resilience that is too painful to talk about.

In the centre of the frame is a mother wearing a long blue dress. She lunges forward, reaching out for her child, who is being carried off by a bearded priest with a wooden crucifix dangling from his neck.

The mothers fingers grasp helplessly in the air. Two Mounties restrain her, grabbing her dress, grabbing her arm, grabbing her hair, taking hold of anything they can to separate her from her child.

Her mouth is open, transfixed in horror, frozen in a scream.

There are other mothers too, battling to save their children. Perhaps they will succeed. Perhaps the children fleeing to the bush will escape their would-be captors. But the mother in the blue dress appears to have lost the struggle.

Her child will be taken.

Late last week, Canada learned the fate that befell 215 such children at a residential school in Kamloops, B.C.  one of the more than 130 institutions that operated in this country with the help of various Christian churches, from the early 1880s until 1996.

Or white Canada learned of their fates, that is. For Indigenous people, the discovery of the unmarked burial site on the grounds of a former residential school could not have been less shocking.

Sickening and traumatizing, yes.

Surprising, no.

There have been stories of dead Indigenous babies buried below our feet for decades. These stories have long been shared in Indigenous communities. The rest of us just havent been listening.

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published a 266-page report entitled Missing Children and Unmarked Burials.

"Many, if not most, of the several thousand children who died in residential schools are likely to be buried in unmarked and untended graves. Subjected to institutionalized child neglect in life, they have been dishonoured in death," the report said.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Murray Sinclair on his property near St. Andrews.

The official death toll of children in Canadian residential schools is roughly 4,100, but its believed there could be as many as 15,000 victims. In 2009, the TRC asked the federal government for $1.5 million to locate and preserve unmarked burial sites.

The request was denied.

We cant pretend we didnt know. We cant pretend they didnt tell us. And as Senator Murray Sinclair, chairman of the TRC, said this week in a video statement, there will be many more grim discoveries to come. On Thursday, Sinclair called for an independent investigation to examine all burial sites near former residential schools.

This is not a Kamloops story.

This is a story that can be told from countless communities across Canada.

The painting in question  the one that used to hang in the Winnipeg Art Gallery  is called The Scream. It is a part of Cree artist Kent Monkmans exhibit Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, which opened in Winnipeg in the fall of 2019.

The exhibit  which serves as a gut-wrenching, chilling indictment of a whitewashed chapter in the history of Canadian colonialism  continues to tour art galleries across the country.

Reflecting on the painting, Monkman has said it is the one piece in the series that he cant bring himself to talk about.

"The pain is too deep," he said.

"We were never the same."

S.J. MCKEE ARCHIVES The Brandon school was demolished in 2000.

The Brandon Indian Residential School  the old red-brick building from the faded and grainy photographs, or the ruins where local teenagers escaped for years to drink beer  is gone.

Today, not even the rubble remains at the site north of the city, high upon a bluff overlooking the valley below. The tops of a few of Brandons taller buildings are visible from the vantage point, jutting out above the trees in the distance.

On a recent morning, there were sounds of grasshoppers hidden in the tall prairie grass and birds chirping from the trees. A winding dirt road leads up to the spot where the school once stood.

In recent days  mostly since the discovery of the mass burial site at Kamloops  people have left items in honour of the children who died while attending the Brandon Indian Residential School.

There are shoes left behind in the dirt. Stuffed animals and childrens toys. A bouquet of fresh flowers  pink and purple, yellow and white  resting in a glass jar. There is a childrens book that tells the story of a father who plants a tree when his son is born.

As the child grows, the tree grows with it.

An orange shirt  emblazoned with the phrase Every Child Matters  is hanging from the branches of a tree in the bush. Nearby, someone has left five cigarettes on a rock as an offering to those who have been lost.

Tim Smith / Brandon Sun A makeshift memorial was erected at the former Brandon school site after news broke out of Kamloops.

There is no sign left of what once stood here; no sign left of what was done in this spot.

This was a crime scene; in some ways, it still is.

Deeper into the bush, about a kilometre-and-a-half north of the old school site, down through a water-soaked slough and over a barbed-wire fence, there is a small cemetery. It would be difficult to know it was a burial site at all, if not for the cairn in the centre of the plot.

The stone monument stands about a metre-and-a-half tall. On the front is a plaque with the names of 11 children who died while attending the school inscribed into the metal.

Lydia Wesley. Rebecca Spence. Cornelius Linklater. George Byrd. Angus Sunkawasky. Sam Youngskunk. Mary Sutherland. Henry Swanson. Ewart Monias. Roderic Beardy. John Kirkness.

Four stuffed animals sit at the foot of the cairn, and resting on the edge of the plaque are 11 small pebbles  one for each name. The land is flat and trees line half of the cemetery, which backs onto farmland.

TIM SIMTH / BRANDON SUN A cairn at the site of a cemetery for the former Brandon Indian Residential School lists 11 names of children who died while in the care of the school.

In the past, small white crosses stood to mark the 11 children known to be buried here. Today, the crosses have broken down and fallen over, hidden in the long, overgrown grass within the fenced-in grounds.

According to researcher Katherine Nichols, a forensic anthropologist who has extensively studied the history of the Brandon residential school, there are likely far more children buried here.

Sioux Valley Dakota Nation believes there could be 104 Indigenous children buried at three sites near the former school. In the first 16 years of the schools history alone, at least 51 students died.

There is an obvious question to be asked: how many schools for white children in Canada had cemeteries? Because most  if not all  residential schools for Indigenous children did.

It was the summer of 2018 and Lorena Fontaine, an associate professor at the University of Winnipeg and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation, was visiting the site of the former Brandon residential school.

The daughter of residential school survivors, Fontaine had been invited to the location by members of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, a community that had many children taken to the school during its years of operation.

After walking into the bush to look at the "poorly-maintained cemetery" to the north, Fontaine and the others returned to the spot where the school once stood. The school operated from 1895 to 1972, before being demolished in 2000.

"We were talking and they mentioned there was a second burial ground. I asked them where it was and they said, Oh, its over there where the trailer park is. I asked, Oh, like beside it? And they said, No, its underneath the trailer park," Fontaine recalled.

"I just felt sick to my stomach. I felt ill. And then I became very angry when I found out about the history of that burial ground."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Prof. Lorena Fontaine at the Oodena Circle where a memorial of childrens shoes has been created. She was mortified when she first learned one of the Brandon burial sites was turned into a trailer park.

The fact there is a memorial  as insufficient and neglected as it may be  for victims of the Brandon residential school is largely due to the work of one man: Alfred Kirkness, who attended the institution as a child.

In the early years of the school, children who died were buried at a site about a kilometre-and-a-half to the south, near the Assiniboine River. Later on, students who died were buried north of the school, in the area where there now stands a small cairn in their honour.

In 1921, the City of Brandon took over the land on which the first burial ground was located. The land was cleared sometime during the Great Depression and municipal workers removed the gravestone markers.

Slowly, year after year, Kirkness watched as the resting place of the victims of the Brandon residential school was turned into a city park.

Beginning in the early 1960s and lasting until at least 1971, Kirkness mounted a campaign to fight back against the amnesia that had swept across the city. He wrote to the media, to the mayor and to various government officials demanding something be done.

In 1963, Kirkness, alongside a few others, took matters into his own hands, placing modest white markers on the burial site near the river, which  by that time  was a popular park where children would play and swim in the summer.

In 1972, the Brandon Girl Guides placed a commemorative monument at the site  a plaque reading "Indian Children Burial Ground" bolted into the front of a large boulder  and built a fence around the area.

Due to Kirknesss tireless efforts, government officials eventually constructed the cairn at the cemetery north of the former school and agreed to fence in the area so it wouldnt be littered with cow dung.

By the time Kirkness died in 1980, both burial grounds were formally recognized, with modest monuments erected in honour of the dead.

Kirknesss final resting place, alongside his wife Lily, is plot 45 B 15 at the Brandon Municipal Cemetery. It is a peaceful spot with a small headstone in the neatly manicured grass.

RYAN THORPE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Alfred Kirkness, a survivor of the Brandon Indian Residential School, is buried in the Brandon Municipal Cemetery.

It is similar to what he wanted for the victims of the Brandon residential school.

It is what he spent years fighting for.

And while Kirknesss fight on behalf of those victims was not in vain, the results he saw during his lifetime were short-lived.

Today, the cemetery north of the school has fallen into disrepair. And in 2001, the City of Brandon sold Curran Park  the site of the earlier burial ground  to a private buyer for $130,000. The small memorial that once stood on that land is now gone.

The fenced-in area has disappeared. The large boulder sits near the entrance to the site, which is now called Turtle Crossing Campground, in the ditch along a gravel road. And the plaque is missing, its absence clearly visible on the stone.

On the ground in front of the boulder, next to three dandelions sprouting from the earth, is a small bouquet of wildflowers wrapped in pink ribbon.

The flowers are wilted.

For roughly a year, from late 2013 to late 2014, Scott Hamilton spent evenings and weekends hunched over his desk at home, his face aglow with the light from his computer monitor, as he searched for unmarked gravesites.

The anthropologist and professor at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay had been hired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to see if he could help identify suspected sites where victims of residential schools had been buried and forgotten.

For Hamilton, it was as if he was on a grisly cold case, and he spent countless hours using satellite imagery to locate and identify the sites of residential schools and then search out markers that could indicate former cemeteries and burial spots.

"My life stopped for about a year. This was an evenings and weekends job after my day job was done. Quite frankly, I dont even know how many hours I spent doing this work. I got lost in it," he said.

"We dont know, at any of these places, what the real number of deaths are. And that kind of haunts one, thinking about all of these families, who for decades and decades and decades, had to wonder, What happened to my child?"

In a report he wrote for the TRC, Hamilton said he believed that most, if not all, residential schools would have had a cemetery, given the suspected death patterns at the institutions throughout the years.

People of goodwill can make a huge difference. At the Elkhorn cemetery, there is a fence around it. The grass is cut. The crosses are maintained. Its a quiet place of veneration and respect.  Scott Hamilton

"While comparatively few (residential school) cemeteries are explicitly referred to within the surviving literature, the age and duration of most schools suggests that cemeteries were likely associated with most of them," he wrote.

"In search of those cemeteries, the area surrounding each school was systematically examined using the available maps and satellite imagery. In some cases, they were not evident, but possible cemeteries were detected in a surprisingly large number of others."

As a result of this work, Hamilton said he "wasnt remotely surprised" when news broke about the discovery at the former Kamloops residential school. He also wasnt surprised that after the TRC reports were published in 2015, not much happened.

David Jackson / Winnipeg Free Press Scott Hamilton, a professor at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, has spent years documenting and analyzing potential burial grounds at schools across Canada.

Since the TRC calls to action were issued, only 10 of 94 recommendations have been fully implemented.

"In Canada, we have this long tradition of calling a royal commission and then filing it away and forgetting about the findings of the royal commission," Hamilton said.

When asked about Manitoba residential schools  there were 14 institutions officially recognized by the TRC  Hamilton said what struck him most was the cemetery near the former school in Elkhorn, a small, rural community in western Manitoba, located just off the Trans-Canada Highway.

"People of goodwill can make a huge difference. At the Elkhorn cemetery, there is a fence around it. The grass is cut. The crosses are maintained. Its a quiet place of veneration and respect," Hamilton said.

"And then in other places, theyre forgotten, abandoned and overgrown, or disrespected entirely. In those latter places, we need to catch up and do the right thing, as has been done in Elkhorn."

The Elkhorn cemetery sits off a gravel road on the outskirts of the town, inside a barbed-wire fence with a No Trespassing sign. It is surrounded by trees and lush bushes, which blow in the breeze on windy days.

A large white cross stands at the front of the cemetery, with 24 smaller white crosses spread across the grounds.

RYAN THORPE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The cemetery for victims of the residential school in Elkhorn. It is located on the outskirts of the town and is a unique example of a residential school burial ground that has actually been properly maintained.

The American poet and undertaker Thomas Lynch once remarked that the "meaning of life is connected, inextricably, to the meaning of death."

"Mourning is a romance in reverse, and if you love, you grieve and there are no exceptions  only those who do it well and those who dont," Lynch wrote.

"And if death is regarded as an embarrassment or an inconvenience, if the dead are regarded as a nuisance from whom we seek a hurried riddance, then life and the living are in for like treatment."

In the aftermath of the Kamloops discovery, Winnipeggers  like people in cities across Canada  engaged in acts of public, collective mourning.

Shoes lined the steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building, and the pathway leading to St. Boniface Cathedral was flanked on both sides by sticks with orange ribbons. There were sacred fires lit, ceremonies held and graffiti scrawled across the city.

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman publicly said it was time to consider changing the name of Bishop Grandin Boulevard, and flags at government buildings fluttered at half-mast.

But the fact remains the situation in Kamloops is little different than the situation in Brandon, and there were no similar mass outpourings of grief when news of dead children buried near Manitobas second-largest city began making headlines in 2015.

Tom McMahon, who served as general legal counsel for the TRC and was executive secretary of the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry, said he believes the reaction this time around is due to a "gradual increase in our empathy" as a society.

The AJI  which, like the TRC, was chaired by Murray Sinclair  was held in the aftermath of the killing of J.J. Harper in 1988, an unarmed Indigenous man shot to death in the North End of Winnipeg by police officer Const. Robert Cross.

"This is the reaction that should have been there all along," McMahon said.

"I believe that former president (Barack) Obama was right when he said (quoting Martin Luther King Jr.), The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

There are more unmarked graves to be uncovered across the country  likely hundreds  including here in Manitoba. At least 30 children died at the Cross Lake residential school, which burned down not once, but twice.

The Birtle Indian Residential School was a large farming operation, and although there is no record of a cemetery, researchers have placed it into the "high risk" category for possible deaths. It is also believed there are unmarked graves in Sagkeeng First Nation.

The reality is there could be unmarked burial grounds at nearly every residential school that operated in Manitoba. There were 18 institutions in the province, although only 14 made the official TRC designation of residential schools.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas has called for funding to conduct forensic investigations across the province, while Perry Bellgarde of the Assembly of First Nations said such searches would turn up further evidence of the "genocide of our people."

TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN Crosses have fallen over and are overgrown under long grass at a cemetery for the former Brandon Indian Residential School.

Lorena Fontaine said that as an immediate first step, the cemeteries near the Brandon school need to be properly protected and memorialized. There have already been calls for the city to buy back the land where a campground currently stands atop the place where Indigenous children rest.

"I think a lot of non-Indigenous people still see this as historic. They treat it that way and they dont consider the fact that were still living the legacy of this. Were still living with the repercussions. This still affects people walking around today," Fontaine said.

"The communities need to know they have relatives in those burial grounds. We need to have those sites protected. It needs to be respected as a burial ground. And we need to do ceremonies for those children who likely didnt have proper burials."

The legacy of residential schools is still with us today.

In Manitoba, 90 per cent of the kids in the child-welfare system, 75 per cent of the men locked up at Stony Mountain Institution and more than two-thirds of the homeless population are Indigenous.

One in three Indigenous children in Winnipeg live in poverty.

As Dumas said in the aftermath of the Kamloops discovery, "It is not ancient history when we are still uncovering graves."

In 1920, while speaking in favour of the bill that would mandate the attendance of all Indigenous children between the ages of seven and 15 at residential schools, Duncan Campbell Scott said his goal was to "get rid of the Indian problem."

"Our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question," Scott said.

By Scotts own criteria, he failed.

Canada failed.

Indigenous people are still here, they are still with us, their cultures are still alive and despite their continued oppression, they thrive in myriad ways.

We have ignored their plight and collective trauma for far too long, while whitewashing our history and excusing the sins of our forefathers.

No longer shall we turn a blind eye to what has happened here.

That ends with the bodies of 215 children found buried in unmarked graves in Kamloops.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Residents of East Fort Garry are upset, after crews hired by Manitoba Hydro began cutting down trees near a bush-lined city active transportation trail.

Residents of East Fort Garry are upset, after crews hired by Manitoba Hydro began cutting down trees near a bush-lined city active transportation trail.

The action, which a Winnipeg city councillor says is reminiscent of the "clear cutting" which the utility did earlier this year in Omand Park, began this week between Crowson and Sandra bays, near Sandra Crowson Park. It is creating a three- to four-metre-wide swath on either side of a hydro line going through the area.

Some East Fort Garry residents were angered after Manitoba Hydro cut down trees between Crowson and Sandra bays, near Sandra Crowson Park. (Winnipeg Free Press)

"Its unacceptable they cant just do trimming along the hydro line," said Crowson Bay resident Dan Roy, who has lived with the trees and the power line behind his backyard for 28 years.

"Hydro came once to trim trees about 15 years ago, and they repaired a wire because of a squirrel  but all that took was a ladder. Theres a path that goes through there, and while I still have lots of bush on my side, when they take 12 feet of it on the other side, there will be only four or five feet of trees as opposed to 17 feet."

Roy said through the years he has taken photos of great horned owls in the area, and it is also home to raccoons, deer, foxes and numerous birds.

Another resident, Lynn Peters, said no resident received any notice prior to the work being done.

"The first we knew was when we heard chainsaws," Peters said Friday. "Theyve cut down so many trees already, and the contractor says they are going all the way to Pembina Highway."

Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) said she cant believe Manitoba Hydro would be busy cutting down trees again, when just two weeks ago it was compensating the city for chopping down trees in Omand Creek Park.

Wolseley area residents were upset when more than 200 trees were destroyed last March, when crews cleared the hydro corridor at the edge of the greenspace.

The city later determined 35 of those trees were on civic property. The Crown corporation compensated the city for 31, deeming the others were dead before they were chopped down.

"They havent learned," said Rollins.

"When I talked to (Hydro, it) said we talked to residents. And I said, Ive got them right beside me and no one talked to them.

"The residents deserve an explanation for what Hydro is doing."

Manitoba Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen said the utility appreciates concerns from the public, but the work is being done to address both safety and future work.

"It is always sad to see trees come down," said Owen. "(However) tree contact is one of our leading causes of outages.

"(And) the poles are scheduled to be replaced very soon, and it will require our staff to access the poles."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Under the crunch of heavy workloads, mandated overtime and pandemic stress, Manitoba nurses are taking a strike vote this weekend after months of negotiations failed to secure a contract.

Under the crunch of heavy workloads, mandated overtime and pandemic stress, Manitoba nurses are taking a strike vote this weekend after months of negotiations failed to secure a contract.

"We finally got to the bargaining table with employers in October of 2020. Weve had 25-plus session days of bargaining and progress has been extremely slow," said Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson.

"Were really not as hopeful as we were that were going to be able to negotiate a collective agreement."

Their collective agreement expired more than four years ago; negotiations began in earnest in the fall after a series of run-off votes to consolidate health-care bargaining units. Jackson said the union has been asking the province to voluntarily move to interest arbitration, adding they would agree not to trigger that option until Sept. 1, but they received "a hard no."

In any event, interest arbitration would be triggered after a 60-day strike.

"Nurses believe that is the only way were going to get a fair deal that addresses our issues with retention and recruitment with the nursing shortage," Jackson said. "Im hoping the strike vote will make this government rethink its position."

Should the strike vote pass  12,000 nurses begin casting ballots Sunday  and a strike be called, Jackson said essential COVID-19 care wouldn't be affected.

"The last thing nurses in this province want to do is disrupt patient care or cause any concern from patients, families or the public," said Jackson.

"We will never ever pull nurses out of an ICU unit where they have patients. We will never stop people from swabbing or giving vaccinations or doing contact tracing  thats not what were about."

A strike would involve rotating work-to-rule actions in certain units on a daily basis.

"We all go to work like we normally dowe do a rotating job action that doesnt disrupt patient care. Maybe not doing non-essential functions for one day at one site or one unit."

A nurse at Health Sciences Centre told the Free Press: "We wont be mobilizing patients, answering call lights, answering the phone, taking verbal orders from doctors. (It'll be) bare minimum paperwork."

While the province has not locked in wage freezes, and plans to offer competitive compensation, certain proposals, including nurse redeployment, are contentious, said Jackson.

Pandemic health care stress and the nursing shortage in Winnipeg and across the province have prompted nurses to be redeployed to unfamiliar units or regions. Jackson said the province wants to include these 'float pools' in the contract, despite nurses complaints.

While some amount of redeployment is normal, Jackson said months-long redeployment, potentially to different regions, is another matter.

"This is really worrisome for nurses because they dont want to be picked up and moved around on a whim," she said.

Jackson said the union wants to ensure the new contract will help retain and recruit nurses. The union is trying to avoid its members working long, mandated overtime with crippling patient loads and lack of time off, Jackson said.

"Its not all compensation. Its about being able to go to work, have a patient load that you can manage and provide safe, quality patient care for," she said.

"Were all about making sure that we have enough nurses to sustain our health-care system."

Acting health minister Kevin Goertzen said "nobody wants any kind of strike action, at any time, but especially during the pandemic" and said bargaining should continue. He noted arbitration can resolve financial concerns but "rarely deal with issues of operation."

"In nursing, this includes things like ensuring nurses are in the place they are needed most by patients to provide the incredible care we know nurses give," Goertzen said. "The need for this flexibility has been known a long time but has been made even clearer during the pandemic."

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers
Call in the deniers.

In the wake of the horrifying discovery of 215 unmarked graves at the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, Canadians are once again being forced to confront our country's capacity for evil.

For the next few months, Canadians will dutifully debate the meaning of these graves and the intent of the people who dug the holes. Some will hold up these dead and forgotten children as evidence of a genocide; others will do everything they can to deny that label.

What has been unearthed on the Tkemlups te Secwepemc First Nation near the school building, which still stands today, is not just a sorry chapter of Canadian history. It is the ugly, unmistakable hallmark of a genocide.

A child's dress hangs on a cross in the wind near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, to honour the 215 children whose remains have been discovered buried near the facility. (Darryl Dyck/ The Canadian Press)

Not all Canadians will see it that way. In fact, previous attempts to characterize the residential schools program as a genocide have been met with a range of reactions, from incredulity to outright hostility.

The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission labelled the residential school program as a "cultural genocide," an attempt to erase Indigenous culture through education. However, former senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired that commission, also documented the thousands of lives that were lost in those schools. He pleaded with governments to "get to the bottom of what really happened to the many children who disappeared into unmarked graves."

The TRC report prompted retired University of Manitoba professors Rodney Clifton and Hymie Rubenstein to write an article for the National Post that disputed Sinclair's attempt to characterize the residential school system as a genocide or refer to the former students as "survivors."

The two academics called Sinclair's report "libel" that "denigrated" the people who worked within the residential school system and who did not participate in the abuse. Clifton and Rubenstein were patently unaware that in questioning the awful truth Sinclair had unearthed, they were indulging in the last and most critical stage of a genocide.

Denial.

Genocide Watch, an international non-profit organization dedicated to research advocacy, lists 10 stages of a genocide, from classification and discrimination all the way down to persecution, extermination and, ultimately, denial. It is the logical last step: an attempt to cover up or reclassify an atrocity to diminish its importance or erase it from all memory.

Some Canadians may find that improbable. How could something so shocking be covered up or erased from history? We need need only look at the reckoning in the United States over the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre.

On May 31 and June 1, 1921, white rioters invaded "Black Wall Street"  a 35-block section of Tulsa teeming with black-owned businesses and homes  and burned it to the ground. An official death count has never been confirmed, but it is believed up to 800 African Americans were injured and as many as 300 died.

CP Crowds watch fires during the Tulsa Race Massacre on June 1, 1921. (The University of Tulsa via The Associated Press files)

What makes the Tulsa massacre so compelling is not just the cold-blooded violence, but how completely federal, state and local governments hid the massacre from successive generations of Americans.

The Tulsa massacre was largely excluded from history courses at primary, secondary and even post-secondary institutions. Whenever it did come up, the agents of denial moved quickly to reclassify it as the "Tulsa race war," a fight between Black and white Tulsans, rather than a pre-meditated attack.

By their own admission, most Americans learned what really happened only in the late 1990s, when Oklahoma struck the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Commission. Despite adopting the name used by deniers, the report that came out in 2001 did represent a relatively unvarnished description of the events.

Of particular note to Canadians, one of the defining facts revealed by the commission was that many of the Black victims "were (buried) in unmarked graves in a city-owned cemetery and others were hauled off to unknown places in full view of the National Guard."

The families of the victims and their descendants had always maintained their loved ones were buried quickly and anonymously to cover up the violent events of the massacre. It took only 80 years for the rest of the country to acknowledge what some had always known.

Why didn't the schools mark the graves? Why weren't families notified of the deaths? Why weren't the graves preserved after the schools closed? Why were no official records kept of the dates and causes of their deaths? (Darryl Dyck/ The Canadian Press)

Back in Canada, the federal government has agreed to fund a broader investigation of former residential school sites to identify additional unmarked graves. There can be little doubt that by the time that process is completed, we will be mourning considerably more than 215 lost children.

When that happens, and before you make up your mind about what label to attach to these atrocities, consider the following.

It has been argued the bodies of children were buried in unmarked graves because it was too costly to return them to their home communities. That disgraceful admission fails to answer several other important questions.

Why didn't the schools mark the graves? Why weren't families notified of the deaths? Why weren't the graves preserved after the schools closed? Why were no official records kept of the dates and causes of their deaths?

This was not an act born of practicality. This was a cold, calculated effort to hide the bodies and conceal the horrid living conditions, systemic racism and sexual violence that defined many of the schools.

When you kill someone, hide the body in an unmarked grave and don't tell anyone about it, it's murder.

When you do it to the children of an entire people, it's genocide.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
BUDGET documents describing the taxing and spending decisions of government are voluminous, detailed and grotesquely complicated, which is one reason why so few regular citizens take the time to study them.

Opinion

BUDGET documents describing the taxing and spending decisions of government are voluminous, detailed and grotesquely complicated, which is one reason why so few regular citizens take the time to study them.

This is unfortunate, because how governments raise and spend money is a clearer indication of their real priorities than all the positive, upbeat rhetoric used to "sell" their value-laden budgetary proposals. Budgets are inherently political documents, because they determine who within society pays the costs and enjoys the benefits of government policies and programs.

With respect to budgets, the government proposes and the legislature disposes. For centuries, it has been recognized that the most fundamental purpose of the legislature is to review and approve taxing and spending decisions made by the Crown, which in contemporary circumstances means the premier and the cabinet.

Over time, an insistence on narrowly defined financial accountability was gradually broadened to cover wider aspects of government performance, such as the effectiveness and equity of policies and programs.

On an annual basis, the government presents the legislature with a budget, proposing tax and spending changes. The premier and other ministers are then expected to explain and defend their budgetary choices.

The focus here is on the spending side of the budget. When the government presents the budget, it also tables forecasts of planned spending in documents called "the estimates." The process by which the legislature reviews and votes on the estimates is called the supply process. For a number of reasons, most informed observers regard the supply process as the weakest part of contemporary parliamentary democracy.

Now the Pallister government is weakening that process even further, by withholding crucial financial information that should, by tradition, be made available before the legislature votes on the budget. On April 26, the Opposition NDP raised a point of privilege with the Speaker of the legislature that the government had unilaterally modified the estimates by removing crucial information related to spending on the pandemic and the recession.

For example, the estimates document for the Health and Seniors Care department shrank from 145 pages in 2020 to only 32 pages this year.

The NDPs point of privilege was serious and substantive. Failure to provide such information compromises the authority of the legislature and the capacity of individual MLAs to represent their constituencies. It is usually assumed that the opposition alone scrutinizes spending, but in fact it is the job of all MLAs, including government MLAs, to enforce the principle of financial accountability.

The government claims the streamlined estimates format represents "best practice" in other Canadian jurisdictions. The opposition is rightly suspicious, however, that this is an opportunistic attempt by the government to evade criticism by withholding information about emergency spending, both increases and decreases, that affect the lives and livelihoods of Manitobans.

On May 10, the Speaker offered a small rebuke to the government by ruling that it had the authority to alter the estimates format, but "as a courtesy" should have consulted the opposition in advance. She stated she has no authority to remedy the dispute.

If the government sincerely wants to improve the supply process, it should commit to an all-party review of the rules and procedures involved. Currently, the committee of supply meets in three separate sections to scrutinize and approve the estimates of the various government departments.

Based on the principle that only ministers can initiate spending, committees of supply can only recommend defeat or reductions to the estimates. Governments use their majorities on the committees to prevent this from happening. After the committee stage, the procedure for final approval of the estimates is technical and complicated. Suffice to say, it involves two stages of debate with individual speeches limited to five minutes. Once time elapses, votes are held and the government gets the money it needs to operate.

There is a highly ritualistic quality to the annual supply processes. It is simply not realistic to expect 57 MLAs to review a $19-billion budget in detail. There are not enough MLAs committed to the difficult task. There is not enough time. MLAs lack the staff to help with understanding budgetary complexities. Governments of all partisan persuasions do not encourage in-depth reviews of their spending plans.

Recognizing these realities, I recommend that the legislature create a standing committee on public finances that would examine the estimates of select few departments on a rotational basis over several years. Membership on the committee would be comprised of 10 to 15 MLAs representing all parties, chosen based on their willingness to learn about public finances.

Instead of detailed reviews, the committee should focus on major shifts in spending, evidence on the effectiveness of programs and administrative problems that might be identified. A small staff of two or three professionals could provide research support. There could still be a number of hours of supply debate in the full legislature, in which the parties could publicize their philosophical disagreements over budget priorities.

These changes would allow for more meaningful financial accountability than currently exists.

Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.
History, it has often been said, is written by the victors.

History, it has often been said, is written by the victors.

Or, in Canadas case, history has typically been written by the European colonizers who claimed an inhabited land as their own and attempted to displace and destroy the Indigenous people living therein. In many ways, the architects and supporters of those centuries-old genocidal policies are still being celebrated today  in the names of the streets we travel on, the communities we live in and the schools our children attend.

The debate about place names and their historical baggage has been reignited across the country in the wake of the discovery of a gravesite containing the remains of 215 Indigneous children at the location of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.

In Calgary, the response was swift. An elementary and junior high named after Hector-Louis Langevin, one of the Fathers of Confederation, was renamed Riverside School just days after news of the gravesite broke  a move students and advocates had been seeking for nearly five years. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, not a supporter, likened the decision to "cancel culture."

Many are calling for a name change for Bishop Grandin Boulevard. (David Lipnowski / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Frontier School Division in northern Manitoba quickly followed suit, removing residential school supporter Oscar Blackburns moniker from one of its schools on Tuesday. In Winnipeg, demand has been growing this week to rename Bishop Grandin Boulevard and its adjacent greenway.

The local outrage isnt new. Advocates have been calling on the city since 2018, in the spirit of reconciliation, to rebrand the thoroughfare named after Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin, a Roman Catholic bishop and priest who encouraged the federal government to expand its residential school system in 1880. The express goal was to assimilate Indigneous, Metis and Inuit children into western culture by forcibly removing them from their homes. The system, which was rife with abuse, is now rightly recognized as an instrument of cultural genocide.

The truth of what happened is now public knowledge, which prompts the question: why are the proponents of the Indian Residential School System still being publicly held in high regard? By propping up problematic figures, do we continue to lionize their harmful actions?

In an interview with the Free Press, Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said renaming Bishop Grandin "would be not only respectful, but it would actually provide some healing to all those people who have lost children and family members at residential school."

At the same time, there are others, such as Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand, who argue that removing the name from maps and street-toppers will allow the man and his harmful legacy to fade from public consciousness, "I dont think Bishop Grandin should be allowed to disappear," he said.

Whether Bishop Grandins name stays or goes, the decision needs to be made in consultation with Indigenous stakeholders.

Earlier this year, the city launched a program to allow groups or individuals to submit requests to remove, replace or add written context to the names of city properties. A committee is currently deciding whether to rename Bishop Grandin Greenway or add a plaque with historical information to the site. A report is expected in the next few months.

The discussion about place names  who they honour and who they hurt  isnt new, but it has gained a renewed sense of urgency in recent days.

Mayor Brian Bowman said on Twitter that he will be discussing the renaming of Bishop Grandin Boulevard with his colleagues. Lets hope the conversation moves beyond talk. Reconciliation is only possible through actions.
This year we are happy to join in the celebration of the 123rd Philippine Independence Day with Filipino community members here in the Maples. I am hopeful that we will be able to celebrate this day of independence with the Filipino community once again in 2022.

This year we are happy to join in the celebration of the 123rd Philippine Independence Day with Filipino community members here in the Maples. I am hopeful that we will be able to celebrate this day of independence with the Filipino community once again in 2022.

June 12 is recognized as Philippine Independence Day because it marks the nations independence from Spanish colonization on June 12, 1898. Further to this, the Philippines gained national sovereignty from the United States on July 4, 1946, through the Treaty of Manila. I hope families are still able to celebrate virtually with their loved ones.

The Filipino community has called Manitoba home for decades and has established deep roots in communities such as the Maples, as well as in rural Manitoba and elsewhere in Winnipeg.

Filipinos first came to Winnipeg in the 1950s and 60s with folks working in the medical field as health-care professionals, teachers, and domestic workers. In decades following, many members of the Filipino community also worked in the technical and engineering fields, and in the garment industry.

Filipino Canadians have become a very important part of the social, economic, political and cultural fabric in the Maples. In Manitoba, Tagalog has become one of the most commonly spoken languages, and the vibrancy of Filipino heritage is evident through the strength of this community here in the Maples and across our province.

Throughout the pandemic, folks in the Filipino community have been on the front lines of health care and in other essential jobs, and this has led to Filipino Manitobans being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. We thank you for your work during this challenging time, and welcome your calls for any advocacy or supports you may need through my office.

I am looking forward to a time when all of us will be able to celebrate Philippines Independence Day and Filipino Heritage Month together again.

For now, I hope all in the community celebrate safely in any way they can with their loved ones.

Please do not hesitate to contact our constituency office by calling 204-417-3486 or by emailing mintu.sandhu@yourmanitoba.ca
In all her broadband work, Vigil-Hayes said she strives to bring in community input as much as possible because residents are the experts in where digital divides exist and can provide the best indication of specific connectivity needs.

When you start working with anything with the internet, you get into a space that is shaped by policy, she said. You have to be able to navigate not only the technical aspects of things, but also where the technical intersects with the political and intersects with the social, too, because there are all these social forces that influence how this infrastructure is being used and what it means for broadband to be good enough.

Mapping access

In her first major broadband project three years ago, Vigil-Hayes joined scientists from the University of California Santa Barbara, Arizona State University and Georgia Institute of Technology as a co-principal investigator on PuebloConnect, an effort to extend internet connectivity to three tribal communities north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. To transmit data to these pueblos, the team had to apply for an experimental license to use part of the radio broadcast spectrum allocated for another organization, even though it was unused.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  A man was killed Thursday when authorities who were part of a task force that included U.S. Marshals fired their weapons after he allegedly displayed a handgun in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood, the U.S. Marshals said.

The shooting happened shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday. The U.S. Marshals said preliminary information indicates task force members were attempting to arrest a man wanted on a state warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The man, who was in a parked car, didn't comply with law enforcement and produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject, the U.S. Marshals said in a statement. Task force members attempted life-saving measures, but he died at the scene, they said.

It was not clear how many law enforcement officers fired their weapons. A spokeswoman with the U.S. Marshals said the U.S. Marshals leads the task force, which is comprised of several agencies. Other agencies with personnel on the scene at the time of the shooting include sheriff's offices from Hennepin, Anoka and Ramsey counties, the Minnesota Department of Corrections and the Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. Marshals said a female who was in the vehicle was treated for minor injuries due to glass debris.
Until Jan. 1, counties had control of their own waiting lists, which is when full implementation of the initiative happened and counties were required to serve children within 30 days of being deemed eligible for enrollment by the state. Part of the reason was to help counties which have long waitlists, Brattset said, some as long as three to four years for children to wait. Sauk County generally had either no wait times for families looking to enroll or on occasion would have some children waiting for up to no longer than six months in recent years, Brattset said.

By centralizing the list, itll have a sort of first come in, first go out and then you get a call, and then you do not have a choice as to serving that child, Brattset said. Its essentially an entitlement and theyll be immediately served, is how the state looks at it. In order to do that, with the projection on the numbers, were going to need another social worker.

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Between February 2020 and February 2021, the number of enrolled children rose from 105 to 143. Brattset said the current social workers serve 32 children at a time. With the continued growth, it could increase to 43 children per social worker by the end of 2021, which is more than 10 children more than the ideal caseload for those social workers. The department could have 195 children enrolled by April 2022.
Sean Mulligan, a national finals qualifier, competes in steer wrestling in the Woodward Elks Rodeo last. Mulligan is one of 119 steer wrestlers scheduled to be in the 91st Elks Rodeo next week. (Photo by Johnny McMahan)
Drake Bell is accused of engaging in an inappropriate chat with a 15 year old that at times was sexual in nature, and of engaging with that same victim at a concert in Cleveland in December of 2017.
Pentagon will not allow Pride flag to be flown at military bases
CHARLOTTE, TN (WSMV) - On the second day of testimony in the murder trial of Joseph Daniels, first responders were brought to the stand who searched the residence the day the boy was reported missing.

Joseph Daniels is charged for killing his 5-year-old son, Joe Clyde Daniels, back in 2018. Joe Clyde Daniels was reported missing in April 2018. Days later, Joseph confessed to murdering his son. The boy's body has never been recovered, authorities said.

Brent Morse, with Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, said when they got to the Daniels home multiple family members were inside. The state showed photos of the outside and inside of the house to set the scene for jurors.

He also recalled this conversation with Noah, Joe Clydes 3-year-old brother:

Noah had come into the room, that was the first time I recalled seeing Noah. He had come up to my right and he stated, or asked more, Joe dead? Joe dead? Joe dead?

He says Aunt Joyce replied, Yes baby, Joe dead.

The photos showed back door had a latch on the inside, plus a Master Lock and key on the fireplace mantle. Chad Bailey, with Maury County Emergency Management, said those are what Joseph told first responders Joe Clyde used to escape.

TODAY we are in Dickson County for day 2 of the Joseph Daniels trial in the case of Joe Clyde Daniels. FOLLOW this thread for live updates. We will have live coverage on https://t.co/v99k7rMDPc, Facebook, and will have updates on-air at 4P, 5P and 6P on News4.  Marissa Sulek (@marissa_sulek) June 4, 2021

He said he believed that he pushed that table over, climbed up on top of the table, found a key and unlocked it," Bailey said. "And then at some point must have pushed the table back to where it was and exit the residence, all while they were asleep.

On Thursday, Joe Clydes teacher took the stand and said Joe Clyde had difficulty with locks and keys. Thats one motor skill she worked on with him.

Friday afternoon, Detective Sarah McCartney with the Dickson County Sheriffs Office, took the stand. She says she took pictures of the Daniels home on April 4, 2018. She took photos of Joe Clydes cowboy boots on the back steps, and the coffee table inside. The coffee table was covered in a plaid shirt and jeans.

Pictures of a Master lock and keys were also shown to the jury. Thats what McCartney says Joseph Daniels told her Joe Clyde used to escape the home that evening. But in a car ride recording with detectives on April 4, 2018, Joseph admits Joe Clyde had trouble with locks and keys.

Prosecution shows videos of Joe Clyde Daniels first day of trial The trial of Joseph Daniels began on Thursday afternoon with opening statements from the prosecution and defense at the Dickson County courthouse.

I asked him if he thought it was possible that Joe Clyde could unlock the lock, says McCartney. And he said, thats a good question because theres some things hes been doing recently. Hes been progressing and doing things better, so its a really good question if he did or not. I know recently hes been getting better at doing things. Hes been progressing, but he hasnt really. I havent seen him unlock the door.

The state called Timothy Simmons, a canine handler for the Dickson County Sheriffs Office, to the stand. Jeffrey Bledsoe, former Dickson County Sheriff, testified on Friday, as well as Agent Patrick Looney, with TBI Aviation.

Daniels is charged with five counts: first degree murder, first degree murder in perpetration of a felony, aggravated child abuse, initiating a false report, and tampering with evidence.

All 16 jurors, including alternates, have never heard of this case and are brought from Chattanooga. The judge made a statement on Friday this jury is smart. The jurors asked 4 questions on Friday. When they ask a question, they must exit the room while the judge discusses with the counsel. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
While a coronavirus outbreak in Victoria, Australias second-most populous state, continues to register new infections each day, governments and the corporate elite are intensifying the demand for an end to all lockdown measures, including if there are further surges of the disease.

The dangerous character of this profit-driven campaign was underscored yesterday, with the discovery of the first cases of the highly-infectious Delta variant of COVID-19. The Victorian outbreak, which began when two cases were detected on May 24, has resulted in 69 infections in less than two weeks, including five announced this morning. All but seven of them have been of the Kappa variant, another strain that originated in India.

When Victorian authorities announced on Wednesday that a seven-day lockdown of Melbourne would be extended for another week, but ended in the rest of the state, they warned that the Kappa variant had resulted in a more rapid spread than any previous Australian coronavirus outbreak. They drew attention to cases where transmission had occurred through fleeting contact in public places.

The Delta variant, however, is even more infectious. It is the strain that has laid waste to India, where, at its height, a massive outbreak resulted in over 400,000 confirmed infections per day and thousands of deaths. Delta has also been detected in South-East Asia, where a surge is hitting a host of countries, including those that had previously suppressed transmission, and is responsible for a growth of infections in Britain.

The Delta cases in Australia were identified when two members of a family tested positive after returning to Victoria from a holiday in the neighbouring state of New South Wales. Five other cases have since emerged, with a total of at least 300 primary close contacts. Genomic sequencing has determined that the infections are not related to a South Australian hotel quarantine breach that sparked the Victorian outbreak, or to a couple that tested positive in Sydney last month.

This means that the source of transmission is completely unknown. Delta, which scientists say is twice as contagious as the original iteration of COVID, may have been circulating more broadly without detection. The cases also raise the likelihood of yet another leak from the inadequate quarantine system, in which international arrivals self-isolate in private hotels that are incapable of preventing airborne transmission.

Despite the clear risks, the ruling elite is stepping-up a drive for the scrapping of all safety measures. Yesterday, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce demanded an immediate end to the Melbourne lockdown, branding it as disproportionate and declaring that it was driving a wedge through Victoria. The spurious basis for the call was a statement by Victorian authorities that two previously announced infections had been false positives.

A meeting yesterday of the national cabinet. composed of the state and territory leaders, most of them from Labor, and the federal Liberal-National Coalition government, marked a significant step towards the outlawing of lockdowns, even when outbreaks occur.

The cabinet registered its approval of a grossly inadequate federal support package for those who have been thrown out of work by the lockdown in Victoria. Under the plan, workers who have been left without pay will be eligible for $500 per week, if they previously averaged more than 20 hours on the job or $335 if they worked fewer.

The payment only applies for the second week of the lockdown. Workers who have $10,000 or more in savings are not eligible and nor are those who receive welfare payments, including the sub-poverty level unemployment allowance. The funding is substantially lower than the federal governments JobKeeper wage subsidy, introduced at the start of the pandemic and abolished at the end of March.

While leaving thousands on the brink of destitution, the plan was explicitly linked to the state governments accepting the federal definition of a coronavirus hotspot. Under these guidelines, an outbreak is only declared after three days in which an area, which could be a suburb, a city or a state, records an average of more than ten infections per day over at least three days.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison also declared that the federal payments would only begin after the first week of a lockdown.

Taken together, the measures are effectively a decree against lockdowns. Based on the federal definition, the current situation in Melbourne would likely not have qualified as an outbreak, given that the average over the past twelve days has been just above five cases per day. None of the previous clusters this year would have met the federal requirements.

Over the past six months, the state and territory governments have lifted virtually all safety restrictions, including previous limitations on mass gatherings and crowded indoor venues, in line with the demands of big business.

They have, however, on several occasions instituted limited snap lockdowns of several days duration when community infections have been detected. This has been prompted by fears that Australias crisis-ridden public health system is incapable of dealing with any mass outbreak, as well as the widespread opposition among ordinary people to the premature overturning of safety measures.

Morrisons decree is aimed at ending these inadequate lockdowns. The state and territory leaders previously refused to recognise the federal definition of an outbreak but reversed their position at yesterdays national cabinet. The decision means that henceforth, lockdowns will only be considered when COVID-19 is already circulating widely.

The prime minister stepped-up his efforts to force all workers back into their places of employment, regardless of the dangers. This is particularly directed at office workers, one of the only cohorts that continues to work remotely in substantial numbers. Its time to get back to the office, Morrison declared. One of the major clusters in Victoria is among office workers at a financial firm.

Yesterdays meeting has been hailed by business groups and the financial press. Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said that its directives would help businesses to overcome strong pockets of resistance from some workers to the back-to-work campaign.

An article in the Murdoch-owned Australian newspaper was headlined Morrisons line in the sand: funds with a catch. Its author, Paul Kelly, declared that acceptance of the federal outbreak definition was an advance against populist lockdowns and de facto elimination agendas, aimed at eradicating coronavirus transmission. Australias focus now must shift to living with Covid in recoverynot more emergency measures from the 2020 syndrome, he wrote.

The national cabinet meeting also agreed to several measures, aimed at dampening down anger over the criminally negligent quarantine and vaccine programs.

The federal government and the Victorian Labor administration signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of a purpose-built quarantine centre. Epidemiologists have demanded the establishment of such facilities for over a year, given the manifest failure of the hotel quarantine program, which has resulted in most Australian outbreaks.

There is no date for the opening of the centre, however, and the federal government previously stated that it would not be operational before Christmas. The Victorian deal also scuttled a proposal for a quarantine facility in the north-eastern state of Queensland.

The national cabinet stated that it was leaning heavily towards making vaccines mandatory for aged-care workers. This is a cynical attempt to deflect responsibility for the fact that as few as 10 percent of staff in the sector is inoculated. The real cause of the woefully low levels is that until last week, when two cases were detected among staff in Melbourne, the federal and state authorities had no plan whatsoever to vaccinate the aged-care workers.

Far from being a bureaucratic bungle, as it has been presented in the press, this was a policy decision, with an almost homicidal intent. The overwhelming majority of Australias COVID deaths have been among aged-care residents, so the urgency of vaccinating the workforce is well known. Half of Victorias paramedics have also not been vaccinated.

The same class policy has been demonstrated by statements from Melbournes public housing residents over the past days, revealing that they have received virtually no information on vaccination, despite being in a vulnerable cohort that was subjected to a discriminatory, police-enforced lockdown last July. Some of the primary close contacts of the Delta infections live in the inner-city public housing towers that were targeted.

Australia is often falsely depicted as an exception to the catastrophic policies that have resulted in mass infections and deaths internationally. The same profits-before-lives calculations, however, are present in the state and federal governments and the corporate elite they represent. Having failed to develop a functional quarantine system or an effective mass quarantine program, the ruling elite is moving to abolish all safety measures, under the banner that ordinary people must learn to live with the deadly virus.
Injured dolphin rescued in south China

Xinhua) 16:01, June 05, 2021

HAIKOU, June 4 (Xinhua) -- An injured dolphin found in a bay in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, was rescued on Friday and sent to a professional wildlife center.

The dolphin seemed to be trapped in the Longzhu Bay and would not leave. After spotting the animal at around 7 a.m., rescuers initially tried to guide it back to the sea and used a net to stop it from heading ashore.

However, rescuers had to change their plan after it suddenly swam back and hit the net. It was loaded into an aquatic-wildlife transport vehicle and sent to a professional wildlife rescue center.

The dolphin was found to have an abdominal injury, with the wound showing signs of festering. The rescue center will provide 24-hour monitoring and further treatment as required.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Bianji)
Responding to brutal cuts in jobs and wages and grossly unsafe conditions at workplaces, a wave of strikes by bus drivers and fare collectors has engulfed bus transportation systems across Brazil over the past year.

A report published last week by the National Association of Urban Transport Companies (NTU) made this clear. Between March 2020 and April 2021, workers carried out 238 strike movements, protests and demonstrations that disrupted the circulation of 88 different bus transportation systems in the country. And given that these struggles have continued at a feverish pace over the past months, this number must already be considerably higher.

Bus workers on strike march in Vitoria, Espirito Santo. May, 2020. (credit: CNTTL)

The intense strike movement of bus workers in Brazil is part of an international resurgence of class struggle that has been accelerated by the catastrophic response of capitalist governments to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic had a tremendous impact on transportation systems. In Brazil, although considered a public service, bus transportation is run by private, profit-driven companies that have incurred substantial losses that they have tried, as much as possible, to shift onto the backs of the hundreds of thousands of workers they employ.

The NTU report states that since the pandemic began, some 77,000 jobs have been cut in the industry. Those workers who have managed to keep their jobs have suffered heavy cuts in their salaries, officially implemented through a wage and hours reduction bill approved last year by Jair Bolsonaro's government, and by delays in payments that have become widespread among the companies.

The attacks on bus workers during the pandemic represented only the most recent escalation of a process that has been going on for the last few years. Bus companies have declared for years that their operations are not profitable enough, and in response they have raised fares, laid off workers and sought to eliminate the jobs of fare collectors, intensifying the workload of the drivers.

The immense anger that has built up among the workers against increasingly intolerable conditions imposed by capitalism was exposed by the explosion of strikes in the last 14 months. Besides paralyzing the transportation systems, bus workers expanded their struggles with protests that took over the streets of capital cities all over Brazil.

In Teresina, capital of Piaui, drivers and fare collectors started a strike in May 2020 against the dismissal of 400 co-workers and cuts in their wages and benefits. They marched almost daily in the streets and in front of the City Palace, raising hand-made signs that read: I dont have enough to eat today, imagine tomorrow and Bus drivers lives matter.

Although the strike was ended by the union after 50 days, the problems faced by the workers have not been solved. Last Monday, bus drivers from three bus companies in Teresina held their seventh strike since the beginning of 2021, demanding their unpaid wages.

In Vitoria, capital of Espirito Santo, a series of militant strikes broke out in different bus companies in the city throughout 2020. The bus workers held several demonstrations and used buses to block traffic on the citys main avenues. Although their demands were essentially the same, the unification of the workers struggle was undermined by the unions negotiating the termination of the strikes with each company.

In one of the longest and most militant strikes in Vitoria, at the Tabuazeiro bus company, the workers continued their movement in defiance of decrees by both the courts and the union. We are now at the companys door convincing workers to accept the injunction [preventing the strike], but they are not complying with the unions request, declared the president of the bus drivers union.

The strikes have increasingly taken on a political character. On election day of the second round of Brazils municipal elections, some 2,500 bus drivers went on strike in Rio de Janeiro, Brazils second largest metropolis, demanding their unpaid wages. The workers protest was interconnected with the widespread repudiation of the capitalist political system at the ballots across Brazil, which reached record levels in the last elections. In Rio de Janeiro, nearly 50 percent of electors refused to choose between the two hated candidates.

This process of political radicalization of the working class expressed itself with special clarity in an episode that occurred in Maceio, capital of Alagoas. In September of last year, a group of bus workers fired from the Veleiro company blocked one of the citys main avenues, demanding the payment of their outstanding salaries seven months after they were dismissed.

A worker interviewed during the demonstration by a local TV station stated: This is going to happen to all the workers, to the workers as a class. This is absurd, we are fathers of families. This is happening to the system as whole, its the system that is allowing all this. Its not Veleiro; if it were only the company, it would already have been solved. The system is unable to solve it.

The protest was met with brutal repression by the government of Renan Filho of the MDB party. The military police Special Operations Battalion was mobilized to conduct a war scenario on the streets of Maceio, attacking the workers with rubber bullets and gas grenades while chanting battle songs.

An official statement from the Veleiro company, in repudiation of the workers protest, demonstrated the terror with which the ruling class perceives the revolutionary implications of these growing struggles. The company stated, If all problems have to be solved in this way, society will live in anarchy.

Besides the economic demands, the struggles of bus drivers and fare collectors were driven by the highly unsafe conditions in transportation that led to explosive rates of infections among its workers.

Bus drivers accounted for the highest number of workers whose labor contracts were terminated by death over last year. In Sao Paulo, the largest city in the country, the COVID-19 death rate among bus drivers and conductors is three times higher than the rest of the population. Up until April, according to the union, 131 bus drivers had died from the disease just within the city.

The outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 in Brazil since the beginning of this year has fueled mass anger among workers against deadly conditions in their workplaces. In the first five months of this year, infections and deaths skyrocketed, jumping from 195,000 deaths on January 1 to more than 470,000 today.

On April 16, bus drivers in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, shut down bus garages and blocked avenues with their cars after the news of the death of two co-workers from COVID-19. In the same period, bus drivers in Vitoria went on a one-day strike to protest the unsafe resumption of public transportation, which had been shut down for two weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Other similar protests have taken place in different regions of the country.

At the same time that bus workers were striking, other sections of the Brazilian working class were giving combative responses to the danger of infections in their workplaces. Strikes and protests against deadly conditions have also erupted in the rail and subway transportation systems, among teachers against the unsafe reopening of schools and by oil workers over outbreaks of infections in their plants and offshore platforms.

This clearly demonstrates that the wave of strikes among bus workers in the last period represented a powerful movement of the working class in defense of broad social interests. How is it possible then that these struggles have remained deeply isolated from each other until today?

Just as in every country, the radicalization of Brazilian workers is exposing the absolute contradiction between their interests and those of the corporatist trade unions that claim to officially represent them.

The National Confederation of Land Transport Workers, which includes more than 300 unions, made this abundantly clear in an open letter it sent to the government at the end of February. The union demanded that the state fund the bus companies  the same demand made by the association of the companies  with the stated aim of mitigating the growing general strike movement among its ranks.

In the months following the publication of that letter, which were marked by a growing rank-and-file revolt against the increasingly catastrophic situation of the pandemic, the unions employed a series of criminal maneuvers with the aim of sabotaging the workers movement towards a general strike.

Seeking to deflect the growing call among workers for the implementation of scientific measures to combat the deadly virus, the trade union federations called for a March 24 action dubbed as the working class lockdown. The event was a complete fraud. Not even the innocuous one-day strike announced by the unions was organized in the workplaces. The bureaucrats limited themselves to holding token demonstrations demanding the speeding up of vaccinations.

With the same strategy, the public transportation unions in the state of Sao Paulo called for a general strike on April 20, also dubbed as the transportation lockdown. The call coincided with the highest peak of COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, which exceeded the average of 3,000 deaths per day. In the state of Sao Paulo alone, 1,389 deaths were registered in a single day in April.

A transportation strike under these conditions would have a colossal impact on the circulation of people and the transmission rate of the virus, and would point towards an independent working-class response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The movement was, however, called off on the day before by the unions after they had a theatrical negotiation with the state government, which agreed to include transportation workers as a priority in the vaccination schedule.

This grotesque betrayal has been widely used as model by local unions across the country, which continue to hold a series of theatrical one-day strikes to alleviate the pressure from rank-and-file workers, which invariably end in their inclusion in the local vaccination schedule.

The wide popular anger against the criminal handling of the pandemic and the social crisis by the fascistic Bolsonaro administration has emerged in massive demonstrations across the country last Saturday.

By isolating and betraying these movements, the corporatist trade unions are playing a key role in implementing the homicidal herd immunity policy of Bolsonaro and the ruling class. The corrupt leaderships behind these unions, connected to the Workers Party and their allies in the pseudo-left, are trying to deflect the growing movement against Bolsonaro into a dirty deal within the bourgeois state.

The fight against the catastrophic development of pandemic and the growing social crisis in Brazil can only go forward if the working class is mobilized as an independent social force.

This makes imperative a definitive break with the unions and parties that represent capitalism and the establishment of rank-and-file committees that directly represent the interests of the working and advance socialist politics.
On May 10, two high-rise maintenance workers were trapped in a suspended scaffold during a heavy thunderstorm with strong winds and killed. Both workers were cleaning the outside of the glass outer wall at the 17th floor of a skyscraper in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province in central China.

A witness posted a video of this horrific incident online, in which one could see how the suspended scaffold was repeatedly blown meters away and then crashed into the wall of the building. The suffering and eventual death of the two workers, which was viewed more than 10 million times, not only sparked widespread anger over the companys disregard for the lives of workers, but also revealed a tip of an iceberg of the exploitative and dangerous working conditions of high-rise constructions workers.

Screenshot from video captured by witness

The two workers, Han, 54, and Yang, 34, worked for the Hubei Skyscraper Decorative Arts Engineering Company but without a proper labor contract or any insurance. The construction of the skyscraper was under the supervision of the Wuhan Railway Group Cooperation, which then contracted the construction out to Shanghai Baozhi Ltd. Baozhi subcontracted the outer wall decorative work to the company from Hubei, which employed Han and Yang. Layer on layer of subcontracting is very common in the construction industry in China, giving rise to a blurring of responsibility for workers wages and safety.

The decorative company directed the two workers to do the cleaning work at 1:30 p.m. on the day of the tragedy. An hour later, at 2:30 p.m., the two workers attempted to seek help by making phone calls, saying that electricity was cut off and the metal swing stage [had] stopped working. Around the same time, a strong wind started buffeting the scaffold, as filmed by the witness, trapping the workers. Twenty minutes later, the suspended scaffold was finally anchored, but both workers were already fatally wounded.

According to the official notice published by Wuhan Emergency Management Bureau, the project manager has already been detained for further investigation. The two workers were sent to the hospital and pronounced dead after attempts made to save their lives. However, this notice is vague on when the workers were sent to the hospital and is at odds with the account given by the relatives of the two workers.

Posts made by relatives on social media stated that they were not notified for about three hours. When they arrived at the scene, the bodies of the two workers had simply been left on the 17th floor of the building covered with plastic canvas. No one from either the Wuhan Railway Group Cooperation or the Shanghai Baozhi was present to speak to them.

At around 11 p.m. that night, dozens of unidentified people wearing identical clothes arrived where the bodies were, robbed the relatives of their cell phones, beat them up, and took the bodies away without any explanation.

The tragic deaths of two workers are completely avoidable and the negligence of the company utterly criminal. Per regulation of Classification of High-Rise Work, high-rise work is strictly prohibited when winds exceed level 5. On the day, the wind in Wuhan reached level 10 in the midst of a thunderstorm.

In an interview, a staff member of the company employing Han and Yang reported that all departments in the company had been notified of upcoming strong winds and were ordered to halt ongoing work around 11 a.m. However, the two workers were still sent up to work in the afternoon and given meaningless advice to take serious precautions.

These terrible deaths have exposed the dangerous conditions faced by high-rise maintenance workers on a daily basis, not just in China but around the world. Most workers spend 810 hours suspended in the air each day and are exposed to a number of risks, including the burning temperatures of glass walls in summer, as well as heat stroke and sun burns, and freezing temperatures during the winter.

Construction workers at work, Tianjin, China [Credit: Yang Aijun/World Bank via Flickr]

The greatest danger of all is, of course, of fallsmany have witnessed the severe injury and death of co-workers. According to a survey by the Ministry of Emergency Management in 2018, there were 1,732 incidents and 1,752 deaths across the construction industry during the first half of the year, of which 48.2 percent were high-rise, work-related cases.

Responding to popular anger on social media over the Wuhan deaths, the state-run Xinhua news agency published an article two days later, entitled One needs to keep vigilant about production safety at every single moment.

This article, full of platitudes about the importance of workplace safety, concluded: One must keep in mind safety in production, must not leave anything to chance, and should not just remember that human lives are more important than anything once the price in blood has been paid.

Such empty phrases are simply ignored by companies intent on making profits at the expense of the safety and lives of workers as was demonstrated just two weeks later.

On May 26, despite warnings of thunderstorms and strong winds, three high-rise workers were trapped in a scaffold suspended outside a skyscraper in Tianjin, a city in northeastern China. The scaffold was dashed against the building many times by the wind before the three workers were eventually safely rescued.

The Stalinist Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has presided over the restoration of capitalism in China, has long been complicit and responsible for the exploitative conditions facing workers. A huge percentage of the working class in China consists of migrant workers coming to big cities for better employment opportunities. On a daily basis, they suffer attacks on wages, wage arrears, prolonged working hours, working without a proper contract (like Han and Yang in this case), and are denied most social services in the cities.

All of this takes place as a result of the CCP regime which protects the profiteering of corporations, has integrated the super-rich into the party apparatus, and uses police-state repression against the struggles of workers.
The highly contagious variant of COVID-19 which originated in India, now named the Delta variant by the World Health Organisation, is officially the dominant strain in Britain and is spreading rapidly.

On Thursday, Public Health England announced that the number of laboratory-confirmed Delta coronavirus cases had risen by 79 percent over the last week to 12,431 and overtaken the number of cases of the Kent, or Alpha, variant.

Passengers on the London Underground this week (credit: WSWS media)

The government has gone into overdrive to portray the virus as under control, claiming that its vaccine rollout means everything must still be allowed to return to normal. But not only is the Delta variant on the rampage, on Thursday the government admitted that a Nepalese strain of the Delta variant which has acquired a new mutation is present in the UK.

Delta was first detected in Britain on April 1, but the government did not make its existence public until April 15, of a piece with its overriding aim of doing nothing to prevent a further opening of the economy.

This reckless reopening, ongoing for months and set to be completed in less than three weeks on June 21, has allowed a comparatively successful vaccination rollout to be derailed by the spread of a highly contagious variant. On May 17, most of the economy was reopened, including cafes, restaurants, gyms, cinemas and most non-essential sectors.

Cases of Delta infections and deaths have been steadily increasing from a base of just a few infections. For the last seven days there have been at least 3,000 cases daily. On Friday May 28 this reached 4,000 cases and by Thursday had reached nearly 6,000 daily cases (5,774)the highest number since the UK was still under a limited national lockdown in late March. On Friday, new cases reached a new high of 6,238. Deaths from Covid have also begun to rise again from the zero deaths reported on Mondaya figure the media insisted justified ending remaining lockdown restrictions without delay. Twelve deaths were reported on Wednesday, 18 on Thursday and 11 Friday.

More dramatically at this point, coronavirus cases are on the increase in all but three regions of Britain, with the R (reproduction) rate rising to between 1 and 1.2up from between 1 and 1.1 last week. Delta cases are rising at among their fastest rate in London, with the Evening Standard reporting Friday that more than two thirds of Covid-19 cases in the capital are believed to be the Delta strain.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there was a 76.5 percent surge in coronavirus cases nationally in the week to May 29. Announcing its weekly survey yesterday, the ONS said that one in 640 people (86,000) in private households in England had COVID-19 in the week to May 29up from one in 1,120 (48,500) in the previous week.

Cases appear to be rising even faster among Scotlands 5 million population. On Thursday, Scottish National Party First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced another 992 people had tested positivethe highest daily figure since February 17with new Covid cases more than tripling in the last month.

All the evidence shows that the Delta variant is, as feared, far more transmissible than the Alpha (Kent) variant discovered last year, which quickly became dominant in the UK and spread rapidly around the globe.

On Thursday, Neil Ferguson, a leading epidemiologist at Imperial College London and previously a member of the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), warned on BBC Radio 4s Today programme that Delta is between about 30 percent and maybe even up to 100 percent more transmissible. Data was pointing in a negative direction and The best estimate at the moment is this variant may be 60 percent more transmissible than the Alpha [Kent] variant.

Ferguson is derided in the right-wing media as Professor Lockdown. His warnings that the governments declared herd immunity agenda could result in up to 500,000 deaths were central in forcing the first lockdown last year.

If it transpires that the transmissibility of Delta is in the order of 60 percent higher, this could have a catastrophic impact under conditions in which only 50 percent of the population is fully vaccinated and virtually all children and millions of adults under 40 totally unvaccinated. According to SAGE modelling, a strain of COVID that is 50 percent or more transmissible than the Kent strain will lead to between 10,000 and 20,000 hospital admissions per day by the summer and 1,000 deaths daily by August. SAGE predicted that such numbers would rapidly overwhelm the National Health Service. Ten thousand hospitalisations a day is more than double the UK peak of hospitalisations in the pandemic so far.

In its technical briefing issued Thursday, Public Health England estimated that the Delta variant is as much as 2.5 times more likely to lead to hospitalisations than the Alpha (Kent) variant.

This could have further terrible consequences under conditions in which an estimated 1 million people in private households in the UK reported experiencing long Covid in the four weeks to May 2. Of these, over a third (376,000) contracted the virus, or thought they were first infected, over a year ago.

Of extreme concern, on Thursday the Francis Crick Institute and the UCLH Biomedical Research Centre published a study noting that the current generation of vaccines may be on the point of being outstripped by the new variants. Those who have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine had levels of neutralising antibodies that were more than five times lower against the Delta variant when compared to the original strain. For those who had only received one dose, antibody levels against Delta were even lower. Moreover, the levels of antibodies were lower with increasing age and those levels dropped over time.

One Pfizer jab resulted in 79 percent of people having a quantifiable neutralising antibody response against the original strain. Against the Alpha (Kent) strain this fell to 50 percent, to 32 percent for the Delta strain and as low as 25 percent for the Beta (South African) strain.

Throughout the pandemic, the government, aided by the Labour Party and the trade unions, have insisted that schools were not vectors of transmission and that children and educators should be in classrooms so parents can go to work and generate profits for the corporations.

Yet again these lies are being refuted. Public Health England data this week covering April 26 to May 30 showed 140 cases of the Delta variant already in schools. At the end of April there were just three Delta clusters in primary and secondary schools, but by the end of May this had shot up to 39 clusters. With a total of 97 outbreaks in schools with at least one of the variants detected, this equates to around one in 250 schools nationally.

Professor Christina Pagel, director of the clinical operational research unit at University College London, told the Guardian the figures were evidence that schools were now a major source of transmission.

Just a few days after Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he saw no reason not to plough on to remove all legal limits on social contact on June 21, the government was forced to take Portugal off its green list of holiday destinations due partly to what Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said was the discovery of a Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant. Shapps said that at this stage it could not be ruled out that the mutation is vaccine defeating.

On Thursday, it was announced that all UK holidaymakers currently in Portugal had to return to the UK by Tuesday and undergo 10 days of quarantining.

A small number of Delta variants, including the Nepalese, have an extra mutation, K417N, of which around 90 cases have been identified worldwide12 in Portugal, 36 in the UK, 12 in the US and four in India. According to virus sequencing by Public Health England, there may in fact be 43 cases in Britain.

Despite the emerging public health disaster, the government still insists that its June 21 Liberation Day must go ahead, only offering the advice that people work from home if possible.
President Joe Biden has set July 4 as his goal to see 70 percent of all adults in the United States with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines. However, he is confronting a lagging vaccination rate that has been declining week to week since the peak in vaccinations in mid-April. In a plea to all unvaccinated people last month, he declared, This is your choice. Its life and death.

Syringes filled with Pfizer vaccines sit at the ready at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Bellingham, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

On June 3, the seven-day average of reported vaccine doses administered fell below the threshold of one million doses per day. On June 2, only a half-million doses were given. There has been a 33 percent decline from the previous week.

With 2.05 billion doses of the vaccines thus far administered across the globe, almost 298 million doses (14.5 percent) have been given just in the US, a rate of 90 doses per 100 people. More than 368 million doses have been distributed throughout the country, indicating 70 million doses waiting for recipients.

In a sleight of hand, the more than 60 percent vaccinated figure being heavily promoted by the White House does not reflect the population as a whole but only those over 18 with at least one dose. In reality, 50.9 percent of the population has received at least one dose and only 41.2 percent have been fully vaccinated. Of those 18 years or older, 63 percent have received at least one dose and it is this figure that is being advertised. According to the White Houses calculations, another 20 million more adults need to be inoculated for Biden to reach his goal in the next month.

However, this is a meaningless figure in that the theoretical herd immunity threshold of 70 percent would require 70 percent of the population to be vaccinated and this does not account for the new strains of the more transmissible coronavirus that are quickly becoming dominant, which would raise this threshold. In reality, the herd immunity threshold remains unknown and scientists speculate it may be unattainable.

Breakthrough infections with the new variants such as the B.1.617.2 Delta variant may be considerable among individuals with only a single dose, according to recent studies on neutralization antibodies against variants. Though full vaccination is critical to prevent serious disease, breakthrough infections may be much higher with these newer variants. Recent reporting indicated new variants of interest have also been detected in Vietnam.

Also, those 18 years old and younger can very well become infected, become very ill and die, as well as transmit the contagion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Friday through their Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that there has been an increase in the rates of hospitalizations among teenagers in March and April. Dr. Rochelle Walensky remarked, I am deeply concerned by numbers of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the number of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation.

The Delta variant has been estimated to be 50 to 70 percent more transmissible than the B.1.1.7 Alpha variant. Individuals infected with the Delta variant also have a 2.7 times higher risk of needing hospitalization than those with the Alpha variant. While the Delta variant is now the dominant strain in India and the UK, genetic sequencing is demonstrating a sharp rise in this variant in the United States.

States across the US are now moving to incentivize unvaccinated residents to get vaccinated with prizes and giveaways. Governor Jim Justice, Republican from West Virginia, announced during a news conference on Tuesday that the state would run a lottery program from June 20 to August 4 that would include prizes of money, firearms and vehicles. On Fathers Day the state planned to give away five custom hunting rifles and five custom hunting shotguns, according to The Hill. Other prizes included custom outfitted trucks, lifetime hunting and fishing licenses and a $1 million lottery cash prize on June 20.

Anheuser-Busch, the giant brewing company, released a statement announcing the company will unlock its biggest beer giveaway in history: when we reach the 70 percent milestone, America. Your next round will be on us! CEO Michel Doukeris added, At Anheuser-Busch, we are committed to supporting the safe and strong recovery of our nation and being able to be together again at the places with the people we have missed so much. This commitment includes encouraging Americans to get vaccinated, and we are excited to buy Americans 21+ a round of beer when we reach the White House goal.

Other states engaging in these gimmicks include California, New Mexico and Ohio, who have started similar lottery drawings in the hopes of spurring the vaccination effort.

However, little effort has been taken to explain why these sharp declines have occurred, preferring to blame people based on political ideology. Rhetoric aside, this question was studied and reported on by the CDC in their May 28 MMWR release.

They sought to look at the patterns in COVID-19 vaccination coverage by social vulnerability and urbanicity. They found that disparities in county-level vaccination coverage by social vulnerabilities had increased despite expanding vaccine eligibility, especially in large fringe metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. They wrote, By May 1, 2021, vaccination coverage among adults was lower among those living in counties with lower socioeconomic status and with higher percentages of households with children, single parents, and persons with disabilities.

States in the Deep South, with high rates of poverty, have barely given at least one dose to a third of their populations while those fully vaccinated are just reaching 30 percent. A significant section of the population in the poorest areas remains vulnerable as the vaccination initiative is reaching a ceiling.

Mississippi has fully vaccinated just 27.5 percent and vaccination rates have declined five percent from a week ago. Alabama, with 29.3 percent fully vaccinated, has seen a 73 percent drop in vaccinations from the week prior.

While North America and Europe, where the majority of the vaccines have been distributed, are seeing COVID-19 infection rates continue their steady declines, across Southeast Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific and Africa, cases remain high or have remained precariously steady.

Cases are on the rise again across South Africa where four of nine provinces are facing a brutal third wave. The winter season in conjunction with an increase seen in travel and the loosening of restrictions is leading to concerns from the World Health Organization (WHO).

A WHO Africa statement released on June 3 noted, African countries must urgently boost critical care capacity to prevent health facilities from being overwhelmed. This comes as vaccine shipments to the continent grind to a near halt In the last two weeks, Africa recorded a 20 percent increase in cases compared with the previous fortnight. The pandemic is trending upwards in 14 countries and in the past week alone, eight countries witnessed an abrupt rise of over 30 percent in cases. South Africa is reporting a sustained increase in cases, while Uganda saw a 131 percent week-on-week rise last week, with infection clusters in schools, rising cases among health workers and isolation centers and intensive care units filling up. Angola and Namibia are also experiencing a resurgence in cases.

The regional director for WHO Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, sounded the alarm. The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising. Our priority is clearits crucial that we swiftly get vaccines into arms of Africans at high risk of falling seriously ill and dying of COVID-19. While many countries outside Africa have now vaccinated their high-priority groups and are able to even consider vaccinating their children, African countries are unable to even follow up with second doses for high-risk groups.

Less than two percent of Africas population has received a COVID-19 vaccine. Additionally, some of the vaccines that are arriving have waited so long to be shipped in storage that they have expired, necessitating they be destroyed.

After months of promising to send COVID-19 vaccine doses to the waiting world, just 80 million doses may eventually leave the US. In a hypocritical statement so commonplace with US leaders, President Joe Biden said, The United States will be the worlds arsenal of vaccine in our shared fight against this virus. In the days to come, as we draw on the experiences of distributing the vaccine doses announced today, we will have more details to provide about how future doses will be shared.
It is my pleasure to bring the fraternal greetings of the Socialist Equality Party of France to this important international meeting.

Unify the working class across the Indian subcontinent to fight the COVID-19 pandemic!

The COVID-19 pandemic is a world event. Only a globally coordinated, scientific health strategy can defeat this highly contagious virus, which ignores borders and passports and infects people of all nationalities. The events of the last year have made clear that averting mass deaths requires the unification and mobilization of the working class internationally.

Around the world, the capitalist ruling elites have demonstrated their blatant indifference to the lives of working people during this pandemic.

Over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 in Europe, as governments refused to take public health measures demanded by doctors and scientists. French President Emmanuel Macron declared that the people need to learn to live with the virus. Dominic Cummings, the former chief adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, recently revealed that the British government has planned for 800,000 people to die of COVID-19 in Britain.

Workers in Europe and internationally increasingly know that the horrific tragedy in India is a threat to their own lives. They are shocked by videos of Indians standing in long queues to cremate the bodies of their loved ones who died of COVID-19, or corpses floating in the Ganges or being eaten by dogs. Moreover, the B.1.617 variant first detected in India has now been officially registered in 53 regions worldwide, including much of Europe.

Around the world, the ruling elites claimed there was no money for social distancing policies, while plundering the public treasury. The European Union spent 2 trillion on bailouts for banks and big businesses, while insisting workers had to remain at work in non-essential jobs, and children had to remain at school.

The Indian ruling class imposed the same essential policy of social murder under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It claimed there was no money for social distancing policies to halt the circulation of the virus, or to improve Indias basic health infrastructure. At the same time, it allocated US$2.8 billion to build a new parliament building and Prime Ministers residence, and US$71.1 billion for military spending.

At the level of the world economy, however, the technological, scientific and industrial tools to stop the coronavirus exist.

Only a conscious, united international movement of the working class against capitalism can seize these resources and use them to save lives, not make profits for the super-rich. Building such a movement requires a conscious struggle to unify workers across all the national, religious, ethnic, and caste lines that the ruling class uses to divide them.

At every step, the struggle to unite the workers conflicts with the bankrupt nation-state system that emerged from the 1947 Partition of India, and the abortion of the revolutionary struggle of the workers and peasants of the Indian subcontinent against British imperialism.

The pandemic has exposed the social conditions that have emerged from the division of the workers between India and Pakistan, Hindu and Muslim, and among different ethnicities and castes. Nearly 20 percent of urban Indians do not have access to water and detergent at home. Of Indias 1.3 billion people, about 160 million do not have access to clean watermore than Russias entire population. There are desperate shortages of everything from hospital beds and respirators to vaccines, in India and across all of South Asia.

The experiences of these fragmented countries vindicate the Trotskyist perspective of Permanent Revolution. Leon Trotskys warning 80 years ago about the class character of the Indian bourgeoisie applies with redoubled force today. He said:

The Indian bourgeoisie is incapable of leading a revolutionary struggle. They are closely bound up with and dependent upon British capitalism. They tremble for their own property. They stand in fear of the masses. They seek compromise with British imperialism no matter what the price, and lull the Indian masses with hopes of reforms from above. The leader and prophet of this bourgeoisie is Gandhi. A fake leader and a false prophet!

The pandemic is a terrible confirmation of the words of this great Marxist. Workers cannot stop the policy of social murder by appealing to Modis rivals in the Indian political establishment. The Congress Party and its allies among the Stalinist, regionalist and casteist parties, and the union bureaucracy all actively support or implement the same essential policy.

The clearest example is the new government formed in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu by the Tamil nationalist allies of the Congress, led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). They won last months elections by exploiting opposition to Modi and his allies.

Yet the DMK, the Congress, the Stalinist CPI and CPM, and the casteist Viduthalai Siruthikal Katchi are continuing Modis policy of social murder on the pandemic. While claiming they are organizing a lockdown, they are handing out only starvation wages to families who are supposed to stay home. At the same time, they are keeping millions of workers on the job in non-essential production. This ensures that countless thousands more will die.

The International Committee of the Fourth International and its sections, above all the Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka, are fighting to orient the Indian working class to the perspective of world socialist revolution.

The SEP in Sri Lanka continues the struggle for Trotskyism and to unite the workers across all lines of race, religion, language and caste in a struggle for socialism.

It continues what is best in the traditions of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) in Sri Lanka. Amid mounting struggles against British rule, the LSSP took seriously Leon Trotskys call to the Indian working class. They expelled Stalinists from their party. They declared that the revolutionary socialist movement of the island could only be built as an integral part of an international revolutionary movement across India. They fought to build the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India.

The SEP emerged from those who opposed the LSSPs Great Betrayal of Trotskyism: its capitulation to Sinhala chauvinism and its entry into the capitalist government of Madam Sirinavo Bandaranaike in 1964. It fought both the Sinhala-racist constitution subsequently adopted by the Sri Lankan state and Tamil nationalists attempts to divide the working class along ethnic lines.

The SEP implacably opposed the 26-year communal war waged by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamil people and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. At the same time, it made no concessions to Tamil nationalism. It fought to win Tamil workers to the perspective of a united struggle with their Sinhala and Muslim class brothers and sisters against capitalism.

We are gathered today shortly after the 12th anniversary of the Mullivaikkal massacre of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians and LTTE fighters that ended the Sri Lankan war, on May 18, 2009.

This massacre, one of the great war crimes of the 21st century, had the tacit support of the Indian Congress Party government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Indeed, WikiLeaks cables show Indian officials reassured US diplomats that the Indian political establishment would not oppose the massacre of the LTTE that was being planned.

Today, the global disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic raises with unprecedented urgency the necessity of the international unification of the working class. In this, the fight to unify workers of all different ethnicities in India, in Sri Lanka and across the Indian subcontinent will play a central role. At its heart will be the struggle to build the Trotskyist movement, a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, in India. Thank you.
Sven Wurm, a deputy in the student parliament at Berlins Humboldt University for the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, filed a disciplinary complaint against Humboldt University president Sabine Kunst. It was sent to Berlins Mayor, Michael Muller, and state secretary for scholarship and research, Steffen Krach, on Monday.

***

To the Mayor of Berlin and the state secretary for scholarship and research

Dear Mr. Muller and Mr.Krach,

As a deputy of the student parliament and a student of history at Humboldt University, I hereby file a disciplinary complaint against university president Sabine Kunst. In a session of the academic senate at Humboldt University, Ms. Kunst supported a physical attack by the right-wing extremist professor Jorg Baberowski on me and took no action to ensure a safe environment for students and the autonomous student representative body. She even refused to rule on a disciplinary complaint filed against Baberowski.

I informed Ms. Kunst on 5 February, 2020, that Mr. Prof. Dr. Jorg Baberowski physically assaulted me and made vulgar threats on the campus of Humboldt University. When I caught him removing and destroying election placards for the IYSSEs student parliament election campaign, which were displayed on a blackboard in accordance with regulations, he struck my phone from my hand and said threateningly, Should I smack you in the face? All of this is documented in a video that I made available to Ms. Kunst.

Left, Sabine Kunst [Source: Wikipedia Commons]. Right, a screenshot of a video of Jorg Baberowski tearing down IYSSE fliers at Humboldt University

Due to this interference with the autonomy of the student administration and the criminal behaviour towards me, I filed a formal complaint against Baberowski with Ms. Kunst and demanded that she clearly condemn his act of violence. When I addressed her about it on February 11, she dismissed me and said she would not comment. However, at the meeting of the academic senate the same day, she stated that Baberowskis attack on me and his destruction of the election placards were understandable in a human sense.

To this day, she has refused to rule on the disciplinary complaint, which is a violation of article 17 of Germanys Basic Law. In response to my valid complaint, I have neither received confirmation of receipt nor information about the review process, much less a decision. On the contrary, as described above, Ms. Kunst has refused to comment.

This is made all the more grave by the fact that Baberowski attempted, by means of property damage, bodily harm, and intimidation, to stop students campaigning for their list for the student election.

Ms. Kunst ignored my complaint as well as an official letter from the student election board on February 16, 2020, which called on university management to use its legal authority to take action against Baberowskis interference with the election. A majority decision of the student parliament from 18 June, 2020, was also ignored. The decision condemned the serious and violent interference into this years election, and called on the presidium to end its support for the right-wing extremist professor and hold Baberowski to account.

With her blatant defence of professorial violence against students, Ms. Kunst made clear that she has no concern for the wellbeing of her students or any interest in creating a safe environment for political discussion and scholarly debate. Instead, she functions as a political actor who wishes to suppress all criticism of far-right teaching content and positions.

Baberowski is one of the most well known right-wing extremist academics. In 2015, he founded the Baberowski salon (Die Zeit), where anyone with a reputation among the far-right meets at least twice a year. He regularly agitates against refugees, campaigns for brutal wars, and trivialises the crimes of the Nazis.

In January last year, Baberowski repeated in an interview with the conservative daily FAZ the main lie of Holocaust deniers, that Hitler did not want to know anything about Auschwitz. He did so with the aim of justifying his previous statement that Hitler was not vicious. The trivialisation of Nazi crimes runs like a red thread through his academic scholarship.

The fact that this right-wing extremist ideologist has now started marching around campus like a far-right activist, destroying student election advertising and physically attacking students is also the responsibility of university president Sabine Kunst. She has supported for years and defended the right-wing extremist structures that have emerged in Baberowskis department of Eastern European history.

Already over four years ago, when I informed Kunst on February 12, 2017 that Baberowski issued a vulgar threat against me during an official lecture and urged students to disrupt IYSSE meetings, she defended the far-right professor and described attacks in the media against him as unacceptable. When Baberowski began insulting and threatening other professors at Humboldt University because they criticised a right-wing petition, Kunst supported him.

Then in December 2018, around two dozen right-wing extremists followed a call made by Baberowski to disrupt an IYSSE meeting at Humboldt University. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) functionaries who were present interrupted the speakers, threatened participants, and attempted to sing the German National Anthem. While the student parliament unanimously condemned this far-right attack on a student event at HU, Kunst once again refused to take a position on these actions.

When Baberowski insulted the two academic senators Bafta Sarbo and Juliane Ziegler on his Facebook page as incredibly stupid and left-wing extremists because they opposed his proposal to create a centre for research on dictatorships, Ms. Kunst again refused to rule on a disciplinary complaint from the two students, let alone take any action against Baberowski.

Finally, at the end of last year, I informed Ms. Kunst that a close colleague of Baberowski had been a well-known neo-Nazi in Hannover during his youth. He participated, among other things, in a demonstration with right-wing extremist terrorists against the Wehrmacht Exhibition. The university responded with a one-liner stating that they do not speak publicly about employees personal details. Ms. Kunst did absolutely nothing to protect the students from such lecturers.

There is no harmless explanation for this chronology of events. Ms. Kunst has time and time again systematically covered up Baberowskis verbal and physical attacks on students, and suppressed necessary criticism of the right-wing extremist professor. She therefore bears responsibility for the climate of intimidation aimed at preventing students from criticising the right-wing opinions of professors. This is incompatible with a democratic university.

On June 29, the next election takes place for the student parliament. Students must have the right to campaign for their lists without intimidation and threats, and advocate their positions. I therefore call upon you to immediately review my complaint, ensure that the elections are held without disruptions, and initiate disciplinary measures against Ms. Kunst and Mr. Baberowski.

Yours sincerely,

Sven Wurm
By the end of April, all schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest district in the US with over 600,000 students, had opened for at least partial in-person learning.

Parents and students line up to pick up school materials outside the Aurora Elementary School in Los Angeles [Credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes]

The reopenings could not have taken place without the collusion of the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), which told teachers and parents that a slight decline in coronavirus cases in April meant that schools were perfectly safe to resume in-person learning. Sham votes were conducted, telling teachers that they either voted to return under terms reached with the district or under conditions solely of the districts choosing. No options were provided to continue remote learning.

While the UTLA and LAUSD forced teachers into classrooms knowing it would result in serious illness and death, parents and students have, for their part, largely refused to return to in-person learning. This has led to a major political fiasco for the district and by extension the Democratic Biden and Newsom administrations, which have undertaken a massive push to reopen schools to fully reopen the economy at whatever cost in suffering and death.

According to an analysis conducted by the Los Angeles Times, a full month after schools reopened, only 7 percent of LAUSD high school students and 30 percent of elementary students had returned to classrooms. This has led to a major push by outgoing Superintendent Austin Beutner to pressure students back into classrooms this fall while promising full-time, in-person learning for all students regardless of the state of the pandemic. The best place for students to learn is a classroom at school, Beutner said last week.

This effort is aided and abetted by the UTLA and especially by its national parent union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The AFT, with more than 1.7 million members, is launching a campaign to push children and teachers back into classrooms, entitled Return, Recover and Reimagine: Toward A Renaissance in Americas Public Schools.

In a May press release, AFT President Randi Weingarten falsely claimed to speak on behalf of teachers, stating, Educators have yearned to be back in school, with their students. Expressing the nationalist and pro-capitalist character of all the trade union bureaucracies, she added, The United States will not be fully back until we are fully back in school. And my union is all in.

The mad drive to reopen classrooms while more lethal variants of the coronavirus circulate worldwide, and while the US itself recently surpassed 600,000 official deaths, has provoked enormous opposition from parents, teachers and students. A recent proposal in Los Angeles to lengthen the school year was dead on arrival due to a barrage of opposition from parents and teachers. Parents themselves have also begun organizing groups online to oppose bringing their children back into unsafe classrooms.

The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke to a member of the Facebook group, Our Voice: Communities for Quality Education Group. The group description states, OurVoice is a new bilingual (English/Spanish) Facebook Group for parents, students, educators, education leaders, and everyone who is interested in shaping the future of public education. They have stated that the government, school district and unions did not consult with or listen to parents when they decided to reopen schools for in-person learning for the final two months of the school year.

The WSWS spoke with Ms. Franco, who has four children, two of whom are students in South Gate within LAUSD. One child, 12, is attending South Gate Middle School, and her son John, 16, attends South Gate High School. An older son is serving in the Marines.

Recently she attended a Zoom meeting featuring a representative of state Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurmonds office, who was trying to convince her that parents should send their children to school. He said, The schools are safer than your home.

This directly contradicted comments made by UCLA pediatrician Jennifer Brazier Peralta, an advisor to LAUSD Superintendent Beutner, who recently stated, Children can still get very, very sick from COVID.

Ms. Franco said the officials statement angered her, noting, I told him, Dont tell me your schools are more safe than my house, especially when Ive been volunteering at more than 700 schools. I have a lot of evidence that can prove what conditions are really like inside the campuses.

Parents are concerned not only with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the epidemic of school shootings, including in districts like LAUSD. Ms. Franco said, Theres absolutely no safety for my children. They have been victims of bullying. There are gangs, fights and drugs. Of course, my kids are worried. Thats why we decided to continue school from home. There is no safety. My daughter just texted that another South Gate student got shot on April 30. His name was Luis Gutierrez, and he was 17 years old.

Ms. Franco said she had attended a number of meetings with school officials, and had made a point of asking what would happen if children brought the virus home and infected their parents? She said, Nobody knows how to answer me. Nobody wants to bear the consequences.

Another parent from OurVoice told the LA Times, It would be devastating to see my daughter Ashley sick. She added, But if she is asymptomatic and she infects me without knowing it, like many children, then if the cancer did not end my life, the coronavirus could kill me Being a Latina, being low-income, living in a poor neighborhood, having chronic illnesses and having only one income brings me closer to death.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been thoroughly inadequate on campuses, much like school supplies during normal times, leaving teachers to once again fend for themselves and their students. Not only were teachers not provided with adequate PPE, but air filtration systems were not upgraded, and in some cases didnt even work.

As of this writing, there have been 3.78 million COVID-19 cases in California and 63,013 deaths. Of those, there have been 1.24 million cases and 24,201 deaths in Los Angeles County alone.

According to the Los Angeles County Department of Health (LACDH), on June 4 there were 234 new cases in LA County with 14 people succumbing to the virus, while there were 253 hospitalizations. As of May 28, 73 percent of residents over 65 have received both doses of the vaccine. Among those 16 and over, LA County has just reached 53 percent.

In other words, the population of Los Angeles, like every other region of the US and the world, is nowhere near the estimated 80 percent threshold needed for true immunity even if natural immunity from previously-infected individuals is taken into account.

On May 22, the LACDH issued a press release which declared that the B.1.1.7 UK variant had surpassed the California B.1.427/429 variants as the dominant strain in LA County. They stated that 53 percent of the specimens analyzed were of the UK variant and none were of the California variant. Six new cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant and one of the B.1.351 South African variant were also detected.

The LACDH has stated that LA County will ease capacity and distancing requirements along with the state of California on June 15, as well as adopting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised masking requirements for vaccinated individuals. This in practice universally lifts mask requirements, as there is no method to determine whether a person is vaccinated or not.
Like its US and UK counterparts, the Dutch government is accelerating its scrapping of remaining social-distancing measures, following a rapid ease of restrictions since April 28, risking a surge of infections come summer. In fact, this is the end of the lockdown, said Prime Minister Rutte at a televised press conference on May 28.

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte (Wikimedia Commons)

Starting today, restaurants are allowed to serve indoors with a maximum of 30 socially distanced customers. At the same time, cinemas, theatres and museums will reopen to those with bookings. Private homes will able to have four guests rather than the current two a day. Secondary schools are also to reopen by June 7, five weeks before the summer break.

The cabinet wants to largely unlock the Netherlands sooner than planned, starting June 30, news agency NOS reported, though most Dutch adults are still not fully vaccinated. Currently, only 9.2 million jabs have been administered, two-thirds of these being first vaccinations. The population of the Netherlands was 17.28 million in 2019, according to Eurostat.

Over the past 15 months, there have been over 1.6 million infections and at least 20,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the Netherlands. Over 2,500 infections and a dozen deaths are still recorded each day, testifying to the broad circulation of the virus. Yet the government has moved up the launch of its so-called third phase of reopening by four days, to June 5, pointing to a drop in new infections and fatalities late last month, even as more virulent strains of the virus, like the so-called Indian variant, spread internationally.

It is yet another indication of the subservience of the entire Dutch political establishment to big business, the Amsterdam stock exchange and the demands of the far right.

An estimated 140,000 routine hospital operations were reportedly delayed as hospitals were flooded with COVID-19 cases. The Dutch communal health services (GGD) issued a statement signed by the public health directors from the 25 GGD branches declaring that they are short at least 600 million a year to sustain routine health care. Basic care is too impoverished, continued the GGD, adding that the lesson of the pandemic is that basic care has not been sufficiently funded.

But US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer has used a letterbox company in Capelle aan den Ijssel in Zuid-Holland to hold $36 billion of its annual revenue last year and avoid paying tax on windfall vaccine profits, the investigative journalism platform Follow the Money revealed. Although Pfizer develops medicines and vaccines based on publicly-funded research, it had paid little tax, and almost no tax in the Netherlands, the report concluded. Pfizers revenue soared 42 percent in the first three months of the year. The Netherlands rank as the worlds fourth-largest tax haven.

According to a recent Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) report, in 2020, absenteeism due to illness among employees was highest in health care, where absenteeism was always above average. This is the direct consequence of decades of austerity that led to chronic under funding of medical infrastructure and staff, leading to work overload with stagnant wages and high burn-out rates, even before the pandemic.

After frontline health care workers, the highest burnout rate for 2020 was recorded in education, for the fourth year in a row, as partial COVID-19 distancing measures led to rapid shifts between online and hybrid teaching that massively added to non-paid working hours for educators. Education is one of the professions most prone to burnouts: 27.4 percent of staff, compared to a national average of 17 percent, suffer from burnout complaints. Education is also plagued by acute staff shortages.

We want to make it possible for the students to go to school for at least another six weeks before the summer holidays start, outgoing Education Minister Arie Slob declared at a press conference, echoing the position of Rutte, a vocal advocate of back to school policies.

Secondary schools are to give all students in-person lessons five days a week starting May 31, which will be mandatory across all Dutch provinces by June 7. At school, students are only to keep their distance from teachers and staff, and not from each other. Face masks will be mandatory only in school hallways.

Across the English Channel, British schools are already seeing rising COVID-19 outbreaks, despite the roll-out of the vaccine, since Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Conservative government lifted most restrictions on May 17.

According to NOS, many secondary school teachers hesitate to stand in front of full classes. Many employees in education are concerned about their health, declared Henrik de Moel, director of the General Union of Educational Personnel (Algemene Onderwijsbond, AOb). De Moel noted that not everyone has had their turn for even the first vaccination.

The unions have worked closely with the Rutte government, however, to block strike action and subordinate workers in education and other sectors to Ruttes policy of allowing the virus to spread. They declared that they feel forced to advise teachers of their right to collectively invoke the Working Conditions Act, if necessary, to protect themselves. The AOb blandly added that in recent weeks, many colleagues in secondary education have expressed serious concerns about their safety if the schools were to reopen fully without proper measures.

Continuing to posture in order to avoid strikes, a consortium of five education unions (AOb, CNV Onderwijs, FvOv, FNV Overheid and Leraren in Actie), has submitted a joint letter to the Dutch House of Representatives. It respectfully noted the concern felt by the unions that it would be best if secondary schools reopened fully after the summer holidays, and not before.

The unions one-and-a-half page document endorsed the policy of the European Union and the Rutte government to let the virus circulate in workplaces and schools, asserting that currently the situation at the schools is manageable, as pupils go to school on average for 2.5 days.

On the other hand, Dutch magazine Quote 500 has released its 2020 list of the richest people in the Netherlands: the wealth of the 500 richest in the country rose by 6 billion from 2019 to 2020, to 186 billion. More than half (265) increased their wealth over the past year, as millions were plunged into poverty across Europe. The Netherlands had 38 billionaires by the end of 2020five more than in 2019led by beer mogul Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, with 12.1 billion in recorded assets.
To learn more about forming a rank-and-file committee at Nexteer or at your workplace, sign up today.

On May 21, United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 699 posted on its Facebook page a one-sentence statement claiming that a second tentative agreement (TA) for Nexteer auto parts workers in Saginaw, Michigan, had been ratified by the razor thin margin of 52-48 percent.

The announcement was posted only hours after voting ended at the union hall at 8 pm. In the two weeks since then, neither Local 699 nor Region 1-D have released the actual vote count or any other information on the supposed ratification.

Workers instantly demanded a recount. [O]nce screwed always, do a recount, wrote one worker on the announcement. [N]o way this passed. What a crock of s***, wrote another. Many workers on the second shift (2-10 pm) commented that they had not been able to vote. Unofficially, workers were told in a private Facebook group that more than 1,000 of the approximately 2,500 workers did not or could not vote on the contract.

Striking Nexteer workers in 2015 (WSWS)

Other workers demanded to know how the votes were counted. So, it only takes 2 hours to count the votes now? Who counted them, and who verified them? wrote one worker. Those are the fastest results Ive seen in 15 years of working there.

Other workers expressed anger over being denied access to the full contract before the vote itself. The UAW only released self-serving highlights of the five-year deal.

The UAW has remained silent in the face of these questions, demonstrating its contempt for the democratic rights of rank-and-file workers.

After the alleged May 21 ratification, Local 699 President Tom Hurst told the local ABC TV station that the agreement was a victory, and then unwittingly spilled the beans on whose victory he was talking about, saying: I know its been a big relief for the bargaining committee and all of the staff at the union.

Indeed, after Nexteer workers voted down a first Tentative Agreement by 85-15 percent in February, the UAW did everything to prevent a strike and ram through another pro-company contract. Nexteer workers produce steering columns, shafts and drivelines for five of the top 10 selling vehicles in the US, including the Ford F-150, Dodge Ram and Chevy Silverado pickup trucks, according to the companys 2020 Annual Results Announcement released in March. Having spent the last year keeping the factories open while the deadly COVID-19 virus killed dozens of autoworkers and infected hundreds if not thousands, the last thing the UAW wanted was a strike that would quickly lead to the shutdown of assembly plants in Flint, Dearborn, Sterling Heights and elsewhere, already being hit by the microchip shortage.

In other words, Nexteer workers had enormous leverage not only over Nexteer but virtually the entire domestic auto industry. If a real struggle were carried out, uniting Nexteer workers with their brothers and sisters at Ford, GM, Stellantis and other companies in the US and beyond, it would have been possible to begin a counter-offensive to overturn decades of UAW-backed concessions for all auto and auto parts workers.

By blocking such a struggle, the UAW demonstrated for the umpteenth time that it is not an organization that fights for autoworkers but a tool of corporate management whose top executives are bribed to do their bidding. UAW Region 1-D Steve Dawes, for example, had a salary of $204,791 last year, in addition to whatever other perks he gets.

This only underscores the need for Nexteer workers to join the growing number of autoworkers and other workers in building rank-and-file committees, which will give workers the voice and collective organization to really fight. Such committees, which operate independently of the UAW and other unions, have been formed in Stellantis, Faurecia, Volvo Trucks and other factories.

Nothing about this new labor agreement, including how it was ratified, is legitimate. One of the first tasks a Nexteer rank-and-file committee would carry out is an investigation into voter fraud, gathering information from witnesses, examining the vote totals, and questioning local and regional officials. If there is evidence of fraud, the vote should be overturned, and the contract declared null and void.

Workers should advance their own demands for a new contract, including the restoration of wage cuts and contract concessions in 2010 and 2015, a 25 percent raise, the immediate transfer of temporary and part-time workers to full-time status with full pay and benefits and the expansion of fully paid medical benefits. Workers should also fight for the abolition of the multi-tier wage and benefit system, the Alternative Work Schedule and Critical Plant Status and forced overtime.

Most importantly, a rank-and-file committee would take up the functions long abandoned by the UAW: addressing workers grievances, opposing layoffs, speedup and unsafe conditions and fighting for the shutdown of the plant and full compensation for workers if there are COVID-19 outbreaks.

Predictably, corporate management praised the UAW for ramming through the new deal. We are pleased that Nexteer management and our United Auto Worker partners have successfully achieved a new collective bargaining agreement, said Dennis Hoeg, vice president and North America Division president of Nexteer Automotive. The commitment from both parties enabled the teams to overcome many challenges in the past year and to achieve a mutually competitive agreement that builds a strong, sustainable future for our employees and Nexteer.

In fact, the new contract will worsen pay and working conditions. The deal will:

Keep most production workers at near-poverty wages through 2026, when most production workers will max out at $21.50/hour, if they are able to even hang on to their jobs;

Further increase the burden of health care costs for most workers, and restrict access for those who opt for cheaper care;

Enlarge the pool of highly exploited temporary and part-time workers, and maintain the hated tier system;

Keep in place the Alternative Work Schedule and Critical Plant Status, obliterating the concept of the eight-hour workday and driving workers into an endless cycle of forced overtime;

Cede management flexibility on all critical issues to company for future changes in the contract, with the only proviso that they be done jointly with the pro-company UAW leadership.

The actual 230-page contract was never officially posted by Local 699, unlike the first TA that was roundly rejected. Instead, the full second TA was posted by a private Facebook group Saginaw unions no holds bar.

The same Facebook group, unofficially administered by UAW and other aspiring union bureaucrats, censored posts of articles by the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter. These articles informed workers of the actual content of the contract, quoting what workers were saying, and urged them to vote down the sellout contract and build a rank-and-file committee independent of the union.

The way forward for Nexteer workers: Build an independent rank-and-file committee

Despite the coordinated efforts of the UAW and the company to keep workers in the plant isolated, the reality is that the anger of Nexteer workers is part of a broader opposition emerging among key sections of workers in the auto, mining, steel and other industries.

On Sunday, June 6, approximately 3,000 Volvo truck workers in Virginia will vote on another sellout contract proposal after rejecting a virtually identical offer by 91 percent three weeks ago. Workers at the plant have formed a rank-and-file committee and have issued a series of statements outlining the real demands of workers at the plant.

In Alabama, 1,100 coal miners are now in the second month of a strike against Warrior Met, after rejecting a second sellout contract prepared by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). These developments are part of a global upsurge of strikes among workers, including thousands of autoworkers at major plants in India owned by companies such as Ford, Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, and others just this past week.

To fight global corporations, a new strategy and organizations are needed, ones which strive for the international unity of the working class. The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), which publishes the World Socialist Web Site, issued a call on May Day 2021 for an International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). A rank-and-file committee at Nexteer would be a critical component of such a global network of workers organizations.

We urge workers at Nexteer who wish to find out more about starting a committee to contact us today.
A public crowdfund for victimised London bus driver David OSullivan has reached its first target of 10,000, with 11 days to spare. The Crowd Justice appeal will finance a legal claim for unfair dismissal against bus company Metroline. OSullivan was sacked in February after defending his colleagues rights to a safe workplace during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Crowd Justice appeal for OSullivans reinstatement was launched on May 16. It reached 10,031 after new donations yesterday from Ireland, Germany, Australia and Britain. In 20 days, 150 donors pledged an average of 69 each. OSullivan must raise 20,000 to finance his case at the Employment Tribunal. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.

OSullivan yesterday posted a thank you message to supporters on the Crowd Justice platform, and emailed donors to thank them for their generous backing. His message is posted below, along with statements of support received this past week from bus and transport workers in Britain, Norway, Germany and Australia.

Statement from David OSullivan:

We have reached our first 10,000 target, 11 days ahead of schedule. This is a fantastic achievement. I would like to thank every single one of my supportersyour donations large and small have made a huge difference. This campaign has connected in a lot of ways with drivers own experiences, and those of key workers everywhere. Its clear there is a thirst in the working class for a political fight back. Dominic Cummings revelations at last weeks parliamentary health and science committee proved the Johnson government pursued a herd immunity strategy. The pandemic was allowed to spread without the government taking any serious virus eradication measures. This criminal policy was backed by Labour and the trade unions. As my case shows, workers were left defenceless. In the words of the British Medical Journal, the prioritisation of profits over health and the suppression of scientific advice has resulted in a maelstrom of avoidable harm, including the deaths of more than 150,000 people. The same agenda has been pursued by governments all over the world, from the United States and India, to Brazil, France and Germany. The issues raised in my campaign are universal ones facing working people all over the world. Data supplied by Crowd Justice shows the largest source of donor referrals has come via the World Socialist Web Site, which is read by growing numbers of workers worldwide. I wish to publicly thank the WSWS for their support and for bringing my case to the attention of workers across the UK, Europe and internationally. I would also like to thank the team at Crowd Justice for all of their help. This first 10,000 will allow my lawyers at Leigh Day to begin preparing my unfair dismissal case. Our stretch goal of 20,000 is needed to finance representation by a barrister at the hearing, which is likely to take place over several days. Please keep donating. I will keep everyone updated. This is the first step in a public campaign that is winning growing support. In the past fortnight I have received messages from bus drivers in London, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester as well as transport workers, teachers, postal workers, miners and IT workers from Ireland, France, Germany, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and India. As the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 is on the rise, with a dangerous uptick in infections and hospital admissions, this legal test case for key workers rights to a safe workplace in the pandemic takes on new urgency. Thank you once again, and please continue to do all you can to support this fight.

Messages for OSullivan left by donors on Crowd Justice show the depth of sentiment in defence of key workers. I wish you success and your job back if you want it, wrote John. You need compensation for wrongful dismissal, stress and loss of earnings. The employer should pay your costs and apologise in public for breaking the law and putting you and your work-mates at risk of serious illness and death.

Another donor wrote, David, you are an inspiration. You have stood up for bus drivers and the bosses came down on you it seems with the help of the union. Shame on them. I am sure you will win.

Kourosh wrote, As a legal professional representing rank-and-file union members from all over Canada please accept my pledge in solidarity with your struggle for labour justice and worker safety in the face of capitalist greed during a devastating global pandemic.

A previous donor wrote, Another tenner to add to the earlier pledge. Against victimisations, against Covid infected workplaces, for health and safety first and democratic rights in the workplace.

The World Socialist Web Site has also received comments from bus and transport workers in the UK and internationally. A selection is included below:

Bus Driver, Battersea Garage , London:

What happened to David is unfair. He was trying to save drivers lives after we lost a lot of drivers to Covid. David wanted the company to improve safety. They should have listened and addressed the safety concerns he had, instead of getting rid of him. This has happened at a lot of companies and all the drivers were scared. At Battersea, there were many who got Covid.

We have a driver now who is still on medication because his lungs were damaged. We lost a driver, Nicu, who got Covid. And also an engineer died from Covid but the company said that he didnt get it from work. At the beginning the company was covering upthey didnt want other drivers to know what was happening. They wanted drivers to come into worktheir only concern was to make money. After denying that Covid was spreading at the depot, some of the managers got Covid too.

The bus companies now are going back to normal, but the virus is still there. There should be social distancing and masks. But passenger limits have been lifted and they allow passengers to sit behind the driver. This is not fair. The union has done nothing. The reps have been told to go back driving. Unite didnt even consult us or question TfL [Transport for London]. They dont care about us. I think what David did was rightit was for all of us. We need protection and this fight is not over.

Tom, Tram Driver, Munich, Germany:

I fully and completely support the fight for your reinstatement! It is criminal for a worker to be fired for standing up for safe working conditions to protect himself, his colleagues, and his family. What happened to you shows the true face of the unions. In Munich, too, the unions do nothing to protect us drivers from the Coronavirus. They are only concerned that operations run smoothly and that the front doors of the buses can be used without restriction. That's why it's so important that we workers unite internationally and independently and base ourselves on a socialist programme. I wish you every success in your struggle and I am sure that with the support of workers worldwide you will be victorious.

Florian, Bus Mechanic, Norway:

Heres an experienced worker showing responsibility, courage and sensible action for his co-workers, passengers and family. And heres a management being paid for all of this. They indict themselves as irresponsible by sacking him. Decent workers will not work as much for as against such a management.

Rebecca, Bus Driver, Townsville, Australia:

Queensland drivers stand in solidarity with London bus driver David OSullivan, sacked by Metroline Transport and backed by the Unite union. Queensland drivers support Davids actions in trying to keep drivers safe from covid-19, which has already killed 45 London drivers. We support all health and safety initiatives that protect drivers and passengers. Drivers need to recognise that most union leaders are in bed with bosses and sell out workers time and time again. Enlightened drivers support rank and file grassroots organisations that act in solidarity with other workers both in our yards and around the world. Reinstate David O'Sullivan now.

Patrick, rail transport worker, New South Wales, Australia:

I fully oppose Metrolines victimisation of David OSullivan and call for his reinstatement. This is a blatant case of an employer making an example out of a courageous worker who took a stand in an unsafe workplace. Davids dismissal is a warning to other workers not to speak up about safety issues, and not to get in the way of company profits.

In our industry we are often told that safety is the number one priority. But when issues are reported they are often ignored for as long as possible, if the fix is going to cost them too much money. The reality is profit is the number one priority and Davids situation proves this.

There were 301 infections and 12 deaths among workers at Metroline, which was hiding the number of infections because they knew if workers understood what was happening, they would refuse to work. I know if this was the case where I work, I would absolutely refuse to work in that situation.

This is about the fundamental right to a safe workplace, something that will not exist unless workers stand together on this issue. Transport workers of the world must reject this attack which is an attack on all of us.

Visit here to find out more and join the campaign for David OSullivans reinstatement. You can donate to OSullivans legal defence here.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  The Biden administration has quietly tasked six humanitarian groups with recommending which migrants should be allowed into the United States to pursue asylum as it faces mounting pressure to lift public health rules that have barred people from seeking protection.

The consortium of groups is determining who is most vulnerable out of those waiting in Mexico to get into the U.S., and the criteria they are using has not been made public. It comes as large numbers of migrants are crossing the southern border and the government has been rapidly expelling them from the country under a public health order instituted by former President Donald Trump and kept in place by President Joe Biden during the coronavirus pandemic.

Several members of the consortium revealed details about the new system to The Associated Press. The government is aiming to admit up to 250 asylum-seekers a day who are referred by the groups, agreeing to that system only until July 31. By then, the consortium hopes the Biden administration will have lifted the public health rules, though the government has not committed to that.

So far, nearly 800 asylum-seekers have been let into the country since May 3, and members of the consortium say there is already more demand than they can meet.
Over the past week, the US media and the Biden administration have sought to legitimize the conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [Credit: Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP]

On May 23, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Michael R. Gordon claiming US officials said workers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick in November 2019. The story led virtually the entire US media to declare the conspiracy theory credible.

The corollary of the statement that the Wuhan lab conspiracy theory is credible is that all of the worlds leading experts in infectious diseases, who universally dismissed it after a rigorous investigation, were engaging in a massive cover-up.

Neither the Journal nor any of the other news outlets promoting its report disclosed the fact that Gordon was the author of the discredited 2002 New York Times story that falsely claimed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was seeking to buy aluminum tubes to build nuclear weapons.

Responding to the Journal report, the Washington Post declared the lab-leak theory credible, baldly asserting that efforts to discover a natural source of the virus have failed.

The Biden White House, meanwhile, has ordered US intelligence agencies to carry out an inquiry into the potentially man-made origins of COVID-19, while Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, speaking at the United Nations World Health Assembly, demanded a transparent investigation into the origins of the disease.

Along with the campaign by the Democratic Party, figures claiming association with left-wing politics, including journalist Glenn Greenwald and Jacobin contributor Branko Marcetic, have jumped in to legitimize the Wuhan lab theory.

With their coordinated campaign to promote the Wuhan lab lie, the establishment media and the Biden administration are bringing into the mainstream what would otherwise have remained in the smelly backrooms of fascist and far-right politics.

According to the proponents of the Wuhan lab conspiracy theory, the United States National Institutes of Health funded research by the Chinese military at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which then genetically engineered and released, whether accidentally or deliberately, COVID-19. US paid Chinese Peoples Liberation Army to engineer coronaviruses, declared Rupert Murdochs Australian, in one of countless variants of this account.

The proponents of this conspiracy theory accuse National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and leading disease expertsincluding Kristian G. Andersen, director of Infectious Disease Genomics at Scripps Research Translational Institute, and Peter Daszak, president of the Ecohealth Allianceof covering up the allegedly man-made origins of the disease, or having been directly involved in manufacturing it.

Far-right supporters of Trump are going on the offensive. Told you, tweeted the right-wing ideologue Rand Paul, with the hashtag #firefauci. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a supporter of the fascistic QAnon movement, railed against Fauci on Twitter: He needs to be FIRED!

The legitimization of the far-right went so far as an official correction by the Washington Post of an article that it wrote in February 2020 on the promotion of the Wuhan lab narrative by the fascistic senator from Arkansas, Tom Cotton. The Posts original headline read, Cotton keeps repeating a coronavirus conspiracy theory that was already debunked.

The Post editors revised the story this past week, posting a notice stating that the article had inaccurately characterized Cotton. The term debunked and The Posts use of conspiracy theory have been removed because, then as now, there was no determination about the origins of the virus.

If the Post were being honest, it would state that the Post itself, along with the Biden administration and the Democratic Party, are now promoting the conspiracy theory that has, in fact, been debunked.

In stereotypical Orwellian fashion, the past must be rewritten to serve the interests of the present. In this case, the Post is in effect apologizing to and establishing an alliance with Cotton. The Arkansas senator infamously published in June of 2020 an op-ed in the New York Times calling for the Trump administration to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the military against protests over police violence.

In the thousands of articles written on the subject of the Wuhan lab theory, there has not been a shred of direct evidence indicating any connection between COVID-19 and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The most concrete evidence was provided by Gordons article in the Journal claiming that unnamed US officials said researchers at the institute were hospitalized in November.

However, according to the fact sheet issued by the State Department earlier this year, the alleged illnesses had symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses. Moreover, as Gordons article noted, One person said that it [the evidence] was provided by an international partner and was potentially significant but still in need of further investigation and additional corroboration.

In other words, the entire evidence for the Wuhan lab theory boils down to the assertion by a promoter of the Iraq war lies that some unnamed officials say some staff at the Wuhan Institute of Virology had symptoms consistent with common seasonal illnesses, while other, also unnamed, officials question this claim.

The promotion of this unsubstantiated theory by the US media can be explained only on the basis of the socioeconomic interests driving it. As the World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board wrote in its statement earlier this week, the campaign has two interrelated aims:

First, it aims to divert attention from the actions of the US and other governments in implementing policies that led to deaths on a massive scale. As the public begins to recover from the overwhelming shock of the pandemic, there will be demands for explanations for why so many people died, along with accountability for those responsible Second, the Wuhan lab lie seeks to drum up nationalist hatred to support the Biden administrations central strategic aim: the preparation for economic and potentially military conflict with China.

While the scientists are the direct target, this campaign has as its aim the abandonment of all scientifically grounded measures necessary to contain the pandemic. The leading advocates of the conspiracy theory support the program of herd immunitythat is, allowing the pandemic to spread unrestricted.

As COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly throughout the world, new variants are emerging. Africa is facing a 20 percent surge in COVID-19 cases over the past week, with eight countries showing an increase of more than 30 percent. In the more vaccinated UK, the so-called Delta variant has become dominant, fueling an increase in cases.

With a looming global resurgence of the pandemic, the ruling classes will insist that no measures can be taken that save lives at the expense of profit. They will insist that blame for mass death, the equivalent of war guilt, is to be laid at the feet of China. The attack on science and scientists is aimed at silencing and intimidating all opposition to a policy that threatens countless lives.

But the ruling classs inhuman and antiscientific policies confront growing resistance in a working class increasingly entering into struggle in defense its own social interests. It is this social force that provides the basis for the defense of science and for medically necessary measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. This is why the defense of science and the fight to stop the COVID-19 pandemic are inseparable from the building of a socialist movement in the working class.
French microbiologist Dr. Didier Raoult, who published a now-discredited paper in March 2020 claiming that hydroxychloroquine was effective at treating COVID-19, has threatened legal action against scientists criticizing his research. These include Elizabeth Bik, the whistleblower who first exposed methodological inconsistencies in Raoults research, and Boris Barbour, who runs the not-for-profit website Pubpeer allowing scientists to review each others work.

Dr. Didier Raoult (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

On May 18, an open letter supporting Bik against Raoults attack titled Scientists stand up to protect academic whistleblowers and post-publication peer review was published. It has since been signed by over 1,000 scientists across the globe, working across multiple disciplines.

Elizabeth Bik is a microbiologist and research integrity specialist whose work investigating academic misconduct has led to more than 170 paper retractions and exposed more than 4,000 cases of duplication, data manipulation, plagiarism, and ethical breaches. On March 24, 2020, Bik published a blog post that exposed a number of inconsistencies with Raoults March 17 paper, which claimed treatment with the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine significantly increased the chance of survival for patients with severe cases of COVID-19.

Bik raised a number of methodological concerns within Raoults study. This included the removal of one subject who had died and two who had become too ill to receive treatment during the study from his results, raising suspicions that Raoult cherry-picked data to support the finding that the drug was effective against COVID-19. Bik also found that the study began on March 5, one day before it received official clearance from the French Ethics Committee on March 6, and that Raoults paper was peer-reviewed in just 24 hours, a process that usually takes weeks. Bik also unearthed an undeclared conflict of interest: one of papers co-authors, J. M. Rolain, was the editor-in-chief of the journal to which it was rapidly accepted.

Bik then began reviewing Raoults other work and ultimately flagged concerns with 62 more of Raoults papers. This led to an angry response from Raoult and his colleagues.

Raoult has denounced Bik on Twitter as a witch-hunter, nutcase, and failed researcher, while his colleague Eric Chabriere described her as a dung-beetle. Raoult later accused Bik of trying to blackmail him without any evidence and denounced her on national television. He also took the thuggish decision to publish Biks personal address to his followers on Twitter.

On April 29, Raoults lawyers sent a letter to Nature claiming they have filed a lawsuit against Bik, accusing her of aggravated moral harassment, attempted blackmail and attempted extortion. Bik is yet to receive any notification of legal action, however. It is unclear whether Raoult and his lawyers intend to continue the case, or if the letter was only an attempt to intimidate Bik into self-censorship with the threat of legal action.

Bik maintains her innocence and has refused to withdraw her criticisms despite these attacks. She responded to Raoults action by asking, Why doesnt he show me proof that I am wrong? I would be happy to accept that, adding, Science should be discussed in the scientific arena, not the legal one.

Didier Raoult is a controversial figure within scientific circles. While his groundbreaking research has led to the discovery of hundreds of new types of viruses, he has complained of the dictatorship of the methodologists and dismissed the importance of randomized trials for objective experimentation. He is currently under investigation following a complaint last November by a group representing 500 specialists of Frances Infectious Diseases society, accusing him of breaking nine rules of the doctors code of ethics.

In France, he won popular sympathy early in the pandemic by insisting that people be treated, commendably providing free tests at his institute for anyone that showed up. At that time, he rejected a herd immunity policy of letting coronavirus spread unchecked and told the government that a firm test-and-trace strategy was essential to eliminate the virus. President Emmanuel Macron responded to Raoults rising influence and profile in the media by bringing him on as a scientific advisor.

Unfortunately, Raoult increasingly tailored his statements to what was politically acceptable to Macron. In May 2020, he stated that the virus was naturally coming to an end and that nowhere do we see a second wave. Despite mounting evidence schools were drivers of the pandemic, Raoult advised Macron that children are not significant spreaders of the virus, paving the way for the premature reopening of schools on May 11, 2020.

In December 2020, Raoult dismissed COVID-19 vaccines, which had proven highly effective in clinical trials, as science fiction and, above all, as publicity. He made a right-wing comment opposing mandatory vaccination, saying: If we played around with making vaccines mandatory, there would be a revolution. Luckily we havent done that. In fact, universal vaccination against the virus is a critical component of an international public health policy to halt the pandemic.

Raoults harassment of Bik has been denounced by scientists around the world. An open letter defending Bik states that Raoults strategy of harassments and threats is creating a chilling effect for whistleblowers and for scholarly criticism more generally.

Lonni Besancon, a co-author of the open letter and computer scientist in Australia, told Nature, Investigating someones research is definitely not harassment. This is a scientific question, this should not fall onto the legal system to figure out. A spokesperson for Pubpeer, the other target of Raoults threatened lawsuit, stated: A successful legal action could have a chilling effect on post-publication peer review.

Biks exposure of Raoult and his bullying response raise important scientific and political issues regarding scientific integrity.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Bik was joined by a host of other scientists expressing concern over research advocating the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. This included Paul Garner, the editor of the Cochrane Infectious Disease Group, who told the BMJ (formerly, British Medical Journal ) that, they [hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine] could do harm and there is absolutely no evidence that chloroquine is effective in people infected with the coronavirus.

Nevertheless, after the first lockdowns in the spring of 2020, Raoults research was endorsed by capitalist politicians seeking to promote all and any cures, regardless of their efficacy, in order to impose a quick end to lockdowns and return to work to boost corporate profits. Then-US president Donald Trump hailed Raoults work as very good and hydroxychloroquine treatment of COVID-19 as the biggest game changer in the history of medicine. The drug was also promoted by Brazils fascistic president, Jair Bolsonaro.

The adoption of herd immunity policies that have led to the deaths of millions have relied in no small part on constant offensives by state officials to mislead the public about scientific data. This underscores the critical importance of free scientific discussion, unhampered by any threats of legal action or violence in the pursuit of the truth.

In France, which will surpass 110,000 deaths by the end of the week, Macron has declared war on scientists, repeatedly ignoring their calls for lockdown and denouncing their incessant tracking of errors. Macrons adviser Stephane Sejourne even went as far to denounce the uncontrolled and suffocating interventions of scientists in January of this year. The targeting of scientists like Bik for pursuing scientific investigation of existing research only worsens this toxic atmosphere and hampers the fight to inform the public about the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times featured an article titled, Parents frustrated by pandemic education launch activist group to raise their voices. The article sympathetically portrays the fringe right-wing parents group OpenSchoolsCA, which has established a non-profit to lobby for an even more aggressive opening of schools this fall, including the abandonment of all safety measures such as masks, quarantines of classrooms where COVID-19 outbreaks occur, and more. While not stated explicitly, the Times article makes clear that the group will also promote charter schools, school choice and other efforts to privatize public education.

Los Angeles Unified School District students stand in a hallway socially distance during a lunch break at Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood in Los Angeles  Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Times writes that the group coalesced around parent anger over how long it was taking to reopen California campuses that were closed for a year or more amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Their discontent simmered for months when reopenings offered students much less than a full five-day-a-week school experience.

A similar right-wing group, Reopen California Schools, recently launched a campaign to sue the California Department of Public Health for mandating these safety measures, which they describe as barbaric.

The Times article is only the latest example of the bourgeois media uncritically presenting such right wing fringe groups as the voice of the majority of parents, when in reality the vast majority continue to keep their children learning safely at home. According to data from Chicago Public Schools, only 22 percent of students attended in-person classes the week of April 19. In New York City, 61 percent of students are still attending remotely. In Los Angelesas the LA Times article itself is obligated to notethe parents of roughly 70 percent of children are keeping their kids at home.

While the founding member of OpenSchoolsCA, Oakland parent Megan Bacigalupi, insists that her organization does not back charter schools, at least two of its advisers are prominent right-wing advocates for charter schools: David Castillo, a charter school consultant and advocate, and former Oakland Unified School District board member Jumoke Hinton Hodge, a virulent promoter of charter schools.

During the pandemic, the American ruling class has doubled down on its efforts to expand charter schools by diverting funds from public schools. An analysis by Good Jobs First, which tracks stimulus spending at Covid Stimulus Watch, shows that private and charter schools received roughly six times more funding per school than public schools from the CARES Act: $855,000 per facility on average, compared to $134,500 for public schools. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under the CARES Act, which was not open for public entities, allocated $5.7 billion in PPP loans to charter and private schools.

Following the worst year in living memory for educators and the entire working class, when masses have been forced to return to deadly working conditions, the efforts to defund public education will provoke further opposition within the working class. To counteract the growing class consciousness among workers, the ruling class utilizes its bought-and-paid-for media to uncritically air the views of a frustrated group of middle-class parents. A close examination of the backgrounds of these individuals makes clear the class forces for whom they speak.

Megan Bacigalupis public LinkedIn page highlights a career with police agencies in New York, before she relocated to California. Serving first as a lawyer in the Office of the Criminal Justice Coordinator under former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, she went on to become the Deputy Commissioner for Intergovernmental Affairs at the New York City Business Integrity Commission. Megan and her husband John Mellott Bacigalupi, who is currently a senior vice president at Cantor Capital, are a power couple intent on jockeying for privileges within the upper-middle class.

Jumoke Hinton Hodge has a long record of being a shill for charter school corporations. In 2012, she was endorsed by Go Public Schools, an organization backed by advocates for charter schools like the Walton Family Foundation. Go Public Schools provided Hodge with almost $63,000 in the 2012 Oakland School Board race, and then almost $105,000 in 2016.

In 2012, Hodge voted to close five elementary schools in Oakland, resulting in the displacement of an estimated 900 elementary students. The vote led to a three-week occupation of Lakeview Elementary, forcing the superintendent to resign. In 2019, ignoring the pleas of students, teachers, and community members, Hodge voted along with the majority of the school board to close Roots International Academy, forcing students to relocate to a school over a mile away. Shortly thereafter, during the 2019 Oakland teachers strike, Hodge viciously attacked and choked a kindergarten teacher, Danisha Right, a brutal assault for which she received no punishment.

OpenSchoolsCA also has the support of a few medical professionals that have distorted science for political purposes during the pandemic. Replying to their own tweet on the formation of the non-profit, the organization expressed their solidarity with three scientists that the organization considered to be public health guiding lights. All three scientistsVinay Prasad, Monica Gandhi and Tracy Beth Heghave been promoted by the ruling class in their reckless drive to reopen schools.

Gandhi is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. On May 27, she spoke on Democracy Now, adding weight to the scientifically discredited claim by the US intelligence agencies that SARS-CoV-2 may have been leaked from the Wuhan Virology Institute in China. She then supported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to lift restrictions on vaccinated populations. Throughout the spring, Gandhi has also been brought on the broadcast media to push for school reopenings, recently going so far as to advocate the complete lifting of mask usage among all children in schools, long before most are vaccinated.

Tracy Beth Heg is a physician at Northern California Orthopaedic Associates who promotes the scientifically disproven claim that the infection in schools is merely a reflection of infection in the community. Similar to statements made by Gandhi and advocated by OpenSchoolsCA, Heg recently opined in the Washington Post that children should return to their normal lives this summer and in the upcoming school year, without masks and regardless of their vaccination status.

A recent tweet by Heg states: The message that schools are overall safer than the community for kids both in terms of COVID and overall health and safety needs to get out and cant be emphasized enough. On Twitter, she argues against providing adequate ventilation in classrooms, and claims that it is very safe for teachers to work in poorly ventilated rooms with unmasked students.

Vinay Prasad is a hematologist-oncologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. Prasad frequently argues that schools must stay open and that it is up to the individual to take appropriate action to not be exposed to the virus. He completely ignores the fact that schools have been major centers of outbreaks across the US, and that students have acted as transmitters of the virus, leading to an unknown number developing Long COVID, while thousands are being treated for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Prasad recently stated, Unless the local healthcare system is approaching overload or collapse, schools should remain open.

American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) features an interview between Prasad and Martin Kulldorff, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Kulldorf was one of the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration (GBD) that argued for a policy of natural herd immunity, which became the de facto policy of the Trump administration and continued under Biden, as the vaccines have been gradually distributed.

The AIER, a libertarian think tank which posits as their aim a society based on property rights and open markets, is engaged in a highly reactionary, anti-working class and anti-socialist enterprise. The GBD had the backing of right-wing billionaire Charles Koch, who hosted a private soiree of scientists, economists and journalists to provide the homicidal declaration a modicum of respectability and formulate herd immunity as a necessary global policy in response to the pandemic.

The elevation of figures like those involved in OpenSchoolsCA has a definite political aim. The American ruling class, having done essentially nothing to curb the pandemic through public health measures, stands exposed in the eyes of broad masses, while the pandemic itself is far from over.

In order to undermine mounting opposition among workers, the ruling class relies on a fringe minority in the medical and scientific community, the capitalist media and a privileged layer within the upper-middle class that itself is utilizing the crisis to advance its own material position within the top 10 percent of American society. The ruling class fears above all a social explosion from below, as the simmering anger of broad masses threatens to erupt to the surface.
World Socialist Web Site readers in Sri Lanka have made statements supporting the campaign of Socialist Equality Group (SEG) in New Zealand for a full investigation into the Pike River mine disaster in 2010, which killed 29 workers.

The families 2016/2017 blockade of the road to Pike River mine, aimed at stopping the National Party governments attempt to seal it without an underground investigation [Source: Supporting the Recovery of our Pike 29 Facebook group]

The WSWS calls on workers throughout the world to send statements of support for the Pike River Families Group, which represents 22 of the 29 families of those who died. It is demanding that the Labour Party-led government reverse its decision to end an underground investigation of the mine and permanently seal it, leaving vital evidence unexamined. This is aimed at protecting the company managers from prosecution.

To read previously published statements, click here, here, here and here. Former miners in the UK have contributed statements here.

Dhammika, doctor:

I am deeply saddened that after a 10-year struggle, New Zealands largest industrial disaster is being silently pushed under the surface.

National Party and Labour Party-led governments have repeatedly issued empty promises to deeply investigate the mine. But Jacinda Arderns Labour Party has decided that they will no longer fund any underground investigation to go deeper into the minea ploy to hide crucial evidence that could be used in future prosecutions. Pike River Coal, aided by the government regulators, gambled with human lives for profit by sending workers into a mine, despite warnings that it was explosive and extremely dangerous.

Trade union leader Andrew Little remarked after the explosion that nothing unusual had happened at the mine. Today he is a Minister in the Arden government. He has made it his task to halt investigations. I see this treacherous dedication of unions to protecting companies as an international phenomenon. Just like Londons Grenfell Tower fire and the Virginia Upper Big Branch mine disaster, it seems that the Pike River mine victims will not be given justice.

As a reader of the WSWS and as a Sri Lankan working class citizen, I take this time to express my well-wishes and congratulations to those fighting for justice as well as to show my deepest and sincere sorrow for the families that were affected by this cruel incident.

Nuwan, construction worker in Colombo city:

The dangerous circumstances in which the workers died in the Pike River accident are clear. Workers all over the world have been forced into such dangerous conditions in order to make a living. We ourselves have been pushed to work under difficult conditions, as the COVID-19 pandemic has been utilised to destroy jobs. Despite the pandemic, companies continue their contracts without delay. However, workloads are unbearable as the number of workers has been cut.

Work-related accidents are on the rise due to the cutting of costs for our physical security, as in the Pike River mine. Here, employers have stopped providing safety boots. Instead, only giving low-cost canvas boots.

For months, I have not been with my wife and son. None of the workers here gets an opportunity to spend time with their children and wives. In the name of protecting us from the pandemic, the company has confined us. These experiences make clear that the same capitalist policy of placing profits ahead of human lives is in operation, like at Pike River.

The World Socialist Web Site, compared to other media, is totally different. Other media does not inform us of news relevant to the working class, such as the Pike River accident. The WSWS always speaks from the workers side. It is only the WSWS and the SEP which oppose the governments essential service orders in Sri Lanka that forces us to work in unsafe conditions. Even though we thought that the trade unions would oppose these orders, they capitulated without saying a single word. Through the WSWS, I learned that they did so because they have been transformed into the instruments of the capitalists.

It is clear why the trade unions do not come forward to defend the rights of the Pike River workers: they are on the side of the company. So, I express my support to the committee and campaign that has been formed by the Pike River families independently of the trade unions. Building such committees, and discussing the political issues they face, is crucial.

Sajaith Bandara, newspaper cartoonist:

I extend my support to the fight by WSWS to do justice to the 29 workers who perished at the Pike River mine in New Zealand.

I oppose the suppression of the inquiries into their deaths and say straightaway that the causes for the deaths should be reviewed and those responsible held accountable. I denounce all the organisations, including the trade unions and the pseudo-lefts, who support ending the investigation.

The deaths of these workers that happened ten years ago were not an accident but a crime. It was a result of conscious decisions that place profit above human lives.

Despite highly-advanced technology, this disaster in 2010 shows the dire situation facing humanity. This tragedy is only one example of the negligence towards human lives under the capitalist system. As the WSWS has explained, the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the crisis of capitalism. I think that the situation in Sri Lanka is no different. Although there are thousands of deaths, the rulers demand that workers go to workdecisions that place profit ahead of human lives.

Hemal, teacher at a Bandarawela school:

I was so shocked to hear that 29 mine workers in New Zealand had died in the Pike River mine. The New Zealand government and the mining company are responsible for this tragedy. The fact that even 10 years later, neither the courts, nor the company, nor the government has done any justice to the families of those workers demonstrates that New Zealand, like other countries in the world, criminally neglects workers lives.

This makes clear that the media campaign claiming New Zealand is ahead of the other countries in terms of suppressing the coronavirus pandemic is a hollow thing. I express my support for the campaign by the families of dead workers against the suppression of the investigation into the deaths and think that the workers in other countries should support it.

Mahesh Bandara, teacher from Polonnaruwa:

I oppose the step taken by the New Zealand government to stop the investigation into the tragic deaths of 29 workers, including a 17-year-old worker at the Pike River mine.

First, the fundamental right of the family members of those workers to know what caused their loved ones deaths has been violated. Secondly, that decision prevents knowledge being gained that could prevent such tragedies in the future. Thirdly, it would free the company from its accountability, if the disaster occurred as a result of the criminal negligence of the company.

In this sense, I consider such an investigation is a right, not only of the family members but also of the working class in New Zealand and internationally. It is clear that the inquiry is being suppressed to protect the mining company.

All over the world, the policy of the capitalist governments is to place profit ahead of human lives. This is clear from the response to the coronavirus pandemic by the rulers in every country. Behind the ugly conspiracy to suppress this investigation in New Zealand is this same policy. In opposition to it, we should rise up as workers.

Members of the dead workers families in the Pike River mine, I stand with you in your struggle against stopping the inquiry.
Senthamizhan Seeman, the chief coordinator of the Tamil-nationalist Naam Tamil Party (NTK, We Tamil Party), is shedding crocodile tears as COVID-19 rips across India.

This is his response to mounting strikes and protests in auto plants across India, as anger mounts among workers forced to work continuously without any safety measures in place. Dozens of autoworkers have died of COVID-19 so far, and infections are spreading rapidly. Ford, Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, Wipro, Eicher Motors, India Yamaha Motor and Royal Enfield were forced to close temporarily due to strikes or protests.

Suddenly, fourteen months after the pandemic began, Seeman is turning 180 degrees and making empty calls for social distancing policies in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He said, non-essential factories should be temporarily banned from operating in the current and precarious situation where workers are highly susceptible to corona infection. Realizing that workers anger was out of control, he sighed: It is shocking that non-essential factories have been allowed to continue to operate and that workers are becoming more infected as a result.

Senthamizhan Seeman (Wikimedia Commons)

Strict adherence to scientific policies to halt the spread of the COVID-19 virus is essential. These include the closure of non-essential workplaces, the closure of schools and the provision of emergency financial support to help people survive until the crisis is over. However, the strongest warnings must be made against the NTK, which promotes communal politics to divide the workers along ethnic lines and block a unified movement of the working class to impose the necessary health and safety measures.

While Seeman poses today as concerned by the fate of factory workers, he has followed the herd immunity policies of Indias Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and the Tamil-nationalist Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Tamil Nadu state government. These have led to a rapid spread of COVID-19 in major industrial and commercial centers of Tamil Nadu, including the capital, Chennai, Coimbatore, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Trichy, Thanjavur and Madurai.

Before the April 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, the NTK did not follow any social distancing rules for its campaign meetings. Instead, it held rallies with thousands of people, ignoring the surge of the virus that was underway. Indeed, this is one of the reasons for the accelerating spread of the pandemic in Tamil Nadu.

In these elections, the NTK came in third with 3,108,906 votes (6.1 percent). It overtook the Stalinist Communist Party of India with 504,537 votes (1.09 percent) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (390,455 votes, 0.84 percent), as well as Indias traditional ruling Congress Party (1,976,527 votes, 4.28 percent). The Stalinists are in coalition with the ruling DMK.

Amid the discrediting of the Congress and the Stalinist parties and their trade unions, after decades of pro-imperialist and anti-working class policies while in power, the NTK cuts across the building of an alternative movement in the working class with divisive ethnic-nationalist rhetoric.

Since the NTKs formation in 2010, the racist, anti-working class rhetoric of Seeman and other NTK party leaders has become notorious. Seeman publicly declared: Tamil Nadu is in danger because millions of other states peoples have infiltrated Tamil Nadu and occupied the entire economic life of Tamils through economic exploitation.

Seeman advances racist arguments that only ethnic Tamils can govern Tamil Nadu, and that Tamils jobs are being stolen by workers of other ethnicities. Asserting that My people need power. Tamils should rule Tamil Nadu, Seeman has asserted that ethnic Tamil rule would guarantee that selfless, loving dictatorial and corruption-free government would emerge in Tamil Nadu. He called for the modernization of the police force in Tamil Nadu, which is notorious history for attacking democratic rights.

At the same time, Seeman promotes not only police forces that attack the working class, but far-right political organizations. He supported and campaigned for the BJPs alliance with the Hindu-extremist Shiv Sena in the 2012 municipal elections in Mumbais Dharavi area. The Shiv Sena is notorious for its bloody attacks on Muslims.

When he was challenged publicly about his alliance with far-right forces, Seeman could not deny it, but instead stumbled and replied: BJP candidate Tamil Selvan belongs to our Pudukottai area [referring to one of the districts of Tamil Nadu]. Supporters of Sri Lankan Tamil Eelam Liberation are a bulwark for the [Tamil] people there.

That is, Seeman and the NTK replied to the exposure of their alliance with violent communalist elements by cynically seeking to exploit the sympathy of workers in Tamil Nadu and the Tamil diaspora for the 2009 communal massacre of Sri Lankan Tamils by the Sri Lankan army. However horrific the crime committed by the Sri Lankan army at the end of the communal war in 2009, which was a massacre of over 40,000 people, it does not change the fact that Seeman is promoting forces who also advance anti-worker, communalist politics.

Last year, during the previous All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government in Tamil Nadu, the people of the Sathyavani Muthunagar slum in Chennai were forcibly evicted. Seeman responded to this brutal attack on the citys oppressed people by seeking to divert anger along national lines, against workers of other ethnicities in India: People from other states in Chennai can get permanent residency without any hindrance and live safely in the main areas of the city with all the amenities. But the ancient Tamil settlers do not have this facility.

While he suddenly is cynically posturing as concerned for Tamil auto workers, Seeman had said nothing up until now in the pandemic about workers opposition to exploitation, temp work, or to being kept on the job in non-essential work, thus helping spread the virus.

Instead, Seeman again tried to appeal to ethnic hatreds, this time by vomiting up the right-wing conspiracy theory about the coronavirus peddled by US imperialism against China, calling the pandemic a bio war launched by China. He thus made clear to Washington, which is seeking to make India a front-line military ally against China, the type of pro-imperialist, pro-investor policies he would pursue if he came to power.

The pandemic is a global crisis, driven by a virus that ignores passports and borders, and that can only be resolved by an international struggle of the working class for a rational, scientific policy. The strikes and protests of Indian workers that have led to temporary plant shut-downs have again shown the power of the working class. However, this power can be mobilized only in a conscious struggle to unify workers in India, across all ethnic lines, with their class brothers and sisters in China, America and beyond.

The International Committee of the Fourth International has advanced the call to build International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, around which workers can organize and mobilize in a struggle to defend lives against corporate profits. Seemans appeals to ethnic hatreds cuts across such a movement, subordinating working class to existing Stalinist organizations and the bankrupt nation-state system. They must be rejected as the work of an enemy of the workers and oppressed people.
East Timor has seen a significant increase in daily coronavirus infection rates, with the impoverished South East Asian country last month recording an official seven-day average of between 100 and 200 over the past four weeks.

AstraZeneca vaccinations at Dili Plaza (Source: WSWS Media)

This is the highest registered in the country during the pandemic. East Timor has an official tally of 7,310 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, but 2,396 of these occurred between May 19 and June 1.

The real rate of infection spread is almost certainly significantly higher than these numbers. Throughout the country, contact tracing is virtually non-existent. Testing remains limited, especially outside of the capital, Dili. Within the capital, positive tests as a proportion of the total carried out were nearly 17 percent in mid-May, indicating widespread undetected transmission.

Lockdown restrictions, initially affecting the capital Dili, were imposed in early March and remain in place. They have been undermined, however, by a series of government decisions aimed at bolstering its political position and promoting business activity.

Infection numbers in East Timor (Source: Our World in Data)

Timors President Francisco Guterres and Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak have imposed a series of restrictions on movement and on social and recreational activitiesbut there are a number of dangerous exemptions, most notably by allowing the Catholic Church to continue to hold indoor ceremonies.

This has been absurdly defended on the grounds that the Church can help educate the population about the coronavirus threat. In other words, people are gathering in large numbers in enclosed places, supposedly to be informed that the most dangerous thing to do amid the pandemic is to gather in large numbers in enclosed places. The governments decision sacrifices public health to the obscurantist priorities of the Catholic Church, which is a powerful institution in the country.

Other government decisions also threaten to create super-spreader events. Some food has been distributed to alleviate the threat of mass hunger caused by the worsening economic crisis. But this has been done in disorganised ways, with distribution centres featuring little social distancing and proper use of personal protective equipment.

There are few restrictions on economic activity. The main shopping complex in Dili was briefly closed during the initial wave of infections, but is now open, allowing large numbers of people to shop in enclosed spaces.

A lack of basic social infrastructure is hampering health efforts in numerous ways. At Dilis busiest market, Taibessi Market, a single hand-washing station has been broken and disused for months.

East Timor is among the most impoverished countries in the world and the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic has worsened the conditions of the working class and rural poor. The government is protecting an $18 billion sovereign wealth fund, generated by the countrys oil and gas exports, while taking only the most limited measures to compensate people for lost jobs and incomes.

Many residents in Dili are still dealing with the devastating consequences of floods in March and April. The flooding triggered by Cyclone Seroja was the worst natural disaster in Timors history41 people were killed, 27,000 homes were washed away, and 22 roads and 11 bridges were destroyed. Many affected families are still waiting for promised public assistance.

Bairo Formosa health care centre, Dili (Source: WSWS Media)

The governments failure to provide adequate social and economic support during lockdown conditions has undermined the public health response.

After restrictions were first imposed on March 8, including on travel from and to Dili and the regions, university students in the capital reported going hungry after being unable to receive assistance, including food, from their families in the countryside. Bags of rice were delivered by university administrators, but this was not enough for students.

On April 2, the beginning of the Easter weekend, hundreds of students and other Dili residents responded to a fake alert on social media suggesting the government was lifting travel restrictions, and gathered in close contact with one another at the citys three main exit points.

We have to travel to the municipalities, Feliciano Mota, one of those who fled the capital, told the Timorese agency Tatoli. We cant handle living conditions here in Dili.

It is likely that this event contributed to the spread of COVID-19 throughout East Timor, with all 13 of the countrys municipalities registering infections.

Also undermining the public health response is the ongoing political crisis in the country. In early 2020, former president and prime minister Xanana Gusmao had been on the verge of returning to office. The global coronavirus pandemic coincided, however, with a political shift that saw Gusmaos erstwhile allies join Taur Matan Ruaks coalition government that includes the Fretilin party.

Broken and disused hand washing station at Dili's Taibessi Market (source: WSWS Media)

Gusmao has since mounted a Trump-Bolsonaro type misinformation campaign, suggesting that COVID-19 is no worse than the flu and that restrictions are unnecessary and illegitimate. His reckless, anti-scientific statements have spread confusion. Many people are ignoring public health advice on face masks, hand washing, and social distancing.

Vaccines are only slowly being made available. The primary responsibility for this lies with Australian imperialism. The Liberal-National government in Canberra has responded with utter indifference to the danger posed by COVID-19 to the people of East Timor, and the wider South Pacific and South-East Asian region. Timor has received just 60,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Australia, while an additional 24,000 doses have come from the World Health Organizations COVAX programme.

The limited Australian donation was largely driven not by humanitarian concerns but by geo-political ones. It followed the Chinese governments announcement that it will send 100,000 doses of its Sinovac vaccine.

Numerous articles in the Australian media and foreign policy outlets have sought to portray Chinas vaccine donations to the region as a sinister plot aimed at undermining Australian hegemony. The Age last month quoted former Australian diplomat Ian Kemish who declared that Canberra needed to be careful about a Chinese attempt to opportunistically seek to gain influence in our near neighbour.

Australian imperialisms exploitation of its impoverished neighbours oil and gas reserves, and neglect of the Timorese peoples basic needs, now threaten a humanitarian disaster. If COVID-19 infections continue to spiral higher, East Timors piecemeal healthcare systemthere are just 3,300 essential medical personnel in the country of 1.3 million peoplewill quickly collapse.
Volvo Trucks parent company, Swedish-based Volvo Group, is planning on handing out roughly $2.3 billion to shareholders, the proceeds from the sale of its Japan-based subsidiary UD Trucks (formerly known as Nissan Diesel).

The massive payout to the companys wealthy investors comes as nearly 3,000 workers at Volvo Truck North Americas New River Valley plant in southwestern Virginia are engaged in an increasingly militant and determined struggle with the company over its proposal for a new six-year contract.

Volvos board of directors in 2018 (Source: Volvo Group Media)

The company has thus far adamantly refused to concede to workers demands to end the hated multi-tier wage and benefit system and significantly raise pay. It is attempting to force through an agreement in a vote this Sunday, June 6, which essentially repackages the proposal workers already overwhelmingly voted down by 91 percent last month.

Volvo has left it to United Auto Workers officials to sell the agreement to workers. Workers, for their part, have formed the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee, which has issued statements calling for a massive defeat of the latest UAW sellout agreement.

At meetings on the contract largely boycotted by workers earlier this week, UAW officials confronted angry questions about the concessions in the deal. Acting as representatives of the company, not workers, they claimed that there was no money to immediately end the tier system.

This pro-corporate line is repeated ad nauseum and used to justify virtually every attack on workers, and every refusal of their demands. It is, in reality, a lie.

The $2.3 billion handout to wealthy investors is set to be confirmed at an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders on June 29.

The multi-billion-dollar proceeds from the sale of UD Trucks come on top of the companys largest dividend payment in its history earlier this year. On March 31, shareholders approved a dividend of SEK15 per share ($1.81) from the companys 2020 profits, amounting to approximately $3.68 billion.

The companys dividends and the money from the sale of UD Trucks will go overwhelmingly to sections of the financial aristocracy that control the large banking and investment houses and multinational corporations, and which in turn hold much of Volvos shares.

According to company data, Volvos largest shareholder is Swedish investment firm Industrivarden, which has a total of 170,200,000 shares. The firm would receive 1,616,900,000 Swedish kronor, or approximately $195 million, from the proceeds of the UD Trucks sale alone, not taking into account the previously announced dividend.





The second largest stockholder, China-based Geely Holding Group, is an automotive giant privately held by billionaire Li Shufu (net worth, $18.7 billion). Geely has a total of 167,247,516 shares and would receive roughly $192 million.





The third-largest stockholder, US investment firm BlackRock, holder of nearly 100 million shares, would receive the equivalent of over $111 million.

Significantly, the trade union bureaucracy will get their own cut, albeit of a more modest scale. Unionen, the largest trade union in Sweden and the holder of 4,510,542 shares, would receive a roughly $5.1 million payout.

In a company press release announcing the proposal, Volvo Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg (former chairman of British oil giant BP) stated, The Board believes that the Volvo Group's improved profitability, resilience in downturns and strong financial position enable a distribution of the proceeds from the sale of UD Trucks to the shareholders. Svanberg, with 2,000,000 shares, is set to get his own multi-million payout.

When it comes to justifying piling up the fortunes of the worlds financial aristocrats even further into the stratosphere, corporate management has nothing but sunny language of strong financial positions and improved profitability. A couple billion here and a couple billion there, why not?

But when its a matter of meeting workers basic demands for higher wages, decent working conditions, health care and a secure retirement, the company pocketbooks snap shut.

Volvo workers at NRV have formed the Volvo Workers Rank-and-File Committee (VWRFC) to fight for their interests independent of the UAW. Volvo workers can contact the VWRFC at volvowrfc@gmail.com or text to (540) 307-0509.
(CNN) -- FBI Director Christopher Wray sounded the alarm on ransomware in stark terms by likening the challenge posed by the recent spate of damaging cyber attacks on the US to the September 11 terrorist attacks, calling for a similar response. His remarks come as officials across government have tried to step up the urgency of the response to the problem after back-to-back ransomware incidents exposed the vulnerability of critical industries in the United States.

"There are a lot of parallels, there's a lot of importance, and a lot of focus by us on disruption and prevention," Mr. Wray said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. "There's a shared responsibility, not just across government agencies but across the private sector and even the average American."

"The scale of this problem is one that I think the country has to come to terms with," he added.

Wray's remarks reflect a developing consensus within the Biden administration that ransomware ranks among the gravest threats to national security the United States has ever faced. And it is part of a broader, all-hands effort by the White House to convince the public it has control of the situation -- even as some cybersecurity experts say the executive branch is limited in what it can do unilaterally to stop the attacks.

The comments also underscore growing alarm within the highest levels of the US government following the back-to-back attacks on JBS Foods and Colonial Pipeline, which not only demonstrated the impact such attacks can have on the day-to-day lives of everyday Americans but the nation's inability to guard against them. The Justice Department this week signaled that it plans to coordinate its anti-ransomware efforts with the same protocols as it does for terrorism and the White House issued a rare open letter to companies calling on them to treat the threat of ransomware attacks with greater urgency.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco also underlined the gravity of the problem in an interview on Friday.

"I absolutely agree we need to treat ransomware and cyberattacks like the national security threat that they are," she told CNBC. "That's why we need to have a national picture, and we need to bring all our tools to bear."

"We know that indeed the most recent attacks against JBS Foods and Colonial Pipeline are linked to criminal actors, criminal groups that are known to law enforcement that have ties to Russia," Monaco said, adding: "We cannot give any quarter and no country should be harboring criminal actors of any type."

15,000 ransomware incidents in the last year

The United States was hit by more than 15,000 ransomware incidents against organizations last year alone, according to Brett Callow, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. The attacks cost the US between an estimated $596 million and $2.3 billion in 2020 in ransom payments and lost productivity, Callow said. The true figures may likely be even higher, he added, because Emsisoft's estimates only account for confirmed cases of ransomware incidents.

In the last several years, threat actors have been increasingly successful at hitting larger enterprises in newsworthy attacks, according to Callow.

Thursday's DOJ memo directs US prosecutors to report internally all ransomware investigations they may be working on, in a move designed to better coordinate the US government's tracking of online criminals.

The memo cites ransomware -- malicious software that seizes control of a computer until the victim pays a fee -- as an urgent threat to the nation's interests.

"We must enhance and centralize our internal tracking of investigations and prosecutions of ransomware groups and the infrastructure and networks that allow these threats to persist," Monaco wrote.

And in a letter sent out from the White House, the National Security Council's top cyber official, Anne Neuberger, wrote to corporate executives and business leaders that the private sector needs to better understand its critical role.

"All organizations must recognize that no company is safe from being targeted by ransomware, regardless of size or location," Neuberger wrote. "We urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your corporate cyber defense match the threat."

US businesses of all sizes should immediately implement security measures such as creating offline backups of critical data, implementing multi-factor authentication and deploying encryption to scramble sensitive information, Neuberger said.

In the Journal interview, Wray singled out the Russian government for allowing the cyber actors that the United States and others believe are behind the recent Colonial and JBS attacks to continue operating in Russia.

"Time and time again, a huge portion of those traced back to actors in Russia. And so, if the Russian government wants to show that it's serious about this issue, there's a lot of room for them to demonstrate some real progress that we're not seeing right now," Wray said.

Attacks on the agenda when Biden meets Putin

President Joe Biden will address the JBS attack as well as the increased threat of cyber attacks while meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month in Geneva, the White House has said. As he meets with other world leaders, Biden will also seek to build an international coalition against ransomware, the White House has said.

The administration is not "taking any options off the table" in response to the JBS incident, press secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing this week.

Those announcements follow weeks of other moves by the administration designed to show how aggressively it is confronting the threat of cybercrime and foreign hacking.

In April, the Justice Department launched an internal task force dedicated to hunting down ransomware criminals and disrupting their financial networks. The White House announced a 100-day sprint to assess the cybersecurity of the country's electric grid, working with utilities to install monitoring technology that can scan for signs of hacking.

Biden also signed an executive order seeking to beef up digital security at US agencies, to elevate federal contractors that prioritize cybersecurity and to sanction Russia for its role in state-sponsored hacking. He also initiated a review of the US government's approach to ransomware specifically, focusing, among other things, on cybercriminals' cryptocurrency transactions.

After the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, the Department of Homeland Security took emergency measures to force the critical pipeline industry to report cybersecurity incidents to the federal government within 12 hours and designate a "24/7, always available" cybersecurity coordinator. Within 30 days, companies must also assess how their practices line up with TSA's long-standing pipeline security guidelines.

Officials acknowledged that this was just a first step in the wake of the attack that prompted a halt to operations of one of America's most important fuel pipelines.

Meanwhile, the US government has undertaken some offensive steps in recent months in response to ransomware, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The moves include compromising and surveilling cybercriminal networks and, in some cases, identifying individual actors involved in specific attacks within a matter of hours.

US government capabilities are limited

But even as the Biden administration takes a tougher stance on ransomware, it is struggling with the limits of its capabilities. The government's power to penetrate ransomware gangs is "situationally dependent" on the criminals' own sophistication and defensive measures, the sources told CNN.

Asked Wednesday if he planned to retaliate against Russia for the JBS ransomware attack that the administration linked to Russia, Biden told pool reporters: "We're looking closely at that issue."

US officials have been drawing comparisons between the hacking threat and terrorism for years.

In 2018, President Donald Trump's Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned that the system was again "blinking red" as foreign actors conduct a range of cyber intrusions and attacks against targets in the United States, a reference to the alarming activity seen ahead of 9/11.

"And here we are nearly two decades later, and I'm here to say the warning lights are blinking red again. Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack," he said at the time.

At a strategic level, moves by the administration to appoint senior cybersecurity officials or impose sanctions on governments that harbor cybercriminals may have important long-term effects  such as creating stronger international norms discouraging hacking  but are unlikely to change ransomware actors' short-term financial incentives, said Alexis Serfaty, a senior analyst at the Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm.

The administration must also grapple with limits on its authority imposed by law, as well as gaps in the law that Congress has neglected to fill for years.

It simply isn't feasible for the Biden administration to impose a single, standard set of cybersecurity regulations governing the entire range of critical infrastructure sectors such as pipelines, airlines, telecom networks and more, legal and industry experts say. The complexity of each industry, and their relationship to the wider US economy, speaks to how difficult it is to design cybersecurity regulations, let alone enforce them.

"You've got, you know, this patchwork, checkerboard of, regulatory requirements, contractual obligations. And it's just not easy to get to kind of a standard setting of cyber minimum requirements that you'd apply across all 16 [critical infrastructure sectors]," said Chris Cummiskey, former DHS acting under secretary.

Where the executive branch enjoys some of the most leverage with the private sector is in its immense procurement power. By establishing cybersecurity rules for federal agencies, Biden can indirectly shape commercial cybersecurity by winnowing out contractors that don't meet the standard, Cummiskey added.

The administration could do more to expand commercial incentives, said Ed Amoroso, CEO of the cybersecurity firm TAG Cyber. For example, Amoroso said, the US government could subsidize training for new cybersecurity professionals in order to help organizations implement the latest best practices.

"In every sector, there's not enough people that know how to do this," Amoroso said. "I've been begging the administration to please turn the crank up on a cyber corps program."

Congress's role

Congress has its own role to play. For years, lawmakers have struggled to design a single, federal law laying out when and how companies must report data breaches. While many states have their own breach notification rules, and some rules exist at the federal level in specific contexts, such as securities regulation, the US has largely been governed by a patchwork of data breach rules.

Meanwhile, federal agencies charged with regulating specific sectors of the economy each have their own congressional charter that lays out what they are empowered to do, and in some cases, the same agency may be required to regulate one industry differently from another. All of that makes it harder to develop mandatory cybersecurity regulations.

The result is a difficult conversation about who should bear responsibility for protecting the public from cyberattacks  the government, or the private sector, according to cybersecurity experts.

"The struggle right now is to understand who is going to manage that risk," said Sergio Caltagirone, VP of threat intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Dragos. "Is the US government going to come in and protect critical infrastructure, or should the US government be providing more tools and capabilities and approaches for these companies to do it themselves?"

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTHI) - Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says the state is ready to fully reopen after COVID-19 restrictions later this month.

In a release on Friday, Pritzker's office said over 67 percent of the residents over the age of 18 had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.

On June 11, phase five of the state's Restore Illinois plan will start. That means for the first time since the pandemic started, businesses and venues will be able to operate at full capacity.

Fully vaccinated residents will also be able to ditch the mask unless they enter a place that requires one. Businesses and workplaces will be able to set their own guidance.

The state says people who haven't been vaccinated should continue to wear a mask.

Learn more about phase five here.
(CNN) -- A coalition of Realtor groups asked the Supreme Court on Thursday night to block the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's order that prohibits landlords nationwide from evicting tenants who fail to pay rent amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

The current moratorium is set to expire on June 30.

A district court ruled against the CDC, holding that the moratorium was unlawful, but then put its ruling on hold pending appeal. The DC Circuit declined to lift the stay.

The Realtor groups asked the justices to step in -- on an emergency basis -- arguing that "Congress never gave the CDC the staggering amount of power it now claims."

They argue that the moratorium has resulted in "over $13 billion in unpaid rent per month."

The CDC extended the eviction moratorium to June 30 in March, marking the third time the deadline for lifting the ban has been pushed back. Its order first went into effect last September and initially was set to expire at the end of 2020. Then in December, the protection was extended until January 31. As one of his first acts in office, President Joe Biden called on the CDC to extend the ban until March 31.

The original eviction ban was approved by lawmakers as part of a massive coronavirus relief bill in March 2020.

There have been several legal challenges to the moratorium. Some courts have said the CDC has the authority to issue the order and rejected efforts to stop the ban, while others have ruled in favor of landlords. A federal judge in Ohio ruled that the CDC had overstepped its authority in issuing a nationwide eviction ban. Housing experts have noted that there have been conflicting rulings at the district court level, all of which have had limited impact.

This story has been updated with background information.

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To lose the number of communities that we did was eye-opening," he said. That's new ground for Oregon, but California was the canary in the coal mine.

Last fall, that new reality reshaped the Smalls' life  and the lives of hundreds of other Oregon residents  in just a few hours. The Echo Mountain Fire burned nearly 300 homes and displaced about 1,000 people.

Like many of their neighbors, the Smalls were underinsured and did not have wildfire coverage for their white house with green trim. They bounced around for weeks  an emergency evacuation site, camping by a stream and staying with relatives in Washington state.

An insurance payout of $50,000 was not enough to buy a manufactured home big enough for their family. Eight months after the fire, the money goes to keep their kids in a single room at a local Comfort Inn, while the parents sleep in a borrowed trailer outside.

The family had two rooms paid for by the state, but when wildfire survivors were asked to move to a different motel, the Smalls decided to stay and pay their own way rather than uproot their family again. They said they didn't qualify for federal disaster assistance and that the pandemic cost Tye Small his job as a gas station attendant.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The Indiana Special Olympics summer games will happen next weekend in Terre Haute.

The organization started with some festivities on Friday.

Indiana State University hosted the 2021 summer games torch run.

Due to COVID, Special Olympics won't have the typical opening ceremony at Hulman Center, instead, there will be a broadcast of the event.

Law enforcement agencies from all across the state of Indiana showed their support for the Indiana Special Olympics.

Indiana State University's police chief, Michele Barrett had the honor of lighting the way.

"They can see we're not just here working critical incidents we're also here for the community to give back. That's what most law enforcement officers want to do, it's why they signed up for the job. It's because they want to be involved with their community and give back to the community," says Barrett.

The President and CEO of the Indiana Special Olympics say this year is exciting. That's because last year, activities were virtual.

"It's the start of the return to normalcy I hope. Our athletes were so disappointed we had to cancel the in-person summer games. We've been doing virtual fitness challenges with them since last June but it's still not the same," says Jeff Mohler president and CEO of Indiana Special Olympics.

One athlete says since she couldn't gather with friends to run last year, she had to find ways to keep herself busy.

"I have completed 95 - 5k's since last year and two 10k's last year and two 15ks last year," says athlete Shelby Baker.

ISU's police chief says the backing from local residents has meant everything.

"I think it's great to see how much the community supports law enforcement here and how much we support them," says Chief Barrett.

The summer games competition will take place on June 12 and 13. This is being held at Indiana State University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Learn more here.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Mississippi's top health official said Friday that lack of access isnt the reason the state is last in the nation for COVID-19 vaccinations  its apathy.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said he guarantees the state is among the easiest in the country to get a vaccine but many people refuse because they don't think they need it.

I think thats something that we really struggle with because its part of our health care culture here, he said during a virtual conversation with the Mississippi Medical Association.

Later, he said: Its really sad because people in foreign countries would saw off their small toe to get a COVID vaccine, and ... were not gonna take five minutes as we walk by the Kroger pharmacy."

About 911,000 of Mississippi's 3 million residents are fully vaccinated, according to the state Department of Health. The state has seen more than 318,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 7,325 COVID-19-related deaths.

About 27% of the population is fully vaccinated, compared with the most vaccinated state in the U.S., Vermont, where about 56% of the population is vaccinated.

The COVID-19 vaccine is now available at state-run sites throughout Mississippi that don't require appointments. It can be accessed at dozens of pharmacies, clinics and hospitals throughout the state, all listed on the Department of Health website.

Dobbs said he has been doing at-home visits personally to vaccinate homebound residents. The Department of Health has announced pop-up vaccination sites in underserved areas and made arrangements for churches and other community organizations to host their own vaccination events.

It's almost like you need to try to not get the vaccine," Mississippi Medical Association Executive Director Dr. Claude Brunson said Friday.

Dr. Mark Horne, president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, asked Dobbs whether state leaders have thought about using incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated. Several states have hosted lottery events for people getting vaccinated.

I think what weve seen in some other states is that people, they need a bonus, they need a little something to kind of push them over, Horne said.

Dobbs said the Department of Health is exploring incentives and other measures that can be taken to encourage more vaccinations.
TUPELO, Miss (WTVA)- The Senate Public Health committee met Thursday to discuss what a state medical marijuana program should look like. This after the mississippi supreme court recentaly blocked the program last month

Ken Newburger, with initiative 65 told lawmakers the program should have some improvements made, but the basics of what voters approved stay the same. Newburger said patients should be able to consume marijuana in any form.

Origianlly the state health department was the only decision maker for initiative 65. "Purpose of that was to make sure there was one decision maker to make sure it didn't get gummed up in bureaucracy," Newburger. Now Newburger says some of the decision making should be split up to people who specilize in different topics regarding medical marijuana.

Doctor Thomas Dobbs spoke yesterday at the state legislature; he thinks legalizing recreational marijuana for the state is a conversation that needs to happen.

Dr Dobbs said most of the vocal advocates for marijuana in the state have been from a recreational side.

Dobbs said a marijuana program would be a lengthy process. The state would have to put IT systems in place. The state would have to make product safety labs. And the lab techs would have to test the product before sold.

Dobbs says if the state legalized it recreationally, it could be safer for the people in the state, "A well-managed recreational program would be less dangerous than a medical program where people think they should be taking doses all day long."

Governor Tate Reeves has not said whether he will call legislators into special session this year to consider medical marijuana legislation.

If he does not, the discussion would happen after the next regular session begins in January.
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Very impressive, and look at the lining of the canal (Link: Photos: Egypt launches initiative to plant 500,000 trees on canal banks)

Egypt Today

CAIRO  5 June 2021: Youth Loves Egypt (YLE) Foundation announced on Saturday launching an initiative to encourage planting 500,000 trees on the banks of the canals nationwide over the course of two years.

The initiative, dubbed Nile Tree comes in cooperation with the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources and targets the canals that have been recently lined under the national project in this regard.



Volunteers already planted 500 trees in one of the lined canals on Saturday morning. Volunteers already planted 500 trees in one of the lined canals on Saturday morning.

The initiative aims to beautify the canals, curb rubbish throwing, decrease temperature and reduce climate change impacts, YLE said.

Ahmed Fathy, the head and founder of the YLE, said 15 volunteers are present today to take part in the initiative and plant several types of trees that give bright colors.

Fathy referred to the vegetation these trees will provide, affirming that there would be a follow-up plan to look after these trees.

Over the coming three years, the initiative plans to plant 1.4 million trees, Fathy revealed.





The launch of the initiative corresponds with the World Environment Day celebrated annually on 5 June. This year, it is held under the theme: ecosystem restoration. The launch of the initiative corresponds with the World Environment Day celebrated annually on 5 June. This year, it is held under the theme: ecosystem restoration.





In April, the Ministry of Irrigation announced finishing the lining of 1,603 kilometers of canals across 20 governorates within the first phase, which will end on June 20, 2022 after lining a total of 7,790 kilometers at LE18 billion.

The canal lining project is part of the National Project for Developing the Egyptian Countryside aimed at raising the quality of life of residents of rural areas. The lining of canals would enhance water management and distribution, ensure the delivery of water to the ends of canals, and inhibit pollution.

Egypt celebrates on January 27 its National Environment Day, which marks the day when the first legislation, Law No 4 of 1994, to protect the environment in the country was issued.

The celebration this year was held under the theme Green Recovery  A way to post-COVID-19.

The National Environment Day is held in light of the need to raise public awareness of the environment protection.

The notion was adopted by the ministry in cooperation with the Arab Council for Youth and Environment, the statement added.

Pakistan is hosting today the World Environment Day in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program.

As a result of the efforts made by the Egyptian state, Egypt has achieved progress by 7.7 percent over the past 10 years in the Environmental Performance Index, the Cabinet said.

It added that Egypt came at the 94th place on the index in 2020 among 180 countries.

Egypt, among 11 countries, has received two Sustainability Awards from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the field of sustainability for 2020.

The awards came especially in the fields of renewable energy, preserving the environment and empowering women.
Kingwood, WV (26537)

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Thunderstorms this evening, then skies turning partly cloudy after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.
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Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

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Danny Filice, Miles Filice and Maysie Bell climb on the new troll installation, officially named Mama Mimi, by artist Thomas Dambo at Rendezvous Park in Wilson. The troll invites climbing and exploration and will remain in Jackson Hole for up to five years, according to Jackson Hole Public Art.
Recent Thunder Basin High School graduate Rachel Rasse reached out to Cpl. Dan Stroup with a graduation party invite despite the two not seeing each other in nearly 18 years. Stroup vividly remembers the call that came over his radio early that morning when Rasse was born at home, with Stroup responding for assistance.
Ozkaro-in-his-hood - Credit: Ained Cala

Musical styles in Africa and the Caribbean have a long and closely intertwined history. One of the classic examples involves an interchange between the Congo and Cuba. In 1933, the company EMI launched a new series dedicated to reissuing recordings of Cuban son  tunes driven by a guitar-like instrument called a tres, a clave rhythm, and call-and-response vocals. International companies were expanding into African markets around the same time, and the son cuts proved to be not only a popular export, but an impactful one.

In the Congo, some listeners noticed a rhythmic kinship between son and local musical forms. As one woman told Bob White, a professor of anthropology at the University of Montreal, in his 2002 study of Congolese music, son already comes from Africa. It was Africans that were sold over there [to Cuba during slavery] and they started singing in the fields and they tried to play this music that came from here, the music that they brought with them, the woman added.

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Congolese musicians started to put their own spin on son, developing a style dubbed Congolese rumba. Its circular: Cuban son doesnt exist without that African musical heritage in the first place, musicologist Wayne Marshall told Rolling Stone in 2018. And then what was first called Congolese rumba, the reason its called that is because its based on Cuban son records that became popular in the Congo.

If Whites scholarly study is too dry for you, Bakoso: AfroBeats of Cuba, a documentary which debuted on PBS last month, provides a vital modern example of a similar process. Students from Africa studying at medical schools in Cuba brought their love of afrobeats (swaying polyrhythmic pop beloved in Nigeria) or kuduro (a speedier, more agitated form of club music popular in Angola) with them. Before long, a natural process of osmosis occurred, as Cuban artists soaked up those influences and started to use them in their own work.

Story continues

African rhythms like kuduro, azonto, [and] afrobeats, which are invading the streets of Santiago, [Cuba], young people like us are dancing to that all the time, the rapper and beat-maker Ozkaro DLGA2 explains in the film. We wanted to give these rhythms a touch of Cuba [and] we realized it was easy to fuse these with our conga, with our rumba. The new style now has its own name: bakoso.

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The seeds of Bakoso grew from director and producer Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzis trip to Ghana over a decade ago. I was tracing our own ancestry, we have a lot of Yoruban roots, and I wanted to go back to Nigeria, the director explains. But UC Berkeley, where he was a student at the time, didnt have a study abroad program in Nigeria, so Jacobs-Fantauzzi got as close as he could, ending up in Ghana.

He quickly became enthralled with a popular musical fusion called hiplife, a mixture of hip-hop and a local style dubbed highlife. That was the sound at the time, Jacobs-Fantauzzi remembers. In Ghana, he oversaw two radio shows, steeping himself in the music scene. Then he had a version of the same epiphany as the Congolese woman interviewed by White: I was checking out their different rhythmic patterns [in Ghanaian music] and started to see theyre similar to the ones they play in the Caribbean, Jacobs-Fantauzzi says.

He had already directed Inventos: Hip Hop Cubano, a documentary on Cubas rap scene; now he set his sights on hiplife. Homegrown: Hiplife in Ghana came out in 2008, and several years later, on a trip back to Cuba, the director played the film for DJ Jigue, a producer and label-owner. DJ Jigues response was immediate: He said, man, theyre doing this in my neighborhood on the other side of the island,' Jacobs-Fantauzzi recalls.

bakoso dancers

DJ Jigue cued up a song, Ozkaro & Azeres Llora Como Llore Yo, to prove that Ghanaian music was influencing local artists. The track melds electronic claps thwacking out a clave pattern with passages that feel more akin to afro-house. I felt like a new genre was being born, Jacobs-Fantauzzi says. He decided to document the scene for his next film.

DJ Jigue is Bakosos central character: The camera follows him as he leaves Havana and returns to his hometown, Santiago, to meet with artists and producers creating new bakoso tunes. One connection leads to the next, giving the short film  its around 50 minutes long  a charming, off-the-cuff feel. DJ Jigue bounces from one recording studio to the next, even making a stop at a childrens dance school that played a key role in popularizing kinetic routines set to African music, before enlisting musicians to try to create his own contribution to the growing bakoso scene.

Musical trends come and go, but Bakoso argues that this recent style in Cuba is more than just a fad  its a way of reconnecting with the countrys musical roots in African traditions while updating them at the same time. Fernando Ortiz [a famous Cuban scholar] reminds us that forgetting the past is a way to commit cultural suicide, Raul Miyares explains. Merging these African rhythms with contemporary sounds is also to revive the African heritage that Cubans hold.

I think sometimes we only think about the transatlantic slave trade, what happened in the past, adds Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, who helped produce the film with his brother. This music is looking to the future, fusing this ancestral historical sound with something very modern.

And while the music industry in the U.S. and Western Europe likes to think of itself as the center of the universe, Eli points out that  unlike the transmissions that spawned Congolese rumba from Cuban son  the back-and-forth that created Bakoso took place without international intervention. A lot of times when we think about music, we think people have to go through the U.S. and Europe to get exposure, the director says. Part of what really made this film exciting and new is that these African students from all different regions of the continent were bringing the music directly to Cuba. Its a direct connection between the continent and the Caribbean, with no Western filter.

Maybe its not surprising, then, that the U.S. hasnt paid much attention to bakoso yet. But the musics growth seems likely to continue, at least if the rapper Maykel El Padriano has anything to say about it. As he walks the streets in the film and greets his fans, he pauses to turn back to the camera and deliver a simple promise: I will not stop doing this genre.

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The center of our Milky Way galaxy, imaged by the Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared cameras on October 9, 2019. NASA, JPL-Caltech, Susan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al.

On a clear night, the Milky Way forms a brilliant, multicolored arch in the sky.

Capture the Atlas' "Milky Way Photographer of the Year" winners caught this spectacle on camera.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

You don't need a telescope to see the Milky Way, but our galaxy isn't always visible in the night sky.

Photographers usually have to wait for the perfect moment - before sunrise, when the moon has set - to catch the starry spectacle. The sky must also be free of light pollution from city buildings or satellites.

But in the right conditions, the galaxy arches across the sky in a multicolored band that can seem like a rainbow's nocturnal cousin.

The travel photography blog Capture the Atlas recently highlighted 25 images that represent this phenomenon as part of its "Milky Way Photographer of the Year" contest. Though the southern hemisphere usually has the best vantage points, the photos were snapped in 12 different countries, including the US and Spain.

The contest doesn't have one overall winner, so here are 10 of the most stunning images from the bunch.

Photographer Bryony Richards snapped this shot of the Milky Way's core just before dawn at the Capitol Reef National Park in Utah.

Bryony Richards/Capture the Atlas

The Milky Way's core, or bulge, is a mixture of old stars, gas, and dust.

Further west in Utah, the Milky Way lurks outside a stone cavern at the Grand Staircase-Escalante monument.

Spencer Welling/Capture the Atlas

"Due to its remoteness, this natural stone chamber provides some of the clearest, most pristine views of the Milky Way," photographer Spencer Welling wrote in his caption of the photo.

Utah's southwestern deserts are ideal for stargazing, since much of the land is protected and little urban light pollutes the night sky.

The Milky Way's famous Southern Cross constellation hovers above the Villarrica Volcano in Chile in this image from photographer Tomas Slovinsky.

Tomas Slovinsky/Capture the Atlas

Slovinsky used the constellation as a guidepost for spotting the south celestial pole  the point in the sky directly above Earth's southern axis.

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His photo also captures two prominent nebulae  clouds of dust and gas in which new stars form. The Coalsack Nebula, located within the Southern Cross constellation, is visible as a dark smudge just above the volcano. It's approximately 590 light-years from Earth.

In the upper left corner, the Carina Nebula lights up pink in the sky. It's located around 8,500 light-years from Earth.

Even some of the world's largest waterfalls, like Brazil's Iguazu Falls, appear small relative to a Milky Way backdrop.

Victor Lima/Capture the Atlas

Photographer Victor Lima had to secure special permission to take this photograph  he spent four days in the Iguazu National Park, with jaguars roaming at night.

His image captures the Milky Way alongside one of the park's main waterfalls, the "Santa Maria Jump." You can spot Saturn just above the waterfall, below the Milky Way core.

The Ijen volcano complex in Java, Indonesia spews electric-blue flames at night - a result of sulfur combusting when it comes in contact with air. The colors are a striking compliment to the Milky Way.

Gary Bhaztara/Capture the Atlas

"The blue fire was burning just below the mountain while the Milky Way kept rising," photographer Gary Bhaztara wrote in his caption of the photo.

Photographer Jose Luis Cantabrana almost gave up on capturing this eerie shot in Victoria, Australia.

Jose Luis Cantabrana/Capture the Atlas

"I had brought a new piece of equipment with me, a star tracker, and as soon I started to set it up, I knew it was going to be a tricky night," Cantabrana wrote in his caption.

"After numerous failed attempts to align it towards the south celestial pole, I was ready to give up, but I decided to take a shot and 'see what happens' while the galactic core was rising up," he added.

The result is a shadowy image of the Milky Way looming above the coast.

Farther north in Australia, the galaxy forms an ethereal arch over crescent-shaped sand dunes.

Daniel Thomas Gum/Capture the Atlas

Photographer Daniel Thomas Gum drove from his home in Sydney to nab this view from Lake Mongo in New South Wales. The setting was "otherworldly," he wrote in his caption.

"Large, jagged walls framed a winding path leading to a centered spire to the west," Gum said. "There was only ever going to be one way to do it justice and that was as a multi-layered Milky Way panorama."

In New Zealand, photographer Larryn Rae climbed for 4 hours to capture this image on a windy night.

Larryn Rae/Capture the Atlas

Rae took the photo at the summit of Fanthams Peak, part of the Mount Taranaki volcano.

He had to lug his equipment up 6,500 feet amid 43-mile-per-hour winds and near-freezing temperatures (around 5 degrees Fahrenheit).

Photographer Antonio Solano encountered more ideal conditions - clear skies and no wind - in La Palma, Spain.

Antonio Solano/Capture the Atlas

Solano took the photo during the final night of his trip to the island. The "Roque de los Muchachos," a rocky mound at the island's highest point, sits at the base of the Milky Way.

Winter months normally aren't ideal for spotting the Milky Way, but freezing temperatures didn't stop Pablo Ruiz from snapping this picture in Riano, Spain.

Pablo Ruiz/Capture the Atlas

The prime viewing time for the Milky Way usually comes in May and June. However, the galaxy can still be seen in the northern hemisphere from February to October, and in the southern hemisphere from January to November.

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Two parents were arrested Friday in California after allegedly neglecting their three adopted kids.

One of the kids - 15-year-old Karreon Franks - was disabled and died from starvation, the Oregonian reported.

Just hours after his death, his parents went to a casino.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two parents from Vancouver, Washington, were arrested Friday in California on suspicion of second-degree murder and homicide by abuse in the death of their adopted disabled son Karreon Franks.

The Oregonian reported that the parents - Jesse Franks and Felicia Adams-Franks - allegedly hit the casino just hours after Karreon died last November.

Police found Karreon and his two younger brothers, who were also adopted, were severely neglected and malnourished by the adoptive parents, the Oregonian reported.

Adams-Franks on November 27 brought Karreon to a Washington hospital, where he died 14 minutes after admission. At the time, the cause of death was identified as pneumonia, according to the Oregonian, but funeral home staff members later said they had "concerns with his appearance," prompting the police to investigate.

In April of this year, a medical examiner said Karreon, who was 15, died of starvation.

According to court records obtained by the Oregonian, the parents neglected their three kids for years. They restricted access to food and abused them, the outlet reported.

Karreon was autistic, blind, and nonverbal, and a social worker said he looked like a "walking skeleton" when she conducted a review of the family home a week ahead of his death, court records say, according to the Oregonian.

The teen's aunt - the kids' biological mother - allegedly tipped off Washington state child welfare agencies about the conditions that the kids were subjected to while living with her sister. She said her sister had deliberately withheld food from Karreon and his two brothers, the Oregonian reported.

Just hours after Karreon died in November, the parents went to a casino. According to police records obtained by the Oregonian, the two lost about $280,000 over the course of their lifetime gambling.

Read the original article on Insider
France is suspending its joint military operations with local troops in Mali to pressure the military junta there, which derailed a transition to democratic elections last week when it arrested interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and pushed them to resign, following an earlier coup last August.

Former vice president Assimi Goita, a colonel who led that coup and last week's revolt, was declared president on Friday.

Pending guarantees of a civilian transition, French forces will continue to operate in the country separately -- as they wage counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militants in Mali and the wider Sahel region.

But President Emmanuel Macron warned on Sunday that France could withdraw after the latest power grab -- especially if the junta decides to negotiate with Islamist militants.

France, the former colonial power, has more than 5,000 troops in Mali.

It has hailed some successes in recent months, but grown increasingly frustrated that there's no end in sight to its operations.

Militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold across the region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.

West African regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union have suspended Mali from their organisations and threatened sanctions.

A spokesman for the Malian army declined to comment on what he termed a political matter.

Video Transcript

LUCY FIELDER: France is suspending its joint military operations with local troops in Mali to pressure the military junta there, which derailed a transition to democratic elections last week when its arrested interim President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and pushed them to resign, following an earlier coup last August.

Former Vice President Assimi Goita, a colonel who led that coup and last week's revolt was declared president on Friday. Pending guarantees of a civilian transition, French forces will continue to operate in the country separately as they wage counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militants in Mali and the wider Sahel region.

Story continues

But President Emmanuel Macron warned on Sunday that France could withdraw after the latest power grab, especially if the junta decides to negotiate with Islamist militants. France, the former colonial power, has more than 5,000 troops in Mali. It has hailed some successes in recent months but grown increasingly frustrated that there's no end in sight to its operations.

[ENGINE ROARING]

Militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold across the region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso. West African regional block ECOWAS and the African Union have suspended Mali from their organizations and threatened sanctions. A spokesman for the Malian army declined to comment on what he termed a political matter.
Microsoft is once again coming under fire for a botched approach to China web searches. Both Motherboard and The Guardian report that Bing inadvertently blocked searches for "tank man," the Tiananmen Square protester, in countries like the US, France and Singapore. The block was due to an "accidental human error" that Microsoft was trying to fix, according to a spokesperson.

Sites that license results from Microsoft, such as DuckDuckGo, also suffered as a result.

A block on keywords like "tank man" was expected in China. Microsoft can run Bing in China as it has an agreement to filter out searches for subjects the Chinese government doesn't like, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre (whose anniversary passed on June 4th) or the Dalai Lama. Rivals like Google refuse to operate in China due to censorship concerns.

Still, this isn't very flattering for Microsoft. It both draws attention to the mistake and gives web users a taste of what Bing censorship is like China. That's the opposite of what the company would want given the US government's increasingly cold attitude toward China and companies that do business in the country.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A Mississippi teen was shot and killed hours after her high school graduation.

Kennedy Hobbs was shot multiple times at a gas station hours after the June 1 ceremony, per the AP.

Her killing comes amid an uptick in crime in Jackson, Mississippi, after a record year for homicides in the capital city.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Mississippi teen was shot and killed just hours after she received her diploma at her high school graduation earlier this week.

Kennedy Hobbs attended Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi. A video posted on Facebook shows 18-year-old Hobbs on Tuesday crossing the stage in her cap and gown at her in-person graduation ceremony.

However, the celebratory day turned grim after Hobbs was shot multiple times and died at a local Texaco gas station around 11 p.m. that night, the Associated Press reported. Police told The Washington Post that the gas station's surveillance cameras weren't working at the time of the killing and while authorities were seeking witnesses, no one had been arrested as of Friday in connection to the shooting.

Hobbs had a waxing business and was known for her love of fashion, according to WLBT-TV.

"Kennedy was loving; Kennedy was outstanding; everyone loved Kennedy," Hobbs' godsister, Teiaudria Hawkins, told the outlet. "I can't even describe the feeling; we are torn to pieces. We all are. From her classmates to her family to her friends--This is unbelievable. We just want to know why. What happened?"

Hobbs' boyfriend was fatally shot just months before her death in April, The Washington Post reported. Her killing comes amid an uptick in crime in the state's capital, with the city marking 57 in homicides in 2021 so far, according to the outlet.

The city in 2020 marked a record number of homicides with almost 130 killings, most of which were gun-related, law enforcement told the AP.

Read the original article on Insider
U.S. soldiers mistakenly stormed a factory that makes vegetable oil equipment in Bulgaria during a training exercise last month in an incident that has led to criticism from America's Eastern European ally and a lawsuit from the factory's owner.

U.S. soldiers entered and cleared a building next to an airfield in southern Bulgaria that they believed was part of the training area, the U.S. Army said in a statement Tuesday.

But there were Bulgarian civilians operating a private business in the building, it said, adding that no weapons were fired at any time during the interaction.

The soldiers had simulated seizing and securing a decommissioned airfield in the town of Cheshnegirovo as part of the exercise, the statement said.

We sincerely apologize to the business and its employees, it added. We always learn from these exercises and are fully investigating the cause of this mistake.

The statement did not identify the company, but The Associated Press released surveillance video shared by KIM Engineering Ltd. that showed soldiers in camouflage roaming through a factory-like facility with guns drawn.

Image: U.S. soldiers accidentally stormed an oil refinement equipment company in Bulgaria during a NATO training exercise. (KIM Engineering Ltd. / AP)

KIM Engineering makes vegetable oil refinement equipment, according to its website, and is based next to the Cheshnegirovo airfield.

Company owner Marin Dimitrov has filed suit, according to the A.P., calling the raid an illegal invasion of private property, saying he was offended and humiliated.

It is as if we are bandits, criminals, even though we are carrying out normal activities, Dimitrov added.

"Seven armed soldiers enter, aiming their weapons at the workers, Dimitrov told the A.P. The cameras show that the worker raises his hands, they said in English to sit down, of course my people obey, they are very scared.

NBC News has reached out to Dimitrov for comment.

The incident also prompted indignation from Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.

Bulgarian TV channel NOVA quoted Radev as saying Monday it was absolutely unacceptable to have the life and calm of Bulgarian citizens put at risk by military units, be they part of the Bulgarian or foreign armed forces.

Story continues

Exercises with allies on the territory of Bulgaria should contribute to building security and trust in collective defense, not breed tension, Radev added, according to NOVA. He also called for a thorough investigation and disclosure of the names of the officials responsible for the incident.

NBC News has reached out to Radevs office and the Bulgarian interior ministry for further comment.

Image: U.S. paratroopers of the 173rd airborne brigade of the United States Army prepare to board an aircraft in Papa, Hungary, (Laszlo Balogh / AP)

Bulgaria and the United States are NATO allies. The bloc referred NBC News to American authorities for comment as the exercise was U.S.-led.

A former Soviet-satellite state, Bulgaria has been a NATO member since 2004.

A 2020 poll showed that NATO is generally seen in a positive light across the alliance, but positive opinions of NATO are down significantly in Bulgaria over the past decade. In nearly every country surveyed, larger shares support close ties with the U.S. than with Russia, but Bulgaria was one of two exceptions.

However, the U.S. says it has enjoyed a robust security relationship with Bulgaria over 15 years. Over the last five years, the State Department said the U.S. has provided more than $160 million in security assistance to Bulgaria.

CORRECTION (June 4, 2021, 7:48 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the nature of the military exercise. It was a U.S.-led exercise involving NATO countries, not a NATO exercise.
File photo shows a man standing passively to block a column of army tanks on Changan Avenue east of Tiananmen Square in Beijing

By Paresh Dave and Joseph Menn

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp on Friday blamed "accidental human error" for its Bing search engine not showing image results for the query "tank man" in the United States and elsewhere after users raised concerns about possible censorship around the Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary.

Users, including in the United Kingdom, Germany and Singapore, reported Friday that when they performed the search Bing returned the message, "There are no results for tank man."

David Greene, civil liberties director at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, said that content moderation was impossible to do perfectly and "egregious mistakes are made all the time."

But he said it could be more sinister: "At worst, this was purposeful suppression at the request of a powerful state."

Hours after Microsoft acknowledged the issue, the "tank man" search returned only pictures of tanks elsewhere in the world.

"Tank man" is often used to describe an unidentified person famously pictured standing before tanks in China's Tiananmen Square during pro-democracy demonstrations in June 1989.

Microsoft said the issue was "due to an accidental human error and we are actively working to resolve this."

Smaller search engines such as DuckDuckGo that license results from Microsoft faced similar issues around "tank man" searches and said they expected a fix soon.

Rival Google showed many results for the famous image when the "tank man" search was performed on Friday.

A significant percentage of the Microsoft employees who work on Bing are based in China, including some who work on image-recognition software, according to a former employee.

China is known to require search engines operating in its jurisdiction to censor results, but those restrictions are rarely applied elsewhere.

(Reporting by Paresh Dave in Oakland, Calif. and Joseph Menn in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)
That old chestnut about bravery  that its not lack of fear; its being afraid and doing it anyway  is true in Lessley Martinez case.

She was plenty scared when she left home in Colima, Mexico, to move in with an aunt and uncle in Yakima. She was 15 and, though she was born in Texas and lived in the United States until she was 4, she barely spoke English at all. But the United States held opportunities Mexico didnt. Here she could go to college, get a good job and have a better life. She could help her family.

So, while her parents and brothers stayed in Mexico, Martinez moved 2,500 miles away to a place where she didnt speak the language and enrolled as a sophomore at West Valley High School.

I was really scared and nervous, because I was leaving my family, she said. But my heart was telling me to keep going and make my dream come true and help my family, too.

Now 18, Martinez graduates this week and is headed to Montana State University on a virtually full scholarship, which will be bolstered by her National Guard scholarship. Shell study criminology and psychology while serving in the Guard, all with an eye toward a career in police work.

I want to be a detective, Martinez said. Since I was really little I always wanted to be a police officer, helping people.

She got to this point with plenty of help. Her aunt and uncle, Charles and Elizabeth Dorrell, made her feel at home from day one, she said. And her classmates were overwhelmingly supportive. There were some who ridiculed her lack of English but many more who understood, sympathized with and supported Martinez. Her fellow cadets in the West Valley Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps were particularly supportive, she said.

I had a great high school experience, Martinez said. I had so many friends.

That doesnt mean it was always easy.

My first month, honestly I was thinking, What if I dont graduate? What if I dont make it? she said. I was lost. But my family and friends just pushed me, and I started to work harder.

Martinez joined the JROTC and the school forensics club, eventually becoming president of the latter. Her English improved quickly, in part through hard work and in part through the organic process of just spending time around English speakers.

I knew in my heart I had the potential, she said. I just had to trust myself.

For motivation, all she had to do was think of her family back home. Her parents, Marisol and Jesus Martinez, and her twin brothers could use the sort of financial help a well-paying career in the United States can offer. She hopes to start sending money soon, and ultimately she hopes to bring them all back to the United States to enjoy the same opportunity she has.

Im just looking forward to helping my parents, giving them a better life, Martinez said.

Her mother is in town this week for graduation, but she hasnt seen her father since leaving home.

I plan to go visit him as soon as possible, Martinez said. They told me theyre proud of me. They believe in me, and now that college is coming theyre even more sure that I can make it.
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News

Tucson, Arizona - On Tuesday, Justin Way, 39, was deported to the United States after his arrest in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Way was wanted by the Tucson Police Department for four felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

I would like to thank our law enforcement partners in the Republic of Mexico for working closely with us in the arrest and immediate deportation of this sexual predator, said United States Marshal David Gonzales.

It is alleged that Way was forcing a 13-year-old victim into a sexual relationship with him over the course of a year. Way went so far as to threaten the victim with physical harm if they told anyone. On February 14, 2017, the Tucson Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for the Marana man.

Investigators from the Tucson Police Department obtained information from a source that indicated Way had fled to Mexico after the warrant was issued and was living in Puerto Penasco. Upon learning this information, Tucson Police contacted the United States Marshals Service led Arizona WANTED Task Forces, Mexico Investigative Liaison, for assistance with the case.

Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Tucson office specially trained to work fugitive cases in other countries adopted the case and began working leads on Ways whereabouts. U.S. Marshals Service Deputies learned Way was residing at a residence in Puerto Penasco and worked alongside Mexican authorities to narrow down a specific location.

On Monday, May 31, 2021 Mexican Police in Puerto Penasco were able to apprehend Way on the sexual conduct with a minor warrant. On June 1, 2021 Way was deported from Mexico and was turned over to Tucson law enforcement to face his charges.

Way was transported and booked into Pima County Adult Detention Center on the felony warrant and is awaiting further court proceedings in the case.

"I am very pleased to learn that the US Marshals were able to assist us in catching this dangerous felon" said Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus.
News

Washington, DC - A Washington man was arrested on Friday, May 28, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on criminal charges related to his alleged efforts to join Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, in order to engage in violent acts of terrorism in the Middle East or the United States.

According to court documents, Elvin Hunter Bgorn Williams, 20, of Seattle, was arrested as he prepared to board an international flight following a lengthy investigation into his efforts to join ISIS.

As alleged, Williams was determined to support ISIS either by traveling overseas to join and fight with the terrorist organization, or by conducting an attack here in the United States, said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the Justice Departments National Security Division. The FBI was just as determined to stop him, and he was intercepted as he tried to make his way abroad. The threat of terrorism at home and abroad remains, and the National Security Division is committed to holding accountable those who would provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations. I want to thank the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this case.

This defendant proved persistent in his efforts to join ISIS  speaking with enthusiasm about acts of horrific bloodshed in the Middle East and here at home, said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman for the Western District of Washington. I want to commend those citizens who contacted law enforcement  including his family and faith community - expressing concerns about the defendants radicalization. Their courage to speak up and work with law enforcement was important to ensure public safety.

This individual self-radicalized, pledged loyalty to ISIS, and became consumed with activities to join the cause overseas, said Special Agent in Charge Donald M. Voiret of the FBI Seattle Field Office. We are grateful for the concerned citizens and family members who reported his behavior on multiple occasions and all of the law enforcement agencies who worked tirelessly on this case. These combined efforts no doubt saved lives.

Todays announcement should serve as a warning that the FBI is determined to see justice served upon those who would attempt to support terrorist organizations and acts of violence against the United States at home and abroad, stated Acting Assistant Director Patrick Reddan Jr. of the FBIs Counterterrorism Division. This individuals efforts to travel overseas to join ISIS and engage in violent terrorist activities has now been thwarted due to the relentless work of the FBI and its law enforcement partners. This announcement should also serve as a stark reminder of the persistent threat posed by foreign terrorist organizations to the Homeland. Combatting terrorism remains the FBIs top priority. The men and women of the FBI are committed to working with our Joint Terrorism Task Force partners to protect the communities we serve.

In November 2020, a member of a Seattle-area mosque contacted the FBI with concerns about Williams. The mosque had attempted to provide support and guidance to Williams, but members became aware he was deeply involved in ISIS propaganda. Williams was using mosque-provided electronic devices to engage in online chats with ISIS radicals and to view ISIS propaganda videos of beheadings and other acts of violence. In November 2020, Williams allegedly swore an oath of allegiance to ISIS.

Using confidential sources close to Williams, the FBI monitored his activity and became aware of his efforts to travel to the Middle East and join ISIS. Williams expressed to his associates that if he could not travel overseas, he would commit an attack in the U.S. on behalf of ISIS. Williams began communicating with those he believed were ISIS recruiters who could get him to an ISIS terror cell in the Middle East or other parts of the world.

In early May 2021, Williams booked airline travel from Seattle to Amsterdam and on to Egypt to join ISIS. On Friday May 28, 2021, he went to Sea-Tac Airport to catch the first leg of his international flight. Williams was arrested at the departure gate.

Williams is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force in Seattle with assistance from the King County Sheriffs Office; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Homeland Security Investigations; Federal Air Marshals; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; U.S Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Transportation Security Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Seattle Police Department; Bellevue Police Department; and Port of Seattle Police Department are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg of the Western District of Washingtons Violent Crimes and Terrorism Unit, and Trial Attorney Andrew Sigler of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - In partnership with Arizona Western College, the Civility Project with Nolan Finley and Stephen Henderson brings insights, tips, and hands-on skill-building to a June 22nd Zoom session designed to empower people to find ways to understand one another in an increasingly fraught time.

Sponsored by Delta Dental and TCF Bank, this lively, interactive virtual session will engage participants in learning about the importance of civility, the power to find ways to be civil in increasingly turbulent times, and how to spread civility.

To register for the program, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pd-yvrzkiGNKhmxGRqobzLYDa2qXustVw

The program (4-5:30 p.m.) session will engage participants in hands-on conversation that explores opportunities for building civility in their relationships, workplaces, and communities. Held on Zoom, small groups of participants will connect in Breakout Rooms throughout the session, putting the parameters of civility to work.

We are honored to bring the Civility Project to Yuma, says Stephen Henderson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Executive Editor of BridgeDetroit and host of Detroit Today on WDET FM. Anywhere people are interested in finding ways to understand one another, we want to encourage that instinct. We are better when we can truly listen.

Yuma is leading the way in putting tough issues front and center, says Nolan Finley, Editorial Page Editor of the Detroit News. The desire of community leaders across the political spectrum to address issues of inequity and tension through productive conversation and empower people with the tools to build civility is making this region a leader in civic dialogue.

The event is a collaborative effort sponsored jointly by Arizona Western College, Arizona State University, Sunrise Optimist Club, Cenpatico Integrated Care, the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce and UA-Yuma.



Our team is really excited to bring this workshop here for the sake of deepening that collaborative spirit Yuma is known for, says Lori Stofft, Vice President of Advancement for AWC. In order for us to work together to make good things happen for our neighbors, its important that nobody feels disenfranchised or disconnected. Our connections with each other are our greatest power.

About the Civility Project

Celebrated journalists first connected when they served as the Editorial Page Editors of Detroits two newspapers - Finley at the conservative Detroit News, who still holds the position, and Henderson at the liberal Detroit Free Press. But while people put them together to watch sparks fly, the pair built an unexpected and fruitful friendship despite their different perspectives on pretty much everything. The one thing they agree on is the importance of ongoing dialogue  which includes a healthy dose of disagreement and an intense desire to come together over common interests, one of which is a passion for bourbon.

It never occurred to us that we couldnt be friends because we disagree, says Finley. We never avoid conversation, we never pull punches, we sort of enjoy the mix-up.

Americans used to engage in civil conversation with people of opposing viewpoints  enjoying the banter and debate. Today, many Americans believe they cant be friends with people whose politics are different. And with the increasing political divide, not understanding the other side can be dangerous.

Finley and Henderson formed The Civility Project as a way to bring people of opposing viewpoints together for healthy disagreement, personal interaction and constructive conversation. In virtual and in-person workshops, participants learn how the pair navigate their often fraught relationship and gain tools for doing so in their own lives and workplaces. Participants engage in enlightening discussion, learn to listen well, and learn why listening is a key element of civility.

If we reach the point where we dehumanize the people we disagree with, society begins to fall apart, Henderson says. We must learn to talk to people as people, rather than political adversaries.

Based in Detroit and serving audiences across America, the Civility Project places people before the moment of disagreement in discussion of how we come to our beliefs and viewpoints. It is funded by Delta Dental and TCF Bank.

To book a session, contact Lynne Golodner at (248) 376-0406 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Learn more at www.greatlakescivilityproject.com.

Follow the Civility Project on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatLakesCivilityProject/.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - Yuma County Health Officials confirm 3 new cases of COVID-19 and *1 new death, bringing the total cases to 37,247 and total deaths to 842. Health officials are conducting contact investigations.

*NOTE: Today, One (1) death was reported. Based on the ADHS/County Vital Records Surveillance information, reported death occurred as described below:

5/28/2021 (1)

The Yuma County Public Health Services District (YCPHSD) has announced they will continue offering vaccine in June:

June COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics (@Health District)

Will be held Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for entire month of June.

Clinic hours for all 4 days will be 8:30-11:30

All 3 vaccines available, although availability may vary (Pfizer, Moderna and J&J)

NOTE: availability of specific vaccine on each day will vary. PLEASE call ahead for information about specific vaccines on specific days.

An appointment MUST BE MADE by calling 928-317-4550 or 928-317-4687. There is NO ONLINE registration for these clinics.

The Moderna vaccine and currently can be given to anyone aged 18 and over. More information can be found on the CDC's website.

A State run vaccination POD (Point of Distribution) is in operation at the Yuma Civic Center in cooperation with YRMC. The POD hours are Wednesday  Saturday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm (closed Sunday Tuesday). The state-supported COVID vaccine clinic at the Yuma Civic Center will close on June 26.

The POD carries the Pfizer vaccine which is cleared to be given to ages 16 and older. Appointments are available by visiting podvaccine.azdhs.gov or calling 1-844-542-8201. Both the online registration and phone line are available in English and Spanish.

The Yuma County Health District expects to receive additional COVID-19 vaccine this week as part of its continuing effort to work with area partners in administering vaccinations. When doses are received, they will be shared with area providers to accommodate vaccination clinics throughout the County. Please visit the Arizona Department of Health Services  Vaccine Finder for the most up-to-date information on where vaccine is currently available. The website is updated frequently.

NOTE: All new cases of COVID-19 will include any positive cases from Yuma County Correctional Facilities and Testing Blitz locations.

Arizona currently has 883,037 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 17,673 deaths

Yuma County currently has 37,247 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 842 deaths

Currently 146,126 Yuma County residents have been tested

Currently 2 Yuma County Residents are hospitalized AS OF 8 am 06/4/21; please note the hospitalization numbers offer an accurate snapshot at the time of our daily update, but numbers may fluctuate throughout the day

Data is provisional and subject to change:



Yuma County Schools  Snapshot (reported weekly by ADHS)















NOTE: Recently the UofA Center for Excellence in Desert Agriculture received funding approval from the Yuma County Board of Supervisors for a wastewater (sewer) surveillance program. This would be used as a potential mitigation tool as part of a layered multi-faceted approach to address COVID-19. The public can learn more about this at the CDCs National Wastewater Surveillance System web page.

I HAVE RECEIVED MY COVID-19 TEST, NOW WHAT DO I DO?:



When you can be around others depends on different factors for different situations. By following these steps (follow the link) you can continue to help stop the spread:



English - What now?



Spanish  What now?



TESTING OPPORTUNITIES:

YRMC

2460 S Parkview Loop #2

Yuma, AZ 85364

(928) 336-2160

8:00 - 11:30 am  12:00  3:50 pm Mon-Fri

Must have a Doctors order  By appointment

No fee to you with insurance

$125 without insurance

(25% discount for not having insurance, and 10% discount if paid within 30 days of test date)

YRMC  Foothills Walk-in Clinic

11142 S Scottsdale Dr

Yuma, AZ 85367

(928) 336-1815

8:00 am  1:00 pm Sat

Must have a Doctors order  By appointment

No fee to you with insurance

$125 without insurance

(25% discount for not having insurance, and 10% discount if paid within 30 days of test date)

San Luis Walk In Clinic - SAN LUIS

1896 E. Babbitt Ln

San Luis, AZ 85349

(928) 722-6112

7:00 am  3:00 pm Mon-Fri

Rapid testing available

No fee to you with insurance 1 time

No appointments available, drive up testing

Antibody (COVID-19 past exposure test) & Swab (COVID-19 diagnosis test) and Flu Vaccines

San Luis Walk In Clinic - SOMERTON

950 E. Main St. Building B

Somerton, AZ 85349

(928) 236-8001

7:00 am  3:00 pm Mon-Fri

Rapid testing available

No fee to you with insurance 1 time

No appointments available, drive up testing

Antibody (COVID-19 past exposure test) & Swab (COVID-19 diagnosis test) and Flu Vaccines

NextCare

1394 W. 16th St

Yuma, AZ 85364

(928) 539-0055

8:00 am  8:00 pm Sun-Sat

www.nextcare.com  Check in online

Covid-19 Testing

Antibody Testing

No fee to you with insurance

$161 without insurance

Limited number available

Doctor determines if the test will be Rapid or Send off

San Luis Urgent Care

1233 N Main St Suite 1A

San Luis, AZ 85366

(928) 550-5514

9:00 am  9:00 pm Mon-Sat

NO RAPID TESTING AVAILABLE

Lab ONLY after evaluation with a doctor. Doctor determines if they will test.

No fee if you do not have insurance

Pinnacle Healthcare

4343 E 31st Place

Yuma, AZ 85365

(928) 341.4544

9:00 am  3:00 pm Mon-Fri

No appointment needed. Drive-thru

Send out testing - $50

Rapid testing - $75

No fee to you with insurance

St. Francis of Assisi Yuma  Embry Health

1815 S. 8th Ave.

Yuma, AZ 85364

(480) 376-2170

8:00 am  2:00 pm  Mon-Thurs/Sat/Sun

1:00 pm  6:00 pm  Friday

No fee

St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Yuma  Embry Health

11545 E. 40th St.

Yuma, AZ 85367

(480) 376-2170

8:00 am  2:30 pm Mon-Fri

8:00 am  3:00 pm Sat

No fee

Arizona Desert Elementary School  Embry Health

1245 N. Main St.

San Luis, AZ 85349

(480) 376-2170

1:00 pm  5:00 pm  Mon-Fri

8:00 am  5:00 pm  Sat & Sun

No fee

PrimeCare Valley

1581 S 6th Ave

Yuma, AZ 85364

(928) 343-0488

Testing Daily 8:00am - 6:30pm

Rapid antigen testing available $25

Rapid antibody testing available $70

Regular-Send Out Test (PCR) No fee to you with insurance

Regular-Send Out Test (PCR) FREE to you without insurance

PrimeCare Central

284 W 32nd St

Yuma, AZ 85364

(928) 341-4563

Testing Daily 7:00am - 9:30pm

Rapid antigen testing available $25

Rapid antibody testing available $70

Regular-Send Out Test (PCR) No fee to you with insurance

Regular-Send Out Test (PCR) FREE to you without insurance

PrimeCare Foothills

11279 S Glenwood Ave

Yuma, AZ 85367

(928) 345-6830

Testing Monday-Friday 7:00am - 2:30pm

Saturday-Sunday 7am-11:30pm

Rapid antigen testing available $25

Rapid antibody testing available $70

Regular-Send Out Test (PCR) No fee to you with insurance

Regular-Send Out Test (PCR) FREE to you without insurance

Question of the Day: Why do kids need the COVID-19 vaccine since they dont get that sick if they are infected? (Source: Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia)

While children and teens may not be as likely to get severely ill from COVID-19, it can still happen and, in fact, the average age of hospitalizations has been decreasing, particularly since the oldest members of our communities have been vaccinated. With this in mind, parents and teens should consider the following:

In the first 13 months of the pandemic, more than 1.5 million 12- to 17-year-olds have been knowingly infected. This number is likely to be an under-representation given that many people may not have symptoms or be sick enough to get tested or seek medical care.



Hospitalization rates among this age group have also been increasing. More than 13,000 12- to 17-year-olds were hospitalized with COVID-19 by early May 2021, and, in fact, more teens have been hospitalized with COVID-19 than were hospitalized with H1N1 during the 2009-2010 influenza pandemic.



Conditions such as obesity, asthma, and developmental delay, as well as other pre-existing conditions, increase the chance for hospitalization.



Finally, this age group can also transmit the infection to more vulnerable family and community members, such as those who are unable to get the vaccine.

Department of Health Services (ADHS) recent updates can be found on the COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard.

You can access the COVID-19 Reporting Dashboard

You can access the COVID-19 Cases by Zip Code

Please take note of new reporting data available on the dashboard:

Summary



Demographics



COVID-19 Deaths



Zip Code



Confirmed COVID-19 Cases by Day



Hospitalization



Hospital COVID-like & Influenza-like illness Surveillance



Laboratory Testing



Congregate Settings with Positive COVID-19 Cases



Hospital Bed Usage & Availability



Ventilator Usage & Availability



Hospital COVID-19 Specific Metrics

HOW can YOU get a flu shot in Yuma County?



The 2020-2021 Seasonal Influenza Vaccine is now available at the Health District, 2200 W. 28th Street in Yuma. Seasonal flu vaccinations are available for all individuals 6 months of age and older. The cost is $25.00 for adults and $10.00 for youth 18 years and younger. Medicare Part B, AHCCCS and Private Insurance are accepted upon presentation of card.



Flu vaccine is available BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Please call: (928)317-4559

Yuma County health officials confirm moderate spread of COVID-19 throughout Yuma County. We encourage all residents to take the necessary precautions including physical distancing and staying home if you are sick. Remember to:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.

Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Avoid people who are sick, and avoid groups of 10 people or more.

Clean and disinfect frequently-touched surfaces like light switches, door knobs, electronic devices, etc.

Stay home if you are sick so you do not expose others.

Practice physical distancing, staying 6 feet away from others.

Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others.

JOINT INFORMATION CENTER (JIC) UPDATE

NOTE, some of the below information has been updated from previous releases. Please be sure to read all segments.

YUMA COUNTY



Yuma County Government Offices PUBLIC visitation hours are (PDF LIST):

County Administration, Human Resources and Financial Services offices at 198 S. Main Street are open to public Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The County Assessor, Treasurer, Recorder and Elections Services, located at 197 S. Main Street/192 Maiden Lane, are open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.



County libraries continue to provide public access based on facility size and staffing to minimize exposure to COVID-19:

The Main Library, San Luis, Somerton and Foothills Libraries will have metered access based on size and staffing, with a limit on the number of people in the library at one time.

Heritage, Dateland, Wellton and Roll Libraries will be by appointment only, due to their smaller staffing.

Please visit the Librarys website for more information on hours and available services.

CITY OF YUMA

City Hall is open 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Face masks are required. Patrons should please use the marked social distance spacing in customer service areas.

To honor our healthcare workers and the sacrifices they make, the City of Yuma has launched Adopt-a-Nurse Yuma, an initiative to pool local resources to provide meals and other encouragement efforts for our citys healthcare workers. Yumans can participate by making a donation, or dropping off a thank-you, Christmas or holiday card. Residents can also simply reach out to an acquaintance in the healthcare field to thank them for the work they are doing on behalf of our entire region. Individuals, businesses, and community organizations interested in supporting the initiative are encouraged to contact Arlyn Galaviz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Marine Corps Air Station - Yuma

Effective 04 September, the Trusted Traveler Program has been reinstated. Visitors without a CAC or DOD identification will be allowed to enter with a sponsor. Visitors will be required to provide justification for needing access to the installation and granted access to the base with someone who has a CAC or DOD identification card who will be sponsoring/escorting them aboard the base.

Under the program, sponsors and/or guests may be subject to a background check.

Safety measures are still required by MCAS Yuma in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

YUMA PROVING GROUND



Although certain access restrictions directed by the Department of the Army are in place, Yuma Proving Ground's essential test mission in support of Army modernization priorities continues. Access to Yuma Proving Ground is currently restricted to the following:

* YPG residents, including Travel Camp residents

* YPG employees

* Civilian contractors who work at YPG

* Other personnel who come to YPG for an authorized purpose (including personnel on official orders to YPG, DoD retirees/ID card holders, and delivery drivers)

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Hofferber was taken to the patrol unit where he submitted to a series of standardized field sobriety tests, which the deputy opined that Hofferber had failed.

A records check of Hofferber revealed his drivers license in Idaho had been suspended.

Based off my observations, training and experience, it is my opinion Scott was under the influence of a central nervous system stimulant and could not safely operate a motor vehicle, the deputy says in court documents.

Hofferber was arrested and a search of his person was conducted. Court documents indicate that during that search, a small Ziploc baggie containing a white crystal-like substance consistent with methamphetamine was located in Hofferbers front right jeans pocket and a field test of the substance came back positive for methamphetamine.

During the search of the vehicle, deputies found a pair of brass/iron knuckles underneath the drivers seat; a plastic bag containing marijuana; a large Crown Royal bag containing a methamphetamine pipe; a marijuana grinder; rolling papers; a roller; and a wooden marijuana pipe.

The deputy added that Hofferber refused to provide a urine sample to determine the concentration of drugs in his body.
New Delhi: Bird Group's Executive Director Ankur Bhatia passed away on Friday (June 4) due to a cardiac arrest. The 48 years old was credited with bringing the Amadeus brand to the Indian sub-continent in 1994.

Amadeus is a leading brand in providing travel technology for travel agents and airlines. Overall, Bird Group is a diversified group and has interests in travel technology and hospitality, among other segments.

In an official statement of Friday, Bird Group said, It is with profound grief that we inform you about the sudden demise of our beloved Dr Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group. Dr Bhatia (48) suffered a massive cardiac arrest this morning and succumbed to it."

"We have not only lost our leader, our visionary but the world has lost an astounding human being. The Bhatia family is in a state of deep shock and requests you to respect their privacy in this difficult time of grief," the company added.

He also spearheaded the group's growth in the hospitality sector under Bird Hospitality Services and the assets include Roseate Hotels & Resorts. He is also credited to have launched the country's first natural and perennial indoor ice-skating rink iSKATE at Gurugram, as per the group.

Bird Group Executive Director Ankur Bhatia no more - Devastating news. He was in the prime of his life and its so very tragic. My deepest condolences to his family. Om Shanthi, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said on his demise.

The group also owns and operates six uber-luxury properties in India and the UK, each having an individual brand identity.

According to the group, Bhatia piloted Reservation Data Maintenance (India) Pvt Ltd (RDM), an IT-enabled software development and service support company for managing back-end airline operations and inventory control. RDM was the first Indian BPO, which was established in 1993 and today has an enviable list of airline clients in its portfolio.

Deeply saddened to hear of the demise of Ankur Bhatia. He was a kind human being, deeply passionate about his work. My deepest condolences to his family, loved ones and his teams at Bird Group and @TheRoseate group. Om Shanti, Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited Naveen Jindal said.

Another venture is Bird Information Systems (BIS) and he had also opened an IT Solutions & Services company in Dubai, Bird Technologies FZ LLC.
New Delhi: Every year, on June 5, nations all over the world come together to celebrate World Environment Day. This year, it falls on a Saturday giving us the weekend to mull over the pressing environmental issues and brainstorm creative solutions to tackle them.

The occasion is headed by the United Nations to increase awareness and encourages countires to take action to protect our natural environment and ecosystems. To understand this event better, let's take a look at the history, significance and theme of World Environment Day 2021.

History

The first World Environment Day was held in 1974 and since its genesis it has developed into a globally-recognised platform for bringing forth environmental issues such as marine pollution, global warming, wildlife crime, and ocean acidification. Over 143 countries participate in the event annually.

Theme

This year, World Environment Day, is focussing on reviving damaged ecosystems. According to the official website of the occasion, we're facing an acute loss of ecosystems which is depriving the world of forests, peatlands, animal habitats, and carbon sinks.

It's important we ponder upon this issue as all of us are dependent on healthy ecosystems for survival. Interestingly, this doesn't just include nature but also man-made systems such as towns, cities and farms. This year, the hashtag that's been chosen to fit the theme is #GenerationRestoration.

Significance

In context of COVID-19, experts at UN believe we've lost vital ecosystems and created an environment ideal for pathogens to spread. In addition, this day offers each individual a huge platform to bring about positive change. Businesses are pushed forward to come up with greener and more eco-friendly products.
New Delhi: The Central government scrapped Delhi governments flagship ration delivery scheme saying that the Kejriwal government did not seek the approval. With this scheme, the delivery of packed wheat flour and rice were to be delivered to the beneficiaries at their doorstep.

The scheme, which was announced under the Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna (MMGGRY) of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) of the National Food Security Act, 2013 was notified by the government on February 20. The scheme was aimed at benefiting 72 lakh people.

The Central government flagged concerns saying the doorstep delivery of ration could result in ration card holders buying grains and other necessities at a higher rate than what is fixed under a central law.

The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, claimed that the scheme could also make it difficult for recipients of the subsidies to relocate and stall a shift towards biometric verification of beneficiaries.

Notably, this delivery of ration to home scheme was supposed to start from the following week.

The free ration was to be distributed to people outside the ambit of the public distribution system (PDS), through a network of 280 government schools, as part of relief measures announced by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in view of the lockdown that has affected household incomes, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday.

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After the release of GDP data, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman (VC) Rajiv Kumar said on June 5 said that the economic recovery will start from June and would gather steam from July onwards. This comes as the country suffers from financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kumar's predictions came after the countrys apex bank RBI lowered the country's growth forecast for the current fiscal by a percentage point to 9.5% from 10.5%.

NITI Aayog's VC said in a statement, "The recovery will start from June itself and will get pace from July 2021.

Kumar further added that the RBI had slashed India's GDP growth forecast for FY22 from 10.5% to 9.5% due to the impact of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. He noted that the impact of the COVID-19 second wave will be felt in the first quarter of FY22.

"RBI cuts GDP growth forecast for FY22 to 9.5% from 10.5% due to the impact of 2nd wave, which is going to impact our economy in 1st quarter," Rajiv Kumar said, adding that the economy will recover "below than expected in 1st quarter" and will grow at a pace of "10%-10.5% in FY22."

Rajiv Kumar is hopeful that pandemic will not have much impact on fiscal deficit and disinvestment targets."COVID-19 has forced the government to invest more, spend more on public infrastructure, but it will not have much impact as we have seen our GST collection has increased. In the budget also our revenue target were kept very conservative. So I think we will not have to worry much about our fiscal deficit target. If we see the data of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which stated that fiscal deficit target globally is on an average of around 9.8%. Our fiscal deficit is not more than others. I am confident that we will achieve our disinvestment target," Kumar further said.

Speaking about the possibility of a third wave after a disastrous second wave created havoc in the country, Kumar said, "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."We are fully prepared for the third wave. Our health infrastructure is much better than earlier. If by any chance a third wave strikes, it will not impact as much as I have seen. People are not careless now. They are taking full precautions and are getting vaccinated also. Thus, I believe that a third wave will not make much impact."Kumar said he is quite hopeful that the government will vaccinate everyone above the age of 18 years.

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GST tax collections remained above Rs 1 lakh crore mark for the eighth straight month in May, indicating that the impact of the devastating second wave of Covid infections on the economy may have been limited.

Tax collections on sale of goods and rendering of services in May at Rs 1.02 lakh crore were 27 per cent lower than April 2021, but 65 per cent higher than May 2020 when the nation was under complete lockdown, impacting economic activity.

"The gross GST revenue collected in the month of May 2021 is Rs 1,02,709 crore of which CGST is Rs 17,592 crore, SGST is Rs 22,653, IGST is Rs 53,199 crore (including Rs 26,002 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 9,265 crore (including Rs 868 crore collected on import of goods)," the finance ministry said in a statement.

The above figure includes GST collection from domestic transactions till June 4 since taxpayers were given various relief measures in the form of waiver/reduction in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for filing of returns in May on account of second wave of the Covid pandemic, it added.

During May 2021, revenues from the import of goods were 56 percent higher, and the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 69 percent higher than that of May 2020.

The collection figure crossed Rs 1 lakh crore despite the fact that most of the states have been under strict lockdown due to the pandemic, the ministry said.

In addition, while the taxpayers with turnover above Rs 5 crore had to file their returns by June 4, which they would have otherwise filed by May 20, smaller taxpayers with turnover less than Rs 5 crore still have time till first week of July to file the returns without any late fee and interest, and the revenue from these taxpayers is deferred till then.

"The actual revenues for the month of May 2021 thus would be higher and would be known when all the extended dates expire," the ministry added.

Deloitte India Senior Director M S Mani said collections above Rs 1 lakh crore pertaining to the transactions in the month of April 21 indicate that the economic impact of the lockdowns has been much lower than expected. "A close watch is required on the next months collections to determine the extent of the impact on GST collections FY22".

EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said despite the aggressive second COVID wave, the GST collections have remained upward of the 1 lakh crore mark for the eight straight month.

"Also the dip in comparison to the collections in previous months was expected as these GST collections are for the supplies made in April, when part of the country was in lockdown," Jain added.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co Partner Rajat Bose said the collection for the month of May 2021 is higher than expected. "Though most of the businesses were not functioning in April due to the lockdown, the numbers come as a pleasant suprise. The numbers should rise further considering that many small businesses are yet to file their returns considering the Covid related relaxations extended by the government for such businesses."

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Washington: The shooting of Tom Cruise's much-awaited film 'Mission: Impossible 7' has been postponed after the crew members tested positive for the novel coronavirus during routine testing, on Thursday.

Variety reported that a spokesperson for the Paramount and Skydance production confirmed work on the project will be stalled until June 14. "We have temporarily halted production on 'Mission: Impossible 7' until June 14th, due to positive coronavirus test results during routine testing. We are following all safety protocols and will continue to monitor the situation," read the statement.

The latest movie in the Tom Cruise-starring action franchise was filming in the UK when the COVID positive test took place. According to Variety, Cruise returned to the UK after a Christmas break Stateside, with production venue shifting from Warner Bros.

Studios Leavesden to Longcross.The film's shoot was first halted when 12 people tested positive on the Italy sets in October. The production was then moved to the UK in December.

The 58-year-old actor made headlines at the last schedule of the film when he expressed his frustration at crew members who were not following the social distancing norms.

Variety has learned that Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Rob Delaney, Charles Parnell, Mark Gatiss and Greg Tarzan Davis will also join Cruise in his Ethan Hunt for the latest mission.

The much-anticipated Christopher McQuarrie directorial is scheduled to release on November 19, 2021.
LOUP COUNTY  A hundred-year-old barn cant contain all the family memories Sandra Mann has acquired and inherited.

Its not the original barn on her late husbands 1904 North Loup River ranch. The first burned down one day in 1921 after his paternal grandfather and maternal great-grandfather finished lunch.

They looked back and saw the smoke rising behind them. The barn was enveloped in flames when they got back to the farmstead about halfway between Taylor and Burwell.

One smoked a pipe, the other cigarettes, so no one knew the culprit, says Mann, 75, an Arthur County native, retired English teacher and writer of two novels drawn from her life across the Sandhills.

Nothing to do but rebuild.

An homage to Gaylord

Allen Mann and Peter Goehring rebuilt, of course. Their descendants, the late Gaylord Manns cousins, marked the new barns centennial at the ranch this past weekend during their biennial family reunion.

The barn hadnt been cleaned out and cleaned up in a long time. So Sandra Mann, holed up like so many by COVID-19, began the task last Aug. 27.

She found the detritus of generations. Oh, my gosh, they were keepers, she said. Im a tosser.  (But) I did keep the things that were worthwhile.

She finished on April Fools Day, setting up the barn to tell stories through old farm and ranch tools, horse tack and saddles, family mementos and rediscovered treasures.

It was really like an homage to Gaylord, she said.

He died at age 69 on Jan. 27, 2016, in the living room of the house he built for them after moving from Ogallala to his familys Loup County spread in 1988.

He loved the past, and he loved construction, Sandra Mann said. You can look at this house. He was always a perfectionist, and he wanted everything to look just right.

They had been sitting before the fireplace, with a snowstorm coming, talking about their next move with their Black Angus and crossbred cattle.

And all of a sudden, he just made a sound and was gone, she said. He was in the midst of health and the midst of living. And then he was not.

It was hard on those of us left behind, but it was a wonderful exit for him.

His birthday was right around the corner, on March 9. He had told me he was going to ranch until he was 70 and then he was going to retire. He quit a little early.

Sandhills daughter

Their parting came more than 47 years into their marriage and 50 after they met in Rodeo Club at Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney).

Sandra had gone there out of Arthur County High School in 1963. Brother Gary Helmer still ranches her familys spread four miles east and a mile south of Arthur, in the vast western Sandhills where water mostly runs under the land, not through it.

Mother Darlene (Soehl) Helmer, the youngest of 10, grew up two miles farther south. Shes the subject of Promisers Big, Manns second novel, published two years after Corporate Cowboy (2006) described a horse-loving Sandhills native lost in the big-city office world.

Theres a Sandhills spirit that is unlike any other quality, she said. I dont know what it is. I love the people. I guess its a pioneering spirit.

And their sense of humor is so funny  its so realistic, but kind of wry and a little bit twisted. Morbid at times. And yet you laugh through the morbidity.

Manns mother taught in Arthur for 42 years. Father Parmer Red Helmer only made it through 10th grade because he had to help on the ranch.

But he was probably the most well-read men Ive ever known, she said. He read voraciously. 

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My father and I shared a passion for reading. We read in front of the radio, we read in front of the television. My sister was an English teacher, and I always knew I wanted to be an English teacher.

5-paragraph essays

Manns interest in things English went beyond the language. British medieval literature, Shakespeare and research  I just have a passion for that.

So after two years as a Kearney State graduate instructor  she picked up her masters degree in 1969  those were the subjects she typically taught in high schools in Hyannis (1969-75), Ogallala (1975-89) and Broken Bow (1989-2000).

She insisted her students master the classic five-paragraph essay form. Introduce your topic and state your thesis in the first. Present and develop at least three supporting points in the middle. Summarize and get out in the last.

Shed have her students write essays on aspects of Shakespeares plays one semester, then have them apply the five-paragraph form in large scale in the next with a multisourced, college-level research paper on subjects they chose.

When I went to college, I didnt know how to write, Mann said. I swore none of my students would ever leave my classes not feeling they didnt know how to write.

When home called

Gaylord Mann, a Burwell High School graduate, majored in industrial arts education at Kearney. He taught industrial arts at Hyannis and ran his construction business in Ogallala.

He and Sandra acquired the current homesite in 1988, when it was time for Gaylord to rejoin his father, Glen, and eventually take over the ranch operation.

He built this house. He was just an absolute genius, Sandra said as visiting youngest son Grant, 40, listened and added details.

Grant, now an electrician, helped his dad. But Gaylord did everything, Sandra said. He set the trusses himself. He did the sheetrock, the plumbing.

The home place, its west wing shaped like a barn, sits on a few acres the couple bought south of the historic ranch. The original homestead sat farther southwest, Grant Mann said.

Glen Mann died in 2001, three years before the ranch founded by John Mann  Allens brother and Glens uncle  received the Aksarben Foundations Pioneer Farm Award for 100 years of continuous ownership by one family.

Tough to retire

Sandra and Gaylord Mann raised hogs until the rise of large confinements two decades ago made that line impractical. She still raises quarter horses, a Helmer tradition she brought from Arthur County.

It wasnt until after Gaylords death that Sandra finally made her professional retirement more or less stick.

She retired from the Broken Bow schools in 2000 but then spent four years as Adams Land & Cattle Co.s leadership coordinator, setting up a GED program for its employees and teaching Mid-Plains Community College night classes.

Then she joined Loup County High School in Taylor as its drug and alcohol prevention coordinator. She also worked with students on success strategies until retiring again.

And I also got to teach seventh-grade English, said Mann, who still occasionally substitute-teaches in Taylor.

Most of the Mann Ranchs 1,600 acres are leased out for grazing. But she co-owns cattle with oldest child Stacey  herself a teacher  and son-in-law Todd Adamson at their Cherry County ranch near Cody.

Middle child Mitchell Mann runs a Firestone tire dealership in Davenport, Iowa. Grant lives in Alliance and recently joined Viaero Wireless there.

Mann has 11 grandchildren to keep track of. Shell go into Burwell to announce high school rodeos. But shes found her happy place on the spread she married into.

This is where I belong, she said. It just rejuvenates myself to be outside. Thats where I want to be.

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New Delhi: As the health ministry has finalised arrangements with Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Biological-E to book 30 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, reports suggest it may be the cheapest available on the market.

The vaccine is likely to be priced at Rs 400 for two doses and the final price of the vaccine is yet to be decided, according to a report by Times of India.

The SIIs COVID-19 vaccine is currently priced at Rs 300 per dose for state governments and Rs 600 a dose for private hospitals. Bharat Biotechs Covaxin costs Rs 400 and Rs 1,200 and the Russian vaccine Sputnik V is priced at Rs 995 per dose.

The vaccine has been modelled after the hepatitis B vaccine and uses traditional technology, Dr Maria Elena Bottazi, associate dean, National School of Tropical Medicine (NSTM) told Times of India.

As per a health ministry statement, an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore will be made to Biological-E from the Centre.

This is the second made-in-India vaccine after Bharat Biotech`s COVAXIN. Biological-E`s COVID-19 vaccine, an RBD protein sub-unit vaccine, is currently undergoing Phase-3 clinical trials.

The proposal of M/s Biological-E was examined and recommended for approval after due diligence by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC), the ministry said.

As per the union health ministry, as many as 22,10,43,693 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far.

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New Delhi: Union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Friday (June 4, 2021) expressed Indias concern over the idea of vaccine passport at a G7 plus ministerial session.

Dr. Vardhan conveyed Indias strong opposition to the idea and said that it is still immature to implement such a move, stating that the COVID-19 vaccine coverage of developing countries is less than the developed countries.

"At this stage of the pandemic, it is pertinent to also discuss India's concern over the idea of a vaccine passport. Considering the fact of the lower levels of vaccination of the population in developing countries in contrast to the developed countries and given the still-unaddressed issues related to equitable and affordable access, supply and distribution of safe and effective vaccines, India would propose that the implementation of a vaccine passport will be hugely discriminatory and disadvantageous to the developing countries," the health minister said.

"India would suggest that the same should be implemented duly taking into consideration emerging evidence of the efficacy of vaccines and under the over-arching coordination by WHO duly attending to the anomaly of access and affordability as it exists today," the health minister added.

Dr Vardhan took it to his Twitter account to express his gratitude for getting an opportunity to address the health ministers meeting via video conference at this years G7 Summit.

To deliver on the SDG mantra of 'Leave No One Behind', we must act, move & grow together towards a healthier future! Called for heightened global collaborations at G7 Health Ministers Meeting while representing India, invited as guest nation at @G7 summit this year. pic.twitter.com/7GA8rRo8DD  Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) June 4, 2021

"Expressed India's concern & strong opposition to 'Vaccine Passport' at this juncture of the #pandemic. With vaccine coverage as a % of the population in developing countries still low compared to developed countries, such an initiative could prove to be highly discriminatory," the health minister tweeted.

The Group of Seven is an intergovernmental organisation comprising Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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London: People fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are likely to have more than five times lower levels of neutralising antibodies against the Delta variant first identified in India compared to the original strain, according to research published in The Lancet journal.

The study also shows that levels of these antibodies that are able to recognise and fight the virus are lower with increasing age, and that levels decline over time, providing additional evidence in support of plans to deliver a booster dose to vulnerable people.

It supports current plans in the UK to reduce the dose gap between vaccines since they found that after just one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, people are less likely to develop antibody levels against the B.1.617.2 variant as high as those seen against the previously dominant B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant, first found in Kent.

The team, led by researchers from the Francis Crick Institute in the UK, noted that levels of antibodies alone do not predict vaccine effectiveness and prospective population studies are also needed. Lower neutralising antibody levels may still be associated with protection against COVID-19, they said.

The study analysed antibodies in the blood of 250 healthy people who received either one or two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, up to three months after their first dose.

The researchers tested the ability of antibodies to block entry of the virus into cells, so called 'neutralising antibodies', against five different variants of SARS-CoV-2.

They then compared concentrations of these neutralising antibodies between all variants.

Data from previous clinical studies suggests that higher antibody titres or concentration is a good predictor of vaccine efficacy and greater protection against COVID-19.

The researchers found that in people who had been vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, levels of neutralising antibodies were more than five times lower against the B.1.617.2 variant when compared to the original strain, upon which current vaccines are based.

This antibody response was even lower in people who had only received one dose, they said.

After a single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech, 79 per cent of people had a quantifiable neutralising antibody response against the original strain, but this fell to 50 per cent for B.1.1.7, 32 per cent for B.1.617.2 and 25 per cent for B.1.351 or Beta variant first discovered in South Africa.

While antibody levels decreased with age against all variants, no correlation was observed for sex or body mass index (BMI).

"This virus will likely be around for some time to come, so we need to remain agile and vigilant,? said Emma Wall, an Infectious Diseases consultant at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).

"Our study is designed to be responsive to shifts in the pandemic so that we can quickly provide evidence on changing risk and protection," Wall said.

The researchers noted that the most important thing is to ensure that vaccine protection remains high enough to keep as many people out of hospital as possible.

The study suggests that the best way to do this is to quickly deliver second doses and provide boosters to those whose immunity may not be high enough against these new variants, they said.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced to set up women special camps in each district of the state. The initiative has been taken by the Yogi-led government to ensure maximum participation of women in getting the dose of vaccine against COVID-19.

It was found that women fear much more about getting vaccinated and there is hesitancy among the section. In order to motivate women to get their shot of life, CM Yogi has instructed the officials to start Women Special Vaccination Camps in all the 75 districts of the state, informed an official.

Like the Guardian Special Booths, at least two special booths, one for the 18+ category and one for the 45+, will be set up in each district. These camps will operate in District Women Hospitals or District Joint Hospital. Similarly, apart from these such camps will be set up in Tehsil Headquarters or Block headquarters level. Women beneficiaries of the state can reserve their slots in these camps.

According to the CoWin portal data, around 92,44,765 men have taken their doses of the vaccine while 69,30,245 women have received their shots. Considering the gender gap in the vaccination programme as a worrying situation, the Chief Minister has come up with this special camp to motivate women in getting vaccinated.

CM Yogi Adityanath has always worked hard to empower women by raising their status through awareness and training. The government has launched many initiatives for women in the last 4 years in the State.

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New Delhi: With COVID-19 cases declining, Delhi and several other states will see further relaxation in lockdown, including reopening of markets and malls and resumption of metro services.

Delhi will continue its unlocking process from June 7 while Maharashtra will implement a five-level plan to ease curbs based on weekly positivity rate and occupancy of oxygen beds in districts.

Even as the COVID situation has relatively improved in most of the northern and western states, southern and eastern parts of the country are still reporting a high number of cases.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announced the extension of the lockdown by a week till June 14 with some easing of restrictions from Monday, except in 11 districts where the number of new cases reported was still high.

Earlier, neighbouring Karnataka had extended the lockdown till June 14.

Himachal Pradesh and Goa also extended the 'Corona curfew' till June 14.

In Goa, shops selling essential items are allowed to operate between 7 AM and 3 PM every day. Himachal Pradesh had earlier eased curbs including those related to the opening of shops, restaurants and eateries.

Almost all states and Union Territories have extended the curbs which they first started imposing in mid-April as the second COVID wave hit the country, though some have begun to cautiously ease restrictions in June.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced relaxations in the coronavirus curfew in Bareilly and Bulandshahr districts from Monday, allowing shops and markets outside the containment zones to open for five days a week.

With this, the number of districts where the restrictions have eased as the count of active cases has fallen below the 600-mark has reached 67, out of the 75 districts.

In the national capital, where the unlock' process began from May 31, the Delhi Metro will operate at 50 percent capacity and markets and malls will open on an odd-even basis from June 7, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

The lockdown in Delhi, which was to end at 5 AM on Monday, will be extended further but several relaxations will be allowed, Kejriwal said during an online briefing.

Government and private offices will be allowed to reopen with 50 percent attendance. Markets and malls will be allowed to open on an odd-even basis from 10 AM to 8 PM, he said.

In the worst-affected Maharashtra, cities and districts, which have a positivity rate of below five percent and the oxygen bed occupancy of less than 25 percent, will open up completely, according to a government notification.

But restrictions of varying degrees will remain in cities and districts where the positivity rate is five percent and oxygen bed occupancy is 25 to 40 percent, where the positivity rate is five percent to 10 percent and the oxygen bed occupancy is more than 40 percent and where positivity rate is 10 to 20 percent and oxygen bed occupancy is more than 60 percent.

In the fifth category, where the positivity rate is more than 20 percent and the oxygen bed capacity is more than 75 percent, only essential shops will remain open till 4 PM and office attendance will be 15 percent.

The Rajasthan government also issued guidelines on Monday to start the unlock process by easing certain restrictions from June 2.

India reported 1,20,529 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in infections in 58 days, taking the infection tally to 2,86,94,879, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 3,44,082 with 3,380 new fatalities, while the number of active cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the fifth consecutive day.

India reported more than 88.82 lakh coronavirus infections in May alone during the raging second wave of COVID-19, accounting for 31.67 percent of the over 2.8 crore cases reported in the country so far and making it the worst month of the pandemic.

Here is a look at coronavirus-induced restrictions/lockdown imposed by states and union territories:

Delhi will continue with lockdown with second phase of easing of restrictions from June 7.

Haryana has extended lockdown till June 7 with some easing of restrictions.

Punjab has extended the coronavirus restrictions till June 10.

Uttar Pradesh has eased restrictions in 67 districts. Night curfew and weekend lockdown to remain in the state.

Bihar has extended lockdown till June 8.

Jharkhand has extended lockdown till June 10.

Odisha has extended lockdown till June 17.

West Bengal government extended ongoing COVID-19 restrictions till June 15.

Rajasthan has extended lockdown till June 8 but has eased some restrictions.

Madhya Pradesh has extended corona curfew with eased restrictions till June 15. The state has announced separate unlock guidelines for districts.

Gujarat has extended night curfew in 36 cities of the state for a week from June 4, with further relaxation in timings.

Chhattisgarh government has on May 31 extended lockdown till further orders.

Kerala has extended the lockdown till June 9 with some concessions.

Tamil Nadu has extended the lockdown till June 14.

Puducherry has imposed a lockdown till June 7.

Lakshadweep administration has extended the lockdown till June 10.

Karnataka has announced an extension of lockdown till June 14.

Telangana has extended the lockdown till June 9.

Andhra Pradesh has extended curfew till June 10.

The Goa government has extended the curfew till June 14.

Maharashtra has extended the lockdown-like restrictions till June 15, though they will be eased from June 7.

Assam has extended the restrictions till June 15 though on June 4 it increased the curfew relaxation by one hour.

Nagaland has extended the lockdown till June 11.

Mizoram has extended the lockdown, which was imposed in Aizawl and other district headquarters, till June 6.

Arunachal Pradesh has imposed complete lockdown in Anjaw, Dibang Valley, Lower Subansiri, Lohit and Tawang districts and the Capital Complex Region till June 7.

Manipur government has imposed curfew in seven districts of Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Ukhrul, Thoubal, Kakching and Churachandpur till June 11.

Meghalaya extended lockdown in the worst-affected East Khasi Hills district till June 7.

Tripura government has extended corona curfew in Agartala Municipal Corporation areas and urban areas in the state till June 10.

Sikkim has imposed a lockdown till June 7.

Jammu and Kashmir administration has eased restrictions but night curfew and weekend lockdown will remain.

Uttarakhand has extended COVID curfew till June 8.

Himachal Pradesh government has extended the coronavirus curfew till June 14 with some relaxation.

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New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday (June 5, 2021) announced that the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions are being extended in the national capital with more relaxations.

Delhi CM announced that the metro services in the city will resume with 50 percent capacity from June 7.

The Delhi Metro services were stopped on May 10 when the government had tightened the lockdown in view of the surging COVID-19 infections in the city.

"Lockdown will continue with more relaxation in other activities. Markets, malls to be opened on odd-even basis," CM Kejriwal said.

"Private offices will be allowed to function with 50% staff. Group A staff of government offices will be allowed to function with 100%, group B with 50% staff," CM added.

Delhi CM also added that the national capital was one of the worst-hit by the devastating second wave of COVID-19. "We faced a severe shortage of oxygen and hence we in the Delhi government are increasing the oxygen infrastructure in the national capital. We are also procuring oxygen tankers since we did not have any of our own earlier. We are buying 25 such tankers," Kejriwal added.

"As and when the situation keeps improving, more relaxations will be announced. This is what is being done currently," said Kejriwal.

Additionally, Delhi CM revealed that the city on Saturday recorded over 400 fresh COVID-19 cases and 50 fatalities, while the positivity rate of the city stood at 0.5 percent.

Today's announcement by CM Kejriwal is the second stage of the unlocking plan of the city.

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New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday (June 5) extended the lockdown while announcing further relaxations.

Markets and malls will be allowed to open on an odd-even basis outside containment zones between 10 am to 8 pm from June 7. Delhi Metro will also resume services with 50% capacity, Kejriwal informed.

The private offices will be allowed to function with 50 per cent staff. Group A staff of government offices will be allowed to function with 100%, group B with 50% staff, the Delhi Chief Minister was quoted as saying by ANI.

"AIl malls, markets, and market complexes (except weekly Markets) shall be allowed to open between 10 AM to 8 PM on an odd-even basis outside the containment zones with effect from 5 am on June 7," DDMA orders read. pic.twitter.com/VTiMGRvj5b  ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2021

Meanwhile, the Delhi CM asserted that his government is ready to deal with the third wave of the coronavirus which is expected to affect children. We have set up a pediatric task force, he said.

Further he added, With an expected third wave of COVID-19, 420 tonnes of oxygen storage capacity is being prepared. We have also spoken to Indraprastha Gas limited to produce 150 tonnes of oxygen.

Earlier, during the unlock process which began on May 31, Kejriwal had allowed construction work and factories to resume functioning. The District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had extended the curfew on the movement of people except those involved in essential activities, while also allowing manufacturing and production units to reopen.

On Friday, Delhi recorded 523 fresh COVID-19 cases and 50 fatalities in the last 24 hours, while the positivity rate stood at 0.68 per cent, as per health department data.

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New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will visit Kuwait next week. The visit comes in the backdrop of the country reaching out to India amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with assistance. Infact,

India and Kuwait established a maritime bridge for transport of medical oxygen and oxygen carrying equipment. The bridge saw Indian Navy ships bringing key supplies under its Operation Samudra Setu II.

On May 12, Jaishankar and Kuwait FM Dr. Ahmed Nasser Mohammed AlSabah had spoken to each other during which the former thanked the latter for assistance.

EAM tweeted, "A warm call today with FM @anmas71 of Kuwait. Conveyed our appreciation for the maritime bridge with Kuwait that is enabling smooth oxygen flow."

A warm call today with FM @anmas71 of Kuwait. Conveyed our appreciation for the maritime bridge with Kuwait that is enabling smooth oxygen flow.  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 12, 2021

On May 27, Indian Navy Ship INS Shardul reached Kochi with 270 metric tonnes (MT) of liquid medical oxygen from Kuwait and UAE including 11 International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) containers, two semi-trailers and 1200 oxygen cylinders. Kuwait sent India, 185 Metric Tonnes of Liquid Medical Oxygen in 7 ISO Tanks of 20 MT capacity and 3 semi-trailers of 25 MT capacity each, around 1000 oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators.

As part of solidarity for India, iconic Kuwait Towers were lit in Indian colors amid the COVID-19 crisis with a message in Hindi-- Kuwait stands with you. Last year India reached out to Kuwait and sent a rapid response team to deal with COVID crisis.

Kuwait Towers in Indian colors to express solidarity with India

Indians form the largest expatriate community in Kuwait with over the presence of one million Indian community members. This adds an important people to people dimension to India-Kuwait ties.

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Hyderabad: In what is touted as the biggest vaccination exercise for COVID-19 in the country, nearly 40,000 people are expected to get inoculated tomorrow at Hyderabad city's sprawling Hitex grounds.

This event is jointly organised by Cyberabad police, Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC) and Medicover Hospitals.

The entire drive which starts from 8 am will go on till 9 pm and will be paperless and contactless. All those who will be getting jabs are already registered on the Cowin app.

Cyberabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar said, it is important to take all steps to prevent the surge of the pandemic. This vaccination drive will help us to control the surge as well as prevent the possible third wave.

The organisers say it is being held in the safest environment in a seamless manner without queues, lines, waiting and getting crowded.

Hari Krishna, Executive Director of Medicover Group of Hospitals India says, Vaccination has proven to be effective in combating the pandemic in many countries. Since we are hugely populated, it is necessary to conduct such mass vaccination drives to cover the maximum population.''



Different time slots are allocated all through the day and every hour only 5000 people will be taking jabs.

The objective of this drive is to inoculate the maximum number of people in the tri-city (Hyderabad - Secunderabad - Cyberabad). This drive will be held strictly observing CAB-Covid Appropriate Behavior and protocols.

Those pre-registered will just walk in, scan a QR Code and proceed for the jab. Only Covaxin will be available. All 18 plus years of age are eligible to take the vaccine.

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New Delhi: The Maharashtra government on Friday (June 4, 2021) night announced that it will lift COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in the state from Monday onwards. The Chief Ministers office (CMO) shared a five-level plan created by the state government which will be implemented from Monday (June 7, 2021).

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government also added that the restrictions will be relaxed on the basis of the COVID-19 positivity rate and availability of oxygen beds.

The state government in a statement said, There shall be five levels of restrictions for different classes/categories of activities. These levels of restrictions shall be applied based on two parameters: Case positivity rate and Percentage of Oxygen Beds Occupancy.

The statement from the CMO also added that the degree of relaxation has been decided by the authorities as per the COVID-19 situation in those districts.

Take a look at the Maharashtra governments five-level unlock plan:

Earlier, on Thursday, while addressing a press conference, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar had said, In Level 1, there are 18 districts which will witness unlockdown. While five districts will see Level 2 of unlockdown, there are 10 districts in Level 3 and two in Level 4. The rest will be in Level 5.

As per the announcement, the districts that fall under level 1 are Aurangabad, Bhandara, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Dhule, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Parbhani, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Jalgaon, Jalna, Latur, Thane, Washim, Wardha and Yavatmal, while level 2 includes Ahmednagar, Amravati, Hingoli, Mumbai and Dhule.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Friday reported 14,152 new COVID-19 cases and 289 deaths, taking the caseload to 58,05,565 and death toll to 98,771 as per the state health department data.

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MIAMI (AP)  Officials in Miami and relatives of victims are pleading with the community for information on suspects in a shooting at a banquet hall that killed three people and wounded 20 others. Police have made no arrests.

Ashley Gantt, who is a cousin of one of the three victims  Desmond Owens  and also is representing his family as an attorney, issued a call to action to speak up and say something" on what they know about the Memorial Day weekend shootings.

It was so many people, friends, loved ones," she said. The pain and the suffering is reverberating throughout our community. No one deserves to lose their loved ones like this in such a senseless act.

Police have said they're focusing on a rivalry between local rappers in their investigation. But Miami-Dade Countys top prosecutor, Katherine Rundle, indicated that there's been a hesitancy among members of the community to come forward with tips because of a climate of violent retribution for turncoats and a general mistrust in law enforcement.
New Delhi: India has witnessed the heat from the second wave of coronavirus. All of us are once again restricted inside our homes, for obvious reasons. In a new development, there is good news for global travellers. A digital COVID-19 Certificate System that is intended to ease up the travel within the European Union became optional in seven countries. This decision was taken on Tuesday (June 1), way ahead of its schedule. This development is bringing excitement among global travellers as this could become a standard for post-pandemic global mobility.

According to schengenvisainfo, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Croatia and Poland made the certificates available to their citizens as of Tuesday (June 1) and are accepting them for visitors. The European Commission, the blocs administrative branch, said the system would be in use for all 27 E.U. countries as of July 1.

The New York Times reported that the document, known as a digital COVID certificate, records whether people have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, recovered from the virus or tested negative within 72 hours. Travellers can move freely if at least one of those three criteria is met.

Things you need to know about the COVID-19 Certificate

The digital COVID certificate was launched after two months of preparation, a relatively fast turnaround considering that it required coordination among the 27 countries and contains security features to verify the datas authenticity. Because of concerns about privacy, the systems data is not retained anywhere, the commission said.

The long-term goal is for all people within the European Union to have the certificates and for visitors from outside the bloc to be able to receive one upon arrival. Providing them to outsiders could be tricky, however, considering that not all countries have been giving people secure vaccination documents.

Currently, as per the reports, the European Commission is in talks with the United States about how to verify the vaccination status of American visitors. It has also asked E.U. countries to start waiving testing and quarantine demands for people who are vaccinated or have recently recovered from the coronavirus and to stop requiring quarantines for people with a negative virus test.

After the regulation comes into force, the news site reported, there will be a phasing-in period of six weeks for the Member States that need additional time in order to start issuing the certificates. At the same time, the Commission will provide technical and financial support to the Member States in this regard.

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New Delhi: Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu is witnessing an overall decline in Covid-19 cases, but still the states daily caseload in the highest in the country. While cases on gradual decline in northern districts including capital city Chennai, Western and southern districts are witnessing high daily case loads.

Hence, the Tamil Nadu Government has extended the total lockdown till 6am, June 14th, with new relaxations. The state will witness the below list of relaxations from 6am on 7th June, Monday. The new set of district-specific guidelines have been issued keeping in mind 11 Hotspot districts and the rest of Tamil Nadu.

Relaxations applicable to all districts, except 11 Covid Hotspot districts, namely Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai.

Relaxations for districts:

- Standalone shops selling grocery, vegetables, fish, meat etc. can be one from 6am to 5pm.

- Pavement vendors selling fruits, vegetables, flowers can function from 6am to 5pm.

- Fish markets will be open only for wholesale sales; District administration ordered to setup more than one such market in open spaces.

- Slaughterhouses will be permitted to sell wholesale.

- Government offices can function with 30 percent staff.

- Document registration will be permitted by issuing 50% capacity tokens.

- The Matchstick industry can function with 50 percent staff.

- Sales of vegetables, fruits at the doorstep via vehicles in every district will continue.

- Public requested to walk to nearby stores for shopping, and avoid taking two and four-wheelers.

- Private security companies, housekeeping services in large housing complexes will be permitted with E-Registration.

- Electricians, Plumbers, Computer and other technicians will be allowed to function between 6am to 5pm with E-Registration.

- Shops selling Electrical goods, bulbs, cables, switches, wires can function from 6am to 5pm.

- Bicycle and two-wheeler service outlets will be allowed to function from 6am to 5pm.

- Hardware stores from 6am to 5pm.

- Stores selling educational books, stationery can function from 6am to 5pm.

- Service centers for vehicles can function from 6am to 5pm.

- Passengers allowed to travel in Rental vehicles, cabs, autos after E-Registration.

- Driver plus 3 passengers in Taxi; Driver plus 2 passengers in Auto.

General:

- E-pass from District collector a must for Emergency travel to Nilgiris, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Yelagiri.

- Export firms is Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Karur, Erode, Namakkal, Trichy and their suppliers can function with 10 percent staff if they have export orders, to send sample.

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New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday (June 5) extended the lockdown by another week till June 14. Along with the extension, several district-specific relaxations have been introduced.

Barring 11 districts with high COVID-19 cases, including Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Myladuthurai, movement of people have been allowed in other districts with the condition of e-registration.

Activities allowed with e-registration:

1. Travel in taxis with three passengers other than driver and auto rickshaws with two passengers has been allowed after acquiring e-pass.

2. Movement of private security service staff, housekeeping service staff in large housing complexes will be permitted after e-registration.

3. Electricians, plumbers, carpenters and other technicians will be allowed to function between 6am to 5pm with e-registration.

4. E-pass from District Collector is a must for emergency travel to hill stations including Nilgiris, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Yelagiri.

Heres how to apply for e-pass:

1. Visit the official website- eregister.tnega.org/#/user/pass- to apply for an e-pass.

2. Register yourself on the portal.

3. After submitting the OTP received, select the type of e-pass required.

4. Fill in the necessary details including your name, address (home and destination), range of travel (inter-district/inter-state), duration of travel, number of passengers, vehicle details, ID proof, reason for travel etc.

5. Submit the required documents for travelling. After filling all details, submit the documents and ID proof chiefly Aadhar Card or Voter ID, PAN Card, address proof, vehicle license and employment ID to avail the e-pass.

Tamil Nadu witnessed 22,651 new COVID-19 infections and 463 deaths on Friday. The total caseload mounted to 21,95,402 and the fatalities reached 26,128, as per the Health Department data.

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Mathura: A 50-year-old man was killed and six others were injured when they were allegedly attacked by unknown villagers for firing at them on being intercepted with a cow-laden truck on the suspicion of being cattle smugglers, police said on Friday (June 4).

The incident occurred near Tumaula village under Kosikalan police station in Mathura district in the wee hours on Friday when the villagers intercepted a mini-truck carrying six cows and passing by their village road, police said on Saturday (June 5).

The occupants of the vehicle, however, opened fire at villagers in a bid to drive away, but hearing the gunshots, more people joined the villagers and attacked the alleged cattle smugglers, killing one of them and grievously injuring six others, police said.

After coming to know of the early morning incident, the police reached the spot and rushed the injured persons to a hospital, where they are still undergoing treatment.

The man killed in the attack was identified as Shera, a resident of Arnia village in Bulandshahr district, while the injured included his son Titu.

The five other injured persons were identified as Anish, Rahman, Shahzad, Qadeem and Sonu, all belonging to Bulandshahar district, police said.

They said the seven were suspected to be taking cattle from Bulandshahr to Mewat village in Rajasthan via Aligarh and were passing by Tumaula village in Mathura district, avoiding police pickets on main roads, police said.

After reaching the crime spot, the police also seized some firearms, besides the truck, and sent all the cows to a cattle shelter in the district.

Following the incident, the police registered two counter cases ? one on the complaint of Titu, the slain man's son, and another on the complaint of Tumaula resident, Baba Chandrashekhar --, police said, adding they are investigating the matter. No arrests have been made so far in the case, they said.

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New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday asserted that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are "responsible" leaders and are capable of solving their issues. Putin told PTI that it was important that no "extra-regional power" should interfere in the process.

"Yes, I do know that there are some issues related to India-China relations but there are always a lot of issues between neighbouring countries but I know the attitude of both the Prime Minister of India and also the President of China. These are very responsible people and they earnestly treat one another with utmost respect and I believe that they will always arrive at a solution to any issue that they might face..," the Russian President told PTI during a virtual interaction.

The Russian president's remarks on Moscow's view on Quad is a veiled reference to China's allegation that the grouping aim's to contain Beijing's influence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

On the four-nation grouping of India, the US, Japan and Australia, he said that no partnership should be aimed at making friends against anyone. He clarifiied that though it was not up to Moscow to assess how any nation should participate in an initiative and to what extent they should build their relations with other countries.

Notably, it has been more than a year since the military standoff between China and India which broke out at the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on May 5, 2020 during which both sides suffered fatalities for the first time in 45 years.

Despite several rounds of negotiations between the two neighbours, limited progress was made in the border dispute. Though, it achieved disengagement at the Pangong Lake area but other friction points remained deadlocked.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with farmers on Saturday (June 5) on the occasion of World Environment Day.

The PM will address the event jointly organized by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change via video conferencing. He will interact with farmers and listen to their experiences of using ethanol and biogas.

The theme for this years event is 'promotion of biofuels for better environment'.

Taking to Twitter on Friday, the PM wrote, "At 11 AM tomorrow, 5th June will take part in the World Environment Programme on the theme of `promotion of biofuels for better environment.` Would also interact with farmers to hear their experiences of using ethanol and biogas."

At 11 AM tomorrow, 5th June will take part in the World Environment Programme on the theme of promotion of biofuels for better environment. Would also interact with farmers to hear their experiences of using ethanol and biogas. https://t.co/1BzJRWgivs  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 4, 2021

As per Prime Minister's Office (PMO), he will also release the 'Report of the Expert Committee on Road Map for ethanol blending in India 2020-2025'.

The Government of India (GoI) is all set to release E-20 notification directing oil companies to sell ethanol-blended petrol with percentage of ethanol up to 20 from April 1, 2023; and BIS specifications for higher ethanol blends E12 & E15.

Further, he will launch a pilot project of E 100 dispensing stations at three locations in Pune, and interact with farmers to gain insight on their firsthand experience, as enablers under the Ethanol Blended Petrol and Compressed BioGas Programmes, the PMO informed.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi: As the country grapples with the second wave of deadly COVID-19 crisis, everyone including Bollywood celebrities are extending their support to help the people in need.

Actor Akshay Kumar, has stepped forward and joined hands with The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industrys (FICCI) for their latest campaign Corona Ko Harana Hai.

In order to make people more aware and vigilant about the deadly coronavirus, Akshay took to his social media handle and shared a video in which he gave tips regarding the COVID-appropriate behaviour.

He took to his Instagram handle and wrote, Sharing some important tips on COVID appropriate behaviour which are a must even after vaccination in order to fight this pandemic. Please watch and take note.

#CoronaKoHaranaHai @ficci_india @iaaindia #IndianBroadcastingFoundation..

In the video, the Kesari actor shared five tips that one needs to follow while having symptoms or after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Akshay along with his wife Twinkle Khanna has donated 100 oxygen cylinders in a bid to help the COVID patients and also joined hands with Uday Foundation to donate oxygen concentrators.

On the work front, Akshay currently has his kitty full of films over the next few months. He has Atrangi Re, Ram Setu, Raksha Bandhan, Prithviraj and Bell Bottom in the pipeline.
Washington: Hollywood actor Drake Bell, who played the role of Drake in the hit Nickelodeon series `Drake and Josh`, has been charged with attempted endangering children and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.

Variety reported that according to court documents, Cleveland Police arrested Bell, who pleaded not guilty in Cuyahoga County Court on June 3. Bell, whose real name is Jared Drake Bell, was freed on a USD 2,500 personal bond ordering him to have no contact with his alleged victim.

According to a news outlet in Cleveland, Bell allegedly engaged in an inappropriate chat with a minor that "at times, was sexual in nature." The alleged incident reportedly happened on December 1, 2017, the same day Bell was scheduled to perform at a Cleveland club, The Odeon.

However, Bell was not indicted until last month, and he is due back in court on June 23.Bell`s mugshot taken at Cuyahoga County Jail is dated Thursday, June 3, just before 3 pm. He was asked to submit DNA, which is a standard practice in Ohio.

In 2015, Bell was arrested for a DUI with a bail set at USD 20,000. In that case, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and spent four days in jail.`Drake and Josh`, followed the story of stepbrothers Drake Parker (Bell) and Josh Nichols (Josh Peck).

It debuted in 2004 and ran for four seasons, ending in 2017. The show also spawned three TV movies and was one of Nickelodeon`s highest-rated programs, averaging about 3 million viewers at the time.

Bell had performed the show`s opening theme song, `I Found a Way`, and has also released several albums throughout his career, including 2005`s `Telegraph`, 2006`s `It`s Only Time`, 2014`s `Ready Steady Go!` and 2020`s `Sesiones En Casa`.
New Delhi: Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar is successfully running her social media advocacy platform Climate Warrior that aims to educate people about climate change and during the second wave of the COVID-19 crisis in India. She also launched an initiative COVID Warrior that has saved many lives across India.

On World Environment Day, Bhumi Pednekar opened up on her mission to save the planet through awareness.

On the threat of climate change, Bhumi Pednekar said, "I feel that every part of me even the person I am today is a complete sum of all my life experiences, and most of them come from what I have seen at home. I remember when we were children and I was in school and our country was hit by a natural calamity our parents would send us for drives to collect donations so that we could give back to the people affected. So, I have seen this from a very young age. I have seen my father always go out and help his community and I have seen my mother show extreme compassion towards people around her. So, I think this is something that came naturally to me from them and I feel that's so important. I feel that everything we see in our childhood is what we practice in our adult life and I am thankful to my parents for opening up this world to me.

She also addressed being the most 'woke' celebrity in Bollywood. "I think being woke is about putting your opinion and standing by it for the betterment of society. I feel it's a double-edged sword because at times being woke can also have a lot of backlash. More often than not I feel like you need to have a certain amount of confidence to step out and put the thoughts you believe in out there but it needs to come from a place of responsibility and from a place of knowledge. I think thats very important especially when you are a person who is in a place of influence and there are many that follow you, your voice is your biggest tool and you cant use it loosely. As we say that with great power comes great responsibility, and especially for influencers this statement is like the truest," she added.

"My goal as a climate warrior this year is genuinely to see people take action on planet conscious behaviour. I think for me all of 2021 is only going to be about hammering better habits, about hammering and making sure that people actually do something about everything that we have been speaking about right from less consumption of single-use plastics to making sure that individually we all reduce our carbon footprint. I really hope that our world opens up to a certain extent so that we can do a certain amount of groundwork as well. But what will honestly make me happy is that 10 years from today everything that we and the entire community have been fighting for, to at least see some amount of change. We do see that there is a lot more replantation than deforestation. I really hope that the amount of compassion that we show to different species is a lot more and 10 years from today I want to look back and be like Oh Wow! We are happily coexisting with all those millions of species that rightfully share this planet with us. I really hope theres a beautiful balance between development and conserving our nature. I really hope that we live in a world that doesnt abuse all the natural resources that our beautiful planet gives us. We live in a world that gives us so much and individually everybody has enough compassion and care to understand that the four walls we live in isnt our real home, this planet is our real home and theres no planet B and we have to conserve it for it to be beautiful and abundant again," Bhumi Pednekar said on her goal as a climate warrior.
Palghar: A Vasai Court on Saturday sent arrested television actor Pearl V. Puri to 14 days' judicial custody, officials said.

Puri, who was nabbed late on Friday night on alleged charges of molesting and raping a five-year old girl two years ago, was produced before the Vasai Sessions Court Judge Aditi Kadam who granted Puri judicial custody for 14 days.

Puri is likely to move an application seeking bail, which will come up for hearing in the court on Monday.

The 31-year-old "Naagin 3" actor was booked by Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar Police Commissionerate, invoking charges of IPC Sec. 376 AB and POCSO Act, 4, 8, 12,19, 21 for the rape of the minor girl, said the officials.

According to the Valiv Police Station, which lodged the case, the victim's family had complained that Puri allegedly molested and raped the five-year-old girl around two years ago, when he had come here for a shooting.

Meanwhile, several friends and industry colleagues of the actor took to social media on Saturday to express their support for Pearl.

These include producer Ekta Kapoor, actors Anita Hassanandani, Asmita Sood, Nikki Sharma, Roma Bali, Surbhi Jyoti, Nia Sharma, Aamir Ali, Arjun Bijlani, Krystle Dsouza, Shalin Bhanot, Adhvik Mahajan and Sheetal Dabholkar among others.
How can one construct and interpret time in the most refined way possible? Bvlgari and the Japanese architect Tadao Ando have attempted to provide an answer to this equation by creating the 160-piece Octo Finissimo Tadao Ando limited series.



Tadao Ando has forged his international reputation through the use of cement and glass combined with the creative use of light in his architectural projects. These three elements are the common thread running through his architectural work, in perpetual search for absolute purity, the essential. Tadao Ando's work is now part of contemporary architectural history. Among his major achievements are the Church of Light in Osaka, the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth (Texas) and the 21_21 Design Sight in Tokyo.

Octo Finissimo Tadao Ando Special Edition  Bulgari

After a first Octo Finissimo limited series jointly created by Bvlgari and Tadao Ando, in which the architect  impressed by Octo Finissimo pure shape - expressed time by means of a spiral engraved on the dial, a symbol of the black hole from where time is born, this second special edition picks up this theme dear to the Japanese construction specialist and based on the Mikazuki concept (). While the theme of time remains central, this new model embodies a different approach.



Mikazuki () represents the crescent moon, which is the first stage of the next moon () that will in due course become full (). This evolution symbolises the transitory nature of time, with the shadow of the earth partially masking the moon to reveal only a crescent. From the dawn of civilisation, the moon has always embodied time, acting as a clock and calendar for humanity and Nature. Japanese culture expresses temporal contingencies with a specific character  the   which can be read as meaning both month and moon. Amid the spiral of the night sky, the crescent moon represents hope in the night, embodying a prosperous future. The Tadao Ando limited edition takes a minimalist approach to the theme of time on the deep blue lacquered. The time spiral is born and uncoils from the base of the seconds hand, while the gold crescent moon is positioned at 5 o'clock. In two essential graphic elements, Tadao Ando expresses his vision of time on a watch made from black ceramic and featuring a transparent caseback bearing the architect's signature.



Shapes, volumes, materials and spatial design guide his work. In this respect, Tadao Ando's architectural creations reveal clear affinities with the Octo Finissimo collection.
"But it's disturbing either way, you know, is this alien life or do adversaries or someone else have capabilities that far exceed anything we have the ability to understand track or counter? Either way it's really bad," said Waltz.

No proof of little green men

The upcoming report is unlikely to satisfy UFO-ologists who support what's known as "Disclosure," or the government release of definitive evidence that it has been contacted by extraterrestrial life.

"Most people would be hoping for visual evidence of little green men, which is almost certainly not going to be the case," a congressional aide told CNN, referring to expectations about the report's contents.

In fact, multiple sources told CNN that they don't expect the intelligence community to release much specific information at all, partly because if these strange sightings are actually next-gen technology fielded by a foreign adversary, intelligence officials won't want to tip them off on what the US has seen.
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Yami Gautam surprised her fans with a wedding update. The beautiful star got married to 'URI' director Aditya Dhar in an intimate ceremony with only family and close friends in attendance.

Yami Gautam looked ethereal in her pop maroon wedding attire and the groom looked dashing in whites and gold combination. Ever since their surprise wedding news broke online, fan pages of the actress have been sharing inside pictures of the wedding rituals.

Take a look here:

These unseen wedding rituals photos have flooded the internet and we are loving how in one of the pictures, Yami's sister can be seen helping her with an anklet.

A day back, Yami Gautam expressed her happiness writing, "In your light, I learn to love - Rumi, With the blessings of our family, we have tied the knot in an intimate wedding ceremony today. Being very private people, we celebrated this joyous occasion with our immediate family. As we embark on the journey of love and friendship, we seek all your blessings and good wishes. Love, Yami and Aditya"

On the work front, Yami recently began shooting for the social comedy film 'Dasvi' produced by Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films. She will also be seen in Behzad Khambata's thriller 'A Thursday' playing the role of a school teacher who takes 16 children as hostages.
New Delhi: Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is offering a unique scheme for guardians or parents of a daugher/s in which the state-owned firm is providing an option to deposit and grow money for her marriage.

The largest insurer in India has named the scheme - LIC Kanyadaan Policy. According to the company, the scheme is specially curated to meet the needs of the future of the daughter, especially her marriage.

Invest only for 3 years

In the LIC Kanyadaan Policy, you can select to pay a premium only for three years to get returns at the time of maturity. An investor has to deposit around Rs 50,000 a year for three years to benefit from the scheme.

One of the extremely important conditions for Kanyadaan policy is that the minimum age of the investor should be at least 30 years or more. Also, the age of the investor's daughter should be at least 1 year.

Maturity of LIC Kanyadaan Policy

The minimum maturity period of the LIC Kanyadaan Policy is 13 years while the premium varies for different sum assured.

Documents required for LIC Kanyadaan Policy

Youll have to submit a few documents such as Aadhar Card, Income Certificate, Identity Card, and Birth Certificate, among others, to invest in the LIC Kanyadaan Policy.

Returns on investment in LIC Kanyadaan Policy

If youre planning to invest a total sum of Rs 10 lakhs, then youll have to pay a monthly instalment of Rs 3,901 for 22 years. After three years, i.e., after 25 years of the policy beginning, youll receive Rs 26.75 lakh at the time of maturity.

Tax benefits of LIC Kanyadaan Policy

Under the LIC Kanyadaan Policy, investors get tax exemption on the premium paid under section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961. Tax exemption is capped at up to Rs 1.50 lakh.

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New Delhi: World Environment Day is globally celebrated every year on June 5 and is the United Nations' principal amplifier to encourage awareness and action for the protection of the environment. The theme for this year is 'Ecosystem Restoration and brings into focus the critical importance of preserving eco-fragility for collective well-being.

The pandemic has shown us that if we stay oblivious to the destruction of eco-diversity, we will pay dearly. The only proactive synergy between all stakeholders can protect the environment, says Bikrant Tiwary, CEO of Grow-Trees.com (GT).

On June 5, Grow-Trees.com is also celebrating its Founders Day and 11 eventful years of its inception. GT is a social initiative that was started in the Year 2010 with a vision to increase environmental awareness through planting or gifting trees on special occasions and went on to become the official partner of UN Environment Programs 'Billion Tree Campaign' and joined WWFs 'Cities for Forest' Campaign in 2011.

Says Bikrant, "We started afforestation and tree plantation initiatives in 2010 sensing the urgency to build back shrinking wildlife habitats, forests and to restore diminishing biodiversity. We have lost so much green cover in India thanks to developmental activities, land grabbing, illegal mining, rampant poaching, and heedless deforestation. The pandemic comes as a global wake-up call to create awareness about environmental issues and follow actionable strategies to restore ecological balance. Our 'Greet with Trees' concept has been a great success in spreading awareness about afforestation."

Bikrant points out the irony that it took a pandemic and a lockdown to finally reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality around the world. But the truth is obvious, A virus cannot be the cure to saving the ecosystem and environment.

Founder Pradip Shah adds, What we do is as much about planting trees as it is about creating a movement of sensitisation towards environmental issues. We work with local communities, corporations, local governments, and grassroots organizations to emphasise the importance of synergy. Only when everyone works hand in hand to restore the environment and takes collective action, can there be a tangible change.

And that is why Grow-Trees.com has been systematically carrying out targeted afforestation missions across 23 states and has initiated plantation of more than 8.5 million trees while generating 700,000+ days of employment for rural and tribal communities. It has managed 500+ corporate collaborations and has inched closer to the dream of planting globally by setting up a project in North Uganda, East Africa to help refugees and local communities. In 2020 alone, they have planted 2.6 million trees (cumulatively over 8 million), doubled their operations, and distributed dry ration kits to 400 households in COVID-affected villages. They have also worked towards the rejuvenation of water bodies and initiated training programs for fishery and bee-keeping to generate immediate employment and create future livelihood opportunities for the villagers.

Over the years, they have developed projects in high altitude landscapes to improve Himalayan biodiversity, initiated the first private effort to improve Kanha-Pench corridor in central India by planting 300,000 trees but as Bikrant says, "This is just the beginning because we have miles to go before the planet turns green."

(This is a featured content)


A 39-year-old man who shared a live video of harming himself on Facebook was saved by the swift intervention of Delhi Police after it was alerted by a call from an office of the social media giant thousands of kilometers away in the US, officials said on Saturday.

On Thursday night, one Shohan Lal (name changed), a resident of Dwarka in West Delhi, inflicted multiple deep cuts on his hand following an altercation with neighbours. Lal works in a sweet shop and has two young children. He has been emotionally vulnerable since the death of his wife in 2016, they said. The altercation with neighbours triggered him to take the extreme step. While doing so, he live-streamed it on Facebook, a senior police officer said.

While all this was happening, at around 12.50 AM, DCP CyPAD Anyesh Roy received a call alert from Facebooks US office about a suspicious self-harm live video being posted by a male Facebook user located in Delhi.

The alert was generated as part of the coordination framework established between Cyber Prevention Awareness and Detection (CyPAD), the Nodal Cyber Unit of Delhi Police, and international social media platforms, the police said.

Police checked and analysed the account details shared by Facebook. The mobile phone number linked to the account was found to be switched off. Later, police obtained the address linked to the mobile number and it belonged to Dwarka, the officer said.

A nearby emergency response vehicle (ERV) and its in-charge probationer sub-inspector Amit Kumar rushed to the given address to trace the man who was on the verge of killing himself, police said. When Kumar reached the location, he found the man on the stairs in a very bad condition as he had suffered heavy blood loss. The man was rushed to a nearby hospital and later shifted to AIIMS Trauma Centre, the officer said, adding that his condition was stated to be stable.

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New Delhi: Microsoft appears to be all set to launch Windows 11 in June 2021 in an already announced launch event for the next generation of Windows. While the tech giant hasnt officially revealed the launch of Windows 11, many are expecting that well be finally able to witness the new generation of the operating system.

Microsoft is unlikely to utter a word prior to the launch event. But the companys chief Satya Nadella as well as Windows and devices chief Panos Panay have already started calling the yet-to-be-launched product the next generation of Windows.

If Microsoft was going to release a new update of Windows 10, then the companys officials would have said that it is the next generation of Windows 10. This clearly indicates that Microsoft is up to something else.

Since Microsoft hasnt revealed the official name for the upcoming Windows, theres a possibility that it might name it something else than Windows 11. Remember how Microsoft jumped directly from Windows 8 to Windows 10. But other hints suggest otherwise.

Even the tweet announcing the official June 24 event has a few signals pointing that Microsoft may launch Windows 11. In the six-second video, you can see that the Windows logo is moving, which is on purpose to indicate the Sun Valley codename.

Moreover, the horizontal crossbar in the Windows logo is absent from the dim light passing through the icon. The intentional change makes the logo look more like an 11.

If that wasnt enough then let us tell you that Microsoft is organising the event at 11 am Eastern Time, adding one more 11 to the 11 theme. Besides all the hints Microsoft has been dropping, leakster Evan Blass has confirmed that the new OS is going to be Windows 11.

In the coming weeks, Microsoft is expected to launch more hints directing toward Windows 11 launch till June 24. In any which ways, well finally get to see what Microsoft is up to on the launch event day.
New Delhi: After TV actor Pearl V Puri was arrested by Mumbai police on alleged rape charges against a minor girl, TV producer Ekta Kapoor and Pearl's co-star Anita Hassanandani have dismissed it as a false charge.

They took to their Instagram handles to announce Pearl's innocence and stated that the allegations made against him were baseless.

Ekta Kapoor penned a long note asking for justice for the actor. She wrote, "Will I support a child molesteror a molester of any kind? But what I witnessed from last night to now, was the absolute low in human depravity. How can humanity go to this level? How can people who are upset with each other, drag a third person into their own fight? How can a human being take on another human being and do this? After various calls with the childs/girls mother, who openly said that Pearl was not involved and its her husband trying to create stories to keep her child and prove that a working mother on a set cannot take care of her kid. If this is true then it is wrong on so many levels!"

"Using an extremely important movement like Me Too frivolously, to get your own agendas met with and mentally torturing a child and making an innocent person guilty. I have no right to decide, the courts will decide who is right & wrong. My opinion only comes from what the girls mother said to me last night & that is - Pearl is innocent and it is very very sad if people are using various tactics to prove working mothers are unable to take care of their children, because there are predators on the set", she added.

She further wrote, "I have all the voice notes and messages between the childs mother and me which clearly points to the false allegations being put on Pearl. The film industry is as safe or as unsafe as any other business. To give it a bad name to get your agenda sorted is the lowest form of low ever. If by chance, Pearl is proved innocent, I request people to look more deeply into how the important & much needed movements in todays time, are being used unfairly reducing the gravitas of the situation. May justice prevail!"

Check out her post:

Many celebs such as Krystelle D'souza, Siddharth Malhotra, Aamir Ali, Urvashi Dholakia, and Vikaas Kalantri commented on her post displaying support for Pearl.

Krystelle D'souza had also taken to her official social media handle to speak out on the issue. She wrote, " I know @pearlvpuri and he is one of the nicest boys Ive met in our tv industry. A thorough gentleman. Please dont jump to conclusions on baseless allegations. Lets wait for the truth to come out.

Actress Anita Hassanandani also showed support for the actor writing: Woke up to some nonsensical news bout @pearlvpuri, I know him! It is NOT true ... canNOT be true.... all lies. Im sure there is more to it. And the truth will be out soon. Love you @pearlvpuri #ISTANDWITHPEARL"

Here's her post:

Actress Karishma Tanna also stood beside the actor and wrote on her Instagram, " Satyamev Jayate. Truth wins and he did win. #gotbail @pearlvpuri."

Following the #IstandwithPearl trend, actor Ankit Mohan took to Instagram to say, "Please do not jump to conclusions, its an extremely sensitive matter. Having worked with him, we know such a good human that he is. The truth shall prevail."

Here's actress Tanvi Thakkar's reaction to the rape allegations against Pearl V - "About the news going on that the man has been accused with the charges known to you , I would like to say that they are baseless and completely untrue. So before you judge or pass comments , please wait for the facts because believe you me , there are none."

The younger sister of Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta, Ishita Dutta also came out in support for Pearl and said that she knows him well-enough to know he's not capable of such a crime. She said, "This news is very very disturbing but I know him well enough to know that something like this Pearl is not capable of doing...I hope and pray this matter is resolved at the earliest."

For the unversed, a minor girl had filed a case against the actor some years back alleging that Pearl took sexual favours from her on the pretext of getting her work in TV.

As per a recent report published in Times of India, Pearl V Puri had been taken into custody and was booked for raping a minor girl and under the section of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, said Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) DCP, Zone 2, Sanjay Patil.
New Delhi: In a shocking turn of events, popular TV actor Pearl V Puri has been arrested by Mumbai police on alleged rape charges. The news has left his fans and fellow TV colleagues in a state of disbelief.

According to a report published in Times of India, Pearl V Puri has been taken into custody and is booked for raping a minor girl and under the section of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, said Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) DCP, Zone 2, Sanjay Patil.

For the unversed, a minor girl had filed a case against the actor some years back alleging that Pearl took sexual favours from her on the pretext of getting her work in TV.

His co-star Anita Hassanandani has dismissed it as a false charge. She took to Instagram and showed support for the actor writing: Woke up to some nonsensical news bout @pearlvpuri

I know him! It is NOT true ... canNOT be true.... all lies.

Im sure there is more to it. And the truth will be out soon.

Love you @pearlvpuri

#ISTANDWITHPEARL

Pearl V Puri earned stardom for featuring in Ekta Kapoor's productions Naagin 3 (201819) and Bepanah Pyaar (201920) respectively.

He was first seen in the 2013 TV show Dil Ki Nazar Se Khoobsurat, followed by Phir Bhi Na Maane...Badtameez Dil, Meri Saasu Maa and Naagarjuna  Ek Yoddha among others. He played a key role in Brahmarakshas 2.
New Delhi: SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has affected human health globally and had brought everyone to a standstill for months. It has infected a large number of people and has taken over a million lives.

Around a year and a half since its outbreak, the world is still trying to figure out where the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, came from.

There are theories that claim that the virus spilt over from bats into humans and then there are hypotheses that state it emerged from a lab in China's Wuhan, where the COVID-19 was first reported in 2019.

The fact that the pandemic began in the vicinity of a main virus research centre that specialises in the study of coronaviruses with epidemic potential in humans 'the Wuhan Institute of Virology' has given rise to the 'lab leak theory'. It also gained wider traction after an article in the journal Science signed by 18 scientists called for the origins of SARS-CoV-2 to be examined.

Recently, top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has also fuelled the argument and has asked China to release the medical records of nine people whose ailments might provide vital clues into whether COVID-19 first emerged as the result of a lab leak.

"I would like to see the medical records of the three people who are reported to have got sick in 2019. Did they really get sick, and if so, what did they get sick with?" Fauci said.

On the other hand, Chinese scientists and officials have consistently rejected the lab leak hypothesis, saying the virus could have been circulating in other regions before it hit Wuhan and might have even entered China through imported frozen food shipments or wildlife trading.

The origin of the COVID-19 virus has been hotly contested, with the World Health Organization (WHO) sending an international team on a field visit to Wuhan from January 14 - February 10 2021.

In its report published on March 30 2021, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for further studies.

"As far as WHO is concerned, all hypotheses remain on the table. This report is a very important beginning, but it is not the end. We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do," said Tedros.

"Finding the origin of a virus takes time and we owe it to the world to find the source so we can collectively take steps to reduce the risk of this happening again. No single research trip can provide all the answers," he added.

The WHO report is available on this webpage: Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Earlier in May, US President Joe Biden had also asked the US intelligence community to 'redouble their efforts' to come to a conclusion on the origins of COVID-19 and report back to him within three months.

"I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days," Biden said in a statement on the investigation into the origins of the virus.

"As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China," Biden said. He added that the US will keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence.

As of June 4, there have been 17,17,82,908 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally, including 36,98,621 deaths.

(With inputs from agencies)
Kolkata: West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikaris close aide - Rakhal Bera was arrested for allegedly duping people with fake promise. Bera, considered close associate of Adhikari was arrested by Manicktala police station based on a complaint of one Sujit Dey on Saturday evening.

Confirming the arrest, a senior official of Kolkata Police said, One accused Rakhal Bera has been arrested in connection with a financial fraud case by Manicktala police station.

According to Kolkata Police, Bera was part of a criminal conspiracy with Chanchal Nandi and a few others and allegedly organised a fake job racket sometime between July and September 2019.

The complainant Sujit Dey had approached the duo seeking a job. The duo reportedly promised Dey with a job in Irrigation and Waterways Ministry. The accused persons allegedly took Rs 2 lakh in exchange of the job. However, the complainant claims that the accused persons misappropriated the entire amount and did not provide a job in return, he said.

Sources in Kolkata Police informed that an investigation is underway and police is looking for other accused persons engaged in the financial fraud and fake job racket.
ABUJA: Nigeria said on Friday it had indefinitely suspended Twitter`s activities, two days after the social media giant removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed said the government had acted because of "the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria`s corporate existence".

Mohammed did not spell out what form the suspension would take or give more details on the undermining activities. His ministry also announced Twitter`s suspension on Twitter.

PRESS RELEASE FG Suspends @Twitter Operations in Nigeria pic.twitter.com/7z5BQ0Mi3U  Fed Min of Info & Cu (@FMICNigeria) June 4, 2021

When asked about the details of the suspension, a ministerial aide told Reuters: "Wait and see how things will turn out."

As of the early hours of Saturday, Twitter`s website was inaccessible in Nigeria on some mobile carriers, while its app and website worked on others, according to Reuters tests in Lagos and Abuja.

Twitter is investigating its "deeply concerning" suspension of operations by the Nigerian government, and "will provide updates when we know more," the company said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the U.S. tech firm said Buhari`s post threatening to punish groups blamed for attacks on government buildings had violated Twitter`s "abusive behaviour" policy.

In April, the information minister reacted angrily when Twitter chose neighbouring Ghana for its first African office. He said the company had been influenced by media misrepresentations of Nigeria, including reports of crackdowns on protests last year.

Demonstrators calling for police reform had used social media to organise, raise money and share alleged proof of police harassment. Twitter`s chief executive, Jack Dorsey, tweeted to encourage his followers to donate.

In the protests` wake, Mohammed called for "some form of regulation" on social media to combat "fake news".

A spokesperson for Airtel, one of Nigeria`s largest mobile carriers, on Friday declined to say whether the company had received any government directives about the suspension.

MTN, the largest mobile carrier, did not respond to calls and a message seeking comment.
Hysham artist Mark Matthews has donated a carved sculpture to the Billings Clinic Foundation, saying he wanted to repay generosity shown to him by the Clinic.

Matthews sculpture was built in 2010, after his return to sculpting following a nearly 20-year hiatus. Built in segments like a totem pole, his inspiration was drawn from the natural and historical beauty of Montana. A tiny Our Lady of the Rockies pays homage to Butte from the side of the legs, while bison and prairie dogs inhabit the front. The sculptures back is a cascading waterfall, falling into a pool of native trout.

On every surface are traditionally-inspired Native images  hunting parties, teepees, and figures painted in shades of red. In stark contrast to the sculptures traditional and natural images are the depictions of westward progress  a railroad carves its way through the landscape, and Anacondas smokestack is featured just above a frontier town.

According to the foundation's Senior Director of Philanthropy Amberly Pahut, Matthews was inspired to donate the artwork by the excellent treatment that he received during a recent stay at the Clinic. He wanted to share his artwork with others, and contribute to our healing environment," Pahut said.
New Delhi: Top US infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has called on China to release the medical records of nine people whose ailments might provide vital clues into whether COVID-19 first emerged as the result of a lab leak, Reuters reported on Friday.

"I would like to see the medical records of the three people who are reported to have got sick in 2019. Did they really get sick, and if so, what did they get sick with?" Reuters quoted Fauci as saying about three of the nine.

The origin of the virus is hotly contested, with US intelligence agencies still examining reports that researchers at a Chinese virology laboratory in Wuhan were seriously ill in 2019 a month before the first COVID-19 cases were reported.

However, Chinese scientists and officials have consistently rejected the lab leak hypothesis, saying the virus could have been circulating in other regions before it hit Wuhan and might have even entered China through imported frozen food shipments or wildlife trading.

A spokesman for China`s foreign ministry, Wang Wenbin, declined to comment directly on whether China would release the records of the nine but firmly denied that the laboratory was linked to the outbreak of COVID-19.

At a regular briefing on Friday, he referred to a March 23 statement from the Wuhan Institute of Virology that said no staff or graduates were confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Wang reiterated China`s position that reports of a lab leak are a "conspiracy theory."

Financial Times reported that Fauci continues to believe the virus was first transmitted to humans through animals, pointing out that even if the lab researchers did have COVID-19, they could have contracted the disease from the wider population.
Mosul: A Turkish air strike killed at least three people on Saturday at a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq, said Rashad Kelali, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party official.

The strike on the camp housing thousands of Kurdish refugees from Turkey took place three days after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned Iraq that Turkey would "clean up" a refugee camp which it says provides a haven for Kurdish militants.

An Iraqi security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed an air strike had killed and injured people in the camp but did not give any details.

Turkish forces have stepped up attacks on bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside northern Iraq over the last year, focusing their firepower and incursions mainly on a strip of territory up to 30 km (19 miles) inside Iraq.

Erdogan said on Thursday that Makhmour, a camp 180 km south of the Turkish border which has hosted thousands of Turkish refugees for more than two decades, was an "incubator" for militants and must be tackled.

The camp was established in the 1990s when thousands of Kurds from Turkey crossed the border in a movement Ankara says was deliberately provoked by the PKK.

The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union, has fought an insurgency against the state in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Makhmour was targeted by Turkish air strikes a year ago, although there were no reports of casualties at the time, but a senior Turkish official said it was now a priority for Ankara.

Waving the Kurdish flag and chanting "our voices are voices of freedom against occupation", dozens marched in Iraq`s Kurdish province of Sulaimaniya later on Saturday to denounce the Turkish incursion.

"They are killing innocent women and children ... Turkey wants to occupy Kurdistan, but we, the Kurds here along with the PKK, will fight until the last moment of our lives," said protester Omid Saleh.

Turkey has taken its decades-old conflict with Kurdish militants deep into northern Iraq, establishing military bases and deploying armed military drones against the fighters in their mountain strongholds.

In a separate incident on Saturday, five Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and four wounded in an ambush by the PKK in northern Iraq, the ministry of Peshmerga said in a statement early on Saturday.

The clashes took place on Matina mountain in the town of Amedi in the northern Kurdistan Region, the statement said. The PKK did not immediately comment.
Charges recently filed against a Basin man are among efforts by the U.S. Justice Department to increase enforcement of hate crimes and other bias-related incidents, furthering a promise by Attorney General Merrick Garland to focus on civil rights violations.

The Associated Press reported Friday that Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, recently sworn in and the first Black woman to hold the position, said the effort has led to indictments in multiple cases over the past six months. But the number of hate crimes has grown: In November, the FBI said they'd reached the highest level in more than a decade.

"Hate crimes are especially pernicious because they harm targeted individuals and the entire community to which the individual belongs," she said in a statement to The Associated Press. "No community should live in fear because of who they are, where they are from, or what they believe, and it is our goal to make that a reality."

The statement comes during the first days of Pride Month, a celebration of LGBTQ rights, and as the Justice Department has leveled a series of civil rights charges, including against three white men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, who was Black, in Georgia. It has also opened several investigations into policing practices at departments around the country.
Montana and Idaho, which have had wolf hunting and trapping seasons dating back to 2009, also passed laws aiming to reduce wolf populations in each state, which combined have an estimated 2,700 wolves.

Montanas new laws include expanded wolf trapping seasons and allowance of snares to trap wolves.

Another law allows wolf trappers and hunters to be privately reimbursed for their costs of killing a wolf.

The final law directs state officials to reduce wolf populations to sustainable numbers, including consideration of baiting, night hunting on private land and unlimited wolf take by an individual in areas with high wolf densities. The law does not define "sustainable" and state officials do not expect to identify a specific population target.

Idahos new law signed by Gov. Brad Little makes several changes for hunters and trappers as well as providing funding toward the hiring of private contractors to kill wolves. The law allows hunting and trapping of unlimited wolves on a single license, hunting at night and the use of snowmobiles, ATVs and helicopters.

Proponents of the laws have said wolf populations have grown extensively in many areas and are negatively impacting big game herds and livestock.
Other Colstrip stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest have said the same. In April, Spokane-based Avista Corp. indicated that it could add 300 megawatts of the Montana wind to its portfolio over the next seven years. Its preferred strategy included 100 megawatts of Montana wind capacity in 2023 and another 100 in 2028.

Montana has been an electricity exporter for since the 1970s, with the 2100-megawatt capacity power plant in Colstrip providing more electricity to Idaho, Oregon and Washington than to Montana. No state consumes more Colstrip power than Washington.

Avista concluded that 200 MW of Montana wind is the most economic new resource to meet the CETA requirements beginning in 2024. Any energy project in Montana would still have to win out in a competitive bidding process.

There is an incentive for Colstrip owners in Washington to keep Montana energy in the mix after 2025. Those owners not only have stakes in the power plant, but also interest in the Colstrip Transmission Line. Washingtons climate laws give the Colstrip owners an ultimatum: find non-coal power for the transmission line, or stop billing customers for the lines costs after 2025.
At the present time, groups have come into existence with the goal of changing the Constitution. A number of states have signed on to the proposal to have two-thirds of the state legislatures call a constitutional convention. Other folks want to junk the Electoral College for direct election of the president.

Convention suggestions

Then there are others who want to reverse the Supreme Court decision declaring corporations people for purposes of contributing to campaigns. Another group wants a convention limited to adding an amendment requiring a balanced budget at the federal level.

Support and opposition to all of these convention proposals has been bipartisan, with the John Birch Society and the Eagle Forum against and the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council in favor. States have been so divided on the proposals that they have been withdrawing their consent as fast as new supporters have appeared.

Most of the dialogue about forcing a call of various conventions is not relevant to the greater question of redesigning the national government to manifest the national complexion of our economy and society. National issues have become more important than state issues.

Federalism failed
As the sun set behind an overcast sky in early December, deepening the cold of the late afternoon, Jesse Rennich stood in line with about 30 others before an Adopt-a-Block food distribution drop at Tatley Place in south Bismarck.

Dressed in jeans and wearing a hoodie under an open flannel shirt, Rennich held onto the cold metal handle of a child-size red wagon with a gloveless hand. He used the wagon to transport what would amount to three meals for his family.

As a part-time worker, Rennich had been coming to the distribution site for several months.

It helps supplement our food, said Rennich, who lives with his girlfriend and 3-year-old daughter. Its hard asking for help. Its a subject thats uncomfortable to talk about.

But hunger also is a problem that has grown amid the coronavirus pandemic.

America is the breadbasket of the world" and North Dakota does its part filling up that basket, with the state ranking at the top in the production of 11 food commodities ranging from pinto beans to spring wheat. But even in the land of plenty, many still struggle to keep food in their refrigerators and kitchen cupboards.

Hunger hides in plain sight, said Melissa Sobolik, president of Great Plains Food Bank, a not-for-profit organization that distributes millions of pounds of food each year to hunger-relief efforts in 99 communities across North Dakota and into eastern Minnesota. No one wants to admit that theyre hungry or ask for help, but its out there.

So is help. Several efforts in the Bismarck region look to take a big bite out of the problem of food insecurity.

The crisis

"Food insecurity is not having access to enough food to live an active, healthy life. Low income, debt, unemployment, disability, homelessness, food price increases, age and environment all can play a role. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the problem.

More than 50 million people have experienced food insecurity during the pandemic, up from 35 million in 2019, according to the Feeding America nonprofit, the nations largest domestic hunger-relief organization.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported in March that as many as 9 million children live in a household where they don't eat enough because the parents can't afford it. North Dakota isn't immune -- an estimated 42,000 adults in the state, including 14,000 adults living with children, werent eating sufficiently late last year because they couldnt afford it.

One in six people in the Great Plains Food Bank distribution area deals with hunger, compared to one in nine nationwide, according to Feeding America.

Fargo-based Great Plains -- North Dakota's only food bank -- has served nearly 200 million meals in its four-decade existence. But officials in 2008 discovered gaps in efforts to reach more children, seniors and people living in rural areas known as food deserts. That led to the creation of seven direct service programs such as a mobile food pantry and a weekend food backpack program for students.

We saw large gaps in service geographywise and in children that are going underfed and seniors who are saving their gas money in order to drive long distances to the nearest food pantry instead of buying their medications, Sobolik said. We had heard a lot of stories from teachers and counselors that when kids were coming to school on Monday morning they hadnt eaten since Friday lunch. We knew that there was something that had to be done.

One of the goals of the $5.1 million Feed the Future fundraising campaign was to expand food distribution by opening a regional service center in Bismarck. The 10,000-square-foot warehouse opened late last year and is expected to distribute 1.5 million pounds of food in the coming year across central and western North Dakota.

The opening of the warehouse came as the food bank saw a 44% increase in meals served amid the pandemic. One of the benefits of the new facility is better serving of rural areas with the addition of the Mobile Food Pantry. In April food deliveries were made to Steele, Linton and Lincoln.

Not only have we seen an increase in the food that we need to bring in, but our clientele jumped, Sobolik said. We are hearing stories and having people come to us for the very first time in their lives. Theyve been food bank donors in the past, they have done food drives and now they need a little bit of assistance to help them get back on their feet."

Pandemic impacts

The food bank last year witnessed an "unprecedented need for food assistance -- a 39% increase in both pounds of food distributed and meals provided, and a 42% surge in the number of people receiving meals.

We knew that it was a difficult year for so many, Sobolik said. But this really puts things in perspective.

The onset of the pandemic in mid-March 2020 brought the economy to a near-standstill, with schools and businesses closed and people encouraged to stay at home. Surplus food quickly became scarce.

Retailers obviously couldnt keep food on their shelves so they didnt have it to donate, and all of the companies that sell their products to grocery stores and retailers, they couldnt keep it on their shelves, Sobolik said. So we just didnt have the donations coming in that we historically had in the past.

The food bank as a temporary remedy used money donations and grants to buy food products at market price. The cost is substantial, with three to five semitrailer loads of food purchased every month since March 2020 at a cost of $25,000 to $35,000 per truck load.

We have this commitment and this burning desire to make sure that no one goes hungry, Sobolik said. It has meant a shift in operations and even a shift in priorities for our entire organization, but we just know that this is what we are here to do and we are proud that we can still help so many people who are struggling right now.

Adopt-a-block

Compassion also is a hallmark of Jim Barnhardt, co-owner of J & R Vacuum and Sewing in downtown Bismarck.

In 2016, he and his wife, Cindy, attended a Pentecostal church convention in Hawaii with other members of the New Song Church from Bismarck.

I woke up at 5 in the morning and I had meal ministry with services to help those in need just planted in my brain, Barnhardt said. It didnt really seem like a dream. I didnt know what it was. So I asked my wife Cindy and she said you know what that is Jim, and you need to follow it.

On June 19, 2019, Barnhardt began Adopt-a-Block, a food distribution program in Bismarck. In the first week it served 45 families. In June 2020, the program was serving around 200 people a week after expanding to six locations in Bismarck-Mandan, Barnhardt said. By November that number was more than 2,700 people.

Now, the Barnhardts are adopting the model of the Los Angeles-based Dream Center network, which provides aid in the areas of hunger, domestic violence, human trafficking and addiction in 29 states and 11 countries.

The couple along with about 100 supporters and community leaders last month celebrated the groundbreaking of a two-story, 24,000-square-foot Dream Center facility in southeast Bismarck.

The $3.1 million Dream Center will house a chapel, meeting rooms, a community food pantry, a warehouse for Adopt-a-Block food, a multipurpose center, and a kitchen and dining room for The Banquet community meals. The Banquet is a non-denominational outreach ministry for people in need in Bismarck-Mandan that serves meals four days a week. Jim Barnhardt, who serves as the nonprofit's board chairman, plans on expanding the meals to seven days.

What we essentially put together was the idea of doing an Adopt-a-Block but taking the approach that the vision that I had was for food in general, Barnhardt said.

But taking food donations to people and families in lower-income neighborhoods is still foremost in Barnhardts mind.

If they know there is food in their cupboards, if we can get past those basic necessities, then they can think, 'Well, I dont have to struggle from week to week or day to day,'" he said.

Most of the food donations come from Great Plains Food Bank, and from surplus donations from Cash Wise Foods, Natural Grocers, Costco and Dans Supermarket.

While leaving the food distribution site at Jeannette Myhre Elementary School in January, roommates Katie Fulcher and Sabrina Kraus pull a pair of suitcases with boxes of food in each.

We are very grateful, Fulcher said. It really helps when you are in between. This will fill our fridge."

Each week as Barnhardt trucks food to the designated sites, he sees his vision coming together.

I feel like Im part of the solution, he said. God asked me to do this, and so Im following the lead there and Im following doors as they open. But I see so many opportunities to help people in need by forming the connections that are truly there.

Cannon Ball center

The community center in the small Standing Rock Indian Reservation community of Cannon Ball also is a connecting point.

On a cold, snowy December day, the Rev. Antone American Horse and several volunteers turned the large parking lot in front of the center into a staging point to distribute free boxes of food to an increasing number of people on and off the reservation reeling from the pandemic and food insecurity.

Throughout the course of the day, people arrived in pickup trucks with trailers, cars, SUVs or by foot to take boxes of fresh food.

The Trump administration initiated the Farmers to Families Food Box program in May 2020 in response to the pandemic. The Agriculture Department oversees the $6 billion effort that aims to aid both struggling farmers and hungry people. More than 240 organizations across the country have distributed about 166 million food boxes containing fresh produce, dairy products, meat and seafood.

The nonprofit relief agency Wings as Eagles Ministries, based out of the Dream Center in Porcupine, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, was responsible for distributing food boxes to several reservations in the Dakotas and Wyoming. American Horse, a long-time Cannon Ball resident, was contacted by the ministry to oversee the distribution of the food on Standing Rock.

People are happy to have it, he said. I dont put a limit on anybody. I tell people to take it and give it to someone who needs it.

During a November food distribution, Sandi and Craig Imberi made the 70-mile trip from Mobridge, South Dakota, to Cannon Ball in their pickup pulling a utility trailer.

This is amazing, Sandi Imberi said as they loaded dozens of boxes onto the trailer to distribute. The need in Mobridge is huge.

Karen Heck, who volunteers to deliver food boxes to Fort Rice and Mandan, pulled her car alongside the pallet of boxes and asked if she could take 10.

I think its been a blessing for so many people, she said. When I gave one fellow a box, he just hugged it.

Potential solutions

The problem of food insecurity -- which has existed around the world for centuries -- has no easy solution.

If food alone was the answer, we would have solved it by now, said Sobolik, with Great Plains Food bank. Because there is enough food produced in the U.S. to feed every single person but not everyone has access to it. I think its a bigger, broader solution that involves the food system from start to finish. To making sure people have access and that they can afford the food.

"It might tie a little bit into poverty as well," she said. "I dont know that if we can solve one without solving the other.

Barnhardt, with Adopt-A-Block, said the answer might lie with instilling better morals in children.

If the kids have an opportunity to see what either is normal or at least what should be normal, we can affect the next generation, he said.

Jena Gullo, executive director of the Missouri Slope Areawide United Way, said access to food is the easy part of the food insecurity answer.

The second part is much more complex -- its targeting the root causes of generational poverty and breaking that cycle," she said. "We as a community have to have better coordination of services and improved access so that people can get the right kind of help that they need at the right time. Then we can prevent a lot of bigger issues like hunger and homelessness from happening in the first place."

Reach Mike McCleary at 701-250-8206 or mike.mccleary@bismarcktribune.com.

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The companies plan to make hydrogen from synthetic gas produced at the synfuels plant as well as from gas produced in the Bakken. If successful, the project would provide a big boost for North Dakota and increase its role in curbing climate change.

The states efforts won praise this week from Michael Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, during a visit to North Dakota. He complimented the states efforts on hydrogen and carbon dioxide capture. Gov. Doug Burgum last month called for the state to become carbon neutral by the end of the decade.

Regan touted President Joe Bidens efforts to reduce emissions and lauded North Dakotas efforts.

Theres no doubt theres huge potential there, and right here in North Dakota were seeing leadership, he said.

State and business leaders urged Regan to have the administration encourage federal and state governments to work together to share power and collaborate in climate change efforts. They warned against forcing unpopular initiatives on the states.

The Biden administration has made climate change efforts a priority. While the state remains strongly supportive of oil and gas development, it has shown a willingness to develop projects to reduce the carbon footprint.
https://news.yahoo.com/real-issue-covid-19-lab-131605183.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=1_03 The real issue with the COVID-19 lab leak theory? The US isn't spying on China like it used to

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WASHINGTON  As U.S. intelligence agencies scramble to determine the origin of COVID-19, the scarcity of CIA spy networks on the ground in China could prevent them from cracking whether Beijing is covering up an accidental leak of the deadly virus from a government research lab in Wuhan.

Some of the nations top spymasters have warned for years, mostly behind closed doors, that one of the most critical components of their overall information-gathering effort  known in spy parlance as human intelligence or "humint"  has been decimated in recent decades by Beijings aggressive efforts to shut down these networks.

The CIA also hasnt devoted enough resources to rebuilding the networks by recruiting Chinese turncoats who can pry secrets from Communist Party officials, scientists and others, according to interviews with current and former U.S. national security officials, congressional testimony and other sources.

The result, many of these experts fear, is that the nations premiere spy agency is all but flying blind when it comes to cracking one of the most confounding and urgent global security mysteries of our time  whether the novel coronavirus originated in the wild and spread to humans as Beijing claims, or from a laboratory in the city of Wuhan that studies nearly identical infectious diseases.

We should have Wuhan wired six ways from Sunday, said Charles Faddis, former chief of the CIAs Weapons of Mass Destruction directorate. And yet 18 months into this, we're still trying to figure out what happened.

A recently retired top CIA China spy expressed similar concerns to USA TODAY.

We dont have good humint in China, the ex-spy said. And that is going to be a problem in getting Biden what hes asking for.

CIA officials declined to comment for this article.

From intel deficit to definitive conclusion in 90 days?

A so-called "intelligence deficit" or "knowledge gap" has long undermined numerous strategic information-gathering efforts against the authoritarian regime that has quickly become one of the United States most antagonistic and formidable adversaries. That includes not getting real-time insider information about Chinas military intentions, its persistent cybertheft of U.S. government databases and civilian trade secrets and even why Beijing still exports the precursor chemicals fueling Americas fentanyl drug overdose crisis.

And while it has stayed largely in the shadows, Biden thrust the problem to center stage last week by giving the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community 90 days to nail down the origin of the virus.

Without naming names, Biden said two elements of the intelligence community lean toward the likelihood that the virus emerged from human contact with an infected animal. Another camp, he said, figures the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology where it was being studied after being collected from a bat or other animal.

This file photo taken on April 17, 2020 shows an aerial view of the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province.

All of those assessments were made with such "low or moderate confidence, Biden said, that most intelligence community members "do not believe there is sufficient information to assess one to be more likely than the other.

"I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, Biden said.

Beijing blocks investigation

Last week, the Wall Street Journal cited a U.S. intelligence report saying three Institute of Virology researchers became sick enough with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019 that they sought hospital care  about a month before China reported the first infections. And a growing number of senior U.S. officials now say they believe the lab leak scenario cant be ignored.

Rep. Michael McCaul, the GOP head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that was briefed on the just-disclosed intel report, described Chinas behavior as "the worst cover up in human history. The House intelligence committee released a report recently raising serious concerns about how little it knows about the pandemic origin despite an intensive congressional investigation.

Sen. Marco Rubio, the ranking Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, told the heads of the CIA and the over-arching Director of National Intelligence in April that he believed the lab leak theory was more than plausible.

Lab leak: How what Fauci said publicly stacks up against his newly released emails

At that hearing, surrounded by other civilian and military intelligence leaders, CIA Director William Burns acknowledged that there are a lot of questions unanswered. Were doing everything we can, he told Rubio, using all the sources available to us on this panel, to try to get to the bottom of it.

China maintains that the virus originated in nature, and claimed initially that it probably came from a wet market near the lab where wild animals are purchased for human consumption. U.S. officials say, however, that there hasnt been a single documented case of animal-to-human transmission.

All along, Beijing has refused to fully cooperate with outside health officials or allow a broader investigation.

While the World Health Organization concluded in March that a lab leak was an "extremely unlikely pathway, its on-site team of investigators was only allowed limited access to laboratories studying similar viruses and to data about the earliest cases.

The White House continues to work the diplomatic angle, and Biden has said he wants the 90-day probe to leverage U.S. national laboratories and as much scientific expertise as possible.

Privately, though, few if any U.S. officials believe that China is going to cooperate.

And thats where Americas spies come into play.

While US focused on counter-terrorism, China focused on counter-intelligence

In the 20 years since the 9/11 attacks, the National Security Agency (NSA), and other high-tech intelligence collection agencies have grown more powerful with each innovation. At the same time, though, the CIA has seen a massive shift of resources  on orders from Congress and successive administrations  away from the conventional stealing of secrets to paramilitary operations aimed at killing terrorists.

All the while, China methodically beefed up its own human intelligence networks targeting the U.S.

In 2003, the FBIs most prized China asset, Katrina Leung of Los Angeles, was identified as a double agent who was sleeping with two of the bureaus top China hands. Besides funneling top-secret information to Beijing, Leung also provided her FBI handlers with misinformation for a decade that was deemed so important it was piped right into the White House.

Katrina Leung is shown in this 2000 file photo.

More devastating human-intelligence setbacks followed, including three senior American officials arrested and convicted of spying for China.

One of them, a former top CIA Beijing case officer named Jerry Chun Shing Lee, was suspected of giving China the identities of many of the CIAs most valuable covert assets in the country. He was convicted of conspiring and in 2019 was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

The CIA also discovered that China had figured out how to eavesdrop on its most top-secret communications with its network of agents.

The twin counter-intelligence coups enabled China to roll up a human intelligence network that the CIA had worked for years, if not decades, to build. By 2013, Chinese authorities had killed at least a dozen CIA assets in China, reportedly shooting one in front of his government colleagues to send a message to other potential turncoats.

Many others are believed to have been arrested in what many officials have called the worst U.S. intelligence debacle in decades.

High tech 'not a substitute for human intelligence'

In announcing his 90-day review, Biden did not single out the CIA or any of the other 17 U.S. civilian and military intelligence agencies for blame.

But since the creation of the modern national security state after World War II, the CIA  as the primary gatherer of human intelligence  has always been at the center of the overall U.S. intelligence-gathering effort.

CIA case officers traditionally spend several years in a foreign country cultivating a network of assets that act as their eyes and ears on the ground and behind closed doors in the corridors of power.

Some work the diplomatic cocktail circuit, stealing secrets out of embassy drawers. Others use elaborate cover stories to attend local Rotary Club meetings where nuclear engineers gather. Some engage in the darker side of espionage, using blackmail, bribes, sex and whatever else might work in persuading targets to turn against their own country and begin spying for America.

At his confirmation hearing in February, Burns vowed to double down on human collection efforts, especially in China, saying it cuts right to the core of CIA's unique role and responsibilities. The intelligence community has made enormous progress in its technical collection capabilities in recent years, Burns added, but they are not a substitute for human intelligence, including spies on the ground speaking fluent Mandarin. It's crucially important.

A few CIA case officers, and many more of their local agents, have been killed, expelled or imprisoned overseas when their cover was blown. Others were turned into double agents who spied on their U.S. spymasters and fed them false information to misdirect the policy makers in Washington.

But their work in the shadows has resulted in some of the most momentous victories in Americas struggles against its adversaries, especially at the height of the Cold War against the Soviet Union and its communist proxies.

Over time, other high-tech means of getting information  often surreptitiously and from afar  also became potent weapons in the U.S. intelligence-gathering arsenal.

Military spy satellites were tasked to take high-resolution photographs of everything from our adversaries military buildups to whether traffic patterns around hospitals might suggest the presence of a rapidly spreading infectious disease. And the NSA has developed ever-more impressive ways of intercepting emails, phone calls and even private conversations to find out what foreign government leaders were thinking.

Its rare that one source of intelligence tells the entire story, says Larry Pfeiffer, who spent 32 years in key leadership roles at the CIA, NSA and White House Situation Room. The best intelligence reports come from as many sources as possible.

Thats especially the case in denied areas, a CIA term for countries like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea that stop at nothing to neutralize foreign intelligence-gathering efforts.

In such hostile environments, the NSAs eavesdropping capabilities can be especially helpful in gaining access to the inner sanctums of the political and military leadership. But there are also times, Pfeiffer said, when nothing can replace a human intelligence asset whos at the right place at the right time.

Pfeiffer said he sees parallels between what has happened in China since the initial outbreak and in the Soviet Union in 1986 when officials covered up the worst-ever nuclear disaster at the plant in Chernobyl for its "combination of incompetence, slavish devotion to the leader and not wanting to offend them, and people on high giving instruction that you know, We can't let this out because we can't look bad.'

A well-placed source is going to tell you how much of that [cover-up] was directed from on high and how much of it was down at the working level where no one wanted to report the bad news up the chain, said Pfeiffer, who directs the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at George Mason University.

Spies needed for 'the hardest targets'

Faddis and others stressed that the overwhelming majority of CIA officers and analysts are dedicated, patriotic Americans working hard every day on behalf of their fellow citizens.

The CIA also has had many more human-intelligence successes than failures, according to those former officials. But they said they cannot provide details because they are classified.

In recent years, CIA leaders say, they have made strides in rebuilding their human intelligence networks against China, including targeting scientists and others who speak English and travel abroad.

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But they acknowledge it will take time, especially given Beijings sophisticated counter-intelligence efforts. Also, it takes more than two years of training and language school before a CIA recruit can be eligible for a China assignment, while more career-enhancing opportunities, like those in counter-terrorism, are available immediately, said another former CIA WMD chief Rolf Mowatt-Larssen.

For now, though, some critics say Bidens public rebuke of U.S. intelligence agencies underscores how far the CIA still has to go.

The CIA presumably is doing some useful work collecting information the old-fashioned way but rightly not publicizing it, says Grant Newsham, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who worked closely with the CIA in Asia for years.

But the fact that we didn't know from the beginning what was going on in the Wuhan Lab  or even in Zhongnanhai  both targets of prime importance to the USA  is prima facie evidence the CIA isn't doing its job, Newsham, also a former diplomat, said in reference to the Beijing compound occupied by its political leadership.

The CIAs humint problems and sub-par human intelligence capabilities have been well known for years, he said, in part due to too little patient concerted effort against the targets of most importance  which also happen to be the hardest targets.

Newsham recalls visiting a strategic U.S. ally in Asia in 2007 with other Marine intelligence officers when the CIA station chief said they didn't even try to cultivate human intelligence networks in country because it's too risky.

So I wouldn't blame it all on Jerry Lee, the spy who conspired with China, Newsham said. Instead it's a far broader and far older problem manifesting itself.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wuhan lab leak theory murky due to US lack of human intel in China
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GUIYANG, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia pledged on Friday to firmly support each other on issues concerning the core interests of the two countries.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the pledge in a phone conversation, saying the two countries remain unswervingly committed to upholding international fairness and justice and safeguarding world peace and stability.

Wang said the all-weather China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has withstood numerous changes in the international landscape, emphasizing that China and Russia have always firmly supported each other on issues concerning their core interests.

Wang noted that the guidance of the heads of state is the fundamental guarantee for bilateral relations to develop in a steady and sustained way and enjoy long-lasting vitality.

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed together via video link the ground-breaking ceremony of a China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project, which injected strong "nuclear impetus" into the development of bilateral relations, Wang said.

He urged the two sides to focus on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, prepare for upcoming key high-level exchanges, fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and advance cooperation in various fields in a coordinated manner in the post-pandemic era.

The two sides should work to translate their high-level political mutual trust and traditional friendship into more cooperation achievements, aiming for an ever closer and down-to-earth relationship and setting a fine example of developing a new type of relations between major countries, Wang said.

Noting the all-round China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, Wang said that both sides should make joint efforts to continuously expand mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and Russia in various fields.

Since the beginning of this year, bilateral pragmatic cooperation has got off to a good start and moved forward despite headwinds, demonstrating a strong momentum of development, he said.

Bilateral trade volume exceeded 40 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months, up 19.8 percent year-on-year and on track to a record high for the whole year, he added.

Recalling that the construction of four nuclear power units kicked off smoothly not long ago, and that the two sides reached consensus on building an international lunar research station, Wang said these major achievements have become important symbols of China-Russia all-round cooperation.

China and Russia have made remarkable achievements in jointly fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, setting a good example for global anti-virus cooperation, Wang said, while cautioning against complacency in the face of a new wave of virus transmission.

The Chinese diplomat called on both sides to further expand professional and technical cooperation in pandemic prevention and control, strengthen coordination between the two countries' professional departments over unified testing standards, data and information sharing, joint scientific research, border pandemic prevention and control, as well as mutual recognition of health certificates for international travel, and jointly respond to challenges in the post-pandemic era.

Wang said that Russia has upheld justice on international and multilateral occasions to support China's legitimate position, in response to a smear campaign against China by the United States and some other Western countries and their gross intervention in China's internal affairs by manipulating human rights-related topics.

Wang recalled the virtual meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS countries days earlier, saying China highly appreciates that during the meeting, Lavrov once again spoke up for China on the issue of coronavirus origin-tracing, slamming the U.S.-led West for fabricating lies and slandering.

He stressed that China will also provide full political support for Russia to safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests.

The United States has sought a clique under the guise of democracy, meddled in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights, and pursued a path of unilateralism in the name of multilateralism, Wang said.

As responsible major countries and permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, China and Russia should work together to expose and oppose these perverse practices, firmly maintain the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law, uphold international fairness and justice and safeguard world peace and stability, Wang said.

For his part, Lavrov said that the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has advanced vigorously and achieved fruitful results, and the Russian side is satisfied with the high level of the two countries' relations.

Lavrov noted a series of activities held by both countries to mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Russia-China Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, saying they will further solidify public and social support for the friendship between the two countries.

Russia will work together with China to earnestly implement the consensus reached between the two countries' heads of state, support efforts to synergize the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road, and proactively advance bilateral cooperation in various fields, so as to add new dimensions to Russia-China good neighborliness and friendship, he added.

Facing the severe challenges of the pandemic, Russia hopes to strengthen anti-virus cooperation with China, optimize customs clearance process, speed up the transportation of goods, and jointly enhance the safe and efficient operation of ports, with the aim to boost economic recovery, Lavrov said.

Russia is willing to keep close strategic coordination with China on international and regional issues, firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests, resolutely oppose hegemonism, unswervingly support multilateralism, jointly safeguard world peace and stability and uphold international fairness and justice, the Russian foreign minister said.

The two senior diplomats also exchanged in-depth views, coordinated positions and reached broad consensus over a series of international and regional issues of common concern.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE

The latest map and statistics: Covid-19 statistics from state and county departments of health, as well as new data from The New York Times' national Covid-19 tracking project. Read more

White House looks to CDC for guidance on border reopening: "As it relates to borders  Canada or Mexico  we really rely on the guidance of the CDC and our health and medical experts. So in terms of how they look at the data and information, I would point you to them and whether they would do that in a preliminary fashion or not," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says. Read more
Barr told The Buffalo News additional details about the allegations outlined in the lawsuit.

The attorney said it initially began when the plaintiff went to confession and one of the priests showed him a pornographic image.

What happened was, he was about 12 years old and hes in the confessional and the priest showed him pornography. The priest asked him if he liked it. It was an adult woman and kind of grossed him out, Barr said. The priest asked, What do you like? and he said, Girls my age. The priest said, Like who? 

A week or two later, Barr said, the priest summoned his client to his office and the girl he had mentioned was there. That was the start of alleged sexual acts, which began with kissing and touching between the client and girl and eventually resulted in sexual intercourse.

Barr said his client told him that the first of the three priests would provide information on the mechanics of how to have sex and then leave the room.

Barr's client said he remembers the priests would click on a device. He doesn't know what it was, but looking back, he is afraid the priests might have been turning on a hidden camera or video recorder that was activated by the clicker.
"Outflanked by superior forces, DeGlopper volunteered to support his comrades by firing from his automatic rifle while they attempted to withdraw through a hedgerow," states his Medal of Honor citation. "He walked from the ditch into the full view of the Germans and sprayed hostile assault fire. He was wounded, but he continued to fire. Kneeling in the roadway he fired burst upon burst until he was killed outright. He was successful in drawing the enemy actions away from his fellow soldiers who were able to move to a more advantageous position."

"He's a special man," said Kathleen Black, member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9249, also named after DeGlopper.

Onlookers Saturday commented on the details of the statue, details that Geissler painstakingly worked on with the DeGlopper family.

"All I cared about was that the family loved it," said Geissler, of Youngstown. "They were very helpful in guiding me with details that I needed. ... It's very humbling. I'm extremely honored. This is very special, just because of who and what he is."

Ray DeGlopper, who housed the statue in his Fix Road garage through the year-long delay, was one of several volunteers who rotated on guard duty at the park in the days before the sculpture was unveiled.
March 25, 1943  June 4, 2021

Dr. Robert A. Milch knew his 63-year-old patient didnt have long to live, but when the man's wife showed Dr. Milch a scrapbook full of her terminally ill husband's poems, Dr. Milch took the time to read them all.

The Amherst surgeon and his patient proceeded to talk at length about the beauty and insight of the dying mans writing, as well as the comfort and solace it brought him.

That incident, from decades ago, helped Dr. Milch learn the difference between curing and caring. In 1978, he became a co-founder of Hospice Buffalo, serving as both its first volunteer medical director and later its first full-time director.

Dr. Milch died Friday in Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Amherst after a brief illness. He was 78.

What became the hospice model that he helped to nurture grew steadily across America starting in the late 1970s.

In 1978, Dr. Milch was a surgeon with Buffalo Medical Group when he was asked to chair an annual conference with the American Cancer Society and Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He opted for something new, a session on hospice that involved doctors, nurses, social workers and chaplains.
Where it got dragged down was remote students, he said. Our remote attendance, anecdotally, is not good.

When schools opened in person five days a week on April 26, attendance among elementary and middle school students generally improved, he said. But among high school students, it has remained quite low.

Niagara Falls is doing the best it can to track attendance among students, both remote and in person, Laurrie said. But whats more important than that, he says, is making sure there is no remote option next year for students.

This year, many teenagers took jobs during the pandemic, often working during school hours.

High school kids are working, and theyre making $16, sometimes $18 an hour. To a high school kid, thats a tremendous hourly wage, he said. Thats a huge issue with high school attendance.

Next year, it will be challenging to lure them back to school if they continue to have the option to work instead of attending classes, he said.

So far, the state has not issued a decision regarding whether schools will be allowed to offer remote instruction. Many superintendents are appealing to state officials to require all instruction next year to be in person.
Buffalo School Board agrees to close two charter schools The Board of Education voted to close Enterprise and Westminster Community charter schools, two long-running charters with nearly 1,000 students.

The charter schools lawyers said they were not asking the judge to weigh in on the merits of the schools' charter renewal request.

They acknowledged that the schools had no right to a renewal of their charters, but insisted that the School Board is required to adhere to statutory obligations in the state's Charter School Act, but did not follow the statutorily-prescribed process.

A lawyer for the School Board said the board has a right not to renew charters.

Eighteen percent of Enterprise students in grades three through eight were considered proficient in English language arts during the 2018-19 school year, while 13% were proficient in math, according to the most recent state data.

At Westminster, 22% of students in grades three through eight were proficient in ELA, while 19% were proficient in math.

As a comparison, 25% of Buffalo Public School students in grades three through eight were proficient in ELA, while 19% were proficient in math.

Lawyers for Westminster and Enterprise have argued that the most recent state scores are from two years ago and are better than those at many district schools with a similar percentage of poor students.

A lawyer for Westminster said that since the school's last renewal in 2019, they have had little time to prove themselves before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and upended the education system. Yet, she said, student performance improved during that period.

The Buffalo News: Good Morning, Buffalo The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
The supplies, donated at Pakistan's request, include 685,000 KN-95 masks, 50,000 protective goggles, 250,000 diagnostic kits, and 1,000 pulse oximeters.

Earlier, Washington provided 200 ventilators to Pakistan.

Pakistan has a fragile health care system and is currently in the middle of the third wave of the pandemic.

Pakistan has registered 928,588 confirmed cases and 21,105 deaths in the pandemic.



COPENHAGEN, Denmark  Denmark will donate 358,700 unused vaccine doses to Kenya, saying the batch of Astra Zeneca that expires July 31 should be delivered as soon as possible.

It is part of the 3 million doses that Denmark has earmarked for donation this year.

No one is safe until everyone is safe, Denmarks Foreign Aid Minister Flemming Moeller Mortensen said in a statement. Kenya is in a difficult situation as they have received far fewer vaccines than they should have had.

The donation will be shipped via the U.N. childrens agency UNICEF.
 Expanding work training and employment programs.

 Increasing access to subsidized housing vouchers.

 Expanding access to quality prekindergarten and child care.

For the coming year, New York has real support from the federal government to turn the tide on child poverty, via the American Rescue Plan Act, arguably the most consequential investment in the nations children in a generation. Still, the American Rescue Plan will not lift all New York children out of poverty. Its child tax credit leaves out more than 70,000 ineligible immigrant children, and it is temporary.

To avoid acting right now would be playing with fire. During the pandemic, nearly twice as many lower-income families reported delaying or missing out on multiple types of health care for their children as those above the poverty line. Furthermore, many of these families were directly impacted by Covid-19, as those living under high poverty conditions have died at twice the rate of those of the lowest poverty bracket, with the burden disproportionately falling on people of color.

Given this enormous impact, we must take this opportunity to truly build back better. Its not enough to assume that the post-pandemic economic recovery alone will address the concerns outlined above. To all New York State legislators, as well as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, we urge you to support the Child Poverty Reduction Act. Lets build a solid foundation for all New York children to be healthy and thrive.

Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz is A. Conger Goodyear Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo, pediatric chief-of-service at Kaleida Health, and medical director of Pediatric Services Business Development, John R. Oishei Childrens Hospital Dr. Patrick Brophy is William H. Eilinger chair of pediatrics at University of Rochester Medicine Golisano Childrens Hospital. Dr. Gregory P. Conners is chair of the Department of Pediatrics, Upstate Medical University, and executive director of Upstate Golisano Childrens Hospital.
With all this talk about the Friends reunion on HBO Max, it only seems right that we start this Blacklist recap off with a classic quote from its long-running NBC forebear: I have no idea what's going on, but I am excited!

It might not be very confidence-inducing to hear your trusty Blacklist recapper say that she couldn't be any more confused about what's to come after the end of this episode  but here we are. I mean, I've got my theories and my guesses, but as far as what's on the page as far as what Reddington is yammering on about while standing in front of what appears to be the entryway into one of the bunkers from GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo 64 well, I'm absolutely clueless.

As is Elizabeth Keen! So I have a great amount of empathy for how she must be feeling in this episode as Reddington tells her over and over that she's about to get all the answers she's been begging to hear for years, only to then put her in a car, fly her to Latvia, drive her out to the middle of nowhere, and start talking about how an entire sophisticated intelligence network was erected decades ago with the sole purpose of keeping her safe when, as far as she knows, she has been running for her life for the last [checks watch] eight-ish years. Frankly, I don't know how Liz isn't screaming, "Just give me the goods, old man!" for this entire episode. But she is way ahead of the audience in at least one regard: Liz actually gets to see what's inside that bunker when its mysterious stone doors part at the episode's end.

Will Hart/NBC Harry Lennix on 'The Blacklist'

We've heard Reddington assure Liz that it was finally time to give her the answers she seeks before, after which he's done everything from giving her itty-bitty answers that don't really matter to flat-out lying about being Ilya Koslov. And we  the audience and Liz  have no assurance that this time will be any different. But we do know that he's never used a prop quite as big as a bunker before, and we also know that Raymond Reddington just officially confirmed to former FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen that he is, in fact, the long-rumored N13

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We just don't know exactly what that really means. Yet.

GODWIN PAGE, NO. 141

Last we left Reddington and Liz, they were stuck together inside Bino's clubhouse, forced to rely on one another to escape Townsend's men closing in from the outside. But Liz is none too keen (ugh, sorry) to keep that temporary partnership with Reddington alive, so the moment they make it out through an underground tunnel into a convenience store, she slips outside and tells a cop that the man wearing a fedora has a gun, giving her time to escape. Then she calls Cooper, and though she doesn't seem to know what she's going to do at the beginning of the call, Cooper's pleas to let him help her eventually lead her to surrender to the FBI.

Which leads to an extremely gratifying sequence wherein Elizabeth Keen is willingly marched into the Post Office's nifty titanium gold alloy Box, just as Raymond Reddington once was. (You know, the Box that has literally never stopped anything bad from happening, but that everyone is always convinced is the ultimate safety precaution.) Unfortunately, at some point one of the many entities who want Liz in their possession realizes that if they can't get Liz out of the box, they can get the box out of the Post Office.

And that's when things go full-Fast-Five. While Liz makes her one allotted phone call to Ressler, who's really not doing well in the hospital, a commando helicopter descends on the Post Office, blows through the roof above the Box, attaches a bunch of hooks and loops to said helicopter and said Box, and yanks the entire thing right out of there, whipping Liz through the air to whereabouts unknown. Cooper immediately goes with the assumption that it's Townsend who's taken Liz  even though everyone from you to me to the faceless agents guarding Liz (who seemed to do absolutely nothing as she was attacked) to an enraged Cynthia Panabaker (who has to take upward of seven Uber trips to the Post Office this episode) knows that the airlifting party was, of course, Raymond Reddington.

And the show wastes no time in revealing that to us, as Liz is next seen tearing around the corner of a horse stable, demanding to know what Reddington was thinking. But she's shushed by Bremley's wife, Edna, who's been there interrogating  Blacklister alert!  Godwin Page, Townsend's right-hand-man (the bald European one, not the tall GQ one) who Reddington has managed to capture. Edna tells Reddington she's implanted a tracking chip in the back of Page's neck so that when he's eventually cut loose and makes his way to Townsend, he will lead Reddington right to Townsend as well.

While straight-up padlocking Liz into a stable, Reddington tells her he hopes she'll think of her stay as more of a guest than a prisoner. Unfortunately for him, he places his guest in the stable right next to his other guest, so by the time Page wakes up, Liz has formulated a plan with the tiny knife she stole from Edna's bag.

Scott Gries/NBC James Spader on 'The Blacklist'

Liz tells Page that she has a way to get him out of there and lead Townsend directly to Reddington  if Page can promise that they'll only murder Reddington, and leave her, Agnes, and the FBI alone. Townsend has made it extremely clear that he wants to murder Liz in front of Reddington in order to achieve the most well-rounded revenge possible, but Page tells Liz that he can convince him to settle for just murdering Reddington. So Liz hands him the knife she stole and tells him to dig the chip out of the back of his neck. Once he does, she confirms that it's the kind of tracking device that can be intercepted, so if he memorizes the tracking number, Townsend can track the chip himself. Liz will turn on the chip to lead Townsend to Reddington once she knows that Townsend has accepted her terms. And she'll know that because Page is to tell Townsend to book a room at the Golden Leaf Hotel under the name Margaret French, and if that room is booked when Liz calls, she'll know their deal is on.

If you're wondering how Liz will get a phone from her stable-prison, you'll soon find out that it's because Liz asks to call and make arrangements for Agnes' care, and Dembe and Red just fork over a cell phone and let her step away to make a private call. Not even on speakerphone! So when Page does escape by knifing his guard, and when Townsend does agree to Liz's only-murder-Reddington terms, and when Liz does get that confirmation by calling the Golden Leaf Hotel and asking for Margaret French on Dembe's cell phone, she does ultimately reach Townsend, who tells her they're prepared to intercept the chip as she turns it on.

And even though Reddington doesn't suspect the reality of the phone call Liz just made in front of him, he knows that she must have helped Page escape, and therefore that they have to change their location. So he loads Liz into a car and tells her that he's been keeping certain secrets from her for hew own good. "Oh, this old song," Liz mutters. But that's when Reddington tells her that "her own good" now requires him to tell her everything. And after hearing this Liz still turns on the tracking chip to lead Townsend straight to Reddington.

Now, this could mean a few things, most likely that Liz doesn't believe Reddington will ever tell her the whole truth. But it may also mean that whether she gets answers or not, Liz still wants Reddington dead. Whichever it is, we'll never know because Reddington's car ride to answers quickly turns into a plane ride to answers, and Townsend can only watch as Reddington flies right over him. When Liz wakes from an eight-hour slumber and they're still in their air, she learns that they're flying to Riga, Latvia. She looks down at the approaching land and spies a river splitting in two that looks suspiciously like her burn scar. Reddington tells her he's recognized the similarity before too: "That scar is a permanent reminder of how the choices we made have affected your life forever."

The answer of who that "we" is seems to reside in Latvia. The driver who takes Reddington, Liz, and Dembe out to a nondescript field tells Liz it's "an honor" to meet her. In the field is what appears to be the entryway to a large bunker, which Reddington describes as the epicenter: "I brought you here because this is where it all started." And just when Liz is starting to get annoyed with Reddington talking in circles, he says he'll start with a question she already knows the answer to: the identity of N13. It is Reddington, but he says he never stole anything  the Sikorski Archive was a gift from one of Liz's mother's closest friends and colleagues.

Liz insists that Reddington is lying because she knows Reddington made the world believe her mother stole the Sikorski Archive. "You need to forget what you think you know," Reddington says, which seems like apt advice when it comes to anything Liz believes about her mother. But for the rest, I'll have to leave it directly to the N13 horse's mouth: "Katarina Rostova was never framed or killed,' Reddington says. "The Sikorsky Archive was a seed, the beginning of what would become one of the most sophisticated intelligence networks in existence. A network meticulously crafted with her knowledge and blessing to serve one guiding purpose: to give me the power to keep you safe, and your mother hidden."

Reddington gestures toward the bunker doors and says his life's work is inside. "So what is this?" Liz asks. And as the doors open, and they peer inside, Reddington tells her: "This is the Blacklist."

Altogether now: Okayyyy???

A FEW LOOSE ENDS:

Between the bunker that holds all the answers and the flying titanium box, there are also some pretty dire stakes swirling around in this episode. Like Panabaker telling Cooper and Aram that upon her abduction from the Post Office, the DOJ issued a directive to "eliminate" Elizabeth Keen, and as soon as that's done, they'll disavow all knowledge that the Post Office Task Force ever existed.

Also, Ressler is in the hospital for this entire episode with a permanently damaged lung and sepsis, and it's not looking good. They wouldn't kill off Ressler, would they?!

Is Katarina Rostova IN THAT BUNKER? Or, ahem, nearby??? That would, of course, only work alongside my ongoing belief that the woman Reddington killed earlier this season was never Liz's mother, given that she had almost no affection for Liz, and that it definitely didn't seem like Reddington "knew her better than she knew herself," as he says of Liz's mother in this episode. Also, Reddington said Katarina Rostova was never killed?

Liz asking Godwin Page if he knows why she represents a weakness to Reddington was adorable. What if this random Blacklister had just unraveled the entire mystery of her life right there in that horse-stable-prison. It was worth a try!

Speaking of Godwin, what's the status of that tracking chip now? Is Townsend about to roll up to the bunker?

Liz is handed like six different cell phones while being held prisoner by, like, six different parties in this episode, and never once does she actually call her daughter. PTL for Mrs. French. What if she's in the bunker.

(Video courtesy of NBC)

Related content:
(Bloomberg) -- A consortium of private equity firms reached an agreement to buy medical supply company Medline Industries Inc. in what would be one of the biggest leveraged buyouts of all time.

The group, comprising Blackstone Group Inc., Carlyle Group Inc. and Hellman & Friedman, will take a majority stake in Medline. Singapores GIC Pte will also invest as part of the partnership, the consortium said in a statement Saturday.

The transaction is valued at more than $30 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal is worth as much as $34 billion including debt and would include a $17 billion so-called equity check, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Based in Northfield, Illinois, Medline is the biggest private U.S. manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies like medical gloves, gowns and exam tables to hospitals and doctors offices. The company is run by the billionaire Mills family: Chief Executive Officer Charlie Mills, his cousin Andy Mills, who is president, and Chief Operating Officer Jim Abrams, who is Charlies brother-in-law.

Charlie and Andy took the reins in 1997 from their respective fathers, Jim and Jon Mills. Those brothers founded the company in 1966, taking inspiration from their grandfather who helped sew gowns for surgeons at a hospital in Chicago before World War I.

The Mills family will remain the largest single shareholder, according to the statement, adding that there will be no changes to Medlines senior management team.

The investment will enable us to accelerate that strategy while preserving the family-led culture that is core to our success, Medlines CEO said.

Narrowed Down

The team beat out Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management Inc. which was bidding on its own, the people said.

At least eight buyout firms had last month been preparing offers for the company, some lured by the prospect of getting the first shot at slashing costs and maximizing profits at a massive company in Medline thats never been touched by another buyout firm.

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Blackstone, Carlyle, and H&F were attracted to Medline because of the opportunity to work with the company to help it accelerate its international expansion, make new infrastructure investments, strengthen its supply chain and expand its product offerings.

By June 1, the bidding group had been narrowed down to three parties: the Blackstone consortium, Brookfield bidding on its own and a separate consortium that included Bain Capital, Advent International and CVC Capital Partners.

Bains consortium decided not to submit final bids after the final deadline was abruptly accelerated by several weeks, some of the people said.

Blackstone and H&F have teamed up to buy large assets in the past, including a bid to take Germanys Scout24 private.

Medline generated $17.5 billion in sales in 2020, a representative said previously.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and BDT & Co. advised Medline on the transaction, one of the people said, while Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, Morgan Stanley and Centerview Partners advised the private equity firms.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

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At least 100 people have been killed by gunmen in a "barbaric" attack on a village in Burkina Faso, the country's deadliest in years, authorities have said.

The local market and several homes in Solhan - a northern village in Yagha province bordering Niger, in the Sahel region of Africa - were also burned down, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said in a statement.

He blamed jihadists for the attack, which took place during the night on Friday.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore described the assault as "barbaric".

Heni Nsaibia, senior researcher at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, said it was the deadliest attack recorded in Burkina Faso since the West African country was overrun by jihadists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State about five years ago.

"It is clear that militant groups have shifted up gears to aggravate the situation in Burkina Faso, and moved their efforts to areas outside the immediate reach of the French-led counter-terrorism coalition fighting them in the tri-state border region," he said.

Jihadist violence is increasing in the Sahel, despite the presence of more than 5,000 French troops, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

In March, attackers killed 137 people in coordinated raids on villages in southwestern Niger.

In April, more than 50 people, including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist, were killed in Burkina Faso in the space of a week.

More than one million people in the country have been internally displaced and it is also hosting some 20,000 refugees from neighbouring Mali.

The government has declared 72 hours of mourning following the latest attack.
KAHNAWAKE, QC, June 5, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - The Mohawk Council of Kahnawa:ke is repulsed that Canada's Senate Banking, Trade and Commerce Committee has indeed decided to ignore Kahnawa:ke's request for needed amendments  and a call to uphold a truly respectful process of reconciliation. They have instead made the decision to rush Bill C-218, without amendment, back into the full Senate, a move that threatens Kahnawa:ke's ability to control its economic future and self-determination.

Logo of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (CNW Group/Mohawk Council of Kahnawake)

But this decision was not made before showing their true intentions. On a live parliamentary channel.

In the context of a clause-by-clause reading  and seemingly unaware that Committee members were still on camera  a specific Senator raised Kahnawa:ke's request for amendments. The Senator asked her colleagues if the amendments were "something we want to look at or something we want to disregard," later asking "how harmful" it would be to add the MCK's amendments.

Indigenous peoples have spent generations being disregarded. Being ignored. And having their ability to shape their own future decided by others.

Other Senators later  still on a live feed  suggested non-binding, condescending, token language around "urging, encourage and support" Kahnawa:ke's position rather than add the requested binding language provided to Senators.

In other words: all words, all optics  and no substance. An absolute and intentional disregard for, and disrespect of, Kahnawa:ke's inherent rights and interests.

More importantly  and only after realizing their conversation was still being broadcast live - Senators cut their public discussion to move in-camera. They did not return, instead declaring later that the Bill moved forward to 3rd Reading, without changes.

It is crystal clear that the Senators in question had paid mere lip service to the parliamentary equivalent of a fixed sporting event: the outcome of C-218 had already been decided, and they had to go away from the glare of the cameras to hide their hypocrisy.

Story continues

The irony of their decision is even more troubling given the heavy focus on match fixing issues throughout their deliberations.

Canada: Wake up! Indigenous voices deserve to be heard, and our rights and interests respected and meaningfully considered. The conduct and actions of the committee behind what they thought were drawn curtains, reflects on the Senate as the "chamber of sober second thought", and on the Canadian government as a whole. It exposes that reconciliation is clearly just window dressing and that just behind those curtains, systemic racism and colonialism are indeed alive and well in the government of Canada. Evidently, behind closed curtains Canada only chooses to hear 'Indigenous' voices from 'Indigenous Associations' when it fits the capitulation to Canada's colonialist agenda.

Kahnawa:ke calls on all remaining Senators to take the responsibility of abandoning government perpetuation of colonialism and advance reconciliation seriously, by immediately supporting our proposed amendments to Bill C-218. In the coming days, we will be knocking on doors, seeking direct engagement. We will not stand by and watch the 25 years of self-sufficiency and socioeconomic benefits we have built for our community be appropriated.

SOURCE Mohawk Council of Kahnawake

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2021/05/c4898.html
(CNN)  Climate change poses serious risks to the stability of the financial system, a senior International Monetary Fund official told CNN Business.

Tobias Adrian, director of the IMF's monetary and capital markets department, said the climate crisis could "absolutely" ignite a financial crisis.

"The climate crisis is slow in the making, but it's potentially disastrous," Adrian said in an interview from the sidelines of the Green Swan Conference, a virtual event focused on how the financial industry can take action against climate risks.

Adrian, a former official at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, pointed to how the economies of the Bahamas, Philippines and other nations have been crushed by hurricanes and typhoons in recent years.

"There are many countries where you see the climate catastrophe is catastrophic for the financial system," he said. "Even if you don't believe it's the central scenario, there is still quite a bit of downside risk. And risk management is all about making sure that even in the worst cases, you are able to survive."

'Shocks to the financial system'

The comments echo a warning made last September in a federal report that acknowledged "climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the US financial system and to its ability to sustain the American economy."

The report, published by the climate subcommittee of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, implored regulators to "more urgently and decisively" work to address looming economic damage from climate change.

In March, researchers at the Federal Reserve wrote in a report that climate-related economic or financial risks may not necessarily impact financial stability, though they acknowledged that is a possibility under certain scenarios.

Storms, floods, wildfires or other acute hazards can quickly change or reveal new information about the economic outlook or the value of financial assets, the Fed report said.

"Climate risks can manifest as shocks to the financial system," the researchers wrote.

The Fed researchers added that economic and financial risks can amplify one another, for example if weather-related property destruction sparked bank losses that led to less lending and reduced investment.

"With the potential for sudden, large shifts in perceptions of risk, chronic hazards could produce abrupt repricing events, if investor expectations or sentiment about the physical risks change abruptly," the report said, adding that more research is needed to better understand these risks.

Climate stress tests

US financial regulators, after taking a largely hands-off approach during the Trump administration, have only just begun to examine these risk factors. In December, the Fed formally joined the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System, one of the co-sponsors of the Green Swan Conference.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last month that she and President Biden are "committed to using the full power of the US federal government to address climate change."

Adrian outlined four key areas where climate should be incorporated into financial regulation, including by introducing climate stress testing of physical risks and how exposed economies are to the energy transition.

"The climate crisis is an existential crisis," the IMF official said. "It will require a certain degree of shifts in how we look at exposures. That is the point of climate stress tests: to make investors aware. In capital markets, the shift is already happening."

While the IMF is already conducting climate stress tests on some countries, such an evaluation would require regulatory or even legislative changes in the United States.

Is climate in the Fed's mandate?

Adrian also called for revamped standards for data and disclosure around climate risks to boost transparency.

"Climate data is very noisy at the moment. It's very hard to classify to what degree a given company is green or brown," he said.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, recently told Congress he plans to introduce new rules around corporate climate disclosures later this year.

Meanwhile, Adrian said regulators must do more work on how to regulate financial institutions in a way that makes the system more climate friendly. "That is still in its infancy," he said.

Lastly, Adrian said central banks need to evaluate how to incorporate climate into monetary policy and asset purchases  a step that the IMF official acknowledged is "quite controversial."

Indeed, a dozen Republican senators wrote a letter to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in March questioning the central bank's jurisdiction and expertise in environmental matters.

"This effort is not grounded in science or economics," they wrote, "but is instead a self-fulfilling prophesy: claim there are financial risks with energy exploration and other disfavored investments then use the levers of government  via the unelected bureaucracy  to ban or limit those activities."

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell pushed back by pointing out the US central bank supervises banks.

"The reason we're focused on climate change," Powell said during a speech in April, "is that our job is to make sure that financial institutions, banks, particularly the largest ones, understand and are able to manage the significant risks that they take."

This story was first published on CNN.com Climate change could ignite a financial crisis, IMF official says
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4)  Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel are now wearing body cameras during operations.

The PNP is hoping the program will lead to less abuses by some police officers on the ground.

"Today the Filipino people will finally have the eyes and ears in law enforcement and in the implementation of peace and order in the country," PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar said in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City Friday morning.

Eleazar also said the policy is a 'tribute' to 17-year-old Kian delos Santos.

Three police officers murdered the defenseless teenager during an anti-drug operation in Caloocan City back in 2017. They claimed Kian resisted arrest despite a nearby security camera showing otherwise.

Extrajudicial killings and allegations of evidence planting have tainted the image of the PNP.

Eleazar said, the use of body cameras will also protect policemen against unfair allegations.

'Work in progress'

The police leadership distributed 2,696 body cams to 171 police offices nationwide. The number is only 8% of the PNP's target of 34,000 units for all police stations.

Eleazar admitted the system isn't perfect yet, calling it a 'work in progress.'

The general said lack of budget for the procurement of more units is a concern. He is hoping lawmakers will allocate more funds for the program.

Police personnel can only use the body cams during planned operations such as, among others:

- Illegal drug stings

- Hostage and rescue operations

- High-risk checkpoints

- National events requiring tight security

- Serving of search and arrest warrant

- Implementation of court order

"The body worn cameras will not only satisfy the requirement of transparency in police operations but, more importantly, capture real-life actions for their evidentiary value in investigation and prosecution," the PNP chief said.

'Tamper-proof'

Personnel wearing the body cams are not allowed to turn it off during the operation. Those manning the PNP command center can intervene and switch the camera back on.

The personnel involved will also have to explain why he or she turned it off.

"So hindi niya po kayang dayain at kung mayroon siyang plano na gawing hindi maganda during planned police operations ano (The police officer cannot fake it if there's intent to do something wrong during police operations)," PNP Operations Director Alfred Corpuz explained during the press briefing.

They also have to surrender the cams to the police station before leaving their duty, and the gathered footage will automatically be submitted to the command center. The videos can't be erased easily as these are only accessible at the center.

The body cameras cannot be used by an off-duty officer.

Some off-duty officers have been involved in police brutality, like Staff Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, who fatally shot Sonia Gregorio and her son Frank in Tarlac in December 2020.

Master Sgt. Hensie Zinampan was also off-duty when he gunned down Lilibeth Valdez in Quezon City last Monday.

Eleazar, however, said they're aiming to provide body cams to all police personnel.

The PNP is waiting for the Supreme Court's comments on their submitted guidelines.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 4)  Will Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and former Defense Secretary Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro pair up for the 2022 elections? A former lawmaker says so, claiming an "agreement" has already been made.

Speaking to CNN Philippines on Friday, former Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. - who accompanied Teodoro during his trip to Davao to meet the presidential daughter - said the two agreed to run as independents in next year's polls.

"They have come to an agreement that they will be running as independents. That is news," Andaya told News Night. "They are not waiting, they are not wanting, they are not actively looking for any particular political party to carry them," he added.

"Nasa gitna ko nilang dalawa. Sabi ko (I was between them, and I told them), Ma'am, this is your vice president. Mr. Gibo, this is your president. And then she smiled," Andaya said when pressed for details of their meeting. "And then she shared three meals with us after I said that. If she did not like what I said, I don't think she'd even stay for five more minutes in that room."

Andaya on Thursday shared he and Teodoro flew to Davao to meet Duterte, fueling speculations of a Sara-Gibo tandem for 2022. On his Facebook page, Andaya claimed it was already a "done deal."

Duterte and Teodoro, however, have yet to issue any statement on the matter.

In January, President Rodrigo Duterte cautioned his daughter not to follow his footsteps, saying the presidency was no job for a woman. The Davao City mayor has not formally announced her plans for the 2022 polls.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5)  The death count in the aftermath of tropical cyclone Dante (international name: Choi-wan) climbed to nine on Saturday after three more fatalities from Leyte province were reported to the disaster management agency.

The additional casualties were from Calubian town, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The victims were two boys aged two and seven previously tagged as missing persons and a 51-year-old woman who was caught in a flash flood while trying to cross [a] river, the NDRRMC said.

Six other deaths were earlier recorded in Negros Occidental, Cebu province, South Cotabato, Davao de Oro, and Davao del Sur.

Meanwhile, rescuers are still searching for a missing man - around 40 to 45 years old - from Maco, Davao de Oro.

Dante now outside PAR

Tropical Depression Dante exited the countrys storm monitoring area on Saturday, a day after reentering it, the weather bureau said.

It exited at 9:30 a.m., PAGASA said in its 11 a.m. bulletin.

The weather bureau said the northern coast of northern Luzon will still have moderate to rough seas.

Dante, last seen 600 kilometers north of Itbayat, Batanes, is heading to the Ryukyu Islands, it said.
Stacker compiled data for all films on Netflix to bring you the very best the streaming service has to offer, using IMDb user ratings and Meta
In October 2020, St. Bons held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Parish Center and major renovations, which included an expanded parking lot and larger entryway, among other things.

We had a big trivia night in February that was probably our first big thing that we did here, which was very successful ... So, getting some adults together while fundraising and having fun. Plus, Scotus Gala was here in April, Keiter said.

We're just  continuing to move forward with some Bible studies, small group gatherings.

On July 15, a gathering for the feast of St. Bonaventure will be held, with the churchs parish festival planned for Aug. 29, she said.

At Peace Lutheran, Vacation Bible School was canceled with some at-home activities offered, Burma said.

This year we are back in person, the 21st to the 25th of June is when we're meeting in the evenings, he said, adding that the youth mission trip to North and South Dakota canceled in 2020 is taking place this summer.

The church had an event in May that had a great turnout, Burma noted, and an indoor picnic took place on Memorial Day weekend.
The fact that the mainstream media has attempted to frame it as a conflict between Palestinians and Israel is simply one sign of the bigotry that is perhaps so internalized that not even journalists who think they are acting in good faith recognize it.

Israel was not fighting against the Palestinians. Israel was defending itself against a terror group that has been funded as if it were a sovereign nation by other sovereign nations, including Iran and Russia.

But that false moral equivalency is only part of the anti-Semitism.

Many on the left argue that they cant be anti-Semitic because there are Jews in America, not to mention Israeli human rights organizations, that condemn Israels policies in the West Bank and Gaza. That is hopelessly naive.

The people who are throwing rocks at Jews in New York, and tweeting out as a CNN contributor did that we need another Hitler, and driving through the streets with Palestinian flags waving while screaming about apartheid Israel are not interested in politics. They are interested in what Irans Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wanted: Removal of the cancerous tumor called Israel.
When someone greets me with a cold, clammy handshake and a weak grip, my impression of that person is not positive.

When someones grip is too tight and he or she looks me in the eyes too eagerly, my impression is that he or she is trying too hard and lacks confidence.

Then there is the individual whose grip is just firm enough  whose eye contact is perfectly natural and confident  who begins building in me an immediate sense of well-being and trust.

Quite simply, despite the risks, the handshake has long been a powerful form of human communication.

Ironically, as the world opens back up  and the handshake ritual is discouraged  National Handshake Day is just three weeks away.

Celebrated the fourth Thursday of every June since 2005, it pays homage to the multi-generational ritual of using the handshake to reach out and welcome others and offer a gesture of friendship, peace and forgiveness.

Goodness knows we could use more friendship, peace and forgiveness in these divisive times.

How much harder will it be to cultivate all three in a world in which the handshake is no longer welcome?

Tom Purcell is an author and humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.

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His next relocation was to North Carolina, where he worked for six years before returning to Missouri and Scott Air Force Base.

White said although hes trained like all other soldiers for combat, he acknowledges his military experience has been mostly peaceful  although he came close to being shipped to the Middle East.

All (my service) was peace time, I was real fortunate for that, but I did get deployed, I had to pack all my bags, take all my stuff for the first Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait, he said. Left home, did all the boo-hoos and all that with the family and work.

When it came time to assess the troops before they were sent over, the powers that be realized they had two men reporting for the same duty.

I got there, sat down, everyone went through what they were there for, and they got to me and said, Well, we got two of you guys, and I said, Well, OK, Im out. I got up and left, I didnt have to go, he said.

White said he appreciates the skills, experiences and knowledge that trained him not only for life, but to take lifes challenges and negativity, and turn them into opportunities and positivity.
If they fail, Democrats will pay a huge price -- probably losing the House and the Senate next year, and creating the conditions for a constitutional crisis in 2024 if the presidential election is at all close, especially if Trump is the GOP nominee.

The For the People Act, which has passed the House and awaits Senate action, would effectively block the worst restrictions adopted by Republican legislatures. Since it will certainly be filibustered, however, the only way it can pass is if Democrats amend or eliminate the filibuster rule. But Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, has repeatedly rejected changes to the filibuster, and without his vote, nothing will happen.

So the critical question becomes: Are there any circumstances under which Manchin can be induced to alter his view?

Democrats need to take two steps. The first is to cut back the For the People Act, which weighs in at 800 pages and contains a long liberal wish list, from financing campaigns with public money to curbing the gerrymandering of congressional districts. They're good ideas, but not essential this year, and Manchin is far more likely to support a bill squarely centered on voting rights.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP)  Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm joined a key member of the U.S. Senate in West Virginia on Thursday to promote the role that the once-booming coal-producing state will play in the development of clean energy.

Sen. Joe Manchin and Granholm were joined at a news conference in Morgantown with partners in a collaboration to build a ship, in part using steel manufactured in landlocked West Virginia, to transport parts for U.S. offshore wind development projects.

This is sort of a window into the opportunity for West Virginia to be a leader in the energy of the future, in addition to having led the energy that got us here and that still powers us, Granholm said.

Offshore wind development is still in its infancy in the U.S., far behind progress made in Europe. A small wind farm operates near Block Island in waters controlled by the state of Rhode Island, and another small wind farm operates off the coast of Virginia.

The so-called Jones Act prohibits foreign-flagged ships from hauling cargo between U.S. ports. Therefore Dominion Energy will own the 470-foot (143-meter) ship, named Charybdis, that will be built with the help of Steel of West Virginia. The Danish company Orsted and energy provider Eversource will charter the ship, which is expected to be built by the end of 2023.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP)  Olivia Neville still remembers the time her father, Richard, was in the kitchen wrestling with the lid of a spice container when:

All of a sudden, he said, Ive got an idea for work, and picked up the phone to call it in, she said.

While the Newport News Shipbuilding engineer cant always talk much about what he does  although the family enjoys tales of trips to the Bahamas and Alaska to work on ships  Olivia says its hard to miss his enthusiasm for what he does.

She just graduated from the College of William & Mary, thanks in part to one of the 750 scholarships awarded by the Huntington Ingalls Industries Scholarship Fund since the shipyards parent company set it up in 2016. The funds scholarship awards total more than $2 million; it is funded primarily by HII President and CEO Mike Petters decision to decline his annual salary, all but for $1.

Ten recipients have gone on to work for HII, either at the Newport News shipyard, the companys Mississippi shipyard or its fast-growing Technical Solutions Division.
If the law is to be respected, he should be set free to return home, Darko Mladic said. I never doubted him because I know him so well, I know his character.

Now 79 and in frail health, Mladic was known as a ruthless and fiery commander during the war, who personally led the Bosnian Serbs as they took control over large swaths of Bosnia to create a separate mini-state. Mladic remained defiant during the trial, lashing out at the tribunal as an anti-Serb instrument.

Standing by a monument for the 1601 children who died in the siege of Sarajevo, Grabovica said he could not understand such brutality.

That he would act like that, issue orders to kill innocent children who had just come into this world, who just started to dream their dreams, he said. My little girl was killed like that, who was only 11 and who could not have been guilty of anything,

In Srebrenica, thousands of white tombstones in Islamic tradition mark the graves of the massacre victims. who were rounded up by Mladic's troops when they seized the enclave that was under U.N. protection at the time. Their remains are still being excavated from dozens of mass graves.
The city council has a good plan. The narrower lanes will slow traffic.

Narrower vehicle lanes will make it too difficult for larger vehicles.

A separate pedestrian solution should be constructed away from any vehicular traffic.

Widening the sidewalk could work best if a barrier is put up between the sidewalk and vehicular traffic.

Vote

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Trump has teased running for president again in 2024. His aides say that he has been working on launching his own social media platform to compete with those that have booted him, but one has yet to materialize. A blog he launched on his existing website earlier this year was shut down after less than a month. It attracted dismal traffic.

On Facebook, Trump's suspension means that his account is essentially frozen. Others can read and comment on past posts, but Trump and other account handlers are unable to post new material. Twitter, by contrast, has permanently banned Trump from its service, and no trace of his account remains.

"What they've done here is shield themselves from potential presidential rage" with a reassessment of Trump's account in two years, said Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University communications professor.

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In a color-coded chart on its blog post, the company said public figures who violate its policies during times of crisis can be restricted from posting for a month (yellow) or as long as two years (red). Future violations, it said, will be met with "heightened penalties, up to and including permanent removal."
Because of this, there are statewide and local efforts to try and incentivize people to get vaccinated.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Albany Democrat-Herald.

In May, Brown announced a $1 million lottery where any local residents who receive a shot before June 27 are automatically entered into the drawing. Even minors can get in on the action, with five children aged 12 to 17 able to receive $100,000 to the Oregon College Savings Plan in their name. One person from each of Oregons 36 counties is guaranteed to win some money, because there is a smaller $10,000 cash prize raffle for each individual county, as well. The drawings are set to take place in early July.

Samaritan Health tested out a reward program at its Thursday clinic in Lebanon, where those who got vaccinated received $5 gift cards to the 1847 Bar & Grill next door to the Boulder Falls Inn event center where doses were being administered.

We wanted to offer that incentive here today to just try to boost attendance here, said Larissa Balzer, Samaritans vice president of strategy and planning, whos overseen several of the companys mass vaccination sites.

While the gift card didnt seem to be a primary motivator for people who went to the clinic, it was more of a thank you from Samaritan to the 27 people who received a shot at Thursdays clinic.
RAMIRO VALDEZ has been a frequent guest columnist in the Denton Record-Chronicle and is a retired area counselor. He welcomes feedback and suggestions via letters to the editor or emailed to rambam.valdez@gmail.com.
Another international company has picked Denver for its U.S. headquarters.

This time its FileInvite from New Zealand.

The software as a service (SaaS)" company pledged to create up to 144 jobs for a new Denver HQ, which officials said will help the tech company better serve almost 50% of its customer base, which is in America.

Our rapid growth demonstrates the need in the market for simple, yet impactful document collection solutions like FileInvite, CEO James Sampson said in a statement Wednesday. We are looking forward to being a part of the Denver tech community and tapping into the high caliber talent in the area.

Sampson founded the company in 2015 that now has about 30 employees. Its platform provides an intuitive customer portal and automated workflows enable users to digitally complete, sign and upload documents, send communications, and keep track of data requests, according to a news release.

Colorados Office of Economic Development and International Trade offered the company up to $1,691,400 in performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over eight years. The average salary is $102,049 for sales, marketing and management roles. The company also explored sites in Utah, Texas and Illinois for its U.S. headquarters.

Last month, Indian technology company Square Comp announced locating its U.S. headquarters in Fort Collins and creating more than 50 jobs, with the help of the economic development offices tax credits package. Square Comp offers virtual reality technical training for manufacturing companies.

Four of the past six companies offered state tax credit packages in 2021 have agreed to locate or expand in Colorado.

FileInvite is a welcomed addition to our technology and information portfolio of businesses, economic office Executive Director Pat Meyers said. They demonstrate Colorado is a competitive location for foreign companies seeking to invest and grow in the U.S. market while increasing employment in the key sector of technology. FileInvite also represents another New Zealand company, one of the countries from which Colorado has targeted increased Foreign Direct Investment, setting up shop in Colorado.
Am I the only one who has fix-it projects fail but only if I button everything up prior to testing? As an example, when I was a computer technician I would frequently open up computers to replace parts for newer parts or sometimes to replace a broken part.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Texas GOP Chairman Allen West said Friday he is stepping down after a short but combative run of using the job to antagonize top Republicans in America's biggest red state, including protesting outside Gov. Greg Abbott's mansion.

The decision intensified speculation that West, a firebrand who served one term in the U.S. House after coming up during the tea party movement in 2010, may pursue statewide office in Texas. He was coy about his future plans but acknowledged he is considering a run, although he did not say for which office.

We will let you know when we want you to know," West told reporters in the East Texas town of Whitehouse, where he laid into the GOP-controlled Legislature for not passing enough conservative measures, including voting restrictions that Democrats blocked in a walkout.

Abbott, who is running for a third term in 2022, was endorsed earlier this week by former President Donald Trump.
"The burden on the core Second Amendment right, if any, is minimal, the state argued, because the weapons can still be used  just not with the modifications that turn them into assault weapons. Modifications like a shorter barrel or collapsible stock make them more concealable, state officials said, while things like a pistol grip or thumbhole grip make them more lethal by improving their accuracy as they are fired rapidly.

The lawsuit filed by the San Diego County Gun Owners Political Action Committee, California Gun Rights Foundation, Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition is among several by gun advocacy groups challenging Californias firearms laws, which are among the strictest in the nation.

It was filed on behalf of gun owners who want to use high-capacity magazines in their legal rifles or pistols, but said they cant because doing so would turn them into illegal assault weapons under California law. Unlike military weapons, the semi-automatic rifles fire one bullet each time the trigger is pulled, and the plaintiffs say they are legal in 41 states.
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, could easily be described as Earth's greatest light show. The theory of how the aurora is created has been speculated but never proven, until now.
The fund will be used to invest in human resources and expand its market share, Emddi spokesperson said.

The company had completed last year its Series A funding round, led by ThinkZone Venture. The amount of investment raised was undisclosed.

It also reached a cooperation agreement with ride-hailing firm Be Group and Vietnam Taxi Alliance in April as part of efforts to increase its market share.

Emddi is a ride-hailing application developed in 2016 by scientists of Vietnam National Universitys Centre for Information Technology. It provides a ride-hailing platform for transporting companies, allowing them to set their own prices and types of services. The platform receives ride requests from both ride-hailing orders on the application and phone calls to the transporting firms switchboard.

It allows customers to access the services of various transporting firms with one application.

Emddi currently operates in over 40 cities and provinces in Vietnam and Laos with 30,000 drivers. It provides car-hailing services and two additional services in Hanoi - ride-hailing service to airports and round-trip transport between Hanoi and other provinces.

The application allows cashless payment through e-wallets like VNPay, MoMo, Viettel Pay and Mobile Banking.

It plans to expand to motorbike-hailing service once its car-hailing has developed its market position, said its representative Le Van Nam. It is currently focusing on car-hailing since it does not have enough resources, he added.

Emddi expects Vietnams ride-hailing industry to grow by 16 percent to $4 billion in the next five years.
Workers in HCMC have been hit hard by the latest Covid-19 outbreak, without incomes as factories close.

Several days ago, to save expenses as much as possible, Nguyen Hong Nghi and her husband decided to cut their familys daily meals to just two.

She is a worker at the Minh Hoang Garment JSC in HCMC's Go Vap District. She and 100 other workers have been at home for one week after the company decided to suspend production following the discovery of a Covid-19 cluster in the district.

On May 26 it was found at a Christian congregation called the Revival Ekklesia Mission. Infections were first detected among its members before the virus spread quickly from them to 21 of the city's 22 districts, and to other provinces in the south and Central Highlands.

"The news [of the factorys closure] came as a great shock to me," Nghi, a native of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, said.

By that time her husband had been jobless for almost a month and the family of four, including their two children, relied completely on her income of VND5 million (less than $220) a month. He is a mason, but construction has reduced sharply in the city due to the pandemic, putting people like him out of work.

Before leaving the factory Nghi and all the other workers were given an advance payment of VND3 million, and that is all her family has left now since they have no savings, she says.

So, for almost a week now, the family eats once at 10 a.m. and once at 4 p.m.

Nguyen Hong Nghi cooks a meal for her family of four at her house in Go Vap District, HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong.

The family left Can Tho for HCMC three years ago, and for almost half the period has suffered from the economic impacts of the pandemic.

"My two childrens school fees, rent, food, electricity bill, water bill, other costs," Nghi lists when asked about their expenses.

She plans to ask their landlord to delay this months rent and will promise to pay it once she gets her job back.

Hoang Thi Anh Tuyet, a worker at Vina Kitchenware JSC in Tan Phu District, has not seen her child for a week now since her factory is under lockdown after one person was found infected through someone at the Christian mission.

"These are days I can never forget," Tuyet, 36, says.

On Friday last week, when she arrived at the factory, it was announced that a worker had tested positive for Covid, and a two-week lockdown was announced shortly afterward. Besides, everyone who had been in direct contact with the infected workers were sent to quarantine facilities.

All Tuyet could do was call her husband and tell him to bring her some clothes and other personal items, and to take good care of their toddler.

Workers at Vina Kitchenware JSC in HCMC's Tan Phu District receive mosquito nets and blankets for staying at the factory which has been locked down for two weeks since May 26, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Pho.

Eight hundred workers stay inside the factory, worrying if they could have been exposed to the virus in any way, and missing their families.

The company has agreed to cover the cost of their food and other needs during the period.

Nguyen Thi Bach Yen, chairwoman of the Go Vap District Labor Confederation, said the district has nearly 25,000 factory staff, and around 400 are directly affected by the economic impacts of the current Covid wave.

The union is providing essential products like rice and cooking oil for them to tide over this difficult period.

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has approved emergency support for affected workers, and each will get VND3 million. Those with financial issues and staying in quarantine camps will get another VND1.5 million.

HCMC has 1.6 million workers, of whom 280,000 work in companies in export processing zones and industrial parks and 45,000 in its hi-tech park in District 9.

In the last 10 days three Covid-19 cases have been found at the Tan Binh, Tay Bac and Vinh Loc industrial parks and four others at a company in the Quang Trung Software Park in District 12.

Since large numbers of workers congregate in industrial complexes, the city has deemed them a Covid risk.

It has recorded 324 cases so far in the fourth wave that broke out in the country in late April.
Former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius in an interview with VnExpress in June 2017. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

A book by former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius on the U.S.-Vietnam relationship throughout the last 25 years is expected to be published this October.

"Nothing is Impossible: America's Reconciliation with Vietnam" would depict the journey for Vietnam and the U.S. from war adversaries to important partners, as well as their efforts to mend wartime wounds, said Osius, who was the U.S. ambassador to Vietnam from 2014 to 2017.

Osius said he had directly observed how the U.S. and Vietnam came to reconciliation following the war, including through the stories of major players like late U.S. Senator John McCain, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, former Vietnamese foreign minister Nguyen Co Thach and the first Vietnam ambassador in the U.S. Le Van Bang.

The book also includes the stories of Pete Peterson, who spent seven years in Hoa Lo Prison as a POW before becoming the first U.S. ambassador to Vietnam in 1997. The foreword will be written by John Kerry himself.

Ted Osius was one of the first U.S. diplomats to work in Vietnam after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. He helped with the establishment of the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City in 1997, before being nominated by former U.S. President Barack Obama as ambassador to Vietnam in 2014.

Vietnam and the U.S. normalized relations in 1995 as announced by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. As the years passed, the two countries have become comprehensive partners, with bilateral trade increasing from $450 million in 1994 to $77 billion in 2019. For several years, the U.S. has been Vietnam's biggest export market, while Vietnam has been one of the U.S.'s quickest growing export markets.
Houses on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street are cleared to give space for the metro line No.2, November 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh.

HCMC has decided to end cooperation with the primary consultant for metro line No. 2 after failing to reach agreement on renewing an independent consultant contract.

After more than a year of negotiations, the concerned parties  the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) and a consortium of three German companies, one Swiss company and a Vietnamese company  could not agree on an appendix to renew an Independent Consultant (IC) Agreement contract.

The Ben Thanh  Tham Luong Metro Line, the second metro line of the city that will run 11 kilometers between districts 1 and 12, had the consortium providing engineering, design and supervision services.

The services, costing nearly 44 million euros ($52.4 million), were funded by a non-refundable grant provided by German state-owned development bank KfW.

The consultants services commenced in January 2012, but stopped in October 2018 after disputes broke out over fees for service packages not originally included in the first IC Agreement.

The MAUR had failed to resume the IC agreement since.

The consultancy price tag for the metro line has risen by nearly 29 percent following years of delays, jumping an additional 12.6 million euros ($15.5 million) from the original sum agreed in 2012, the MAUR announced early this year.

The consultancy was demanding extra payment for making adjustments in the design, the investor said.

Now, after failing to reach an agreement after more than a year of negotiations, both sides have decided to end their cooperation.

In March, the HCMC administration had "severely criticized" the MAUR for failing to renew the IC contract in time for the project to proceed.

Such delays have affected the progress of the project, its quality and the city's prestige, the administration said.

Now the MAUR will organize a tender to find a new consultant to cover the rest of the work on the metro line.

Approved 10 years ago, HCMC's metro line No.2 had an original price tag of $1.3 billion, which had then ballooned to $2.1 billion by the end of 2019 over rising material and construction costs.

Three international development banks, ADB, KfW and EIB, are funding the project with nearly VND37 trillion ($1.6 billion), and Vietnam is to contribute the remaining sum as counterpart funds.

The route is one of eight metro lines planned in the city with a combined length of 220 kilometers and a price tag of nearly $25 billion.

Disagreements over compensation have repeatedly delayed land acquisition, causing the project to be rescheduled several times.
A medic extracts an AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine dose at a medical center of central Quang Tri Province, May 13, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao.

Vietnam and China should cooperate to combat Covid-19, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has told his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, and sought that countrys support for Vietnams vaccine strategy.

Speaking with Li by phone on Friday, he sought to reinforce mutual political trust and discuss means to promote bilateral ties, especially socio-economic, according a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two leaders agreed they should strengthen bilateral cooperation for fighting the pandemic.

Chinh also sought Chinas cooperation and support for Vietnam to obtain Covid vaccines.

It aims to procure 150 million doses this year to cover 70 percent of its population.

It is only seeking multiple sources for buying, but also technology transfer to produce the vaccines itself.

The Ministry of Health approved on Friday the emergency use of the vaccine of China's Sinopharm. Vero Cell, Inactivated, is produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd, subsidiary of China National Biotec Group.

It is the third vaccine to be approved by Vietnam for emergency use after Russias Sputnik V and the one made by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca.

Chinh said preserving and developing the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic cooperation between Vietnam and China is always a top priority and the focus of Vietnam's foreign policy.

Li promised cooperation and support for Vietnam in the fight against Covid-19.

He too said China attaches great importance to relations with Vietnam and is willing to further deepen the friendly neighborly relationship between the two countries to bring practical benefits to their peoples.

Vietnam had vaccinated 1.2 million of its 96-million population against Covid.

It has been dealing with a new wave for over five weeks now and infections have climbed to 5,250 in 37 of its 63 cities and provinces as of Saturday morning.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel recently in order to build on the Gaza ceasefire.

That starts with the recognition that losses on both sides were profound, said Secretary Blinken:

Casualties are often reduced to numbers but behind every number is an individual human being  a daughter, a son, a father, a mother, a grandparent, a best friend. . . .I underscored to the prime minister something that President Biden made crystal-clear throughout the violence: The United States fully supports Israels right to defend itself against attacks such as the thousands of rockets fired by Hamas indiscriminately against Israeli civilians.

Secretary Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Israels security needs, including replenishing Iron Dome.

Well continue to strengthen all aspects of our longstanding partnership, affirmed Secretary Blinken. And that includes consulting closely with Israel. . . on the ongoing negotiations in Vienna around a potential return to the Iran nuclear agreement, at the same time as we continue to work together to counter Irans destabilizing actions in the region.

We know that to prevent a return to violence, we have to. . .address a larger set of underlying issues and challenges, and that begins with tackling the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, said Secretary Blinken:

The United States will work to rally international support around that effort while also making our own significant contributions. Well work with our partners, closely with all to ensure that Hamas does not benefit from the reconstruction assistance.

At the same time, said Secretary Blinken, we need to work to expand opportunity for Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank, including by strengthening the private sector, expanding trade and investment, and other means.

We believe that Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely; to enjoy equal measures of freedom, opportunity, and democracy; to be treated with dignity, said Secretary Blinken.

Theres a lot of hard work ahead to restore hope, respect, and some trust across communities, said Secretary Blinken. But weve seen the alternative, and I think that should cause all of us to redouble our efforts to preserve the peace and improve the lives of Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Salim Jamil Ayyash is a senior operative in the assassination unit of the terrorist organization Lebanese Hezbollah. The U.S. Department of States Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the location or identification of, or information leading to preventing Ayyash from engaging in an act of international terrorism against a U.S. person or U.S. property.

Ayyash is part of Hezbollahs Unit 121, the groups assassinations squad which receives its orders directly from Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah. Ayyash is known to have been involved in efforts to harm U.S. military personnel.

On December 11, 2020, an international tribunal sentenced Ayyash in absentia to five concurrent sentences of life imprisonment on terrorism-related charges pertaining to the February 2005 suicide truck bombing in Beirut that killed Lebanons former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The attack also killed 21 others and wounded 226 persons.

The tribunal found that Ayyash led the assassination team that carried out the attack on Hariri and was actively involved in the assassination on the day of the attack.

Ayyash was born November 10, 1963 in Harouf, Lebanon. He has lived in multiple areas of Lebanon including Hadath, Nabatiyyeh, and Beiruts southern suburbs.

The Rewards for Justice Program is an effective law enforcement tool and is administered by the U.S. Department of States Diplomatic Security Service. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $200 million to more than 200 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RFJ_USA.

More information about this reward offer is located on the Rewards for Justice website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on Salim Jamil Ayyash to text the Rewards for Justice office via Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at +1-202-702-7843.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.
The experience gave the students a new outlook on what it means to serve the community.

One lesson Smith learned while raising money and collecting items for the CASA bags was how a small community can come together and help.

I didnt expect to get as many donations as I did, but once word got out, I was so shocked and thrilled with how many people got involved. Not just in my [project], but everyone elses. That was nice to see.

Johnston and Gorman are considering joining Kiwanis after high school to continue community service projects.

Moreno, who also serves as the adviser to the Key Club, said she had to allow service projects to count toward hours due to pandemic restrictions. This year, her students also had to reach out to the community through phone calls, text messages and emails to contact organizations.

A lot of kids dont know where to start, but I feel like once they put themselves out there and start calling, I think it brings them more joy than they originally anticipated, Moreno explained. It makes them see how easy it could be to do stuff in the future.

For Smith, who participated one year, she agreed it allowed her to be involved in the community.

I think just being in Honor Society for a year enabled me to do community service more, she said. I really enjoyed being in Honor Society.

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Solmax expects to have four or five trucks a day moving product from the plant, and the company will receive materials by rail, Rice also said, and the majority of deliveries will be in daylight.

According to the May 20 minutes of the Elko County Planning Commission, a representative of Solmax, Gilles Garand, said via Zoom that the product would be shipped Monday through Friday, not during weekends or overnight, except on special occasions.

He said the membrane that they produce is on large rolls.

Eklund said he had noticed that noise levels, lights and traffic and were considered regarding 24-hour operation of the manufacturing plant that would be seen from Interstate 80, and Rice said lights will be turned down and away from the highway and the noise level meets criteria.

The report states that Solmax conducted noise testing at an existing facility in Canada, and the nearest resident from the railport property is roughly 550 feet away and on the opposite side of I-80. The staff recommends noise levels not exceed 80 decibels.
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Make sure soda guns are washed with soap and water, rinsed with clean water and sanitized by soaking in sanitizer solution. Rinse drain lines with hot water followed by a sanitizer solution. Purchase quaternary ammonia test strips that have lower range values. (the inspector recommends 0-400 ppm) so that the color change is easier to read. Educate employees on how to use test strips. The quaternary ammonia sanitizer concentration is to be maintained at 200 ppm and the chlorine sanitizer concentration is to be maintained at 75 ppm. Food in the Monster cooler was at 41 degrees F. The inspector recommends adjusting the unit so temperatures range between 35 and 38 degrees F so that food does not get hotter than 41 degrees F. Replace the thermometer in the cooler to verify that it is working properly. Masks were not in use or improperly used by staff or patrons. Social distancing between staff and/or patrons was not adequately maintained. Place bar chairs 6 feet apart. A food handler did not wash his or her hands when required. One hand sink is not properly supplied with disposable towels. One hand sink was not socked with soap. The sanitizer wiping buckets were not set up during the start of inspection when drinks where being served. Set up the buckets at the beginning of shifts and maintain every four hours. Replace the Home Depot ice bucket with a food grade container or bucket. Drain pipes must have an air gap between the rim of the floor drain and the mouth of the pipe in order to prevent backflow. Trim drain pipes. Print and place the health permit conspicuously in the bar. Label both hand sinks for hand washing only. Include employees must wash hands before returning to work signs in both bathrooms.
President Biden capitulated yet again to political far-left progressives in the Democratic Party when he announced support for a waiver of valuable U.S. Covid vaccine intellectual- property (patent) rights.

A Wall Street Journal editorial described the action as may be the single worst presidential economic decision since Nixons wage-and-price controls.

The waiver came in response to demands by India and South Africa at a World Trade Organization (WHO) meeting that would force pharmaceutical companies to hand over their Covid vaccine patent rights to manufacturers in low-income countries.

In one blundering decision , Biden destroyed tens of billions of dollars in U.S. intellectual- property value, set a precedent that will reduce investment in pharmaceuticals, and surrendered American competitive advantage in biotech and biologics.

Most significantly, Bidens action is a massive giveaway to countries like China, Russia and India.

Republicans warn that China will be the primary beneficiary. The Chinese have targeted the biopharmaceutical industry for dominance by 2025 and the Justice Department indicted individuals last year connected to the Chinese governments attempt to steal U.S. Covid research.
Senegal aims to make Covid-19 vaccine shots next year

(Reuters) Senegal could begin producing Covid-19 vaccines next year under an agreement with Belgian biotech group Univercells aimed at boosting Africa's drug-manufacturing ambitions, a source involved in funding the project told Reuters.

As wealthy countries begin to reopen after securing vaccine supplies early, African nations are still struggling to acquire shots. On a continent of 1.3 billion, only about 7 million have been fully vaccinated. The collaboration highlights the opportunities created by a global push to channel money and technology towards production on a continent that makes only 1% of the vaccines it requires.

Univercells announced the signing of a letter of intent for collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Senegal's capital Dakar in April. The source shared details of the proposal, which were not made public. Under the agreement, the Institut Pasteur would use vaccine production technology developed by Univercells to supply Covid-19 vaccine shots to countries across West Africa. The institute would initially begin packaging and distributing vaccines produced by Univercells in Belgium early next year, the source involved in securing financing for the collaboration told Reuters.

Univercells would transfer its full production line to Senegal in the second half of 2022, the source said, adding that the company would train local staff so they could eventually run the operation. Univercells chief investment officer Kate Antrobus, when asked about the timeframe for the project, confirmed that it could send vaccine doses to Senegal early next year. She declined to comment on the exact date for a full vaccine production line in Senegal but of the timelines referenced she said: "I do not think they are unreasonable."

Timing depends on Univercells securing regulatory approval for a vaccine production site in Belgium. Antrobus said that was expected 'any day now'. Institut Pasteur director Amadou Sall declined to comment on the timeline or size of the project but said the facility was working with donors to secure financial backing. "There is a lot of political will, I am optimistic. But it is not about momentum, it is about creating a real opportunity," he said.

It is not clear yet which vaccine will be supplied to Senegal, but Antrobus said the site in Belgium would be able to manufacture a class of so-called viral vector Covid-19 vaccine such as those developed by Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Cansino.

"If Covid amazingly subsides over the next year....that same capacity could be used for other viruses," Antrobus said.

Univercells also has its own Covid-19 vaccine candidate, being developed with Germany's Leukocare and Italian firm ReiThera, which has completed Phase II trials.
An excavator arrives at the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on June 4, 2021. Egypt on Friday sent massive engineering equipment and crew to the Gaza Strip for its reconstruction after a devastating Israeli bombing campaign in the Palestinian enclave last month, state-run Ahram Online reported. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

CAIRO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Friday sent massive engineering equipment and crew to the Gaza Strip for its reconstruction after a devastating Israeli bombing campaign in the Palestinian enclave last month, state-run Ahram Online reported.

The equipment, including a large number of trucks, bulldozers and cranes, will remove debris and rubble from the buildings that were destroyed during the 11-day Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, Ahram said.

The aid comes after a pledge made by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to contribute 500 million U.S. dollars to help reconstruct Gaza with the participation of Egyptian companies.

Last month, Egypt brokered a cease-fire deal that ended the fighting between Israel and Gaza's ruler Hamas, in which at least 250 Palestinians and 12 Israelis were killed, and thousands of homes and infrastructure partially or completely destroyed.

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The University of Zambia Vice-Chancellor Luke Mumba (L) receives the donation from the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie during a handover ceremony in Lusaka, Zambia, on June 4, 2021. China on Friday handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19. (Photo by Martin Mbangweta/Xinhua)

LUSAKA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19.

The face masks comprise 30,000 from Jilin Province and 20,000 from the Chinese Embassy in Zambia.

Li Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, who handed over the face masks during a ceremony, said with the third wave reported in the country, the donation was China's commitment to supporting the university to combat the pandemic.

The Chinese envoy said since the emergence of the pandemic the two countries have stood together, with Zambia giving support when the pandemic hit the Asian nation and China responding through the provision of medical supplies when Zambia was hit by the pandemic.

He added that Chinese enterprises in the African country have made donations to help the country deal with the pandemic.

Luke Mumba, the university's Vice-Chancellor, commended China for the donation, saying it will go a long way in helping protect the university community and control the spread of the pandemic among students and staff members.

The donation, he said, was timely as it comes at a time when the country has been hit with the third wave of the pandemic which has resulted in a surge in cases.

"It is a continued demonstration of our very warm strong ties with the people of China," he said.

Zambia's cumulative cases currently stood at 98,376.

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Businessman Ihor Kolomoisky and the fifth president of Ukraine, leader of the European Solidarity party, MP Petro Poroshenko meet the criteria under which they are included in the register of oligarchs provided for by the president's bill on de-oligarchization, Justice Minister Denys Maliuska has said.

"There are official partners of Mr. Kolomoisky in the Verkhovna Rada, and he is not alone, therefore Mr. Kolomoisky definitely could be included [in the register of oligarchs] European Solidarity understands that their leader [Petro Poroshenko] also automatically falls into the register," Maliuska said on the air of Savik Shuster's Freedom of Speech program on Ukraina TV channel on Friday.

As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky this week submitted a bill on the prevention of threats to national security associated with the excessive influence of persons with significant economic or political weight in public life (oligarchs) (No. 5599) to the Verkhova Rada.

According to the document, any three of four conditions are sufficient for the National Security and Defense Council to include a person in the register of oligarchs: significant influence on the media, participation in political life, beneficial ownership of a monopoly company and a fortune equaling over 1 million living wages (about $83 million at the current exchange rate).
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) thwarted an attempt to import more than 20 tonnes of methyl ester of acetic acid produced at one of the Russian enterprises.

According to the SBU press center, economic and restrictive sanctions were applied to the said company by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine.

"The intelligence services found that the organizers had already sent the chemical solvent to one of the domestic enterprises in Luhansk region. During the check of information and customs documents, law enforcement officers established that over the past month they had already tried to import this product into Ukraine. It was immediately re-exported back to the Russian Federation," the press center said.

So, according to the SBU, the offenders again tried to import chemicals from another manufacturer.

"Instead of the sanctioned Russian plant, the documents indicated a Moscow manufacturing enterprise, which is not subject to the economic and other restrictive sanctions of the NSDC. Now, the tank with methyl acetate has been ceased," the press center said.
In a letter sent to his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh, the Lao leader expressed his sympathy over the complex developments of COVID-19 in many Vietnamese cities and provinces.

Lao leaders and people highly value the drastic and timely measures adopted by Vietnam to fight the pandemic, he stressed.

On this occasion, Phankham Viphavanh thanked the Vietnamese side for its support to Laos during the pandemic combat, and affirmed that the Lao Party, Government and people are willing to stand side by side with Vietnam, in line with the spirit of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Over the past days, many agencies and organisations in Laos raised funds to aid the pandemic fight in Vietnam.

Laos National Assembly Vice Chairperson Khambay Damlath and PTL Holding Committee Limited Strategy and Planning Chairman Alounkeo Kittikhoun, who is also former Minister of the Lao Prime Minister Office, on June 3 and 4 handed over US$ 30,000 in total to the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos to support the pandemic fight in the neighbouring country.

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung thanked the meaningful and timely gift from the Lao side, and noted his belief that Vietnam will fulfil its dual goal of pandemic containment and socio-economic development.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the April jobs report from the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S (Photo : REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday that bans U.S. entities from investing in dozens of Chinese companies with alleged ties to defense or surveillance technology sectors.



The move, which his administration says expands the scope of a legally flawed Trump-era order, drew anger from Beijing.



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The Treasury Department will enforce and update on a "rolling basis" the new list of about 59 companies, which bars buying or selling publicly traded securities in target companies, and replaces an earlier list from the Department of Defense, senior administration officials told reporters.



The order prevents U.S. investment from supporting the Chinese military-industrial complex, as well as military, intelligence, and security research and development programs, Biden said in the order.



"In addition, I find that the use of Chinese surveillance technology outside the PRC and the development or use of Chinese surveillance technology to facilitate repression or serious human rights abuse constitute unusual and extraordinary threats," Biden said, using the acronym for the People's Republic of China.



Major Chinese firms included on the previous Defense Department list were also placed on the updated list, including Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC), China Mobile Communications Group, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd, Huawei Technologies Ltd and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC).



SMIC is key to China's national drive to boost its domestic chip sector.



"We fully expect that in the months ahead ... we'll be adding additional companies to the new executive order's restrictions," one of the senior officials said.



A second official told reporters that the inclusion of Chinese surveillance technology companies expanded the scope of the Trump administration's initial order last year, which the White House argues was carelessly drafted, leaving it open to court challenges.



"The U.S. government is stretching the concept of national security, abusing national power and using every possible means to suppress and restrict Chinese enterprises," said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman at the Chinese foreign ministry.



"We are firmly opposed to this," Wang told reporters at a regular briefing on Friday, urging the United States to withdraw the list.



Biden has been reviewing a number of aspects of U.S. policy toward China, and his administration had extended a deadline for implementation set by former President Donald Trump's order while it crafted its new policy framework.



The move is part of Biden's broader series of steps to counter China, including reinforcing U.S. alliances and pursuing large domestic investments to bolster American economic competitiveness, amid increasingly sour relations between the world's two biggest economies.



Biden's Indo-Pacific policy coordinator, Kurt Campbell, said last month that a period of engagement with China had come to an end and that the dominant paradigm in bilateral ties going forward would be one of competition.



Senior officials said the Treasury Department would give guidance later on what the scope of surveillance technology means, including whether companies are facilitating "repression or serious human rights abuses."



"We really want to make sure that any future prohibitions are on legally solid ground. So, our first listings really reflect that," a second senior administration official said.



Chinese investors shrugged off the list, with most of the stocks named, including newly-added ones, making gains on Friday morning.



Wu Kan, portfolio manager at Soochow Securities Co, said listed companies were in vital industries such as defense and semiconductors and would get government support, making them investment opportunities.



"China has given up illusions and is fully prepared for decoupling in those strategic sectors that relate to national security...so the new ban list is not really a surprise," he said.



TIME TO 'UNWIND'



Investors would have time to "unwind" investments, a third official said.



The order said the ban would take effect on Aug. 2 for those companies currently listed. U.S. investors would still have 365 days from the date of this or future listings to make transactions for the purpose of divesting, and while it was not required, divesting later than 365 days after listing would be prohibited without authorization.



The new list, while overall adding about 10 publicly listed companies, provided few surprises for investors looking to see if they need to unload even more Chinese stocks and bonds.



Not included, however, were some previously identified companies, such as Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), which is spearheading efforts to compete with Boeing Co and Airbus, and two that challenged the ban in court, Gowin Semiconductor Corp and Luokung Technology Corp.



Sinochem, on the earlier list, was also dropped.



In May, a judge signed an order removing the designation on Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi, which was among the more high-profile Chinese technology companies that the Trump administration targeted for alleged ties to China's military.



Stewart Baker, a former Department of Homeland Security official, said the Treasury's "settled regulatory and legal regime" made it a better place than the Defense Department to enforce the ban.



"This follows in a growing tradition of the Biden administration coming along and saying: 'Trump was right in principle and wrong in execution, and we'll fix that,'" Baker said.


Related Islamic museum in Cairo seriously damaged after bomb blast After a seven-month hiatus, restoration work of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in central Cairo is finally set to begin.

The MIA was subjected to severe destruction and damage in January after a car bomb exploded outside the adjacent Cairo Security Directorate. The blast of the bomb destroyed the facade of the building and the nearby Egyptian National Library and Archives building.

After several meetings and discussion, The United Arab of Emirates offered to restore the whole museum in collaboration with foreign experts from Italy, Germany and the United States.

Antiquities minister Mamdouh Eldamaty told Ahram Online that the Emirates will not only provide the required budget to return the MIA to its original lure but to provide all security equipment and state-of-the-art showcases.

The restoration will also include the renovation of the museums walls, columns and foundations.

He went on to say that the museum halls and treasured collection will be arranged as they were before with the exception of the souvenir hall that was located in the core of the museum. It will be relocated to another place at the end of visitors path, explained Eldamaty.

He said that in mid-September a delegation of the International Committee of Museums (ICOM) is to visit Egypt and embark on a tour of the MIA to inspect its recent situation and suggest ideas for its restoration. Collaboration methods are to be also discussed.

The Museum of Islamic Art was home to an exceptional collection of rare woodwork and plaster artefacts, as well as metal, ceramic, glass, crystal, and textiles objects of all Islamic periods from all over the world.

The museum is a two-story building, with the lower floor containing an exhibition hall that displays 2,500 artefacts in 25 galleries. The second floor and the basement are to be used for storage.

The blast of the car-bomb not only destroyed the facade of the building, but also damaged the large columns at its front.

The interior of the museum was topsy-turvy, with a number of ceilings inside the building collapsing, and some artefacts being damaged.

Many of the glass window panes that once decorated the building have also been shattered, and damage has been caused across the facade, which has lost some of its decorative casing.

The authentic wooden gate of the museum inlaid with silver and iron geometric motifs has been totally destroyed, while the adjacent annex built in a similar architectural style to house the administrative offices after the museums restoration and re-inauguration in 2010 has also been damaged.

Now a new hope is in the air.

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The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has started dredging work to extend a second lane that allows for two-way traffic in a southern section of the canal near to where a giant container ship got stuck for six days in March, it said on Saturday.

The SCA announced this week that it was planning to extend a second canal lane that opened in 2015 by 10 km to make it 82 km long, and would widen and deepen a single lane stretch at the southern end of the canal.

The work had begun following directives from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi "to immediately start implementing the proposed development plan and put in place a timetable for completion as soon as possible", the SCA said on Saturday.

El-Sisi announced on Tuesday that he approved on the SCAs plan to widen and deepen 40 kilometres of the international waterway, including the part that witnessed the Ever Given crisis in March.

The grounding of the 440-metre Ever Given container ship in a southern section of the canal from March 23-29 delayed the passage of hundreds of vessels through the waterway, disrupting global trade.

The Ever Given, still loaded with thousands of containers, is being held in the Great Bitter Lake between two stretches of the canal, amid a dispute over an SCA compensation claim against the ship's Japanese owner Shoei Kisen.

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Egypt and Sudan have to stick to reaching a binding agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), even amid reports that Addis will perform the second-year filling with less amount of water than previously planned, experts say.

With only three weeks before the GERDs scheduled second-year filling, Ethiopia's water and irrigation minister reportedly said Thursday the construction of the GERDs body has not reached the previously planned height needed for a full second-year filling.

The current height of the GERD is 565 metres and construction works are underway to reach 573 within the coming 20 days, Ethiopian Minister of Water Seleshi Bekele was quoted as saying, according to Ethiopia-based news company Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC).

Addis Ababas officials have repeatedly announced they would unilaterally fill GERDs 74 billion cubic metres (bcm) reservoir with 13.5 bcm in July and August to raise the build-up amount of water to 18.4 bcm, up from the 4.9 bcm it secured in 2020.

Abbas Sharaky, Professor of Geology and Water Resources at Cairo University, explained that the targeted 573 metres is down by 22 metres from the previously planned height of the GERD - 595 metres - appropriate for the amount of water intended for the second-year filling.

Every one metre in [GERD] height is equivalent to half to 1bcm of water. Hence, by reaching 595 metres, if they [Ethiopians] could, their maximum storage of water in the second-year filling would be 4 bcm while the minimum would stand at 2 bcm, Sharaky told MBC Misr channel on Friday.

Egypt and Sudan are pushing for signing a comprehensive and legally binding agreement with Ethiopia over GERD. However, Addis Ababa refuses and rather seeks mere guidelines that can be modified any time at Ethiopias discretion.

Ahmed Al-Mufti, a Sudanese expert on international law and a former member of the Nile Basin Initiative negotiations held between 1994 and 2012, believes that if Ethiopia had been well-intentioned, it would have suspend the second filling at the current point until an agreement was reached.

I advise that Sudan and Egypt announce that they refuse any amount of filling, unless a binding agreement has been concluded, and that there is no return to negotiations, unless Ethiopia stops all its [construction] activities in the dam, until that agreement is forged, Al-Mufti wrote Friday on his official Facebook page.

While Addis Ababa argues the GERD issue is a matter of Ethiopian national sovereignty, Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made it clear in early May that there is no sovereignty when it comes to an international river.

The top diplomat also stressed that Egypt would not accept harm caused by irresponsible behaviour, and would steadfastly defend its water rights.

Though GERDs second-year filling is likely to be less than what was stored in 2020, Sharaky stressed that stances of Egypt and Sudan remain unchanged by the amount of filling.

The position of Egypt and Sudan has not been changed and will not change with the amount of current storage, even if it is only 1 bcm, because without an agreement this is an infringement on the Egyptian and Sudanese rights, Sharaky said.

Ethiopia previously rejected the downstream countries water rights of colonial agreements when its Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Dina Mufti said in April that it is unacceptable for Egypt and Sudan to use historical accords of Nile shares as reference points during GERDs negotiations, which has deadlocked since April.

In response, Sudan threatened that disavowing these agreements means compromising sovereignty over the Benishangul region on which Addis Ababa is building the controversial dam, urging Addis Ababa to commit to the international agreements it signed as an independent state."

The Anglo-Ethiopian treaty was signed in 1902 between the United Kingdom  representing Egypt and Sudan  and Ethiopia  represented by Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia. While the agreement has prohibited the Ethiopian construction of any waterworks across the Blue Nile that would affect the rivers natural flow, it has granted sovereignty of the then Sudanese Benishangul region to Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian claim that the relevant agreements are an insignificant colonial legacy is an explicit fallacy of historical facts, indicating that Ethiopia was an independent, sovereign state and a member of the international community at the time of the conclusion of those agreements, while Sudan was subject to bilateral colonialism (of the Ottomans and the British), Sudans Foreign Ministry said.

The US State Department issued a statement on 14 May urging the resumption of African Union-mediated negotiations in line with the 2015 Declaration of Principles and the outcomes of the July 2020 AU summit on GERD, saying that the US is committed to providing political and technical support to facilitate a successful outcome.

By including references of the 2015 Declaration of Principles and the 2020 summit, Washington was backing a comprehensive and legally binding deal before the filling, according to experts.

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EgyptAir issued new guidelines for passengers seeking travel to the United Kingdom after Britain added Egypt and several countries to its red list of destinations that oblige hotel quarantine upon arrival starting 8 June.

According to a statement on Friday, passengers cannot travel internationally or within the UK, unless for work, education and other legally permitted exemptions.

The travelers arriving to Britain will be subjected to 10-day mandatory quarantine, with those with no possibility of self-isolation at hotels or others will be required to do so at a facility provided by the government.

They will have to undergo a PCR test on or before day 2 upon return to the UK, with another PCR test on the eighth day of self-quarantine.

Passengers arriving in the UK, even through transit, must provide the Passenger Locator Form ahead of arrival.

The updated guideline comes few days after the UK added Egypt, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago to its red list, which has the toughest travel restrictions.

People arriving in the UK from these destinations will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days at a fixed cost of 1,750 per adult, according to the British government.

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Egypts Suez Canal Authority (SCA) rejected on Saturday claims made by the giant Ever Given insurer UK Club, and said that exceeding set speeds at the countrys strategic canal is the sole responsibility of the ship captain.

In a statement, the SCA said that vessels crossing Suez Canal are subject to a set speed of 14 to 16 km per hour according to the type of the transiting vessel according to Article 54 of the Navigation Book of Rules.

It added that Article 58 stipulates that the SCA shall assign two escorting tugs to container ships carrying a tonnage of 170,000 tons and above, adding that such rule was applied to the giant ship.

According to the aforementioned, the vessels shall comply with the stated speed in accordance with the Navigation Book of Rules when transiting the canal; and exceeding these speeds is the sole responsibility of the ship master, it said.

The SCAs statement comes a few days after UK Club said that the speed of the Ever Given was controlled by the canals operator before it ran aground and blocked traffic in the strategic canal for six days in March.

Critically it is important to clarify that whilst the master is ultimately responsible for the vessel, navigation in the canal transit within a convoy is controlled by the Suez Canal pilots and SCA vessel traffic management services, UK Club said on Thursday, adding that the controls include the speed of the transit and the availability of escort tugs.

The ship insurers statement came in response to statements by SCA officials that the ship was sailing too fast and that the error was entirely the responsibility of Ever Given's captain and not that of the canals operator whose opinion is non-binding.

The dispute over which party is at fault over the crisis, which crippled the global supply chain in March for nearly a week, comes amid continuing legal dispute over the ship.

In late May, a trial over the Ever Given was adjourned to 20 June to allow for further negotiations on the compensation value.

The Ismailia Economic Court postponed the hearing upon the requests made by the lawyers representing the SCA and the ship owner.

The lawyers said the postponement is meant to allow for reaching an amicable solution to the ship crisis.

The SCA had slashed its compensation claim of $916 million to $550 million to settle the current judicial dispute, with the mega-ship to be allowed to leave if nearly 40 percent of the sum is paid in cash.

Ever Givens insurers say the demanded sum is still too high, previously offering to pay $150 million in compensation for the six-day traffic halt.

The ship ran aground across the canal on 23 March and was refloated on 29 March by a fleet of Egyptian tugboats and diggers, with the assistance of the tide.

The vessel has since been anchored in a lake between two sections of the canal.

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Egypt's parliament, the House of Representatives, will on Sunday discuss a government draft law on issuing sovereign bonds (Sukuk) that is aimed at shoring up the state's financial performance and covering the budget deficit

The law will allow the Ministry of Finance to issue Sukuk to raise capital necessary for spending on economic and investment projects targeted by the state budget and development plan, a report prepared by the House's budget and economic affairs committees said.

The Sukuk, which is sharia law compliant and dominant in most Islamic countries, will be a fourth source of finance, along with treasury bills, domestic loans and credit facilities, and foreign loans and credit facilities, the report said.

Sukuk are almost non-existent on the Egyptian market, and Egypt has a friendly economic environment that allows it to tap this investment instrument, the report said.

The parliament will also debate on Sunday two other bills, which give the minister of petroleum and mineral wealth a permit to ink two deals with British Petroleum (PB) and the National Egyptian Company on prospecting for oil in the Suez Gulf.

On Monday, the House will discuss an agreement with the United States on achieving comprehensive economic governance.

It will also debate another two agreements with the African Development Bank on implementing integrated sanitary drainage systems in rural areas in Upper Egypt governorates.

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Egypt's Public Prosecution orders detention of four officials over a deadly fire at a juvenile detention center in Cairo that killed six children.

The fire at Al-Marg juvenile center on Thursday also left more than two dozens wounded.

The prosecution ordered an immediate follow-up with hospitals to assess the health condition of the injured children and determine the possibility of hearing their accounts on the fire.

Initial investigations by police have determined the main cause of the fire as an electrical fire in the television unit which led the ward to set ablaze.

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Egypt is keen to resume Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations with Sudan and Ethiopia, said Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati on Saturday, stressing Egypts rejection of any unilateral actions concerning the dam.

Egypt and Sudan have reiterated their rejection of Ethiopias plan to go ahead with the second filling of the GERD reservoir in July before a legally binding instrument is reached on the filling and operation of the dam.

The two downstream countries have expressed concerns about their water rights and peoples lives, especially in the times of drought, in case the dam was filled without a binding deal.

Abdel-Ati's remarks came during a discussion with deputy governors as well as members from the Senate and the parliamentary Coordination Committee of Party Youth Leaders and Politicians.

The irrigation minister affirmed Egypts unwavering stance to preserve its water rights and achieve benefits for all parties in the planned binding agreement.

He stressed Egypts endeavourto reach a fair legally binding agreement that meets the developmental aspirations of all countries concerned, noting that actions adopted before the deal is reached will be unilateral and opposed.

Egypt supports development in Nile Basin countries and African states, Abdel-Ati said, referencing the water projects Egypt has established in continental states.

He added that the ministry contributed to preparing studies on the establishment of multi-purpose dams to provide electricity and drinking water to African citizens.

Abdel-Ati reviewed the future challenges facing water resources in Egypt by 2050, including overpopulation and climate change.

The minister said he expects the population to increase by 75 million come 2050.

Egypt prepared a strategy for water resources until 2050 at a value of up to EGP 900 billion, Abdel-Ati said.

He added that there is a national plan for water resources until 2037 that focuses on water consumption, improving water quality, securing additional water sources, and adapting the climate for optimal water management.

Over the past five years, Egypt has taken several steps to up its readiness against water challenges and emergencies facing the water system, Abdel-Ati said.

The minister highlighted the need for rationalising water consumption, saying Egypt is one of the most water-scarce countries as water resources are estimated at about 60 billion cubic metres annually, while its water needs amount to around 114 billion cubic metres.

This gap is bridged through the reuse of agricultural wastewater, making use of the surface ground water and importing food products that would have otherwise needed 34 billion cubic metres of water per year.

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Woburn, MA (01801)

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Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 84F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

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Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 59F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Egypt voiced solidarity with Burkina Faso on Saturday against violence and extremism a day after armed assailants killed around 100 civilians in an overnight raid on a village in the north of the country.

The Egyptian foreign ministry in a statement condemned the terrorist attack, extended sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished the wounded people a speedy recovery.

The Egyptian government and people stand side by side with Burkina Faso and [voice] solidarity with it in the face of all forms of violence, extremism and terrorism, the statement added.

The attackers struck during the night on Friday, killing residents of the village of Solhan in Yagha province bordering Niger. They also burned homes and the market, the government said in a statement.

The government, declaring a 72-hour period of national mourning, described the attackers as terrorists but no group immediately claimed responsibility, Reuters reported.

Attacks by Islamist militants linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State in West Africa's Sahel region have risen sharply since the start of the year, particularly in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with civilians bearing the brunt.

The violence in Burkina Faso has displaced more than 1.14 million people in just over two years, while the poor arid country is also hosting some 20,000 refugees from neighbouring Mali who are seeking safety from jihadists.

In March, attackers killed 137 people in coordinated raids on villages in southwestern Niger.

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The international airport in DR Congo's Goma reopened Saturday, two weeks after a devastating volcanic eruption near the eastern city, with the arrival of a plane carrying the prime minister.

An AFP journalist said Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde's plane touched down shortly after 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) at the airport, closed since May 23.

Lukonde is heading a ministerial team to "take stock of the situation by meeting local officials and reinforce state intervention for humanitarian aid", said a government spokesman.

The prime minister left straight for Goma's city centre after arriving, an AFP journalist said.

About 400,000 residents out of an estimated 600,000 left the North Kivu provincial capital after a brief one-day eruption of Nyiragongo, a strato-volcano nearly 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) high that straddles the East African Rift tectonic divide.

Thirty-two people died from lava burns or asphyxiation after the May 22-23 eruption, and two more died in accidents during the exodus.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday scorned as dangerous and left-wing a cross-partisan coalition cobbled together by his rivals to unseat him, even as the nationalist named to lead it echoed his hard line on the Palestinians.

Netanyahu, facing the prospect of an end to his 12-year run as premier, mounted the social media attack the day after centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid's announcement, about 35 minutes before a Wednesday night deadline, that he had succeeded in forming a governing coalition.

Under the deal, nationalist Naftali Bennett, 49, a former defence minister and a high-tech millionaire, would become prime minister and hand over the post to Lapid, 57, a former TV host and finance minister, in about two years.

A parliamentary session, in which the government can be approved by a simple majority, could be up to 12 days away, far-right politician Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the new coalition, said.

With parliament's Speaker, a Netanyahu loyalist, widely expected to try to ward off any legislative attempts to hold the vote earlier, the prime minister could use the period to try to twist arms.

"All legislators elected by votes from the right must oppose this dangerous left-wing government," Netanyahu tweeted, in rhetoric aimed at drawing defectors from Bennett's slate.

Yet Bennett set out positions on Israel's most immediate foreign and security policy problem - how and if to accommodate Palestinians' statehood goal - that hewed close to Netanyahu's.

"The national struggle between Israel and the Palestinians is not over territory. The Palestinians do not recognise our very existence here, and it appears this will be the case for some time," the prime minister-designate said in an interview.

"My thinking in this context is to shrink the conflict. We will not resolve it. But wherever we can (improve conditions) - more crossing points, more quality of life, more business, more industry - we will do so," he told Channel 12 TV.

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The coalition agreement capped a March 23 election in which neither Netanyahu's Likud party and its allies nor their opponents won a majority in the legislature. It was Israel's fourth national ballot in two years.

The governing lineup comprises a patchwork of small and medium-sized parties from across the political spectrum, including for the first time in Israel's history one that represents its 21% Arab minority - the United Arab List (UAL).

On Twitter, Netanyahu - who once drew accusations of racism by urging his supporters to get out and vote because "Arabs are flocking to the polls in droves" - highlighted the new alliance's links with UAL leader Mansour Abbas.

Despite the UAL's pro-Palestinian sympathies, Bennett said his planned government would have a free hand militarily - including in Gaza, where Israel clashed with Hamas last month.

"We'll do what we'll do without any political constraint," he said. "And if at war's end there's a coalition, so be it, and if not, we'll go to elections."

Netanyahu posted an old video clip of Bennett saying that Abbas "visited terrorist murderers in jail" after a 1992 attack in which Arab citizens of Israel killed three soldiers.

The UAL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Members of the prospective government have little in common other than a desire to oust Netanyahu, who is also on trial on corruption charges. He denies any wrongdoing.

The roster includes Bennett's Yamina (Rightward), centre-left Blue and White headed by Defence Minister Benny Gantz, the left-wing Meretz and Labour parties, former defence minister Lieberman's nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party and New Hope, a right-wing party headed by former education minister Gideon Saar, who broke away from Likud.

Political analysts expect Netanyahu to try to pick off what one described as low-hanging fruit, seizing upon Yamina members who are unhappy about joining forces with Arab and leftist lawmakers.

"We launched the move, but we haven't completed it. There will be 12 days that won't be easy, and in the end, there will be a government," Lieberman said on Channel 13 TV.

Netanyahu controls 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset, almost twice as many as Lapid's Yesh Atid party, and is allied with at least three other religious and nationalist parties.

During his tenure as prime minister, Netanyahu has been a polarizing figure at home and abroad. His rivals have cited the criminal charges against him as a main reason why Israel needs a leadership change, arguing that he might use a new term to legislate immunity to shield himself.

A source involved in the coalition talks said the proposed new government would try to retain consensus by avoiding hot-button ideological issues.

"This government will focus mainly on economic issues," Lieberman said.

Perhaps the most immediate test for a new administration is passing the budget, an issue that has toppled coalitions in the past.

Due to the prolonged political deadlock, Israel is still using a prorated version of a base 2019 budget that was approved in mid-2018. There may be some big budgetary shifts since the government is without ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that seek state funding for religious institutions.

The new government, if it is sworn in, will face other considerable challenges, including rebuilding the economy after the pandemic. As well as Iran and the moribund peace process with the Palestinians, it also faces a war crimes investigation by the International Criminal Court.

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There is no doubt that Arab-Chinese relations have been growing and developing for decades.

From an Arab governmental point of view, China is seen as an important supporter of Arab issues guaranteeing a sense of balance within the boundaries of international relations as well as an integral trade partner and supplier of economically viable goods and technology.

For China, Arab countries represented reciprocal international support for its causes as well as important markets for Chinese products and an even much more important source for fossil fuels. From a bilateral point of view, both the Arab countries and China shared common threats and pressures from the US and its allies. In the ever-evolving scene of international relations and consequent interests, both the Arab countries and China find it necessary to redesign and adjust their relative strategies to help manoeuvre and enable them to face challenges, confront threats, and most importantly, grasp opportunities.

Chinas interest in the Middle East region has not been limited to Arab countries. It has developed relations with all the regional key players, such as Iran, Israel, and Turkey. China has long held that its main international relations driver has been commerce and trade specially focused with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); seemingly all its moves are justifiable under this pretext.

Within the context of the BRI and its overall global strategic positioning in competition with the US and all other players, China advanced its position with a move towards the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran, a prominent force in the Middle East, has been playing a controversial role of exporting its brand of religious clergy revolutions towards its neighbours, supporting paramilitary groups outside state control in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Gaza, and inciting religious tensions in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and throughout the GCC region.

Iran continues to develop ballistic missile and drone technology to threaten its neighbours and deter other players in the region, develop a large scale nuclear programme that can turn from peaceful to military in a short period of time, threaten maritime navigation in the Arabian Gulf, and most recently was accused of backing and supporting attacks on the biggest oil refineries and production facilities in the KSA.

Overall, Iran continues to play a destabilising role in the Middle East, and now China has stepped in to back up the Ayatollah regime with a $400 billion strategic agreement that extends for 25 years.

On 24 June 2020, China and Iran signed an undisclosed strategic agreement which is viewed by many if not all of the involved parties in the Middle East region as a critical move for its timing and expected outcomes. How will this strategic agreement affect the dynamics of events in the region and the quality of Arab-Chinese relations now and in the future? What does each party to the agreement expect to achieve?

Chinas moves can be interpreted on multiple levels. From a strategic global perspective, China is responding to direct US pressure in its immediate sphere of influence. Go-politically, the US has pressured China in the South China Sea and Taiwan. The US also continues to counter Chinas global image on issues of freedom in Hong Kong and Tibet. It also accuses China of grave human rights violations against minorities, such as the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province.

The approach China is adopting towards Iran is regarded as a counter move in an area that is of high interest to the US. Chinas strategic agreement with Iran also coincided with the US Trump administrations withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which was created to hamper Irans attempts to develop nuclear weapons.

The China-Iran agreement has caught many of Chinas Arab friends and supporters off guard, to say the least. China maintains its justifications that the strategic agreement with Iran aligns with its direct interests of securing its energy and oil supplies as well as diversifying its oil suppliers to avoid depending on one source to quench its 10 million barrels a day and growing thirst for the fossil fuels it needs to continue vitalising its economic growth, which is of much global impact.

From the Arab perspective, Chinas move clearly provides Iran with a lifeline and a backdoor to breath smoothly even while US sanctions and EU embargos are in place. Not only that, but Iran has maintained a steady supply of money, weapons, and support to all its para-military groups of followers from Hezbullah in Lebanon, to the Shiaa El-Hashd El-Shaaby in Iraq, the Allouite regime in Syria, the Houthis (Ansarullah) in Yemen, Waad Allah and El-Haydariyah in Bahrain, and most recently to Hamas in the Gaza Strip in Palestine.

In fact, Irans direct interference has hastened and amplified the economic turmoil in Lebanon, triggering a political bipolar stalemate. The incapacity to create a government has pushed the once thriving nation to the precipice of bankruptcy and an unknown future with increasing volatility towards ethnic and religious conflict.

In Iraq, governments are being challenged and manipulated consecutively with El-Hashd, a Revolutionary Guard-like body, bearing arms and threatening all those who dare speak in favour of a civil state and a nation not divided by religious quotas and controlled by Shiaa clergymen with allegiance to Iran.

In Syria, Irans role was clear, to support Al-Assad's regime regardless of what the Syrians themselves wanted or were willing to die for, to the extent that Iranians were willing to kill Syrians just to maintain their grip on the Levant, which also provides them with a window and an escape route to the Mediterranean in case things heat up in the Arabian Gulf.

Again, in Yemen, Iran spread chaos and statelessness with its direct support for the Houthis on the merits of being a Zaydy Shiaa faction that disregards any respect for legitimacy or sovereignty of the state. For the past seven years, the Houthis have been on a rampage throughout Yemen making the once economically challenged country in complete disarray with very little or no hope of regaining its once unified posture.

Adding to the conflict-ridden, economically-challenged regional mix, Hamass public announcements after its latest showdown with Israel clearly state that it received money and munitions from Iran. This gratitude was previously expressed by all the above-mentioned groups that have vastly contributed to the regions instability and fuelled raging conflicts with devastating socio-economic and political effects. Therefore, although China claims that it does not interfere with domestic and regional disputes and it moves only to serve its economic interests, it is intentionally or unintentionally freeing Irans arm to slash and stab at its Arab neighbours.

Although grouped under one name, the Arabs are 22 nations with diversified resources and capacities that should not be overlooked or underestimated by China in favour of their rival Iran. Should there be a regime change disrupting the clergy grip in Iran or should it be pressured to re-align itself towards the West with the new Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action being drafted in Vienna during 2021, Iran may turn out to be a lot less of a strategic counterpart than expected by China.

The deal may actually turn sour if the US and the Europeans manage to turn Iran around and there is a huge potential for that.

China might still be able to mitigate the damage with its long-time Arab friends. Can China find its political savvy in mediating between the Arabs and Iran and succeed where the US has failed? There is a great opportunity to be had in this particular case.

Regional neighbours need to find their peace and they all need to regain composure after the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued state of conflict that has lasted for decades and drained countless resources. If China could broker a deal to bring calm to the region, it might turn out to be the biggest winner.

In its drive to compete for international leadership and prove its worthiness as a global super power, China needs to exert effort to achieve peace, stability, and prosperity beyond its borders. It needs to demonstrate its vision of world order based on principle, not just interest.

Many Arabs had aspired for the rise of China to shift international relations away from its uni-polar state towards multilateralism in the hope of finding alternative solutions to decades-old questions and issues.

China has given hope to the poorer nations and the economic underdogs, for many it was the hero of the new millennium. Will China be able to back this image up against great odds?

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On this day in 1967, the occupying state of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. After hitting the air defences of the four countries, Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Twenty years after being recognised as an independent state on the ruins of historical Palestine, Israel began an occupation that would become the longest in modern history. As such, Israel took control of the final 22 per cent of historic Palestine that it wasn't able to occupy in 1948.

The term Naksa, or setback, refers to the beginning of the 1967 Six-Day War on 5 June, which saw Israel triple in size, beginning over 54 years of occupation.

Nearly 400,000 Palestinians were displaced by the Israeli onslaught, adding to the hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced in 1948 by the invading Zionist prpo-Israel militias. Around half were displaced for the second time in less than 20 years.

The number of Palestinian refugees in camps run by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon even grew further.

The attack saw Israel disregard the previously agreed upon Green Line borders drawn up in the 1949 armistice with Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, which separated the newly established Israel from the Palestinian areas of the Jordan-administered West Bank and Jerusalem, and the Egypt-administered Gaza.

Following the onslaught, facilitated by strong backing of the United States, Israel imposed a military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza and has annexed East Jerusalem until today.

Palestinians in the "occupied Palestinian territories" have since been subjected to a brutal Israeli military occupation as well as the activities of armed, right-wing Jewish settlers, for whom Israel's victory was a licence to colonise the land which they believed was promised to them by God and them alone.

In 2005, Israel pulled out its troops and settlers from Gaza as part of a unilateral disengagement plan under late Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Despite many UN resolutions calling for its withdrawal from these territories, Israel continues to occupy all the territories except the Sinai Peninsula. It withdrew from this territory in 1982, following a peace treaty with Egypt.

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Three civilians were killed Saturday in a Turkish drone attack on a refugee camp in northern Iraq in an area Turkish President recently threatened to "clean up", a Kurdish lawmaker said.

"Three civilians were killed and two wounded," Rashad Galali, a Kurdish MP from Makhmur, told AFP, adding that the strike targeted "a kindergarten near a school" in the camp that houses Kurdish refugees from Turkey.

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During May, Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH)  the Company, IDHC on the London Stock Exchange  a leading consumer healthcare company with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria, announced that it had listed 30 million shares on the EGX to be the first listed company to do a dual listing of ordinary shares on the EGXs main market.

The action came few days after the call by the Egyptian Immigration Minister that urged the Egyptian expats to trade on the listed companies on the EGX and to tap the securities investment ground as a bid to spur investment climate in Egypt.

The listing was the first for the company in the EGX.

In an exclusive interview, Ahram Online discussed with IDHs CEO Hend El-Sherbini what the action means for the company and for Egypt's market.

She also covered the companys future plans in Egypt.

El-Sherbini unveiled that IDH eyes value accretive acquisitions in African and Middle Eastern markets where its business model is well suited to capitalise on similar healthcare and consumer trends as well as capture significant shares of fragmented markets.

Ahram Online: How does IDH see the Egyptian market among others in the region?

Hend El-Sherbini: There are compelling structural growth drivers in the Egyptian market that we have seen. These include a large, rapidly growing population and growing health consciousness among the patient populations we serve. The medical sector in Egypt is very fragmented. Patients and customers drive the market in terms of quality and choose their service provider based on where they receive the best care.

Our presence in Egypt has allowed us to raise the bar in terms of quality. Our competitive edge stems from our unwavering commitment to quality and the provision of best-in-class diagnostic services. We have obtained the College of American Pathologists (CAP) accreditation in 2010 and are currently the sole operator of a CAP-accredited facility in Egypt.

In terms of behaviour and mindset, Egypt has invested in creating a culture shift towards preventative medicine. Raising awareness is a critical part of that and IDH is playing its part. Presidential initiatives, such as the '100 Million Healthy Lives' campaign, have also encouraged more testing, particularly for Hepatitis C and diabetes. The IDH has carried out over four million tests. This was done across the country through our network of over 430 branches in Egypt, where we operate under the brands: Al-Borg Laboratories and Al-Mokhtabar along with Al-Borg Scan.

In addition to services, I believe Egypt is rich in qualified human resources. Our management team combines several decades of healthcare experience and our board of directors is composed of healthcare and finance experts with knowledge around the region.

AO: Was the companys performance and revenues affected by the COVID-19 crisis, especially in Egypt?

HS: 2020/21 has been an eventful year for IDH. Despite the exceptional difficulties it faced at the start of the pandemic in 2020 with the country being in lockdown and several branches operating under shorter hours, IDH leveraged its flexible business model and adaptive service offering to deliver strong growth and robust profitability. We have achieved excellent results and shown a strong performance during FY2020; with recorded revenues of about EGP 2.7 billion - equivalent to an increase of about 19 percent compared to FY2019. We have also recorded profits of EGP 609 million - equivalent to an increase of 21 percent, while the net profit margin reached 23 percent.

IDH has also served over 7.1 million patients in 2020 and performed more than 27.1 million tests across our regional network of over 480 branches in Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan and Jordan. In Egypt we have expanded our network, adding up to 35 new branches during the year.

AO: How do you assess the actions and policies Egypt has been adopting to protect its economy and navigate the crisis?

HS: The Egyptian governments goal to address the current crisis and place Egypt on a strong footing for economic recovery is clear. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak globally, many decisions have been taken to protect Egyptian citizens and to achieve the highest safety levels for them in a way that does not conflict with providing all the necessities of their daily life and firmly dealing with this crisis to reduce the spread of the virus.

The performance of the Egyptian economy considering the coronavirus pandemic exceeded expectations, according to the testimony of international institutions and credit rating institutions, including the International Monetary Fund; the World Bank; Golden Man Sachs; Standard & Poor's; Moody's, and Fitch

AO: From your perspective, what sort of procedures does Egypt need to take to catalyse the private sector and to unleash its role in the countrys development and economy?

HS: Egypts government and leaderships vision along with its directives have dictated synergy between the public, private and civil society sectors and that is evident in the number of projects and developments that are in terms of infrastructure, healthcare and manufacturing in recent years.

Egypt's economic reform plan within the framework of Egypts Vision 2030 has also proven successful, with the first phase demonstrating economic resilience. The second phase is expected to help Egypt recover from the repercussions of the pandemic, through private sector-led development efforts.

AO: How do you see the recent initiative on the EGX launched by the Minister of Immigration along with EGX in boosting Egypts stock market during the present?

HS: The recent initiative, launched by the EGX in cooperation with the Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, will see great benefits for us and other local brand names in boosting performance. This initiative helps spread the culture of saving and investment through the Egyptian capital market, while raising awareness for the fundamentals of investing, therefore encouraging Egyptians abroad to benefit from the Egyptian economic development, and helps them invest in their home country.

With this initiative, the Egyptian Stock Market adds another layer of attractiveness to international and local business, considering listing as it brings access to a different investor base across different markets.

AO: How is the new finance secured through the IFC expected to boost healthcare services in Egypt, particularly via IDH?

HS: IDH holds the largest market share in Egypt in terms of private sector diagnostics and we place customer healthcare at the top of our priorities. Our competitive advantage comes from our strict commitment to quality and the provision of the best medical diagnostic as well as analysis services in all its forms.

The IFC has stringent policies when providing finance and IDHs strong strategy for growth and solid financial position, gave us an advantage in securing the financing. Through this new debt financing agreement, we are once again reinforcing our commitment to the healthcare sector across emerging markets, delivering on our shared strategy and aligned ESG goals to provide communities with the tools they need to better their lives.

Our multi-pronged approach to sustainable growth revolves around the strategic expansion of our branch network to improve accessibility and reach new segments of the population, where we, on average, add 30 to 35 new branches yearly.

The $45 million debt financing package will allow IDH to expand healthcare accessibility by growing its regional footprint through potential acquisitions, as well as expanding our current medical service offering, geographical reach and digital offering. All to ensure that we provide access to as many patients as possible.

Additionally, this new agreement further strengthens our existing long-term strategic cooperation that began with our co-investment in Nigeria, where we have jointly deployed millions of dollars to bring best-in-class medical diagnostic practices and technology to Africas most populous country.

AO: What are IDHs future plans for the Egyptian market?

HS: Currently, at the top of our priorities is implementing our four-pronged growth strategy that focuses on expanding customer reach beyond opening laboratories in new geographies, in addition to reaching out to new customers with focused tactical marketing activities as well as new customer services.

In addition to organic expansion, we continue to seek value accretive acquisitions in African and Middle Eastern markets where the business model is well suited to capitalise on similar healthcare and consumer trends and capture a significant share of fragmented markets. While opening more branches will add both patients and tests, our strategy also looks at increasing tests per patients. This means that we will further diversify the test portfolio in combination with compelling offerings of promotionally-priced test packages which will drive the key financial metric of number of tests per patient.

The Group also looks to add diagnostic and medical services not currently provided on a large scale, believing its scale and experience position it well to take advantage of developing services opportunities that would raise the IDH profile to that of a one-stop-shop provider.

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Related Eyes on Arab titles prior to Cannes Film Festival unveiling Official Selection in June

The Cannes Film Festival returns in July with a rich official selection competing for the Palme d'Or after the Covid pandemic robbed the world's leading film festival of its 2020 edition.

Here are the 24 films competing from July 5 to 17 for the prestigious prize awarded by a jury headed by US director Spike Lee.

'Annette' by Leos Carax, France

Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard star as a glamourous celebrity couple whose lives are upended by the arrival of their first child.

The first film in a decade from auteur Carax is also the first in English from the eccentric French mind behind arthouse favourites "Holy Motors" and "The Lovers on the Bridge."

'The French Dispatch' by Wes Anderson, US

Film fans can never get enough of Wes Anderson, and his latest quirky bauble can be counted on for more obsessively curated sets and shots, 20th-century nostalgia, family disharmony and Bill Murray.

Plus yet more megastars in Anderson's menagerie in the form of Timothee Chalamet and Benicio Del Toro, and the set-up -- foreign correspondents in France -- likely to play well with critics at Cannes.

'Benedetta' by Paul Verhoeven, Netherlands

From "Robocop" to "Basic Instinct" to "Starship Troopers," Dutch director Paul Verhoeven has always walked a fine line between gaudy schlock and cinematic genius. His latest tale recounts a lesbian affair in a 17th-century convent, starring Virginie Efira and Charlotte Rampling.

'A Hero' by Asghar Farhadi, Iran

The new film shot in Iran and in the Farsi language by the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, known for "The Salesman," which won best Cannes screenplay in 2012, and "A Separation" -- both of which also won Oscars.

'Tout s'est Bien Passe' (Everything Went Well) by Francois Ozon, France

Featuring French stars Sophie Marceau and Charlotte Rampling, the film by Francois Ozon tells the story of a woman asked by her father to help him die.

'Tre Piani' (Three Floors) by Nanni Moretti, Italy

Exactly 20 years after winning the Palme d'Or with "The Son's Room" and nine years after heading the main jury at Cannes, Moretti is back with his first-ever adaptation of a novel, which looks at three families who live on three different floors, in three chapters.

'Titane' by Julia Ducournau, France

Starring French veteran actor Vincent Lindon, "Titane" is the second feature film after "Grave" by horror film specialist Ducournau, which she reportedly wrote in six weeks between two episodes of France's Covid-19 lockdowns.

'Red Rocket' by Sean Baker, US

The comedy-drama by indie filmmaker Baker features Simon Rex as an over-the-hill porn star who returns to his hometown in Texas, where he is not very welcome.

'Petrov's Flu' by Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia

An alcohol-fuelled stroll by a cartoonist and his friend in post-Soviet Russia brings back childhood memories that get mixed up with the present.

'Par un Demi Clair Matin' (France) by Bruno Dumont, France

Adapted from a work by French writer Charles Peguy, who was killed in battle in the first months of World War I, the film charts the fall from grace of a star TV reporter whose life crisis is shown against a backdrop of contemporary France.

'Nitram' by Justin Kurzel, Australia

After his 2015 smash hit adaptation of "Macbeth" starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, and his take on the Assassin's Creed video game in 2016, the Australian director looks at events leading up to the Port Arthur mass shooting in Tasmania, in which 35 died and led to reforms of Australian gun control laws.

'Memoria' by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand

Tilda Swinton stars as a Scottish horticulturist in the Thai director's first film since "Cemetery of Splendour," and 11 years after he won the Palme d'Or for the dreamlike "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives." Shot in Colombia, "Memoria" explores the relationship of Swinton's character with a French archaeologist and a musician as she tries to understand sudden strange sounds in the night.

'Lingui' by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Chad

Set in the outskirts of N'Djamena, "Lingui" tells the story of an adolescent whose unwanted pregnancy puts her in conflict with her country's traditions and the law. Haroun lives in France, but most of his films have been produced in his birth country, which he left during unrest there in the 1980s.

'Les Olympiades' (Paris 13th District) by Jacques Audiard, France

A film by the veteran Palme d'Or winner, based on three graphic novels by US author Adrian Tomine and set in a mixed neighbourhood of the French capital, about three young women and a young man who are sometimes friends, sometimes lovers, and sometimes both.

'Les Intranquilles' (The Restless) by Joachim Lafosse, Belgium

Starring Leila Bekhti and Damien Bonnard, the film tells the story of a couple under stress due to Bonnard's character suffering from bipolar disorder, and who do their best to protect their child.

'La Fracture' by Catherine Corsini, France

Two decades after her film "Replay" entered the Cannes competition, Corsini returns with a drama about a couple stuck in a hospital that comes under siege during a violent Paris demonstration inspired by the Yellow Vests movement.

'The Worst Person in the World' by Joachim Trier, Norway

A film about love and its complications, Trier's "Worst Person" -- the third of Trier's Oslo trilogy -- looks at Julie, who turns 30 and is looking for answers in a new relationship only to realise that the much-hoped-for new perspective on life is not really happening.

'Compartment No 6' by Juho Kuosmanen, Finland

Two strangers -- a Finnish woman and a gloomy Russian -- share a compartment of a train winding its way up to the Arctic circle in a road movie set against the backdrop of the 1980s Soviet Union, by the Finnish director who claims that "the only way to be free is to accept the absurdity of life".

'Casablanca Beats' by Nabil Ayouch, France-Morocco

Ayouch rocks the suburbs of Casablanca with a film about young people seeking an outlet through hip hop in a neighbourhood that in 2003 became a target of Al Qaeda suicide attacks on hotels, restaurants and community centres.

'Ahed's Knee' by Nadav Lapid, Israel

After winning prizes in Locarno, Cannes and Berlin for his first three films, Lapid explores two battles waged by an Israeli director, one against the death of freedom and one against the death of a mother, both of which are doomed to failure.

'Drive My Car' by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan

An aging, widowed actor looking for a chauffeur ends up hiring a 20-year-old woman. Things go wrong between them at first, but then a special relationship emerges.

'Bergman Island' by Mia Hansen-Love, France

An American film-making couple spends a summer on Faro, the windswept Baltic island that inspired Ingmar Bergman. Reality and fiction start to blur as the weeks pass.

'The Story of My Wife' by Ildiko Enyedi, Hungary

Featuring Lea Seydoux, who starred in "Blue Is The Warmest Colour" that won Cannes in 2013, Enyedi's film kicks off with a bet by a sea captain that he'll marry the first woman who walks in. The film is based on a novel by Milan Fust.

'Flag Day' by Sean Penn, US

Star actor Penn again steps behind the camera -- as well as in front of it -- for "Flag Day," also starring his daughter Dylan Penn as well as Josh Brolin, in which a father lives a double life as a con man, a fact his daughter, an investigative journalist, tries to come to terms with.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

Short link:


INTERVIEW: Egypts call on expats to tap the EGX opportunities will see great benefits to domestic market: IDH's CEO



Doaa A.Moneim, , Saturday 5 Jun 2021



El-Sherbini also said that since the onset of the global COVID-19 outbreak, Egypt has taken many decisions to protect Egyptian citizens and achieve the highest levels of safety for them



During May, Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH)  the Company, IDHC on the London Stock Exchange  a leading consumer healthcare company with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria, announced that it had listed 30 million shares on the EGX to be the first listed company to do a dual listing of ordinary shares on the EGXs main market.



The action came few days after the call by the Egyptian Immigration Minister that urged the Egyptian expats to trade on the listed companies on the EGX and to tap the securities investment ground as a bid to spur investment climate in Egypt.



The listing was the first for the company in the EGX.



In an exclusive interview, Ahram Online discussed with IDHs CEO Hend El-Sherbini what the action means for the company and for Egypt's market.



She also covered the companys future plans in Egypt.



El-Sherbini unveiled that IDH eyes value accretive acquisitions in African and Middle Eastern markets where its business model is well suited to capitalise on similar healthcare and consumer trends as well as capture significant shares of fragmented markets.



Ahram Online: How does IDH see the Egyptian market among others in the region?



Hend El-Sherbini: There are compelling structural growth drivers in the Egyptian market that we have seen. These include a large, rapidly growing population and growing health consciousness among the patient populations we serve. The medical sector in Egypt is very fragmented. Patients and customers drive the market in terms of quality and choose their service provider based on where they receive the best care.



Our presence in Egypt has allowed us to raise the bar in terms of quality. Our competitive edge stems from our unwavering commitment to quality and the provision of best-in-class diagnostic services. We have obtained the College of American Pathologists (CAP) accreditation in 2010 and are currently the sole operator of a CAP-accredited facility in Egypt.



In terms of behaviour and mindset, Egypt has invested in creating a culture shift towards preventative medicine. Raising awareness is a critical part of that and IDH is playing its part. Presidential initiatives, such as the '100 Million Healthy Lives' campaign, have also encouraged more testing, particularly for Hepatitis C and diabetes. The IDH has carried out over four million tests. This was done across the country through our network of over 430 branches in Egypt, where we operate under the brands: Al-Borg Laboratories and Al-Mokhtabar along with Al-Borg Scan.



In addition to services, I believe Egypt is rich in qualified human resources. Our management team combines several decades of healthcare experience and our board of directors is composed of healthcare and finance experts with knowledge around the region.



AO: Was the companys performance and revenues affected by the COVID-19 crisis, especially in Egypt?



HS: 2020/21 has been an eventful year for IDH. Despite the exceptional difficulties it faced at the start of the pandemic in 2020 with the country being in lockdown and several branches operating under shorter hours, IDH leveraged its flexible business model and adaptive service offering to deliver strong growth and robust profitability. We have achieved excellent results and shown a strong performance during FY2020; with recorded revenues of about EGP 2.7 billion - equivalent to an increase of about 19 percent compared to FY2019. We have also recorded profits of EGP 609 million - equivalent to an increase of 21 percent, while the net profit margin reached 23 percent.



IDH has also served over 7.1 million patients in 2020 and performed more than 27.1 million tests across our regional network of over 480 branches in Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan and Jordan. In Egypt we have expanded our network, adding up to 35 new branches during the year.



AO: How do you assess the actions and policies Egypt has been adopting to protect its economy and navigate the crisis?



HS: The Egyptian governments goal to address the current crisis and place Egypt on a strong footing for economic recovery is clear. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak globally, many decisions have been taken to protect Egyptian citizens and to achieve the highest safety levels for them in a way that does not conflict with providing all the necessities of their daily life and firmly dealing with this crisis to reduce the spread of the virus.

The performance of the Egyptian economy considering the coronavirus pandemic exceeded expectations, according to the testimony of international institutions and credit rating institutions, including the International Monetary Fund; the World Bank; Golden Man Sachs; Standard & Poor's; Moody's, and Fitch



AO: From your perspective, what sort of procedures does Egypt need to take to catalyse the private sector and to unleash its role in the countrys development and economy?



HS: Egypts government and leaderships vision along with its directives have dictated synergy between the public, private and civil society sectors and that is evident in the number of projects and developments that are in terms of infrastructure, healthcare and manufacturing in recent years.



Egypt's economic reform plan within the framework of Egypts Vision 2030 has also proven successful, with the first phase demonstrating economic resilience. The second phase is expected to help Egypt recover from the repercussions of the pandemic, through private sector-led development efforts.



AO: How do you see the recent initiative on the EGX launched by the Minister of Immigration along with EGX in boosting Egypts stock market during the present?



HS: The recent initiative, launched by the EGX in cooperation with the Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, will see great benefits for us and other local brand names in boosting performance. This initiative helps spread the culture of saving and investment through the Egyptian capital market, while raising awareness for the fundamentals of investing, therefore encouraging Egyptians abroad to benefit from the Egyptian economic development, and helps them invest in their home country.



With this initiative, the Egyptian Stock Market adds another layer of attractiveness to international and local business, considering listing as it brings access to a different investor base across different markets.



AO: How is the new finance secured through the IFC expected to boost healthcare services in Egypt, particularly via IDH?



HS: IDH holds the largest market share in Egypt in terms of private sector diagnostics and we place customer healthcare at the top of our priorities. Our competitive advantage comes from our strict commitment to quality and the provision of the best medical diagnostic as well as analysis services in all its forms.



The IFC has stringent policies when providing finance and IDHs strong strategy for growth and solid financial position, gave us an advantage in securing the financing. Through this new debt financing agreement, we are once again reinforcing our commitment to the healthcare sector across emerging markets, delivering on our shared strategy and aligned ESG goals to provide communities with the tools they need to better their lives.



Our multi-pronged approach to sustainable growth revolves around the strategic expansion of our branch network to improve accessibility and reach new segments of the population, where we, on average, add 30 to 35 new branches yearly.



The $45 million debt financing package will allow IDH to expand healthcare accessibility by growing its regional footprint through potential acquisitions, as well as expanding our current medical service offering, geographical reach and digital offering. All to ensure that we provide access to as many patients as possible.



Additionally, this new agreement further strengthens our existing long-term strategic cooperation that began with our co-investment in Nigeria, where we have jointly deployed millions of dollars to bring best-in-class medical diagnostic practices and technology to Africas most populous country.



AO: What are IDHs future plans for the Egyptian market?



HS: Currently, at the top of our priorities is implementing our four-pronged growth strategy that focuses on expanding customer reach beyond opening laboratories in new geographies, in addition to reaching out to new customers with focused tactical marketing activities as well as new customer services.



In addition to organic expansion, we continue to seek value accretive acquisitions in African and Middle Eastern markets where the business model is well suited to capitalise on similar healthcare and consumer trends and capture a significant share of fragmented markets. While opening more branches will add both patients and tests, our strategy also looks at increasing tests per patients. This means that we will further diversify the test portfolio in combination with compelling offerings of promotionally-priced test packages which will drive the key financial metric of number of tests per patient.



The Group also looks to add diagnostic and medical services not currently provided on a large scale, believing its scale and experience position it well to take advantage of developing services opportunities that would raise the IDH profile to that of a one-stop-shop provider.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/413493.aspx
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2021 - 18:06 | All, Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has no plan to set up a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae In on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Britain starting next week, Japanese government sources said Saturday, even as both countries recognize the need to improve soured ties.

Suga is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden during a G-7 summit slated for June 11 to 13 in Cornwall, southwestern England, with Moon possibly joining for a trilateral meeting, according to other people familiar with the matter. G-7 host Britain has invited Moon as a guest to the in-person summit, which also brings together members including Japan and the United States.

But the Japanese government sees little benefit in holding a bilateral summit with South Korea at this time, as no major progress is expected in the talks on issues involving wartime history, the sources said.

"No preparations have been made or are being considered," a Japanese senior government official told Kyodo News.

Suga and Moon held telephone talks in September last year. But the two countries have not held an in-person summit since December 2019 when Suga's predecessor Shinzo Abe met with Moon in China.

The two countries' foreign ministers held their first talks in more than a year on the fringes of the G-7 foreign ministerial gathering in London last month but failed to span the divide over the bilateral issues.

There is no sign of South Korea proposing a summit with Japan and even if there is, Suga has no intention of accepting the offer, another Japanese government source said.

South Korean intelligence chief Park Jie Won said last month his country is hoping for the possibility of holding a summit with Japan to mend bilateral ties when he met with Suga in Tokyo. The Japanese premier echoed the sentiment at the time.

The United States is hoping for improved ties between the two key Asian allies since it sees robust three-way coordination as indispensable for curbing North Korea's weapons development and keeping an increasingly assertive China in check.

Still, Japan-South Korea relations remain at their lowest point in decades following South Korean Supreme Court rulings in 2018 that ordered Japanese companies to compensate plaintiffs who were laborers during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Also deteriorating ties is the issue of Koreans forced to work as "comfort women" in Japan's wartime military brothels.

Related coverage:

Suga to meet with Biden on sidelines of G-7 summit

G-7 leaders to back Japan's efforts to stage Olympics

G-7 to affirm cooperation toward net zero emissions by 2050
Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High near 85F. Winds WSW 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 near 60F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2021 - 10:06 | Arts, World, All, Japan

The wife of a Japanese journalist who went missing in Cambodia after entering an area controlled by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s has self-published a memoir chronicling her attempt to find out his fate and come to terms with his disappearance.

Yoko Ishiyama's husband Koki was bureau chief of Kyodo News in Phnom Penh when he vanished in October 1973 while covering the civil war between the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government and the Pol Pot-led Khmer Rouge. It was to have been his final assignment before wrapping up his stint in Phnom Penh.

Koki Ishiyama was 30 at the time, while Yoko was 27. With her husband thousands of miles away, she and the couple's children, a 2-year-old boy and months-old girl, were living with her parents in Kyoto.

After the correspondent's disappearance, his Japanese colleagues and others tried to find him but years went by without any promising leads.

A field investigation conducted by Kyodo in 1981 after the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed found that Koki Ishiyama had died of illness in around January 1974 in a mountainous area of Kampong Speu Province in central Cambodia that was a stronghold of Khmer Rouge insurgents. A villager who tended to him until his death told investigators that he was also buried there.

In January 2008, Yoko Ishiyama, the couple's daughter Mieko and her husband's colleagues visited the mountain where his remains were said to have been interred, in a bid to locate his burial site.

After their search was unsuccessful, Ishiyama brought the couple's son Kenkichi along on another mission in January 2009 and located his presumed burial site. They returned home after making offerings such as incense, liquor and cigarettes there.

Ishiyama, now 75, says she wanted to convey in her memoir that it was a series of coincidences that led her and the others who went looking for him to learn how her husband had died. She describes a chance meeting with a woman who gave the crucial testimony about her husband's last days and weeks that ultimately led to her finding the spot in the jungle where he is buried.

She also wrote about other journalists who met a similar fate covering Cambodia in the chaotic period between 1970 and 1975. More than 30 local and foreign journalists lost their lives there during the period, including Japanese photographers Taizo Ichinose and Kyoichi Sawada.

Ishiyama also intended the memoir for her children, who grew up barely knowing their father. "I wanted to leave to our children a record of what their father was like. That is the least I could do."

Koki Ishiyama was declared legally missing in 1982 and presumed dead. Yoko subsequently went to work for the Japanese news agency for over 25 years as a member of its administrative staff.

Kenkichi has followed in his father's steps and gone on to become a journalist for public broadcaster NHK.

The memoir, "Soshite Matsukotoga Hajimatta -- Kyoto Yokohama Kambojia" (Then, Waiting Began -- Kyoto Yokohama Cambodia) published through Nara-based Yotokusha, was a product of countless revisions, the Yokohama resident said.

Tatsuro Dekune, an award-winning novelist whom she became acquainted with through the work, advised Ishiyama to narrate her thoughts in a first-person voice, she said.

==Kyodo
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2021 - 19:50 | World, All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan is preparing to provide COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam as the country struggles to procure enough doses for its citizens amid a spike in coronavirus infections, government and ruling party officials said Saturday.

The support would follow a donation of 1.24 million vaccine doses on Friday to Taiwan, and Japan will consider similar provision to other developing Asian and Pacific island countries, according to a government source.

House of Councillors lawmaker Masahisa Sato, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Foreign Affairs Division, said on a television program earlier in the day the government has started making arrangements with Vietnam.

Japan is expected to provide doses of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc of Britain, the manufacturer of those it provided to Taiwan.

Despite being touted as a model for containing the outbreak, Vietnam has been facing a resurgence of infections since late April, with its health authorities reporting a hybrid coronavirus variant that combines characteristics of the strains first detected in Britain and India.

Vietnam's vaccination rate stands at 1 percent, lagging behind other countries.

"Vietnam is an important country for Japan, partly because of the South China Sea issue," a senior Foreign Ministry official said, referring to the Southeast Asian country's dispute with China over a group of islands in the South China Sea. Tensions also remain high over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, under the control of Japan but claimed by China.

While Japan has secured enough AstraZeneca doses for 60 million people and approved their use last month, it does not intend to use them immediately in public inoculation programs due to rare cases of blood clots reported overseas.

Related coverage:

China raps Taiwan for accepting vaccines from Japan

Japan donated COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Taiwan, irritating China

Taiwan thanks Japan for "timely" donation of vaccine
KYODO NEWS - Jun 6, 2021 - 01:32 | World, All, Japan, Coronavirus

Trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region agreed Saturday on achieving a strong economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, starting with accelerating vaccine distribution.

The ministers from 21 economies that form the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation met virtually amid the pandemic, with New Zealand, the current APEC host, serving as chair.

"Recognizing the role of extensive COVID-19 immunization as a global public good, we urgently need to accelerate the production and distribution of safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable COVID-19 vaccines," they said in a joint statement, stressing trade and investment's role in ensuring widespread and equitable access to vaccines.

The trade ministers also said APEC economies will work proactively to support discussions for a temporary waiver of certain intellectual property protections on COVID-19 vaccines.

The mention of the waiver was included in the statement as New Zealand has announced its support of a proposal by India and South Africa for the World Trade Organization to temporarily suspend the intellectual property protections on the vaccines.

In addition to the joint statement, the ministers issued a separate one on COVID-19 vaccine supply chains that said APEC economies will expedite the flow and transit of all vaccines and related goods through air, sea and land ports.

"We will consider voluntary actions to reduce the cost of these products for our people, particularly by encouraging each economy to review its own charges levied at the border on COVID-19 vaccines and related goods," the ministers said in the statement.

At a pre-meeting press conference, New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor, who serves as meeting chair, said the successful distribution of vaccines across the Asia-Pacific region will be critical to the region's recovery.

"COVID-19 has highlighted once again, how much we depend on each other, and how important it is to keep trade and supply chains open," he said.

As the APEC economies collectively need to vaccinate roughly 3 billion people, O'Connor said he urges the member states and regions to undertake the same level of cooperation they had done for economic development toward vaccines and medical supply equipment.

Meanwhile, Japanese senior vice foreign minister Eiichiro Washio said in the pre-meeting press conference that APEC economies should focus on building greater governance around data exchange to ensure digital information can be exchanged freely and with trust, speaking on the need for the region to "build back better" from the pandemic.

"As the pandemic is accelerating digitalization, a global rule for a digital society is needed," he said.

Founded in 1989, APEC is a platform for discussions on free trade and economic cooperation by Pacific Rim countries covering 60 percent of global gross domestic product, some 40 percent of the global population and around 50 percent of the world's trade volume.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 5, 2021 - 22:10 | All, Japan

Saturday marked the first anniversary of the death of Shigeru Yokota, a torchbearer of Japan's campaign to bring home citizens abducted by North Korea after his teenage daughter Megumi was taken in 1977.

Since his death, Japan has seen little progress in efforts to resolve the abduction cases, though Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated the issue remains a top priority for his administration, as it was for his predecessor Shinzo Abe.

Suga, like Abe, has urged North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet "without preconditions." But there has been no breakthrough in the abduction issue and broader bilateral relations.

Yokota's wife Sakie thanked the public for the support he received in his fight to rescue Megumi and other victims, on which he spent more than half of his 87 years.

"He had a very difficult life, and now Japanese people know such terrible crimes have happened," the 85-year-old said, as she participated online in a memorial ceremony. "It seems as if I had run out of tears (over Megumi's disappearance) but sadness in myself never ceases to deepen. I just want to get her back."

Commenting on the anniversary of Yokota's death, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato expressed regret about the Suga government not being able to advance the abduction issue, which has prevented Tokyo and Pyongyang from normalizing diplomatic ties.

"It has been a year since (his death) but regrettably we have not achieved the return of even a single abductee," Kato said at a press conference on Friday. "The Suga Cabinet would like to do its best toward the return of all abduction victims as soon as possible."

Some anticipated the planned participation of North Korea in the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer could lay the foundation for talks on the issue between the two countries, but such hopes have diminished as the North has pulled out of the event, citing safeguarding its athletes from COVID-19 infections as the reason.

Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old junior high school student at the time, disappeared on her way home from school in the Sea of Japan coastal city of Niigata, north of Tokyo, on Nov. 15, 1977. The family moved to Niigata after Shigeru Yokota was assigned to the city by his employer, the Bank of Japan.

For years, the Yokotas searched for their daughter with no help or clue as to what had happened to her, until evidence emerged in the early 1990s indicating North Korean state involvement in her disappearance and that of other Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.

Shigeru Yokota made public his daughter's name and images, and urged the nation to support a movement calling for the repatriation of Japanese abductees.

Heading the association of families of those who fell victim to the state crime, established in 1997, Shigeru along with Sakie became symbolic figures of the movement.

Expectations of a resolution rose in 2014, when North Korea agreed to reinvestigate the whereabouts of missing Japanese nationals.

But it suspended the reinvestigation with no apparent progress in 2016 following Japan's toughening of sanctions against it.

Japan officially lists 17 nationals as having been abducted by North Korean agents but alleges their involvement in many more disappearances.

While five of the 17 were repatriated in 2002, Japan continues to seek the return of the remaining 12 people. Of the 12, Pyongyang claims that eight, including Megumi, have died and four others never entered the country.

Related coverage:

Relatives call for N. Korea abductees' return after Japan-U.S. summit

Japan lost track of key North Korean liaison officer several years ago

Memorial held for Shigeru Yokota, father of N. Korea abductee Megumi
Washington:

A group of Muhajirs in the US has lauded the Trump administration for putting Pakistan on notice for harbouring terror groups.

The term Muhajir is used to describe the Urdu-speaking immigrants who left India in 1947 and came to Pakistan. A large chunk of them settled in the Sindh province.

US Vice President Mike Pence, during an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to assess the ground realities in the war-torn country, said that President Donald Trump has put Pakistan on notice for providing safe havens to the Taliban and other militant groups.

As the president said, so I say now:?Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with the US, and Pakistan has much to lose by continuing to harbour criminals and terrorists, Pence had said, issuing another stern warning to Pakistan.

In a letter to Trump, the World Muhajir Congress (WMC) welcomed the recent statement in this regard by Pence in Afghanistan.

This is a bold policy in placing Pakistan on notice regarding its ill-fated policy of harbouring and supporting terrorist organisations in South Asia, particularly through the powerful Pakistani military establishment and intelligence wing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the WMC said.

The WMC claimed that due to Muhajirs strong opposition to radical Islamist voices in Pakistan, they are being singled out by military establishment through political persecution, extra-judicial killings, forced disappearances of Muhajir men, and a state-sponsored media trial that continues to portray them as agents of India and anti-state.

In its letter, the WMC also offered to assist the Trump administration in formulating policy matters for South Asia as it relates to Pakistan. Trump, while announcing his South Asia Policy in August, had criticised Pakistan for not doing enough to combat terrorism.

Observing that Muhajirs are the most liberal, progressive and pro-Western people in Pakistan, the WMC said that they are Americas natural allies in the region.

If given a chance, Muhajirs can play a leading role in eliminating terrorism and violence from the region, the WMC said in the letter.

The group offered unequivocal support to the Trump administration as it formulates a more tougher approach in dealing with Pakistans duplicitous behaviour in the region, the letter added.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Unnao:

The district administration today suspended the chief medical officer after reports surfaced that 32 cataract patients were operated upon in torch light for want of steady electricity supply at a state-run facility here.

"Taking a serious note of the matter, the Uttar Pradesh government acted promptly and suspended CMO Rajendra Prasad," Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh told PTI.

He said incharge of the community health centre (CHC) at Nawabganj has also been removed.

A report has been sought by the state health department regarding the entire episode.

According to the visuals that went viral on social media, 32 cataract operations were done at the CHC in Nawabganj yesterday in torch light as there was no electricity or power back-up there.

The CMO earlier said the acting district magistrate has ordered a probe into the matter and the organisation entrusted with the task could be blacklisted, if found guilty.

Meanwhile, some relatives of the patients complained that they were not provided with any beds after the procedure, and that they were made to lie down on floors despite extreme cold weather conditions.

Also read: Delhi HC no to terminating 25-week-old pregnancy of minor



Uttar Pradesh has attracted bad press for a series of 'medical disasters' in the recent past, with the death of more than 60 children, mostly infants, at a government hospital in Gorakhpur being the latest case in point.

Also read: IMA opposes draft National Medical Commission bill



A hospital in Farukhabad recorded 49 deaths -- 30 in neo-natal ICU and 19 during delivery -- between July 20 and August 21 this year, reportedly due to a lack of oxygen supply.
New Delhi:

The Delhi government was unlikely to implement the e-way bill mechanism under the Goods and Services Tax as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today said the AAP dispensation was not in favour of the new system.

Addressing representatives of GST Support Market Committees, Sisodia said the e-way bill system violates the one nation, one tax concept, for which the GST was envisioned.

In the GST Council meeting, we have said the Delhi government is not in support of e-way bill. It is in violation of the one nation, one tax concept, he said.

He said that if traders in the city say they may face problem due to e-way bill, the Delhi government will not implement it.

According to officials, the e-way bill system, which is scheduled to be launched in the country from February 1, is for intra-state movement of the commodities under the GST.

They said it will be applicable to the goods worth above Rs 50,000 and are bound for sale beyond 10 km. This system will give powers to tax officials to check the e-way bill code at any point during the transportation.
New Delhi:

After two years of zero hike, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Tuesday announced a 20% combined increase in water tariffs and sewer charges for those consuming above 20,000 litres per month.



New rates will be effective from February 1, 2018.



The Delhi Jal Board, in its 135th Board meeting held on Tuesday (December 26, 2017) decided to continue its three-year-old scheme for providing 20,000 litres of water free to every household per month with a metered connection.



The DJB, in the past, has been following the practice of hiking water charges by 10% every year and the last such hike was in January 2015. There were no hikes in 2016 and 2017 and this hike is for the year 2018; only hike for three years (2016, 2017 and 2018).



The present government since it assumed office on February 14, 2015, did not allow hike till now.



In Tuesdays Board meeting it was decided that in keeping with the expenditure incurred due to the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission and execution of ambitious projects, a marginal combined hike of 20 % for those consuming over 20,000 litres per month along with sewer charges be implemented from February 1.



The tariff for water above 20,000 litres per month was earlier Rs 286.89, now after the increase, it will be Rs 315.05, an increase of Rs 28.16 per month.



Similarly, for consuming 23,000 of water per month earlier would cost Rs 465.55 per month but now it will cost Rs 514.79 per month, an increase of Rs 49.24 per month.



For consumption of 25,000 litres of water per month, the bill now will be Rs 599.14 which earlier used to be Rs 535.86; an increase of Rs 63.28 per month.
New Delhi:

Pakistan forces on Wednesday violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri. The incident comes two days after three of its soldiers were killed by Indian Army commandos in a cross border operation.

As per reports, Pakistani troops resorted to mortar shelling and small arms fire on forward Indian positions in Khori Baba area in Nowshera. The Indian Army has retaliated effectively, officials said.

On Monday evening a group of five Ghatak commandos crossed the Line of Control and killed Pakistani soldiers 200-300 metres inside the Pakistan occupied territory.

Pakistan acknowledged the death of its three soldiers in the Indian action in a weekly telephone call between the two Military Operations Directorate on Tuesday.

The operation began around 6 pm and the team returned to their camp within 45 minutes with no injuries. A temporary post of the Pakistan army was smashed in the strike. The post was under extensive surveillance much before the operation was carried out, the sources said.

The LoC has been highly active this year, with 820 ceasefire violations so far, compared to 228 in 2016 and 152 in 2015. The Army has lost 14 soldiers in ceasefire violations on the LoC this year.

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Mumbai:

A Mumbai sessions court today quashed and set aside summons issued by a magistrates court to ousted Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry and others in connection with a Rs 500 crore defamation complaint filed by Tata Trusts R Venkatramanan.

Mistry and the other accused had approached the sessions court after the metropolitan magistrate issued the summons in July this year directing them to appear before it.

The sessions court, after hearing arguments of all sides at length, today quashed and set aside the summons issued by the magistrates court. The matter has been remanded to the magistrate for hearing on the complaint, Mistrys lawyer Aabad Ponda said.

Venkatramanan, managing trustee of Tata Trusts, had filed the criminal defamation complaint against Mistry and others for making false statements and sought a compensation of Rs 500 crore.

An e-mail sent by Mistry to the directors and trustees of Tata Trusts contained defamatory statements against him, Venkatramanan said.

According to the complaint, after Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, he, in an e-mail, alleged that fraudulent transactions worth Rs 22 crore had taken place at the groups aviation venture, AirAsia India, and accused Venkatramanan of having tried to cover it up.

The issue is now being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. Venkatramanan said the e-mail, which was leaked to the media, caused irreparable damage to his reputation.

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New Delhi:

Indian Army troops on Monday crossed over the Line of Control (LoC) and killed six Pakistani soldiers leaving one injured in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), said news agency quoting intelligence sources.

The Army sought to retaliatory action to avenge the killing of four Indian Army personnel on Saturday in ceasefire violation by Pakistan. The raid reportedly happened in 12 Division of the 59 Baloch Unit in PoK.

We got a go-ahead to cross over and carry out an operation to avenge the killings of four soldiers including a major rank officer, a government source told DNA newspaper. The Pakistani soldiers killed by Indian Army have been identified as sepoy Sajjad, sepoy Abdul Rehman and sepoy M Usman.

The injured soldier on the Pakistani side has been identified as sepoy Athzaz Hussain. According to a statement by Pakistans Inter-Services Public Relations, Indian forces opened fire along the Line of Control killing three of their soldiers.

Four Indian Army soldiers, including a Major, were killed on Saturday in a ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district. On Sunday, a Pakistani sniper was killed by Indian soldiers in cross-border firing in Jhangar Sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Also Read: Top Jaish-e- Mohammad militant Noor Mohammad killed in encounter in J&K

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Jammu:

He was just four feet two inches tall and walked with a limp. Noor Mohammad Tantray, the Jaish-e-Mohammad commander who was gunned down on Tuesday, stood out in a crowd but his mental acuity more than made up for that disadvantage, officials said.

Called "merchant of death" by a special court in Delhi, Tantray was believed to be the brains behind several terror strikes, including the attack on the BSF camp outside the Srinagar airport on October 3 and on state minister Naeem Akhtars cavalcade in Tral on September 21 this year.

The end came during the intervening night of December 25 and 26 at Samboora in Pulwama district of South Kashmir, not far from his home in Tral.

The killing of the 47-year-old JeM divisional commander, who was out on parole, is a "significant blow" to the terror group's operations in the Valley, officials said.

"We had missed him only by few minutes in the past and I was sure he would run out of luck soon as his height was his biggest disadvantage. With each passing day, the search narrowed," a senior police official, involved in the operations, said on condition of anonymity.

Tantray's limp also made it difficult for him to disappear into a crowd and police officials were sure they would be able to isolate him.

After escaping from the Aripal encounter -- in which three JeM militants were killed -- at Tral in April this year, Tantray had been on the radar of the Special Unit of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Their efforts to track him down finally bore fruit on Christmas night when he was trapped in a house and could not escape. His two other accomplices, believed to be foreign militants, managed to flee, an official said.

Tantray, who spent eight years in Tihar jail, had intensified his activities since his release on parole in 2015.

A close aide of Jaish commander Ghazi Baba, who masterminded the 2001 attack on Parliament, Tantray was arrested from Delhi's Sadar Bazar on August 31, 2003.

Also read: Army crosses LoC, guns down six Pakistani soldiers to avenge killing of Jawans



He was arrested along with four others and charged with conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in various parts of the national capital.

The five militants were arrested following an encounter in which two terrorists were killed. Besides arms and ammunition, police also recovered a sum of Rs 19.20 lakh from Tantray.

Then special POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) judge R K Gauba words proved prophetic when Tantray emerged as the most wanted militant in the Kashmir Valley after his release from jail, an official said.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2011 in the case and shifted to Srinagar's Central Jail in 2015 before being released on parole. His parole was extended by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court same year.

While sentencing him along with others under the stringent anti-terror law in 2011, the judge had said the challenge posed by terrorism had to be met "head-on by a multi-prolonged strategy".

"India's war against terrorism is to be waged not only by security measures but also by all organs of the state, including the judiciary which must share the responsibility of dealing with such elements with an iron hand," he said.

Terming the five "merchants of death", the court had said the "foot soldiers of forces inimical to India and bent upon sabotaging the peace and tranquility here, besides posing a serious threat to its unity, sovereignty and integrity, have to be neutralised".

The "merchants of death" had to be locked away for the rest of their lives "...in order that they are suitably de- fanged and blunted so as to be of no further use to the enemy", the judge had said in his seven page order.

Tantray's terror graph validated the judge's words, said an official.

Also read: Three Pakistani soldiers killed in firing by Indian Army, claims Pak media



Tantray is believed to have provided logistical support to JeM militants who stormed the Police Lines in Pulwama in August this year. Eight security personnel and three militants were killed in that attack.

He was allegedly involved in the JeM attack on the BSF camp, outside the Srinagar International Airport, on October 3, in which one BSF officer and three militants were killed.

Tantray was also found to be involved in the grenade attack on State PWD Minister Naeem Akhtars cavalcade in Tral on September 21.

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New Delhi:

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Tuesday approved a combined 20 per cent hike in water and sewer charges in the national capital for consumption above 20,000 litres a month.



However, the DJB will not charge households consuming up to 20,000 litres a month, in line with the subsidy scheme of the Arvind Kejriwal government, which was a key poll promise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an official said.



The new rates will come into force in February, 2018. In 2015, days after coming to power, the AAP government had hiked water tariff by 10 per cent for consumers falling in the same category, keeping with an annual automatic 10 per cent rate hike mechanism put in place by the Sheila Dikshit government in 2009.



However, in 2016, the government decided against following the auto mechanism and put another hike on hold.



The current hike comes three months after Kejriwal took over the ministerial portfolio of water after the removal of Kapil Mishra.



It will effectively lead to a rise of Rs 28 per month for consumers crossing the 20,000 litres limit, DJB vice chairman Dinesh Mohaniya, who is the AAP MLA from Sangam Vihar, said.



"No change in water tariff in Delhi for households using up to 20,000 litres per month for third consecutive year.



Above 20,000 litres, a 20 per cent combined hike on water and sewer charges approved in the Delhi Jal Board meeting," Delhi government spokesperson Nagendar Sharma tweeted.



The DJB has been providing up to 20,000 litres of water free of charge to domestic consumers.



For domestic users who consume between 20,000 litres and 30,000 litres of water per month, the service charge is Rs 219.62 and the volumetric charge is Rs 21.97 per 1,000 litres.



Customers who use over 30,000 litres a month pay Rs 292.82 in service charge and Rs 36.61 per 1,000 litres in volumetric charge.
New Delhi :

The Congress will launch an "affirmative and positive" campaign in Rajasthan to counter the "acrimonious" charge of the BJP and advocate a new model of governance while highlighting the failures of the state government, former Union minister Sachin Pilot has said.

Buoyed by the results of recent bye-elections to local bodies, where the Congress fared well, the party has decided to strengthen its base at the booth level and reach out to the masses through an aggressive mass contact programme to be launched soon, the Rajasthan Congress chief said.

Unlike the BJP, the Congress campaign will not be reduced to their level of acrimonious campaign and will not be negative. We will instead launch an affirmative and positive campaign, where the failures of the Vasundhara Raje-led government will be highlighted, Pilot told PTI.

The party has already launched its Mera booth, mera gaurav (My booth, my pride)" campaign and will soon unroll its mass contact programme across the state.

He said the Congress did not seek to reach out to the people merely on the failures of the BJP, but would offer them a better alternative.

We will present the people with the blueprint of a model of alternative governance which will be holistic and inclusive, will care for the young and old, create jobs and have a vision to take the state forward, he said.

Pilot said the workers in the state were already geared up and ready to tackle the BJP now that Rahul Gandhi had taken over the leadership of the Congress and infused new energy into it.

The Rajasthan government has nothing to show for the four years that the BJP has been in power in the state, he said, charging it with selling off assets to generate money.

This, Pilot stressed, was poor fiscal management.

He alleged that the state assets, including buildings, schools, roadways, hospitals and other infrastructure, were being sold to a select few in the name of public-private partnerships.

This is nothing but an example of poor fiscal management. Such a policy where precious assets of the state are given out to a select few at throw-away prices smacks of crony capitalism," he said.

Once voted back to power, the Congress would "review and reverse all such decisions taken arbitrarily" and re-acquire the states assets, he added.

Pilot said the Congress, which faced a historic defeat? in 2013 when it could win only 21 of the 200 Assembly seats, had got its vigour back and in the just-concluded by polls had won seven out of 14 urban local bodies.

He said the vote share gap between the Congress and the BJP, which had widened to 25 per cent, had narrowed down to 1.5 per cent in the state Panchayat elections held last year.

In the Panchayat polls, the Congress won 45.5 per cent of votes against the BJPs 47 per cent. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress was down to 31 per cent, compared to the BJPs 56 per cent.

The former Union minister said the Congress party would now aggressively take its campaign forward while highlighting the problems of the jobless, farmers and the common man.

This, he said, would be done through public rallies and by underlining the Congress plans for the future.

The Congress will "force" the BJP government in the state to announce farm loan waivers to help ease the burden of debt that farmers faced, he said.

Pilot wondered why the government was dithering over loan waivers when it could bring in a law that allowed former chief ministers to select a house for their lifetime.

"The people of the state did not vote the former chief ministers in so that they could have the power to have a house for life, he said.

Asked about the Mera booth, mera gaurav? scheme, he said every leader would be put in charge of a booth and would launch a mass contact programme to reach out to every voter in the state.

There is a total of 51,000 booths in the state.

Rajasthan goes to the polls in 2018, along with Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

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New Delhi:

Ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India next month, the two countries on Tuesday reviewed their cooperation in strategic areas such as defence and homeland security.

The review was done during the foreign office consultations in which the Indian delegation was led by Secretary Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Vijay Gokhale while the Israeli side was headed by Director General of Israel's Foreign Ministry Yuval Rotem.

"The two sides reviewed our relations in defence, agriculture, S&T (science and technology), education and homeland security," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Shri Vijay Gokhale, Secretary Economic Relations of India and Mr. Yuval Rotem, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel led the Foreign Office Consultations. The two sides reviewed our relations in defence, agriculture, S&T, education and homeland security. pic.twitter.com/2SsuxTIKWg  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) December 26, 2017

Netanyahu is expected to travel to India on a four-day visit in January to meet the country's top leadership.

Also Read: Israel, US team up to block UN vote on Jerusalem

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Islamabad:

Pakistan on Monday released a new video of the former Indian Navy officer on death row Kulbhusan Jadhav in which he is seen thanking the Pakistan government for arranging a meeting with his wife and mother.

The video message played by the Foreign Office during a press conference after Jadhav's meeting with his family was recorded before their meeting, officials said.

"I requested a meeting with my wife and mother and I am thankful to Government of Pakistan for this gesture," Jadhav said in the brief video message.

The 40-minute meeting took place at the heavily guarded Foreign Affairs Ministry building, and came after the International Court of Justice asked Pakistan in May to stay his execution.

It was the first time that Jadhav was meeting his family since his arrest in March last year, and Pakistan portrayed it as a humanitarian gesture to mark the birthday of the country's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

Also read: Pakistan tightens security ahead of Kulbhushan Jadhav's meeting with family



During the press conference, the Foreign Office spokesperson made old allegations against Jadhav.

The spokesman said that Jadhav was sentenced to death by a military court on charges of espionage and terrorism.

India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

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New Delhi:

Finance Ministry is likely to issue the first tranche of recapitalization bonds to public sector banks in early January, informed Finance Ministry sources on Tuesday.



Recapitalization bonds will not be sold in open market and will be issued to all banks.



Apart from this, the government will also infuse capital worth Rs 8000 crore on basis of performance and around Rs 8,000 crore PSB capital infusion would still be available from Budget 2018, said Finance Ministry sources.



The government plans to infuse Rs 76,000 crore capital by giving it space in budgetary allocation and through markets, and rest Rs 1.35 lakh crore by issuing recapitalisation bonds, added the sources.

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It is believed that this universe hides some of the most beautiful and refreshing secrets in her bosom which can enchant its inhabitants with a diverse landscape and the vast variety of flora and fauna.

So here are 5 most beautiful places for photography

Jim Corbett National Park

Established in 1936, The Jim Corbett National Park is Asias first national park and it is situated in the districts of Nainital and Garhwal in Uttarakhand, India. It covers an area of 520 square kilometers of which 75% of the area is covered with sal Forests and it is home to more than 400 species of flora and fauna.

Kalahari Desert

Located in Southern Africa, The Kalahari Desert, also known as Botswana is a sandy savannah extending 900,000 square kilometers and stretches across 7 countries. The Kalahari is home leopards, cheetahs, caracals, gemsbok, meerkats, and the Kalahari lion as the bush and grass of the Kalahari Desert provide perfect ambush cover for these animals.

Sundarbans National Park

Famous for being the home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, The Sundarbans National Park in West Bengal, India is also a famous UNESCO World Heritage site where tourists enjoy the delight of watching the Royal Bengal tigers crossing them while they take boat rides to enjoy the beauty of Sundarbans.

Yellowstone National Park

Situated in the United States, Yellowstone National Park is a designated UNESCO biosphere reserve, home to more than five dozen species of mammals and More than 300 different species of birds which attract more than 4 million visitors every year.

Ranthambore National Park

The Ranthambore National Park is a major wildlife tourist attraction located in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan, famous for the biggest tiger populations in India. The vegetation of the Ranthambore and 270 different species of birds have pulled the attention of wildlife lover and photographers.

Best Places for Deep Sea Diving

Philippines eases pandemic quarantine period from 14 days to 7 days for inbound travelers

ESSENTIAL INDIAN TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
New Delhi: Micro blogging platform Twitter has removed the blue tick by putting the handle of Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha President M Venkaiah Naidu in the category of 'Unverified'. Earlier, M Venkaiah Naidu's Twitter account had a blue tick mark, which is no longer there. Mumbai BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua said Twitter's act is a direct insult to the Indian Constitution. Similarly, other leaders also opposed the Twitter.

In fact, Twitter's policy says that if someone has changed the username of their handle or the account becomes inactive or incomplete, the blue tick found by him can be removed. Blue tick is also removed when the user is no longer in the same position as the user when the blue tick was given. At the same time, those who do not follow the criteria for verification of Twitter are also removed from the blue tick. However, the Vice President has not tweeted from this account since July 23, 2020. He has 13 lakh followers on this handle. Twitter's policy also says that if there is no continuous login for 6 months, it can put the handle in the category of 'inactive'. Venkaiah Naidu is active with a handle with 'M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu)' which has a blue tick.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian President has decided to ban Twitter indefinitely. The African country, based in the Gulf of Guinea, said Twitter was hurting its "corporate existence" and that is why the action was taken. the Twitter deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari following which the action was taken. The company has confirmed that it has been ordered to stop its operations in Nigeria, which is shocking.

White House Secretary Jen Psaki defends Anthony Fauci after unearthed emails

Immunization certificate will now show a picture of CM Mamata then of PM Modi

European Union, ASEAN conclude landmark air transport agreement
How to invest in Bernard Arnault, the man who got richer than Bezos and Musk

Most of the worlds richest people are household names at this point: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates.

But recently, French tycoon Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury brand conglomerate LVMH, overtook all of them to become the No. 1 worlds richest person.

And it left many Americans asking one question: Who?

Well, heres how a man whose name you may not have known before last week and who's worth more than $180 billion can help inspire a winning investing strategy among those of us with slightly less cash on hand.

Who is Bernard Arnault?

IAN LANGSDON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Arnault is the face behind LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), a luxury empire that includes not just the three iconic brands in the companys name but also such revered fashion houses as Christian Dior, Fendi and Givenchy.

And just this past January, his company acquired Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion.

His father, Jean Arnault, made his fortune in construction, and the younger Arnault started his career working for him, eventually taking over as president in 1979.

Five years later, for $15 million, he bought up Boussac Saint-Freres, a company whose assets included Christian Dior. Then, in 1988, he maneuvered to take a majority stake in LVMH.

By the mid-90s, LVMHs value had multiplied 15 times over and sales and profits increased fivefold.

How did he become the worlds richest man?

Creative Lab / Shutterstock

Arnault made it into the top 10 of Forbes list of top billionaires back in 2005, then inched his way into the top five by 2018.

But by 2019, he was firmly in the top three with a $76 billion fortune.

Throughout the pandemic, luxury sales have soared, increasing LVMHs stock price and Arnaults personal fortune. As a result, hes been tussling with Teslas Elon Musk and Bezos for the top position over the last year and a half.

In late May, LVMHs stock rose 0.4% in the first hours of trading, adding $600 million to Arnaults personal fortune and knocking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos down to second-richest person in the world.

Story continues

Arnault and Bezos traded places three times over the next few days, but by June 1, Arnault was holding steady in the top spot.

How to follow in his footsteps

Elle Aon / Shutterstock

LVMH stock, which is currently listed at just under $160, isnt traded on the major U.S. exchanges. But that doesnt mean you cant buy in.

One way to get shares is by way of the companys unsponsored ADR, or American depositary receipt, which is a U.S.-bank-issued certificate that can be traded like regular stock.

The ADR is only available on the over the counter (OTC) market, though, which is more complicated to navigate than the markets youre used to.

A much easier way to grab some LVMH stock is through any of the luxury-themed ETFs that include LVMH.

WIth modern investing smartphone apps, its incredibly easy to add any ETF to your portfolio. And, once your portfolio is set up, some apps will even automatically invest your spare change so your money is always growing in the background.

And if you want to spread out your risk by putting down a little on each of Arnaults competitors for worlds richest person, you can always buy fractional shares of Amazon, Tesla or Berkshire Hathaway  shares worth $3,196, $599 and $439,615, respectively, as of this writing.

Where to go from there

If youre keen to get into investing like a luxury tycoon, but theres not much room in your budget right now, you have a few options to find some extra funds.
Greg Godfrey, who has served the last 11 years as captain of the patrol division at the Scottsboro Police Department, has been promoted to major.
Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- If the meme-stock mayhem were a movie -- and by all accounts it will be -- were now at the scene where the protagonists, after pulling off their first big mission, fight about what to do next.Emboldened by their initial success, the more daring would be anxious to ride again while the weather-worn veterans advise caution and, somewhere in between, a few characters cant decide which side theyre on.That scene is playing out now on the 10 million-member WallStreetBets forum, where
SUMMERSIDE, PE, June 4, 2021 /CNW/ - The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, will participate in a wreath laying ceremony to commemorate the Battle of Normandy and to mark the 77th anniversary of the D-Day Landings at Juno Beach.

Minister MacAulay, along with other event participants, will be available to media following the event.

Date: Sunday, June 06, 2021



Time: 10:50 AST



Location: Summerside, Prince Edward Island

Veteran's Memorial Park

89 Summer Street, Summerside

Onsite:

If you anticipate any accessibility barriers, please let us know and we will work with you to enable your participation.

Media and guests are asked to respect physical distancing guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer of Health. Wearing masks is strongly encouraged especially when not able to maintain physical distance.

SOURCE Veterans Affairs Canada

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/June2021/04/c9097.html
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Governor Gavin Newsom, and other leaders in the AIDS Movement call for renewed action for an AIDS-Free Generation

A visitor strolls through the National AIDS Memorial where 40 Quilt blocks were on display symbolic of 4 decades of the AIDS pandemic.

A visitor strolls through the National AIDS Memorial where 40 Quilt blocks were on display symbolic of 4 decades of the AIDS pandemic.

House Speaker Pelosi, SF Mayor London Breed, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Chief Executive John Cunningham lay wreath at National AIDS Memorial on 40th Anniversary of AIDS

House Speaker Pelosi, SF Mayor London Breed, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Chief Executive John Cunningham lay wreath at National AIDS Memorial on 40th Anniversary of AIDS

San Francisco, CA, June 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leaders of the AIDS movement came together in the National AIDS Memorial  the nations federally-designated memorial to AIDS  to mark forty years since the first cases of AIDS were reported in the United States.

Surrounded by the power of 40 blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the beauty of the 10-acre Memorial Grove where thousands of names lost to AIDS are engraved, the leaders paid tribute to the more than 700,000 lives lost, the survivors, and the heroes during the past four decades. They also called for renewed action to provide care for long-term survivors, young people living with HIV today, and finding a cure that will finally end the epidemic.

On this solemn day, forty years since the discovery of HIV/AIDS, Americans pay tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Americans we have lost to this vicious disease and draw strength from the more than one million courageous survivors living with HIV today, said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Moved by the beauty of the Grove and power of the Quilt, this morning we again renewed our vow to finally defeat the scourge of AIDS and bring hope and healing to all those affected. Thanks to the tireless leadership of activists, survivors, scientists and the LGBTQ community, we will not relent until we banish HIV to the dustbin of history and achieve an AIDS-free generation.

Speaker Pelosi and Congresswoman Barbara Lee laid a wreath at the Memorial, joined by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, former U.S. Ambassador James Hormel, and other AIDS leaders to honor loved ones lost with prayer and a moment of silence. During a formal program that followed, two generations of advocates spoke of the activism, resilience, hope and remembrance that has defined the AIDS movement and helped shape other health and social justice movements during the past four decades. The commemoration, which was streamed to a national audience, raised greater awareness about the plight of HIV/AIDS today, the progress made, and the continued fight against stigma and discrimination. The observance also honored long-term survivors and served as a call to action to finally find a cure, four decades later. HIV rates continue to rise in the U.S., with 1.2 million people living with HIV today, particularly impacting young people and communities of color.

Story continues

Forty years later we stand on the shoulders of trailblazers who understood that every person deserves empathy and care regardless of their health conditions or sexuality, said California Governor Gavin Newsom in a video message. This current pandemic has shown us that health inequities still exist and its up to each and every one of us to continue the fight and to never, ever accept the status quo.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who introduced a tribute video to long-term survivors, said, the accomplishments (over the past 40 years) are a direct result of the unique, long-standing partnerships that were forged and continue today between scientists, healthcare providers, industry and the HIV-affected community. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is not over. Ending the HIV pandemic is an achievable goal, one that will require that we collectively work together. As we honor the long-term HIV/AIDS survivors today and remember all that weve lost, we must rededicate our commitment and continue to advance our efforts to ending the HIV pandemic.

The day of public tributes and remembrance included a powerful 40 block outdoor public display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt that included more than 300 hand-sewn Quilt panels with nearly 1,200 names stitched into them. A group of young children whose parents serve on the Board of the National AIDS Memorial presented and helped unveil block 6,000 of the Quilt to Quilt Co-Founders Cleve Jones and Gert McMullin, a reminder that four decades later, Quilt panels are still being sewn, to honor those lost to HIV/AIDS, then and now.

The Quilt is a poignant and important reminder of why we must work with a sense of urgency to help end the epidemic, said Daniel ODay, Chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences. It will take the ongoing collaborative efforts of many groups working together, including activists, advocates, scientists and the LGBTQ+ community, to ensure that in another 40 years from now, the HIV epidemic is part of history. Gilead partners with allies like the National AIDS Memorial to remember those weve lost and raise greater awareness about the root causes driving the HIV epidemic, such as stigma, racism, homophobia and transphobia.

Gilead Sciences is the presenting partner for the commemoration, joining together with Quest Diagnostics, Chevron, Vivent Health, Equality California and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in supporting the day-long public observance.

Along with being invited to experience the 40 Quilt block display, the public was able to participate in the reading aloud the names of loved ones lost to AIDS, softly amplified in the Memorial. Throughout the day, visitors laid hundreds of roses in the Memorial Grove and left personal tributes. Touching musical performances from the San Francisco Gay Mens Chorus and the Messengers of Hope Gospel Choir, led by Earnest Larkins and featuring artists Ja Ronn and Flow, provided special inspirational moments.

A powerful spoken word performance, written and produced by Mary Bowman Arts in Activism awardee Ima Diawara and Pedro Zamora Young Leaders Scholar Antwan Matthews, highlighted the role of young people today in the fight against HIV/AIDS. They expressed, the time has come for us to elevate. The time has come for us to watch out for everybody on the block, even the people that do not own the real estate. its time to connect the wisdom of our elders with the wisdom of our youth and make life livable again, for all of us. Its time for us to slow down and most importantly - its time to breathe.

The 40th anniversary commemoration observance can be viewed in its entirety at www.aidsmemorial.org. The National AIDS Memorial has also created a storytelling series, sharing a collection of heroes, survivors and lost loved ones to AIDS during the last four decades.

These stories and this important observance highlight the issues our nation faced in the past year -- a raging pandemic with hundreds of thousands of lives lost, social injustice, health inequity, stigma, bigotry and fear, said National AIDS Memorial Chief Executive John Cunningham. However, these are also the same issues faced throughout four decades of the AIDS pandemic. They are reasons why today, we have a National AIDS Memorial, and why, as a nation, we have much more work to do in the fight for a just future, where HIV/AIDS no longer exists.

Learn more about the National AIDS Memorial, its mission, programs and how to provide support for its work at www.aidsmemorial.org.

# # #

Attachments

CONTACT: Kevin Herglotz National AIDS Memorial 415-874-9650 Kevin@hpastrategies.com




The logo of Wirecard AG is pictured at its headquarters in Aschheim

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine authorities investigating the multi-billion dollar fraud at Germany's Wirecard AG's have filed criminal complaints against the payment firm's former chief operating officer as well as others.

Wirecard collapsed last June, owing creditors almost $4 billion, accused by its auditor of a sophisticated global fraud. At one point, it claimed it kept more than $2 billion in two Philippine banks - claims that the Southeast Asian nation's central bank and the lenders have denied.

Philippines Justice Minister Menardo Guevarra said via text message on Saturday complaints filed by the National Bureau of Investigation on May 31 accuse the respondents of violating banking, cybercrime, and e-commerce laws as well as falsifying commercial documents.

In addition to Wirecard's former COO Jan Marsalek, Gueverra said complaints were also filed against the M.K. Tolentino Law Office as well as against other entities that he did not name.

The whereabouts of Marsalek, who was fired after auditor EY refused to sign off on Wirecard's accounts, are unknown and Reuters could not immediately reach him for comment.

Mark Tolentino, whose law firm was used by Wirecard to open foreign currency bank accounts with BDO Unibank Inc and Bank of the Philippine Islands, did not respond to requests for comment.

The unraveling of Wirecard, once one of the hottest fintech companies in Europe, has prompted EU financial authorities to propose stricter rules next year for company financial reporting and auditors.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
(Bloomberg) -- Singapore real estate startup PropertyGuru Pte has agreed to acquire all of the shares in REA Group Ltd.s operating entities in Malaysia and Thailand, marking the biggest acquisition in its 14-year history.

PropertyGuru will take over iProperty.com.my and Brickz.my in Malaysia and thinkofliving.com and Prakard.com in Thailand from Australias REA Group, the Southeast Asian company said in a statement on Monday. As part of the deal, REA, which is majority-owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corp. empire, will get an 18% equity interest in PropertyGuru and appoint a director to its board. No price has been disclosed for the deal.

We are investing in these markets as they emerge out of Covid in the coming years, Chief Executive Officer Hari V. Krishnan said in an interview with Bloomberg TVs Haslinda Amin and Rishaad Salamat. Some of the macro mega trends like urbanization, digitization, the emergence of the middle class, remain in place.

The announcement comes after a flurry of deal-making by the most valuable startups in the region. Ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek and e-commerce leader Tokopedia announced earlier this month they will combine their businesses to create the largest internet company in Indonesia. Close Gojek rival Grab Holdings Inc. last month agreed to go public in the U.S. through a combination with Altimeter Growth Corp. in the largest-ever merger with a blank-check company.

For PropertyGuru, the deal will likely reduce competition in Malaysia and Thailand where the company has been competing against REAs affiliates. Krishnan said the firm will keep the existing brands and invest in their development for the foreseeable future.

The CEO declined to provide a specific timeframe for going public. The company regularly reviews the potential for an initial public offering after scrapping plans to list on the Australian stock exchange in October 2019 on concerns over its targeted valuation of A$1.36 billion ($1 billion). In September, it announced S$300 million ($220 million) in new funding from existing backers TPG Capital LP and KKR & Co Inc.

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If the opportunity is right and if we feel our assets would be valued by public market investors, we will take it public, he said. But todays announcement is more about building the core capability set for business and investing heavily into Malaysia and Thailand.

Malaysia Announces 2-Week National Lockdown Amid Virus Fight

The transaction, which is expected to close in July, is conditional on REAs divestment of its 27% stake in PropertyGurus rival 99 Group, which it has a joint venture with in Singapore and Indonesia. Discussions are well progressed in relation to the divestment, according to REAs stock exchange filing on Monday.

99 Group CEO Darius Cheung told Bloomberg News that his company is currently in discussions with investors to raise funds, some of which will be used to acquire REAs 27% stake in 99.

This move allows us to free from the shackles of having our most significant shareholder being a public company, Cheung said, adding that he plans to enter Malaysia to compete against PropertyGuru.

The Malaysian and Thailand businesses are expected to contribute A$15 million to REAs revenue in the fiscal years of 2021, though they will probably reduce its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by about A$11 million, according to the REA filing.

REA shares fell as much as 0.7% in Australia on Monday.

Launched in 2007 to help Singapore residents search for real estate online, PropertyGuru has become a household name in the property-crazed city-state. Today, its the largest real estate marketplace in Southeast Asia with operations spanning countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

(Updates with CEOs comments and 99 Group comments from third paragraph)

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NEW YORK, June 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of CooTek (Cayman) Inc. ("CooTek" or the "Company") (NYSE: CTK). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

Fighting for victims of securities fraud for more than 85 years (PRNewsfoto/Pomerantz LLP)

The investigation concerns whether CooTek and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

In September 2018, CooTek conducted its initial public offering ("IPO"), issuing 4.35 million American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") priced at $12.00 per ADS.

Then, on December 15, 2020, CooTek announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2020. CooTek disclosed an operating loss of $1.1 million, which the Company stated "mainly relates to compensation payment to victims of alleged misconducts of certain third-party advertisers perpetrated on the Group's platform that the Group deposited to an escrow account controlled by a local authority conducting investigation on the advertisers."

On this news, CooTek's ADS price fell $1.99 per ADS, or 31.44%, to close at $4.34 per ADS on December 15, 2020.

Then, on June 3, 2021, CooTek announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2021. CooTek disclosed, among other results, non-GAAP earnings per share of -$0.18, missing consensus estimates by $0.02.

On this news, CooTek's ADS price fell $0.28 cents per share, or 13.59%, to close at $1.78 per share on June 3, 2021.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

Story continues

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-of-cootek-cayman-inc---ctk-301306299.html

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
Wrenn quoted Dailey as saying, I will take that gun little [expletive] and kill you with it.

The only two other witnesses to the slaying, other than the camera, were two friends of Dailey who prosecutors said refused to talk to police about the incident.

After gunning Dailey down, Morgan got into the car with Wrenn and ended up in Pennsylvania, where they were eventually arrested on firearms charges and brought back to Virginia.

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Morgans deal in which he took the murder conviction called for him to receive no more than 25 years to serve, and prosecutors sought the entire amount.

Lustig said that even before the senseless slaying of Dailey, Morgan had already been involved in several incidents involving firearms, including one about two years earlier in which he was shot in Prince William County.

Lustig also claimed that Morgan has issued several threats since his arrest, including one against court bailiff Charlie Havasy following a hearing late last month in the same courtroom.

Dailey was ready to fight, but [Morgan] was ready to kill and he did, Lustig said. If he feels disrespected, he becomes violent. That makes him a danger to the community.
Central Valley Ag (CVA) recently announced that it is expanding access to broadband internet to residents of Duncan, Elgin, Humphrey, Monroe, Oakland, Petersburg, Platte Center, Randolph, St. Edward, Wakefield and West Point, and the surrounding communities in collaboration with internet service provider Nextlink, Land OLakes and Microsofts Airband Initiative.

Nextlink has installed high-speed broadband technology to CVA facilities, improving access to broadband connectivity throughout the area. This effort to improve internet connectivity has the potential to directly benefit residents in these rural areas who are currently unable to access adequate broadband service at their homes, businesses, or farming operations.

Not only is broadband increasingly critical to daily life, it also enables precision agriculture, increasing yields, improving productivity, and boosting profit potentials. Yet, according to the Federal Communications Commission, more than 14 million Americans do not have access to broadband, including nearly a quarter of Americans living in rural areas. Additionally, 60% of farmers say they lack the connectivity needed to run their business. This effort by CVA, Nextlink, Land OLakes, and Microsofts Airband Initiative aims to address these gaps.

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Sunday

American Red Cross Bloodmobile, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., First Lutheran Church, 3200 E. Military Ave., Fremont. All blood types are needed. To donate, sign up and schedule an appointment at redcrossblood.org and enter the zip code 68025 or enter keyword First Lutheran. If you need assistance in signing up, call the church office and they will help you. An appointment may also be made by calling Lucy at 402-478-5406. Power red appointments will be available and each donor will receive a T-shirt.
VENICE, Italy (AP)  The first cruise ship since the pandemic wended its way Saturday through the heart of Venice, escorted by triumphant water-spouting tugboats and elated port workers as it traveled down the Giudecca Canal but also protested by hundreds on land and a small armada of wooden boats waving No Big Boats flags.
Press Release

June 5, 2021 Dela Rosa on Private Security Industry Act: Those who give protection must also be protected SENATOR Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa is looking forward to providing more protection and upgraded welfare for private security personnel, mostly security guards, under a bill that seeks to improve government regulation of the private security industry. Dela Rosa, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, announced his intention on Tuesday during his panel's public hearing on House Bill No. 8783 (HBN8783), or the "Private Security Industry Act," aimed at strengthening the private security industry and repealing the outdated 52-year old Republic Act No. 5487, otherwise known as "The Private Security Agency Law." "Indeed, the end that we envision for today is that we may help to establish standards for and protect the rights and liberties of the Private Security industry and those involved in it. After all, those who afford us protection and security must also be protected and secured under the law," he said at the opening of the hearing. The senator said the problems experienced during more than five decades of implementation of RA 5487 should be identified and addressed by the new legislation. Issues on professionalization, salaries and benefits of security personnel and streamlined regulation on private security firms are areas that need to be reviewed. "Malapit na palang mag-retire itong law (RA 5487) na ito, by the age of 56," the Mindanaoan senator said in jest. "Surely, in a span of 52 years, the private security industry has seen its share of changes and adjustment," he said. Policemen are mandated to retire at the age 56. The former PNP Chief said giving attention and value to the private security industry is important since security agencies help the police force in providing protection to the public. "Kung sa ilalim ng umiiral na batas ay tila hindi sila napapahalagahan, kung hindi na sapat ang umiiral na batas upang tugunan ang mga pangangailangan nila at ng mga tao at kompanyang kukuha sa kanila, marahil nga ay dapat nang gumawa ng panibagong batas," he said. The Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operations, Incorporated, or PADPAO, for its part, proposed to just amend RA 5487, instead of repealing it.
Taliban militants launched an attack against Afghan security forces in the northern province of Baghlan on June 5, killing at least eight people, according to a security official.



Two district police chiefs and six officers were killed in the attack on the Julga district, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said.



The attack, which began shortly after midnight continued until early on June 5 from different directions, the official said.



Gulbuddin, the police chief for the Julga district, and Lotful ul-Haq, the police chief for the Burka district of Baghlan who had come to the aid of his colleagues in Julga, were killed in the fighting.



The spiraling violence and stalled peace talks between the Taliban and the Western-backed government in Kabul have cast further uncertainty over the future of the country once U.S.-led international forces leave by September.



Security officials reported fighting between the government forces and the Taliban in at least 10 provinces in the last 24 hours.



On June 5, officials said that Taliban militants have captured another district in the eastern province of Nuristan, adding to recent military gains.



Provincial councilor Saidullah Nuristani told the German news agency dpa that government troops were forced to abandon the Doab district of the province after 20 days of resistance, after militants cut all their supply lines.



On June 4, Taliban militants captured two districts in two different provinces.

After a week of heavy fighting, the militants took control of Shenkai district in the southern Zabul Province, local officials said.



The Gizab district of the southern Uruzgan Province also came under Taliban control after heavy fighting, according to local officials.



There was also fighting reported in the southern province of Herat.



In the southern province of Helmand, an Afghan army air strike on June 4 on an abandoned army base captured by the Taliban killed multiple civilians, officials said.



In a report for the UN Security Council circulated on June 4, a group of UN experts said Taliban militants appear to be trying to strengthen their military position as leverage in the negotiations with the government in Kabul, with the "unprecedented violence" of 2020 carrying into 2021.



The 22-page report said the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces by September will challenge Afghan forces by limiting aerial operations with fewer drones and radar and surveillance capabilities, less logistical support and artillery, as well as a disruption in training.



It said that the Taliban are reported to be responsible for the great majority of targeted assassinations that have become a feature of the violence in Afghanistan.



These attacks appear to be undertaken with the objective of weakening the capacity of the government and intimidating civil society, it said.

With reporting by tolonews.com, dpa, AP, and AFP
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 88F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 59F. SE winds shifting to N at 10 to 15 mph.
Press Release

June 4, 2021 Bong Go commends PRRD for extending provision of special allowance to health workers caring for COVID-19 patients Senator Christopher "Bong" Go welcomed the signing of Administrative Order No. 42 which authorizes the continued provision of the COVID-19 Special Risk Allowance to qualified health workers during this State of National Emergency. The new order was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, June 1. "Bigyan po natin ng pansin ang mga karapatan ng ating frontliners. Pakinggan at tulungan natin sila dahil sila ang mga sundalong araw-araw na humaharap at nakikibaka upang magtagumpay ang ating bansa sa hamon na dala ng COVID-19," began Go, also chair of the Senate Committee on Health. "Gamitin po natin ang pondong mayro'n tayo para mabigyan ng proteksyon at alaga ang ating mga health workers, doctors, nurses at iba pang frontliners," he added. The order amends AO 36, signed last November 16, and directs all national government agencies, government-owned or -controlled corporations, and local government units to further grant an SRA not exceeding P5,000 per month to qualified health workers who are directly catering to or in contact with CoVID-19 patients. Moreover, the allowance shall be pro-rated based on the number of days that the health workers physically report for work in a month from September 15, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The additional budget shall be sourced from the funding prescribed under Republic Act No. 11494, otherwise known as the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act; which has been extended for release, obligation and disbursement until 30 June 2021, pursuant to RA No. 11519. At the onset of the pandemic, the Senator had proposed for government agencies, GOCCs and LGUs to be authorized to grant their health workers an SRA that is equivalent to a percentage of their basic monthly salary. He, then, served as a co-author and co-sponsor of RA No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. He also helped see to the passage of RA No. 11494 as one of the Senate Bicameral Conferees on the measure. Both laws provide for the provision of the SRA. The SRA, defended Go, serves to recognize the heroic and invaluable contributions of the health workers and to mitigate their physical discomfort, distress as well as perils associated with the performance of their tasks. Last December, he issued a personal appeal to the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Health to hasten the release of the funds and delivery of their commitments amid reported delays on the release of the SRA and Active Hazard Pay benefits. "Hindi lang naman po compensation ang issue dito. The best way to help the health sector respond to this crisis is by sufficiently providing them with the tools and protection needed to do their jobs. Nararapat lamang na mabigyan sila ng dagdag na tulong pinansyal bilang pagkilala sa kanilang sakripisyo," said Go.
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High 88F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 59F. SE winds shifting to NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP)  A northeastern Iowa woman convicted of killing her husband a decade ago has been sentenced to life in prison  a significant increase from the previous 40 years she had been handed before her appeal in the case.

Revette Sauser, 52, of Ryan, was sentenced this week in Delaware County District Court after a Clayton County jury found her guilty last month of first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of 59-year-old Terry Sauser in their home in Ryan, the Telegraph Herald reported.

In 2012, Revette Sauser pleaded guilty to reduced charges of kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter and going armed with intent in a deal with prosecutors, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

She had served nine of those years when the Iowa Supreme Court sided with her on appeal and sent her case back to the trial court, saying there was no basis for the kidnapping charge. However, the state's high court ruled that the original charge of first-degree murder must be reinstated if the kidnapping charge couldnt be justified.
At this years Market, Conley said many international buyers and sellers are unable to attend, as restrictions remain in place for travelers from Europe, China and India, among other areas.

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We think well be down about 10% from the international perspective, as well as down another 10 or 15%, he said. But given how quickly the CDC changed their mind on masking, and how Gov. Cooper followed those recommendations, itll be a heck of a lot better than what it was.

None of the main buildings required face coverings, though individual showrooms could request visitors wear them. Some had signs asking those who have not yet been vaccinated to wear one.

About a quarter to half of those in attendance Friday had one on.

In some cases, people were still unsure whether or not they should shake hands.

At BDI, a Virginia-based maker of home and office furniture, vice president of marketing Dave Adams was showing some adjustable tables and desks. One coffee table had a top that could be lifted up on a frame and converted into a work area. With so many people working from home over the past year, such items have been especially popular.
The Surry County Board of Commissioners has voted to remove 12 Coca-Cola vending machines from the countys office buildings because the companys chief executive officer criticized Georgias new election law.

Surry County, with a population of around 74,000, is north of Yadkin County on the Virginia border in northwest North Carolina.

On May 17, the Republican commissioners voted 2-2, with one commissioner abstaining. Under the boards parliamentary rules, Commissioner Larry Johnsons vote to abstain counted as a yes vote because he didnt state a reason for abstaining, Commissioner Eddie Harris said.

The commissioners official vote tally was 3-2 to approve the ban, Harris said.

Its a reflection of corporate America trying to affect public policy, Harris told the Journal on Thursday. These unelected CEOs are trying to change the political dynamics of this country.

And I dont think they should be able to do that, he said. They need to stick to trying to sell their products and be more respectful to all of their customers.
Former Alabama Gov. John Patterson, who entered politics as a reformer after his fathers assassination but was criticized for failing to protect the Freedom Riders from angry white mobs, has died. He was 99.

He died Friday, his daughter, Barbara Patterson Scholl, confirmed. She said funeral arrangements are pending. "He died very peacefully at home. His family and friends were with him, she said.

Pattersons involvement with state government spanned a half century, beginning with his election as attorney general at 33 after violence in Phenix City, and later as a judge.

A segregationist as governor, he drew criticism when Freedom Riders were attacked while in Alabama and Patterson did nothing to protect them. He later voiced regret for what happened. He ended his political career more serenely on the Court of Criminal Appeals, where he continued to write opinions into his 80s.

Patterson also was involved in the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, helping the CIA get Alabama Air National Guard members to train Cuban exiles. Some Alabama pilots died when the 1961 invasion of Cuba failed.
Raimondo and NAHB CEO Jerry Howard discussed working together on convening a summit that would include representatives from the U.S. government, the lumber supply chain and the home building industry, it said.

NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke said in a news release that Raimondo acknowledged she and Biden are concerned about the effect of high lumber prices on the countrys economy.

We take these issues seriously, and my staff and I are committed to continuing to work with all stakeholders, including reviewing relevant data and conducting analysis to identify targeted actions the government or industry can take to address supply chain constraints, Raimondo said, according to the NAHB.

Some GOP lawmakers have criticized Biden for the high lumber costs, accusing him of declaring war on construction jobs and not taking enough action, Fox Business reported.

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Lumber prices are an issue that has many causes, from economic complications from the coronavirus pandemic to difficult trade issues with Canada. Biden has shown he is either unwilling or incapable of tackling these obstacles, Rep. Bob Gibbs of Ohio said in a statement to Fox News.
I thought of holding her the first time, her first steps, when she rode a bike with no hands, her mother said. So when they gave (her flag) to me, it was all wrapped up in all these memories.

Jenks was born in Florida and spent part of her childhood growing up in New York, then Virginia and back to New York.

Her mother said she always had an adventurous spirit.

There was 4-H. Abby took care of the chickens and cradled a rabbit in her prom photo.

She loved frogs, turtles and snakes and hiking along creeks.

The oldest of four, shed take her siblings on her adventures and recruited them to help build a fort out of tree limbs one year.

Her mother said she was the type who, when she set goals, she was determined to achieve them.

There was this pole you could climb and touch the top, her mother said. Abby just tried and tried and would get a little bit further each time, and finally she got to the top.

After high school, Jenks worked a full-time job at a cleaning company attempting to save money so she could move out on her own.
Nearly 150 years later, we again have an opportunity to use manufacturing as the economic driver of our post-COVID economy. However, this time its manufacturings unquestionable link to infrastructure that could position the states economy for a pivotal role in the global economy and restore Americas global competitiveness.

The question is: Are North Carolinians ready for a reimagining of, and reinvestment in, our infrastructure? For decades, our infrastructure has suffered from a lack of investment. Now, beyond just roads, highways and bridges, we have an opportunity to transform and modernize our water, energy and broadband infrastructure systems and drive our economy forward.

For example, over the past decade commute times have increased by nearly 11% in North Carolina and on average, our states drivers pay $500 a year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. But we do not just spend time on our roads and highways to do our jobs anymore; we also depend on our digital pathways and connections. In many places throughout our state there is no affordable and reliable broadband, and more than half of North Carolinians live in areas where there is only one internet provider. In fact, as of 2019, a quarter of American farms had no form of internet access and 72% of farms were without high-speed internet access. How do we plan to compete globally this century if every American cannot check email or get online?
Press Release

June 5, 2021 Villar cites PGS significant role in organic agri The Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) is a motivation to promote and develop the organic industry and a great help to small farmers producing organic products who cannot afford the expensive Third Party Certification, stressed Sen. Cynthia A. Villar. During the Grand Launch of PGS, Villar, chairperson of the Senate Agriculture and Food committee, said PGS is a low-cost guaranty system compared to Third Party Certification. It makes accessible and cheaper certification cost for organic produce. "The PGS will cost not more than P2,000 per year per certification compared to the Third Party Certification of P150,000 per year," noted Villar. Saying more Filipinos should have access to healthy and safe farm products, Villar has pushed for a system of organic products certification which small farmers can also afford. Aside from environmental protection, she said PGS promotes the use of natural and farm-based resources and inputs like organic fertilizer, which would yield to less input cost on the part of the farmers. "This means increased farmer profitability." A locally focussed quality assurance system developed and practiced by people engaged in organic organic agriculture , Villar said PGS empowers organizations and its members particularly the farmers and fisherfolk including the consumers. The system also acknowledges the involvement of other sectors in the community as an integral part not only in verifying the integrity of the produce and products but also in providing the needed technical assistance for continual improvement of the system. Villar has also been encouraging all the stakeholders in the agriculture sector to continue their initiatives to advance the National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP), which has firmed up the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 or RA 10068. It makes organic agriculture in the Philippines a competitive and sustainable industry. The lady senator said the Organic Agriculture Act, a milestone legislation, has been considered to be one of the priority programs of the Department of Agriculture (DA). "It is a major strategy for addressing rural poverty through low-input sustainable agricultural techniques that improve land productivity while protecting the environment," said Villar. Through the years, she related that the Organic Agriculture Act and the implementation of the NOAP have boosted the local organic market and benefited producers and consumers. However, she admitted NOAP's objectives have not been fully realized due to the limitations and restrictive provisions of the Law. RA 11511 or An Act Amending the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, signed on December 23, 2020, aims to institutionalize the PGS as an organic certification scheme. In addition, the RA 11511 further strengthens the institutional arrangements for policy-making and implementation from the national to the local-level - through the increased representations of non-government organization(s) in the National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB). It also allocate budget for local organic agriculture program among others; and increase annual budget allocation of the NOAP to P1 billion.
Greensboro police have long since abandoned the practice, but questions about the conduct of officers and the people they serve and protect, particularly minorities, have lingered.

Smiths mother and father have sued the city, eight police officers and two Guilford County paramedics for wrongful death in the case in federal court, keeping the case in the public eye.

For much of 2021, the Smith familys lawyers have been questioning city officials and police officers in pretrial depositions. Some of those depositions have made it into the hands of journalist Ian McDowell, who has reviewed and reported them in The Assembly, an online news magazine covering North Carolina issues.

In briefs filed in May, the citys attorneys said the legal team for the Smith family violated the terms of a July 2020 agreement that limits the use of all case documents to the parties in the case and are not for public release. The city asked the court for unspecified penalties against the Smith attorneys.

But in a brief filed earlier this week in answer to the citys claims, Smith family attorneys say the agreement does not apply to materials relating to issues that have already been discussed in public.
Meanderings and Musings

Meanderings and Musings: Fire season and those who fight it
CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers.
DALLAS (AP)  A Dallas high school valedictorian scrapped a speech approved by her school administrators and delivered an abortion rights call in its place.

Paxton Smith, the 2021 valedictorian at Lake Highlands High School, submitted to school officials an address on the effect of the media on young minds. But when she spoke at Sunday's graduation ceremony, she talked of what she called "a war on the rights" of her body and those of other girls and women by the "heartbeat bill" signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott a week and a half before.

"I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights. A war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters. We cannot stay silent," she told her class.

The new law outlaws, without exception, any abortion after a first heartbeat can be detected. That could come as early as six weeks after conception when many women could be unaware that they are pregnant.

The law also would allow anyone to sue a Texas abortion provider or anyone who helped someone get an abortion for as much as $10,000.

The law would take effect in September, but federal courts have mostly blocked states from enforcing similar measures.
Having another go at it

Author and theologian Frederich Buechner wrote Telling Secrets about his dads suicide. His family rigidly kept that secret behind locked doors. It remained an unhealed part of his life till he could talk openly about it and what it meant to him as a child, as a parent, and still means to him in old age. I am inclined, he writes, to believe that God's chief purpose in giving us memory is to enable us to go back in time so that if we didn't play those roles right the first time round, we can still have another go at it now. We cannot undo our old mistakes or their consequences any more than we can erase old wounds that we have both suffered and inflicted, but through the power that memory gives us of thinking, feeling, imagining our way back through time we can at long last finally finish with the past in the sense of removing its power to hurt us and other people to stunt our growth as human beings.
Twice in the past few months I have ordered flowers from a florist. Twice I have been disappointed. Once I didnt get the flowers I ordered. The other time, I didnt get what I paid for, in my opinion.

Am I doing something wrong, or is the florist to blame? I needed to know. So I got some professional help. I called three floral industry insiders to get the dirt.

Meet my therapists:

Juan Palacio owns BloomsyBox, an online subscription flower service he started in 2015. A Columbia Colombia native, Palacio moved to Miami 24 years ago, when he was 21, and started selling flowers imported from his native country to Miami Hotels. Today, he ships more than 100,000 BloomsyBoxes of fresh-cut flowers a month.

Farbod Shoraka is CEO and co-founder of BloomNation, a 10-year-old company that connects consumers directly to approved florists nationwide then gets out of the way to let them work together. A former mergers and acquisitions executive, Shoraka, of Santa Monica, Calif., had a client in the flower industry and an aunt who was a florist. I saw the struggles, and a light bulb went off on how to fix it.

Sally Kobylinksi Kobylinski co-owns with her husband In Bloom Florist, a large Orlando area flower shop they have owned for 31 years with two locations.

I had long conversations with each about value and expectations. I shared my saga.

My first disappointment occurred in February. I ordered flowers for my cousins funeral, which I could not attend due to COVID. The funeral home recommended two florists. I visited their websites, and chose one that featured a lovely arrangement called Treasured and Beloved that looked perfect. I called. I ordered. I paid $134.

What arrived was not what I ordered at all. They used half as many stems, and cheap filler flowers, in this case chrysanthemums, which is the oldest trick, because they take up a lot of space, Palacio said.

The second disappointment came a few weeks ago. I ordered a small arrangement for my assistant, who was graduating from college. I went to a local flower shop. I met the owner and her daughter, who works there. I met their dog. I tried to make a good impression.

We discussed what I wanted. Because they had lovely arrangements on their website for $60 and less, I suggested $60 as a price. I provided a vase, which they said would increase my flower budget by $5. Great. I asked if they had peonies. They were getting peonies in the next day. Perfect. They cost $7 a stem. Noted. I figured, using Marni math, that should cover four or five stems, plus a few background flowers.

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The flowers arrived. My assistant was happy. I was not. The bouquet had only two peonies, four stems of mini green hydrangea, and alstroemeria, a cheap flower. I felt ripped off not only because of the number and caliber of flowers, but also because of the lack of design. I can put flowers in a vase.

In both cases, I called the florists. The first blamed the misrepresentation on the fact that Valentines Day was coming. (It was four days away.) She offered no other consideration. I left a two-star review. The second florist just said, Im sorry you were disappointed, adding that Mothers Day was that week.

My experts listened, then explained what was going on behind the scenes. Turns out, fault lies with florists, with consumers, and also with the industry overall.

There are eight petitions consumers want from florists:

1. Tell the truth. Be clear when filling orders. Tell us what we will get for our money, and let us decide if we need to pay more. If we ask you to match something featured on your website, tell us if you dont have the flowers in stock, and what you can do.

2. Dont bait and switch. Give us what we ordered. Florist number two told me of a customer who was unhappy because she ordered a bouquet of white daisies. The shop sent a bouquet of yellow daisies, which were beautiful, the florist said. No doubt, but the customer had every right to be upset. Ask us if any flowers in the desired bouquet have special meaning, or whether you can substitute flowers to achieve the same look.

3. Dont use the holiday as an excuse. Cancer doesnt care that its Valentines Day. Mothers Day and May graduations happen every year. Stock up and staff up. If youre too busy to do my order right, dont accept it.

4. Dont clean your cooler out on my dime.

5. Dont forget to design. I can buy flowers and put them in a vase. Im paying you to do something special.

6. Limit your offerings. Dont put 100 photo-shopped stock photos of flower arrangements you didnt make on your website. Post only what you can realistically fulfill for the price you say. BloomNation requires the shops it works with to post only arrangements the shop has designed.

7. Offer recourse. Beyond saying were sorry youre not happy, offer a credit, send another arrangement, offer to add flowers.

8. Remember your job. We hire you to convey a feeling  love, hope, gratitude, sympathy, joy  through flowers. Our job, as Kobylinski put it, is to convey emotions by providing a design and an experience that doesnt take away from that moment. We cant forget that people are behind those orders.

Marni Jameson is the author of six home and lifestyle books.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday made official what hes been saying for months: Nearly all coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses and activities will be rescinded next week when the state enters the final phase of his reopening plan.

The state will lift remaining capacity limits, social distancing requirements and health screenings mandates on June 11, removing the rules for the first time since Pritzkers stay-at-home order went into effect in March 2020. Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday that Chicago would join the rest of the state in fully reopening, ahead of a previous July 4 target date.

After a tremendously challenging year, Illinois has now reached a defining moment in our efforts to defeat COVID-19, Pritzker said in a statement. Thanks to the hard work of residents across the state, Illinois will soon resume life as we knew it before  returning to events, gatherings, and a fully reopened economy, with some of the safety guidelines weve adopted still in place.

Pritzker previously revamped his mask mandate to exempt fully vaccinated people in most settings, and the state is now adjusting guidelines for outdoor mask wearing at schools, dropping the requirement in most situations. Masks still will be required on public transportation, inside schools and day cares, and in health care settings.

The guidelines issued Friday emphasize that businesses and municipalities are allowed to continue enforcing more stringent rules and that people who arent fully vaccinated should continue wearing masks and maintaining 6 feet of distance when indoors.

The move comes as Illinois reported 626 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the average of new daily cases over the past week to 586. Thats the lowest level since the week ending March 30, 2020, when the first wave of the pandemic was just taking hold in the state.

The state on Friday reported 15 more fatalities, bringing the overall death toll to 22,880. Coronavirus deaths also are declining, reaching an average of 20 per day over the past week, the lowest level in nearly two months.

And the case positivity rate  the share of new cases as a percentage of total tests  hit a seven-day average of 1.3% as of Thursday, down from 1.9% a week earlier to the lowest its been since the state started reporting the data last year.

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The Macon County Health Department on Friday reported just one new positive case, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 10,977. No new deaths were reported.

But even as Illinois approaches a full reopening, the vaccination rate continues to lag, with the average of daily vaccinations dropping to 36,025 for the week ending Thursday, the lowest level since the week ending Jan. 26, when doses were still scarce.

The Macon County Health Department announced three Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination clinics next week.

They are set for:

Maroa-Forsyth High School, 610 W. Washington St., Maroa, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, June 7. Walk-in or schedule an appointment by visiting https://bit.ly/3ckpWCB. Must be able to return June 28 for second dose.

Warrensburg Latham Middle School, 425 W. North St., Warrensburg, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 8. Walk-in or schedule an appointment by visiting https://bit.ly/3gdjMoX. Must be able to return June 29 for second dose.

Macon County Health Department, 1221 E. Condit St., Decatur, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 9. Walk-in clinic. Must be able to return June 30 for second dose.

For more information call 217-423-6988, visit www.maconcountyhealth.org.
NAPERVILLE, Ill.  A former Naperville man has been charged with first-degree murder in the 1972 stabbing death of 15-year-old Julie Ann Hanson, linked to the case through DNA evidence and genealogy, Naperville police Chief Robert Marshall and Will County States Attorney James Glasgow said Friday.

Barry Lee Whelpley, 76, of Mounds View, Minnesota, about 12 miles outside of St. Paul, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He was arrested Wednesday and is awaiting extradition; bond was set at $10 million.

The Naperville girl disappeared July 7, 1972, while riding her 12-year-old brothers bicycle. Her body was found a day later in a ditch along 87th Street, about 100 feet away in a cornfield less than a mile east of Modaff Road in Will County.

The teenager had been stabbed 36 times and sexually assaulted.

This brutal crime haunted our community many, many, many years. It hit the community, very hard, Marshall said. This young girl, 15 years old, left her home in Naperville and never returned.

Whelpley, who was 27 at the time of Julie Ann Hansons murder, lived in a home in the 600 block of South Wehrli Drive, within a mile of the Hanson residence.

No suspect was immediately identified at the time of her death, and detectives have continued to investigate the murder for the last 49 years. The breakthrough in this case came through technological advancements in DNA and genetic genealogy analysis, Marshall and Glasgow said.

This brutal crime haunted our community many, many, many years. It hit the community, very hard, Marshall said. This young girl, 15 years old, left her home in Naperville and never returned.

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Naperville police never gave up, chasing leads and identifying suspects, all of which were eliminated through the exhaustive investigation, he said.

People often call these types of cases, cold cases. This was never a cold case for our police department, Marshall said.

We were all conscious of Julies murder, looking for the killer, he said. We had Julies picture on our desks and investigations for all these years.

Detectives were diligent, relentless and had the faith this case would be solved someday, he said. That day is today, he said.

The breakthrough came as a result of technological advancements in DNA and genetic genealogy analysis, Marshall said. Detectives used private labs throughout the country to assist with sophisticated DNA testing and genealogy analysis.

Among those contributing, Marshall said, were senior forensic genealogist Misty Gillis of Identifinders International in California and company founder Colleen Fitzpatrick. Identifinders works with law enforcement agencies on violent crime cold cases.

In addition, police worked with the HudsonAlpha Lab in Huntsville, Alabama, a biotech company that provides genomic testing, analysis and interpretation.

Glasgow said he never expected to be standing in Naperville and talking about this case. Julie Ann Hanson 1972: Its an outlier at that point, he said.

These officers have stayed in touch with the families and finally been able to give them what theyve been hoping for all these years, Glasgow said.

And the family is thankful.

As you might assume, it has been a long journey for our family. We are forever grateful to all those who have worked on this case throughout the many years, the family said in the statement read by Marshall.

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COLUMBIA  When Officer Tyler McWhorter arrived at the Columbia Lakes Apartments on the morning of April 25, he was met by a very pregnant and very upset woman.

An unknown thief had entered Kelly Augustine's car through a rear door and made off with more than $500 worth of diapers and baby wipes that had been gifted to her and her husband, Logan, a transport driver in the U.S. Army.

Augustine, just weeks away from her due date, was is tears.

"She was standing outside near her car when I arrived. She was distraught," McWhorter said. "She told me she was a week or two away from her due date and the diapers that family members and friends had bought for her and her husband's baby had been removed from her car by some unknown person.

"She said she went out to the car at 11:30 p.m. and everything was there. She is about to have her baby and someone took all of her diapers. I just wanted to do something for her."

There were no suspects, no clues and no leads. The car wasn't even damaged.

But within four hours of the initial dispatch call, McWhorter was back at Augustine's doorstep. Stacked in front of his squad car were 15 boxes containing more than 2,000 diapers, a partial replacement of all that had been taken.

'They took every single one'

Augustine said the stolen diapers were left stacked in her car because her husband was away on a military assignment and she was far too pregnant to carry the boxes up the stairs of the apartment building by herself.

But all appeared to be normal at 11:30 the night before she and Officer McWhorter made each other's acquaintance. And she could have sworn that she had locked the car.

"I went out there that night and got my bag with my medicine in it and came back inside. My clicker was broken. So, I pressed the button on my door," Augustine said. "Sometimes that doesn't lock all of the doors, so I am guessing that's what happened."

By morning, 15 boxes and 10 packages of diapers, plus four cases of baby wipes were gone.

"They took every single one of them," Augustine said. "Who would take three or four cases of baby diapers?"

Augustine was shocked and panicked. She called her mom and her husband. Then she called Columbia Police.

'The co-workers were all in'

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It had been already been a busy Sunday for McWhorter, who responded to 38 calls in all. After he took Augustine's statement, he told her he would have to return later to take pictures of the undamaged vehicle and complete his incident report.

Instead, McWhorter went back to police headquarters, where he mobilized his colleagues around the Augustine's story. He asked them to "wear their hearts a little bigger than their badges" in order to turn a good deed for a young family in need.

"I asked them if they wanted to donate some money to buy her some more diapers," he said. "No problem  the co-workers were all in."

When McWhorter arrived back at Augustine's apartment at about 3 p.m. on the day of the crime, she thought he was there to continue the investigation.

There were more tears instead  but happy ones this time around.

"He said he wanted to help me anyway he could. He had gotten together with family and other people from the police department and they got diapers," Augustine said. "Isn't that crazy?"

Her eyes welled up as she hugged McWhorter, he recalled.

"... and I cried when I got back into the house," Augustine said.

Cops are human, too

Before joining the Columbia Police Department last October, McWhorter worked in St. Louis County and Spanish Lake, Missouri.

Police work isn't all arrests, ticket writing and traffic stops, McWhorter says. Cops are human, too, and the opportunity to turn misfortune into a positive connection with the public they serve is why he says he loves his job.

"I feel like officers are doing this everywhere in small acts all the time and people just don't know," said McWorter. "It's a thing I'd like to believe most officers would do, not for the recognition, per se, I just believe it's the right thing to do.

"If you're in a position to help somebody, why wouldn't you?"

The Columbia community has responded as well by donating diapers and other baby supplies via the police department.

Columbia Police Chief Jason Donjon said officers have enough to do in responding a typically high volume of calls, but agrees with McWorter that most relish the opportunity to do something positive.

"It's so wonderful that he did what he did," Donjon said of McWhorter. "Every police officer gets into this profession to help."

There is no one more "wowed" than Augustine, who delivered a healthy girl on May 15. Baby Claire weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 20 inches long.

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Billy Jack arrived shortly and spent more than two hours helping us out. He determined we did not need the part. We had purchased some bad gas that morning. After pouring in some gas treatment, we limped three hundred miles  plus  back to Bristol.

While Bill and I peered under the hood and talked, Sammie visited with his wife Audrey. What a wonderful couple. Early on, during our visit to Burgaw, the manager at Advance asked how our day was going. Well...

When I answered that God was in control and shared my thoughts that we had stopped at the only place where we could have been directed to the help we needed he agreed enthusiastically, God knows exactly what we need when nobody else does.

Our new friends refused pay, but did agree that we could treat them to a late lunch. The restaurant was closed for Memorial Day! But they did let us buy dinner for later and agreed to meet us next time we were passing through  and Billy Jack gave me his card with these words, If you have car trouble anywhere between Wilmington and Raleigh, call me.

It took forever to get through Raleigh. Then we received the phone call. Freeman had passed away before we got there. When we finally got there, we loved on Sammies sister and family and got home around midnight.
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5. Why doesnt VMI allow female cadets  or all cadets, for that matter  to lock their doors at night? Yes, yes, theres probably some answer about honor and all that, but its also clear that not every cadet is that honorable. The report found that 14% of current female cadets who participated in a survey said theyd been sexually assaulted at VMI while 63% reported being told directly by others they had been sexually assaulted, which suggests the 14% figure is on the low side. If that 14% figure is correct, thats horrifically high but still lower than what RAINN  the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network  says is standard for women on a college campus. It says the figure is 26.4%. Whether VMIs figure is high or low, the figure ought to be zero and the unlocked door policy seems to enable potential sex criminals in the corps  theres really no other way to put that.

6. Why does VMI treat sexual assault less seriously than it does cheating? If a cadet is found cheating even once, he or she is drummed out. But those who sexually assault a cadet arent. The report cites one example of a male cadet who entered a female cadets room and groped her breasts  some locked doors might have helped there  but no action was ever taken. That cadet told her cousin not to come to VMI because she is terrified her cousin would be raped since it happens so often. And then there was this: One current female cadet said she was sexually assaulted on post, and reported it through the proper channels, but the VMI investigator taking her report cautioned her that the report would ruin the commission and career of her assailant. The offender was punished with only 10 demerits, 6 weeks of confinement, and 30 penalty tours. Lets take this occasion to remind everyone that sexual assault is a crime. The assailant should have his commission ruined. He ought to be in jail or on the sex offender registry. Part of the problem here is that colleges  military or otherwise  try to deal with such assaults as violations of campus policy rather than what they truly are, violations of law. Still, the point here is the same: VMI cracks down on cheating and apparently looks the other way with sex crimes.
North Carolinians deserve a secretary of DEQ who lies awake at night thinking about ways to mitigate the single-source supply risk we face today ... (and) to develop a plan for how to find a right balance between environmental protection and new sources of natural gas supply," Sen. Paul Newton, a Cabarrus County Republican and retired utility executive, said during floor debate. This nominee did not know her boss' strategy for the expansion of natural gas in North Carolina.

Senate Democrats angered by the GOP's refusal to let Delli-Gatti explain in a committee on Wednesday led them to walk out before a vote. They continued to blast Republican leaders during Thursday's floor debate, saying that Delli-Gatti, a former Environmental Defense Fund leader and first woman secretary in the environmental department, was eminently qualified to run the agency. She also had stints with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and governments in Ohio and Dallas.

So what you are seeing that the rest of North Carolina does not? first-term Sen. DeAndrea Salvador, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, asked Republicans. This isnt about what Secretary Delli-Gatti knows or doesnt. We were blindsided. This came out of nowhere.
The John Hoyle Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) announced this years winners of the DAR JROTC Awards, presented to outstanding students from area high schools. The DAR Bronze medal has been awarded since 1967 to student cadets of outstanding ability and achievement in high school.

This years recipients are Paola Stephanie Diaz of Fred T. Foard, Molly Nicole Hitaffer of St. Stephens High School, Samantha Luisa Valdez-Alamilla of Hickory High School, and Linsey Savannah Wike of Alexander Early College.

Diaz is the daughter of Wendy Rosales and Alex Diaz of Hickory. She serves as cadet captain of the Army JROTC. Additionally, she was a member of the swim and track teams, and achieved A/B honor roll for the fall semester. She has received multiple JROTC awards for academic honors, Staff Excellence Tab and the Color Guard cord. Diaz future plans are to attend Gaston College and Appalachian State University, then join the Army Reserve as a veterinarian technician.

Hitaffer is the daughter of Susan and William Hitaffer of Hickory. She serves in the Navy JROTC as a lieutenant commander. She has been honored as NS1 Cadet of the Year, Order of Daedalians, AMVETS medal, Academic medal, Drill medal and with eight rifle medals. Her future plans are to enlist in the Navy and later use the GI bill to go to school for zoology.
DENVER (AP)  An arrest warrant affidavit for a Colorado man charged with murder in the death of his wife who disappeared last year will remain sealed, a judge ruled Friday, saying that release of the document could harm the couple's daughters and witnesses in the case and hinder Barry Morphew's ability to prepare his own defense.

Chaffee County District Court Judge Patrick Murphy ordered that the affidavit, which details investigators' reasons justifying Morphew's arrest in the disappearance of Suzanne Morphew, remain sealed until the conclusion of a preliminary hearing in August.

A coalition of news media organizations, including The Associated Press, had petitioned the court for release of the 130-page document, arguing in part that the public has a presumptive right to know what led to Morphew's May 5 arrest.

According to prosecutors, Morphew, 53, is accused of killing his 49-year-old wife sometime between May 9 and May 10, 2020. The mother of two daughters was reported missing on May 10, 2020, which was Mothers Day.

Prosecutors say Morphew tampered with her body around that time and tampered with other evidence in the case from last May through early March, about two months before he was arrested.
" " Rivera's legacy is especially apparent in New York City, the activist's old stomping ground. public domain

A lot of civil rights heroes appear to come in perfect packages, above reproach. Rosa Parks was a hardworking, soft-spoken woman; Mahatma Gandhi prized modesty and peace. Yet, even some of the most praised leaders faced controversy and criticism  Gandhi has been accused of racism, and Martin Luther King Jr. has been chided for his extramarital affairs. But Sylvia Rivera, a gay and transgender rights activist, definitely did not fit a pacifist mold.

In an episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class, hosts Holly Frey and Tracy V. Wilson share the story of Rivera, who was neither quiet nor careful. Rivera became part of civil rights lore as the person who allegedly started the Stonewall riots by throwing the first Molotov cocktail at a police officer. (Rivera disputed this account, insisting she only threw the second one.)

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Her legacy as an activist was hard-fought. Born in 1951, Rivera had run away from home and was living on the street in New York City by age 11. She used sex work to scrape out an existence, and was welcomed into the drag culture of the city. Rivera was only 17 when the Stonewall riots  demonstrations after a police raid on a gay bar credited with catalyzing the modern LGBTQ rights movement  took place in 1969, but they galvanized her and other protesters to act.

As a trans activist, Rivera wasn't just fighting for the rights of gay people. Rivera was extremely keen and vocal about including transgender and gender nonconforming people in the movement for civil rights. (It should be acknowledged that terms describing gender identity have gone in and out of preference; Rivera used the terms "transvestite" or "transgender" at various stages, for instance, and later shrugged off any label for herself.)

Getting the "mainstream" gay rights movement to include trans or gender nonconforming people wasn't an easy sell, however. Rivera was extremely involved in the Gay Activists Alliance lobby of the New York City Gay Rights Bill, and was even arrested for gathering signatures for its petition. But she was devastated when her fellow activists pulled trans and drag rights from the bill to cater to a straight audience. "As badly as I knew this community needed that bill, I didn't feel it was justified for them to have it on my sweat and tears, or from my back," Rivera said in a 2001 talk.

Though Rivera died in 2002, her presence is still notable, especially in New York. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project provides legal services to gender nonconforming, intersex and trans folks, and Sylvia's Place provides services for LGBTQ youth. The corner of Christopher and Hudson streets in New York City was officially renamed Sylvia Rivera Way.

But that's just a peek at what Sylvia fought for. Join Tracy and Holly as they give you more of a glimpse into Sylvia's life and legacy, and the history of the LGBTQ civil rights movement's early days on the below episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class.

Now That's Cool An early pioneer of trans youth outreach and community building, Rivera and fellow activist Marsha P. Johnson co-founded a group called Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries in 1970 to provide food, shelter and guidance for homeless LGBTQ youth.
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Quetta [Pakistan], June 5 (ANI): In a hand-grenade explosion that occurred near a seminary in the Kharotabad area on Thursday, three teenage boys died and two others suffered injuries.

The officials of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said that the boys, aged between 13 and 18 years, were passing through a graveyard while on their way home when they found the device, reported Dawn.

"It was a hand-grenade, which exploded when boys started playing with it," the CTD spokesman said, adding that splinters hit the children, killing three of them on the spot and injuring the two.

Police and CTD personnel rushed to the scene of the incident and shifted the bodies and the injured to Bolan Medical College Hospital (BMCH), reported Dawn.

"We have received three bodies and two injured," BMCH spokesman said.

Rozi Khan, father of one of the deceased, said his son and nephews had gone to take a bath in a pond. While returning to home, they found the grenade which went off when his son was playing with it, he added.

The deceased were identified as Mohammad Ikran, 18; Adnan, 15; and Shista Khan, 13. The injured were Ehsanullah and Izzatullah, reported Dawn.

The bodies were handed over to the bereaved families after completing medico-legal formalities. Police and CTD officials were investigating the case. (ANI)
Mumbai, Jun 5 (PTI) Midfielder Rowlin Borges has extended his contract with reigning Indian Super League champions Mumbai City FC by three years and will stay with the club until May 2024.

The agreement signed between the two parties also has a clause that Borges can opt to further extend his contract by one more year.

The 28-year-old was a vital cog in the Mumbai City squad that clinched the unique double in the 2020/21 season, winning the ISL League Winners' Shield and the ISL Trophy.

The Goan midfield lynchpin made 20 appearances for the Islanders in the 2020/21 season, scoring twice and providing one assist.

With 1124 completed passes Borges also finished the season in the top three passers of the league list.

Borges is currently in Doha with national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifiers.

'This team, this club, it is my family. I am delighted to commit my future here, with Mumbai City. The last two years of my career have been an incredible learning curve for me and especially the last season - it was nothing short of a dream for all of us,' Borges said in a statement.

'Coach Sergio Lobera's style is very unique, and it's the style I enjoy the most. I have evolved both as a player and as a person under him, and it's a great moment for me to be able to continue here at Mumbai City for the best years of my career. Last season's trophies was just the beginning for us.' Mumbai City head coach Sergio Lobera added: 'As I have said before, to win trophies you need to have good Indian players and I think Rowllin is the best in his position.

'He has consistently shown his quality and he proved it again last season in particularly tough circumstances. He is a figure of inspiration for his teammates and everyone in the group. It's really good to have him around.' PTI SSC SSC APA APA
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  Several thousand people rallied in Hungary's capital Saturday against plans by Prime Minister Viktor Orban to host a Chinese university in Budapest.

A strategic agreement that Hungary signed with Shanghai-based Fudan University envisages opening a branch in the citys 9th district. Plans call for the Budapest campus to be completed by 2024. It would enroll international students and represent the schools only foreign outpost, as well as the first Chinese university campus in the 27-nation European Union.

The protesters marched from Heroes Square toward the Hungarian parliament building, defying a pandemic ban on gatherings of more than 500 people. The crowd carried banners reading 'No Fudan," flags and posters.

Budapest authorities have opposed the university branch idea. They argue the $1.9 billion project would place a huge burden on taxpayers and send the wrong political message because of the alleged human rights abuses in China.

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony had a huge photo of a protester facing a tank in Beijing's Tiananmen Square projected behind him during Saturday's demonstration. Chinese troops opened fire on protesters in the square on June 4, 1989, killing hundreds and perhaps thousands.
Now, about that infamous Jim Crow episode in our distant past that Democrats are using to accuse Republicans of using to restrict the African-American vote in Georgia. Our history tells a far different story. And if it had been taught in our schools, which is questionable now days, people would know the facts.

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Following our Civil War, and for ninety years thereafter, those states below the Mason-Dixon Line were referred to as the solid south, for they voted the Democratic ticket year after year. African Americans were threatened, coerced, retaliated against and some were actually hanged by the Democrats for voting the Republican ticket.

That is the real Jim Crow story. How it has been turned around by the Democrats, for political purposes, by the historical ignorance of the American people is yet another story.

Jack Pierce, Mattoon.

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Or orders are great, but cannot get product out of Asia. Or the cost of containers, if you can get them, have quadrupled or more.

It seems that no one would have thought that, for once, business in the furniture industry could be this good with consumer demand this high, yet so many problems have developed to make it hard to appreciate how good business is.

Doug Bassett, president of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co., said he expects a bountiful trade show not only for his manufacturers, but the industry as a whole.

Vaughan-Bassett has been the largest U.S.-based wooden-furniture manufacturers in recent years. About 98% of its product is made domestically.

The only negative impact I see is that many vendors might introduce less new product because they are struggling to keep up with demand on their older goods, Bassett said.

By October, many dealers and designers will have missed multiple markets, and the industry seems hungry to get back together and to do business face-to-face.

Online component

Home furnishings have been described as one of the last frontiers for internet retailing.
India reported 1,20,529 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest single-day rise in infections in around two months, taking the infection tally to 2,86,94,879, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll from COVID-19 climbed to 3,44,082 with 3,380 new fatalities, while the number of active cases was recorded below 20 lakh for the fifth consecutive day, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The daily new cases are the lowest in 58 days, the ministry said.

A total of 20,84,421 tests were done on Friday, taking the cumulative tests conducted so far for the detection of COVID-19 in the country to 36,11,74,142. The daily positivity rate further dipped to 5.78 per cent, less than 10 per cent for the 12th consecutive day, the ministry said.

The weekly positivity rate has declined to 6.89 per cent, it said.

The active case count has reduced to 15,55,248, which comprises 5.73 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 93.08 per cent, the data showed.

The number of recoveries continue to outnumber daily new cases for 23 consecutive days.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,67,95,549, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.19 per cent, the data stated. The 3,380 new fatalities include 1,377 from Maharashtra, 364 from Karnataka, 463 from Tamil Nadu, 136 from Uttar Pradesh, 135 from Kerala, 113 from West Bengal.

A total of 3,44,082 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported so far in the country including 98,771 from Maharashtra, 30,895 from Karnataka, 26,128 from Tamil Nadu, 24,497 from Delhi, 21,031 from Uttar Pradesh, 16,034 from West Bengal, 14,927 from Punjab and 13,162 from Chhattisgarh.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7; 30 lakh on August 23; 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28; 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29; 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore COVID-19 cases on May 4.

Also read: US colleges, universities ask Indian students inoculated with Covaxin, Sputnik V to revaccinate
An autopsy showed that Winston-Salem police shot a man 10 times in his chest and torso after the man fired on the officers in December 2019. The incident took place at the citys Johnson Municipal Services Center.

Steven D. Haizlip, 61, a city sanitation worker, died after being hit by gunfire, according to the autopsy.

Before Haizlip died, Haizlip shot and killed Terry Lee Cobb Jr., 48, another city sanitation worker, on Dec. 20, 2019 at the citys public works building at 2000 Lowery St., police said.

Haizlip went into the building and shot Cobb multiple times, police said at the time. Haizlip then confronted officers before they shot and killed him.

Haizlip came to work with two handguns and the intention of killing his co-worker, police said.

Video footage showed a fight between Cobb and Haizlip in a break room. Cobb was initially shot and ran into an adjacent room, where he fell and was shot several more times.

Dr. Nathan Shaller, a Forsyth County medical examiner, conducted the autopsies on both men on Dec. 23 at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Previously, Winston-Salem filed a lawsuit against the owners of the apartment complex, claiming they permitted crime to flourish at Rolling Hills. But on April 22, Superior Court Judge Richard Gottlieb issued an order that put a three-month pause on the citys lawsuit. During the three-month-pause, besides the process of evicting certain tenants associated with criminal complaints, the apartment owners planned to work on a petition to convert a portion of Ferrell Court, which runs through the complex, into a private street to prevent criminal elements easy access to the complex, as well as carry out property and security improvements.

Alarmingly, the 12 reports the city is releasing are only a fraction of the number of criminal complaints at the complex. Between June 1, 2018, and Aug. 3, 2020, there were 32 illegal weapons crimes, including two incidents of people being injured by gunfire. There were 153 fights, 70 cases of disturbing the peace and 64 drug violations logged, according to city reports.

The sharing of confidential police information containing the names of residents associated with criminal activity at Rolling Hills with apartment owners is necessary to restore peace and safety, especially for children. Dutifully, the court stipulated that Rolling Hills LLC cannot share police investigative information with anyone.
When Europeans first came to the Americas in the middle of the last millennium, scholars estimate that there were roughly 60 million Indigenous people here. And while the actions and motivations of those who immigrated to this hemisphere obviously ran the gamut, there is simply no denying that the impact on the native population was catastrophic.

The arrival of Europeans led  both through the rapid spread of diseases like smallpox, measles and influenza, and by way of warfare, conquest and famine  to the extermination of as much as 90% of the Native American population (or around 10% of all humans then on Earth).

This tragic story is far from the only one of its kind. Throughout human history, groups representing various races, religions, nations and ideologies have subjugated and inflicted great harm on members of other groups  sometimes with a specific intention to do so and, at others, with only a vague grasp of the impacts of their actions.

Aboriginal people in Australia, native inhabitants of southern Africa, colonized inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent, European Jews, the Irish, Armenians, the Tutsis of Rwanda and the Muslim Uighur population of modern China are just a few of the groups on a very long list.
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Offutt squadron retires the last 'old and irritable' Open Skies jet

Offutt Air Force Bases 55th Wing gathered in a Lincoln Airport hangar Friday to put a cantankerous old cow of a jet out to pasture.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star Members of the Air Force talk about the old days operating OC-135B Open Skies aircraft Friday at the Lincoln Airport.

About 100 people bid farewell to an OC-135B aircraft  known to crew members by its tail number, 61-2670  that has been used since the mid-1990s for aerial photography missions over other countries as part of the 34-nation Open Skies Treaty.

In so doing, they closed the curtain on a pact that was one of the last vestiges of post-Cold War military cooperation between the U.S. and Russia.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star The final OC-135B Open Skies aircraft with a tail number 61-2670 at a deactivation ceremony Friday at the Lincoln Airport.

The plane, one of two aged OC-135Bs being sent to the Air Forces Arizona boneyard for scrapping, facilitated the United States promotion of peace, understanding and cooperation immediately following the Cold War, and well into the 21st century, said Col. John Litecky, commander of the Offutt-based 55th Operations Group.

The treaty was signed in 1992 and fully implemented in 2002. It allowed member nations to fly strictly controlled flights, with short notice, to inspect and photograph one anothers military facilities from the air.

JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star Lt. Col. Julie Gilbert of the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron signs her name on the final OC-135B Open Skies aircraft after a deactivation ceremony Friday at the Lincoln Airport.

But the Trump administration pulled out of the treaty in November, alleging Russian violations. Last week, the Biden administration confirmed that it would not try to reenter the treaty, although President Joe Biden said as a candidate last year that he opposed a withdrawal.

We look at Open Skies  it was something that was working, and working well, said Rep. Don Bacon, who commanded the 55th Wing a decade ago. It forced the U.S. and Russia to work together.

But the U.S. has long flown the missions with a pair of decrepit planes dating from the dawn of the jet age. Both rolled off a Boeing assembly line in suburban Seattle in April 1962  within days of the opening of that citys Worlds Fair, famous for its futuristic Space Needle.

Originally used as Air Force transport jets, they were reconfigured in 1965 as WC-135 weather reconnaissance aircraft and based in California.

Almost 30 years later, the Air Force transferred them to the 55th Wing at Offutt in Bellevue and outfitted them with an expensive suite of wet-film cameras, called sensors. They were designated as OC-135s for the Open Skies mission.

Unlike the RC-135 Rivet Joint and Cobra Ball aircraft in the 55th Wing fleet, they never received modern engines and avionics. As the planes got older, they frequently suffered inconvenient breakdowns in difficult places.

One of the planes, bearing the tail number 61-2672, was retired last month. Friday marked the end of the career for the second one, 61-2670, after 13,451 landings and 36,664 flight hours.

Over the years, (the planes) have become beloved members of the 55th fleet, new in mission but old and irritable in spirit, Litecky said.

To peer into the cockpit  as many former crew members did after Fridays ceremony  is to look at an array of analog dials and switches that looks as outdated as a dial telephone. Which it is.

Litecky said the planes noisy, smoke-belching TF-33 engines had developed a reputation for just being a bear to deal with.

It didnt help that the planes frequently operated in extreme conditions and at austere Russian airfields.

Lt. Col. Julie Gilbert, a former crew member, showed photos from a mission in which the temperature was minus 31 degrees at the starting point, Novosibirsk, in Russias frigid Siberia. Crews had to shovel 2 feet of snow off the wings.

We still flew the mission, she said.

Lt. Col. James Hansen, now the standards and evaluation officer for the 55th Operations Group, recalled turning back to Hawaii, en route to Japan after both of 2670s high-frequency antennas broke.

Once, an engine failed and the cockpit filled with smoke and fumes.

And he was the commander of a notorious March 2016 flight aboard 2670 out of Khabarovsk, in the far east of Russia. Already short one generator, the plane filled up with smoke and fumes after takeoff.

Hansen said he didnt want to risk an emergency landing in either Russia or nearby China. He determined that the smoke was coming from the pressurization system, not a fire, and decided to press on to Yokota Air Base in Japan, with the U.S. and French crew members on oxygen.

Then parts of the electrical system failed as they flew over a mountain range in Japan. He managed to land the plane safely.

Its a good jet, Hansen said. When all is said and done, she got us out of Russia.

Airborne command center planes now operating out of Lincoln Four E-4B planes, which resemble Air Force One, will be based at the Lincoln Airport for the next 18 months while the Offutt Air Force Base runway is reconstructed.

Crew members did speak fondly of the plane and the Open Skies mission, in part because of the shared adversity of flying into decrepit airfields aboard an unreliable jet.

You really love them more, even with all their faults and foibles, said Lt. Col. Andrew Maus, commander of the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron, the 55th Wing unit that flew the OC-135s.They are near and dear to our hearts.

The plane will fly its last flight Wednesday, to join its sister aircraft in desert storage at Davis-Monthan Air Base in Tucson.

First Offutt planes land at Lincoln Airport Planes from the Air Force's 55th Wing will be based here until September 2022 while Offutt undergoes a $150 million runway reconstruction.

Its kind of sad. I wish they would put it in a museum, said Bob Wilson, 65, of Papillion, an Air Force veteran who helped maintain 2670 and several other current 55th Wing jets from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. At the same time, I understand. Its getting old.

Maus said the plane isnt a good candidate for a museum because it is so big. It would be expensive to transport, and to display.

Offutt planes to start landing in Lincoln on Monday The Air Force planes will be based in Lincoln for about 18 months while Offutt undergoes a $150 million runway reconstruction project.

So, 2670s fate is all but sealed: temporary storage, and eventual scrapping.

Litecky wished the cranky plane a happy retirement.

We hope down in the sunny sands of Arizona, youre able to finally find a peaceful resting spot, he said.
Platelets most often are given to cancer patients, but also can be used in transplant patients or individuals who face life-threatening injuries or require major surgeries.

Platelet donations can keep for only about five days, so its important to have regular donors such as Klein, McNaughton-Cox said. Requests for platelets are filled first in Nebraska and Iowa. Once those needs are filled, she said, platelets can be shipped anywhere in the country.

McNaughton-Cox, whose husband is a cancer survivor who required platelets, said Klein has been donating for the nearly seven years she has been at the northwest Omaha Red Cross location. Employees at the facility get excited when they see Klein walk through the doors. They usually rush to be the one to grab Kleins chart and get him set up.

Hes happy to be here, and this is important to him, which is really inspiring, McNaughton-Cox said.

Before he donated platelets, Klein was a regular blood donor. He started donating around the time he was drafted into the Army Reserves in the mid-1950s. He took a brief break from donating after he got married.

In all, he has donated 88 pints of whole blood. The last time he donated blood, a nurse suggested platelet donation because of Kleins high platelet count.
The family of Samuel Martinez  the University of Nebraska-Lincoln student who went missing in Hawaii on May 12  traveled to Kauai to join on-ground search parties for the microbiology student in an effort now led largely by volunteers.

His parents and two brothers flew to the island Thursday, according to Samuel's father, Ted Martinez, as the search for the 23-year-old nears its second week.

We wish to thank our friends and family here stateside that have stood by our family and helped start the search efforts, Ted Martinez said in a message to the Journal Star.

Kauai police met with Martinez family members Friday and provided them with the details of the search efforts to date.

Kauai Search and Rescue, along with its associates, continue to search for Martinez but the active search ended Thursday, a Kauai police spokeswoman said.

Its been more than three weeks since anyone has heard from Samuel Martinez, who disappeared after flying to Kauai on May 12 with the intention of hiking and camping for two weeks. Ted Martinez said his sons last contact with the family came the day he landed on the island.
We look at Open Skies  it was something that was working, and working well, said Rep. Don Bacon, who commanded the 55th Wing a decade ago. It forced the U.S. and Russia to work together.

But the U.S. has long flown the missions with a pair of decrepit planes dating from the dawn of the jet age. Both rolled off a Boeing assembly line in suburban Seattle in April 1962  within days of the opening of that citys Worlds Fair, famous for its futuristic Space Needle.

Originally used as Air Force transport jets, they were reconfigured in 1965 as WC-135 weather reconnaissance aircraft and based in California.

Almost 30 years later, the Air Force transferred them to the 55th Wing at Offutt in Bellevue and outfitted them with an expensive suite of wet-film cameras, called sensors. They were designated as OC-135s for the Open Skies mission.

Unlike the RC-135 Rivet Joint and Cobra Ball aircraft in the 55th Wing fleet, they never received modern engines and avionics. As the planes got older, they frequently suffered inconvenient breakdowns in difficult places.

One of the planes, bearing the tail number 61-2672, was retired last month. Friday marked the end of the career for the second one, 61-2670, after 13,451 landings and 36,664 flight hours.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A Latvian woman has been charged with developing malicious software used by a cybercrime organization that infected computers worldwide and looted bank accounts of millions of dollars, the Justice Department said Friday.

Alla Witte is charged as part of a 47-count indictment with participating in an organization known as the Trickbot Group, which authorities say operated in Russia and several other countries. The group is accused of infecting millions of computers worldwide with malware that targeted hospitals, schools, governments, businesses and other entities.

Witte, who authorities say previously lived in Suriname, was arrested in Miami in February. She was arraigned Friday in federal court in Cleveland, according to the Justice Department.

The prosecution, which the Justice Department says is part of its newly developed ransomware task force, comes as the Biden administration confronts a growing scourge of ransomware attacks that have targeted crucial supply chains including meat and fuel. The White House, which has also been contending with cyberespionage campaigns aimed at U.S. government agencies, issued a memo this week underscoring that the fight against ransomware is a top priority.
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'Publicity': Delhi HC junks Juhi Chawla's suit against 5G; imposes Rs 20-lakh fine

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the lawsuit by actress Juhi Chawla against the implementation of 5G network technology in the country. The court ruled the plea was filed to gain "publicity" and that the plaintiffs, Chawla and two others, have abused the process of law. The Delhi High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the plaintiffs. After the court pronounced the judgement, Chawla's counsel sought a stay on the verdict. This request was outrightly rejected by the Delhi High Court.

Tesla recalls nearly 6,000 cars over potentially loose bolts

Tesla Inc is recalling nearly 6,000 US vehicles because brake caliper bolts could be loose, with the potential to cause a loss of tire pressure, documents made public on Wednesday show. The recall covers certain 2019-2021 Model 3 vehicles and 2020-2021 Model Y vehicles. Tesla's filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had no reports of crashes or injuries related to the issue and that the company will inspect and tighten, or replace, the caliper bolts as necessary.

Delta variant behind spike in COVID-19 cases in second wave: Govt study

A recent study conducted by scientists of INSACOG and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has shown that despite having a high seropositivity rate of 56 per cent, people of Delhi got little protection against the Delta variant of the coronavirus that took over the national capital in March 2021 causing an unprecedented rise in cases. The study was focused on determining the reason behind the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic which swept much of North India. The study stated that the B.1.617 variant (Delta) and its lineage B.1.617.2 were primarily responsible for the surge in COVID-19 cases.

DCGI approves Serum's request to manufacture Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in India

The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) on Friday granted permission to the Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture the Russian Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine in India for examination, test and analysis with certain conditions, according to official sources. Pune-based SII has partnered with Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow, in Russia for developing Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in India at its licensed facility in Hadapsar. The licence granted to SII will remain enforced for a period of three years from June 4 onwards unless it is suspended or revoked.

Amphotericin B not the only cure available for black fungus: ICMR

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed the Delhi High Court on Friday that Liposomal Amphotericin B is not the only medication available for the treatment of mucormycosis, also called black fungus. ICMR said it while submitting a policy on the distribution of the said drug for treating black fungus. The apex health research body further told the court that other amphotericin formulations are also available and can be used with "supplementary medicines to reduce toxic effects."
A year ago, the grief and anger felt nationwide following the killing of George Floyd spilled into one of Omaha's busiest intersections.

An estimated 2,000 people crowded around all four corners of 72nd and Dodge on May 29, 2020, on behalf of the 43-year-old Black man whose final moments resonated far beyond the Minneapolis sidewalk where he was murdered by a white police officer.

What began as a peaceful, sunny Friday afternoon in Omaha ended with tear gas and rubber bullets as protesters clashed with law enforcement officers in a night of civil upheaval the city hadn't seen in decades.

That night was a prologue to a fatal encounter in downtown Omaha the next night and a series of protests that stretched well into the summer.

What followed was more than 40 protests and rallies over the summer and fall. The arrests of 125 protesters last July prompted an ALCU-backed lawsuit that led to policy changes in policing. Last month, a controversial demonstration involving severed pig heads left at the police union headquarters drew widespread condemnation from officials and community members.

These activists took a high profile role in Omahas struggle to come to terms with racial inequality and policing. Either by choice or by circumstance, the events of the past year shaped how these activists pursue change.

  

Shortly after the events of May 30, when James Scurlock, a 22-year-old Black man, was killed in downtown Omaha during a confrontation with Jake Gardner, a white bar owner, a group of young Omahans began organizing. Among them was Bear Alexander, a freelance videographer who had little experience protesting.

In mid-June, Alexander and several others formed the group ProBLAC (Progressive Black-Led Ally Coalition). At its peak, the organization had as many as 75 members.

ProBLAC organized several protests as a grand jury met to consider charges against Gardner, and, months later, around the death of Kenneth Jones, a Black man who was shot and killed in November by an Omaha police officer during a traffic stop.

For much of the past year, 24-year-old Alexander could be seen, megaphone in hand, leading those protests in chants and marches.

Alexander said last summer's protests and ProBLAC were instrumental in shaping who he is today.

"I wouldnt be who I am right now without ProBLAC, without George Floyd, without James Scurlock," Alexander said. "My goals and aspirations that I have now in my mind came to be within this past year."

  

Kiara Williams wasn't in Omaha on the evening of May 29, 2020. She was at her home in Lincoln, creating the organization Change Now LNK.

Described by Williams as a "solutions-focused public policy organization," Change Now LNK hosted multiple events throughout the summer and fall, including community workshops on public policy and inclusion, sit-ins on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus and a community cleanup.

Williams' first protest in Omaha came in late August when she attended a ProBLAC protest at 12th and Howard streets.

The 20-year-old gradually became more involved in the Omaha organization and says her eventual involvement in a group called the Revolutionary Action Party was a significant factor in her decision to move to Omaha.

  

Bri Full first got involved in last year's protests when she raised money and handed out supplies at 72nd and Dodge during the initial night of protests on May 29.

Handing out water and, later, special solution for tear gas, Full watched as tensions between law enforcement officers and protesters escalated.

"I wasn't really expecting any of the things that happened to happen," Full said. "I got tear-gassed. I have a fear of loud noises now."

The experience led Full to conclude that with the momentum of the protests sweeping across the country, more could be done to address racial inequality in Omaha.

"I felt like I could make a difference," Full said. "That I have the leadership skills, the connections in the community to make something happen, and I just wanted to do that."

The 25-year-old is a University of Nebraska at Omaha graduate student working toward a master's degree in public administration with a concentration in public policy.

Last summer, Full began the organization BlackOut Omaha with the goal of connecting community members to needed resources such as legal aid, mental health services and economic support for Black-owned businesses.

The group's inaugural event last August was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns and limited venue space.

"We have plans to restart this summer," Full said.

Full also has plans to call for a police oversight board on UNO's campus in collaboration with student regent Maeve Hemmer.

The two plan to hold a community forum on the topic sometime next fall.

"Hopefully, we can do it to help support the UNO students, staff and faculty," Full said. "Making resources available and having oversight of the police is something Maeve really wanted to do, and I think its also an important policy to have."

  

Preston Love Jr. has a unique perspective on the protests of the last year that comes from his lived experience as a member of the civil rights generation.

The 78-year-old runs the Black Votes Matter Institute of Community Engagement, a nonprofit that aims to educate and mobilize voters. He takes Omaha youths on an annual bus tour of historic civil rights stops in the American South. And he teaches a class on the African American experience in politics at UNO.

Love said he felt that last year's local protests often lacked clear objectives.

"For example, I remember our demonstration for the right to vote in the '60s," Love said. "There was a clear objective and solution."

He said that while the protesters "may be righteous in their focus on the cause," they needed a "clear definition of what we want out of it, and the solution."

"On the national level, there have been articulations of things, but when you demonstrate in Omaha, you should demonstrate for Omahas solution," Love said.

  

Many involved in the protests and rallies consider Saturday, May 30, the night that kicked off the summer's unrest. That evening, the crowd at 72nd and Dodge grew to an estimated 4,000 people. Again, as the sun began to set, skirmish lines formed, and police declared the gathering illegal after protesters threw bottles at officers.

Police tried to clear the area in a torrent of tear gas and pepper balls. Protesters eventually disbanded and headed east into downtown Omaha and a more chaotic scene.

Security alarms rang out as people vandalized businesses in the Old Market. Sirens and a police helicopter could be heard as officers tried to gain control of a situation that was much more spread out and volatile than before.

Soon after the downtown street battles began, the sound of gunshots and wailing could be heard over flash bangs and fireworks.

Disoriented bystanders watched as Scurlock was wheeled to an ambulance on a gurney.

Scurlock had been shot by Gardner during a deadly confrontation in front of Gardner's downtown businesses.

In the following days, Mayor Jean Stothert enacted a citywide curfew and thousands again clashed with local law enforcement and National Guard officers on Omaha streets.

For three and half months after the deadly confrontation, the city anxiously waited as a grand jury was formed to determine whether to indict Gardner in 22-year-old Scurlock's death.

The grand jury's decision came Sept. 15 when Fred Franklin, the special prosecutor in the case, announced that Gardner would be charged with manslaughter as well as attempted first-degree assault, terroristic threats and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

An arraignment would never come.

On Sept. 20, while awaiting arrest in Oregon, Gardner took his own life.

Today, the space that once housed Gardner's bar and nightclub at 1207 Harney St. sits empty, a dark storefront. A makeshift memorial to Scurlock of flowers, signs and candles that sat for months against a neighboring building was removed over the winter.

  

Full's motivation for community activism was sparked in large part by a mass arrest of protesters on July 25, an event many consider a significant flashpoint of the summer.

That night, police arrested 125 protesters on the Farnam Street bridge near downtown Omaha. The protesters, who didnt have a permit to gather, walked downtown sidewalks and streets and were almost back to Turner Park when Omaha police stopped them on the bridge.

Most of them spent at least 12 hours at the Douglas County Jail, which was overwhelmed by the size of the group and by a computer malfunction in the jails booking system. In the end, City Prosecutor Matt Kuhse ticketed 25 of the 125 on suspicion of obstructing a public roadway.

The incident led to a lawsuit initiated by the ACLU of Nebraska against the City of Omaha.

As part of the eventual settlement, the city dismissed misdemeanor cases against 25 protesters. And under the settlement the City Council was asked to revise a city ordinance barring the blocking of public roadways to allow protesters reasonable notice and time to disperse.

Among other changes, Omaha police also will use pepper balls or spray only on those whom they have probable cause to think are committing crimes at protests, and will loudly and clearly announce any imminent deployment of any chemical agent, according to the settlement.

In return for those policy changes, several protesters and members of ProBLAC agreed to dismiss the federal lawsuit they filed alleging the city violated their rights.

Alexander was arrested that night. His charges were later dropped.

Full had left 20 minutes before police began arresting the protesters on the Farnam Street bridge.

  

After the events of last summer, internal conflict over the group's direction led a handful of ProBLAC members to break away to create the Revolutionary Action Party.

Recently, Alexander and other Revolutionary Action Party members sparked controversy with a demonstration targeting the Omaha Police Union, specifically union president Anthony Conner.

Seven people, including Alexander and Williams, were arrested May 22 during the protest outside the Omaha police union hall that included leaving three pig heads in costume police caps on the grounds.

Alexander was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police officer, disorderly conduct, trespassing, inciting a riot and failure to disperse. Williams was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct.

The arrests occurred after a gathering organized by the Revolutionary Action Party in Montclair Park, 2304 S. 135th St.

Speakers at the gathering, which was described by Alexander as a pig roast, condemned the police union and its president, Conner, for distributing a flyer just before the May election targeting independent City Council candidate Cammy Watkins. Watkins ultimately lost to Danny Begley, a candidate backed by the police union who disavowed knowledge of the flyers.

The protest was condemned by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, Mayor Jean Stothert and Conner himself, who posted photos of the pig heads on his Facebook page.

What part of this is okay? Pay attention to those that are denouncing this act and those that are silent, wrote Conner, who is Black.

Conner, in a recent Public Pulse letter, also wrote that it is "dangerously inappropriate for those who disagree with the political speech of the OPOA to criminally trespass on private property with severed pig heads and messages of harm to our members."

Alexander referred to the demonstration as a "theatrical performance that directly delineates our infuriation with white supremacy and the systems that hold it up" and said the display does not mean the group intends to "burn the city down" or harm police.

"My whole life Ive witnessed countless Black and brown bodies mercilessly executed and not one person has asked me if I take that as a threat as a Black man," Alexander said. "But as soon as we bring out some chopped off pig heads and put officer hats on them that implicates as a threat?"

Williams defended the protest and said the reaction has only served to increase awareness of the Revolutionary Action Party.

"I think that, overall, our name has been spread through the community, and the people that need to see us have seen us," Williams said. "All of the elected officials and like individuals also now see that we as RAP will hold them accountable."

Despite the controversial demonstration, Alexander said he is focusing more on community outreach and less on organizing protests.

"Were going to be more selective with our protests, and that will resonate with the community," Alexander said. "ProBLAC was to establish a culture of resilience and resistance in the community, but how we were doing that was just organizing around Black deaths instead of moving to prevent Black deaths. We realized that we need to organize, to educate, to reveal oppression, create this mass movement to serve our community."

Made up of Black and brown activists, the Revolutionary Action Party runs a food, clothing and canvassing program and is based near 24th and Emmet streets in North Omaha.

A transition from protester to activist is not uncommon, said Nikitah Imani, a professor of Black studies at UNO.

Imani noted that "it may feel really good to stand on a street corner and wave a sign," but moving away from reactionary action and into activism "gives a chance to make an actual impact on those issues."

As for what led to the events of the summer, Imani thinks that Scurlock's death, while it added local depth to an international issue, was not the sole cause.

"My sense is that it just added to it," Imani said. "If you look at it nationwide, this was going on across the country in areas that didnt have incidents, and not just in this country. I counted 16 to 17 countries where there was a tremendous wave of protests."

  

In addition to her involvement with ProBLAC and the Revolutionary Action Party, a new job factored into Williams' move to Omaha. She recently began a position at the Omaha Early Learning Center at Skinner Elementary as an associate teacher.

"The school Im located at is in North Omaha, so I work with the population that Im trying to serve outside of my job," Williams said of her activism.

Williams said she feels good came from last year's protests.

"We got all of these young leaders, we got all of these different organizations that were created and people who were really willing to put in this work continuously and really dedicate their lives to this movement and creating change," she said.

Looking ahead, Williams has plans to expand Change Now LNK to encompass both Lincoln and Omaha.

"My goals are to keep uplifting the community and spreading knowledge," she said, "because thats how change is going to happen."

  

Reflecting on the past year, Full said she hopes the protests prompted Omahans to re-evaluate the "status quo" in their city.

"We can look at policy, all the rules that we want, but its really peoples hearts and minds that we have to change to create meaningful change in our community," Full said. "I think the biggest thing the protests were able to do was shine a light on the injustice that was happening and help to understand all of the issues and challenges that we face."

Looking to the future, she plans to continue her work with BlackOut Omaha while working toward her master's degree.

"Every form of change is important in the community and everyone has the ability to make change," Full said.

  

Love said he would like to see more intergenerational communication from young protesters and activists.

"Their energy, ideas, activism. Our wisdom, counsel and experience. Merge those, and we have it."

Love said he took pride in the magnitude of response following the deaths of Floyd and Scurlock.

As he stood in Memorial Park on June 7 and took in the more than 2,000 people who came out for a solidarity march and rally, Love focused on the power of the moment and wondered whether that momentum would continue.

"Whats going on in my mind is I hope that were not dissipating all this power, all this response. It gets lost," Love said last month. "Like a small hole in the bottom of a glass. It might spread out and lose its effectiveness. My mind went to the hope that were harnessing that and turning that into meaningful action."

Love has his own lifetime of experience in harnessing meaningful action, and, as he puts it, he's "learned these lessons from the masters," who include civil rights activists John Lewis, Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. and his family.

The lesson: If you bring people together to protest, Love said, "You must inspire them, give them information, then give them instruction. If you do, that the glass stays full."

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Woods Charitable Funds Board of Directors has awarded its fourth Breakthrough Initiative Grant to Family Violence Council for the Safe and Healthy Families Initiative, which provides a coordinated response to child abuse cases in Lancaster County in which domestic violence also occurs.

The grant, approved by Woods Charitable Funds board at its May meeting, is pledged for $900,000 over three years. It provides for staffing and related expenses for Family Violence Council and five Lincoln partner organizations: Voices of Hope, Friendship Home, CASA for Lancaster County, Child Advocacy Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincolns Center on Children, Families and the Law.

The projects goal is to improve child safety through a more domestic abuse-informed coordinated response by agencies that work with families, improve partnerships with parents, provide professional development and education for professionals engaging with these families, and hold perpetrators more accountable.

Family Violence Council is leading this initiative with its collaborators, which also include the Department of Health and Human Services Children and Family Services and the office of Lancaster County Attorney Patrick Condon.
RACINE  Family and friends on Friday evening held a vigil for Malcolm James, who died Tuesday while in custody at the Racine County Jail, with prayer, memories and a message calling for justice.

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Kelly Scroggins-Powell, co-founder of Racine Women for Racial Justice, led the vigil in prayer.

We thank you God, now that we believe that his soul is at rest, oh God, and that peace is his, and we ask you to wrap your loving arms around this family, around his friends, oh God, and even around this community, Scroggins-Powell prayed.

James mother shared memories of her son.

Once, she recalled, James donned a tracksuit, held a jump rope in hand and told her she needed to work on her fitness after a health scare.

He brought me some fitness stuff over there that I got to utilize now; I got to stand up, she said. Im going to miss my baby.

With more protests planned for Sunday following the death of James  and the death of Ronquale Ditello-Scott Jr. in the jail on May 29  the Racine County Sheriffs Office requested the publics patience and commitment to peace while they work to uncover all of the accurate facts surrounding these in-custody deaths in a Friday news release.
We are excited to bring this new transportation option to the City of Racine, Mayor Cory Mason said in a statement. Electric scooters are fun, economical and can help reduce our carbon footprint, but we need our residents and visitors of the city to make sure they follow the rules and use them safely. With summer finally arriving, this is the perfect time for everyone to give them a try.
The Burlington Area School District plan for fixing racism issues in the schools has been approved by state officials, with one qualification  the parent whose complaint launched the investigation must be part of the solution.

The Burlington Coalition for Dismantling Racism founded by Darnisha Garbade had repeatedly called to be invited "to the table" for the development and execution of an anti-racism plan, but BASD leaders had never shown a willingness to include them.
RACINE  Tedd Swartz doesnt own a TV and hasnt for 10 years. He considers watching television a time waster.

Tedd Swartz and original Habitat sign Tedd Swartz, construction leader for the Racine Habitat for Humanity, poses for a photo last month near an original Habitat sign inside the or

I threw it out the front door, he said. I had enough of it.

He would much rather read the classics, or about philosophy and other obscure topics he said, such as math, physics or psychology, geopolitics or cymatics, the study of visible sound and vibration.

Take advantage of this great offer! Just $3 gives you full access for 3 months to exclusive content from The Journal Times and journaltimes.com. The incredible deal won't last lo

He has a large collection of dictionaries, of which he said he couldnt estimate how many volumes are included.

I have thousands of books. I have shelves everywhere, he said.

The two pieces of technology he wont refuse to own, however, are a computer and a smartphone. He once tried getting rid of his smartphone, but that lasted about three weeks before he was told he needed it for his job.

Gotta have those two because you cant function in todays world without them, he said.

+5 WATCH NOW: 'I never imagined being a homeowner' | Single mom moves into Racine Habitat for Humanity's 100th home Racine Habitat for Humanity handed over keys to a deserving new homeowner on Thursday, marking the closing of the organizations hundredth home. God is great. He told me, I am here, and he gave me this new house, the mother, who is an immigrant from Columbia, said in Spanish, which was translated to English by a Habitat administrative assistant.

His job is full-time construction leader for Racine Habitat for Humanity, where hes worked for the past 10 years, helping it reach the milestone of completing its 100th home earlier this year.

He works six days a week, Monday through Saturday.

But he took a unique path to get there, from being a professional server to a Zen monk to a carpenter.

Tedd Swartz and 300-400 miles Tedd Swartz, construction leader for the Racine Habitat for Humanity, explains he puts about 300 to 400 miles a week on the Habitat truck, pic

An eclectic man

Swartz, 50, moved to West Racine in 2008 when the economic recession hit. Before that, Swartz was born and raised in Detroit. He went to St. Lawrence Seminary High School, in Mount Calvary in Fond du Lac County, for two years in hopes of becoming a Catholic priest.

There, he met a monk. After that meeting, he never looked back at the priesthood.

He was an acolyte monk for three and a half years and lived in a temple. He became a Zen monk, focusing on the practice of meditation.

Zen is a division of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty.

I dont know much about Buddhism; I know a lot about Zen, even though I was a quote-unquote Buddhist monk, he said. It was a different way of living, to say the least. It was definitely not American.

He spent a lot of time doing outreach work in the community. He taught yoga and meditation in the temple where he lived.

He never graduated St. Lawrence  dropping out either in 1986 or 1987, he said  and got a GED. He started attending Oakland Community College in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, then jumped to Wayne State University in Detroit and started studying medicine.

I really liked science, Swartz said. I still do.

Next, he bounced back to Oakland Community College and started studying photography. He was a sculptor and self-described maker in Detroit, involved in the larger arts community. But photography wasnt a field he ever worked in.

He took his first photography class just to take a class. He dropped out of Oakland Community College and continued working in restaurants  a field he had worked in since he was 12. He worked for restaurants in total for 16 years.

He then went to school for four years to become a carpenter and took part in an apprenticeship for five years. For three of those five, he built homes. He worked as a production framer, building large structures such as apartment complexes. The latter two years he was in the display field, working at shows and installing permanent museum fixtures.

It was fun, Swartz said. Im just really good with my hands.

Water distillation unit Tedd Swartz said he invents things, such as what he calls a water distillation unit. Water distillers already exist, but his machine, which 

Now, he continues to sculpt, make and fix things. Theres nothing I cant fix, he said.

He writes short stories and poetry, and invents things, such as what he calls a water distillation unit. Water distillers already exist, but his machine, which he said he built in about a day two years ago, could potentially convert raw sewage to distilled water  but thats something he hasnt tested.

Im pretty eclectic, he said.

Habitat Executive Director Grant Buenger used the word eclectic to describe Swartz as well.

He has a very diverse set of skills, training and experience, Buenger said in an email.

Tedd Swartz 2015 photo Tedd Swartz, a construction leader with Habitat for Humanity of Racine, gives instructions to volunteers from Young Professionals of Racine on

Connecting with others

Swartz said one awesome part of his job is meeting so many different people.

Weve got a lot of engineers and scientists that are retired that are just brilliant, Swartz said. A lot of times, a guy like me, a carpenter, doesnt get the opportunity to interact in an intimate setting with the people of that caliber, that intelligence.

Buenger said Swartz can talk about almost anything with anyone. He is just as comfortable speaking with pastors or scientists as he is with fellow tradesmen.

Swartz doesnt typically swing any hammers, but he gets the materials together, facilitates and supports the volunteers, making sure theyre safe and on schedule, Swartz said.

You get to see a family change the course of their life, he said of why he likes his job. Homeownership is a foundational element in getting out of poverty. Thats really awesome to be involved with, because it matters.

He appreciates being a part of Habitat, one reason being its Christian faith; the staff prays often together.

One of the best things humans can do together is eat; and the other thing is worship, or come together under a common goal, he said. Ive learned more in 10 years about human relation than I have anywhere else. Its been an incredible learning experience.

Buenger said one of Swartzs greatest strengths is his ability to connect with and teach those who volunteer with us. He makes everyone feel comfortable with the task at hand and gives them the confidence to complete it.

I am thankful to have Tedd on our staff team, Buenger said. I especially appreciate his intentionality with and care for our partner families and volunteers. They enjoy working alongside him.

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RACINE  Is a jail the right place for someone having mental health issues or suicidal ideations to be held? Not in my opinion, its not the best place for someone, said Adrienne Moore, regional attorney manager for the Racine Region of the Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office.

Mental health advocates agree with Moore. But jails and prisons are often filled with people who would likely benefit more from professional treatment instead of incarceration.

The issue is coming to the forefront locally after Malcolm James, a 27-year-old who reportedly called police for help on May 28 after setting fire to his own apartment during an apparent mental health crisis, died in the Racine County Jail on Tuesday, the second of two deaths in the jail in five days.

According to the Racine County Sheriffs Office, which operates the jail, James was on suicide watch. On Saturday, he allegedly began hurting himself by violently smashing his head against a concrete wall, was hospitalized, but then began doing the same thing Tuesday; the RCSO reported that he then experienced a medical event which led him to becoming unresponsive and he died soon after.

The family says James was tased and maced before his death, but that has not been publicly addressed by authorities. Other than initial releases regarding the deaths of James and 22-year-old Ronquale Ditello-Scott, who died May 29 of unconfirmed causes, the Sheriffs Office has not released information or answered questions regarding the deaths. On Friday, RCSO issued a statement saying it doesnt plan to release any more information regarding what happened. The deaths are being investigated by the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department, in accordance with state law.

Criminal matters usually lead to jail

Moore said that if an officer believes a crime has been committed  such as in James case, having allegedly set fire to an occupied building, leading to 15 felony charges that were dropped following his death  the individual is almost certainly going be jailed, Moore said. If it was a criminal matter  they (the officers) most likely would decide to take them to jail.

It is possible for someone who is arrested to be transferred to a mental health facility rather than being jailed. This process follows a law referred to as Chapter 51. For this reason, the process of sending someone to a mental health facility against their will rather than a jail is often referred to as chaptering someone.

When someone is chaptered, the decision is often made by the local behavioral health services department after consulting with the arresting law enforcement agency  i.e., the police department, State Patrol, county sheriffs office, etc.

According to a statement from the Racine Police Department, which declined to comment on James situation directly, Officers frequently encounter people who commit crimes while in a state of mental crisis. This often is accompanied by a suicidal act or threats of such act. Frequently when officers conduct an emergency detention on the individual and write a report to the DAs (District Attorney's) Office regarding possible/if any criminal charges. Chapter 51.15, not unlike making a custodial arrest on an individual, has a threshold with separate criteria to a specific criminal arrest that has to be met before the hold can be forced on an individual and they be placed in a facility."

Racine County Behavioral Health Services assists in addressing mental health crisis and substance abuse needs of inmates at the jail. Services vary based on individual cases, which can be extremely complex and challenging.

However, Moore said it is very rare that someone experiencing a mental health crisis and is arrested ends up in a treatment facility rather than a jail.

Nicole Smart, program director at the National Alliance on Mental Illness Racine County, said this is in part because there arent nearly enough mental health facilities or staff available in Wisconsin to take care of those who need it.

After his arrest, James was reportedly taken to Ascension All Saints Hospital for a mental and physical evaluation, but was released to be taken to jail; Ascension Health has not confirmed this, citing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations that ban it from sharing patient information.

Whats supposed to happen?

The Wisconsin Administrative Code DOC 350.17 outlines the policies and procedures of jails housing inmates with mental health concerns who may be at risk of harming themselves.

According to the state code, as soon as a potentially suicidal inmate is put on suicide watch, qualified mental health professionals should be notified of it within 12 hours. And, as soon as possible, a qualified mental health professional should evaluate the potentially suicidal inmate.

Though the Sheriffs Office reported James was on suicide close watch and put in a high-visibility cell, it has not disclosed how often he was checked on.

Usually for suicide attempts, they would be put on watch, put in a particular gown in the jail, such as a restraining anti-suicide smock. They wouldnt necessarily be taken to a hospital, Moore said.

Moore noted the garment the inmate is to wear is usually padded, and that jail staff can pad the cell if they feel like thats necessary, while adding that she has never seen a cell that has been padded when shes been in the jail.

Racine County Jail, 717 Wisconsin Ave. A man walks past the Racine County Jail, 717 Wisconsin Ave., on Oct. 16, 2020.

Where should they go?

Smart said people experiencing a mental health crisis shouldnt be jailed. Instead, people like James should be sent to the hospital.

But hospitals in the area arent equipped to work with those that have that criminal aspect, Smart said. We need more doctors, more staff, better facilities.

There are correctional facilities in the state which specialize in caring for mentally ill inmates. For example, Wisconsin Resource Center in Oshkosh is a leader in the development of innovative treatment methods for state prison residents in need of specialized mental health services, according to its website.

Theres also the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center in Madison which, according to the state, provides comprehensive mental health services to teen boys whose highly disruptive behavior and failure to respond to standard treatment has warranted their transfer to the facility from Wisconsins juvenile corrections system.

Smart said the state needs more of these crisis centers; specifically, at least one should be closer to Racine.

Many times (mentally ill inmates) are sitting in jail, waiting to be transported, Smart said.

Jerome Dillard, executive director of EX-incarcerated People Organizing, a Wisconsin-based organization that works to end mass incarceration and advocate on behalf of those who were or are incarcerated, said he spent many years working in the WRC.

Theres rounds to be made, Dillard said of how often jail staff monitored inmates at WRC. Someone will check on that person, every 15 or 20 minutes at the most. Was that taking place (with James) is the question.

Who is affected: Its not addressed, its not treated

According to the Department of Corrections, almost half of all adults incarcerated in Wisconsin have at least one mental health condition.

An April 2021 report from Wisconsins Division of Adult Institutions says that 39% of male inmates in the states correctional facilities have a mental health condition. Of those, 7% have what the DAI classifies as serious conditions  like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorder or severe depression. In the same report, 92% of female inmates have a mental health condition; of those, 38% have a serious condition.

Thats out of about 19,400 inmates the DIA reports having in its facilities, more than 93% of those incarcerated are men.

According to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, 37% of people in state and federal prisons have been diagnosed with a mental illness; that number goes up to 44% for those in local jails.

Dillard, who was formerly incarcerated, said he remembered the emotional toll he faced the first time he was locked up and put into a cell.

I myself had traumas dealing with undiagnosed mental health issues and never got help for it, Dillard said.

A large portion of our incarcerated population suffer from mental health issues, he said. And yet ... its not addressed, its not treated.

Recommendations

In the states budget recommendations, Gov. Tony Evers recommended an addition of over $5 million to help fund Mendota and the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston, which houses inmates who have a history of sexual aggression.

But theres more to do beyond supporting an increase in funding.

Michelle Gehring, executive director for NAMI Racine, said the community should mobilize to speak to legislators and advocate for more mental health resources so others like James dont end up without the help they need.

The stigma against seeking help for mental illness and the overall lack of access to mental health services are two of the biggest contributions to mental health crises, Smart said.

We hope its a wake-up call for the (Racine) community, Gehring said.

Smart said local legislators and officials would benefit from reaching out to organizations like NAMI who specialize in offering mental health services for the community, since Racine is so lacking in mental health services.

The county also does not offer mental health court, Smart noted, despite other counties offering it. A mental health court would help mandate defendants to acquire, and follow up with, services to treat their mental illness.

There are other courts in the county, however, which may take mental health into consideration  like the veterans court or the drug court. But no specific court handles mental health.

There should also be advocacy for the 998 bill, Gehring said. The 998 bill, signed in October by then-President Donald Trump, calls for designating 998 as the three-digit number to call for mental health and suicidal crises instead of 911.

We need to do a better job at diagnosing, intervening and treating individuals with mental illness, because its a significant part of our communities, Dillard said. Especially in the more impoverished communities, where traumas are just stacked on top of each other.

UPDATED: A quote in the original version of this story was misattributed to the Racine Police Department. The correct quote now appears above.

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County Board Supervisor Jerry Gulley questioned how Country Thunder is communicating the negative test and vaccine information to patrons, as it is not on the event website. Blevins said it is communicated on every confirmation email sent to patrons to buy tickets.

Spacing, signage

According to the plan, the layout of the event will not change, but, socially distanced entrances and vendor lines will be considered dependent upon the current requirements. It also states non-vaccinated people will be encouraged to wear a mask, which will be made available for those who do not have one.

Theyll have signage to (social) distance, but we know that will be impossible, Freiheit said. Theyll have signage for masks. Theyll have extra masks. We know people wont be wearing masks.

Under the plan, all full-time Country Thunder staff will be vaccinated. It will be recommended that part-time and seasonal staff be vaccinated or have a negative COVID test before arriving at the event.

Recommend approval

Committee members voted unanimously to recommend approval of the license for the event by the County Board. The Town of Randall has approved the Class B liquor license and a conditional-use permit for the event.
I am an independent who often votes Republican.

While I will not become a member of the Democratic Party, it is my intention to not vote for any Republican who prostrates himself or herself in front of Donald Trump and his policies.

This chilling cult of personality, evocative of Andrew Jackson and his post-presidency influence in the 19th century (as well as several dictators in the 20th century), is a harbinger for our country of continued destructive acrimony. (Pre-emptive note for all the reactionaries out there  Im equating the cult of personality to that held by dictators, not the former president himself.)

Its time the Republican Party ends this misplaced veneration and returns to the values that won independent votes in the past  fiscal responsibility, sound governance, political civility ...

On its current path, the party is not viable and is susceptible to schism. Returning to its core values, rather than blind sycophancy to an individual, will keep the party competitive in the long run.

Terry McCarthy, Racine

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1. Yes. Its important to address the problem before it gets worse. A bond is needed.

2. Yes. Its fine, as long as the bond isnt too large. The city doesnt need more debt.

3. No. A bond issue would just put the problem back on the taxpayers. Not acceptable.

4. No. Certificates of obligation, targeting the worst roads, would be a better choice.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say without knowing the details of what a bond would entail.

Vote

View Results
Lacey Peters, with the Office of Teaching, Learning and Assessment that focuses on the states physical and health education at the Nebraska Department of Education, spoke to the crowd via Zoom about how the feedback the board has received will be used to structure and evaluate the standards, and there may be removal and addition of topics in the second draft of the proposed standards. There also may be rewording of topics and phrases that might be confusing. The content will be evaluated for the developmental appropriateness for all grade levels but especially lower grade levels, she said.

Work will begin this summer on the second draft and will be made available to the public this fall. The public will have a chance to voice their opinion in a survey that will have a more simplified design.

Board member Patti Gubbels with District 3 said that as early as the April board meeting, she has encouraged the writing of a second draft of the proposed standards. She also told the attendees to continue to voice their concerns and provide input about the second draft through the survey.
THE AUTHOR is a professor of exercise science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. His opinions do not represent any official position of UNK.

Many of the Nebraska Department of Educations proposed health education standards seem to be focused on an ideological agenda. Specifically, the proposed standard HE.5.7.3.e, which states: Explain the significance of the physical changes in puberty and the potential role of hormone blockers on young people who identify as transgender. The first nine words of this statement are appropriate for fifth-grade health education. However, the remaining 14 words are egregiously incompatible with the prudent health education of fifth-grade students.

The use of puberty blockers in children has not been rigorously researched nor has it been approved by the FDA. A recent review by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England concludes that research on the use of puberty blockers in children is subject to bias and confounding, is limited by small numbers of subjects with poor research control, and the use of puberty blockers to improve the mental health issues associated with gender dysphoria is of very low certainty.
"They would get less frequent checkups with the doctor, they were more likely to view that their doctors were negatively judging them about their weight, and that their doctor had less respect for them and didn't listen to their needs," Puhl said.

Those beliefs persisted even if the person was not significantly overweight, the study found.

"I should note that body weight was not associated with any of those health care experiences, so it was just the internalization of that stigma," Puhl said.

Prior research shows that when people experience weight stigma and internalize it, that itself can predict weight gain.

"A common perception is that a little shame or stigma might motivate people to lose weight, but that is not what we see in research," Puhl said. "In fact, when people experience weight stigma this actually contributes to unhealthy eating behaviors, lower physical activity and weight gain."

That pattern was also seen in both studies across all countries: The more people blamed themselves for their weight, the greater the weight gain in the past year -- and the more they turned to food as a way to cope with stress.
Blair Gerard Middleton, "Jerry", was born November 30, 1936 in Washington D.C. to T. Blair and Virginia Middleton. He Graduated from Priory, which is now known as St. Anselms Abbey, in 1954. He was drafted into the Army for two years and spent time in Germany and traveling throughout Europe during this time.



He held many different types of jobs in his life, including building counter tops, working at the National Security Agency, working at Philco, part of the Goddard Flight center, working for his father raising beef cows, working at Middleton and Meads, helping to run Middleton Landscaping and then Middleton Brother's Farm, specializing in commercial landscaping.



When he retired, he told his beloved wife Martha that they were moving to the beach. She wasn't taking any chances and had reservations and a list of possible houses within hours. They spent their retirement enjoying the town of Southern Shores, NC in a home they shared with their beloved bulldog Rachel, and then 2 much loved Golden Retrievers, Nugget and Charleigh. Their home was a warm, loving gathering place for their children, grandchildren and granddogs.



Two years after his wife Martha passed, Jerry moved to Southern Maryland to live with his daughter. There he was able to reconnect with many relatives and make new friends.



Jerry was incredibly smart, incredibly strong and incredibly tough. He was opinionated but so loving. He loved talking to people and teasing children good-naturedly. He loved his family and he was eternally devoted to his wife. He will be greatly missed.



Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, his younger brothers John Francis and Robert David and his son in law Patrick. He is eternally reunited with his beloved wife Martha. He is survived by his daughter Marti Lloyd, his son Blair Jr. (Leigh) his 3 granddaughters, Rena, Rachel and Riley, his sister Marianne, his sisters in law, Kristin and Donna, many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.



There will be a Celebration of Life on Saturday, June 5, 2021, at St. Cecilia's Church, 47950 Mattapany Road, St. Mary's City, Md. 20686. The family will receive friends from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 pm with a Memorial Service at 12:00 P.M. celebrated by Father Scott Woods and the family and interment will be at a later date in North Carolina. The family is asking for people to wear bright clothing.



There will be a circle of prayer held at Chicahauk Beach, Southern Shores on June 12, 2021 at 12:00 P.M. in N.C. for all living in the area or visiting the Outer Banks are welcome.



He will be greatly missed.



In lieu of flowers donations can be made in honor of Blair Middleton to Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 456, Ridge, Md. 20680.



Condolences to the family may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com



Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP)  A 76-year-old Minnesota man has been arrested in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old suburban Chicago girl nearly half a century ago, authorities said Friday.

The Naperville Police Department arrested Barry Lee Whelpley of Mounds View, Minnesota, on Wednesday for the 1972 slaying of Julie Ann Hanson. The retired welder, who was 27 at the time of the killing, has been charged with murder and was taken into custody in Minnesota, where he is awaiting extradition to Illinois. It wasn't clear whether he has an attorney.

The girl was reported missing July 8, 1972, after last being seen riding away from her home on a bicycle. Her body was discovered later that day in a field in Naperville. She had been stabbed 36 times and sexually assaulted, investigators said at the time.

No suspects were immediately identified and Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said through the years those suspects who were identified were all eliminated through the exhaustive investigation of our detectives.

The breakthrough in the case came through technological advancements in DNA and genetic genealogy analysis, police said. From that came the scientific evidence that pointed to Whelpley, a 1964 graduate of Naperville High School who lived about a mile from the girl's house at the time of the killing.
Messicks Farm Equipment is working on a new corporate office and showroom in Rapho Township.

With 230,000 square feet of space, the new building at 1580 Strickler Road will be twice as big as its current space at 187 Merts Drive in Elizabethtown. Work began last month on the new building, which is slated to open sometime late this year.

The new building just off the Esbenshade Road exit of Route 283 will have additional indoor and outdoor space for the sales, parts and service departments while also allowing for future growth. After the move, Messicks will look to sell or lease its current building, said Neil Messick, an owner of the company. He declined to estimate the projects cost.

Founded near Elizabethtown in 1952, Messicks sells, rents and repairs equipment for agriculture and construction industries while also offering equipment for residential and commercial uses. It also has Pennsylvania locations in Abbottstown, Halifax, Carlisle and Aspers.
First Presbyterian Church had three significant reasons to celebrate on Sunday, May 23. It was Pentecost Sunday; it marked the installation of its new lead pastor, the Rev. Dan Snyder; and it was first service since the pandemic to welcome all worshippers in the sanctuary without capacity limitations.

For Chuck Manners, a 30-year church member, that Sunday felt like the beginning of something truly wonderful taking place on Pentecost.

The collective joy of being back together and celebrating this special event in the life of our congregation is almost more than I can describe, he says.

The Presbytery of Donegal and the congregation voted Snyder to serve as lead pastor 14 months ago, but his installation was delayed due to coronavirus restrictions. He was officially installed by the Rev. Erin Cox-Holmes, executive presbyter, and Michael Wilson, stated clerk from the Presbytery of Donegal.

Over 150 congregants attended the anticipated and long-awaited service, while others tuned in via Zoom. The Rev. Alicia Conklin-Wood, honorably retired from the Presbytery of Donegal, and Elder Barbara Moir, Wayside Presbyterian Church, along with the churchs interim associate pastor, the Rev. Stephens Lytch, were at the service to support the new lead pastor.

Cox-Holmes preached and provided the Charge to the Newly Installed Pastor consisting of nine questions relating to faith, ministry, church polity and discipline. Wilson provided the Charge to the Congregation with four questions promising to accept, encourage, provide for his welfare and listen to the word preached.

Musician D. Scott Loose played his trumpet and flugelhorn, plus the First Presbyterian Church Cherry Street Contemporary Worship band performed. Congregants sang Rise Up, O Church, written by church member Bruce Wittmaier and arranged by Matthew Weaver, church organist. Everyone was given a red rose as they left the celebratory service.

Years in the making

Snyder has been associated with First Presbyterian Church since March 2002 when he served as worship leader for the new Cherry Street Contemporary Worship. In 2008, he became a member. Over the years, hes served in many church roles  director of contemporary worship, director of congregational involvement, director of children's and youth ministry, associate pastor of spiritual formation and transitional lead pastor.

When the Rev. Geoff Kohler resigned in 2018 to accept a pastorate in Golden, Colorado, Snyder became transitional lead pastor. It was easy decision to accept, Snyder says.

The people of First Presbyterian Church strive for justice and peace, to love and care for the community and to be their best selves for the world, Snyder says. I wanted to be part of a church like that.

Members agreed he had already shown an innate ability to serve in a variety of church roles. Leadership gave him the opportunity to serve as transitional lead pastor for a year. That resulted in the congregation unanimously voting to make him lead pastor.

We knew he had a great heart for Christ, for our congregation and the community, Manners says.

Snyder received his Master of Divinity degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary. Born and raised in Johnson City, New York, he moved to Lancaster in the early 90s. He and wife, Chris, an executive administrative assistant for the School District of Lancaster, reside in Lancaster and are proud parents of two adult children.

Snyder feels blessed to serve as lead pastor. He says the approximate 400-member church really seeks to welcome and love people.

I love people better today because of what Ive learned through them, he says.

He looks forward to having a partner who will serve as associate pastor and anticipates filling the position by early fall.

A new meeting space

The church also embarked on a 3,500-square-foot renovation project during the summer of 2020 to be completed in May 2021. Scott Albright, director of facilities, says 99% of the work was performed in-house and includes a meeting room, conference room with state-of-the-art audio/visual system, cafe, two private restrooms and entry hall.

Other upgrades include replacing carpet and tile flooring with refinished original hardwood flooring, and new cabinetry, countertops and appliances in the cafe. New lighting, plumbing and painting finished the project. The refurbished space has a private entrance. Two additional rooms will be completed in the future to add an additional 1,500-square-feet of space to the area.

Albright says he couldnt provide a total cost, but said some expenses came from an existing maintenance and building budget. He also says there were several generous donations that helped finance the project.

Being in the heart of Lancaster city, we hope (the renovated wing) will provide a meeting space for local businesses and organizations for informal or formal meetings, Albright says.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional information from Lancaster Township Fire Department Capt. Greg Leaman.

A Lancaster Township resident was in critical condition after a fire on Friday night, according to the Lancaster Township Fire Department

Firefighters were dispatched at 10:29 p.m. for a dwelling that was on fire in the first block of Pickford Drive in Wedgewood Estates, off of New Danville Pike between Second Lock Road and Hoover Road, according to Capt. Greg Leaman.

A male resident of the home was taken to Lancaster General Hospital in critical condition and was then flown to a burn center at Crozer-Chester Medical Center near Philadelphia for treatment. The man sustained moderate burns and was able to return home from the burn center on Saturday, Leaman said.

A neighboring woman returned home at around 10 p.m. and noticed the smell of smoke in the area. The woman first thought the smell was from a fire pit from a neighboring home, Leaman said.

Shortly after, the woman proceeded to take their dog out for a walk. The woman then discovered heavy smoke and flames coming from 6 Pickford Drive.

The woman ran to the front door, which was propped open, and found the resident of the home, who appeared to be disoriented, inside the burning home. The woman removed the resident from the burning home.

Leaman credited the woman with saving the man's life.

She ran over and she saw the resident inside the house," he said. "She got him out.

Firefighters encountered heavy fire conditions in the kitchen, in the rear of the structure, Leaman said. Flames were coming from the kitchen window and patio door. The heat ignited the attic space of the home and an adjacent home.

The fire destroyed the residence's kitchen while the adjacent home sustained fire damage to the attic area as well as water and smoke damage, according to Leaman.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, but remained on the scene until 1:28 am., Leaman said. Firefighters also rescued several cats and dogs from both homes.

A Lafayette firefighter was injured and transported to the hospital with a minor injury.

Firefighters later returned to the scene on Saturday to extinguish some still-smoldering areas, Leaman said.

Red Cross was dispatched to assist three adults, a child, three dogs and two cats who were displaced by the fire.

A state police fire marshal determined Saturday morning that the fire was caused by an malfunctioning microwave, Leaman said.

A damage estimate was not available.

Assisting Lancaster Township firefighters were Mountville, Gordonville, New Danville, Lancaster City, Blue Rock, East Petersburg, Willow Street, Lafayette and Rohrerstown fire companies.
A longtime educator was remembered on Saturday for her decades of work with Lancaster County children.

A memorial service for Iris MacRae, who died in March at 101 years old, was held at Groffs Family Funeral Home in Lancaster. Memorial services were delayed due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions.

Those who knew MacRae described her as a kind and generous woman with a charming sense of humor.

Every single accomplishment that she made was not only for herself, but for everyone who came after her, said MacRaes great-granddaughter Eli Hertzler-McCain. She touched the lives of an unimaginable number of children.

The Puerto Rican-born educator, who taught elementary Spanish in the Conestoga Valley School District for 12 years and also created and led a bilingual education program for the School District of Lancaster, was described as having an unwavering work ethic and a genuine passion for teaching that bled into her life outside of school.

Alicia Orbin, who met MacRae nearly 50 years ago after having arrived from Mexico, said the longtime educator took an immediate interest in her from the moment they encountered one another.

She asked me who I was, where I lived, where I came from, what I was doing in this country, Orbin said. She wanted me to talk to her.

From those early conversations, MacRae discovered that Orbin did not have an American education and encouraged her to obtain a GED and later attend college.

And I did, thanks to her, Orbin said.

MacRae reflected those same attitudes around family as well, her cousin William Swarts said.

She encouraged us to become ourselves and to follow unique paths that beckoned us, he said.

MacRae, whose obituary described her as a virtual trailblazer for human issues and education throughout her life, taught in Lancaster County for more than 20 years before retiring in 1983.

Carter-MacRae Elementary School in Lancaster now partially bears MacRaes name.

She didnt have to buy her name on a building, said MacRaes friend Walt Rowen, who knew her for around 60 years. She earned it.

MacRae was a teacher at heart, said Rowen, who described her as his second mother.

It defined her, he said. She devoted her entire life to teaching, and it was her passion.

MacRae was also involved in organizations such as the Spanish American Civic Association, where she served on the board for nine years, including one year as president, as well as the Urban League, Spanish American Womens League, National Central Bank and others.

She was the greatest person Ive ever met in my life, Hertzler-McCain said. She was a woman before her time.
David and Victoria Preston were found dead at their Mount Joy Township home after it exploded early Tuesday evening.

Lancaster County coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni identified the Prestons Friday as the deceased couple found in the debris following an explosion that started a fire at their home in the 100 block of Waldheim Road, just off of Mt. Gretna Road (Route 241).

David Preston was 63 years old and his wife, Victoria Preston, was 60 years old, said Diamantoni. An autopsy was performed Friday morning and the couples identities were confirmed using dental records. A report on the cause and manner of their deaths is still pending, Diamantoni said. The cause of the explosion also remains under investigation.

The Prestons bought the property just northwest of Elizabethtown in 2005. Property records indicate it was a 2,240 square-foot rancher built in 1972.

Ken Epdegraff, who lives next door, told an LNP reporter the couple mostly kept to themselves.

Douglas Armstrong, who lives further down the street, described them as "super nice."

"They were the nicest, nicest people," he told the reporter. "When I moved in they brought me cookies."

Just before 6 p.m. Tuesday neighbors reported hearing one large explosion, followed by several other smaller explosions. They also reported hearing what appeared to be ammunition exploding after the initial explosions rang out. The home collapsed just as firefighters arrived at the scene, said Elizabethtown Fire Department deputy fire chief Jeremy Shaffner.

A Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall assisted by an Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms Agent and police detective attempted to locate the residents, but an extensive investigation and search of the interior and basement of the home was determined to be unsafe and was halted overnight to request excavation equipment, police said.

The search was renewed around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, and the Prestons were discovered under the debris just after 10 a.m., the coroners office reported.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said. Anyone who has information is urged to contact Detective Frank Ember Jr. at 717-689-5657, extension 111.
Several Lancaster County school districts in recent days have announced expectations for the next school year, signaling a return to school as it once was: five days a week in-person without masks or social distancing.

The announcements come as school districts wrap up a particularly challenging school year with constantly changing guidance from state and federal health officials, quarantines and intermittent school closures due to COVID-19 exposure, as well as increasing pressure from parent groups fed up with the mask requirement in schools.

One thing we have learned throughout this school year, given the many changes in direction from the PA Department of Education and the PA Department of Health, is that change is truly our constant, Manheim Township School District Superintendent Robin Felty wrote in a letter to families Wednesday.

Feltys letter goes on to say that students and staff will not be required to wear masks at school, nor will they be required to get the COVID-19 vaccination, in order to attend school come fall. Both in-person and online learning options will be available.

Similar letters were sent over the last week to families in Cocalico, Eastern Lancaster County and Penn Manor school districts.

At this point, we are looking forward to a more normal year in 2021-2022, Penn Manor Superintendent Mike Leichliter and school board President Carlton Rintz said in a letter Wednesday.

Most other Lancaster County school districts have signaled an expectation of normalcy next school year, depending on state guidelines  and, in Octorara Area School Districts case, guidelines from the Chester County Health Department, since they are located in both Lancaster and Chester counties. Many are still awaiting board approval for their instructional models, but they expect both in-person and online learning options to be available.

These expectations are based on the states downward trend of COVID-19 cases and steady increase in vaccinations. On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Health lifted all COVID-19 restrictions  including the attestation requirement for schools  except its mask mandate for unvaccinated people. The mask order is in place until 70% of Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated or on June 28, whichever comes first.

This is very welcome news, and that announcement strongly suggests that COVID mitigation measures imposed upon public schools in Pennsylvania appear to be drawing to a close, Cocalico Superintendent Ella Musser said in a letter May 28.

Officials with Conestoga Valley, Elizabethtown Area and Warwick told LNP | LancasterOnline this week that no announcements have been made regarding next school year. Manheim Central Superintendent Peter J. Aiken did not respond to a request for comment.
The 80 students graduating from Lancaster Mennonite on Saturday morning faced plenty of hardships over the 2020-21 school year. However, they always had words of reassurance whenever they needed them.

We are clothed in strength and dignity. We laugh without fear of the future, reads Proverbs 31:25, the motto for the Class of 2021.

It was a very fitting verse given the uncertainty of the past school year.

Three seniors from the graduating class  Chloe Elie, Eden Addisu and Isaac Kraenbring  presented their speeches at the senior dedication, which was held Friday evening.

When we leave this school tomorrow, we are all going to go out into the world and do different things, but what I want each and every one of you to realize is that every problem has a solution, it just needs one person to find it and fix it, Elie said.

As I look back at my time at LMH, through learning about many inspirational figures and interacting with those who are changing the world, one thing Ive noticed all these people who are continuously changing the world share is their drive to love, their ability to take leaps of faith, and their determination to persevere, Addisu said.

Many of us are experiencing one of those complex emotions right now: the joy in sadness. We are joyful because we are graduating. We just completed 12 years of school, and we are now getting a piece of paper to prove it. We are sad because we just completed 12 years of school and now have to leave behind a very formative place, Kraenbring said.

Hyacinth Stevens, the commencement speaker, encouraged the graduating class to be unhinged, untied and ready. Stevens works for Mennonite Central Committee as the New York program director, and held virtual chapels over the school year.

I want to encourage you as you continue on the path that has been formed for you and that you are forming now, Stevens said.

Lancaster Mennonite Principal Michael Charles addressed the Class of 2021, highlighting the theme of world changers.

Yours is a historic graduating class, and you will forever remember and share that your junior and senior years took place during a global pandemic, Charles said. Nurture curiosity and creativity. Empower lifelong learning. And then together you will change the world. Congratulations, Class of 2021.
New science, supplies and solar arrays are packed inside the SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle as it orbits toward the International Space Station.

Two cosmonauts are also cleaning up following a successful spacewalk early Wednesday.

Five Expedition 65 astronauts are relaxing today, but will be on duty Saturday unpacking time-sensitive science experiments from the new Cargo Dragon resupply ship. NASA Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will be monitoring Dragon during its rendezvous and approach on Saturday until its automated docking about 5 a.m. EDT. NASA TV begins its live coverage at 3:30 a.m.

Afterward, the duo will join Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Pesquet and Commander Akihiko Hoshide transferring cargo from the U.S. space freighter into the station. They will focus first on installing and activating new experiments researching rodents, microbes, sea life and plants.

Space biology studies help scientists understand how microgravity impacts a variety of life forms. This leads to new insights and developments that improve human health, innovate Earth industries and commercialize space.

Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are cleaning up today following a seven-hour and 19-minute spacewalk on Wednesday to ready the station's Russian segment for a new module. The duo spent Friday servicing their Orlan spacesuit components and stowing their spacewalking tools.

The spacewalkers worked early Wednesday to deconfigure the Pirs docking compartment which will undock from the Zvezda service module after 20 years later this summer. This will open up Zvezda's Earth-facing port for the arrival of Russia's Nauka multipurpose laboratory module planned to arrive shortly after Pirs' departure.

On-Orbit Status Report

SpaceX-22 Cargo Dragon Launch: Today, SpaceX-22 Cargo Dragon launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from LC- 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 12:29 PM CT and is set to dock to the ISS on Saturday, June 5 at 4:13 AM CT. The Crew will be off-duty tomorrow in preparation for SpaceX-22's arrival where they will unload various science experiments that will study how water bears tolerate space, whether microgravity affects symbiotic relationships, analyzing the formation of kidney stones, and more.

Payloads:

AC Touch: Per standard procedure, the crew touched both the coated and uncoated coupons for this long-term investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health and spacecraft systems as well as creating the possibility of contaminating other planetary bodies. The samples remain in space approximately six months then return to Earth for analysis.

Food Acceptability: Using the data collection tool an available SSC (Station Support Computer), the crew filled out their Food Acceptability Surveys. This investigation seeks to determine the impact of repetitive consumption of food currently available from the spaceflight food system. Results will be used in developing strategies to improve food system composition to support crew health and performance on long duration missions.

ManD: The crew accessed the Manufacturing Device (ManD) print volume, removed the latest printed object, cleaned the extruder print nozzle, took photos and stowed the printed object. The Manufacturing Device enables the production of components on the ISS for both NASA and commercial objectives. Parts, entire experiments, and tools can be created on demand utilizing the ManD printer that is installed into an Express Rack locker location. ManD is capable of producing parts out of a wide variety of thermopolymers including engineered plastics.

RTPCG-2 plate load: The crew loaded the plate C1, row B wells with protein solutions and salt solutions to begin the next series of protein crystallization RTPCG-2 experiments. The plate was then transferred to a Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL) where the crystals can develop over the next 7 days. Phase II Real-time Protein Crystal Growth on Board the International Space Station (RTPCG-2) demonstrates new methods for producing high-quality protein crystals in microgravity. Previous work has shown that microgravity can sometimes produce high-quality protein crystals that can be analyzed to identify possible targets for drugs to treat disease. RTPCG-2 tests high-quality proteins crystals for detailed analysis back on Earth.

TICTOC (Targeting Improved Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation): The crew reviewed the procedures to prepare for the TICTOC experiment, which arrives on SpX-22. Target, the retail store, is funding the investigation Targeting Improved Cotton Through On-orbit Cultivation (TICTOC) that studies how root system architecture affects plant resilience to stress, water-use efficiency, and carbon sequestration during the critical phase of seedling establishment. Roots play a central role in plant stress resistance and survival, but their growth patterns depend upon gravity. This investigation examines how environmental factors and genes control development of roots in the absence of gravity.

Systems:

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The crew completed several activities in preparation for the ISS 2B IROSA EVA. The crew reviewed procedures, charged and installed EVA batteries and performed an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Loop scrubs. Additionally, the crew completed an EMU Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) checkout and EVA retractable equipment tether inspection. The ISS 2B IROSA EVA is scheduled for Wednesday, June 16th.

SpaceX-22 docking preparations: the crew reviewed Cargo Dragon cargo operations in preparation for SpX-22's arrival. They also had a conference with ISS ground teams to discuss upcoming docking/cargo activities. The crew will work on Saturday to unload time critical experiments after SpX-22 docks.

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) In Flight Maintenance (IFM): As part of regularly scheduled preventative maintenance, the crew performed a manual WHC flush tank fill. By using a post-flight analysis bag to capture any pressure relief, also known as the burp, they depressurized the flush water tank and water valve block to protect the dose pump. This pump is critical as it injects the pre-treat required to properly recycle waste urine.

Ultrasound Eye Exam: Today the crew used an ultrasound device to perform an eye scan, the first of several routine ultrasound eye exams during their stay on ISS. Eye exams are performed regularly onboard in order to monitor crewmember's eye health. Eyesight is one of many aspects of the human body affected by long-duration stays in a microgravity environment.

Completed Task List Activities:

WHC KTO replace

Today's Ground Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS) High Pressure (HP) Oxygen Valve Open

Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) Airlock Low Temperature Loop (LTL) Flow Initiation

Extravehicular Mobility Unit Orbital Replacement Unit Checkout

Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Oxygen Leak Check

Look Ahead Plan:

Friday, June 4 (GMT 155)

Payloads:

BPA filter clean, Cold Stowage unpack

Systems:

Crew off-duty day

Saturday, June 5 (GMT 156)

Payloads:

ADSEP2 historical photos, Cold Stowage transfer/unpacking, HRF urine setup, Lyophillization-2, MME-2, Nanoracks Mod-9 ops 1, Tangolab-2 card cube replace, TICTOC, UMAMI

Systems:

SpX-22 docking Ops

SpX-22 Cargo Ops

Sunday, June 6 (GMT 157)

Payloads:

HRF blood/urine collection, TICTOC

Systems:

Crew off-duty day

Today's Planned Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Real-time Protein Crystal Growth Maintenance Work Area Preparation

Mouse Habitat Unit 6 Mission Familiarization

Real-time Protein Crystal Growth MELFI Vial Retrieve

Real-time Protein Crystal Growth Payload Review

Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Nitrogen System Swap to N2 NORS tank

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedures Print

Real-time Protein Crystal Growth Screening Plate Load S/N C1, Row B

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Maintenance Scrub Initiation

TICTOC Procedure Review#1

Brine Processor Bladder Remove and Inspect

Water Resource Management Water Resupply Tank Transfer to WSS Teardown

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review

Extravehicular Mobility Unit Orbital Replacement Unit Checkout

EVA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Cooling Loop Scrub Deconfiguration

Health Maintenance System (HMS) - ESA Nutritional Assessment

Node 2 Overhead Hatch Open

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan

Nanoracks Module-9 OBT

Node 2 Overhead Hatch Close

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill Initiation

US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Tranfer

Crew Dragon Tablet Sync

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan performed by a Crew Medical Officer (CMO)

US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Retractable Equipment Tether Inspection

Contingency Water Container - Iodinated (CWC-I) Degas

WHC Contingency Gather

Glacier 2 and Glacier 1 Transfer

Extrvehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Water Recharge

Glacier Desiccant Swap

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Liquid Cooling Ventilation Garment (LVCG) Water Fill

Manufacturing Device Print Removal, Clean and Stow

Extravehicular Activity Battery Install

EVA Battery Operations Terminal Charge Init

Dragon Cargo Operations Review

Dragon Cargo Operations Conference

Flight Director/ISS CREW CONFERENCE

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Update: West Lampeter Township police reported Friday afternoon that Theodore Seifried has been found, and is safe. Police said he was discovered around 12:30 p.m. in Erving, Massachusetts, where he appeared to be disoriented as he was driving up and down a dead-end street in a residential area. He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

Previously reported:

West Lampeter Township police are searching for a 64-year-old man who was last seen on Wednesday.

Theodore Seifried was last seen on June 2, around 12:30 p.m. on Laneview Drive in Willow Street, police said.

He was wearing blue jeans, a blue plaid flannel shirt, a black zip-up hoodie with a Stone Pony logo on the back and a white hat with a Stone Pony logo, according to police.

Police said that Seifried may be at special risk of harm or injury and may be confused.

He is 5-foot-11 and about 112 pounds, police said. He is driving a green Toyota Camry with a Pennsylvania registration "DSM-6958," police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or West Lampeter Township police at 717-464-2421.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  The Biden administration has quietly tasked six humanitarian groups with recommending which migrants should be allowed into the United States to pursue asylum as it faces mounting pressure to lift public health rules that have barred people from seeking protection.

The consortium of groups is determining who is most vulnerable out of those waiting in Mexico to get into the U.S., and the criteria they are using has not been made public. It comes as large numbers of migrants are crossing the southern border and the government has been rapidly expelling them from the country under a public health order instituted by former President Donald Trump and kept in place by President Joe Biden during the coronavirus pandemic.

Several members of the consortium revealed details about the new system to The Associated Press. The government is aiming to admit up to 250 asylum-seekers a day who are referred by the groups, agreeing to that system only until July 31. By then, the consortium hopes the Biden administration will have lifted the public health rules, though the government has not committed to that.

So far, nearly 800 asylum-seekers have been let into the country since May 3, and members of the consortium say there is already more demand than they can meet.

The groups have not been publicly identified except for the International Rescue Committee, a global relief organization. The others are London-based Save the Children; two U.S.-based organizations, HIAS and Kids in Need of Defense; and two Mexico-based organizations, Asylum Access and the Institute for Women in Migration, according to two people with direct knowledge who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not intended for public release.

Asylum Access, which provides services to people seeing asylum in Mexico, characterized its role as minimal.

The effort started at the border in El Paso, Texas, and is expanding to Nogales, Arizona.

A similar but separate system led by the American Civil Liberties Union began in late March and allows 35 families a day into the United States at places along the border. It has no end date.

The twin tracks are described by participating organizations as an imperfect transition from so-called Title 42 authority, named for a section of an obscure 1944 public health law that Trump used in March 2020 to effectively end asylum at the Mexican border. With COVID-19 vaccination rates rising, Biden is finding it difficult to justify the expulsions on public health grounds and faces demands to end it from the U.N. refugee agency and members of his own party and administration.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it's in close coordination with international and non-governmental organizations in Mexico" to identify vulnerable people and that it has the final say on who gets in. The agency described its work with the groups as fluid and said it hasn't identified them to avoid giving them exposure.

Some consortium members are concerned that their offices in Mexico could be mobbed by asylum-seekers, overwhelming their tiny staffs and exposing them to potential threats and physical attacks from extortionists and other criminals.

Critics of the new selection processes say too much power is vested in a small number of organizations and that the efforts are secretive without a clear explanation of how the groups were chosen. Critics also say there are no assurances that the most vulnerable or deserving migrants will be chosen to seek asylum.

The consortium was formed after the U.S. government asked the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees office in Mexico for the names of organizations with deep experience and capacity in Mexico, said Sibylla Brodzinsky, a U.N. office spokeswoman.

Weve had long relationships with them and theyre trusted partners, she said.

The groups say they are merely streamlining the process but that the vulnerable migrants' cases can come from anywhere.

In Nogales, Arizona, the International Rescue Committee is working with local organizations and using a program that connects to migrants via social media and smartphones to find those facing extreme life-threatening situations," said Raymundo Tamayo, the groups director in Mexico. It plans to refer up to 600 people a month to U.S. officials.

Special consideration is being given to asylum-seekers who have been in Mexico a long time, are in need of acute medical attention or who have disabilities, are members of the LGBTQ community or are non-Spanish speakers, though each case is being weighed on its unique circumstances, Tamayo said.

ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said advocacy groups are in a very difficult position because they need to essentially rank the desperation of people, but he insisted it was temporary. The government, he said, cannot farm out the asylum system.

The most vulnerable migrants may be too scared or uninformed to bring attention to themselves, said Margaret Cargioli, managing attorney for Immigrant Defenders Law Center, a Los Angeles-based group that got involved with the ACLU-led effort after more organizations became aware of it. She called the approach a Band-Aid while the health rules remain in place.

Migration experts not involved in the process have questioned why the government has not been more transparent.

It has been murky, said Jessica Bolter, an analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute who believes the administration is quietly trying to be humane without encouraging more people to come, a balancing act she doubts will succeed.

Setting out clear and accurate information about how and who might get in might lead to fewer migrants making the trip, so theres not this game of chance that kind of seems to be in place right now, Bolter said.

U.S. border authorities recorded the highest number of encounters with migrants in more than 20 years in April, though many were repeat crossers who had previously been expelled from the country. The number of children crossing the border alone also is hovering at all-time highs.

Against that backdrop, some advocates are seeing the makings of the humane asylum system that Biden promised during his campaign. Details have been elusive, with administration officials saying they need time.

Susana Coreas, who fled El Salvador, was among those identified as vulnerable and allowed into the United States last month. Coreas spent more than a year in Ciudad Juarez waiting to apply for asylum but was barred by the public health order.

She and other transgender women refurbished an abandoned hotel to have a safe place to stay after they felt uncomfortable at a number of shelters in the rough Mexican city and got help from the International Rescue Committee.

But they continued to have problems. One transgender woman had a knife pointed at her. Another had a gun pulled on her.

There was so much anxiety, Coreas said. I now feel at peace.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  A small Christian university outside Philadelphia shuttered its highly regarded social work program partly because school officials say the accrediting agency was attempting to impose sexuality and gender values that don't align with the university's religious mission.

According to those officials, the decision by the Cairn University Board of Trustees on May 24 had been under consideration for almost a year because of funding and enrollment concerns. They say the accreditation language was only one factor.

But representatives from the accrediting body - the Council on Social Work Education - said its sexuality and gender language had not changed substantially in a recent draft accreditation, although the language addressing race and inclusion was updated. Council leaders said in a written statement they were concerned Cairn officials had misinterpreted the language, or had based the closure decision on a growing tide of conservative voices opposed to teaching theories reframing the history of race and racism.

The group's response took issue with Cairn President Todd Williams' statements alleging the council was trying to force programs to teach a set of critical theory and intersectionality assumptions and values inconsistent with our biblical view of humanity, human nature, and the world.

Cairn's mission is to educate students to serve Christ in the church, society, and the world as biblically minded, well-educated, and professionally competent men and women of character," according to its website. The university in Langhorne, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia, has about 1,500 students.

The Council called Williams' statements about the language false" and noted the draft highlighted the importance of equity and inclusion in the forming of someones identity.

Williams rejected the idea that the closing was based on the guidelines for race, saying racism and discrimination are inconsistent with his and the greater university's faith.

It is unfortunate that that was put out there that way because it is absolutely not who we are, Williams said.

We identify as an evangelical institution, and we have standards of conduct that are based upon our beliefs. That is part of our understanding of our own faith but also on religious liberty. We dont believe that its right to be engaged or to be involved in anything that is hateful or hurtful toward that (LGBTQ) community, or in any discrimination. But, we are a religious institution, he said.

Williams' initial letter to students said he believed previous versions of the guidelines had language allowing for exceptions when a university's religious mission did not align with the document.

CSWE officials said there has never been an exception in its ethical guidelines. But they do allow universities to supplement the requirements with additional curriculum.

Cairn students and alumni who spoke to The Associated Press said they felt blindsided by the decision. The university had moved quickly, even removing the website to the social work school, they said.

The closure allows for a teach-out of the currently enrolled undergraduate students, meaning the about 50 students will finish the program with an accredited bachelor's degree. But the recently started master's program was immediately shuttered, leaving about two dozen students having to transfer to other universities.

Many of those students and alumni said they didn't believe Williams' statements were related to race. They also said they didn't see an issue separating their theological beliefs on sexuality and gender with the call to be social workers.

If you are a well-trained social worker, you dont need to let your theology get in the way of your social work or helping any population that you might disagree with on a theological level, said Lizzie Walker, who graduated from the program in 2018. I think my faith lines up really well with the mission to be a social worker, to meet people where they are.

Johanna Byrd, executive director of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, condemned the closure, saying the university seemed to be sending an incorrect message that social workers can't have or maintain their faith and do their jobs.

There are a lot of Christian colleges that have social work programs, and this is the first one that has reacted to this by saying were going to close our social work school. We of course have concerns that could be part of a trend, Byrd said, noting a failed push in Texas last year to allow social workers and others to decline to treat people based on their religious convictions about gender and sexuality.

"It would be really horrible if the profession of social work falls victim to this whole conversation about critical race theory, or to the misconception that you can't be Christian and do this job. That's absolutely untrue, she added.

Student Melanie Crosscombe, who has another year before she graduates, said after the initial closure email citing the language on sexuality, she compared the draft with previous accreditation documents and found little difference.

That section of the document has previously existed, and it doesn't say you have to subscribe to these beliefs but you have to understand them to be able to treat the whole person, she said. It's saying when a person comes to you they deserve to be understood and treated with human dignity and respect... that aligns very beautifully for me with the concept that people are made in the image of God and the worth someone has just from being human.

Crosscombe said her biggest worry is for the classes below her and that they will miss out on the experience that has shaped so many people into social workers willing to take on hard and important work.

That's what is keeping me up at night, she said.
SAN MIGUEL, El Salvador (AP)  Rejected by her family, Zashy Zuley del Cid Velasquez fled her coastal village in 2014, the first of a series of forced displacements across El Salvador. She had hoped that in the larger city of San Miguel she could live as a transgender woman without discrimination and violence, but there she was threatened by a gang.

She moved away from San Miguel then back again in a series of forced moves until the 27-year-old was shot dead on April 25, sending shockwaves through the close-knit LGBTQ community in San Miguel, the largest city in eastern El Salvador.

Zashy was desperate; her family didnt want her because of her sexual preference and the gangsters had threatened her, said Venus Nolasco, director of the San Miguel LGBTQ collective Pearls of the East." She knew they were going to kill her. She wanted to flee the country, go to the United States, but they killed her with a shot through her lung.

One day after Del Cids murder, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris identified anti-LGBTQ violence in Central America as one of the root causes of migration in the region during a virtual meeting with the president of neighboring Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei. She is scheduled to visit Guatemala and Mexico this week.

Transgender migrants were present in the Central American caravans that attempted to reach the United States border in recent years, fleeing harassment, gang extortion, murder and police indifference to crimes against them. Even in those large migrant movements say they faced harassment.

Things had been rough during Del Cids first stint in San Miguel. She and Nolasco had been living in a neighborhood where, as in many parts of the country, the MS-13 gang was the ultimate local authority. Gang members began to harass her, then brutally beat her, breaking her arm in 2015, Nolasco said.

They warned her to leave, but she didnt listen, Nolasco said.

Instead of leaving, Del Cid moved in with Nolasco in the same neighborhood. One day, the gang grabbed Del Cid again.

They took her, they wanted to kill her, Nolasco said. I begged them not to kill her, to let her go and she would leave the neighborhood.

Del Cid moved back to her hometown, but her family rejected her again. She tried to please them, but she couldnt, Nolasco said. Del Cid joined a church, got a girlfriend, had a baby girl, but could not maintain that life, she said.

She returned to San Miguel, where initially things seemed to go better. In 2020, Del Cid received humanitarian and housing support from COMCAVIS TRANS, a national LGBTQ rights organization, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Del Cid rented a home and opened a beauty salon there. She hired another woman to help her and was participating in a entrepreneurship program. She was preparing a business proposal to move the salon out of her home into its own space.

But Del Cid was shot in the back walking alone at night down the street. Passersby tried to help her and took her to a local hospital where she died. So far, police have made no arrests and Nolasco believes that like other hate crimes in the country, it will be forgotten; theyre not interested in what happens to us.

Laura Almirall, UNHCR representative in El Salvador, said Del Cids killing frightened her community and saddened everyone who knew her.

She was excited about her new plans and her new life. And unfortunately and tragically, everything came to an end, she said.

Nolasco said that in San Miguel, some 90 miles (150 kilometers) east of the capital, the transgender community endures constant harassment from intolerant residents and gangs. They have rocks thrown at them, are beaten and extorted. If they go to police to make a report, they are insulted and demeaned. Dont come here to claim rights, because there are no rights for you, police tell them, Nolasco said.

The Pearls of the East group has a parade squad in which Del Cid participated. It started with some 50 people, but crime and forced displacement have shrunk it to 35, Nolasco said.

No one does anything here to protect us, Nolasco said.

Bianka Rodriguez, director of COMCAVIS TRANS, said the forced displacement of transgender people in El Salvador increases each year. Even though a law exists to protect people displaced by violence, it hasnt been effective, she said.

A report prepared by the organization found that gangs were responsible for nearly two-thirds of the violence against the LGTBQ community, while government authorities accounted for another 21%. Since 1993 in El Salvador, a country of only 6.5 million inhabitants, more than 600 LGBTQ people have been killed, according to their tally.

They registered 84 cases of internal displacement in 2019 and another eight who left the country, but were deported and needed protection.

Regrettably, (multiple displacements) are very common not only for the LGBTI community, but thousands of people in El Salvador have been displaced because of gang violence and often we find that displacement does not occur only once, but families and individuals are displaced more than once, Almirall, the UNHCR representative, said.

Del Cid was displaced so many times in the country and finally she managed to get a new life project and to be part of the community again and everything ended so abruptly and so tragically, Almirall said.



AP writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report.
Iran Sponsors UN Event, Denouncing Impact of Unilateral Sanctions on Health Systems and Development

June 4, 2021 (EIRNS)Irans Permanent Mission to the United Nations yesterday sponsored a virtual event to denounce the effects of Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCM)sanctionson the healthcare systems and humanitarian aid of several countries, constituting what Tehrans Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi termed crimes against humanity. Ambassador Samuel Moncada of Venezuela, one of the events cosponsors, likewise referred to the UCMs as the next level of silent weapons of mass destruction in the field of public health. Cuba, Zimbabwe and Syria co-hosted the event, which also attended by representatives of China, Russia, the U.K., the U.S., and the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

Ravanchi attacked the claim that there are exemptions for financial transactions and humanitarian aid in the sanctions regime, saying that that is only true on paper, reported Tasnim news agency. In the midst of the COVID pandemic, he went on, the health of Iranians has been severely affected because sanctions make it impossible to obtain medicine and medical supplies required to treat COVID, as well as many other conditions. Ambassador Zhang Jun of China put it this way: unilateral sanctions are illegal, and man-made, he said, and should be lifted so that humanitarian needs can be met and multilateralism upheld.

Discussion focused on the fact that unilateral sanctions violate human rights by obstructing access to updated health systems, technology and humanitarian aid, needed to sustain global infrastructure, Sputnik International reported. The impact on international healthcare systems has been particularly acute during the COVID pandemic. Panelists from the Human Rights Council elaborated as well that obstruction of humanitarian aid negatively impacts nations right to development, access to healthcare and right to self-determination, which is a violation of humanitarian rights and policies established by the UN Charter and the Human Rights Council. Russia, China and Iran together urged the U.S., the U.K., the EU and other countries to cease enforcing the UCMs, because of their impact on the healthcare systems of targeted developing nations.

Russian Deputy Representative Dmitry Chumakov charged that sanctions are being used for political purposes, offering the example of sanctions placed on Cuban medical teams who provided assistance to countries whose own health systems didnt allow them to provide adequate care to their populations during the pandemic. He also denounced the effect of sanctions on Syria whose Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh stated that any mention of the humanitarian exemption are an illusion created to divert public opinion from the unjust reality caused by these actions, reported Sputnik.

Zamir Akram, the chair rapporteur of the HRC affirmed that the issue of health is a fundamental aspect of internationally-recognized human rights. Countries have the right to cooperate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating the obstacles to development. He described UN resolution 39/9 as a binding instrument meant to legally address the impact that UCMs have on the right to development and suggested that this is one means of combatting the negative impact of sanctions. David Kinna, First Secretary of the U.K. UN mission, pathetically claimed that sanctions are only used as a targeted foreign policy tool to deter behavior and stop human rights violations.
Bill to Ban Police Use of Restraints that Cut Off Oxygen Passes Assembly Floor

With a 49-5 vote, AB 490 passed the Assembly Floor today. Authored by Chair of Select Committee on Police Reform, Mike A. Gipson (D-Carson), AB 490 seeks to ban law enforcement from using restraints that cause positional asphyxia.

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Last year, we witnessed the death of my API brother, Angelo Quinto, a Navy veteran, who was tragically killed by police when an officer knelt on his neck for nearly five minutes, said Gipson. We need to make sure all methods of restraining someone do not turn unnecessarily deadly!

Positional asphyxia is a deadly condition that can occur when a person being restrained cannot get enough oxygen. This also includes the knee to neck restraint, a technique that led to the death of George Floyd.

My bill still allows officers to protect themselves in life-threatening situations, but it does not allow them to cut off anyones airway, stated Gipson. The circumstances of Angelo Quintos death are a stark parallel to George Floyds, which both exposed loopholes in use-of-force policies.

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AB 490 is an extension of AB 1196, landmark legislation authored by Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson. AB 1196 was signed by the Governor in 2020 and bans law enforcement from using the same kinds of chokeholds that killed George Floyd. The current statewide use-of-force policy now prohibits law enforcement from using any type of chokehold, including carotid restraints.

AB 490 will create a uniform statewide policy on restraints that cause positional asphyxia to make sure these restraints are no longer used, said Gipson.

This bill is now headed to the Senate Public Safety Committee and is sponsored by the California Faculty Association.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee Applauds the Passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) today voted to pass H.R.1843, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which aims to combat the rise in Anti-Asian hate crimes since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the U.S. grapples with the horrific impacts of COVID-19, the Asian American community is also facing an alarming rise in anti-Asian violent attacks and discrimination. Since March 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has documented over 6,600 incidents of anti-Asian violence and verbal attacks against the Asian American community.

Thousands of law enforcement agencies also do not participate in the FBIs hate crime reporting program or collect hate crime data. Additionally, 17 states do not require local law enforcement to collect data on hate crimes, and three states have no statutes governing the treatment of hate crimes.

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From the horrific shooting we saw in Atlanta to the attacks on the Asian community in my own district, I am outraged by the violence directed toward individuals, businesses, and families, said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Todays passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act is an important step toward putting a stop to this violence and supporting the individuals and communities who have experienced these tragedies. I will continue working with my colleagues in the Tri-Caucus to demand accountability for these attacks and ensure the safety of our communities.

This legislation, among many things, would create a position at the Department of Justice to facilitate expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes, require the Attorney General to issue guidance for the creation of online reporting mechanisms and the collection of disaggregated data, and direct federal agencies to work with community-based organizations to raise awareness of hate crimes during the pandemic. For more information about the bill, click her
LA County Publishes First-Ever Online Jail Decarceration Dashboard

The County of Los Angeles, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice, has published an online decarceration dashboard which provides a visual breakdown and analysis of the Countys jail population on a daily basis. The goal of this dashboard is to help policymakers, advocates, and academics better understand the makeup and changes in the population of people in LA County jails in order to craft public policy to safely reduce the jail population.

We cant create effective policy to address our overcrowded jails if we dont understand our jail population, said Supervisor Janice Hahn who authored the motion to publish the online dashboard. This online decarceration dashboard breaks down all the data we have about our jail population and displays it in a way that makes it easy to understand and spot trends. We are making it public so everyone can use it from policy makers, to students, to advocates alike.

The dashboard, called the Care First L.A.: Tracking Jail Decarceration dashboard, can be accessed at www.vera.org/care-first-la-tracking-jail-decarceration. It will be updated daily using data collected by the Sheriffs Department and breaks down everything from racial disparities, to case status, to the prevalence of mental illness among the jail population.

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Im proud to join Supervisor Hahn in co-authoring this motion, said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. This data dashboard will be an important tool as we move towards responsibly closing Mens Central Jail. It will show how the jail population has changed over time, what factors are contributing to increases in the jail population, and who can safely be targeted for diversion initiatives to help decarcerate the jails.

For years, the Los Angeles County jail facilities have been severely overcrowded. When the pandemic hit, LA County justice partners collaborated to quickly and safely decrease the jail population within weeks. Recognizing that overcrowded jail facilities contribute to unhealthy and unsafe conditions for everyone involved, Supervisor Janice Hahn an then-Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas authored a motion in September 2020 to establish the Jail Population Review Council, chaired by the Office of Diversion and Reentry, with the goal of maintaining the reduced jail population beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Jail Population Review Council partnered with the Vera Institute of Justice to create this first of its kind data dashboard that breaks down and analyzes LA Countys Jail Population.

Judge Peter Espinoza, Director of the Office of Diversion and Reentry and Chair of the Jail Population Review Council states, Access to consistent and clear data about who is in the jails is essential for the Council  and County as a whole  to reduce the jail population, address overcrowding, identify and reduce racial disparities in incarceration, and successfully move towards the Care First, Jails Last vision that the Board is committed to.

Having a better understanding of the jail population will help us see where we need to focus our diversion efforts and craft public policy to safely reduce the jail population, continued Supervisor Hahn. For example, if you looked at the data dashboard today, you would see that the number one reason that people are in our LA County jails is because they cant afford bail. Almost 40% of our jail population is pretrial, which underscores just how critical bail.

reform is. You would also see that, equally high, is the percentage of our jail population with mental health needs. 36% of men and an astounding 66% of women in our jails have mental health needs. And these percentages have increased dramatically over the last year, confirming the need to scale up our mental health diversion programs, especially for women.

Todays motion, which was authored by Supervisor Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Mitchell directed the Jail Population Review Council to publish the Care First L.A.: Tracking Jail Decarceration data dashboard, present the Care First L.A.: Tracking Jail Decarceration data dashboard at the public May 19th meeting of the Jail Population Review Council, and utilize the dashboard in their continued work to reduce the Countys jail population. The motion passed unanimously.
While Awaiting Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision, Parole Board Denies Cosbys Early Release

A Pennsylvania parole board has denied early release for Bill Cosby, citing the boards desire for the comedian to participate in and complete unspecified institutional programs.

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The board also noted that it had received a negative recommendation from the State Department of Corrections, despite Cosbys work with several men at SCI-Phoenix who told the Black Press that he has helped them turn their lives around.

The board also said the 84-year-old entertainer hasnt developed a parole release plan and has not participated in or successfully completed a treatment program for sex offenders and violence prevention.

A jury convicted Cosby in 2018 of aggravated indecent assault, and the trial judge designated him as a sexually violent predator. He was sentenced to threetoten years in prison, though Cosby continues to maintain his innocence.

Cosby is awaiting a Supreme Court decision, hoping the states highest court will reverse his conviction.

During the Supreme Court hearing in December, the justices appeared unimpressed with the prosecutions explanation for using Cosbys controversial civil deposition and prosecutors use of hearsay witnesses.

I tend to agree this evidence was extraordinarily prejudicial to your client, Justice Max Baer told Cosbys attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, during the hearing.

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A defendant must be tried for what he did and not who he is, Bonjean argued. He had no shot. The presumption of innocence just didnt exist for him at that point.

Prosecutor Adrienne Jappe argued that the hearsay testimony showed a typical pattern, claiming Cosby befriended and isolated women and then drugged them to have sex with them.

During the trial, Andrea Constand, the lone victim, said the two never had intercourse.

She admitted to some forms of intimacy but claimed she was unconscious when Cosby put his hands inside her pants during their last intimate encounter.

Justice Christine Donohue told Jappe, Frankly, I dont see it.

Chief Justice Thomas Saylor and Justice Kevin Dougherty also expressed being troubled by the hearsay testimony.

The news that the Pennsylvania State Parole Board has denied [Cosbys] parole is not a surprise to Mr. Cosby, his family, his friends, and his legal team, Cosbys spokesman Andrew Wyatt said in a statement.

It was brought to our attention by Mr. Cosby that over the past months, members of the PA State Parole Board had met with him and empathically stated, if he did not participate in SVP [Sexual Violate Predator] courses that his parole would be denied, Wyatt continued.

Mr. Cosby has vehemently proclaimed his innocence and continues to deny all allegations made against him as being false, without the sheer evidence of any proof. Today, Mr. Cosby continues to remain hopeful that the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court will issue an opinion to vacate his conviction or warrant him a new trial.
Huge numbers of mice are threatening crops in eastern Australia.

In New South Wales state, officials have described the situation as a plague that has never been seen before.

The small animals have spread over wide areas of agricultural land across New South Wales and parts of the neighboring states of Queensland and Victoria.

In addition to eating grain crops, the mice have damaged farm and household equipment, caused power outages and invaded supermarkets.

Adam Marshall is the Agriculture Minister for New South Wales. He recently said the situation had reached a critical point and needed to be dealt with immediately to prevent further problems.

If we dont significantly reduce the number of mice that are in plague proportions by spring, we are facing an absolute economic and social crisis, Marshall said.

Bruce Barnes runs a family farm near the town of Bogan Gate in central New South Wales. He told The Associated Press he was taking a risk by planting crops. We just sow and hope, he told The Associated Press. The word sow describes the process of planting seeds.

The states main agricultural organization predicts the mice could cause $775 million in losses.

The state government has ordered 5,000 liters of the banned poison Bromadiolone from India. But the federal government has not yet approved the substance for emergency use around crops. Critics fear the poison will kill not only mice, but also many other animals that feed on them, or family pets.

Marshall said the state wants to use the Bromadiolone because we need something that is super strength.

Farmers like Barnes had struggled during four years of extreme dry conditions before 2020 finally brought a good rainy season. The wet weather helped produce Australia's largest-ever grain crop, but also provided more food for the mice.

Norman Moeris is another farmer in New South Wales. He grows several grains and raises 900 merino sheep on his farm near Gilgandra, about 430 kilometers northwest of Sydney. "This grain here, the mice have just totally ruined it. (We'll) probably just dig a hole and bury the lot of it," the 65-year-old Moeris told Reuters.

He said he had already lost $130,000 worth of grain to the mice. "It's just hard, after the drought, that's the biggest trouble," said Moeris. "We've been on our knees, we got up a bit, now we're back on our knees with the mice.

People in the area say the most activity comes after dark, when millions of mice that hide and rest during the day come out. But one of the biggest issues people have is the bad smell of mouse waste and decaying bodies.

You deal with it all daytrying your best to manage the situation, then come hometo the stench of dead mice, said Jason Conn, a farmer in central New South Wales.

He said the mice are even getting in peoples homes. If your house is not well sealed, theyre in bed with you. People are getting bitten in bed, Conn said.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

plague  n. a serious disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people

proportions  n.(pl.) the size, shape or extent of something

absolute  adj. complete

the lot of phrase all of; the whole of

decay  v. to break down over time

stench  n. a strong, unpleasant smell

seal  n. to close off a container or area
In Egypt, workers dig and remove sand to create a new opening at a busy archaeological site outside of Cairo. They are at the bottom of the Step Pyramid of Djoser, probably the worlds oldest pyramid. This new dig has found many additional artifacts.

As the world slowly recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, Egypt has been trying for months to persuade visitors to come to its archaeological locations and museums. Officials are hoping the new discovery will bring in the visitors  and their money.

But like countries elsewhere, Egypt continues to battle the coronavirus. It is struggling to get its people vaccinated. In early May, the government announced that 1 million people had been vaccinated, though that number is believed to be higher now.

Meanwhile, officials have continued to tell the world about their new discoveries.

In November, archaeologists announced the discovery of at least 100 coffins dating back to the Pharaonic Late Period and Greco-Ptolemaic era. They also found 40 gold-covered statues thought to have been buried 2,500 years ago. A month earlier, they discovered 57 additional coffins at the same place, the necropolis of Saqqara that includes the Step Pyramid.

Saqqara is a treasure, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany told The Associated Press. He estimated that only 1 percent of the treasures hidden there have been found.

In April, Zahi Hawass, Egypts best-known archaeologist, announced the discovery of a 3,000-year-old lost city in southern Luxor. It has the remains of houses, tools and other artifacts that date to Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty. He ruled from 1390-1353 BC. This was Egypts golden age.

That discovery was followed by a televised parade celebrating the moving of 22 royal mummies to their new home: the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. It is a large, new building just south of the capital.

The Red Sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh is well-liked by visitors, and is now home to a new archaeological museum. The Cairo International Airport also houses a new museum. Officials have said they plan to open the new Grand Egyptian Museum next to the Giza Pyramids by January. Prices to enter archaeological sites have been lowered, as has the cost of visas to enter the country.

In 2019, foreign visitors brought an estimated $13 billion to the country as some 13.1 million people came to see its museums and archaeological sites.

But in 2020, only 3.5 million foreign visitors came, minister el-Anany said. He added that the number of visitors had increased in the first months of 2021, but he gave no exact numbers.

Egypt is a perfect destination for post-COVID, el-Anany said, adding that most of the places to visit are open air.

It is, however, unclear if Egypt has the virus under control.

It has recorded more than 15,000 deaths and is still seeing more than a thousand new cases every day. Numbers are thought by many to be much higher. Officials have arrested doctors and others who question the governments actions or numbers.

Egypt closed its borders completely until the summer of 2020, but later welcomed visitors back. They were permitted first to visit Red Sea towns. Now, they can go to the heart of the country: Cairo and the Nile River Valley that holds most of its famous archaeological sites. Visitors still require a COVID-19 test result to enter the country.

Amanda, a 39-year-old from Austria, returned to Egypt in May. It was her second visit in four years.

Once they opened, I came, she said. It was my dream to see the Pyramids again.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

archaeology  n. the study of past human life and activities by examining bones, tools, etc., of ancient people

pyramid  n. a large structure with a three- or four-sided base and sides that meet in a point at the top

artifact  n. an object (such as a tool or weapon) that was made by people in the past

coffin  n. a box in which a dead body is buried

dynasty  n. a series of rulers from the same family

mummy  n. a dead body covered in cloth, especially from ancient Egypt

destination  n. the place where someone or something is going

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Facebook said Friday it will continue its suspension of former President Donald Trump for at least two years. The social media company also announced changes to a policy that permitted politicians to post some kinds of content that violates its rules.

The changes were announced in a statement by Nick Clegg, Facebooks vice president of global affairs and communications.

The company suspended Trumps Facebook and Instagram accounts in January. Facebook said it took the action because Trump posted content that risked fueling further violence after the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Clegg said the decision to extend the suspension until at least January 2023 was made because Facebook believes Trumps actions represented a severe violation of its rules. And, his actions had earned the highest penalty available under new enforcement measures.

The latest decision came after a Facebook advisory board last month criticized the company for making Trumps suspension indefinite. The board said the open-ended ban was wrong because it was ordered without clear standards.

When the two years are up, Facebook will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded. If the company decides there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time, Clegg said.

In a press release, Trump called Facebooks decision an insult to Americans who voted for him in the 2020 presidential election. He said the social media service shouldnt be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing  our country cant take this abuse anymore! Trump said in the release.

Ending exemption for public figures

Facebook also announced it will strengthen penalties for public figures during times of civil unrest and violence. It said those who violate its policies during such times can be restricted from posting for periods between one month and two years.

Public figures who continue to violate policies after being placed under restrictions will be subject to heightened penalties, including possible permanent removal, the company said.

Facebook also said it would end its newsworthiness exemption policy for politicians. The policy permitted content posted by politicians to avoid going through the companys usual third-party fact-checking program. The program is designed to prevent false information, hate speech and other abusive material from appearing on Facebook.

But Facebook said it put the exemption in place because it saw the speech of political leaders as newsworthy and in the public interest, even if the content was offensive or highly disputed.

The exemption policy had been criticized for giving special treatment to politicians. Facebook said it had never used the exemption policy in relation to content posted by Trump.

Facebook said Friday that it will still use the exemption to some posts it considers to be in the public interest even if they violate Facebook rules. However, it will no longer treat material posted by politicians differently from content posted by any other user.

In addition, Facebook said it will now make public cases where it does use the exemption. And, the company said it would start publishing details about its system of strikes that is issued to accounts for breaking content rules.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters and Facebook. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

penalty  n. a punishment for doing something that is against a law or rule

indefinite  adj. with no fixed time, size, end or limit

standard  n. a level of quality that is considered acceptable

assess  v. to make a judgement about the value, quality, size, etc. of something

recede  v. to become less clear or strong

allow  v. to permit

censor  v. to examine documents or media materials and remove parts that are offensive or not permitted by rules

exempt  adj. given special permission not to have to do something
Treffer worked especially in the field of animal science and worked with producers and feedlots to become more sustainable and profitable.

The biggest change in the field over the years was technology, Treffer said, when he first started out he had a slide rule and then was able to upgrade to a calculator. Computers also became a necessary tool, going from the old card readers, to the software systems of today.

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The technology has changed dramatically, said Treffer, there is something new every year.

Another change Treffer noted was the Extension moving from generalist work, to much more specialization. For instance, the Extension educator position requires a Masters degree and trainings, such as tractor safety, are now done by experts.

Treffer recalled his work with 4-H, noting children have become much busier as more opportunities have become available. He said it was pleasing to see multiple generations of a family come up through 4-H and then go on to be leaders in their community.

He also said there satisfaction with seeing people succeed in 4-H where they might not have otherwise due to the wide range of opportunity it provides.
Picture a fading fluorescent light tube, sputtering off and on and humming a warning that it may soon blink out and go dark.
Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Company could soon set up a new facility for the mass production and distribution of the Russian Sputnik-V vaccine for Covid-19 across the Gulf and Mena region.

As part of this, Mumtalakat has signed an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Binnopharm Group,  subsidiary of Sistema, a publicly traded Russian investment company. The trio will explore the establishment of a vaccine production facility in the kingdom.

Mumtalakat had in 2014 signed an agreement with RDIF to strengthen economic and investment cooperation between Bahrain and Russia.

The MoU aims at promoting the exchange of information and expertise in the sectors and areas of common interest for both entities.

It also sets the overall framework for the identification of and cooperation on mutually beneficial investment prospects investment and co-investment opportunities in Russia and Bahrain.

Mumtalakat automatically co-invests with RDIF in all projects with returns on these co-investments exceeding the returns on global indices.

"Our partnership with both RDIF and Binnopharm Group will enable Bahrain to continue to be at the forefront of fighting this pandemic whilst working to further enhance the regions healthcare sector through the establishment of this facility," remarked Khalid Al Rumaihi, CEO of Mumtalakat.

"As the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain we continue to look into partnerships and ventures that will add value to our portfolio as well as bring long-term sustainable solutions to the Kingdom and wider region," he stated at the signing ceremony held in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held this week in Russia.

Kirill Dimitriev, the chief executive of RDIF, said its collaboration with Mumtalakat goes back a long way and has resulted in a successful co-investment programme as well as a fruitful partnership between our organisations."

"We are delighted to extend our cooperation to establish a production facility in Bahrain to produce Sputnik V - the worlds first registered coronavirus vaccine. Sputnik V has been included in Bahrains national portfolio in February and the vaccine is successfully used to protect the population against Covid," remarked Dimitriev.

"Local production will increase our international production capabilities and help other countries of the region to prevent the spread of Covid-19, he added.

Dmitry Zubov, the chairman of the board of Binnopharm Group, said that last summer, its pharmaceutical plant in Zelenograd was the first in Russia to launch production of the Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik-V.

"Over the last year, we perfected the technology down to the details and now have a good understanding of how to scale up production of the vaccine. We are happy to share our know-how with other countries to assist them in developing their own production of Sputnik-V at scale," he added.

The Sputnik V vaccine is the worlds first registered vaccine against Covid-19 and it was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia.

The vaccine is produced with RDIFs backing and the active support of its international manufacturing partners in India, China and South Korea among other countries.

In February, Bahrain had authorised the emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine to become the fourth authorised vaccine in the kingdom.-TradeArabia News Service
Republic of Singapore Air Force airmen assigned to the 807 Squadron perform post-flight maintenance on a RSAF F-15SG during a deployment on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, May 24, 2021. The training opportunity in Guam is a reflection of the excellent and long-standing bilateral defense relations between Singapore and the US.
Santa Barbara County sheriff's detectives on Friday updated the description of the motorcycle driven by a Lompoc man reported missing on his way home from Fillmore.

John Mario Fuegos, 50, reportedly left on a black 2008 Yamaha R1 motorcycle from his Lompoc residence at about 11 p.m. May 24, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Raquel Zick, who said the bike has a license plate number of 23W0957.

Fuegos' intended destination was Arizona, but he texted his family at about 3 a.m. on May 25 that he was in Fillmore and was heading back home. He sent his last text message hours later, at about 6 a.m., and has not been heard from since, according to Zick.

Fuegos' wife contacted sheriff's officials on June 1 to request that deputies check the highways for her husband.

Sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officials searched highways 1 and 101 on June 1, then the area of Toro Canyon and San Ysidro roads, and highways 101 and 192 on June 2, but Fuegos was not located.

Cellphone records indicated that he possibly spent several hours at the Jack in the Box restaurant on Citrus Drive in Ventura during the early morning hours of May 25, but detectives could not locate him on the restaurant's surveillance cameras, according to Zick.

Detectives are asking for public assistance in locating Fuegos, who was last seen wearing motorcycle-type clothing.

Anyone who might have seen Fuegos or know his possible whereabouts is urged to contact the Criminal Investigations Bureau at 805-681-4150.
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
The Download of the Week is Percolation's Value by Seth Davis & Michael Coenen. Here is the abstract:

Few legal metaphors enjoy more prominence than that of a legal issue percolating through the lower courts until the Supreme Court is ready to resolve it. Just two Terms ago, for example, the Court declined to answer a question presented in Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana & Kentucky, Inc., reasoning that further percolation would aid it in developing the scope of constitutional protections for a womans right to choose. In Trump v. Hawaii, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote to express dismay that nationwide injunctions are preventing legal questions from percolating through the federal courts. Similarly, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in Department of Homeland Security v. New York that nationwide relief undermines the airing of competing views that aids [the] Courts own decisionmaking process, a view shared by many critics of the lower courts use of nationwide injunctions in recent years. A common presumption is that percolation is valuable.

This Article questions that presumption. Its thesis is that, at best, percolations benefits will outweigh its costs under limited and contingent conditionsconditions not likely to replicate themselves across a broad range of cases. In advancing that thesis, the Article makes four contributions to the literature on federal court practice and procedure. First, as a historical matter, it shows that interest in percolations value is a relative latecomer to the jurisprudential scene. Second, as an analytical matter, it distinguishes between informational and institutional accounts of percolations value. Informational accounts highlight percolations potential to provide useful information to enhance the Courts decisionmaking as to a particular legal issue. Institutional accounts, by contrast, see the percolation process as beneficial to the effective functioning of the federal court system as a whole. With this important but largely unrecognized distinction in mind, the Article makes a third contribution by showing that both accounts are subject to significant limitations. In particular, both the informational and institutional accounts of percolations value are highly issue-dependent and context-specific. Therefore, as a prescriptive matter, this Article makes a fourth contribution by highlighting a set of practices that the federal courts or Congress might adopt in response to the limited nature

of percolations informational and institutional benefits.

Highly recommended.
Trent Ashby is the state representative for District 57 that includes Angelina, Houston, Leon, Madison, San Augustine and Trinity counties. His email address is trent.ashby@house.state.tx.us.
The Interdisciplinary Urology Care Consortium (IUCC), a specialised event that brings multiple specialities under one roof to discuss an interdisciplinary approach to urology and other specialities, was inaugurated in Dubai, in the presence of the fields most prominent names under the theme "Better Patient Care".

The inaugural event will introduce synergies of Urology with four different specialities which are Urology with Oncology, Gynaecology, Emergency and Andrology. The two-day event features combined sessions where joint discussions aimed to showcase collaborative efforts, contribute new research, views and clinical experience to enhance patients journey will take place.

The opening ceremony began with a speech by Dr Abdulqadir Al-Zarooni, President of the Emirates Urological Society, during which he said: "Challenges make us stronger, more resilient and more creative, and despite the current situation, we are very happy to have a large number of renowned speakers joining us in this event, and regardless of any obstacles, we are always looking for ways to increase our knowledge and pursue continuous medical education."

During his keynote speech, Dr Yasser Farahat, Chairman of the Arab School of Urology said: "As medical professionals, specialisation is an essential way to excel, but as we dive deep into a certain specialisation, we might lose touch and connection with our colleagues from other specialities, and that is exactly where the importance of the IUCC lies. It brings together doctors from various specialities to share information, discuss common topics, and sharing visions to reach the best practices for our patients."

Following the opening ceremony, doctors, surgeons, professors, and specialists toured the exhibition area, where they were introduced to the latest technologies and innovations in the field of Urology care, and were briefed about the latest breakthroughs in the field by some of the most prominent brands and companies.

Dr. Jean J.M.C.H. de la Rosette, General Secretary of the Societe Internationale d'Urologie, commented, "Dubai is an ideal location to return to face-to-face meetings: innovative, responsive and adaptive. The first edition of the IUCC harnesses this energy, and the SIU is pleased to support this collaborative meeting, as we look toward returning to Dubai from 10th to 14th November, 2021, for the SIUs 41st Congress".

This year, it is being held as a hybrid event, which grants specialists, doctors and professors the freedom to attend the sessions virtually, further facilitating the exchange of knowledge and expertise. In addition, it features the participation of 600 healthcare professionals from 18 different countries, out of which more than 200 delegates are joining live at the meeting venue. Furthermore, the IUCC is proud to host over 70 speakers from more than 10 countries, both in person and virtually. Additionally, participants and conference attendees will receive 11 CPD points accredited by DHCC.TradeArabia News Service
In-person student attendance is based on a student showing up for the school day, whereas virtual students are marked in attendance if they attend live instruction via Zoom, complete an asynchronous or independent learning assignment or communicate with teachers via phone call, email or office hours.

District spokesman Tim LeMonds did not respond to a request for an interview with a district staff member to discuss the attendance rates.

The largest increases for in-person attendees were at the high school level. For example, seniors who opted into in-person learning had a 78% attendance rate in the first week back. That rose slightly to 79% in the second week, but then jumped up to 87%.

Similarly, 10th and 11th graders saw jumps from 83% to 90% and 80% to 88%, respectively, between their first and second weeks back.

No grade in elementary school dropped below a 91% attendance rate for in-person students, while middle schoolers hovered between 86% and 90% at all three grades.

Virtual rates, on the other hand, saw a bit more fluctuation.
The Republican failure to expand BadgerCare isnt just costing us money today. Wisconsin has already lost a separate $1.6 billion since 2013 because we havent expanded. If Republicans continue down this path, that is $3.2 billion out the window.

But Republicans arent only costing us opportunities when it comes to BadgerCare. Their budget choices are putting other federal money at risk, too. Just last week, Republicans on the budget-writing committee underfunded the states education budget so severely, Wisconsin could now lose out on at least $1.5 billion in federal aid for schools and students.

What does it say about the party of fiscal responsibility when they repeatedly allow our tax dollars to be sent to other states? This is money that could be used to expand access to affordable quality health care. This is money that could be used to help our students succeed. This is money that could ensure a prosperous economic recovery for Wisconsin communities and small businesses.

Families, schools and small businesses depend on a responsible budget that invests in our priorities. Instead of building a brighter future, Republicans are falling back on their same old political games in our budget process.

Wisconsinites deserve better. There is still time for legislative Republicans to step up for Wisconsin workers, families, kids and small businesses. The question is, will Republicans move forward, or will they continue to double down on their missed opportunities and financial failures?
An employee was injured in a silo explosion and fire at Humane Manufacturing, 1350 Venture Drive in Janesville, on Friday, the Janesville Fire Department reported.

Fire crews were dispatched shortly after noon Friday to Humane Manufacturing on a report that a silo had exploded and was on fire, Battalion Chief Chris Lukas said in a report.

Arriving firefighters found that the tops had blown off two of the silos that were located on the exterior of the building, with light smoke coming from the silos and smoke inside the manufacturing facility, Lukas said.

Fire crews did not find any fire inside the building, but they remained at the scene for about three hours extinguishing the fire in the silos, which held ground rubber, Lukas said.

One employee was injured in the blast  no details were available  and was taken by paramedics to St. Marys Hospital in Janesville. Lukas said.

No damage estimate was available and the cause of the explosion was under investigation, Lukas said.

The Janesville Fire Department was assisted by fire departments from Milton, and the city and town of Beloit.

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Once upon a time, Wisconsin was a shining beacon for workers rights, leading our nation with policies that protected safety, encouraged fair wages and promoted a relationship between employees and employers rooted in shared prosperity.

Unfortunately, over the decades, too many leaders disregarded that proud history in favor of policies that undermined opportunities for workers and the needs of their employers. COVID-19 exposed and accelerated the impact of those policies.

As our state emerges from the pandemic, its time to take stock of how we can grow a workforce development model that provides genuine opportunity for all in a 21st century economy.

Recently at the Milwaukee headquarters of Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership | Building Industry Group and Skilled Trades Employment Program (WRTP | BIG STEP), U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh met with workers who have defied odds and overcome barriers to employment. He highlighted the importance of pairing high-quality training with effective workforce development partnerships.

A passionate believer in the presidents blueprint for American prosperity, Secretary Walsh noted that a strong economy is always built on a healthy middle class, and that in turn is most effectively and equitably built by strong unions.
The U.S. Department of Education recently warned Wisconsin that the $128 million increase in state school spending approved by the Legislatures budget committee likely isnt enough for the state to qualify for all of the $1.5 billion in federal education funding.

Republicans on the finance committee approved a 1% increase in state aid to local schools. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had proposed a 12% hike of $1.6 billion for K-12 education.

Add in the $1.5 billion from the federal government, and state Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, calls the potential increase for Wisconsin schools obscene.

Its certainly large and historic. But the amount of money Wisconsin has collected from the federal government in the past is low, compared to most states. So complaining about extra dollars now  especially during a pandemic  is a mistake.
There was so much negativity in the world, and here come these missionaries sharing a message of hope and peace, Hurley said.

The Provo Missionary Training Center announced last week that it would partly reopen in June. The center will be limited to between 150 and 250 new missionaries at a time, far below its capacity of nearly 3,700 people, and focus on the members who arent learning a new language for their assigned location. The international training centers in Ghana and New Zealand will also be providing in-person training again soon.

Porter Elison will be heading out to Washington D.C. in August to begin his missionary work. Elison was not sure whether hed be among the group allowed to train in person at the Provo center. He heard about the Facebook and Zoom work from friends who were currently serving, but that hasnt dissuaded him for heading out right after graduating from Idaho Falls High School.

I always wanted to go serve right out of high school. I think its the best time to learn how to do things on my own so Im prepared for college later, Porter said.
BOISE  Idaho School Boards Association President-elect Jason Knopp withdrew from the Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education Friday, a week after the committees first meeting.

In a prepared statement, the Melba School Board trustee reproached the task forces composition and the way it carried out its inaugural meeting last week.

Some of the comments made by committee members towards the end of the last meeting made it clear that the lack of education professionals on the committee would leave its members to make under-informed, disparaging statements about the thousands of professionals who take very seriously their responsibility of educating all of Idahos schoolchildren, including those in marginalized communities, Knopp wrote.

Though current and former school administrators and a school board trustee remain on the task force, Knopps exit means the committees final three meetings in June, July and August will happen without representation from the ISBA, State Board of Education or State Department of Education.

Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin organized the committee to root out alleged leftist indoctrination from Idaho public schools.

Her office did not respond on Friday to questions about a possible replacement for Knopp.
Little did issue a statewide stay-home order March 25, 2020. He extended it, and then lifted the stay-home order effective May 1, 2020.

Since lifting the stay-home order, the hallmark of Little and the states approach to the coronavirus pandemic was to implement a four-stage reopening plan and allow schools, governments and health districts to make their own local decisions about mandating masks.

As for the executive order, Little said Denney called him as soon as McGeachin delivered the order to Denneys office to sign, which Denney did.

(Denney) just said it was to repeal the mask order, Little said. And I was going, Repeal what?

Thanks to the call, Little was one of the first to know  he said his staff didnt even know yet.

There wasnt much Little could do while out of the state in Nashville. But he said he told a few other governors about it.

When he returned to Idaho, Little began working through his options.

We did some work Thursday night on the pros and cons of issuing a new EO (executive order) and a statement, Little said.

Friday morning, he and his staff reassembled to look at everything again.
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP)  A former Hanford contractor has agreed to pay about $3 million to settle allegations of fraud in reports to the federal government on its small business subcontracts.

CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. had its costs for environmental cleanup at the nations most contaminated nuclear site near Richland, Washington, reimbursed by the federal government. The company was also eligible for incentive pay for awarding subcontracts to small businesses that the Small Business Administration designated as being in Historically Underutilized Business Zones.

The investigation into CH2Ms small business subcontracting was the result of a 2014 lawsuit filed by Savage Logistics, a Richland small business now called Apogee Logistics, and owner Salina Savage.

The latest complaint in the lawsuit alleged that CH2M knew that two of its subcontractors were not HUBZone businesses when it issued contracts to them, but falsely reported to the Department of Energy that they were.

Jacobs Engineering, which purchased CH2M, including its Hanford contract in 2017, declined to comment, The Tri-City Herald reported.
Abu Dhabi Terminals has announced a partnership agreement with Microsoft that heralds the next phase in the digital transformation of the emirates flagship maritime asset, Khalifa Port.

The landmark partnership will enable enhanced container tracking and autonomous shuttle capabilities across Abu Dhabi Terminals Khalifa Port terminal through the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) services of Microsofts cloud solutions - Azure, said the statement from ADT.

Abu Dhabi Terminals is the management company and operator of Khalifa Port Container Terminal (KPCT), the regions first, and one of the worlds largest semi-automated deep-water container terminals. KPCT is also one of the most technically advanced facilities of its kind.

The technology, deployed in partnership with Microsoft Consulting Services, will fuel the introduction of AI-based container smart tracking solutions that will ensure 100 per cent traceability of all handled containers, as well as the potential to launch an autonomous vehicle system, it added.

CEO Ahmed Al Mutawa said: "By driving innovation through the implementation of AI and automation, Abu Dhabi Terminals is committed to modernising our port environment, while also dramatically reducing our carbon footprint, and costs, as well as turnaround times for those accessing Khalifa Port."

"We are confident that by improving operational efficiencies, we are encouraging economic growth and bolstering business continuity, while also providing Emiratis with new opportunities to pursue careers in the ever-growing field of Artificial Intelligence," stated Al Mutawa at the signing ceremony held in the presence of the Omar bin Sultan Al Olama of the UAE Ministry of Artificial Intelligence.

"The support of the UAE Ministry of AI and our partnerships with world-leading technology providers such as Microsoft Corporation, not only future proofs our nations maritime assets and infrastructure, but enables Abu Dhabi Terminals, and our shareholders at Abu Dhabi Ports, to reap tremendous long-term benefits as we continue this exciting digital transformation journey," he noted.

Microsoft President (EMEA) Ralph Haupter said: "With its ongoing commitment to the adoption of new technologies, the UAE is reimagining the world of global shipping and logistics to ensure it is robust, resilient and future-ready."

"This collaboration ushers in a new era for autonomous vehicles in a terminal environment, and Im excited to see Microsofts cloud, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies contribute to its success," he noted.

ADT Chief Automation Officer Arturo Garcia said: "We have constantly worked to improve operational efficiency in a manner not controlled by industry norms and conventions thanks to our firm commitment toward introducing and developing ground-breaking top-tier technologies."

"AI and Automation Technology are not widely used in the port industry, but we firmly believe in its potential and are convinced that our approach will not only benefit Abu Dhabi Terminals and the UAE, but will extend to the entire shipping industry, transforming the way business is done," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Idahos vaccination rate has been lagging national rates all along. In all, 39.8% of Idahoans 12 and older have been fully vaccinated, compared with 48.6% nationwide, according to Idaho Health and Welfare data.

About 71.3% of Idahoans 65 and older have completed their vaccinations. Nearly 75% of people in the same age category nationwide are fully vaccinated.

A lottery could go a long way to nudging those who are hesitant, on the fence or just havent found the time to do it yet.

Jonathan Carlyle, a van driver for Amazon, won $1 million in Ohios lottery. He told ABC News that he had wanted to get the vaccine but just had not found the time.

Two days after Ohios Republican governor, Mike DeWine, announced the lottery last month, Carlyle went out and got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, he told ABC News.

As soon as I heard that, I was like, Yes, I need to go do this now, he said.

In all, five Ohioans will win $1 million each.
I followed my now-wife to Eastern Oregon University for college, and while there, I studied anthropology and sociology. I became immersed in a nonprofit that worked to improve the mental health of rural youth. By the time I graduated, I felt called to become what the kids I worked with and their families needed most: a rural psychiatrist. In order to apply to medical school, I first worked at an elementary school with an in-patient component for kids who struggled with mental illness or behavioral issues. Afterwards, I attended Boise State University to get my science prerequisites, and then, I was lucky to get into my dream medical school; Idaho WWAMI.

Idaho WWAMI is committed to developing more physicians who understand and appreciate rural medicine and are committed to practicing close to home. Now that Im in my third year, Im working at the St. Lukes clinic in Jerome under a WWAMI alumna, Dr. Catherine Doyle, as part of the WRITE program, which helps immerse medical students like me in family medicine in rural settings throughout Idaho.

Those in Idahos medical community are well aware of WWAMIs impact on training physician leaders throughout the state. At my clinical rotation site in Jerome, three out of the six residents graduated from WWAMI, as well as some of the attending physicians who mentor us. Im not a licensed physician yet, but Im grateful for the opportunity to learn to practice alongside such talent. Im so inspired by people like Dr. Irwin, who has been practicing for 50 years in the Magic Valley. While many of our patients drive an hour or two for primary care, Dr. Irwin has patients who have moved away to neighboring states who drive 6-12 hours to see him. Idaho WWAMI is known for creating beloved small town docs: the one you run into at the grocery store, who everyone knows, and who is a pillar in their community, always giving back and embodying servant leadership. I think Idaho and America need more physicians like that.
SALEM, Ore. (AP)  A drought is forcing Oregon to consider major changes this summer to everything from how it stocks trout in lakes and reservoirs across the state to when it will release some species of fish from hatcheries.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife also is considering relocating some fish species to save them and doing away with bag limits for recreational anglers because of the extended drought, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Thursday.

Officials say stream flows are at 25% of normal and migratory fish like salmon and steelhead will be most affected, particularly in areas along the coast and in smaller tributaries.

The state typically stocks lakes and reservoirs around the state with trout for recreational anglers, but some of those have unusually low water levels or are already dry, said Shaun Clements, the agency's deputy administrator for inland fisheries.

So, we obviously cant put fish into them. So, well be changing where we stock and when we stock," he said.
Patrick County Public Schools officials are looking forward to the return of a regular school year, starting Aug. 10.

But they have a backup plan for families not ready for that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The schools will open Aug. 10 for our students five days a week for in-person instruction, like normal, with regards to any mitigation strategy we have to do thats in place at the time, either by executive order or the Virginia Department of Health, Patrick County Public Schools Superintendent Dean Gilbert said.

That return-to-school plan was posted Tuesday on the divisions website, and parents were notified through the schools communications system.

Families who do not want their students to return to school may apply for the Stride K12 virtual schooling program, Gilbert said.

Stride K12 is a company that provides online instruction across the nation with state-certified teachers. Patrick County students who will be taught virtually next year will enroll with Patrick County Schools but be taught by Stride K12 teachers, Gilbert said.

PCPS will pay the difference in price in the K12 tuition through COVID-19 relief money, he said.
Park didn't outright reject more contact tracing but replied: I am increasingly disturbed that people seem to think contact tracing is somehow easily accomplished as a simple task when it is a part of the practice of applied epidemiology.

Lassner offered to have the university help train contact tracers.

Two days later, Ige's chief of staff, Linda Takayama, asked whether the state could do a full court press on contact tracing. She noted Hawaii had set up sites to process a flood of pandemic-induced unemployment insurance claims and wondered whether something similar could be done for contact tracing.

We are standing by to help, Takayama wrote.

Park replied, were OK when it comes to contact tracing at the current disease activity level. That day, Hawaiis seven-day average of new infections was only 10.

However, if disease activity spikes, we will be challenged, Park wrote.

She said she would start using online software that would decrease the burden on her staff and bring on more volunteers and staff as needed. Park added she could better expand her operation if the state hadnt failed to properly fund public health.
We see so many acts of ignorance and insolence. From what sewer line did all this gall and anger emerge? Why are we  again  attacking each other because of our differences rather than being kind, respectful and considerate?

People taunt. They scream. They spew. They assault. They point weapons. Some even preach a false theology from a pulpit of pure ungodly nonsense.

And every one of them is perpetuating fear and ignorance  fear of something unknown and different and ignorant of truth.

There have always been segments of society like that. Im not naive. I remember the 60s and the way fear induced men to hang and burn others, the mindset that suggested swinging a club would knock sense into someones head, rather than knocking the senses from that cracked skull.

It was awful. But now it is so much worse and so much more ominous because we ought to know better. We ought to have graduated from that lack of class, but clearly we failed.

And now clubs are being swung at the very pillars of our society, our democracy, our goodness. The furious and the moronic would rather tear down what we have built than to find a way to coexist and improve the structure.
The McDowell County Health Department said that six additional McDowell County residents tested positive for COVID-19 for the week of Monday, May 31 through Friday, June 4.

This brings the total number of positives to 5,159 in McDowell County. There have been 45,738 tests conducted, 40,554 negative results and 25 tests are pending results. At the time of Fridays report, there were 19 individuals in quarantine, 5,063 out of quarantine and 77 deaths. McDowell Countys 14-day positivity rate is 3.6%, according to a news release.

McDowell Countys COVID-19 data dashboard is updated daily (Monday-Friday) and can be found by clicking the following link: http://www.mcdowellem.com/covid-19-information.html

Residents in need of a COVID-19 test are encouraged to call their primary care physician or CVS pharmacy for testing. If you are uninsured or cannot afford a COVID-19 test, you can call the McDowell County Health Department at 828-652-6811 to schedule a test.
Jeremy Canwell, former senior curator at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, is no longer an employee at the University of Montana.

His departure in April followed the closure of a Title IX investigation that found him responsible for sexually assaulting a former intern of his.

The victim told the Missoulian the incident occurred at Canwell's house last summer.

Canwell declined to comment.

The Missoulian does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault. She had worked as an intern with Canwell at the museum, which operates two galleries on campus and maintains a permanent collection of almost 11,000 objects.

When the pandemic hit, she moved back in with her parents and stored her items in a spare room at Canwells Missoula home while she was staying with her family, she said.

On the evening of Aug. 26, she went to Canwells home to retrieve some of her belongings. Canwell was drinking, and after they loaded her belongings into her car, they sat together on his patio and chatted for a while, she said.

I asked for a drink and thats where everything went wrong, she said.
Families and friends of the graduating class were able to attend the celebrations at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Friday afternoon with a few remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as masks and hand-sanitizing stations.

Each ceremony included pre-recorded performances by students for the national anthem and other musical features that played on the stadiums GrizVision Jumbotron.

Many of the speeches Friday touched on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather than focusing on what they lost, students emphasized what they gained through perseverance.

I think we are the prime class to take this on head on," said William Thomas, a student speaker at Sentinel's graduation. "We took this year and we saw an opportunity to make it productive despite everything happening around us. We took this year, and as the class of 2021, we made this year great.

Hellgates ceremony was the only one to feature a guest speaker. The graduating class invited Tyler Hamilton to impart some wisdom before they take their next steps. He is a former professional cyclist and Olympian who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Punte comes from a large family with eight sisters and one brother. Her family moved to Missoula from Las Vegas when she was about 5 years old. Her oldest two sisters were both born in Mexico and are "Dreamers."

Punte started at Willard the second semester of her junior year, and right away she could tell something was different.

Literally the first day I was at Willard I made friends  everybody theres so outgoing, Punte said.

She took a liking to her history classes and excelled in writing. She transformed from a student who didnt enjoy school to someone who admits they will actually miss doing homework.

The pandemic added another roadblock for Punte when she withdrew again from school in early 2020. The move to virtual instruction due to school closures didnt help motivate her to continue her education. She didnt feel compelled to complete assignments virtually.

Tri Pham, a counselor at the school, reached out to Punte several times to check in, he said. He constantly encouraged her to return to school because she only had a few more credits to earn before she was eligible to receive a diploma.
Zain Bahrain, a leading telecommunications operator in the kingdom, announced the establishment of a new function titled Sustainability & Inclusivity, taking a step further to reinforce the culture of inclusion and sustainable business.

Fatema Haider, an industry veteran with over 11 years experience with Zain and an ambassador for D & I since its establishment in 2017, has been named the manager of the Sustainability & Inclusivity function.

With her vast experience in the field of D & I, Haider will focus on assisting the company in building diverse teams, said the statement from Zain.

The expansion of Zain Bahrains Sustainability efforts aligns with the companys commitment to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5  Gender Equality.

The company continues to focus on women empowerment and has launched various initiatives as part of its SDGs to provide quality education to Bahraini women, such as the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Camp for girls aged 8-14 that trained 1,000 school-going girls to code across the Kingdom in an effort to heighten their interest in technology, it added.

With the addition of the new function, Zain Bahrain continues to embrace a culture where men and women are treated equally at the workplace and creates empowering initiatives for all segments in the community to develop and grow.

Fatema Haider was appointed to Zains D & I Advisory Board in 2020 and has since worked directly with the Vice-Chairman, Group CEO, and his Executive Team as a representative of Zain Bahrain.

In her current role, Fatema will oversee corporate sustainability, developing and executing strategies to address Zains sustainability streams, working alongside all departments to ensure that the sustainability and inclusivity strategy is embedded across all levels.

She will also lead the design, development, and management of the sustainable business operation, monitoring progress and partnering with external entities and business unit representatives to invest in serving the local community in implementing change initiatives across the organization.

Zain Bahrain also focused on SDG 11 for Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 12 for Responsible Consumption and Production.

They have rendered support to various differently-abled individuals in the community and are also committed to addressing the various risks and opportunities related to climate change, participating in activities such as e-waste to responsibly recycle electronic waste, it stated.

Welcoming the appointment, CEO Duncan Howard said: "At Zain Bahrain, Sustainability and Diversity & Inclusion are key to our strategy. We believe in employee empowerment by creating equal opportunities and treatment, encouraging a sense of belonging in a safe and open environment."

"We are committed to being an inclusive company by providing opportunities for a better future that is accessible to all. As part of our corporate sustainability strategy, we remain committed to providing Meaningful Connectivity by being inclusive and accessible and will further emphasize the importance of establishing purpose-driven activities," he stated.

Zain Bahrain has been a proud recipient of Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifas Women Empowerment Award for its significant efforts and contribution to the Bahraini women work force.

On her elevated role, Haider said: "Sustainability & Inclusivity are key drivers to Zain Bahrains growth, which I believe will support the advancement of our organization and will serve as a brand differentiator to support our internal and external stakeholders."

"I am delighted to be appointed for this role and look forward to purposefully reaching an inclusive and shared interest between the local community and the business growth," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
The policy that exempted politicians from rules on hate speech and abuse was once championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The company said it never applied the policy to Trump, but on Friday backtracked to say it did use it once, in 2019 for a video of a rally on his Facebook page.

The social media giant said it will still apply the newsworthiness" exemption to certain posts it deems to be in the public interest, even if they violate Facebook rules. But it will no longer treat material posted by politicians any differently than other posts. In addition, Facebook said it will make public whenever it does apply the exemption to a post.

The announcements are in response to recommendations from the companys quasi-independent oversight board. Last month, that panel upheld a decision by Facebook to keep Trump suspended, but the board said the company could not merely suspend him indefinitely. It gave the company six months to decide what to do with his accounts.

In its decision last month, the board agreed with Facebook that two of Trumps Jan. 6 posts severely violated the content standards of both Facebook and Instagram.
Today is Friday, June 4, 2021. Let's get caught up.

These headlines are in the news this morning: Facebook will end a policy that exempted politicians from its moderation rules; a consequential US jobs report coming today; and the Phoenix Suns eliminated the defending champion L.A. Lakers from playoffs.

Read on for these stories, other top headlines, celebrity birthdays and more.

TOP STORIES

Reports: Facebook to end rule exemptions for politicians

Facebook plans to end a contentious policy championed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that exempted politicians from certain moderation rules on its site, according to several news reports.

The company's rationale for that policy held that the speech of political leaders is inherently newsworthy and in the public interest even if it is offensive, bullying or otherwise controversial. The social media giant is currently mulling over what to do with the account of former President Donald Trump, which it indefinitely suspended Jan. 6, leaving it in Facebook limbo with its owners unable to post.
Although weve made significant progress over the last two centuries to expand the freedom to vote, self-interested politicians in numerous states are trying to turn back the clock to a dark period in our history and create significant barriers to voting for certain Americans, especially Black and Brown voters.

Using the former presidents Big Lie about a stolen election as a pretext for voter suppression  the same Big Lie that led to a violent insurrection at our Capitol to overturn a free and fair election  many Republican state legislatures are trying to reverse progress. At least 14 states have already passed nearly two dozen restrictive voting bills this year, and many others are trying to do so.

As we approach the anniversary of the Supreme Courts 5-4 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which gave a green light to state voter-suppression efforts, national standards are needed now more than ever to ensure that all Americans can have the freedom to vote. The For the People Act, which passed the House of Representatives in March and which the Senate is scheduled to vote on in June, is just the remedy we need. It would set uniform guidelines so that all Americans, regardless of their age, race or ZIP code, can have the freedom to vote.
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It appeared that the man decided to climb part of the tower, but no ropes were used and rescue officials told the newspaper in April that they didnt believe climbing the tower was what the man originally intended. He fell about 40 to 60 feet to his death, the article said.

Rescue crews usually respond to around 75 to 100 calls in the gorge a year, Willis told the newspaper Friday.

Unlike a state park with obvious, well-worn trails, trails in the gorge, a federally designated wilderness area, may be overgrown with brush or have areas that have washed out because of weather. Most of the trails wont be marked, Willis said.

Theres no rangers, theres no rescue, theres no nothing, he said. Its wilderness.

Anyone taking to the gorge should be prepared for anything. Willis said hikers should have their phones fully charged, take extra batteries or battery packs, have a GPS device, lights, plenty of food and water and be ready to stay much longer than they anticipate.

He said hikers should always stay on trails.

Cell service is spotty, at best, in the Linville Gorge, and it can take hours for rescuers to reach an injured or lost hiker because of the terrain and conditions, Willis said.
CLEVELAND (AP)  One of the stars of the popular Nickelodeon children's show Drake & Josh faces criminal charges regarding a girl he had met online and who attended his 2017 concert in Ohio when she was 15.

Jared Drake Bell, 34, pleaded not guilty on Thursday in a Cleveland courtroom to a felony charge of attempted endangering children and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.

All facts will be revealed in a courtroom," Bells attorney Ian Friedman said Friday, declining to comment further.

Bell was charged by information, which typically indicates a plea agreement has been reached. He is scheduled to appear before a judge on June 23.

Tyler Sinclair, spokesperson for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley, said the girl filed a complaint with Canadian police in October 2018. Police there contacted Cleveland police, prompting an investigation.

The attempted endangering children charge relates to the concert, Sinclair said, where Bell violated his duty of care and created a risk of harm to the victim. He didn't elaborate further.
GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP)  A group of Mississippi residents gathered on a sleepy, dusty Delta day to remember the fictional Billy Joe McAllister where  as the 1967 hit song had it  he ended his life when he jumped off the Tallahatchie bridge.

The Greenwood Commonwealth reported that members of the society calling themselves the June Bugs held a ceremony Thursday and talked about Billy Joe as if they knew him. The group included Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Bill Luckett, an attorney and blues club owner who once ran for Mississippi governor as a Democrat.

They unveiled a tombstone at a spot called the Tallahatchie Flats.

Ode to Billy Joe was written and recorded by Bobbie Gentry, who lived part of her life in Greenwood.

Wicker quoted from the lyrics Thursday, speaking of the fictional character as if he had been real.

People said, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense, but I never believed that," the senator said.
HONOLULU (AP)  A 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Honolulu police arrived at an emergency room with gunshot wounds to the back of his head and to his shoulders, according to hospital records provided by a lawyer representing the teen's family.

It's evidence that the kid was shot in the back, attorney Eric Seitz said Friday.

Spokespersons for the Honolulu Police Department and the city didn't immediately comment on the records involving Iremamber Sykap.

A doctor wrote in emergency room notes that Sykap had a gunshot wound to the back of his head, two gunshot wounds to his right shoulder, and 1 gunshot wound to his left shoulder,

Police said Sykap was driving a stolen Honda linked to an armed robbery, burglary, purse snatching and car theft and led officers on a chase before the April 5 shooting.

A lawsuit by his grandmother and mother alleges officers fired multiple shots at Sykap after the vehicle came to a stop, when Sykap was unarmed and posed no risk to them. It says officers kept firing after the car lurched forward and ended up in a ditch.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner's office said it won't release Sykap's autopsy report at the direction of the prosecuting attorney's office, which is investigating.
The sheriffs office said eight people participated in the May 25 attack, including Sutton, Beatty, three Southern Guilford High School students and three students from other schools. Sutton is the mother of one of the students involved in the attack, according to the sheriffs office.

Campbell said that, according to her daughter, a boy at her school wanted to fight her, but was told by his brother that he should not fight a girl. Campbell said he then recruited a girl at the school to do it.

That girl, Campbell said, attempted to fight her daughter at her bus stop on Monday last week, but was on the losing end of the fight.

Campbell said she didnt learn about any of this until after the classroom attack on her daughter.

According to Capt. Brian Hall, who supervises the countys school resource officers, some of the group arrived outside of the school on May 25. The student from the bus stop fight went to let them in, but didnt need to because they grabbed the door as some students were leaving and let themselves in, he said.

After that, Hall said, the student and her supporters went to the 14-year-olds classroom and started hitting and kicking her.
After six years behind the soundboard, general manager Clark Grant is leaving radio station KBMF.

This was always the plan  when Grant founded KBMF, a local nonprofit community station at 102.5, he agreed to stay on for six years. Grant will still spin the stacks every Monday from 8 to 10 p.m., playing music he described as experimental, textural, and whatever I can play to drive people away.

Grants first experience in radio was in Missoula, where he worked for Montana Public Radio and the college station KBGA. He started to make lifelong friends through community radio, like Ann Szalda-Petree, whose show he produced and would later go on to co-found the Butte America Foundation (or BAmF) and Missoulas community nonprofit radio station KFGM.

Grant was enchanted by Butte when he first visited to broadcast the National Folk Festival with MTPR in 2009.

In between broadcasts from the Original stage, I walked around Uptown and just fell in love with the architecture. And in particular, this building, Grant said, referring to Carpenters Union Hall, where KBMF gets free rent in exchange for fixing up the upper two floors.
Laurel Burleson, chef and owner of the Ugly Apple Cafe in Madison, Wisconsin, first made this fruity riff on Italian caprese salad toasts for a catering gig. Fresh mozzarella offers a creamy counterpoint to the tartness of strawberry-basil jam, and a balsamic drizzle underscores some of the same flavor notes.

For a sweeter canape, make a balsamic glaze by simmering a little balsamic on the stove until it reduces by half. Or do as Burleson and pick up a high-quality balsamic vinegar and just use it straight.

Put a pin in this jam recipe for the first time you see strawberries at the farmers market. Burleson says this recipe makes six 8-ounce jars of jam, which you can give away to lucky friends or freeze to treat yourself later this winter.

The jam recipe can be cut in half and will still work just fine. A kitchen scale is more accurate and may speed up the process. Burleson always advises that, when making jam, surface area is your friend, so she recommends using a wide saute pan or saucepan. Also, if you plan to can the jam in sealed jars, bottled lemon juice is preferred for its uniform level of acidity.

Strawberry Caprese Canapes with Strawberry-Basil Jam

Yields: 10 canapes

Strawberry-Basil Jam

3 lbs fresh, ripe strawberries, hulled and cut into -inch pieces

3 cups (1 lbs) granulated sugar

2 Tbsp (1 oz) lemon juice

cant  cup (1 oz) chopped fresh basil leaves

Strawberry Caprese Canapes

1 demi baguette (about 8 oz)

1 ball (8 oz) fresh mozzarella

2 to 3 fresh strawberries, thinly sliced

2 to 3 large basil leaves, thinly sliced

balsamic vinegar, glaze or reduction

freshly ground black pepper, to taste (optional)

finishing or coarse salt, to taste (optional)

Prepare Strawberry-Basil Jam: Place a plate and a few teaspoons in freezer. In large saute pan or wide saucepan over low heat, add strawberries, sugar and lemon juice. With potato masher, mash strawberries, then stir with rubber spatula until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium; heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Boil about 10 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping sides and bottom of pan to prevent sticking or burning.

After about 10 minutes, stir in basil. Remove pan from heat. To know when jam is done, test jams gel point: Remove plate and teaspoon from freezer; drop about 1 teaspoon jam onto plate. Return plate and spoon to freezer for 1 minute. After 1 minute, push jam with spoon into a line. If jam remains somewhat firm when pushed and line does not fill in with juice, the jam is ready. If line fills in with juice, then continue to cook, retesting gel point every few minutes.

Set aside about  cup jam for canapes. If desired, for longer storage, ladle remaining jam into six 8-ounce sterilized jars, leaving a half inch of space at top of jar. Seal and secure jars with button-top lids; place in boiling-water bath about 10 minutes or until seal takes hold and pops. Place jars on drying rack; cool jam at room temperature. Refrigerate sealed jam up to 1 month. Or place jam in airtight containers; cover and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 year.

Prepare Strawberry Caprese Canapes: Preheat oven to 325F. Meanwhile, trim ends from baguette; cut baguette crosswise into ten -inch-thick slices. Place slices on cookie sheet and bake 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Cut mozzarella into -inch-thick slices, each to about the same size as each bread slice (slice mozzarella ball in half, if necessary).

Assemble canapes: On large serving platter, arrange toasted baguette. Spread 2 teaspoons or so Strawberry-Basil Jam over each slice of bread; place 1 slice mozzarella over jam, then top with 1 or 2 slices strawberries and some basil. Drizzle with balsamic. If desired, sprinkle canapes with pepper and salt.

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Jizzakh Petroleum, a major oil and gas company in Uzbekistan, said it has signed a four-sided MoU with Russias Gazprombank, State Development Corporation and the Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance (EXIAR) for the financing of the new greenfield gas chemical complex based on Methanol-to-Olefins technology in the country's Bukhara region.

The MoU establishes a framework for potential future cooperation between the parties with respect to the financing of the project and the insurance of the risk related to the facility in the amount of $800 million preliminarily.

Jizzakh was named a major investor in the project late last year. The $2.8-billion gas chemical plant, one of the largest and most complex in the CIS region, is regarded as key to the future monetization of Uzbekistan natural gas through the production of export-oriented high-value-added gas-chemical products.

Nigora Ibadova, the director for strategic development, said: "The MTO project, on which our team has been working for about two years, is a great example of the modern Uzbekistan, where great attention is paid to projects to create a value chain and the production of finished products, import substitution."

"This, in turn, gives a positive impetus for the development of future related industries and the creation of new workplaces," she stated at the signing ceremony held on the occasion of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which over the last few years has become a leading global platform for members of the business community to meet and discuss key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole.

"This project will become the core of the future gas chemical cluster, which will be assigned the status of a special economic zone, the first of its kind in Central Asia," she added.

Once completed, the 720,000-tonnes-per-year complex is expected to process 1.5 billion cu m of natural gas annually and produce high-quality polymers used in many sectors of the world economy.-TradeArabia News Service
The library is also partnering with the City of Muscatine Parks and Rec department over the summer. Families can seek wooden stakes that library staff has pounded into the ground. The stake contains a code word that is turned in at the library.

Library staff will also do reading time at toddler swimming. Story times will also be done with Muscatine Police officers. The library will also assist the Muscatine Community School District with a catch-up summer program.

Im really proud of our library, Collins said. I love the work we do. I hope you do too.

Mayor Diana Broderson said the council is equally proud of the library. She said it has been amazing watching how the library has always stepped up with the times and had never fallen behind. She said especially over the last year the library has been a huge service to the community.

Council member Peggy Gordon asked about adult reading programs at the library. Collins said there is an adult program where adults read six books and they get a $5 Hy-Vee gift card.

Collins also invited anyone with ideas for reading programs to let the library know about it. Council member John Jindrich asked why the LapSit Story Time program could not be held in the library. Collins explained the demand was not there for the program. She explained the program is still being offered, just in a different way.

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MUSCATINE  This month, the Muscatine YMCA will offer three self-defense programs for girls and women in the community. Each of these free sessions is two hours and will offer skills for staying safe both in-person, in certain situations and while on social media.

Participants will also learn how to be aware of their surroundings, how not to be a target and basic self-defense techniques. The content will be taught by the Muscatine Police Department, and all content will be age appropriate for each specific course.

This is not the first time that the Muscatine Y has offered these classes. According to Marketing & Fund Development Director Nicole McCleary and Health Promotion Services Program Director Melanie Steckel, the Y offered the same series of workshops in October and November of 2018. The Y has received requests from mothers for these classes, usually when their teenage daughters are becoming more independent or going off to college.

The first of these classes will be from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 10 and will be for girls ages 10 to 13 as well as their mothers or guardians. The adult that accompanies their girl to the session must stay for the duration and participate with them.

The second class is 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, and is for women ages 18 or older.
WAPELLO -- An earlier decision by the Wapello City Council to use a two-line water tower motto that dates to World War II is still the councils preferred choice, the council agreed during its regular meeting on Thursday.

The water tower is scheduled to undergo maintenance, including repainting, this year and as part of that project, a new motto was included in the $192,000 cost.

At a May 6 meeting, the council had agreed to have the 48-inch yellow lettering on the mottos top line read Wapello, while the 23-inch letter on the second line would read Capital of the World.

However, when the council held its second meeting of the month on May 20, council member Brett Shafer reported he had received comments from a couple of local residents wondering where the motto had originated.

During the discussion about the motto at that meeting, officials indicated it was apparently tied to local soldiers during World War II. There were few details on the mottos origin presented during that meeting though, which prompted some council members to question if the motto needed to be changed.

Mayor Shawn Maine added some additional points to the World War II story during Thursdays meeting that convinced the council to keep the motto.
But closing the detention centers doesnt mean that immigrants detained there would be released. ICE could transfer them to one of more than 100 other detention centers it operates or contracts nationwide, an ICE official said.

On May 18, the McHenry County board of commissioners voted down a proposal to cancel its ICE contract, following a year-long campaign from dozens of activist groups. Some board members argued at the meeting that the country shouldnt forgo that revenue since ICE will detain immigrants anyway. The contract netted the county more than $3 million per fiscal year from 2016 to 2020, according to a report from the county board.

But Amanda Hall, an educator and co-founder of the Coalition to Cancel the ICE Contract in McHenry County, said the ICE contract with the county jail terrorizes immigrants in the area because theyre scared of police officers and being pulled over and then put in ICE custody.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP)  Authorities on Friday arrested an Iowa man accused of hiding in the backseat a Nebraska womans car and using zip ties, duct tape and homemade chloroform to abduct the woman and imprison her in a storage shed at his home.

Police arrested Zack Smith, 20, of Bronson, early Friday on charges of third-degree kidnapping, false imprisonment and two counts of assault, the Sioux City Journal reported. His bond was set at $250,000.

Sioux City police said the woman was reported missing Thursday morning after her car was found abandoned with her purse and cellphone inside. Police focused on Smith, who was an ex-boyfriend of the woman.

Under questioning, Smith admitted that he had hid in the back of the woman's vehicle for more than three hours until she was alone and used a BB replica of a handgun to force the woman into his vehicle, where he blindfolded and bound her and held a towel he had soaked with homemade chloroform over her face, police said.
The project is funded by a $2,500 grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which helped purchase equipment such as turtle and minnow traps and allows Hughes team to do sampling.

Citizens can attend bimonthly BioBlitz events or venture to Cedar Lake on their own, take photos and upload them to the iNaturalist app. Once those observations are verified by two people, they are usable for scientific research.

If you can hold a phone and take a picture with it, you can participate, Hughes said.

Before crossing the bridge to the other side of the lake near the rail yard, Hughes and his students walked into the water to check the turtle traps. After several minutes, they returned to dry land and Hughes announced to the group, No turtles, but he said they did find striped and largemouth bass, bluegill and crappies.

Seeing the trio checking turtle traps, a few others had gathered to see what creatures might turn up. Hughes prompted one onlooker riding his bike to download the iNaturalist app and recruited a family to join for the rest of the afternoon BioBlitz.

Emery Stead, 6, became Hughes eager helper as the group of seven walked the trail. Birds, flowers, mushrooms and a rollie pollie city were among the citizen scientists findings.
According to prosecutors, Lang shot and killed Sgt. Jim Smith less than two hours after Niehaus tried to pull him over for speeding.

Authorities say Lang fled from Niehaus, assaulted the officer after a high-speed chase, and returned to his Grundy Center home, where he barricaded himself inside. They say he fatally shot Smith, a 27-year patrol veteran, as Smith led a team of officers inside the home to arrest him.

A standoff continued for hours as two officers took cover in Langs basement. Troopers in an armored personnel carrier later entered the home after negotiations broke down, and they fired on Lang after he allegedly shot at them. Lang was shot three times in the head and chest but survived. A prosecutor ruled that the three troopers were justified in shooting Lang.

Lang, 41, is charged with first-degree murder in Smith's killing, attempted murder for allegedly firing at the troopers, and assault on a peace officer for allegedly choking Niehaus. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Prosecutors also recently added pursuit-related charges of eluding, speeding and driving without an interlock device, which Lang needed on his vehicle due to a history of drunken driving.
Bitcoin slid after a cryptic tweet from Elon Musk apparently hinting at a potential split with the largest cryptocurrency, the latest post from the billionaire to buffet the tokens price.

The coin dropped as much as 6.3% and was trading at about $36,750 as of 6:28 a.m. in New York. The decline dented this weeks stabilization in the crypto sector after a rout in May. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index retreated as much as 7.3%.

Musk has roiled Bitcoin and other digital tokens with a string of social media posts. Most notably, the tycoon last month reversed a decision to allow purchases of Tesla Inc. electric vehicles with Bitcoin, citing the environmental fallout of the energy required by the servers underpinning the cryptocurrency. That, plus harsh Chinese regulatory rhetoric, led to a plunge in the sector.

In his latest tweet, Musk wrote #Bitcoin with a broken heart emoji and a reference to a lyric from the popular song In the End by Linkin Park.

His Twitter account has affected other parts of the market  Samsung Publishing Co., a shareholder in the producer of the Baby Shark viral YouTube song, surged this week after Musk tweeted about the jingle.

Bitcoin is about $28,000 shy of its mid-April record of almost $65,000. The biggest believers in crypto argue the token is consolidating before a run higher to new highs.

But Musks spotlight on environmental risks  and the way his tweets drive swings in prices  have hurt the narrative that the virtual currency is bound to win more mainstream adoption over time.

After suspending Bitcoin payments to Tesla, Musk later said that the company hadnt sold any of its holdings of the digital token  clarifying another of his tweets that raised questions about whether Tesla might have done so.

The repeated posts have fueled speculation over just why the electric-car pioneer is issuing crypto missives.

Tesla in February disclosed a $1.5 billion Bitcoin investment. In April, the firms earnings report showed it had sold 10% of its Bitcoin holdings.

Despite Mays rout, Bitcoin is up about 280% over the past year, while second-ranked Ether is up 1,000%. The Bloomberg crypto gauge has climbed about sixfold.
A new survey finds tenants are having a hard time accessing the states $2.6 billion emergency rent relief, which is contributing to the slow distribution of Californias marquee program to thwart a potential statewide eviction tsunami.

With one month until the end of the states eviction moratorium, the survey of 177 tenant advocates released Tuesday found that tenants had trouble applying in languages other than English and Spanish, and that a lack of digital proficiency and access to documents showing income losses due to COVID limited tenants ability to apply.

Tenant advocates also reported that tenants who cannot contact or who face harassment from their landlords were effectively locked out of full rent relief, since the states plan requires landlords to forgive 20% of rental debt in order to receive the remaining 80%. Tenants in that circumstance can still avoid eviction by paying 25% of their rental debt.

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Napa Creek Village, an unfinished 48-unit eco-village housing complex on First Street that was headed to foreclosure, has been revived by a new owner and contractor.

New owner, OSM NCV LP, bought the property at 2614 First St., west of Highway 29, on April 16. The purchase price was $12.2 million, according to county records.

We recently purchased Napa Creek Village to add to our growing portfolio of multifamily properties in Sonoma and Napa counties, said Amanda Romero, a spokesperson for OSM.

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We understand there is a real need for housing and we would like to complete the vision that was originally desired by building an environmentally sustainable community in Napa," Romero said.

OSMs intention will be to market the project as apartments, versus the original plan to sell as individual condominiums, said Romero.
Air Seychelles will operate more flights from Dubai to Seychelles in the Indian Ocean this July to provide travellers more choice and convenience when planning their Eid al-Adha holidays.



The weekly flights starting from 2 July until 24 July 2021 will depart from Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 on Friday mornings, returning from Seychelles International Airport every Thursday afternoon, providing visitors a full week of adventure in the Seychelles.



To offer greater connectivity over the upcoming Eid break, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles will operate an additional flight on 19 July 2021 from Dubai.



Economy Class travellers can take advantage of the attractive fares starting from $343 (AED 1,259), whilst Business Class travellers can book their seats at the starting fares of $1,020 (AED 3,743). All fares are inclusive of taxes.



Travellers to the popular holiday destination, irrespective of vaccination status, must have a negative Covid 19 PCR test certificate taken within 72 hours, with completed mandatory Health Travel Authorization at seychelles.govtas.com prior to departure from Dubai.



With the average temperature ranging from 25C to 27C Celsius in July, visitors can look forward to a break from the Dubai summer heat. Island hopping between the main islands, Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, famous for their white sandy beaches and vibrant coral reefs, will ensure tourists experience a picturesque and memorable escape, an Air Seychelles statement said.  TradeArabia News Service
Jerry Brown, who had served two terms as governor of California and had run unsuccessfully for president three times and the U.S. Senate once, re-entered politics in 1997 by declaring his candidacy for mayor of Oakland.

Brown delivered the last segment of the radio talk show that had occupied him after his third and final White House run, walked downstairs in his home-workplace-auditorium in Oaklands Jack London Square and announced his mayoral run to a clutch of waiting political journalists.

As Brown laid out ambitious plans to revive Oakland, he sharply criticized what locals called the Grove-Shafter Freeway  formally known as Interstate 980  for dividing poverty-stricken and largely Black West Oakland from the shabby downtown he hoped to resuscitate, and suggested that it should be demolished.

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As Brown railed against the freeway as a quasi-segregationist wall, one journalist interrupted to ask, Didnt you build that freeway? Rather sheepishly, Brown acknowledged that he had, indeed, sanctioned its construction as governor two decades earlier.
"I know we absolutely have stopped countless mass shootings by using this tool," Rosen says of the red flag law. "It has saved countless lives."

Lots of suicides have been prevented too, he says.

But that's only when the tool is used. And it isn't used everywhere. Santa Clara County uses it a lot. San Diego excels at it. Los Angeles, disappointing.

"Some law enforcement agencies are reluctant to take this on because it interferes with their philosophy. They think it's inappropriate to take a person's guns away," says Dr. Garen Wintemute, director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program. "This tends to be in rural counties.

"And someone has to go get the guns. It's not a one-person job. It takes five or six officers. You hand this guy an order and tell him, 'We're going to take your guns.'"

There's also the reluctance of citizens to stick their necks out. They probably haven't even heard about the law.

"I'd like to see a pretty massive public service campaign" to inform the public and persuade them to use the law, says state Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose). "How do you get people to speak up? They don't want to betray privacies.
Armenia 2nd President: It is necessary to either ban offices of Soros or set tight restrictions

Armenian Public Television and "I Have the Honor" bloc apply to Ombudsman regarding video broadcasting

Armenia acting PM: Today there are army generals who have served for over 20 years, but have no apartments

Australia, UK and US agree on cooperation

Armenia Ombudsman's representatives hold personal talks with 15 Armenian POWs

"I Have the Honor" bloc says Armenian authorities might allocate nearly $1.5 mln for electoral bribes

"I Have the Honor" bloc: Mass media report that conspiratorial junta is delaying return of Armenian POWs

Putin on upcoming meeting with Biden, says it is necessary to establish direct dialogue

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office welcomes return of 15 Armenian POWs

Georgia MFA: Tbilisi worked for return of Armenian soldiers for 2-3 months

Armenia ex-official: Sectors of country's roads will be transferred to Azerbaijan, according to current authorities

Armenia Armed Forces' General Staff ex-chief: War won't break out, Azerbaijani army is currently weakened

Iran's interior minister: Country's presidential election will be held in full security atmosphere

Armenia acting PM to citizens: Opposition was mourning and weeping after return of 15 Armenian POWs

Armenia confirms 39 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths

Armenia 3rd President: I declare that there was no talk about enclaves during my administration

Armenia MOD: 2 residents of Syunik Province disoriented, find themselves in Azerbaijani territory

Russian MFA Spokesperson on return of 15 Armenian POWs

Armenia Central Electoral Commission grants motion to deprive MP candidate of liberty

Members of "Armenia" bloc light candles at Haghpat Monastery after campaigning

EU President: I applaud Azerbaijans & Armenias parallel humanitarian gestures

Georgia is ready to participate in settlement of humanitarian issues between Baku and Yerevan

Aliyev: If Armenia wants peace, they should start negotiations with us on delimitation

Kocharyan intends to turn government dachas into rehab center

Baku says it handed over 15 POWs to Armenia in exchange for map of minefields

Nikol Pashinyan shares photo of Armenian POWs returning home

Eight more remains found in Artsakh search operations Saturday

Armenia MOD refutes reports on deployment of Turkey army units in Sev Lake region

Armenia MP candidate charged with bribery is remanded in custody

Armenia acting PM on border situation: Our Russian partners have come, looked at areas where they can be deployed

Armenia acting premier: This election battle has already turned into class struggle

20 Afghanistan security force members killed in clashes with Taliban

Armenia acting PM supporters give kids instructions in Gegharkunik Province village

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: We reject vendettas

Armenia ex-President Serzh Sargsyan pays tribute to late PM Andranik Margaryan

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: Maybe 2018 evens would not have happened if they had kept level of education

Bright Armenia Party MP: Our prime ministerial candidate is Edmon Marukyan

Armenia former President Kocharyan: I want to be proud of my homeland

One person on Armenia ruling party electoral list also has Iran citizenship, his registration is declared invalid

Armenias Pashinyan congratulates Boris Johnson on Queens Birthday

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan in Spitak town, pays tribute to victims of 1988 earthquake

Acting premier: Corrupt clergymen discredit Armenian Apostolic Church, traditional values

Armenia, Georgia customs officials meet at Bagratashen border checkpoint

One new case of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Armenia acting deputy PM signs new decision

Sarkissian to Putin: Armenian-Russian cooperation is developing confidently in all directions

8 dead in China factory chemical leak

Putin notes differences between "outsider" Trump, "career man" Biden

88 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

President: Karabakh has always underscored Russia's invaluable place, role in our region

Security Council chief: We have had Russias support in Artsakh for centuries

Pashinyan to Putin: I am convinced that Armenian-Russian interstate relations will continue to develop

Armenias Pashinyan congratulates Mishustin on Russia Day

Newspaper: Armenia criminal authorities take neutral position in current electoral process

Newspaper: Real "war" behind scenes of Armenia authorities after every provincial visit of acting PM

Armenia acting PM Pashinyan tells details from his talk with army General Staff former chief Gasparyan

Man found dead in Armenia canal

NATO Secretary-General affirms willingness for cooperation with Russia

Armenia Special Investigation Service charges political party member for giving electoral bribe

Armenia Central Electoral Commission grants motion to launch criminal prosecution against MP candidate

"I Have the Honor" bloc member: Coronavirus and 'nikolavirus' (Nikol Pashinyan) are both lethal

Greek PM: Greece willing to back positive EU agenda for Turkey

Russia Deputy FM, France Ambassador discuss settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

CoE: We are engaged in a dialogue to develop a set of confidence-building measures between Armenia, Azerbaijan

Armenia 3rd President states when country's security system began to collapse

Armenia Armed Forces' General Staff ex-deputy chief on acting PM's statement on his "National Hero" title

Armenia Arevik National Park director dismissed for being a friend of Meghri mayor

Reuters: Erdogan's summit with Biden clouded by bitter disputes

Armenia acting MOD receives Head of ICRC Delegation

Gagik Tsarukyan: Armenia needs to develop the economy by using resources of country and people

Gagik Tsarukyan: Russia is Armenia's main ally, and this can't be altered

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijanis try to carry out engineering works in Kut border section, Armenian side counters

Armenia 1st President's nephew and his son involved in brawl in Yerevan

Snap elections online voting starts, Azerbaijan continues 'trial' of Armenian POWs, Jun 11 digest

Armenian former high-tech industry minister, member of ruling party on June 9 brawl in Yerevan

Robert Kocharyan: If Armenia wants a peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict, it needs to give Azerbaijan hope

Armenia acting PM: During campaign meetings hundreds of mothers thanked me for signing Nov. 9 document

Citizens are demanded to applaud Armenia acting PM

Armenia ruling party lawmaker, MP candidate: Civil Contracts election promises are continuation of 2018 promises

Armenia villager to Nikol Pashinyan: Yard of Turk's house is in front of our military post

Opposition Prosperous Armenia Party assures that it's not expecting ministerial positions

Robert Kocharyan: "Armenia" bloc will restore and deepen country's ties with allies

Czech Rep. parliament committee calls on Azerbaijan to release all Armenian captives immediately

"Armenia" bloc member Armen Gevorgyan holds meetings with diplomatic corps and international organizations

Dollar still dropping in Armenia

Azerbaijan announces names of 26 Armenian servicemen it intends to "put on trial"

Armenian publishing house to print 66,925,000 ballots for upcoming snap parliamentary elections

"Armenia" bloc member: There are reports that over 10 police buses escorted acting PM yesterday

Gallup: "Armenia" bloc records slightly higher indicator than ruling party

Armenia acting PM has been obligated to publicly apologize to Khachatryan family

"Armenia" bloc: Robert Kocharyan and ARF-D resolved crisis that Levon Ter-Petrosyan created in 1998

Intellectual Armenia Party to support "Armenia" bloc in snap parliamentary elections

Armenia ruling party MP's powers terminated

Brawl takes place during Armenia ruling Civil Contract Party's campaign meeting, case launched

Armenia acting premier: We also have enclave under Azerbaijan rule

Holy Etchmiadzin: We express regret for unwise, inappropriate statements of acting PM

"I have the honor" bloc member: Armenia acting PM has instructed his voters to go to polls by afternoon

Prosperous Armenia Party MP: Enemy does not divide Armenians into "blacks" and "whites"

Bright Armenia Party leader: Acting premier will not be able to get 60% of votes

Armenia acting PM: There are people in media who are more like "killers" than journalists
The head of the South Korean Air Force resigned due to a scandal in connection with the death of one of the soldiers. The family of the female sergeant claims she committed suicide after being sexually assaulted by a male colleague, the Associated Press reported.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he accepted the resignation of the Air Force Chief of Staff who had previously issued a statement to reporters, saying that he acknowledges the heavy responsibility for the woman's death.

According to a petition filed by the woman's family, she reported the case to her superiors, but committed suicide in May after they tried to cover up the incident and pressured her into reaching a private agreement with her abuser

As of Friday afternoon, more than 340,000 people have signed a petition calling for punishment for Air Force officials involved in any cover-up.

The scandal prompted the president to order the military to conduct a thorough investigation of the situation in the Air Force.

The South Korean military has long been criticized for failing to protect female military personnel and officers from sexual harassment and violence.

In 2017, a female naval officer committed suicide after being raped by a senior officer who was later sentenced to 15 years in prison. In 2013, a female army officer committed suicide after being pursued by a male boss who forced her to have sex with him. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
Indonesia plans to re-open borders in July 2021, with destinations including Bali, Batam and Bintan serving as 'locomotive' regions to kickstart tourism, said the countrys President Joko Widodo.



In preparation, the government has carried out a widespread vaccination program for targeted groups, including the tourism workforce. In addition, the government has also initiated the Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environmental Sustainability (CHSE) certification program throughout the tourism sector in Indonesia.



Indonesia announced at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Dubai 2021, the leading global event for the Middle East's travel industry that it is looking to partially re-open its borders to international visitors.



On behalf of the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia (MoTCE), Deputy Minister for Tourism Marketing, Nia Niscaya, signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) between the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Republic of Indonesia and Emirates Airlines during ATM 2021. The cooperation aims to boost marketing activities overseas, especially in Dubai.



Middle East travellers have long been a key market for Indonesian tourism destinations. In 2019, the Middle East recorded a significant increase in arrivals to Indonesia, registering 263,923 visitors (27.88% higher than 2018).



"By participating in ATM Dubai 2021, outbound tourism's leading global event, we are demonstrating that Indonesia is confident of maintaining its position as a world-class destination," said Nia Niscaya.  TradeArabia News Service
Reuters

CARBIS BAY, England (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a solo news conference after meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week, denying the former KGB spy an elevated international platform to castigate the West and sow discord. Putin's bravura performance at a 2018 news conference with Donald Trump led to shock when the then U.S. president cast doubt on the findings of his own intelligence agencies and flattered the Russian leader. Talking about the summit alone will also spare Biden, 78, from open jousting with Putin, 68, before the world's media after what is certain to be a combative encounter.
A 19-year-old man from California was stabbed to death after an altercation on Waikiki beach, according to Hawaii police.

Elian De La Cerda who was visiting from California with a friend, was confronted by a group of people early Tuesday on Kuhio beach, police said, according to Honolulu Star Advertiser.

Honolulu police said a fight occurred and De La Cerda was stabbed with a dangerous instrument and died at the scene, according to a news release.

It was De La Cerdas first time visiting Hawaii and he was planning to stay for a week before going back to California, according to a relative, Honolulu Star Advertiser reported.

Oscar Cardona, 21, was arrested Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder, Hawaii News Now reported. Police said Cardona was arrested near where the stabbing happened and his bail was set at $1 million.

Honolulu police thanked the public for their assistance in identifying the suspect, according to the release.

A video shared with KITV4 shows a group of people gathering and two men exchanging words before a punch is thrown. Other people then join the altercation.

De La Cerdas friend, 23, had a minor cut and a contusion on his head and was treated at a hospital then later released, Honolulu Star Advertiser reported.

The fight started as a confrontation on the sidewalk between the beach and Kalakaua Avenue, according to Hawaii News Now.
Controversy has engulfed an ambitious restoration project on the Acropolis, with critics accusing the Greek government of spoiling the country's priceless heritage.

Most of the fire has been directed at a new concrete walkway unveiled in December, which main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said constitutes "abuse" of Greece's most vaunted archaeological site.

A former member of the Acropolis restoration team, veteran architect Tasos Tanoulas, has called the new paths "foreign" and "stifling" to the 5th-century BCE monument.

The wider restoration project -- delivered in little more than a year -- was done without the care needed to safeguard a monument that is for many emblematic of Greece, critics charge.

The government says it has taken all necessary precautions and that the attacks are politically motivated.

Over 3.5 million people visited the Acropolis in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic shut down travel.

The culture ministry this week announced further improvements to the Acropolis for disabled visitors, which it said were carried out after consulting with leading associations for people with disabilities.

The ministry said signs in Braille and easier-to-read bold fonts would be installed, in addition to scaled models of the monuments, handrails and slope warnings.

But risks remain.

- Tripping over -

When AFP toured the Acropolis this week, a woman tripped into a hollow in the middle of the new walkway, one of many designed to give a glimpse of the ancient rock beneath.

Further up the path, a staffer swiftly swept soil into another hollow after a visitor group has walked past.

"Its a plateau with potholes. Potholes are the opposite of safe," noted tourist guide Smaragda Touloupa, who recently took her elderly parents on a visit to the site.

The Acropolis makeover, which cost around 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) and includes award-winning night lighting, a disabled elevator upgrade and better drainage, was funded by the Onassis Foundation.

Story continues

The culture ministry has rejected suggestions it was carried out without proper consultation and mainly aims at boosting visitor capacity.

Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said last month the Acropolis restorers are "experts of global renown" with over four decades of award-winning work on the site.

"Nobody has questioned their work," Mendoni said.

"We have entrusted them with the restoration of the Acropolis monuments. How can we doubt them over a (concrete) laying project?" she said.

But Touloupa, who has written books on heritage management and has been guiding visitors to the Acropolis since 1998, said the project was decided within an inner circle of ministry experts, mainly archaeologists.

"Its a completely technocratic approach," she said.

Even UNESCO found out about the Acropolis "interventions" from "third parties," Mechtild Rossler, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told AFP.

As a signatory to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Greece should give notice "before making any decisions that would be difficult to reverse", Rossler said.

- 'Minor' changes -

Mendoni has insisted that the changes are "minor" and "fully reversible" and there was no obligation to inform UNESCO, whose experts are due to attend a conference in Athens in the autumn.

Officials have said the makeover was needed as the old paths around the Acropolis monuments, designed five decades ago and last retopped in 2012, caused hundreds of accidents every year.

Project supervisor Manolis Korres, a respected architect involved with the restoration project since 1975, has said the concrete rests on a protective membrane that can be removed quickly if necessary.

The ministry also stressed that sturdy paving was needed to allow heavy machinery to move slabs of masonry in ongoing restoration work.

- Dig at metro project -

Criticism has also been levelled at plans to remove a Byzantine-era highway found during construction of a new metro in Greece's second city Thessaloniki.

Last month, dozens of experts said the move "jeopardises the preservation of important remains" of the city's Late Antique and Byzantine past.

In an open letter, they said the 6th-century BCE road "is one of the most spectacular finds from these periods anywhere in the world."

According to reports, Greece's top administrative court, the Council of State, in April narrowly approved the temporary removal of the antiquities. Its ruling has yet to be published.

The 1.5-billion-euro Thessaloniki subway project, which was scheduled to be completed by 2012, is now slated to be operational in 2023.

The ministry did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

jph/pbr/bp
Former US President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Allies close to Trump are asking him not to mention being reinstated, The Daily Beast reported.

The warning comes ahead of a planned speech by the former president in North Carolina.

Advisers reportedly said he could only bring it up if he plans to denounce the conspiracy theory.

Sign up for the 10 Things in Politics daily newsletter.



Ahead of Donald Trump's speech at the North Carolina Republican Party's annual convention, people close to the former president are asking him not to publicly mention the idea of being reinstated, The Daily Beast reported.

Three sources familiar with the conversations told the outlet that advisers have been calling the former president after New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said Trump has been telling people "he expects he will get reinstated by August."

Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech Saturday night at the GOP convention in Greenville.

"I conveyed something [to Trump] to the effect of, 'It would be a terrible idea to even say the word, 'August' [at Saturday's event],'" a person who is in contact with Trump told The Daily Beast.

The allies have reportedly been walking a tight line on how to convey this message to Trump, with some worried that if they are too forceful about getting the president to drop the idea, he might instead hammer down on it.

Advisers are telling Trump that if he suggests he could be reinstated during President Joe Biden's term, it could be used against him, and to only bring it up if he plans to dismiss it. Sources told The Daily Beast they are encouraging him to focus on the midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election instead.

The conspiracy theory has been bubbling up in fringe conservative media for several months. It gained traction when MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a staunch Trump ally, said he agreed with the claim. However, there is no constitutional support or legitimate legal framework to support the idea, Insider's Jake Lahut reported.

Story continues

Attorney Sidney Powell, who waged dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits trying to overturn the election, also falsely claimed Trump could be reinstated.

Sources told The Daily Beast Trump believes reinstatement would be possible when evidence of mass voter fraud is revealed. However, there is currently no evidence to support the claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Help India!



While the Constitution of India ensures the fundamental rights and dignity of every individual, in Assam thousands of people are fighting the legal battle for citizenship. To fight these legal cases and to communicate the Constitutional rights, Guwahati based human rights lawyer Aman Wadud has been leading the initiative called Samvidhan Kendra or Constitution Centres in various parts of Assam. A TCN Ground Report features the lawyer and his work.

Mahibul Hoque | TwoCircles.net

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GUWAHATI  However good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot. The Constitution can provide only the organs of the State such as the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. The factors on which the working of those organs of the State depends are the people and the political parties they will set up as their instruments to carry out their wishes and their politics. This is how Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar had warned about the working of the Constitution during his Constituent Assembly speech. The fear expressed by Ambedkar has long turned out to be true for lakhs of Bengali origin people of Assam.

The categories like D-voter or doubtful voter and declared foreigners of many genuine citizens existing in Assam have particularly reinforced Ambedkars fearful assumption and also exposed the lot that has worked the Constitution in the state. This has led to the disenfranchisement of 3.15 lakh people from electoral rolls and more than 1.35 lakh people were declared foreigners by the foreign tribunals.

Foreigners tribunals or FTs are quasi-judicial bodies that have the power to give their opinion on the cases of doubtful citizens and issue an order declaring the citizenship status of the accused person in Assam. There are 100 FTs in Assam to hear the doubtful citizens cases and its members comprise mostly lawyers with ten years of experience from district courts.

At the receiving end of the wrath of ethno-nationalistic anger have been mostly the marginal communities from the state Muslims and Hindus of Assam with Bengali origins. The anger towards these communities led to the rise of the dubious categories in the scenic, diverse, resource-rich and fertile north-eastern Indian state.

As a result, hundreds of the poor people, generally illiterate, from the migrant communities who have migrated to the state more than a century ago from parts of undivided India find themselves entangled in a legal battle that essentially questions their existence as equal citizens with unique identities.

Legal recourse to injustice

While the Constitution of India ensures the fundamental rights and dignity of every individual, thousands of people in Assam are fighting the legal battle for citizenship. To fight these legal cases and to communicate the Constitutional rights, Guwahati based human rights lawyer Aman Wadud has been leading the initiative called Samvidhan Kendra or Constitution Centres in various parts of Assam.

This is not just a socio-political problem, but also a legal problem. Many of us may be pejoratively called Bangladeshi, but we are not the real victims. The real victims are those people whose citizenship has been questioned, who are running around to prove their citizenship by selling their cattle, property and lifetime savings. People whose families have been destroyed are the real victims, Aman told TwoCircles.net as he pointed out that though the Constitution provides legal agency to everyone irrespective of their social, political, cultural and educational status, there has been a gap in the form of realising the values of Indias foundational document.

Constitution has been reduced to a very complex document, which is generally read by the lawyers or judges. But it is meant for people and it is meant for everyone. So how do we take this to the people and bridge the gap? That is how began the initiative of Samvidhan Kendras, Aman added.

With six chapters in various districts of Assam at present, these Constitution centres maintain a vision of creating a pool of paralegal activists or volunteers who provide basic help to the person accused of being doubtful citizens or fighting their cases in the FTs.

The volunteers at Samvidhan Kendras are well connected with local activists from villages and know the legal recourses required to fight the doubtful citizen cases. The paralegal activists connect the alleged person, and mostly genuine Indian citizens, with lawyers from their respective districts.

The paralegals also help during the entire proceeding of the trial before FT.

Corroborating Amans sentiments, Ruhul Amin Ahmed, a social activist, who is associated with Kalgachia Samvidhan Kendra in Barpeta district, said, People are not aware of the Constitutional rights and thus its easy to dehumanize them.

As an activist, Ahmed would discuss the issue of citizenship in Assam, but working at the Constitution Centre he has witnessed the underlying crisis. We (Bengali Muslims) have to be very careful with our documents and keep them handy even if NRC is finally published. At least for the next 20 years, we need to maintain our records. You never know what form the challenge may take despite the NRC, he said.

The NRC or National Register of Citizens was updated in Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court and the final version was published on August 31, 2019. As many as 1.9 million from 3,30,27,661 applicants were left out of the NRC. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government wants the re-verification of 20 per cent of people who have been included in the NRC.

For 55-year-old Harej Uddin from Govindpur village in Assams Barpeta district, it would have been almost impossible to find a legal recourse to fight the doubtful citizen case notified against him by the border branch of Assam police from the district. Harej was declared a foreigner by the FT-6 of his district after a struggle of more than six years. I dont even know why I was declared as a foreigner. The lawyer told me that I will have to take the case to the (Guwahati) High Court, then I came to know about the Samvidhan Centre (at Kalgachia). People at the centres helped me with the documents and directed me to meet the lawyer in Guwahati. As a brick kiln labourer, it would have been very difficult for me if I had to pay money. But the lawyer there did not take any money, he said.

Samvidhan Kendra volunteers also try to arrange the money in case they have to pay the lawyer who charges a nominal fee from the people who go through the centres.

Apart from the doubtful citizens, these centres also look forward to sensitising about constitution to the general public as well.

Mirza Lutfar Rahman, a community journalist and social activist, who set up the Samvidhan Kendra at Sontoli village said, I want to take the Constitution to the younger generation from our community. I can do it via this Constitution centre.

As Aman hopes to create a community of paralegal volunteers to solve the legal problem of people by the people, Lutfars views reflect the community participation.

A Fulbright fellow, Aman said, It is necessary to inculcate the habit of reading among people, especially among younger ones. For that, we hope to set up libraries within the Samvidhan Kendras where people read the Constitution and know their rights.

While he believes that the society at large failed to uphold the rights of fellow citizens, Samvidhan Kandras will engage people to fight for the rights of the most vulnerable individuals in the fight against injustice.
The leader of an American Legion post in Ohio resigned Friday amidst criticism following the decision to cut the microphone of a retired U.S. Army officer while he was speaking about Black people's role in the history of Memorial Day.

The state's American Legion leaders also suspended the post's charter and are taking steps to close it.

The actions come four days after the leader of the Hudson Legion and head of the Legion's auxiliary were involved in quieting retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter during a Memorial Day ceremony.

"The American Legion Department of Ohio does not hold space for members, veterans, or families of veterans who believe that censoring black history is acceptable behavior," read a Friday statement.

What did he say? Read a draft of speech by veteran silenced at Hudson Memorial Day service

Suzette Heller, the state Legion's department adjutant, said the Hudson post has 60 days to respond to the state's formal complaint.

"I dont believe they will get members to show [for a meeting], much less vote, to keep the post open at this point," Heller told the Akron Beacon Journal of the USA TODAY Network on Friday.

In this image captured from Hudson public access television, retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter gives a Memorial Day speech in Hudson.

After the Hudson post is given a chance to respond, the American Legion Department of Ohio will retrieve all possessions of the post and move its 58 members to another nearby post, Heller said.

The Hudson post property will be secured by the state "within the next seven days," Heller said.

Dig deeper on race and identity: Subscribe to This Is America, USA TODAY's newsletter

Both Jim Garrison, the post leader who resigned Friday, and Cindy Suchan, who chairs the Memorial Day Parade committee and is president of the Hudson American Legion Auxiliary, had been asked to resign after the state office's investigation determined they "intentionally censored" Kemter during his Memorial Day speech.

Suchan has not resigned, but Heller said her case is being handled by the American Legion Auxiliary of Ohio.

Story continues

Garrison and Suchan also are being asked to make a "formal apology" to the city of Hudson, all American Legion organizations, its members, veterans and people of all backgrounds, Heller said.

Garrison and Suchan could not be reached for comment Friday.

Earlier this week, Suchan told the Beacon Journal that Kemter's mic was turned down because his comments about Black people's role in the history of Memorial Day was not relevant to our program for the day," adding the theme of the day was honoring Hudson veterans.

In its news release, the state Legion said it determined the "censoring" of Kemter's speech was "pre-meditated and planned by  Garrison and  Suchan."

"They knew exactly when to turn the volume down and when to turn it back up," the state Legion office said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio American Legion leader resigns over censored Memorial Day speech
- By GF Value





The stock of Anglo American Platinum (OTCPK:ANGPY, 30-year Financials) is estimated to be modestly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $21.8405 per share and the market cap of $34.5 billion, Anglo American Platinum stock gives every indication of being modestly overvalued. GF Value for Anglo American Platinum is shown in the chart below.





Anglo American Platinum Stock Gives Every Indication Of Being Modestly Overvalued

Because Anglo American Platinum is relatively overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be lower than its business growth, which averaged 28% over the past five years.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

It is always important to check the financial strength of a company before buying its stock. Investing in companies with poor financial strength have a higher risk of permanent loss. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. Anglo American Platinum has a cash-to-debt ratio of 23.71, which is in the middle range of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. The overall financial strength of Anglo American Platinum is 8 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Anglo American Platinum is strong. This is the debt and cash of Anglo American Platinum over the past years:

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Investing in profitable companies carries less risk, especially in companies that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. Typically, a company with high profit margins offers better performance potential than a company with low profit margins. Anglo American Platinum has been profitable 7 years over the past 10 years. During the past 12 months, the company had revenues of $8.8 billion and earnings of $1.253 a share. Its operating margin of 28.00% better than 83% of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks Anglo American Platinum's profitability as fair. This is the revenue and net income of Anglo American Platinum over the past years:

Anglo American Platinum Stock Gives Every Indication Of Being Modestly Overvalued

One of the most important factors in the valuation of a company is growth. Long-term stock performance is closely correlated with growth according to GuruFocus research. Companies that grow faster create more value for shareholders, especially if that growth is profitable. The average annual revenue growth of Anglo American Platinum is 28%, which ranks better than 90% of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth is 112.6%, which ranks better than 100% of the companies in Metals & Mining industry.

Another way to evaluate a company's profitability is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it indicates that the company is creating value for shareholders. Over the past 12 months, Anglo American Platinum's ROIC was 33.81, while its WACC came in at 19.49. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Anglo American Platinum is shown below:

Anglo American Platinum Stock Gives Every Indication Of Being Modestly Overvalued

In conclusion, Anglo American Platinum (OTCPK:ANGPY, 30-year Financials) stock appears to be modestly overvalued. The company's financial condition is strong and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks better than 100% of the companies in Metals & Mining industry. To learn more about Anglo American Platinum 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.


Illustration of heart made using CT scans - Rebecca Flude

A revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI) technology which predicts a persons risk of having a deadly heart attack and how soon they might have one is now available in the UK.

Called CaRi-Heart, the AI takes a standard coronary CT scan, and extracts more information than even the most well-trained doctors are able to see.

Built by Oxford-based company Caristo Diagnostics, the system detects signs of inflammation in the walls of the organs own arteries which supply it with blood and oxygen.

This ability is beyond the scope of standard CT scans, which look solely for blockages and plaque aggregation.

It is designed as an early warning system to identify when a persons heart is perhaps showing signs of damage, but the arteries have yet to develop any hazardous obstructions.

All of the inflammation is there, but we have never been able to access it before Caristo and CaRi-Heart, Dr Ronak Rajani, a consultant cardiologist at the Harley Street Clinic and Professor of Cardiovascular Imaging at King's College London, told The Telegraph.

He, alongside Professor John Deanfield, was instrumental in bringing the technology into Britain's hospitals and it is now available at the Harley Street Clinic for 495. Talks are also underway for it to be available, for free, on the NHS.

Standard CT scans show white lines on a black background, but CaRi-Heart throws up a cacophony of colours. Yellow is good, and indicates the walls of the arteries are calm. The more red and blue appears, the more distressed the vessel is

Around half of heart attacks do not occur in fully-blocked arteries

For patients, the act of getting the scan is no different, but the results are sent off to Oxford, analysed by Caristo, and returned within a handful of days.

The difference between a regulation coronary CT scan and the new analysis lies in what comes after the scan itself, when the images are inputted into CaRi-Heart.

Scientists say that although plaque build up is a serious problem, around half of all heart attacks do not occur in fully-blocked arteries.

The other half are caused when small pieces of plaque rupture, releasing cholesterol into the blood which triggers a clot and ultimately leads to a heart attack. These are impossible to predict with current CT scans.

Story continues

But what Dr Cheerag Shirodaria, the co-founder and CEO of Caristo, realised, is that these impromptu clots occur in areas of the heart where the artery walls are inflamed.

He identified that inflammation led to tiny areas of discoloration in the heart tissue, and built an AI model capable of quantifying these changes.

Cardiologists can now spot issues ahead of time

The manifestation of this plan is a new metric, called the Fat Attenuation Index (FAI), which allows cardiologists to identify parts of the hearts blood supply where things are suboptimal.

The importance of the technology, the researchers say, is that it allows, for the first time, doctors to diagnose heart health issues before artery obstruction occurs. It opens up an earlier window in which to identify high-risk people and subsequently intervene in order to lower the likelihood of them having a fatal heart attack.

It was tested by the British Heart Foundation which involved 4,000 patients who had a CT scan, and gave their permission for their results, and follow-up data, to be used by Caristo.

The nine-year project found people with an abnormal FAI were up to nine times more likely to die of a heart attack in the next nine years than those with normal FAI readings.

It also revealed that one third of patients who get a low-risk diagnosis from a standard scan are actually at much higher risk when studied by CaRi-Heart.

Each of the hearts three arteries  left anterior descending, left circumflex and right coronary  are given their own FAI score. The lower, the better.

These are then compared to the rest of the population and a patient is given a percentile for how they measure up. The 50th percentile is the average, and being ranked higher indicates higher risk of a heart attack.

The system also produces a CaRi-Risk figure which tells the patient the likelihood of them having a fatal cardiac event in the next eight years.

If this figure is alarmingly high, doctors intervene with either medication, such as aspirin or statins, to alleviate some of the inflammation, or lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, cutting out alcohol, and being more active.

Standard CT scans show white lines on a black background, but CaRi-Heart throws up a cacophony of colours revealing various levels of inflammation, reflective of their FAI grade.

Yellow is good, and indicates the walls of the arteries are calm. The more red and blue appears, the more distressed the vessel is.

Professor Deanfield called the technique revolutionary and a one-stop-shop investigation.

Dr Shirodaria told The Telegraph: If we are really going to get a handle on coronary heart disease, which is still the biggest killer, we need to focus much more on prevention. All of our effort is spent when people have disease and it is already established.

If we can identify earlier when we can modify the risk then ultimately that translates into significant cost savings for the NHS but also, more importantly, significant lives saved.

Im off for a run, and to bin all the processed food in my fridge

The scan was exactly the same as a normal CT scan, writes Joe Pinkstone. My pulse and blood pressure were taken, I was asked to lie down in front of an enormous doughnut and a team of very personable experts explained the procedure to me.

A small cannula in the arm allowed a radiographer to insert some biological dye into my veins (which produced a warm sensation akin to a toasty blanket, or the unfortunate sensation of having wet oneself), and I was asked to hold my breath for ten seconds.

I was then inserted into the centre of the machine, now humming gently as enormous magnets, weighing as much as four Mini Coopers  started to spin.

The CaRi-Heart results came back less than 48 hours later. Dr Ranjnani and Dr Shirodaria walked me through my results a day later.

Based solely on the old-school CT scan, Dr Rajani described my heart arteries as beautiful and smooth, pristine and absolutely normal. Zero plaque, nowhere to be seen. Good news.

But then Dr Cheerag Shirodaria revealed what CaRi-Heart found and said two of my three coronary arteries are in good shape and on par for what would be expected for a healthy 25-year-old man.

Yet, the same could not be said for the right coronary artery, which provides oxygen to one half of my bodys blood pump. It is showing signs of inflammation, was the verdict.

Dr Shirodaria was, as doctors so deftly do, lightening the blow. My artery is in fact in the 91st percentile for people of my age. It was, as the experts said, an early warning sign.

My absolute risk of a fatal heart attack is low, just 0.9 per cent in the next eight years, but my relative risk compared to my peers, is high. But I would have never known this before CaRi-Heart, with the CT scan likely only providing a false sense of security.

Lifestyle changes  fewer takeaways, more exercise, less alcohol  was the advice. No need for statins yet, but, if things dont improve, that could be my fate in a decade or two.

But with the foresight afforded by CaRi-Heart, I can now make changes to improve the odds. The results were surprisingly moving, a quick and easy scan showed signs I need to address my health, and gave me enough warning to implement changes.

Tech like this will save thousands of lives, but the true impact of it will not be felt for decades, when people who find signs of inflammation change their fate and as a result avoid a fatal heart attack. Well worth the money, and Im off for a run and to bin all the processed food in my fridge.
Attackers kill 100 civilians in Burkina Faso village raid

Video Transcript

- But we start this news hour with breaking news out of Burkina Faso where one of the biggest massacres in years has been committed. Armed men have killed around 100 civilians in the northern part of the country. The attack happened in the village of Solhan close to Niger. The government says that homes at a market were burned to the ground. It's the first such attack on this scale since 2015. Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque is monitoring those developments from Bamako in neighboring Mali Nick, what more do we know about what happened?

- Well, it was in the early hours of this morning, Adrian, that a police patrol were driving through a market like this one except instead of seeing animals and people sitting around, what they discovered was hundreds of bodies laying around. Women, children, men, at least 100 people officially are dead, but there could be more. They saw some of the survivors.

And in the market where the animals were kept, well, that was completely burned to the ground. The huts were also burned to the ground. This is, Adrian, the worst attack in Burkina Faso since 2015 when we started to see attacks claimed by the armed group, the Islamic State in the greater Sahara.

And in fact, Adrian, well, no one has claimed responsibility for this attack that has been in the Eastern part of Burkina Faso next to this village, other attacks. Just a couple of days ago, when there was five boys that had their hands chopped off. What they're trying to do here, Adrian, is to signal to the population that they are the one in charge of law and order.

And despite the brutality of this attack with their aim is to say they need to answer to them rather than the state. Now there was a military camp not far from where the attack took place, but they didn't respond, Adrian.

- The violence isn't limited to Burkina Faso, is it? That whole area taking in Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, where you are right now, the security situation is dire. What's being done about it?

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- Well, just earlier on, we were talking to the representative of the Norwegian Refugee Council and he was just saying that the situation is getting from bad to worse. And what this is showing is that despite the heavy security and military presence in the region, well, that is not helping ordinary people from Burkina Faso to Mali.

Where I'm standing right now are people that have been displaced from the North and the center of the country. These are people that were displaced just a couple of months ago. Because over there, there is communal violence between Fulani herders and Dogon villagers. And in the absence of the state, well, armed groups have found a way to come in and replace state authorities. And they're trying to recruit young herders from-- because-- in the absence of this day.

1.-- more than one million people have been displaced in Burkina Faso alone. 100,000 people have been displaced in Mali alone in the last year, Adrian. These are staggering numbers. And despite the UN presence, the Sahel-- the French forces that are patrolling and deploying throughout the Sahel the situation is getting worse. And those that are suffering are the people that are living in this region whether they are in Burkina Faso, Mali, or Niger, Adrian.

- Al Jazeera's Nicolas haque reporting live from Bamako in Mali. For the moment, many thanks indeed.
Brazil captain suggests hosts against taking part in Copa America

Video Transcript

- No one loves their football more than fans in Brazil. Five times World Cup champions, nine times winners and current holders of the Copa America. But the future of that tournament is now in doubt Less than two weeks before it's due to kick off in Brasilia.

- This is not the time to host Copa America because it will bring tourists here. The pandemic is not over. And we have not been vaccinated. I think the event should be canceled this year as simple as that.

- Many of Brazil's European based players are reported to be unhappy about participating, but they're keeping their opinions private until next week when they complete their latest round of World Cup qualifying matches.

- Is this difficult? Yes. Has it caused damage? Yes. And when you're not focused, it does cause problems, but we've got to deal with this and play well to get the results we deserve.

- Brazil is also divided on political lines. The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, one of the four host cities said if coronavirus numbers keep rising. He might be forced to call matches off.

- We didn't ask for the Copa America. If you ask my opinion, I think it's not wise to hold a big tournament like this one.

- The opposition Workers' Party has launched a legal case to have the tournament stopped. The virus has killed 470,000 people in Brazil. Nearly 17 million have been infected. The hospitals are at breaking point. But president Jair Bolsonaro insists life must continue as normal.

- As far as my government sees it, the Copa America will be held in Brazil. When I was approached, when I was told Argentina was no longer hosting, I said yes at once. I spoke with the ministers involved and a decision was unanimous.

- The South American Football Federation CONMEBOL says all players and officials will be vaccinated and the 28 matches in four cities conducted in the most sanitary conditions possible. They reject accusations they're only going ahead with the tournament for the money saying they will end up losing revenue with the games being played in empty stadiums.

Brazil only had a few weeks to prepare after the original co-hosts Colombia and Argentina were forced to withdraw. As they scramble to get ready in time, the doubts and divisions continue to grow. And the Copa America tournament is thrown into further turmoil. Daniel Schweimler Al Jazeera Buenos Aires.
More children than ever could be in classrooms for summer school this year to make up for lost learning after U.S. school districts struggled to develop online learning programs during the pandemic.

School districts nationwide are expanding their summer programs and offering bonuses to get teachers to take part. Under the most recent federal pandemic relief package, the Biden administration is requiring states to devote billions of dollars to summer programs.

The U.S. Education Department said it is too early to know how many students will sign up. But the number is all but certain to exceed the estimated 3.3 million who went to mandatory or optional summer school in 2019 before the pandemic.

Aja Purnell-Mitchell let her three kids decide whether to go back to school during summer break. All wanted to go. Purnell-Mitchell saw a litany of positives in the decision.

Getting them back into it, helping them socialize back with their friends, maybe meet some new people, and, of course, pick up the things that they lacked on Zoom, the Durham County, North Carolina, mother said.

Also in the news:

Retail chain Walmart says it will close its doors for the second year in a row on Thanksgiving Day as a "'thank you' to employees for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic."

One-third of the 559,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy in May happened at restaurants and bars, an encouraging sign for workers in the hard-hit leisure and hospitality industry.

Starting Wednesday, vaccinated American tourists will be able to visit France sans quarantine, provided they show a negative PCR test upon arrival.

As vacationers are expected to flock to the island this summer, non-vaccinated travelers to Maui will no longer be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival.

Health experts are urging parents to vaccinate their teenagers against COVID-19 after a report shows rising hospitalization rates.

"Mission: Impossible 7" has shut down production again because of positive COVID-19 tests.

Story continues

 Today's numbers: The U.S. has more than 33.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 597,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: Over 173 million cases and over 3.7 million deaths. More than 137.4 million Americans have been fully vaccinated  41.4% of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 What we're reading: As the 2021 Summer Olympics approach, all eyes are on host country Japan as it battles rising COVID-19 cases and deaths in recent months.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

New cases drop to levels last seen before pandemic declaration

New coronavirus cases nationwide are down to about 15,000 per day on average, while deaths have plummeted to around 430 a day  levels not seen since the World Health Organization made the pandemic declaration on March 11, 2020. New England, where more than 60% of residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, has seen some of the sharpest declines in hospitalizations, deaths and community spread.

The past year and a half has been like going through a tornado or something terrible, Kerry LaBarbera, an ER nurse from Boston Medical Center said. Youre holding on for dear life, and then you get past it and its like, What just happened?

Colorado health officials said hospitalization records show vaccines are preventing severe disease in the state, even as the pandemic continues to rage among unvaccinated individuals.

Weve taken a deep look at this," Dr. JP Valin, chief clinical officer at SCL Health, told Colorado Public Radio. Ninety-five percent of the patients who have been hospitalized since February are unvaccinated,"

California plans grand reopening, but emergency will remain

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he plans to maintain California's emergency declaration, but the state's long-awaited reopening is still planned for June 15. Newsom cites the continued spread of COVID-19 variants, as well as discrepancies in vaccination rates, as justification for keeping the state of emergency declaration in place.

"This disease has not been extinguished. It's not vanished; it's not taking the summer months off," Newsom said.

Newsom originally issued the state of emergency in March 2020, a power granted to him by the California Emergency Services Act. The crisis-intervention laws have also allowed Newsom to issue at least 58 executive orders, altering or suspending existing laws.

GOP aims to revive Fauci attacks after email trove released

With the release of a trove of Dr. Anthony Fauci's emails last week, political attacks on the nations top government infectious-diseases expert have gone into overdrive. On conservative news channels, President Joe Bidens pandemic adviser has been baselessly pilloried as a liar who misled the American people about the origins of COVID-19 to protect the Chinese government. There's no evidence of wrongdoing, but Republican calls for his resignation have grown louder, as have demands for new investigations into the origins of the virus.

The doctors newly released emails, which span the early days of the pandemic and were obtained by BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post, show no evidence of any kind of coverup about the origin of the virus. Indeed, many of the discussions reflect the science at the time. But many Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have seized on the emails as proof of a conspiracy to obscure the source of the virus.

Given what we know now, I dont know how anyone can have confidence that he should remain in a position of public trust and authority, said Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a potential presidential hopeful who is calling for Faucis resignation and a full congressional inquiry.

New York to eliminate indoor mask rule for schools, camp

New York plans to eliminate its indoor mask rule Monday for schools and camps regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. Current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for K-12 schools recommends requiring "consistent and correct use of well-fitting face masks with proper filtration by all students, teachers, and staff."

But for youth camps, the CDC "strongly encourages mask use indoors for people who are not fully vaccinated" and says "people do not need to wear masks" outdoors, regardless of vaccination status.

In a letter to the head of the CDC, Dr. Howard Zucker, the state's health commissioner, said the state would encourage indoor mask use by unvaccinated students, campers and staff. But for consistency, the state would not require indoor masks in either schools or camps.

Virtual visits may be here to stay, post-COVID-19

As the COVID-19 crisis wanes and life approaches normal across the U.S., health industry leaders and patient advocates are pushing Congress and the Biden administration to preserve the pandemic-fueled expansion of telehealth that has transformed how millions of Americans see the doctor. The broad effort reaches across the nations diverse health care system, bringing together consumer groups with health insurers, state Medicaid officials, physician organizations and telehealth vendors.

And it represents an emerging consensus that many services that once required an office visit can be provided easily and safely  and often more effectively  through a video chat, a phone call or even an email.

Weve seen that telehealth is an extraordinary tool, said David Holmberg, chief executive of Pittsburgh-based Highmark, a multistate insurer that also operates a major medical system. Its convenient for the patient, and its convenient for the doctor.  Now we need to make it sustainable and enduring.

Last fall, a coalition of patient groups  including the American Heart Association, the Arthritis Foundation, Susan G. Komen and the advocacy arm of the American Cancer Society  hailed the expansion of telehealth, noting the technology can and should be used to increase patient access to care.

 Noam N. Levey, Kaiser Health News

The Associated Press contributed to this column.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New COVID cases drop dramatically; summer school will be packed
Canada PM slams church amid call for probe into Indigenous deaths

Video Transcript

PRIYANKA GUPTA: Children who never returned to their parents. 215 of them, some as young as three. A symbol of mourning and demands for justice for Canada's Indigenous children whose remains were found in unmarked graves in what was once the largest residential school run by the Catholic Church.

It's forced a nation and its leaders to confront one of the darkest chapters of its history.

[VOCALIZING]

On Friday, prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had been repeating his demands for a formal apology from the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis, went a step further.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU: Now, before we have to start taking the Catholic Church to court, I am very hopeful that religious leaders will understand that this is something they need to participate in and not hide from.

PRIYANKA GUPTA: The head of the Indigenous community on whose land the school was built and whose ancestors lay buried in the unmarked graves say to this date, the Catholic Church has kept their records secret.

ROSANNE CASIMER: In the end, what we do want-- we do want an apology, a public apology. Not just for us, but for the world who also shared in those suffrages.

PRIYANKA GUPTA: From the 19th century until 1996 nearly 150,000 Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their homes in government-funded residential schools. They were mostly run by the Catholic Church. Children were barred from speaking their native languages and forced to convert to Christianity.

Many were raped, abused, beaten, and starved. More than 4,100 children died. The real number is likely much higher. In 2008, the Canadian government officially apologized for its role, and a 2015 report by Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said what happened in those schools amounted to cultural genocide. But for the survivors and their descendants, there is still no accountability.

DANIELLE MORRISON: The fact is that the independent assessment process and the class action lawsuit did not actually hold any perpetrators who were identified as those who inflicted sexual abuse, physical abuse on children. And they are still living today. What these records can help is actually prosecute some of those people.

PRIYANKA GUPTA: A group of UN human rights experts has asked Canada and the Vatican to conduct a thorough investigation in all former Indigenous residential schools in the country. For now, the school that's at the heart of Canada's new reckoning with its past still stands. The leaders of the Indigenous community who'd suffered the atrocities say, they will not destroy it. For them, it's a piece of their history, and they want Canadians to remember it. Priyanka Gupta, Al Jazeera.
By Steve Scherer and Anna Mehler Paperny

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Catholic Church must take responsibility for its role in running many of Canada's residential schools for indigenous children, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday, after the discovery of the remains of 215 children at one former school last month.

"As a Catholic, I am deeply disappointed by the position the Catholic Church has taken now and over the past many years," Trudeau told reporters. "We expect the Church to step up and take responsibility for its role in this."

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops did not respond to a request for comment.

Between 1831 and 1996, Canada's residential school system forcibly separated about 150,000 children from their homes. Many were subjected to abuse, rape and malnutrition in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 called "cultural genocide".

Run by the government and church groups - the majority of them Catholic - the schools' stated aim was to assimilate indigenous children.

The discovery this week of the remains of the children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, which closed in 1978, has reopened old wounds and is fueling outrage about a persistent lack of information and accountability.

From 1893 to 1969, a Catholic congregation called the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate ran the Kamloops school, which was once Canada's largest.

On Friday, Tkemlups te Secwepemc Chief Rosanne Casimir, on whose land the Kamloops school still stands, told reporters the nation has not received any records from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate that would help identify the children.

"We do want an apology" from the Catholic Church, Casimir said. "A public apology. Not just for us, but for the world."

In 2008, the Canadian government formally apologized for the system. Trudeau said many are "wondering why the Catholic Church in Canada is silent, is not stepping up."

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He added: "Before we have to start taking the Catholic Church to court, I am very hopeful that religious leaders will understand this is something they need to participate in and not hide from."

Trudeau has not directed such pointed comments at the Catholic Church over the residential schools since taking office in 2015.

On Wednesday, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller said on Twitter "the Church was unquestionably wrong" and his archdiocese would be transparent with its archives and records regarding residential schools.

The Conference said on its website that each diocese is separate and responsible for its own actions.

"The Catholic Church as a whole in Canada was not associated with the residential schools, nor was the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops," it said.

Separately, United Nations human rights experts on Friday called on both Canada and the Vatican to further investigate the deaths of the children found in Kamloops.

"It is inconceivable that Canada and the Holy See would leave such heinous crimes unaccounted for and without full redress," they said in a statement.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)  Garrett Navarra and Griffin Lockwood-Powell homered, Jordan Patty gave up one run in 7 2/3 innings, and Central Michigan beat Michigan 8-2 in a South Bend Regional elimination game on Saturday.

Patty (9-2) gave up a solo home run to Michigans Tito Flores in the first inning and kept the Wolverines scoreless into the eighth. Grant Frazer gave up one run  a solo homer to Jimmy Obertop in the ninth  in 1 1/3 innings of relief for the No. 4 regional seed Chippewas (41-17).

Central Michigan scored two runs each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Navarra hit a two-run home run in the fourth and Lockwood-Powell hit a two-run home run in the sixth. The Chippewas scored on a wild pitch and a based-loaded hit by pitch in the fifth.

Michigan starter Cameron Weston (7-4) picked up the loss for the third-seeded Wolverines (27-19).

____

More NCAA baseball tournament coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-world-series
The Navy Wings Collection is a civilian-run naval aviation heritage organization based at the Royal Navy aerodrome, RNAS Yeovilton, in Somerset, England. They inherited the mantle of the famed Royal Navy Historic Flight (RNHF) at its disbandment in 2019, and continue to maintain and operate the surviving RNHF fleet from the same hangars that organization once did, but funded by a charitable entity, the Fly Navy Heritage Trust. Navy Wings also involves other privately-owned aircraft with a British naval pedigree under the same umbrella. The past couple of years have been challenging for this important outfit though, not least because of the difficulties which the global pandemic has presented, but also because of a recent accident involving their Hawker Sea Fury T.20 VX281. Thankfully, neither of the aircrew were seriously injured during VX281s forced landing, but the historic fighter incurred significant structural damage and will need a major rebuild  and major financing  before it can return to the skies. Even so, Navy Wings remains positive and has continued to work hard at their core mission, to keep the beating heart of Fleet Air Arm heritage in the skies on active public display as a testament to the sacrifices of so many in the past and to help inspire a new generation of naval aviation-minded members of the public. Their current newsletter gives a detailed overview of their most recent activities, which we have reproduced (with permission) for all to read below

The Navy Wings Heritage hangar has been a hive of activity. The Chipmunk flew last week for the first time in eighteen months. A new engine was fitted which requires careful running in ahead of its Light Aircraft Association check test flight.

Pilots continue to gain more experience in the Harvard and the Wasp will shortly be returning to North Weald for its annual maintenance check. The organizations engineers are busy checking the aircraft before and after each flight, performing line operations in support of flying and progressing the various work packages on the Swordfish left to complete. We are currently awaiting the Permit to Test from the Civil Aviation Authority for the Swordfish and the Stinson Reliant has taken part in ground runs (which you can watch here).

Another important program returning online is the Navy Wings At Work.At the start of 2020, Navy Wings Heritage held their first Navy Wings At Work morning in the heritage hangar. They certainly didnt think it would be nearly a year and a half before they hosted the next one! Following a difficult period for us all, Navy Wings Heritages officials are delighted to be getting ready to welcome their supporters back to the heritage hangar starting in July this year. For more information about this program click HERE.

Sea Fury T.20 VX281 Update

The Sea Fury has been recovered to the heritage hangar by the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron (JARTS) working closely with the Navy Wings team. JARTS were working in the area on a training exercise and provided their expertise and experience to help us recover the aircraft. The aircraft is now secured and we await the next stage of the investigation process to start. Images of the recovery process can be seen below.

We are very pleased to report that the Sea Fury pilot was discharged from hospital without any injury.
- By GF Value





The stock of Chevron (NYSE:CVX, 30-year Financials) shows every sign of being modestly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $108.45 per share and the market cap of $209.1 billion, Chevron stock shows every sign of being modestly overvalued. GF Value for Chevron is shown in the chart below.





Chevron Stock Appears To Be Modestly Overvalued

Because Chevron is relatively overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be lower than its business growth.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

Since investing in companies with low financial strength could result in permanent capital loss, investors must carefully review a company's financial strength before deciding whether to buy shares. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage can give a good initial perspective on the company's financial strength. Chevron has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.16, which ranks worse than 68% of the companies in Oil & Gas industry. Based on this, GuruFocus ranks Chevron's financial strength as 4 out of 10, suggesting poor balance sheet. This is the debt and cash of Chevron over the past years:

Chevron Stock Appears To Be Modestly Overvalued

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. Chevron has been profitable 8 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $95.8 billion and loss of $4.17 a share. Its operating margin is -7.25%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Oil & Gas industry. Overall, the profitability of Chevron is ranked 5 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Chevron over the past years:

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Chevron Stock Appears To Be Modestly Overvalued

Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term performance of a company's stock. The faster a company is growing, the more likely it is to be creating value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth rate of Chevron is -10.7%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Oil & Gas industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -23.5%, which ranks worse than 76% of the companies in Oil & Gas 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, Chevron's return on invested capital is -2.72, and its cost of capital is 8.64. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Chevron is shown below:

To conclude, the stock of Chevron (NYSE:CVX, 30-year Financials) is believed to be modestly overvalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks worse than 76% of the companies in Oil & Gas industry. To learn more about Chevron 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.


Chrissy Teigen has dropped out of a role for Netflix's "Never Have I Ever" weeks after she was called out by Courtney Stodden for past cyberbullying.

A spokesperson for the show tells Fox News Teigen has stepped away from a guest voiceover role. She was set to appear in one episode of Season 2 of the Netflix coming-of-age comedy-drama, created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher.

The role is now expected to be recast, the spokesperson said. Representatives for Teigen did not immediately return Fox News' requests for comment.

'TEEN MOM' ALUM FARRAH ABRAHAM CALLS CHRISSY TEIGEN'S SEX SHAMING 'PATHETIC': 'AN UNFIT PERSON IN SOCIETY'

"Never Have I Ever" follows an Indian-American teenager who deals with high school pressures.

Teigen's exit from the series comes amid a period of silence for the former Swimsuit Illustrated model. Known for her engaging presence on social media, Teigen has been unusually quiet in recent weeks since Stodden accused her of cyberbullying.

Most notably, the star, 35, allegedly encouraged the singer to commit suicide and suggested that Lindsay Lohan physically harm herself out of jealousy. The ordeal has resulted in a great deal of backlash for the once-beloved star, which many consider ironic given her tendency to slam others for problematic behaviors.

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Her most recent Twitter post came on May 12 when she publicly apologized to Stodden, 26, calling herself "lucky" to have been held accountable. She admitted to being "mortified" by her past behavior and promised that she will "forever work on being better."

Stodden didnt find Teigen's comments to be terribly authentic , stating the apology felt like "a public attempt to save her partnerships" with various brands.

Teigens Instagram has also gone dark, with her last post coming on May 11, just a day before apologizing to Stodden on Twitter.

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In the post, Teigen shared a page from her cookbook featuring a "cozy classic red lentil soup" recipe. She announced in the caption that shed be making the dish live that afternoon, which was presumably her final appearance on the app.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Although her social media engagement is at a standstill, Teigen was spotted out in public earlier this week for the first time since her behavior on social media was pushed into the spotlight. The "Cravings" cookbook author was seen smiling and laughing while on a FaceTime call. The exclusive photos obtained by Page Six show Teigen leaving a business meeting and walking back to her car alone with her phone in hand. In some photos, Teigen is wearing a cheetah print mask to cover her nose and mouth.
Roman Protasevich former editor in chief of the Nexta Telegram and youtube channel initiator covering the Belarusian protests, speaking during a rally in Gdansk, Poland on 31 August 2020. Photo by Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Roman Protasevich made preparations to protect his digital security before he was detained last month.

But a friend said the young dissident did not predict that the Lukashenko regime would take such a drastic step.

Franak Viacorka, a colleague of Protasevich, told Insider that his friend's "nightmare" was being captured by the KGB.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Weeks before Belarusian authorities diverted a passenger plane to Minsk in order to arrest 26-year-old dissident Roman Protasevich, the young opposition blogger had discussed with a colleague the possibility that Belarus's authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, might make a targeted strike against him.

In the aftermath of Protasevich's arrest, Franak Viacorka, a senior advisor to exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and a longtime colleague of Protasevich, told Insider that the two men had discussed potential scenarios and reactions to different events undertaken by their country's autocratic government.

"We thought about security a lot," Viacorka said. "Especially digital security."

As co-founder and editor-in-chief of NEXTA, a popular opposition Telegram channel based in Poland, Protasevich focused much of his work on leaking videos and documents from the Lukashenko regime. The team at NEXTA played a vital informational role during last year's highly contested presidential election as Lukashenko's regime shuttered independent media organizations inside the country.

When Belarusian security forces detained Protasevich on May 23 after the Ryanair flight he was traveling on from Greece to Lithuania was forced to land in Minsk, Viacorka said all of Protasevich's pages and accounts were deleted, thanks to prior digital security planning.

"But we neglected the physical security," he said. "This flight, this was something we did not predict.

Protasevich had been flying to Vilnius from Athens where he had been covering an economic forum before enjoying a brief vacation with his girlfriend, 23-year-old Sofia Sapega, who was also detained last month.

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Viacorka had been in Greece with Protasevich just days before, where he and his boss, Tikhanovskaya, who was forced into exile after running against Lukashenko in August's disputed elections, attended the same conference, at the invitation of Greece's government, he said.

In fact, one week before Protasevich and Sapega's fateful Ryanair flight, Viacorka told Insider that he and Tikhanovskaya took the same flight from Athens to Vilnius.

"So, perhaps, that was also a message to us," he said.

When Viacorka saw the news that a plane had been forced to stop in Minsk on that Sunday in May, he said he was shocked. He believes he was one of the first people to know Protasevich was on the flight and the intended target of the aircraft's backtracking.

"I waited until the very last moment to not publish this information, hoping that something will change, hoping that they will let him go or they will not land in Minsk," he said.

In the hours and days that followed the abrupt diversion, passengers on the flight told reporters that Protasevich looked "shocked" and "scared" following the pilot's announcement, even as the young activist instinctively began collecting his electronics to hand over to Sapega for safekeeping.

Ryanair's CEO later said KGB agents had been aboard the flight from the start.

"I know Roman was scared. He was always afraid of being captured by KGB," Viacorka said. "It was his nightmare."

In their conversations in the weeks leading up to Protasevich's capture, the two men discussed KGB methods and spy networks, Viacorka said.

"Sometimes joking, sometimes seriously, we discussed these different situations," he said. "Perhaps, this is the only situation we did not predict."

Protasevich now faces a possible death sentence on charges of terrorism and inciting anti-government riots in Belarus - the last European country to employ the method.

On Thursday, he appeared on Belarusian state TV confessing to crimes against the country and praising his one-time foe, Lukashenko. Protasaevich's family, Belarusian opposition leaders, and members of the international community have decried the video, which has raised new concerns of torture and coercion.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Jun. 4Congressman Lance Gooden is going to battle with Union Pacific on behalf of Anderson County and the city of Palestine.

On Friday, Gooden sent a letter to Union Pacific CEO Lance M. Fritz urging him to reconsider closing the Palestine Car Facility.

Union Pacific Railroad met with Palestine staff April 15 and told them they have 60 days until the Palestine Car Facility closes. Union Pacific said in a statement it has been accelerating its continuous improvement plan and implementing precision scheduled railroading principles undertaking operational changes across its system. One of those operational changes is the closing of its Main Car Repair Facility in Palestine. The closure of the Palestine Car Repair Facility will result in the abolishment of as many as 57 positions.

The letter stated ""Your decision to essentially close the Palestine Car Facility will have a devastating impact on this rural community, which has maintained a strong relationship with Union Pacific for nearly 150 years. The ripple effect of your decisions will affect the local economy in Anderson County for generations to come."

To gain a better understanding of Union Pacific's decision, and to determine best possible path forward for our constituents and local officials, Gooden then posed several questions to Fritz.

How many workers of each classification at your facility in Palestine, Texas, have been laid off or forced to relocate? Please include years of service, salary, and what percentage this is of Union Pacific's total workforce.

Do you intend to uphold the Transportation Communications International Union Carmen Division Local Lodge 6023 protective agreement for all Union Pacific Railroad employees, which states the railroad will compensate employees with up to 5 years of wage protections, depending on years of service, in order to make up for lost income and help them transition to a new career?

What job placement activities has Union Pacific Railroad facilitated for workers that have been laid off or forced to relocate? To what extent have the job placement activities resulted in a successful transition into a new job?

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How many people are currently employed by Union Pacific at your Palestine facility?

What investments has Union Pacific Railroad made in Texas in the last seven years? Have any of those investments been made at the Palestine facility?

In closing, Gooden said. "The State of Texas has maintained a strong relationship with the Union Pacific Railroad for many generations; your decision to slash our rural workforce and close facilities will only undermine this partnership. I encourage you to reconsider recent decisions and allocate adequate resources to our longstanding Palestine facility. I look forward to your timely response."

Gooden said he is prepared to put up a fight on behalf of Palestine and see it through to the end.

"I will never give up the fight," he said. "I have no intention of backing down."

Gooden said he has been involved in this process from day one, working on the state level with Senator Robert Nichols and Representative Cody Harris. With this letter, he hopes to put pressure on Union Pacific's CEO.

Union Pacific's argument is that by requiring the railroad perpetually to maintain office and shop employees in Palestine, despite the railroad's need to adapt in a competitive and rapidly changing market, the agreement substantially interferes with and burdens Union Pacific's facilities related to the movement of passengers or property.

Gooden said he believes that Union Pacific's decision to close Palestine is solely for "monetary reasons," stemming from "dishonesty and greed."

"I have a hard time buying their sob story knowing that during a global pandemic, the company could afford to pay their CEO $16.6 million, a figure that included an 11% raise," Gooden said.

He feels they are cutting cost to make profit and looking at Palestine to do it.

Gooden hopes this letter drives home the ramifications of what Union Pacific's actions mean to the community.

Gooden believes the company to be in violation of this long standing agreement with the city of Palestine.

The original contract that the 1954 agreement is based upon, with the city and the railroad, dates back to the late 1800s when the city of Palestine, Anderson County and its citizens gave the IG&N Railroad $150,000, plus land grants, for them to use as equity to borrow money. That money was used to bring the railroad into Palestine by laying trackage, building headquarters and constructing freight car/locomotive repair facilities, as well as lodging/homes for its executives.

In return, the people of Palestine had the railroad go into agreement with a contract that said they would employee a certain percentage of certain groups of rail employees in Palestine, for as long as the railroad runs through town.

The contract also went as far to say that any successors of the IG&N would be bound by that same agreement, for as long as their tracks run through Palestine.

This agreement has been taken all the way to the Supreme Court twice since then, first by the IG&N and secondly by the Missouri Pacific, with the city, county and its citizens prevailing both times.

At present, Union Pacific must employ 0.52% of its office and shop employees in Palestine, which according to the 1954 Agreement, includes the following classifications: executives, officials and staff assistants; professional, clerical and general; maintenance of equipment and stores; transportation, other than train, engine and yard; and transportation, yardmasters, switch tenders and hostlers.

In short, Gooden thinks Union Pacific should want to do right by a community that has been so good and loyal to them.

"They should not need an agreement to do what is right," Gooden said. "It should not take a legal fight. We were all brought up to do what is right, not because it's the law."
- By GF Value





The stock of CoreLogic (NYSE:CLGX, 30-year Financials) gives every indication of being significantly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $80 per share and the market cap of $5.9 billion, CoreLogic stock gives every indication of being significantly overvalued. GF Value for CoreLogic is shown in the chart below.





CoreLogic Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

Because CoreLogic is significantly overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be much lower than its future business growth.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

It is always important to check the financial strength of a company before buying its stock. Investing in companies with poor financial strength have a higher risk of permanent loss. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. CoreLogic has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.12, which is in the bottom 10% of the companies in Software industry. The overall financial strength of CoreLogic is 4 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of CoreLogic is poor. This is the debt and cash of CoreLogic over the past years:

CoreLogic Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

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. CoreLogic has been profitable 9 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $1.8 billion and earnings of $4.04 a share. Its operating margin is 20.63%, which ranks better than 88% of the companies in Software industry. Overall, the profitability of CoreLogic is ranked 7 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of CoreLogic over the past years:

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CoreLogic Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term performance of a company's stock. The faster a company is growing, the more likely it is to be creating value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth rate of CoreLogic is -2.1%, which ranks worse than 72% of the companies in Software industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is 13.3%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Software 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, CoreLogic's return on invested capital is 7.91, and its cost of capital is 7.83. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of CoreLogic is shown below:

CoreLogic Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

In closing, the stock of CoreLogic (NYSE:CLGX, 30-year Financials) appears to be significantly overvalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks in the middle range of the companies in Software industry. To learn more about CoreLogic 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.


At risk: workers in microchip factories could be given priority for Covid jabs - Bloomberg

Two of Asias biggest tech manufacturing centres are scrambling for vaccines as Covid-19 surges threaten to complicate a global supply chain already facing unprecedented chip and component shortages.

Taiwan, home to the worlds largest supply of advanced chips, that are key to almost all consumer appliances and vehicles, and Vietnam, an electronics manufacturing hub, in recent weeks have both seen factories hit by the coronavirus during their worst coronavirus waves of the pandemic.

Both countries are also facing a dearth of vaccines. To date, Taiwan has managed to inoculate just over 2% of its 24 million population with one dose, with Vietnam hovering even lower at under 1% of its own 96 million.

The crisis raises the chance that both governments may face difficult choices in deciding whether to spread scarce vaccines among the most vulnerable in their societies or share some with workers in industries vital to their own and the global economy.

A chip crunch, caused by bottlenecks in the supply chain that were aggravated by a rise in demand for electrical items during the pandemic, first struck the auto industry and is now spreading to the tech sector, particularly for PCs and gaming.

Last week, Vietnams authorities appealed to South Koreas Samsung Electronics Co. and other foreign companies operating in the Southeast Asian nation to help source vaccines for their employees.

The government is encouraging companies to find Covid-19 vaccines for their workers, Bui Hoang Mai, head of the industrial park management board in the northern province of Bac Ninh, where Samsung operates factories making its smartphones, told Bloomberg.

Vietnam has seen just over 8,000 cases since the start of the pandemic, but more than 5,000 have been since April. For the first time it has hit industrial zones in provinces like Bac Ninh, which host factories for major foreign brands including Canon, Samsung vendors and Apple suppliers Foxconn and Luxshare.

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Kenneth Atkinson, a board member of the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, told the Telegraph that closure of the industrial parks could have a major impact depending on the length of the lockdown.

It may actually lead to workers in industrial parks, at least in some of the major export sectors, getting some kind of priority on vaccinations when we get a meaningful rollout, he said.

Michael Schallehn, a partner in Bain & Company's Silicon Valley Office, said the importance of specific industry sectors, like electronics, may guide government decisions on vaccines that were different from those taken in Europe or the US.

But he said the semiconductor industry was generally more protected by safer worker environments that already had strict requirements on air filtration.

However, Taiwan, which dominates the semiconductor industry, is facing uncharted waters as it encounters its first major wave of the pandemic.

On Friday, King Yuan Electronics Co, a major Taiwanese integrated circuit packaging and testing service provider, suspended for 48 hours starting to disinfect its headquarters and factories after mass testing revealed 67 confirmed cases among its workers.

The company had received rush orders in the past two weeks and will now shift its operations to other sites.

Major tech companies including Foxconn, and Terry Gou, its billionaire founder, are meanwhile attempting to purchase vaccines themselves in order to help businesses function.

As infections spiked over 10,000 this week, Taiwans government relented to pressure from opposition parties to allow companies, religious groups and local authorities to attempt to import vaccines.

Mr Gou has announced a bid to purchase 5 million doses from Germanys BioNTech to be distributed among the general population.
Marine One with President Joe Biden aboard, lands in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times)

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.  Everyone here has a Biden story.

Joe Mack, who owns the Double Dippers ice cream parlor, says President Joe Biden likes to recite old Irish sayings when he comes in to grab a quart of chocolate chip. Susan Kehoe, the owner of Browseabout Books, says Biden and his dog Champ draw crowds of onlookers when they relax on one of the benches outside the store.

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Kathleen McGuiness, the Delaware state auditor, has a photograph on her phone of her standing next to an aviators-wearing Biden near Rehoboth Avenue, the towns main drag.

They fit into the fabric, McGuiness said of the president and his brood, who summered here for years before Biden bought a $2.7 million beach home in 2017 in the North Shores, a tony neighborhood north of town.

Before the 2020 election, the Bidens were often a fixture downtown, the former vice president often tangling up people in conversations that sometimes had no end in sight.

He wandered freely, Mack said.

As president, Biden has made it clear with public comments  he has compared life in the White House to living in a gilded cage  and the frequency of his travel that he is still most comfortable in Delaware, a place where he can be on display and protected all at once.

The Bidens own a large home in a suburb of Wilmington, but Rehoboth, a laid-back beach town that sells French fries by the bucket and Biden-theme merchandise  including orange Gatorade-scented candles, crafted in homage to the presidents preferred drink  is one of his favorite havens. In the middle of tense negotiations with Republicans over an infrastructure package, mushrooming ransomware attacks against American companies, and plans for a coming trip to the Group of 7 summit in Europe, Biden departed for the beach to celebrate the 70th birthday of Jill Biden, the first lady.

Joe Bidens inclination to go home to Delaware is long-standing: During his 36 years in the Senate, Biden made it a point to travel back to Wilmington to spend most evenings with his sons, a habit that began after his first wife, Neilia Biden, and young daughter, Naomi Biden, were killed in a car accident.

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At least for now, the Bidens have another reason: They do not yet fully trust the residence staff and security officials they did not directly hire, according to two people familiar with their thinking. (Many of the household employees are holdovers from the previous administration, which is common for new presidents.) The Bidens still have not installed a White House chief usher, who manages the residence. The Trumps chief usher, who was a former rooms manager of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, was fired on Inauguration Day.

For the Bidens, the White House has taken some adjustment. Delaware, on the other hand, takes almost none. Their home in Rehoboth was purchased after the president promised his wife that he would buy her a beach house with proceeds from a multimillion-dollar book deal signed after he left the vice presidency. (A plaque above the front door reads A Promise Kept.)

I wanted it to be the kind of place where you can come in in your wet bathing suit and bare feet and I can just take the broom and brush out the sand, Jill Biden told Vogue in 2020. And thats what this is. Everythings easy.

On Thursday, a bike ride the couple took at the state park near their home stretched much longer than expected because the president kept stopping to talk to people, according to a person familiar with their activities. The first couple kept a low profile, though the townspeople were comparing notes about where the first couple might turn up.

At DiFebos, an Italian restaurant that is a favorite of Bidens, patrons hoped the president would drop in for his favorite dish, chicken Parmesan with red sauce. (The first lady usually orders the salmon.) At the Ice Cream Store, a parlor near the boardwalk, tubs of Bidens Summer White House Cherry sat waiting for consumption.

Not this visit. On a wooded lane in the neighborhood where Biden lives, law enforcement officials in black SUVs restricted the flow of traffic. A Coast Guard ship in the ocean and the sight of burly Secret Service agents in summer wear were the only giveaways that the president was even in town.

When the Bidens returned to the capital, it was a rare reversal of a typical week for them. Aside from the trip this week to Rehoboth  his first as president  Joe Biden has spent nine weekends at his home in Wilmington, and five at Camp David, the Maryland presidential retreat, according to a review of his schedule. Biden has swapped the train for Air Force One, sometimes leaving Washington on short notice for even shorter trips: Last week, he flew back to Wilmington for the afternoon to attend the funeral of a longtime aide.

Naturally, the fact that Biden enjoys coming back to Delaware  even in the middle of a presidential workweek  did not seem to surprise residents here.

I think he knows his way around Washington and hes pretty familiar with what he needs to do and where he needs to be, McGuiness, who has known the Bidens for years  her sister used to babysit for the family  said in an interview. Making a quick travel to the Wilmington home or Rehoboth home makes sense for someone who puts family as a priority.

The first lady often spends less time in Washington during the week than her husband does. Before his travel weekends, Jill Biden sometimes heads separately to one of the family homes in Delaware, or meets up with extended family at Camp David. She has also traveled alone to Rehoboth. Kehoe, the owner of Browseabout Books, said the Bidens were generally treated as part of the scenery.

We try to treat them as if they were any other customer, Kehoe said. Which is a good thing for us.

Convention suggests that presidents should stay close to Washington and be judicious with taxpayer-funded travel, but that concept was tested to its limit with President Donald Trump. Trump spent over 417 days at one of his properties, a travel habit that blurred the line between his family business and presidential duties.

Trump enjoyed the perks of being president, including the staff, the ceremonies, the planes and the presidential limo. Many of those perks are long familiar to Joe Biden  he had a similar apparatus around him for eight years as Barack Obamas vice president  but he has said the trappings that come with the presidency have made him uncomfortable.

I dont know about you all, but I was raised in the way that you didnt look for anybody to wait on you, Biden said of life in the White House during a town-hall-style interview with CNN in February. I find myself extremely self-conscious.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

 2021 The New York Times Company
By Steve Gorman and Brendan O'Brien

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An unruly passenger who tried breaking into the cockpit of a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Tennessee from California was subdued by cabin crew and fellow passengers as the plane was diverted to New Mexico, officials said.

Delta Flight 386, from Los Angeles bound for Nashville, arrived around 2:20 p.m. local time at Albuquerque International Sunport, where authorities removed the passenger from the plane and took him into custody, an airport spokesperson said.

Delta said the Boeing 737-900 had 162 passengers and six crew members aboard.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Albuquerque said on Twitter that it was responding to the incident and that there was "no threat to the public at this time." The FBI provided no further details.

The airline and law enforcement did not say whether the individual was armed, whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or what may have prompted his outburst.

No one was hurt during the incident, and the flight resumed its trip to Nashville after the diversion, the airport spokesperson said.

Los Angeles-based CBS News affiliate KCBS-TV posted cellphone video taken by several passengers showing a man lying on his stomach in the aisle of the aircraft repeatedly yelling Stop this plane" as he was being restrained.

A flight attendant and passengers bound his hands and feet with yellow cord, then carried him to the rear of aircraft, where he was placed face down in a seat, the video clips showed.

Thanks to the crew and passengers of Delta Flight 386 ... who assisted in detaining an unruly passenger as the flight diverted to Albuquerque," Delta said in a statement, adding that aircraft landed without incident and the passenger was removed by law enforcement.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Michael Perry and William Mallard)
A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from LA to Nashville reportedly tried to breach the cockpit Friday, forcing the plane to divert to New Mexico, airport officials in Albuquerque said.

Albuquerque International Sunport had received reports from an air traffic control tower that a passenger on the plane had attempted to breach the cabin, according to airport spokeswoman Stephanie Kitts. She said the unidentified passenger was detained by police at the airport once it landed, and the investigation is being turned over the the FBI.

The Albuquerque FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment but confirmed in a Twitter post it was responding to diverted flight that landed at the airport.

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One passenger on the flight posted videos of the incident on Twitter and said the flight had to make an emergency landing because a passenger "tried to hijack'' the plane. The videos show a male Delta flight attendant appearing to detain the passenger in the back of the plane and also shows a passenger with his wrists ziptied tied behind his back.

In a statement, Delta did not provide details of the inflight incident or confirm the passenger tried to breach the cockpit.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Flight 386 landed without incident in Albuquerque and he praised the crew and passengers on the flight for "detaining an unruly passenger'' on the flight. The Boeing 737-900 was carrying 162 passengers and six crew members.

The plane landed at the airport at 2:18 p.m. and is scheduled to depart for Nashville this evening, arriving about five hours behind schedule.

The incident comes as airlines are seeing a spike in passengers behaving badly, forcing a crackdown by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Last week, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant landed in the hospital after a passenger punched her in the face. Southwest's flight attendants union said she lost two teeth in the incident.

In the wake of the high-profile incident and calls by flight attendant unions to limit alcohol sales on board as travel rebounds, Southwest and American delayed plans to start selling drinks after a long pandemic pause. American won't bring booze back until Sept. 13, the date the federal mask mandate on planes and at airports ends.

Unruly passengers: Who makes the call to kick them off plane?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Delta flight diverted after 'unruly passenger' subdued by crew
United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to roll out third dose with Pfizer to those who have previously received two of Sinopharm. Chinas vaccine would not have stimulated adequate antibody production. The Turkish president also receives a third dose, but does not reveal the product. Outcry from opposition: he already on his third dose, ordinary people still waiting for their first.

Abu Dhabi (AsiaNews) - United Arab Emirates (Eau) and Bahrain have decided to make the Pfizer / BioNTech m-RNA vaccine available to strengthen the population immunization campaign, initially based on the Chinese product Sinopharm.

The unsatisfactory results that emerged following the use of the vaccine made in Beijing, with an increase in cases despite the presence of a substantial portion of people who received both doses, prompted the authorities to focus on a product that has shown - so far - greater effectiveness.

Doubts about the true level of protection prompted Abu Dhabi and Manama to provide a third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine. Extensive studies have shown that, in a substantial portion of people, the Chinese serum had not stimulated adequate production of antibodies in the immune system, favoring the onset of new cases at the root of the waves that recently hit the two Gulf nations.

In Bahrain last month there was the peak of infections since the beginning of the health emergency, with at least 3 thousand cases per day. The United Arab Emirates has up to 2,000 new positives per day, less than the peak recorded in February with 3977 but at least double compared to early December, when the vaccination campaign was still a long way off.

The infections are taking place despite the fact that in both countries a large part of the population is vaccinated, most of them with a double dose of Sinopharm. In the Emirates over 50% of the population received the first dose, about 40% also the second. In Bahrain the first dose was administered to 56% of the population and the second to 47%.

The Emirates began administering the Sinopharm vaccine to the population last December and the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in April. Bahrain approved both vaccines in December. In May, health authorities in Abu Dhabi and Manama offered the option of receiving a third dose of Sinopharm, due to poor results from the first two, but have now turned decisively to the Pfizer-BioNTech m-RNA vector.

The effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine seems to have also "betrayed" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, targeted by critics for having received a third dose (it is not known whether Pfizer or Sinopharm,) while much of the country is still waiting for the first. The 67-year-old Turkish leader received the first dose in January and the second in February; in recent days he admitted that he also had a third administered, without however specifying the type of product.

At the time of Erdogan's third vaccination, ordinary citizens had to wait up to 12 weeks, well beyond the recommended four, to receive the second dose due to shortages. Among the critical voices that of Engin Ozkoc, head of the main opposition parliamentary group, the Republican People's Party, according to which "there is not even one dose for the citizens, but there are three for Erdogan". Nearly 50,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Turkey, whose vaccination campaign is still struggling to take off. According to Reuters estimates, less than 20% of Turks received the two doses.
So what will you do after democracy dies?

Who will we be after democracy dies?

After democracy dies, will we remember the country we had? Will we remember all that we lost? How will we explain what we allowed to happen?

Will we be ashamed after democracy dies?

After democracy dies, maybe well be haunted by the fact that we had a chance to save it  and did not. Distracted by tribalism, we did not. Living in denial, we did not. Watching in mounting dread, we did not.

After democracy dies, maybe well wonder why we failed.

Its not like whats happening is being done in secret. After democracy dies, we will remember that Republicans built the architecture of fascism under our very noses by baselessly undermining the credibility of the 2020 election and passing a series of voter-suppression laws. And Politico reports that conspiracy theorists who think Donald Trump was robbed of victory last year are campaigning to become election officials in battleground states.

Imagine: Next year, the question of whether or not your ballot counts could be in the hands of some Q-following fabulist who considers Trump the chosen of God. Good luck with that.

Clearly, the GOP constitutes a dire threat to this democracy. Thats why more than 160 professors from Duke, Yale, Stanford, Georgia State and elsewhere, scholars who study how democracies rise and fall, have signed a letter that declares that several states are being transformed into political systems that no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections. Hence, our entire democracy is now at risk. It is something many far less-credentialed observers have been saying for months.

Every disaster seems to leave clues to itself, warnings of itself that make you marvel in hindsight at the signs missed, the crucial junctions where tragedy could have been avoided had anyone just paid attention.

Captain Edward Smith did not reduce the Titanics speed though he had been warned of icebergs.

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Commanders at Pearl Harbor did not prepare for attack, though one was considered inevitable.

The Bush administration did not act prior to Sept. 11 though, in the words of then-CIA director George Tenet, The system was blinking red.

Well, here we are again. Speeding toward the iceberg. Planes on the horizon. The system blinking red.

The problem is that sometimes, imagination fails. Sometimes, we dont avoid the catastrophe because we literally cannot conceive it. Titanic, youll recall, was called the ship God Himself could not sink. And though God famously proved otherwise, that failure of imagination persists.

Two new voting-rights bills are making their way through Congress. Though Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, Republicans have the power to filibuster  i.e., block  them both. Theres nothing sacred about the filibuster  it is not mandated by the Constitution  and Democrats could end or reform it tomorrow, except that two of them, Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, refuse. They could save democracy, but theyd rather save the filibuster instead.

After democracy dies, what will you wish youd said to them?

What legal thing will you wish youd done?

What hue and cry will you wish youd raised?

Whatever that is, please do it now, before democracy dies. This is an emergency.

And after will be too late.
Gov. Ron Desantis ill-thought-out ban on vaccine passports is keeping Floridas cruising industry in limbo, potentially costing the state tourist dollars and jobs.

But apparently thats OK with DeSantis, as long as he scores political points with his GOP base. His ambitions  another term as governor and maybe even the presidency  are once again more important than the good of the state.

Last month, DeSantis filed a long-shot suit against the U .S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an attempt to force the agency to allow cruising to resume without any rules. Legal experts immediately labeled it a political stunt, because the federal government has broad control to regulate ports of entry and international commerce. A federal judge in Tampa now has the case.

But thats just more hype from the governor. The real issue is the measure he signed into law last month that prohibits businesses from requiring that customers have vaccine passports in order to receive services. The law was passed without a carve-out for the cruise business, which has been shuttered since March 2020 because of COVID. And that has put the cruise lines, desperate to reopen, in a difficult position.

The CDC created a path forward for the industry, releasing a set of rules that allow ships to sail as soon as June 26. The rules  which recommend vaccines but dont require them  allow cruise ships at U.S. ports to require at least 98 percent of their crew members and 95 percent of their passengers to be vaccinated. Theres also another option: Ships can restart after a two-day test cruise to make sure COVID-prevention protocols are working in the vaccines absence.

Those are reasonable safety measures (for those undaunted by memories of the ships filled with sick passengers). Some cruise lines have indicated they may go even further, requiring all passengers over 16 to be vaccinated.

But under Floridas new law, which goes into effect July 1, cruise lines arent allowed to ask passengers if they are vaccinated. They could be fined $5,000 each time they require vaccination proof from a patron.

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All of that has put DeSantis on a collision course with the cruise industry, a strange spot for a Republican who claims to be pro-business to be in.

And yet there was the governor on Thursday, holding a press conference in Key Biscayne where he tried to deflect attention from his own bad law and blame the CDC for not restarting cruises.

Whos the one suing the CDC to open the ports? he said. Under current Florida law, they are absolutely able to do it.. . . . The problem on this the whole time has been the CDC.

Were used to the governors grandstanding. But this time around, his politics-above-all attitude is hurting regular people. Before the cruise industry stalled, about 60,000 South Floridians worked for the cruise lines or in support jobs. Now, many have seen their hours cut or their jobs disappear entirely.

The cruise industry wants to go back to work. The CDC isnt the issue here. The badly conceived vaccine passport law is.
The Burkinabe army has been struggling to contain militant violence

Armed men killed at least 160 people in an attack on a village in northern Burkina Faso, the country's worst attack in recent years, officials say.

Homes and the local market were burned during the raid on Solhan in the early hours of Saturday morning.

No group has said it was behind the violence, but Islamist attacks are increasingly common in the country, especially in border regions.

The UN chief said he was "outraged" by the incident.

Antonio Guterres "strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to member states in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll," his spokesperson said.

On Sunday, a total of 160 bodies were recovered from what local officials in Solhan described as three mass graves, AFP news agency reported.

"It's the local people themselves who have started exhuming the bodies and burying them after transporting them," an unnamed local source said, according to AFP.

The number of people killed in Solhan has increased from earlier reports of about 132 deaths, and there are concerns that the death toll may rise further.

Following the news of Saturday's attack, the Burkinabe President Roch Kabore declared three days of national mourning, writing in a tweet that "we must stand united against the forces of evil".

He described the attack as "barbaric" and said that security forces were trying to track down the perpetrators.

In another attack on Friday night, 14 people were reported to have been killed in the village of Tadaryat, about 150km (93 miles) to the north of Solhan.

Last month, 30 people died in an attack in the east of Burkina Faso.

The country is facing a deepening security crisis, like many of its neighbours, as armed groups carry out raids and kidnappings across much of the region.

Map

In May, the Burkinabe army launched a large-scale operation in response to a resurgence of militant attacks. Despite this, the security forces are struggling to prevent the violence that has forced more than a million people from their homes over the past two years.

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Africa's semi-arid Sahel region has been hit by an insurgency since militants captured large parts of northern Mali in 2012 and 2013.

French forces have been supporting troops from Mali, Chad, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the militants.

But this week France halted co-operation with Mali over the recent coup there.
(Bloomberg) -- One of the newest faces at Exxon Mobil Corp., Kaisa Hietala, wants to make sure shes not misunderstood as shes propelled to sudden fame in a battle between climate activists and the oil industry.

The 50-year-old Finn -- unknown to corporate America until last month -- won her boardroom seat at Exxon after a campaign by activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 convinced BlackRock Inc., Vanguard Group Inc. and other key investors to back her in a contentious vote.

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Hietala says she understands how important it is to look after a companys traditional, existing business. Thats after devoting her career to helping the energy industry move away from fossil fuels and over to renewables.

Im a realist. I know that things wont change to fossil-free overnight, she said. Companies need to ensure their current business stays in a very good shape and simultaneously build a strategy to lay out their own path to the future.

Getting the energy industry to move away from fossil fuels is a gradual shift, Hietala said, and companies need to consider their roles 20 or 30 years from now.

No one can exactly predict the moment when oil and gas will no longer be part of the economy, she said.

Hietalas comments provide some of the earliest insight into how she and the two other directors successfully nominated by Engine No. 1 will likely approach their new roles. The shake-up of the oil giants board is a watershed moment for Exxon, which had told shareholders to shun the nominees and called them unqualified. Its also being hailed as a warning to the rest of the oil industry that activism is a growing force with the potential to upend corporate agendas.

If this can happen at the largest U.S. energy company, arguably no public companys strategy is immune from ESG influence, analysts at Morgan Stanley wrote in a report June 3.

Engine No. 1

Engine No. 1 was a little-known investment firm until Exxon investors voted to appoint Hietala and two of its other nominees: veteran oil industry executive Gregory Goff and Alexander Karsner, senior strategist at X, the innovation lab run by Alphabet Inc. (the final confirmation of the vote count is still pending).

Story continues

Read More: Activist Exxon Director Has a Resume Behind Best-in-World Boast

The hedge fund wants Exxon to overhaul its strategy, cut costs and come up with a plan to address climate change. Unlike European peers BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon hasnt set a target for net-zero emissions, and instead has promoted its efforts on carbon-capture technology. The company has been dogged by poor financial performance. Last year Exxon posted its first annual loss in at least four decades, and it has been forced to scale back earlier ambitious expansion plans.

Hietala works at Gaia Consulting Oy, which helps companies build sustainable businesses. Before joining Gaia in 2019, Hietala had a roughly 20-year career at Neste Oyj, a Finnish oil refiner thats now making most of its profit from biofuels. She started in its oil-trading operations before climbing the ranks, pushing Neste to invest in renewable diesel and making the business commercially viable.

No Single Formula

Hietala is widely credited for Nestes successful pivot to becoming the worlds biggest maker of renewable diesel. But it wasnt a painless process: a decade ago the biofuel units revenue was growing, but so were its losses. Hietala said one of her key learnings at Neste was that every day is earnings day and that the core business needs to be taken care of amid transformation.

She says long-term change starts with a companys board and management.

They need to be the ones who want this to happen, Hietala said.

Theres no single formula for pushing through an energy transformation, according to Hietala, who declined to comment specifically on her plans at Exxon. The boards role, she says, is important in forging a common view.

The trained scientist, licensed personal trainer and wellbeing aficionado who insists on eight hours of sleep each night, says she relies on a multidisciplinary approach and an understanding of the entire energy sector, as well as the skillset needed to renew a corporations business. The idea is to bring about change through agility in developing, testing, piloting and commercialization of new products. And owners, employees and clients all need to stay engaged through the process, she said.

Its not just talk. I have the practical experience to back up my words, Hietala says.

Im impatient to see alternatives being considered and solutions sought, and plans and strategies made, she said. I dont think being passive will yield as good results for companies as being proactive and pushing forward in the selected direction.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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WASHINGTON  As public pressure to uncover the origin of Covid-19 gained momentum, President Joe Biden did what many of his predecessors have done in the face of a political firestorm: He ordered a review.

When a powerful wing of his own party demanded he back an expansion of the Supreme Court, he responded by establishing a commission to study changes to that institution.

And while he promised as a candidate to ban new oil and gas permits on public lands, as some of his key supporters advocated, Biden has slow-walked that pledge with a temporary halt on new leases, a suspension of his predecessors last-minute leases in a sensitive Arctic refuge and an Interior Department review of the issue announced nearly five months ago.

Were going to review and reset the oil and gas leasing program, Biden said at the time.

The bureaucratic review of major policies or events has been a go-to presidential tactic since the summer of 1953, when President Dwight Eisenhower tackled a political divide over how to contend with Soviet power by convening an extensive internal analysis of the issue. Presidents ever since have parked politically charged issues in a government process in hopes that the passage of time would take the sting out of a heated debate or allow them to mount support for their preferred position.

Biden appears to have reached for the tool at a rate that outpaces his predecessors.

Halfway through his first year in office, roughly a dozen politically contentious policies remain under review  from U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and arms sales to the Middle East to whether former President Donald Trump should receive intelligence briefings.

Biden is probably doing this more than other presidents have, but its the same approach, said presidential historian Michael Beschloss. And the approach is, you take an issue that is very politically divisive and you try to cool it off by taking some time and bringing in some experts.

Story continues

This is something that presidents do all the time, he added, and it has actually worked.

The White House declined to comment for this story.

Not all reviews carry equal weight. There are always some routine policy reassessments when administrations change, and presidents tend to want to put their own imprints on the governments approach. New presidents may seek to reverse or alter some of their immediate predecessors policies, having pledged to do so as a candidate, but find once in office that its more difficult than the stroke of a pen or that the policy in question has merit.

Biden, for instance, was sharply critical of Trumps tariffs on Chinese goods, but he has kept them in place for now  under review.

Major reviews pursued for political cover typically have been related to controversial issues that tend to be of broad interest across the country: how to contend with Soviet power in the 1980s or the makeup of the Supreme Court now.

Commissions can serve both political and policy purposes by either giving sanction to the course a president already wants to pursue or genuinely introducing new ways of thinking about a familiar problem, said presidential historian Jon Meacham.

When President Ronald Reagan couldnt get Congress to approve an intercontinental ballistic missile he wanted, he created a bipartisan commission to review the issue in hopes that removing politically charged words from the debate and removing his effort from the spotlight for a bit would generate support for it, particularly among Democrats.

And it worked, recalled former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein, noting that Reagan got congressional approval after that review.

Former President George H.W. Bush similarly tried to manage some differences within his own Republican Party over his predecessors handling of the Soviet Union. Some in the GOP thought Reagan went too far in trusting Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev while others thought the approach was fruitful. By the end of the review, known as The Pause, Bush essentially followed Reagans policy as he wanted to do all along, according to Beschloss.

But presidents, particularly Biden, have increasingly put more issues with smaller political constituencies under review.

Biden promised during the campaign to roll back Trumps hard-line actions on Cuba, but he hasnt taken any steps to do so and his administrations Cuba policy has been under review since January. While Americas engagement with Cuba is not a top concern across the country, the issue carries significant weight in political battleground Florida, and maintaining a hard-line U.S. position is of top importance to key Democrats, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez.

For Biden, some reviews have also served as a policy layaway of sorts, allowing him to delay making a clear decision on an issue thats likely to draw political backlash at a time when hes seeking bipartisan support for other parts of his agenda.

Biden has chosen to put U.S. policy on the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay under review, for example, and not made a push to close it. Thats in contrast to former President Barack Obama, who came into office and immediately, without a review, announced his decision to close Guantanamo by the end of his first year in office  an effort that was ultimately crippled by bipartisan political resistance.

Some of Bidens reviews have been completed. Others have persisted for months. And new ones continue to be added, including Bidens announcement last week of a 90-day review of U.S. intelligence about possible Covid-19 origins.

The White House said the president had been quietly looking into the issue for months, but Biden has said publicly that in his two-hour phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February, he did not raise concerns about how China may have misled the world about what it knew in the early days of the virus. And White House officials have not cited determining the viruss origins as a top issue in discussions with Chinese officials.

So the timing of the review raised eyebrows because it coincided with growing criticism that Democrats were ignoring the theory that the virus accidentally escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China.

The Supreme Court Commission, which Biden created by executive order, is tasked with looking at the size of the court, the bodys rules and practices and how long justices should serve  currently they are on the bench for life once confirmed, unless they choose to retire. The commission has 180 days to come up with a report, which is expected in November.

On the stuff like the Supreme Court, you can tell that hes uncomfortable with it and hoping the ultimate temperature of the whole thing drops, said one person close to the White House.

One review Biden doesnt plan to order, according to the White House: a presidential commission to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, if Congress fails to create one.
Debby-Neal Strickland donated her kidney to her new husband's ex wife, Mylaen Merthe. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Debby Neal-Strickland married Jim Merthe and two days later donated her kidney to Merthe's ex-wife.

Mylaen Merthe had struggled with kidney disease for a long time and was hospitalized in November.

Merthe and Neal-Strickland now call each other kidney sisters and have a family trip planned.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two days after she got married, a woman in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, donated a kidney to her new husband's ex-wife.

Mylaen Merthe, 59, had struggled with kidney disease for years but last year, in November, she was so ill that her kidneys were only functioning at 8%, as reported by AP.

Merthe was about to become a grandmother for the first time as her daughter was pregnant. After being admitted to hospital, her brother offered to donate a kidney but it, unfortunately, wasn't a match.

However, it was her ex-husband's new partner who stepped in and volunteered to give her donate her own kidney to Merthe.

Debby Neal-Strickland told AP that she imagined Merthe's daughter giving birth and her mother not being there to greet her granddaughter, and this is what made her decide to volunteer.

"I just couldn't not try to change that. God told me, 'You're a match and you need to do this,'" Neal-Strickland told AP.

"When somebody needs an organ, if they don't get it, they're probably not going to make it. I know it's something that you do quickly."

However, there was a small problem: Neal-Strickland was due to be married to Merthe's ex-husband Jim Merthe just two days before the planned kidney transplant. Neal-Strickland considered canceling the wedding, as they had done twice before in deference to their own children's engagements, but ultimately decided to go ahead.

Neal-Strickland and Jim Merthe married on November 22 after 10 years of dating.

"It was the most amazing day of my life, until two days later. That was also the most amazing day of my life," Neal-Strickland said.

Story continues

Debby Neal-Strickland and Jim Merthe married after 10 years of dating. ASSOCIATED PRESS

She then swapped the wedding gown for a hospital gown 48 hours later, and the procedure went as planned.

Neal-Strickland said that she asked to see Merthe straight away after she regained consciousness. She said she could immediately see Merthe was healthier already: the dark circles under her eyes had gone and she had regained a little color.

"We had our masks on, too, so we're crying, and of course, our stomachs were hurting because of the incisions," Merthe said. "We kinda laughed and cried."

Merthe then moved in with her daughter and son-in-law and her new grandchild to recuperate, achieving her dream of being a grandparent.

"I got to hold him and feed him. I was like, 'I'm actually here to see this and I'm holding this little baby,'" Merthe told AP, Merthe has since welcomed a second grandchild, born in March.

Merthe and her ex-husband Jim divorced two decades ago and they have been on good terms ever since, co-parenting two children together. Merthe and Neal-Strickland have been friendly at family events and always got on well enough but it wasn't until this life-changing event that they became close.

Now, they call each other kidney sisters and the entire family is planning a trip to Lake Ruban in Georgia this summer to celebrate.

"This is what the world is about. Family. We need to stick together," Merthe said. "She saved my life."

Read the original article on Insider
By David Milliken and Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) -The United States, Britain and other large, rich nations reached a landmark deal on Saturday to squeeze more money out of multinational companies such as Amazon and Google and reduce their incentive to shift profits to low-tax offshore havens.

Hundreds of billions of dollars could flow into the coffers of governments left cash-strapped by the COVID-19 pandemic after the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies agreed to back a minimum global corporate tax rate of at least 15%.

Facebook said it expected it would have to pay more tax, in more countries, as a result of the deal, which comes after eight years of talks that gained fresh impetus in recent months after proposals from U.S. President Joe Biden's new administration.

"G7 finance ministers have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age," British finance minister Rishi Sunak said after chairing a two-day meeting in London.

The meeting, hosted at an ornate 19th-century mansion near Buckingham Palace in central London, was the first time finance ministers have met face-to-face since the start of the pandemic.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the "significant, unprecedented commitment" would end what she called a race to the bottom on global taxation.

German finance minister Olaf Scholz said the deal was "bad news for tax havens around the world".

Yellen also saw the G7 meeting as marking a return to multilateralism under Biden and a contrast to the approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, who alienated many U.S. allies.

"What I've seen during my time at this G7 is deep collaboration and a desire to coordinate and address a much broader range of global problems," she said.

Ministers also agreed to move towards making companies declare their environmental impact in a more standard way so investors can decided more easily whether to fund them, a key goal for Britain.

Story continues

TAXING TIMES

Current global tax rules date back to the 1920s and struggle with multinational tech giants that sell services remotely and attribute much of their profits to intellectual property held in low-tax jurisdictions.

Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice-president for global affairs and a former British deputy prime minister, said: "We want the international tax reform process to succeed and recognise this could mean Facebook paying more tax, and in different places."

But Italy, which will seek wider international backing for the plans at a meeting of the G20 in Venice next month, said the proposals were not just aimed at U.S. firms.

Yellen said European countries would scrap existing digital services taxes which the United States says discriminate against U.S. businesses as the new global rules go into effect.

"There is broad agreement that these two things go hand in hand," she said.

Key details remain to be negotiated over the coming months. Saturday's agreement says only "the largest and most profitable multinational enterprises" would be affected.

European countries had been concerned that this could exclude Amazon - which has lower profit margins than most tech companies - but Yellen said she expected it would be included.

How tax revenues will be split is not finalised either, and any deal will also need to pass the U.S. Congress.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he would push for a higher minimum tax, calling 15% "a starting point".

Some campaign groups also condemned what they saw as a lack of ambition. "They are setting the bar so low that companies can just step over it," Oxfam's head of inequality policy, Max Lawson, said.

But Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe, whose country is potentially affected because of its 12.5% tax rate, said any global deal also needed to take account of smaller nations.

The G7 includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

(Additional reporting by Andy Bruce, David Lawder, Padraic Halpin, Thomas Escritt, Giulia Segreti, Sabahatjahan Contractor and Mathieu RosemainEditing by Alexander Smith and David Holmes)
by Vladimir Rozanskij

A testament to the liturgical history of the Orthodox Church down through the centuries. Artefacts of St Nicholas on loan from Bari Cathedral. The visual language of the icon is enhanced. Other "cultural mission" initiatives have been launched along the Golden Ring of the ancient Russian capitals.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Yesterday the "Museum of Christian Culture" was opened in the center of St. Petersburg, with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Pskov Tikhon (Shevkunov), head of the Department for Culture of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The new exhibition structure was organized under the patronage of the female monastery of Saints Constantine and Helen, a large community of Leningradskaja Oblast. The province of the northern capital has a house right next to the new museum.

The monastic seat of the city is famous for its golden domes, restored to their splendor after the gray Soviet years. It was built in memory of the 1888 episode, in which Tsar Alexander III and his family risked dying in a carriage of a collapsed train near Khar'kov; the tsar held the roof over his shoulders for a long time, saving his family while they prayed to the imperial saints, protectors of the family.

In the years of the religious rebirth of post-communism, an extraordinary collection of sacred objects, images and vessels began to form around the monastery which testify to the liturgical history of the Orthodox Church over the centuries.

The collection of the new museum was composed by choosing the most significant elements of this collection. Precious icons, liturgical vestments and furnishings, relics of pilgrimages are exhibited, there is also an entire section of objects belonging to the communities of old-believers, the schismatics of the seventeenth century.

The "Constantine Room", where a marble bust of the first Christian emperor stands, is dedicated to Christian art of the early centuries. There are also the rooms of the Old and New Testament, described by Russian icons and the illustrated story of the Gospel, from medieval manuscripts to modern books.

A special room is dedicated to the saint most loved by the Russians, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra; it has the title "Master of life and example of humility", from the text of the liturgical troparion dedicated to the saint who today in Bari brings together East and West. From the cathedral of Bari, the destination of many pilgrimages, several mementos of St. Nicholas were brought to St. Petersburg.

The icons, "Bible of the illiterate", are the masters in the new museum, describing the whole history of salvation starting from the creation of the world and of man. The visual language of the icon does not replace the meaning of the Holy Scriptures, rather the enhance it, "through symbolic images that illuminate the truths of Christian doctrine", as explained by Marina Kristal, director of the museum.

"The new museum - underlines Kristal - not only wishes to demonstrate the elements on display, all linked to Christianity, but above all the union of all the cultural communities to which this issue remains close".

The museum area will soon also become an education center, where lessons and seminars will be held, meetings with specialists in the field of the history of religions and art. A center for children will also be opened, where various circles of creative activities will take place.
The French finance minister urged low tax states like Ireland to back a deal which would target tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Finance ministers from the G7 group of leading economies are confident of striking a deal on taxing multinational companies at their meeting in London.

The agreement is expected to include a global minimum rate of corporation tax.

It would target tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft.

German finance minister Olaf Scholz said the deal would "change the world".

He said a 15% rate would help pay back debts that have built up during the pandemic - and that he was "absolutely confident" there would be an agreement.

"If we agree on the minimum taxation for corporates, this will help to go out of this race to the bottom we see with taxes today," he told the BBC.

"And this will help the countries we live in to finance their tasks, and - especially after Covid crisis and all the money we spent - to defend the health of the people, and to defend the economy."

French finance minister Bruno le Maire urged Ireland, which has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the European Union, at 12.5%, to get "on board".

He told the BBC: "European countries, that in the past, opposed this new international tax system, must understand that they have to give the agreement to this major breakthrough".

'Starting points and sticking points'

Both ministers said agreement on a minimum rate remained a sticking point.

Mr Le Maire said he saw the 15% rate as a "starting point".

He said: "If it can be higher, it is better to have a higher rate than 15%."

Mr Scholz suggested that 15% would be an effective starting point that would mark a "turning point" after years of going in the other direction.

It came after UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he was "confident" of reaching a global agreement on digital taxation ahead of a meeting of world finance leaders.

Finance minsters will also discuss climate change at the two-day meeting which started in London on Friday.

Story continues

Ahead of the G7 talks, Mr Le Maire and Mr Scholz along with their counterparts in Italy and Spain co-signed a letter urging an agreement on an international tax system "fit for the 21st Century".

In a letter to The Guardian, they wrote: "Introducing this fairer and more efficient international tax system was already a priority before the current economic crisis, and it will be all the more necessary coming out of it."

Analysis box by Faisal Islam, economics editor

Those attending the G7 finance ministers summit are certain that a deal will be done on global taxation by Saturday morning - and they are not shy about its "historic nature". Mr Scholz told me they'll "have an agreement which will really change the world... this will be a turning point in global co-operation".

Another finance minister said privately the deal will start to set the rules for the 21st Century, because if the Western G7 democracies were incapable of doing it, then China would.

The UK's turnaround on minimum tax rates is quite something. Successive elections have been fought on the danger of corporation tax hikes to jobs and investment. Now, not only is that policy, but the UK looks set up to have overseen an agreement to limit the extent to which a future chancellor could cut it.

There are two sticking points, sources tell me. Firstly, there is the mention (or not) of a global minimum corporation tax rate of 15%. There is also a move to use the wording "at least 15%" to show some ambition - but also to provide some negotiation space at the wider G20 meeting chaired by Italy and including the likes of China and Russia.

The US also asked countries that have levied digital taxes - France, Italy and the UK, to withdraw them quickly as part of the deal. At least one finance minister said that was a "non-starter", as it could immediately result in the big tech giants paying less, not more tax.

The end result will depend on fine detail, but looks likely to involve a new ability to charge 100 or so of the world's largest companies based on where their sales are, not where they house the factories or patents and trademarks.

This could be transformative, and not just for Big Tech, but some more conventional multinationals.

Tax tech

On Wednesday, the US announced it would impose tariffs on about $2bn (1.4bn) of imports, including certain goods from the UK, in retaliation for taxes on big US tech firms.

However, it suspended them for 180 days to allow further talks to take place in London and at a meeting of G20 nations in July.

Mr Sunak is expected to push for an agreement on taxes and call for all global businesses to commit to climate reporting.

Speaking ahead of the G7 meeting, Mr Sunak said: "Securing a global agreement on digital taxation has also been a key priority this year - we want companies to pay the right amount of tax in the right place, and I hope we can reach a fair deal with our partners.

"I'm determined we work together and unite to tackle the world's most pressing economic challenges - and I'm hugely optimistic that we will deliver some concrete outcomes this weekend."

Governments have become increasingly concerned about the amount of tax paid by US tech giants.

The ministers will be looking at how to stop the likes of Google, Amazon, Starbucks and Apple paying low or no taxes in countries where they generate revenues.

The meeting is being held as it emerged that an Irish subsidiary of US technology giant Microsoft paid no corporation tax on $315bn in profit it made last year, according to The Guardian.

Microsoft Round Island One is resident in Bermuda and the profit it generated last year is equal to nearly three-quarters of Ireland's GDP.

Microsoft said this was due to "a one-time event and reflects an inter-company reorganisation, not a cash gain".

"Our organisational and tax structure reflects our complex global business. We are fully compliant with all local laws and regulations in the countries where we operate," a spokesperson added.

All G7 countries, bar the UK, have supported a proposal from the US for a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% that could raise $50-$80bn for governments around the world.

'Deal within reach'

Germany, France, Italy and Spain said the commitment to a minimum 15% tax rate is "a promising start" but said G7 nations must reach "a common position on a new international tax system" in London before more nations meet next month.

They wrote: "We are confident it will create the momentum needed to reach a global agreement at the G20 in Venice in July. It is within our reach. Let's make sure it happens. We owe it to our citizens."

The UK is holding out for reassurances about the Digital Services Tax, which levies 2% on revenues derived in the UK from online marketplaces, search engines and social media platforms.

It is open to the idea of a global corporate minimum tax rate and is said to be prepared to let the Digital Services Tax go if it obtains assurances that big tech will not simply be let off the hook.

The Biden administration initially pushed for a global minimum corporate tax rate of 21% but has now retreated to 15%. However, officials have said that's regarded very much as a "floor".

Finance ministers from the US, Japan, France, Canada, Germany and Italy will be attending the meeting at Lancaster House, along with representatives from the European Commission, the Eurogroup, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Jun. 4MANKATO  Mankato police are looking for a doughnut thief who punched a gas station clerk.

An employee at the Kwik Trip at Stoltzman Road and Riverfront Drive reported that two men and a woman shoplifed a box of doughnuts just after 12 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Mankato Department of Public Safety.

The employee followed the group outside and confronted them. One of the men then punched the employee in the face.

Investigators have surveillance video and are working to identify the suspect, Cmdr. Justin Neumann said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google said on Saturday that it supports the work being done to update international tax rules after G7 finance ministers agreed to pursue a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15% and to reallocate taxing rights for large, profitable multinational companies.

"We strongly support the work being done to update international tax rules. We hope countries continue to work together to ensure a balanced and durable agreement will be finalized soon," Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
Jun. 5The state's push to get more of Hawaii's residents vaccinated for COVID-19 is on this month, and everything is on the tablefrom a further easing of travel restrictions to an incentive campaign offering a bonanza of prizes.

Gov. David Ige announced Friday that starting June 15, Hawaii will end all restrictions on intercounty travel between the Hawaiian Islands as the state approaches the 55 % vaccination rate.

Also, starting June 15, returning Hawaii travelers who have been vaccinated in the state can bypass the mandatory 10-day quarantine without a pre-travel test.

When 60 % of the state's population is fully vaccinated, Ige said, all travelers from the mainland, Alaska and U.S. territories can also skip the testing and quarantine requirement with proof of vaccination through the state's Safe Travels program.

When Hawaii reaches the goal of 70 % vaccinated statewide, essentially all travel and public health restrictions will be lifted, including indoor mask requirements, Ige said, and there will no longer be a need for the Safe Travels program.

"The easing of travel restrictions is a direct result of our robust vaccination rate, and a community that sacrificed and did what it had to do over the past year and a half to stop the spread of COVID-19, " said Ige. "We need to push hard now so we can get to the point where Safe Travels is no longer needed to keep the people of Hawaii safe."

As of Friday, 52 % of Hawaii's population had been fully vaccinated, according to the state Department of Health, and 59 % had initiated vaccinations.

A total of 1, 553, 304 doses had been administered in the state, up 6, 550 from Thursday.

"The positive effect of vaccination is clear, " said DOH Director Dr. Elizabeth Char. "We've seen a decrease in cases."

Hawaii's average daily new cases have dropped to 52, said Char, reflecting the vaccines' positive effect.

"But we're not done yet, " she said. "We need to continue this progress. That's why the Department of Health is focusing our efforts to excite and engage those who are not yet vaccinated."

Story continues

In addition to offering more vaccination information and accessibility, the state this month is launching the #HIGotVaccinated incentives campaign, with a variety of prizes and discounts in partnership with health care providers and Hawaii businesses.

Among the prizes are 1 million HawaiianMiles from Hawaiian Airlines, distributed as 10 prizes of 100, 000 each, along with a trip to Las Vegas for two from Vacations Hawaii, and Zippy's meals for a year in the form of a $6, 000 gift card.

Restaurants are also participating. L &L Hawaiian Barbecue is offering $1, 000 in catering. Merriman's is offering dinner for six at any of its four locations.

Hawaii residents ages 18 and up who have already been vaccinated, as well as those who get vaccinated this month with at least one dose of Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, are eligible to enter at. Entries must be received by 11 :59 p.m. June 30.

Within minutes of the campaign announcement Friday afternoon, the website crashed, but it was up and running again within an hour, with more than 1, 000 registered. By 5 :15 p.m. Friday more than 16, 000 had signed up.

Separately, a number of deals and discounts will also be available this month for those who show their vaccination cards.

The Health Department will also offer more outreach, more vaccination sites and more public serv ice announcements.

This month more than 300 sites offering COVID-19 vaccines will be available across the state, Char saidfrom malls to farmers markets to churches.

There will also be a rollout of new PSAs featuring a Q &A with local physicians, the University of Hawaii's men's volleyball community and stories from COVID-19 survivors.

The department will also continue to partner with Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Filipino community groups to encourage vaccinations, as well as translate educational materials into nearly 20 languages.

The vaccination rate will be based on Hawaii's state population of about 1.4 million, Char said, even though children under 12 are not currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.

The state will also use the Health Department's statistics rather than those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sometimes range higher. But the state's vaccination data will include federal data, she said, including numbers pulled from the military and Veterans Affairs.

Vaccines will be available this month at more locations than ever. Visit.
Reuters

G7 leaders have reached consensus on the need for a shared approach to China selling exports at unfairly low prices and to human rights abuses, a senior official in the U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said on Saturday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the leaders of the Group of Seven world's largest advanced economies had also agreed on the need to coordinate on supply chain resilience to ensure democracies are supporting each other. "I would say there was unanimity in terms of a willingness to call out human rights abuses and violations of fundamental freedoms that invoke our shared values," the official said.
WASHINGTON  In late March, Krispy Kreme made an offer: Any customer showing a coronavirus vaccination card would receive a free doughnut.

Some celebrated the move as the kind of public health nudge that could hasten vaccine uptake, but Dr. Leana Wen was not among those cheerleaders. The former Baltimore public health commissioner, who has become a prominent media commentator on the pandemic, took to Twitter to criticize Krispy Kreme. Every incentive helps & free donuts may help move the needle, she said. However, donuts are a treat that's not good for health if eaten every day.

Twitter being Twitter, Wen was swiftly denounced as a scold, with Cosmopolitan magazine going so far as to accuse her of inciting fatphobia. In the end, nearly 1.5 million people took advantage of the promotion, Krispy Kreme recently announced.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

And that was only the start. Since then, states have offered a variety of incentives to get people vaccinated. Long gone are the days when vaccine hunters stalked the entryways to supermarkets at closing time, hoping there would be doses to spare. Increasingly, the goal is to vaccinate people who have been less than eager to get the shot, either because theyve been subject to misinformation or for some other reason, such as mistrust of the medical establishment or, simply, a lack of will. In early May, President Biden came close to saying that some of the still-unvaccinated were just lazy.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 63 percent of Americans are either fully or partially vaccinated. That has caused infection rates to plummet in recent weeks, but thousands of people are still contracting the coronavirus daily. Millions more need to be vaccinated to eradicate community spread. Hence the plethora of giveaways, all meant to close gaps that the coronavirus could potentially exploit.

Increasingly, states are adopting a whatever-it-takes approach to drive people to vaccination sites. One of the first early successes was Ohio, whose Vax-a-Million contest made a 22-year-old woman very rich. West Virginia, another state early to the incentive idea, offered residents $100 savings bonds. That hasnt proved enough, however, with Gov. Jim Justice announcing that the state will hold a vaccine-related raffle on Fathers Day that will include guns, trucks and cash.

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Not gun licenses, mind you. Actual guns. Which one could then presumably use in Maine, which is offering free hunting and fishing licenses as an incentive (it is unclear if any enterprising Americans have tried to claim incentives in multiple states).

Guns and gun accessories for sale at a store in El Cajon, Calif. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Vaccination is supposed to be a virtuous act, with every shot conferring a greater protection to the community as whole, not just to the recipient alone. So its more than a little ironic that the appeal has come to be largely driven by some of our favorite vices. The question is whether that kind of appeal makes sense in what is already a public health emergency, one that has a significant psychological component.

It's possible that some individuals might revive a bad habit as a result of these initiatives (e.g., a former gambling addict might start gambling again); so if one could think of equally effective policies without those risks, they would be preferable, said Emrys Westacott, a philosopher who has written about the history of human vices. He added that this may be one of those occasions where the community good outweighs individual concerns.

That may explain why the rigorously abstemious President Biden, whose son Hunter just published a book chronicling his fight with substance abuse, was recently hawking beer from the White House.

Get a shot and have a beer, the president said in announcing a partnership with Anheuser-Busch. The behemoth brewer said earlier this week that if Bidens goal of having 70 percent of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4 is met, every American will get a free beer.

If you live in Illinois, getting vaccinated can earn you two beers, one from Anheuser-Busch and one from a new state-level program. A vaccination clinic at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., offered sweeping views of the Potomac River and, more to the point, a free beer from the Solace Brewing Company.

Fans drink beer during a baseball game at Chicago's Wrigley Field on opening day, April 1. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

I do not think giving people guns for a vaccine is a good idea at all due to the implications for public health of gun violence, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco. I do think giving out incentives like food or beer is actually a good idea; this works in HIV medicine (giving incentives for taking pills) and has been used in medicine for ages.

Still, all this could come across as a little self-indulgent, considering that many parts of the world have been desperate to access vaccine doses. As of early May, there were some countries that hadnt had a single citizen vaccinated. And others, like India, have undergone surges that killed thousands daily. In the United States, meanwhile, doses are going unused. "People should be offered a vaccine, Johns Hopkins surgical oncologist Dr. Marty Makary said on Fox News earlier this week, and if they choose not to get it at this point, we should send those vaccines overseas."

There is also the question of whether the incentives actually work. Its hard for me to believe that someone would be motivated to get vaccinated just so they could get a Krispy Kreme doughnut or two, Doug Storey, a professor of health communication at Johns Hopkins, said last month.

Storey suggested that financial incentives could work but stressed the importance of outreach to people who have something nagging at them, such as a worry that vaccines are not safe. In the same White House remarks that saw him hawking beer, Biden announced a partnership with barbershops in the African American community, called Shots at the Shop. That program is premised on the notion that trust, not freebies, is what will ultimately help get people vaccinated.

President Biden speaks in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Of course, no state is relying on giveaways alone as a solution to its vaccination challenges. Rather, giving people free stuff is just one more means to get them to do the right thing, if the prospect of returning to a pre-pandemic normal is not enough on its own.

Plus, those giveaways inject a little esprit de corps into what can be an unpleasant or inconvenient process. I'm basically a fan of anything that makes it fun, said Brown University economist Emily Oster, who has written extensively on the pandemic.

Fun is usually not a word associated with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, but he was clearly enjoying himself during a recent press conference that had the notorious gym rat eating a burger and fries as he announced that Shake Shack, the wildly popular haute fast food chain, would be offering burgers and fries for the vaccinated.

If this is appealing to you, just think of this as you think of vaccination, de Blasio said.

Mmmm ... vaccination.

Then there was the company ScanMyPhotos, which offered free photo scanning services for people who got vaccinated. A press release sought to distinguish the companys giveaway as more virtuous than others. Unlike free donuts or beer, the free photo scanning incentive will become a storytelling heirloom keepsake for families, it read.

Christian Valcich gets a COVID-19 vaccine on May 29 in Chicago. Recipients were given a $25 card for discounts on concessions before a White Sox game. (David Banks/Getty Images)

As one public health professional told Yahoo News, all such giveaways aren't going to be that effective as incentives as much as they are effective as marketing ploys for the companies, whether those companies are selling beer or digital photos.

What will make a difference is requirements, she said. And while states have urged vaccinations, they have shied away from mandating them. For now, they're hoping that cash and booze will do the trick.

Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Scott Olson/Getty Images, Getty Images (6)

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Read more from Yahoo News:
Vice President Harris will travel on Sunday to Guatemala and Mexico as part of the administration's efforts to shore up diplomatic ties with Latin America and continue to address the surge of migration into the U.S. from the Southern border.

Why it matters: Harris will arrive in Guatemala on Sunday and in Mexico on Monday, making this her first time traveling abroad as vice president.

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"Harris will arrive Sunday evening in Guatemala bearing gifts: pledges for hundreds of thousands of coronavirus vaccine doses, $310 million in regional humanitarian aid, and a $4 billion long-term plan to boost development and security across Central America," the Washington Post reports.

She also plans to address corruption by Central American politicians, WaPo notes.

Harris will meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to discuss immigration cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico, per the Post. The visit will come the day after Mexico hold its largest and most polarized elections in years.

The big picture: "President Biden and his team have said that to stem migration from the Northern Triangle to the U.S.-Mexico border, they must address the 'root causes,' including government corruption, poverty and violence," Axios' Stef Kight writes.

The U.S. is currently facing a record number of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

What they're saying: "The goal of the vice president's trip is to deepen our strategic partnership and bilateral relationship with both the Guatemalan and Mexican governments to advance a comprehensive strategy to tackle the causes of migration," said Symone Sanders, Harris' chief spokesperson and senior adviser, per CNN.

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Jun. 5Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 69 new confirmed and probable infections today, bringing the state's total since the start of the pandemic to 36, 471 cases.

No new virus-related fatalities were reported today so the statewide COVID-19 death toll remains 501.

Hawaii's virus-related when state officials counted the death of an Oahu woman in her 50s. Despite the milestone, Hawaii's virus fatality rate remains the lowest in the nation at roughly 35 deaths per 100, 000 residents.

The state's official coronavirus-related death toll includes 388 fatalities on Oahu, 55 on Maui, 53 on Hawaii island, two on Kauai, and three Hawaii residents who died outside the state.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today is over 596, 000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 33.3 million.

Today's new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 27 new cases on Oahu, 13 on Maui, 25 on Hawaii island and four Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state.

The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 27, 233 on Oahu, 4, 470 on Maui, 2, 996 in Hawaii County, 324 on Kauai, 115 on Lanai and 79 on Molokai. There are also 1, 254 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

State health officials began including probable infections in its total case counts last month. Probable infections include people who never received a confirmatory test but are believed to have had the virus because of their known exposure and symptoms or because of a positive antigen test.RELATED :

Today's probable infections since the start of the pandemic added to the counts today include 796 on Maui, 745 on Oahu, 65 on Hawaii island, 24 on Molokai, three on Kauai, three on Lanai and 48 residents diagnosed outside the state.

The statistics released today reflect the new infection cases reported to the department on Thursday.

Health officials also said today that, of the state's total infection count, 694 cases were considered to be active. Officials say they consider infections reported in the past 14 days to be a "proxy number for active cases." The state's total number of active cases increased today by nine.

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By island, Oahu has 432 active cases, the Big Island has 158, Maui has 92, Kauai has eight, Molokai has four and Lanai has none.

Health officials counted 6, 161 new COVID-19 test results in today's tally, for a 1.12 % statewide positivity rate. The state's 7-day average positivity rate is 1.1 %, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary said that 1, 553, 304 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Wednesday. Health officials say that more than 52 % of the state's population are now fully vaccinated.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2, 351 have required hospitalizations, with two new hospitalizations reported today.

Ten hospitalizations in the overall statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2, 341 hospitalizations within the state, 1, 943 have been on Oahu, 258 on Maui, 125 on the Big Island, nine on Kauai, five on Lanai and one on Molokai.

Oahu moved into the less-restrictive Tier 3 of the city's four-tier economic recovery plan on Feb. 25 after being in Tier 2 since Oct. 22. Tier 3 permits social and outdoor recreational gatherings of up to 10 people, and restaurants to seat 10 people at a table. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi on March 11 announced modifications to Tier 3, including allowing bars to reopen under the same conditions as restaurants and extending the curfew until midnight.

Honolulu will remain in Thursday, according to the mayor's office. But Blangiardi said last week that Honolulu should soon be moving to Tier 4.

The seven-day average case count for Oahu is 28 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 1.3 %, state health officials said today.------This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.------
Hedera Hashgraphs mainnet upgraded to v0.14.0. The upgrade includes additional nodes online and new nodes operated by Chainlink.

In a move towards decentralization, the upgrade brought two pre-existing nodes, 13 and 15, online. Additionally, the upgrade included two brand new nodes, 20 and 21, partly operated by Chainlink Labs.

Hedera is a public distributed ledger built for the development and employment of dApps and microservices. Some of Herderas services include tokens, smart contracts, file service, and consensus.

The distributed ledger runs atop their distinctive hashgraph consensus algorithm. It consists of permissioned nodes under the Hedera Governing Council, a group of term-limited enterprises that lead the networks direction. Herdera is the only public DL with authorized use of the hashgraph technology.

The network intends to morph into an entirely permissionless model. The addition of the Chainlink node in the latest upgrade is a step in this direction.

Further decentralization with Chainlink node

One of the most notable and important features of Hederas v0.14.0 upgrade is the addition of not only one but two nodes (20 and 21) partly operated by Chainlink Labs.

The developers provide secure distributed ledger middleware that enables users to leverage smart contracts. The network will provide Chainlink integration with the Hedera Token Service (HTS).

This development marks the ledgers move towards a fully permissionless model, as Chainlink steps into the ecosystem and onboarded to the Council.

The Chainlink Labs node is a transitional node on the mainnet. Its hosted in a LiquidWeb data center. The Hedera Governing Council plans to assist in node management while the new Council member is fully integrated.

Agryo, an agri-finance ecosystem on Hedera, launched one of the Chainlink nodes.

In a statement on Twitter, the smart contract provider announced the partnership which aims to, bring its proprietary agricultural data on-chain, enabling sustainability-focused DeFi & insurance dApps based on farm credit assessment scores & land monitoring reports.

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Hedera upgrades for user efficiency

Another one of the primary upgrade features is account auto-renewal, which is based on the specifications of HIP-16 (Hedera Improvement Proposal).

Account auto-renewal is currently not active, though it plans to launch after the Hedera community is further informed of the features impact and capabilities.

Hedera Improvement Proposals are opportunities for the Hedera community to collectively discuss systematic issues and provide input for future upgrades.

Other important upgrade notes include the development of infrastructure to allow the platform reconnect feature. This enables a node to catch up in terms of consensus gossip after it has lapsed.

The GetVersionInfo query on Hedera API now features an optional pre-release version and builds metadata field from Semantic Versioning spec when relevant.

In addition, admins that upgrade a system accounts key, now have their signing requirement waived for the new key of the account.

While this v0.14.0 upgrade focused on user efficiency, the previous mainnet upgrade, which happened last month, appeared more about functionality.

As a result, the v0.13.2 upgrade focused on the redesign of scheduled transactions and reduced the number of validating signatures for transactions on the ledger.

Eyes on HBAR

This year the native token of the Hedera network, HBAR, momentarily broke out of its resistance point. It reached a $0.71 high, but dropped down to hover around its current level of $0.22.

As the network moves towards permissionless nodes, the token will guard against attacks and fuel network productivity.

Due to Hederas proof of stake operating system, the HBAR token is energy-efficient. This is key as energy efficiency and sustainability are growing trends in the distributed ledger community.

Hederas latest update is an example of the networks consistent steps towards decentralization and environmentally-friendly network functionality.
Associated Press

Seeking to protect its image as a guardian of personal privacy, Apple maintains it was blindsided and handcuffed by a Trump administration probe that resulted in the company handing over phone data from two Democratic congressmen. Apple delivered its version of events Friday in response to news reports detailing the U.S. Justice Department's aggressive attempts to use its legal power to identify leaks tied to an investigation into former President Donald Trump's ties to Russia. The Justice Department was able to persuade a federal grand jury to issue a subpoena that culminated in Apple turning over the metadata  information that can include general records of calls and texts  about House Intelligence Committee members Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both California Democrats, during 2018.
Francis releases message to mark World Environment Day. Today's celebration, however, will have a special significance, as it will take place in the year in which the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration begins". Integral ecology to establish "harmony within us, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "We have little time left" to become a "generation of Restoration" and "restore the nature we have damaged". Pope Francis issued a strong warning in his message to Inger Andersen, United Nations program for the environment (UNEP) executive director and to Qn Dongy, director general of FAO on the occasion of today's World Environment Day.

"We have little time left - writes Francis  scientists say the next ten years, the span of this UN Decade  to restore the ecosystem, which will mean the integral restoration of our relation with nature."

World Environment Day, the Pope adds, recalling what is written about Laudato Si, encourages us to remember that everything is interconnected. A true concern for the environment [] needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society. Todays celebration, however, will have a special significance, as it will take place in the year in which the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration begins. This decade invites us to make ten-year commitments aimed at caring for our common home by supporting and scaling up efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide and raise awareness of the importance of successful ecosystem restoration."

The current environmental situation calls us to act now with urgency to become ever more responsible stewards of creation and to restore the nature that we have been damaging and exploiting for too long. Otherwise, we risk destroying the very basis on which we depend. We risk floods, and hunger and severe consequences for ourselves and for future generations. This is what many scientists tell us. We need to take care of each other, and of the weakest among us. Continuing down this path of exploitation and destruction  of humans, and of nature  is unjust and unwise. This is what a responsible conscience would tell us. We have a responsibility to leave a habitable common home for our children and for future generations.

It is therefore necessary to act "urgently" to become increasingly responsible administrators also towards future generations: we are all part of the "gift of creation" as the Bible also recalls. Looking around, one sees in fact a crisis that leads to crisis, the destruction of nature, "a global pandemic that is causing the death of millions of people". But also the unjust consequences of some aspects of our current economic systems and of numerous catastrophic climatic crises which produce serious effects on human societies and even the mass extinction of various species. There are "many" "warnings" that push to take urgent measures. Among these we can note "Covid-19 and global warming".

Hence the hope that the COP26 on climate change, to be held in Glasgow next November, will offer the right answers. Another important front on which to intervene is precisely that of economic systems. We need a review of the current development model, emphasizing the key point that "the degradation of the ecosystem is a clear result of an economic dysfunction".

Despite the concern, however, there is hope. Technology can be directed towards healthier progress. " We are witnessing new engagement and commitment by several States and non-Governmental actors: local authorities, the private sector, civil society, youth  efforts aimed at promoting what we can call integral ecology, which is a complex and multidimensional concept: it calls for long-term vision; it highlights the inseparability of concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society and interior peace;[5] it is aimed at restoring the various levels of ecological equilibrium, establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God.[6] It makes each of us aware of our responsibility as human beings, towards ourselves, towards our neighbour, towards creation and towards the Creator.
GOOD NEWS! Video captured the moment a pup was rescued from the fire. Thankfully, everyone was evacuated and no injuries were reported.

Video Transcript

- Yeah, good morning. It looks like firefighters have most of the fire, if not all of it, in control here. You can see the second story unit here of this apartment building completely damaged or destroyed that is. But the good news, according to firefighters, is that nobody was hurt.

This is Whitington Drive just West of Dary [? A. ?] This apartment complex, this fire started maybe within the past half hour, or hour and a half, or so. We do want to show you some cell phone video from when that place was really going. You can see the smoke and then flames coming out of that second story unit.

We, again, are still waiting to get information from fire officials on scene here on exactly what happened here. Of course, that takes some time to investigate. But it seems to have started here in that second story unit and may have spread to another one, according to witnesses that we just spoke with. Several trucks also came out to put the fire out.

It is quite the scene on Whitington Drive here. Again, we did talk to a few people at here who watched as firefighters worked to put the fire out. Take a listen.

- And I was coming to the gas station just to grab a couple of things before I went home, and I saw the blazing fire. And I just was worried, and I called 9-1-1 from there. And they said that a call had already been made. So a few minutes after that, they were coming down the road.

- My mother-in-law, she lived in the apartments. She called me and told me of a fire, so I rushed over here. And by the time I got here, all the fire trucks were here.

- All right, back out here live again. You can see the damage in the second story unit of this apartment complex. We're not sure if anybody was home at the time. Again, we're still waiting to get information from the fire officials out here on scene, but they do tell us, the good news is nobody was hurt. As you can see, the fire is now out. We're live in West Houston, I'm TJ Parker, ABC 13, Eyewitness News.
By Anita Komuves

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Thousands of Hungarians, some of them holding banners declaring "Treason", protested on Saturday against a Chinese university's plans to open a campus in Budapest.

Liberal opponents of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban accuse him of cosying up to China, and fear the campus could undercut the quality of higher education and help Beijing increase its influence in Hungary and the European Union.

"I do not agree with our country's strengthening feudal relationship with China," Patrik, a 22-year-old student who declined to give his full name, said at the protest in the Hungarian capital.

He said funds should be used "to improve our own universities instead of building a Chinese one."

The government signed an agreement with Shanghai-based Fudan University in April on building the campus at a site in Budapest where a dormitory village for Hungarian students had previously been planned.

The government has said Fudan is a world-class institution and the campus would "allow students to learn from the best."

MTI news agency quoted Tamas Schanda, a deputy government minister, as saying Saturday's protest was unnecessary and dismissing "political hysteria" based on unfounded gossip and media reports.

Opposition politicians and economists have criticised what they say will be the high costs of the project and a lack of transparency. Budapest's mayor opposes the plan.

"Fidesz is selling out wholesale the housing of Hungarian students, and their future, just so it can bring the elite university of China's dictatorship into the country," the organisers of Saturday's protest said on Facebook.

Beijing said this week "a few Hungarian politicians" were trying to grab attention and obstruct cooperation between China and Hungary.

Orban has built cordial ties with China, Russia and other illiberal governments, while locking horns with Western allies by curbing the independence of scientific research, the judiciary and media.

He faces a unified opposition for the first time since assuming power in 2010 before a parliamentary election due in 2022.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
People wait to get vaccines in Mumbai. The Indian government is involved in a dispute with Twitter over posts about its handling of pandemic. Satish Bate/Hindustan Times/Getty Images

In a letter, a government ministry said the rules took force in May but Twitter didn't comply.

The letter did not elaborate on what consequences Twitter might face.

It comes amid tensions over the state's handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

India's government on Saturday warned Twitter to immediately comply with the country's new social media regulations, which critics say give the government more power to police online content.

Twitter is involved in a tense battle with the Indian government, which has often asked it to restrict content alleging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is trying to silence criticism, including of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to Twitter, the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry said the new rules came into force on May 26, but the social media site so far hasn't complied. It asked Twitter to treat Saturday's letter as a final notice, otherwise the company "shall be liable to consequences," the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The letter did not elaborate on what consequences Twitter might face. There was no immediate comment from Twitter.

Last month, the company said it was in India, days after Indian police visited its office in New Delhi over its labeling of a tweet by a governing party spokesman as "manipulated media."

Twitter said in a statement that "to keep our service available, we will strive to comply with applicable law in India."

"But, just as we do around the world, we will continue to be strictly guided by principles of transparency, a commitment to empowering every voice on the service, and protecting freedom of expression and privacy under the rule of law," it said.

The new rules require internet platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to erase content that authorities deem unlawful and to help with police investigations, including identifying the originators of "mischievous information."

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The ministry's letter Saturday warned Twitter that non-compliance with the new social media regulations could see the company lose its liability protections as an intermediary, meaning Twitter could face lawsuits over content.

Critics accuse Modi's government of silencing criticism on social media, particularly Twitter, a charge senior leaders have denied.

Last month, the messaging app WhatsApp filed a lawsuit in Delhi High Court arguing that new government rules that require it to make messages "traceable" to external parties are unconstitutional and undermine the fundamental right to privacy.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Marco Aquino and Marcelo Rochabrun

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - An Ipsos poll on Saturday afternoon showed Peru's runoff presidential election still locked in a statistical tie, but right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori is slightly ahead of leftist Pedro Castillo, by a 0.7 percentage point margin.

Peruvians will head to the polls on Sunday in a bitterly divisive election that has pitted Fujimori, the daughter of jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori, against Castillo, a little-known elementary school teacher.

Voters are divided by class and geography, with urban and higher-income Peruvians leaning toward Fujimori, and poorer, rural Peruvians leaning toward Castillo.

The Ipsos poll, which was conducted on Saturday and seen by Reuters, puts Fujimori at 44.8% of the vote and Castillo at 44.1% of the vote. Another 11.1% of voters would not vote for either candidate.

Ipsos said the poll had a margin of error of 1.4 percentage points and a sample size of 5,117.

Ipsos follows two other pollsters who have now put Fujimori slightly ahead, although still in statistical-tie territory.

Pollster IEP Saturday morning put Fujimori 0.1 percentage point ahead of Castillo, according to the results seen by Reuters. A poll on Friday by pollster CPI had Fujimori 0.2 percentage point ahead.

The race remains too close to call and all polls show a statistical tie, but Saturday's polls show Fujimori's best performance so far.

It is illegal within Peru to publish polls during the last week before a presidential election, although the surveys can be carried out as long as local media do not publish them.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino and Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Leslie Adler)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Andrew Jenkins went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and scored twice and Georgia Tech rallied to beat Indiana State 7-6 on Friday at the double-elimination Nashville Regional.

A single through the right side by Drew Compton drove in Jenkins from third base to cap a five-run bottom of the seventh give Georgia Tech its first lead of the game. Jake DeLeo led off the inning with a double, Luke Waddell and Justyn-Henry Malloy each had an RBI single and Stephen Reid's two-out single to right field scored Malloy and Tres Gonzales to make it 6-all.

Josiah Siegel (2-0) faced one batter and and threw just two pitches but earned the win for Georgia Tech (30-23). After the Sycamores (30-20) scored two runs in the top of the seventh to stretch their lead to 6-2, Siegel came on with one out and the bases loaded and induced an inning-ending double play.

Luke Bartnicki replaced Siegel to start the eighth and threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn his seventh save of the season.

Grant Magill had a pair of two-run singles for Indiana State. Ellison Hanna II went 3 for 4 with a double and two runs.

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More NCAA baseball tournament coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-world-series
Police display a photo of assault rifles and handguns at a news conference after the 2015 San Bernardino mass shooting. (Chris Carlson / Associated Press)

Families of mass shooting victims, gun control advocates and California officials condemned a federal judges decision to overturn Californias 30-year-old ban on assault weapons, largely because of the manner in which he justified his ruling.

In declaring the ban unconstitutional late Friday, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez compared the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to a Swiss Army knife, calling it good for both home and battle.

Benitez, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush and serves in the Southern District of California, issued a permanent injunction against the laws enforcement but stayed it for 30 days to give the state a chance to appeal.

California is one of seven states, plus Washington, D.C., that ban assault weapons, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

In his 94-page ruling, Benitez wrote that it was unlawful for California to prohibit its citizens from possessing weapons permitted in most other states and allowed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Advocates for the right to bear arms hailed the ruling.

This is by far the most fact-intensive, detailed judicial opinion on this issue ever, said Dave Kopel, an adjunct professor of constitutional law at the University of Denver and adjunct scholar at libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

State Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta called the decision fundamentally flawed and said he would appeal.

There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with Swiss Army knives  especially on Gun Violence Awareness Day and after the recent shootings in our own California communities, Bonta said in a statement.

Last month, a gunman opened fire at a light rail yard in San Jose, killing nine co-workers and dying of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officials said he was armed with three semiautomatic 9-millimeter handguns and 32 high-capacity magazines loaded with additional ammunition.

AR-15s have been used in some of the nations deadliest mass shootings, including the attack at Orlandos Pulse nightclub that killed 49 people in 2016, and one in Las Vegas that killed 58 people in 2017.

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I can assure you  if a Swiss Army knife was used at Pulse, we would have had a birthday party for my best friend last week, Brandon Wolf, who survived the Florida attack, wrote on Twitter. Not a vigil.

Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the ruling made her do a double-take.

I have two daughters, and they read dystopian fiction, like the Hunger Games, and it was kind of like that, she said. It cant be real. Nobody, ever, who is a thinking human being with a heartbeat, could possibly liken a Swiss Army knife to an AR-15.

In response to several mass shootings on his watch, President Biden announced in April that his administration would take steps toward greater gun regulation.

They include a proposal to require background checks for self-assembled firearms  so-called ghost guns  and a law that would allow family members or law enforcement agencies to request a court order to take guns away from a person who is a danger to themselves or others. Nineteen states, including California, have already passed such laws.

Todays decision is a direct threat to public safety and the lives of innocent Californians, period, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday in a statement. The fact that this judge compared the AR-15  a weapon of war thats used on the battlefield  to a Swiss Army knife completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families whove lost loved ones to this weapon.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed in August 2019 by pro-gun groups, including the San Diego County Gun Owners Political Action Committee, California Gun Rights Foundation, Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition.

The plaintiffs also included three San Diego County men who said they own legal rifles or pistols and want to use high-capacity magazines in them but cant, because doing so would turn them into illegal assault weapons under California statutes.

In cases in which the government seeks to limit peoples constitutional rights, such as those guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment, the government has the burden of proving the limitation is helping to advance an important public interest, like reducing mass shootings, Kopel said.

Youre essentially weighing how much of a burden you are inflicting on law-abiding people versus how much you are reducing whatever problem youre trying to deal with, he said. In this case, he said, the judge found that were not getting any reduction in mass shootings, and its imposing quite a severe burden on innocent people, like people who want to have these types of firearms for protection in the home.

Other legal experts found the judges reasoning less compelling.

The judge in this case, in declaring the ban on assault weapons to be a failed policy experiment and therefore unconstitutional, was engaging in his own policy judgment, said Susan Estrich, professor at the USC Gould School of Law. His very reasoning undercuts his own conclusion.

California became the first state to ban the sale of assault weapons in 1989 in response to a shooting at a Stockton elementary school that left five students dead. The ban, signed into law by Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, has been updated multiple times since then to expand the definition of what is considered an assault weapon.

Each time, those who owned the firearms before they were prohibited were required to register them. There are an estimated 185,569 such weapons registered with the state, Benitez said.

In response to the ban soon after it was enacted, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found the 2nd Amendment applied only as a limitation on the federal government, not state governments, Kopel said.

But in 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling saying the 2nd Amendment applies to cities and states, which helped pave the way for this decision, he said.

In the current case, the state attorney generals office argued that assault weapons are more dangerous than other firearms and are disproportionately used in crimes and mass shootings. Similar restrictions have previously been upheld by six other federal district and appeals courts, the state argued.

But the judge said the firearms targeted by the ban are most commonly used for legal purposes.

This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of 2nd Amendment protection, he wrote. The banned assault weapons are not bazookas, howitzers, or machine guns.

In California, murder by knife occurs seven times more often than murder by rifle, he added.

The state is also appealing two other rulings by Benitez: one from 2017 that overturns a ban on buying and selling magazines that hold more than 10 bullets, and another from April of last year that blocks a 2019 law requiring background checks to buy ammunition.

In the case of the assault weapons ban, the decision will almost certainly be stayed beyond 30 days, pending an appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and theres an excellent chance the court will issue a reversal, given its liberal tendencies, Estrich said.

Ultimately, she said, the question may be whether the United States Supreme Court, with its new conservative appointees, sees this as an opportunity to dig into assault weapons bans.

That could imperil gun control laws that are on the books across the country, Brown said.

The Supreme Court overturning these kinds of laws that are designed to promote public safety has huge negative implications, not only for assault weapons bans but for every public safety law that we have ever crafted to regulate guns, including the Brady law. she said, referring to the 1994 requirement that firearm purchasers undergo federal background checks.

So yes, Im very concerned about it.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A Kansas City man has been criminally charged in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection after he apparently on Facebook documented himself climbing the western wall and posting a photograph from the top.

Carey Jon Walden, 47, faces four federal criminal charges, including disorderly or disruptive conduct and unlawfully entering restricted grounds. He was charged last week following an investigation led by the FBI that tracked his personal social media posts and interviewed him in Kansas City, court records show.

Authorities say they received a public tip that Walden may have participated in the capitol riot a little more than a week after the events unfolded. During a February interview with Walden, federal agents say he admitted to being there and entering the building through a broken window.

Several photographs were shared with investigators  some by Walden, others by an unnamed witness  showing Walden scaling the wall. In one photograph, where supporters of former President Donald Trump can be seen gathered on the lawn, he posted the caption: I had just climbed the west wall lol

Carey J. Walden, 47,is charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Court records showed he created social media posts and took photographs and videos documenting his participation.

Walden allegedly provided a written statement to investigators, saying he traveled to Washington D.C. from Kansas City with a busload of other Trump supporters. He pointed out the places he visited on a photocopy map of the grounds while being interviewed by investigators, court records said.

He claimed in his written statement to investigators that he never broke anything while inside the building and was never asked by law enforcement to leave. He also described giving fist-bumps and Devil-horns to a SWAT line.

Walden estimated he spent only a few minutes in the building and left after he heard someone had been shot.

Carey J. Walden, 47,is charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Court records showed he created social media posts and took photographs and videos documenting his participation.

More than 400 people across the country have been charged in connection to the Capitol breach. The breach was part of an unsuccessful effort to thwart the election victory of President Joe Biden.

Over the past few months, several other Kansas City area residents have been taken to federal court with charges related to the insurrection. Among them have been members of the far-right Proud Boys, who have gained national attention for their role in the Capitol breach, including three accused in a larger conspiracy plot.
Police say a store employee pulled out a gun while the suspects were distracted and fired several shots.

Video Transcript

- Now, Breaking news.

- We begin the hour with that breaking news shoppers are running in a panic when shots are fired at Katy Mills Mall. Police tell us it happened when two masked men tried to rob a jewelry store. It is unclear who opened fire, the suspect or the business owner. Nobody was injured. Both robbers escaped in a car that was waiting for them there at the mall.
The good news about Latin America is that the regions economy will rebound much faster than expected, mainly because of a sharp rise in U.S. and Chinese imports. The bad news is that the regions politics will most likely ruin the recovery.

The global economy is expected to rebound by 5.8 percent this year, much more than the previous estimate of 4.2 percent, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD,) a club of mostly industrialized nations. The worldwide recovery will be a big boon for Latin American commodity and manufactured goods exporters.

Brazil, the largest economy in the region, is expected to grow by 3.7 percent this year, Mexicos economy is projected to expand by 5 percent, Argentinas by 6.1 percent, Colombias by 7.6 percent and Chiles by 6.7 percent, according to the OECD estimates.

While some economists had predicted that it would take the region an entire decade to erase the economic losses of the COVID-19 pandemic, the OECD now says it will take much less time. Brazil is likely to reach its pre-pandemic per capita growth rate in mid-2022, Mexico in late 2023 and Argentina in late 2026, it says.

But, as their economies rebound, several countries are on the verge of committing political suicide.

In Peru, extreme leftist candidate Pedro Castillo, a 51-year-old elementary school teacher and union leader, was slightly ahead in the polls days before the June 6 presidential elections.

Although he has moderated his political platform in recent weeks, the government plan he presented when he registered to run for president earlier this year says that his party is leftist socialist and that people have to embrace the Marxist theory.

Even if he loses, Castillo could still remain as a major political force in the country.

In Mexicos mid-term elections on June 6, old-guard populist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is hoping to win a two-thirds majority in Congress that would allow him to reform the constitution and grab additional powers. If he gets that absolute majority, he could feel emboldened to escalate his daily attacks against independent institutions and the media. Mexico could become an increasingly authoritarian state.

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In Colombia, Gustavo Petro, a leftist former mayor of Bogota and ex-member of the guerrilla M-19, is leading in the polls for the elections in May 2022. Top officials of Colombias right-of-center government describe him as a radical who would gradually install a Venezuela-style dictatorship.

In Chile, Latin Americas most prosperous economy in recent decades, far left and anti-establishment candidates  including Communist Party politicians  were among the biggest winners in the May 16 elections to pick members of an assembly that will draft the countrys new constitution.

In Argentina, President Alberto Fernandez recently has changed his foreign policy by, among other things, withdrawing the countrys petition to the International Criminal Court to investigate Venezuela for its near 7,000 extrajudicial executions during the anti-government protests in 2018 and 2019.

Argentina also joined China, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela in demanding a U.N. investigation into Israels use of force in the recent conflict in Gaza, without requesting a similar probe into the Hamas terrorist groups more than 4,000 rockets fired into Israel.

China and Russia became the biggest suppliers of COVID-19 vaccines to Latin America during the Trump administration last year. The Biden administration said recently that it will start sending more than 6 million excess vaccines to Latin America as part of the U.N.s COVAX global-vaccination initiative.

Amid the current rise of world prices for raw materials, there is a real danger of a new wave of commodity-fueled populism in the region. Like in the early 1980s and between 2005 and 2010, populist leaders may squander their new export income in massive short-term giveaways, instead of using the money to diversify their countries exports and for quality education, healthcare and roads, which will produce long-term growth.

Just as bad, the coming economic windfall may go to their heads. They are likely to become increasingly authoritarian, further eroding the rule of law and provoking new stampedes of departing domestic and foreign investors. Last year, foreign investments in the region plunged by 37 percent, according to U.N. figures.

If Venezuelas recent history has shown anything, its that even countries that are most blessed by commodity booms can fall quickly from being among the richest to the poorest in the world. It may happen again  and, unfortunately, in several countries.

Dont miss the Oppenheimer Presenta TV show on Sundays at 8 pm E.T. on CNN en Espanol. Twitter: @oppenheimera
A boater came across an unusual find Wednesday morning on the Ohio River  a black bear appearing to swim across state lines.

The bear was spotted by Teryl Heddleson as he boated between Brilliant, Ohio, and Wellsburg, West Virginia.

A 15-second video Heddleson posted on Facebook shows him coming up near the bear and greeting him as it swims.

Whats up, little guy? Heddleson is heard saying.

His post has been shared more than 3,000 times since Wednesday morning. He called it a pretty cool morning at work as its not often he sees black bears in the water.

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Bears spend a lot of time in the water and are excellent and strong swimmers, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Communications Specialist Jamey Emmert told WTRF.

Social media users got a kick out of the video and some wondered how they would have reacted if they saw a bear in the river.

Imagine if I wouldve seen this kayaking today, one user commented. I wouldve just passed out.

That is absolutely Awesome! one woman told Heddleson. You are so fortunate to see something like this...a once in a lifetime. Made this work day for you a little better.

Heddleson wrote in the comments that the bear swam from West Virginia to Ohio, then went back in the river. A photo showed the bear reach land.
I think they have very good plans for their lessons, Leach said about the college, adding that the professors do not ask for more than they give. She called them amazing and noted that they want students to succeed.
Jun. 5Crystal Salit stood onstage at the Baker Park bandshell Friday morning, looking out at the two dozen students who were part of her graduating class.

She's known many of them for as long as she could remember. Moments before turning her tassel, she recounted a few of her favorite memories: yearly trips to the Great Frederick Fair, field days, spirit weeks, dances. It all happened alongside largely the same group of kids.

"We grew up together. I saw them every day," Salit said in American Sign Language as a teacher interpreted. "I'm really going to miss that."

The 25 members of the Maryland School for the Deaf's graduating Class of 2021 had their moment in the sun Friday, gathered together in the heart of Frederick after a year of largely virtual instruction.

It had been an overcast morning, but the skies were blue by the time the graduates were ready to walk across the stage. Many of them stopped after receiving their diplomas to remove their masks and beam at the crowd, often signing "I love you" and pumping their fists in the air.

But there was sadness, too  and plenty of tears.

"I feel heartbroken," Hanna Johnston-Shaw said. "I'm excited, of course. But this has been a wonderful school to have grown up in."

While lots of MSD students commuted to and from school each day, some  like Enow Otto of Waldorf  lived on campus in the dorms during the week.

Living and playing sports alongside his classmates created a unique "brotherhood" between them, Otto said. Next, he's off to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.  but his peers didn't know that until he announced it to them on Friday. They'd been waiting to find out what he decided, and he kept them in suspense until he'd been handed his diploma.

In response, members of the crowd raised their hands in a cascade of visual applause.

Throughout the ceremony, graduates, teachers and administrators spoke about love and resilience in the face of difficulty. After the pain of the coronavirus pandemic and protests over racial injustice, both topics that featured heavily in student speeches, graduates said they hoped to go forward into the world with courage and confidence.

Story continues

They were glad they could communicate those messages together  in person.

"I'm really happy that we all could get together and be here for this last time before going our separate ways," Johnston said. "It's a nice wrap-up."

And despite the long list of downsides to being a high school senior during a pandemic, Salit said it taught her something important.

"It's been a good lesson for me, for my future," she said. "To cherish every moment."

Follow Jillian Atelsek on Twitter: @jillian_atelsek
A federal deputy candidate launched his campaign inside a coffin to highlight cartel-related violence and pandemic deaths

Mexico's mid-term elections on Sunday have been marred by one of its bloodiest campaigns, even in a country known for its drug cartel wars and soaring homicides.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's governing National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party and its allies are hoping to head off an opposition challenge and keep their majority in the lower house of Congress.

But in recent weeks, Mexican media have been running daily stories of threats, kidnappings, attacks and murders committed against candidates, campaign aides and election officials, that have mostly been blamed on the country's powerful drug cartels and crime groups that permeate local politics.

The cartels - or the "party of organised crime" as government officials call them - have been using bribery and violence to try to influence many of the election races, seeking to lever in candidates favourable to their interests.

Some observers conservatively report an election campaign toll of nearly 90 killed, but others say the number of election-related homicides is closer to 150.

"The election is 6 June, but [organised] crime has already voted," commentator Paola Rojas wrote in leading Mexican daily El Universal on 31 May.

Pandemic handling will be judged

On the political front, Sunday's elections are being viewed as a referendum on the leftist rule of 67-year-old Lopez Obrador, who is popularly known by his initials, Amlo.

The Mexican leader is half way through his six-year term, and the vote will test popular support for his so-called 4T (Fourth Transformation) reformist government project aimed at ending the privileges and corruption of Mexican elites and improving the lot of ordinary citizens.

Mexico has seen more than 2.4m Covid cases and nearly 230,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data

Despite maintaining high approval ratings compared to many of his Latin American peers, Mr Lopez Obrador and his administration have faced increasing criticism for their handling of the Covid-19 pandemic - Mexico remains a regional hotspot - and also for their failure to curb the power of the drug cartels and the crime and violence they inflict on Mexican society.

Story continues

Some critics say the government has surrendered to the cartels, while others chastise the president for prioritising prestige infrastructure projects, such as his Maya Train railway plan, while coronavirus deaths and cases have continued to rise.

Close battle for the lower house

The Mexican leader has also faced media scrutiny at home for his sensitivity to criticism, which some detractors say reveals an authoritarian streak. Relations with northern neighbour the United States have been troubled by concerns over intelligence co-operation in fighting the cartels.

Despite this, Mr Lopez Obrador's Morena party and its allies are aiming to try to hold on to their majority in the lower house of Congress they gained in the 2018 elections, so they can continue to push through legislation in support of the president's agenda.

President Lopez Obrador - in power since 2018 - is hoping his party and its allies can retain control of Mexico's lower house

Mexico's main opposition parties have formed an electoral and legislative alliance, and are seeking to overturn the government's dominance in the legislature.

Recent opinion polls suggest the governing Morena coalition could still come close to retaining its lower house super-majority - 334 seats are required for this - but the battle could be hard fought.

More diverse candidates

With more than 21,000 elected posts at stake, including 500 federal legislators seats, 15 of the 32 state governorships, members of 30 state congresses and nearly 2,000 mayors' positions, the election is being described by observers as the largest and most competitive in Mexico's history.

And although the electoral violence of recent weeks has been depressingly familiar, one brighter spot has been signs of greater diversity in the thousands of candidates running for office.

Transgender mayoral candidate for Zacatelco city, in Tlaxcala state

Daily Excelsior reported on 6 April that there were 43 LGBTQ candidates - a new record for this group - 57 immigrants, 57 individuals with disabilities, 28 from the Afro-Mexican community and 98 members of indigenous communities participating in the elections.
Breonna Taylor, the Black EMT shot and killed by Kentucky police, would have turned 28 on June 5, 2021. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Michelle Obama paid her respects to Breonna Taylor, the Black EMT who was killed by police in her Kentucky home, on her 28th birthday.

Thinking of you today, Breonna, tweeted the former first lady on Saturday, sharing an illustration of the essential worker by painter Amy Sherald.

On March 13, 2020, Taylor died after two Louisville undercover police officers burst into her home, where she lay sleeping with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, and opened fire, striking Taylor five times. Officers Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankison and Jonathan Mattingly of the Louisville Metro Police Department had arrived with a no-knock warrant to search Taylor's home, the address of which her ex-boyfriend had used to mail drugs, reported ABC News.

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When the officers forced open Taylor's door, Walker, a registered gun owner with no criminal record, yelled out to who he believed were intruders but said he heard no response (Mattingly claimed the officers repeatedly yelled, "Police, search warrant!"). So Walker fired his gun and the officers fired back with more than 25 bullets, some of which entered neighboring homes. Walker called 911 for help; however, he was arrested for attempted murder of a police officer.

The killing, which happened only months before the murder of George Floyd by police, sparked a national outcry, and Taylors image became another symbol for the many Black citizens who have been disproportionately shot and killed by law enforcement. According to the Washington Post, which has tracked all fatal shootings by on-duty police officers in the United States since 2015, Although half of the people shot and killed by police are White, Black Americans are shot at a disproportionate rate. They account for less than 13 percent of the U.S. population, but are killed by police at more than twice the rate of White Americans.

In September, Taylors family received a $12 million settlement from the city of Louisville and the charges against Walker were dropped. However, only Hankison faced legal consequences  he was fired and charged with wanton endangerment for the bullets that entered neighboring homes. Hankison pleaded not guilty, and his trial will take place next year. Mattingly is still employed on the police force, and Cosgrove was fired.

Story continues

On Saturday, other public figures acknowledged Taylor, whom her family described to People as the rock to hold everyone together.

"Happy heavenly birthday Breonna!" tweeted Viola Davis. "We will never forget. We will always keep fighting."

We want to be celebrating peoples birthday and graduations while they are alive and thriving not because they were killed by gun violence, tweeted Rosanna Arquette. Today is Breonna Taylors birthday who was killed in her own home by police officers. Rest in power Breonna.

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Breonna Taylor should be celebrating her 28th birthday today, yet not one officer was held accountable for murdering her, tweeted Rep. Cori Bush. That lack of accountability doesnt change the fact that her life mattered. Her joy mattered. Her dreams mattered. And she should be here celebrating today.

While Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., shared a photo montage of Taylor that included her tweet from her birthday in 2018. Bre Day Was A Success! Im Twenty-Fine Now Yall, she wrote.

Taylors mother, Tamika Palmer, shared her own thoughts on her daughters milestone day. Everybody saying Happy 20Gr8 & thats cool but aint nothing happy about you not being where you supposed to be at 20Gr8, she wrote on Instagram. I was robbed, your sister was robbed, your friends was robbed, your family was robbed. But with all that being said the world is showing out for you Breonna I know I wouldnt want it any other way and you dont deserve anything less, but what I will say is Im sorry.

Palmer continued, Im sorry the world you loved and the city you adored traded your life as if you didnt matter, but as I said before Im grateful I raised a Queen to show the world and the city different I couldnt of asked for anything different but you left a legacy with me, your sister, friends & family and we are eternally grateful to you. Happy Birthday Baby WE LOVE YOU!!!

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Massachusetts investigators have named a dead rapist as a person of interest in the 2000 abduction and murder of a 16-year-old lifeguard.

Francis "Frank" P. Sumner Sr., who died in 2016, may have had a role in the slaying of Molly Bish, whose remains were found in the woods three years after she went missing from Comins Pond in Warren, where she was working on June 27, 2000, according to the Worcester County District Attorneys Office.

When Molly went missing, they found her shoes, radio and med kit left in her lifeguard chair  kicking off a massive search effort that turned up nothing.

A hunter found her remains about 10 miles away in the woods of Whiskey Hill in Palmer, according to investigators.

Prosecutors are asking for the publics help collecting evidence on Sumners employment practices, associates, employees, vehicles, travel and known habits.

Sumner had a lengthy criminal record including a conviction for kidnapping and rape in the 1980s, the Boston Herald reported.

They said they had named Sumner a person of interest after receiving unspecified new information Thursday.

EVIDENCE IN MOLLY BISH MURDER SENT TO TEXAS LAB

Investigators also shared images of Sumner that share a striking resemblance with a 2001 sketch showing her possible abductor.

Anyone with information on Sumner is asked to contact the Worcester County District Attorneys Offices anonymous tip line at 508-453-7575.

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Investigators had previously looked at other potential suspects, including the convicted killer Rodney Stranger, who was living in Southbridge, Mass., around the time of the girls disappearance and soon moved to Summerfield, Fla. He is already in prison serving a 25-year sentence for stabbing his ex-girlfriend in 2008.

Fox News Cristina Corbin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stephen M. Keller/Southwest Airlines

A Muslim woman filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation against Southwest Airlines.

Fatima Altakrouri said the airline denied her an exit row seat because of her hijab.

Altakrouri told USA Today she heard flight attendants saying, "if we sat her there, she'd bring down the plane in an emergency."

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Muslim woman from Texas said Southwest Airlines discriminated against her for wearing a hijab.

Fatima Altakrouri told NBC DFW she was denied the chance to sit in an emergency exit row while her sister, who wasn't wearing a veil, was not.

The two were flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Dallas, Texas, on May 22. Altakrouri said she and her sister, Muna Kowni, saw the emergency exit row had the last two seats near each other on the plane.

Altakrouri said she asked a flight attendant whether she could sit there and was told she couldn't. She also overheard a flight attendant say she "couldn't speak English and would bring the whole plane down in an emergency," according to a release on Altakrouri's complaint from the Dallas-Fort-Worth chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"I told her twice, 'She speaks English," Kowni told USA Today. "She's spoken English in front of her."

Altakrouri told multiple outlets she has filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation.

Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Spokesperson Brandy King told USA Today that the company's internal reports "do not support claims made by the passenger regarding comments or decisions being made based upon appearance."

"The safety of our passengers is paramount, and individuals seated in an exit row are required to verbally indicate that they can perform certain duties in flight," King's statement continued. "Our Crew is responsible for getting that confirmation from a passenger before seating them in an overwing exit row and was unable to gain acknowledgment from the passenger during boarding. Therefore, as a courtesy, the Crew offered her an alternate seat."

Southwest has been in hot water for alleged discriminatory behavior in the past. In October of last year, for example, Southwest apologized to a 22-year-old woman who was barred from boarding a flight to Chicago for wearing a "lewd, obscene, and offensive" top.

Read the original article on Insider
By Chijioke Ohuocha

ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigerian telecoms firms blocked access to Twitter on Saturday following a regulatory directive aimed at suspending the U.S. social media giant indefinitely, a move criticised by rights campaigners and diplomats as a gag on free speech.

Nigeria's government said on Friday it had suspended Twitter's activities indefinitely, two days after the platform removed a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists in the West African country.

Following the suspension, the country's attorney general ordered an immediate prosecution of those who break rules banning Twitter. He did not provide details of who would be targeted.

"Based on national interest provisions ... our members have acted in compliance with the directives of the Nigerian Communications Commission," the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said, confirming the suspension.

Information Minister Lai Mohammed said on Friday the government had acted because of "the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence".

He did not say what form the suspension would take.

Buhari's government, which runs Africa's largest economy, last year proposed legislation to regulate social media following protests against alleged police brutality which were galvanized by a campaign on Twitter.

The demonstrations demanding police reforms drew global attention.

Twitter said on Saturday it will work to restore access for all those in Nigeria who rely on the platform to communicate and connect with the world, posting another tweet the day after it said the suspension was "deeply concerning".

Rights group Amnesty International condemned Twitter's suspension in a tweet and called on Nigerian authorities to "immediately reverse the unlawful suspension and other plans to gag the media, repress the civic space, and undermine Nigerians' human rights".

Story continues

Buhari, who was Nigeria's military ruler in the 1980s, has previously been accused of cracking down on freedom of expression. His government has denied such accusations.

Gill Atkinson, the British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, wrote in a tweet on Saturday that "all Nigerians have the right to freedom of speech and the responsibility not to misuse that right".

"Any action taken by government must be measured, proportionate and not suppress basic freedoms," she said.

(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha Additional reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos, and Paul Carsten and Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Editing by Alexander Smith, Helen Popper and Clelia Oziel)
Former President Obama accused Republicans of "rigging the game" by passing laws that restrict voting in response to baseless claims of widespread election fraud fueled by former President Trump.

Why it matters: Obama said during a virtual Economic Club of Chicago event on Friday that businesses have "a big responsibility" to speak out against the Republican-sponsored bills.

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Context: At least two states  Georgia and Florida  have passed voting restriction laws in the aftermath of the 2020 election, though more than 100 of such bills had been introduced in state legislatures this year.

Texas Republicans almost passed voter suppression legislation last week, but the effort was blocked by state Democrats, who held a walkout of the legislature in protest of the bill.

What they're saying: Obama said the bills and Republicans' embrace or indifference to Trumps election lies were the kind of dangerous behavior that were going to have to push back on.

It really has to do with the basic rules by which we all have agreed to keep this diverse, multiracial democracy functioning, he added. Are we going to stick to those rules or are we going to start rigging the game in a way that breaks it? And thats not going to be good for business, not to mention not good for our soul.

The big picture: Over 100 companies publicly opposed Georgia's legislation curbing voting access, though Gov. Brian Kemp (R) dismissed the corporate backlash and signed the bill into law in March.

Major corporations like HP, Microsoft and Unilever urged Texas state lawmakers to reject their voting bill, which may pass during a special session later this year.

Go deeper: Biden taps Harris to lead administration's efforts on voting rights

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New Orleans police say no charges will be filed at this time against a man who shot and killed a suspected home invader on Thursday night in the French Quarter, FOX8 reports.

The suspected home invader was banging on the door and lunged at the homeowner when he opened it, according to the local news outlet.

Neighbors told the Times Picquayne and the New Orleans Advocate that before the shooting, they saw a man who appeared to be intoxicated pulling on door handles in the neighborhood as well as knocking on doors.

TORNADO WREAKS HAVOC IN NEW ORLEANS, DAMAGING HOMES AND KNOCKING DOWN UTILITY POLES

"A lot of violence happens at 3 or 4 a.m.," a French Quarter resident, Dereck Terry, told the local newspaper. "But I could have easily been riding my bike during this."

Crime has surged in New Orleans in 2021. Armed robberies are up 25.5%, aggravated assaults are up 44.8%, homicides with a firearm are up 22.4%, and non-fatal shootings are up 79.5%, according to the New Orleans City Council Crime Dashboard.

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No charges will be filed in Thursday night's shooting, FOX8 reports.

Louisiana's stand your ground doctrine states that, "A person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and who is in a place where he or she has a right to be shall have no duty to retreat before using deadly force and may stand his or her ground and meet force with force."
A disciplinary panel has unanimously recommended a Kansas prosecutor be disbarred for carrying out what they described as a deliberate pattern of misconduct.

Prosecutor Jacqie Spradling took a win at all costs approach, that resulted in the reversal of two high-profile cases, the panel said in its 78-page report issued June 3.

Spradlings case was heard before the three-member panel in December after two complaints were made to Kansas Office of the Disciplinary Administrator.

The first complaint was submitted in July 2016 by attorney Keen Umbehr, who said Friday that he was pleased with the panels recommendation for disbarment.

It was absolutely appropriate, well supported with statements and authorities, and parts of the transcript and other documents. It is iron clad, Umbehr said. The harm that she has caused to the reputation of the administration of justice is incalculable.

Umbehr made the complaint following a 2012 double murder trial in Shawnee County. Dana Chandler, 61, was convicted of killing her ex-husband and his fiancee.

A second complaint was made after Jacob Ewing was convicted of rape and other sex crimes in 2017 in Holton, north of Topeka.

Spradling, who is listed as the Bourbon County attorney, was accused of using misstatements and misdirection to persuade juries in both cases and making references to evidence that did not exist.

In overturning the Chandler case, the Kansas Supreme Court said Spradling engaged in prosecutorial misconduct. The disciplinary office said Spradling made seven errors during the trial, including presenting evidence that was not true, making an improper comment in hopes of gaining sympathy, and disregarding a judges order to avoid making reference to people attending the trial.

Chandlers second trial is scheduled for March 2022.

The Ewing case was reversed by the Kansas Court of Appeals, which said Spradling misstated evidence and made comments intended to inflame the passions and prejudices of the jury.

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Ewings case was remanded back to district court. He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery earlier this year, according to The Associated Press.

During the December hearing, Spradlings attorney LJ Leatherman said Spradlings conduct was not intentional. Leatherman did not respond to an emailed request for comment on Friday.

The panels recommendation will be heard by the Kansas Supreme Court, which will issue a final decision.
Chewing on coca leaves and brandishing whips, 15 Peruvian peasants patrol the paths around an Andean hamlet in the dead of night, just like presidential candidate Pedro Castillo once did.

The "peasant patrols" were created more than four decades ago in the Cajamarca region some 900 kilometers north of the capital Lima, initially to prevent the theft of livestock.

But during Peru's armed conflict between 1980 and 2000, the patrols were also forced to fight off incursions by Maoist Shining Path guerrillas.

One patrolman in Cajamarca was Castillo, a rural schoolteacher who was born and raised in this region, and who will take on seasoned corruption-tainted politician Keiko Fujimori in Sunday's second round runoff.

The patrolmen of rural Peru feel marginalized by elites ruling from the urban power centers, but socialist Castillo is one of their own.

They're pinning their hopes on him winning and providing more support to the rural poor.

"We hope to elect a democratic government that views the whole population as equals," Aladino Burga, the president of the Chota Peasant Patrols in Cajamarca, told AFP.

"Castillo needs to win because we get screwed a lot in Peru. We want jobs for the poor, we want Peru to progress," added Dagoberto Vasquez, a hat seller who has led patrols around the hamlet of San Antonio de Iraca for decades.

One thing the patrolmen are banking on is Castillo putting an end to the corruption that has gripped Peruvian politics for decades.

Former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) is currently serving a 25-year jail sentence for crimes against humanity and corruption, while four more ex-presidents since his rule have also been accused of corruption.

And Fujimori's daughter, Keiko, is herself being investigated for graft relating to illegal funding for her previous presidential campaigns in 2011 and 2016.

"I'm convinced Castillo will win because he's a professor and won't get involved in corruption," said Vasquez, 82. "Because if he does get involved in that, we'll kick him out!"

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- Community policing -

The 15 patrolmen, dressed in ponchos and rubber boots, some wearing high-topped hats like Castillo, and chewing the coca leaves that are popular in Andean communities for alleviating feelings of hunger and fatigue, perform daily nighttime rounds in Chota, a municipality at 2,300 meters above sea level.

The patrols are a form of voluntary community policing in rural areas with little police presence.

During the 1980s, these patrols extended across almost all of rural Peru.

An AFP team accompanied the 15 patrolmen one night through corn, alfalfa and vegetable plantations in Cuyumalca, the site of the first ever patrol in 1976.

At one point they stopped a man in his 60s who was walking in the dark with two horses, questioning him on where he lived and trying to find out if he really owned the animals.

Unimpressed with his answers, they took him back to their shelter to spend the night.

The next morning they would fill out a report and continue their investigations.

If he were found to be telling the truth he would be released, if not, he would be handed over to the police.

The patrolmen also stop suspicious vehicles to verify the occupants' identities and find out what they're up to.

- 'Betting on change' -

"I feel fulfilled because we've brought peace, tranquility to the community. The people feel protected," Segundo Belizario Heredia Idrogo, 61, told AFP.

He said the patrols "emerged as a response to the lack of state protection for the rights of people in rural areas."

"We're betting on change and we're betting on Pedro Castillo. We hope Pedro Castillo won't betray Peruvians," said Heredia, who carried a wooden stick and a leather whip.

"If he does, we'll be in the streets demanding more democracy and justice for Peru."

"We're proud that Castillo was a patrolman," said Heredia, who has two patrolmen sons and like Castillo is a teacher.

There are 26,000 patrolmen amongst the population of 143,000 in the Chota province, but they complain of never having had support from the state, which they view as biased towards urban centers like the capital Lima.

cm/fj/ljc/bc/caw
By Marco Aquino

LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian socialist presidential candidate Pedro Castillo slipped further in public opinion polls on Friday, setting up what appeared to be a dead heat against right-wing Keiko Fujimori two days before Sunday's runoff election.

In a poll by Ipsos seen by Reuters, Castillo led by 0.9 percentage point, while a poll by CPI, also seen by Reuters, had Fujimori ahead by 0.2 percentage point, the first time the right-wing candidate has led her leftist rival.

The highly polarized election pits Fujimori, the daughter of jailed ex-President Alberto Fujimori, against Castillo, a little-known elementary school teacher and union leader who has campaigned on a socialist platform.

Polls have shown Fujimori catching up to the current statistical tie with Castillo, who has been the favorite since the first round vote in April.

The Ipsos poll had a 2.8% error margin while the CPI poll had a 2.5% error margin.

It is illegal within Peru to publish polls during the last week before a presidential election, although those surveys can still be carried out as long as local media do not publish them.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino and Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by William Mallard)
Mice scurrying around stored grain on a farm near Tottenham, Australia, on May 19, 2021. Rick Rycroft/AP

The poison that is being used to cull Australia's mouse infestation is damaging the native wildlife.

Experts say birds in New South Wales have died after ingesting poison intended for mice.

The infestation has ravaged large parts of southeast Australia.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The poisonous bait that is being used to eradicate a huge mouse plague ravaging large parts of Australia is having a deadly effect on native wildlife, experts have warned.

Earlier this week, an image of dozens of Galah Cockatoo birds dead in a cemetery in Parkes, New South Wales, went viral after it was shared on Facebook by Kelly Lacey, a volunteer for the NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES).

In the post, she said: "Seeing them sitting with each other under trees, knowing they were suffering until they have eventually died, has utterly broke me. Found 2 still alive, sadly 1 died on way home. (whatever the poison was it is more potent then I have experienced, and they have bled internally)."

Later during an interview with The Guardian, Lacey said that she found over 100 dead Galahs in the cemetery.

"I received a call from another WIRES member, saying 'I think you might want to see this, there are dead galahs everywhere,'" she told the newspaper. "My heart sank. When I arrived and began collecting all the dead bodies I was in shock."

In a statement released earlier this week, the New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency asked the public to "think carefully" about the location and amount of poisonous bait that is being used after an investigation by the organization found that dozens of birds in the state had died after ingesting the poison.

"The safe baiting of mice is an important step in reducing mice numbers and pesticide users must make sure they handle baits safely and are careful to always follow the directions on the label to protect their family, neighbors, domestic animals, wildlife, and the environment from harm," the statement read.

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Dead Galah birds in Parkes, New South Wales. Kelly Lacey/Facebook

A mixture of poisonous bait and other deadly traps have been deployed across southeast Australia to deal with the huge rise in mice populations. Experts say that the infestation is the result of wet weather that has provided ample food for the mice, fueling their fast reproductive cycle.

Farmers across the region have felt the brunt of the infestation with reports of mice ravaging crops, destroying farming equipment, and causing electricity blackouts. The state government has called the plague "absolutely unprecedented" and warned that it could cause huge economic damage.

The NSW Farmers Association, an agricultural group in the state, estimated that the plague could cost farmers a total of 1 billion Australian dollars ($771,000) during the winter crop season, which runs from June to August, the AP reported.

Earlier this month, Adam Marshall, the agriculture minister for New South Wales, announced a $50m support package to help farmers that include the wide-scale use of bromadiolone, a poison described as "napalm" for mice.

"It'll be the equivalent of napalming mice across rural NSW," Marshall told the ABC. "This chemical, this poison, will eliminate mice that take these baits within 24 hours."

Read the original article on Insider
Jun. 4Police are investigating a shooting Thursday evening in Pittsburgh's Carrick neighborhood that left one man dead, officials said.

Shortly after 5:30 p.m., emergency dispatchers received several 911 calls about someone getting shot near the 300 block of Kirk Avenue, Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said.

Officers responding from Pittsburgh's Zone 3 station arrived to find a man with "critical gunshot wounds" beside a vehicle, according to Cruz. Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Robert Thomas, 36, of Pittsburgh.

"Witnesses told police they saw two male actors flee the area," Cruz said.

No further information about the shooting or possible suspects was immediately available.

Detectives from Pittsburgh police's Major Crimes and Crime Scene Unit were processing the crime scene and gathering evidence.

Natasha Lindstrom is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Natasha at 412-380-8514, nlindstrom@triblive.com or via Twitter .
SAN FRANCISCO - It can feel abstract: a group of organized but faceless criminals hijacking corporate computer systems and demanding millions of dollars in exchange for their safe return. But the impact of these ransomware attacks is increasingly, unavoidably, real for everyday people.

These crimes have resulted in missed chemotherapy appointments and delayed ambulances, lost school days, and transportation problems. A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May led to gas shortages and even dangerous situations caused by panic buying. This past week, hackers compromised the JBS meat processing company, leading to worries about meat shortages or other key food providers being at risk. Last fall, the Baltimore County Public Schools system was hit with ransomware and forced to halt classes for two days, which were being held virtually.

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As recently as Wednesday, ransomware attacks were causing problems across the country. In Martha's Vineyard, the ferry service transporting people to and from the Massachusetts island said it had been hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted its ticketing and reservation process. Ferries continued operating all week, but the ticketing system was still affected, causing delays, on Friday.

The recent spate of high-profile ransomware incidents is exactly what cybersecurity professionals have been warning about for years. But it's partially the impact on everyday people - far from the executive suites, cybersecurity companies, or government agencies that regularly fret about the criminal enterprise - that has made the risk more visible. The ripple effects of ransomware can result in everything from mild inconvenience to people losing their lives, and it's only increased in frequency during the pandemic.

"It's not only that it's getting worse, but it's the worst possible time for it to happen," said Robert Lee, chief executive of Dragos, an industrial cybersecurity firm. He says on average, there are likely 20 to 30 big ransomware cases happening behind the scenes in addition to the ones making headlines.

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Ransomware attacks are not new. The money at stake has changed drastically, however, inflating from thousands to millions of dollars, and the targets are more sophisticated as well. The increasing number of companies connecting their systems and adding more remote access points, along with things like the widespread use of bitcoin, have widened the pool of targets. Cybercriminals once focused on small companies and individuals but have made headlines this year for attacks on higher-profile victims.

"Now you've got ransomware affecting whole corporate networks, interrupting critical national function, causing disruption in people's lives. It's really become a national security, public health and safety threat," said Michael Daniel, president and CEO of the nonprofit group Cyber Threat Alliance.

The ransomware industry has grown but the underlying techniques for gaining access have largely stayed the same. Hackers commonly access companies' systems through "phishing" attacks - emails sent to try to trick employees into giving up passwords or access. Once inside a company's system, ransomware outfits will find critical information and lock it down, then contact a company to demand a ransom for it to be released.

These criminals generally work in loosely defined groups, sharing tips and resources that make it possible for individual hackers to easily extort multiple targets. Companies occasionally have backup copies of their systems that they can restore rather than pay a ransom. But that can result in delays, and sometimes hackers make copies of the information they access and threaten to leak private information online if they are not paid. A big data leak could be a huge issue for consumers, not just the companies.

"There's this awful downward spiral of societal harm that happens from ransomware," said Megan Stifel, co-chair of the ransomware task force and an executive director at the Global Cyber Alliance.

The Colonial Pipeline attack was one of the many worst-case scenarios experts have been warning about, and planning for, for years. A ransomware attack last month caused the company to shut down its pipeline connecting Texas to New Jersey.

Panicked that they wouldn't be able to get enough fuel, drivers swarmed gas stations, resulting in long lines and barren gas pumps in parts of the U.S. Drivers hoarded fuel as stations ran out of their supply, exacerbating the issue. The attack sparked a real-world fire in a Florida town, according to local news reports, when a Hummer burst into flames after the driver filled up four gas containers. The panic buying even prompted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a long tweet thread about gas safety, including a message that quickly went viral: "Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline."

People's safety has been even more directly threatened by attacks on health care systems. Hospitals have been particularly hard hit, as far back as 2016 when the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical hospital paid $17,000 in bitcoin to a ransomware hacker. Last November, the University of Vermont Medical Center was hit by ransomware and it took nearly a month for it to regain access to its medical records. Chemotherapy patients had their treatments delayed, and were sent to other health centers where some had to re-create their medical history.

Joshua Corman, the chief strategist for health care and covid on the government's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency COVID Task Force, has been studying the potential impact of health-care attacks on mortality rates. For example, if a hospital has to close suddenly, ambulances might take longer to reach people in distress.

"Minutes can be the difference between life and death for heart attacks, and hour or two can be the difference for a stroke," said Corman.

Lee, the head of Dragos, recently worked with a power company that got hit with a ransomware attack but was able to maintain operations. However, attacks like that could easily result in localized power shortages, he says. Attacks on pharmaceutical companies, or any of the manufacturers in their pipeline, could delay critical medicine like insulin or even vaccines. The increased targeting of industries with the most potential for disruption may be the criminals' business decision.

"It feels like these groups realize industrial companies are more ready to pay out and more quick to pay out, because if you impact industrial operations you have to get up and going for safety and community," said Lee.

Beyond the physical inconveniences, ransomware attacks can also hurt public trust in technology and systems, and cause people to worry they'll be a victim or to panic-buy products they think will see a price hike or be in short supply, according to Stifel.

Panic after attacks is part of the problem. This past week's attack on JBS, one of the largest meat-processing companies in the world, resulted in temporary factory shutdowns. While there were not yet any confirmed meat shortages in the U.S., worried meat suppliers still warned consumers not to panic-buy beef, which could cause otherwise still stable prices to go up.

From higher gas prices to canceled surgeries, real-world financial and consumer safety implications of these hacks have spurred the federal government to crack down on ransomware. It's investigating the causes, working on guidelines, and urging corporate America to take cybersecurity protections seriously.

"We've been warning about this overtly for more than eight years and a lot more quietly for longer, but now that its manifested, the silver lining is that we're not starting ice cold," said CISA's Corman.

- - -

The Washington Post's Rachel Lerman contributed to this report.

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Security analysts from the University of Minnesota warned the U.S. Agriculture Department in late May about a growing danger  a cyber crime known as ransomware that could wreak more havoc on Americans food sources than Covid-19 did.

A week and a half later, the prediction became reality as a ransomware attack forced the shutdown of meat plants that process more than a fifth of the nations beef supply in the latest demonstration of hackers ability to interrupt a critical piece of the U.S. economy.

The hack of the global meatpacking giant JBS last weekend is also the starkest example yet of the food systems vulnerability to digital threats, especially as internet technology and automation gain an increasing role across farmlands and slaughterhouses. But federal oversight of the industrys cybersecurity practices remains light, despite years of warnings that an attack could bring consequences ranging from higher grocery prices to contaminated food.

Virtually no mandatory cybersecurity rules govern the millions of food and agriculture businesses that account for about a fifth of the U.S. economy  just voluntary guidelines exist. The two federal agencies overseeing the sector include the USDA, which has faced criticism from Congress for how it secures its own data. And unlike other industries that have formed information-sharing collectives to coordinate their responses to potential cyber threats, the food industry disbanded its group in 2008.

Now, food producers need to face the fact that disruptive cyberattacks are part of what Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack calls their new reality.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del.

National security threats to the agricultural supply chain havent received enough attention across the entire federal government, argued Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who serves on both the House Intelligence and Agriculture committees.

Too often agriculture is dismissed as: Its important but its not that big a deal, Crawford said in an interview. If you eat, youre involved in agriculture. We all need to recognize that its a vital industry and this [incident] illustrates that.

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The North American Meat Institute, which represents meatpackers, declined to comment on the state of the industrys cybersecurity measures or potential changes following the hack.

The downside of 'enormous technology'

The cry of alarm from the University of Minnesotas Food Protection and Defense Institute arrived in the most unassuming of packages: as one of more than 180 official comments filed to the USDA related to a presidential order about securing the nations supply chains .

Fast-spreading ransomware attacks could simultaneously block operations at many more plants than were affected by the pandemic, the institute warned in its May 18 filing , noting that Covid-19 last year forced a shutdown of slaughterhouses that prompted fears of meat shortages and price spikes.

It was just the latest in a series of warnings from national security and law enforcement agencies, private cybersecurity companies and academic researchers.

In November, the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said in a report that its threat-hunting service had witnessed a tenfold increase in interactive  or hands-on-keyboard  intrusions affecting the agriculture industry over the previous 10 months. Adam Meyers, the companys senior vice president of intelligence, said that of the 160 hacking groups or gangs the company tracks, 13 have been identified in targeting agriculture.

A 2018 report from the Department of Homeland Security examined a range of cyber threats facing the industry as it adopts digitized precision agriculture, while the FBI said in April 2016 that agriculture is  increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks as farmers become more reliant on digitized data.

The industry also offers plentiful targets: As the Department of Homeland Securitys cyber agency notes , the ag and food sector includes an estimated 2.1 million farms, 935,000 restaurants, and more than 200,000 registered food manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities, almost all under private ownership.

For decades, however, most farmers and foodmakers have prized productivity over all else, including security  trying to eke out profits in an industry with chronically narrow margins and meet the growing global demand for food. In the quest for efficiency, meat plants are ratcheting up their processing line speeds and investing in robotics to more quickly carve up carcasses. Farmers are adopting high-tech innovations like drones, GPS mapping, soil sensors and autonomous tractors, with vast data behind it all.

All that connectivity and automation comes at a cost.

This is part of the downside of having an enormous technology, enormous capacity to turn a lot of data and become more efficient, Vilsack said. There are risks associated with that.

'No industry is off limits'

The disruption to JBS, which controls nearly a quarter of Americas cattle processing, has raised concerns mainly about the impact on meat markets. USDA data shows wholesale beef prices have steadily ticked higher each day since the hack, with choice cuts climbing above $341 per hundred pounds as of Thursday morning.

Higher prices are just one of many potential consequences. Cyberattacks could also lead to the sale of tainted food to the public, financial ruin for producers, or even the injury and death of plant workers, according to the Food Protection and Defense Institute, a DHS-recognized group.

In its public comments to USDA, the institute highlighted gaping holes in the industrys preparedness, including a general lack of awareness throughout the sector and scant guidance from government regulators. It also noted that large parts of the industry rely on decades-old, custom-written software that is essentially impossible to update, along with outdated operating systems like Windows 98.

The agriculture industry probably lags behind some of the other industries that have been hit harder by cyber crime like the financial sector, which has long been a prime target for criminals, said Michael Daniel, president and chief executive of the Cyber Threat Alliance, a nonprofit organization.

However, the JBS hack, just like the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May and the ensuing gasoline-buying panic, shows that no industry is off limits, he added. Ransomware operators are going to go wherever they think they can extract money.

Daniel, a cyber coordinator during the Obama administration, said he would recommend that industry executives take basic steps like assessing their companies digital preparedness and reviewing federal security guidelines.

What I would be telling them is: You really need to be thinking about how you manage your cybersecurity risk, just like you manage commodity price risk, just like you manage natural disaster risk, just like you manage legal risk, Daniel said.

The White House similarly advised all companies on Thursday to harden their defenses, including by installing the latest software updates and requiring extra authentication for anyone logging onto their systems.

Meyers, from CrowdStrike, said seriousness with which cybersecurity is regarded varies depending on who youre talking to in the ag industry. He said multinational conglomerates that have intellectual property worth protecting make it a priority, but as you get down the food chain, so to speak, they probably think about it less seriously.

The JBS hack is the big wake-up call for all these small, medium and large businesses. You can't stick your head in the sand, and hope it's not going to happen to you because it is, Meyers said. You need to be prepared, and you need to get yourself ready to fight. Because if you don't, you're going to be paying a ransom and somebody's going to be eating your lunch.

A call for Congress to act

Congress may need to step in to help fix the situation, said Crawford, the House member from Arkansas, who reintroduced legislation earlier this year that would establish an intelligence office within USDA. The office would serve as a conduit for the department to keep farmers informed of threats to their livelihood, including espionage and cyber operations by malign actors.

A key reason the industry isnt prepared against dangers like ransomware is that the U.S. intelligence community hasnt considered the national security threats to agriculture as much as it should, Crawford argued.

He added that communication must go both ways: Companies need to have their cyber experts share what they see with their government counterparts. No such requirements exist for the food and ag industry.

What I would advise the private sector to do is be proactive on these things as possible, according to Crawford, who is organizing a business intelligence and supply chain integrity forum this summer that will feature cybersecurity experts, government officials and representatives from the clandestine community to educate local businesses about digital threats.

USDA has not proposed any significant policy changes following the JBS attack, instead asking food and agriculture companies to take voluntary steps to safeguard their IT and infrastructure from cyber threats. Vilsack on Thursday pointed to guidelines from DHS' Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that companies can adopt for their own protection.

Theres no shortage of policy recommendations from experts in the field. Most proposals involve educating industry leaders and employees, setting minimum standards for cyber safety or improving coordination between companies and agencies.

Another step recommended by the Food Protection and Defense Institute: USDA and DHS should work with the industry to create a cyber threats clearinghouse  known as an information sharing and analysis center  to collaborate on studying and addressing digital risks.

Other critical industries, including the electricity and financial sectors, already have their own ISACs, but the food industry does not. Instead, some food and ag companies have joined a broader information-sharing group that covers the information technology industry, said Scott Algeier, executive director of the IT-ISAC.

They wanted to engage with other companies but did not have an ISAC. So they applied to us, said Algeier, whose organization also provides a threat-sharing forum for the elections industry.

The nonprofit Internet Security Alliance has called for federal grants and other incentives for food companies to step up their cyber defenses.

Increasing cybersecurity will cost money, and finding the additional funding will not be simple for the sector since it is governed by tight margins and faces a highly competitive world market, the group wrote on its website.

Helena Bottemiller Evich contributed to this report.
You know, if youre not into chat shows, theres no reason why you should know who she is, said the royal

A royal family members comments about media mogul Oprah Winfrey have received backlash online.

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, in an interview for The Telegraph with her husband Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex minimized Oprahs career successes.

STAFFORD, ENGLAND  NOVEMBER 11: Sophie, Countess of Wessex looks at names of the fallen on the Armed Forces Memorial during Armistice Day commemorations at the National Memorial Arboretum on November 11, 2020 in Stafford, England. A small number of visitors were invited to watch in person, however, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the service was also streamed on YouTube and Facebook. (Photo by Darren Staples  WPA/Getty Images)

Sophie said, You know, if youre not into chat shows, theres no reason why you should know who she is  certainly not in this country anyway.

The comment came after it was revealed that the Archbishop of Canterbury had a long conversation with Winfrey during Prince Harry and Meghan Markles 2018 wedding and he apparently didnt know who she was.

The comments come three months after the infamous televised interview with Winfrey, Prince Harry, and Markle where they discussed their departure from the royal family.

During the interview, the couple addressed comments made by members of the royal family regarding their son Archies skin color. They also spoke about Harrys fear of history repeating itself in reference to the 1997 death of his mother Princess Diana.

In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, we have in tandem the conversation of he wont be given security, hes not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when hes born, Markle told Winfrey in March.

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According to the Associated Press, Buckingham Palace released a statement calling the accusations around Archies race concerning.

While some recollections may vary, they are taken seriously and will be addressed by the family privately, the press release said.

When asked by the interviewer about the recent comments made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the couple brushed off the question.

What interview? Sophie responded. Edward chimed in jokingly that he hadnt heard about the interview.

The relationship between Prince Harry, 36, and the royal family has remained cold, and he has continued to hurl criticism towards his father, Prince Charles, 72.

Story continues

In the third episode of the AppleTV+ series with Winfrey called The Me You Cant See surrounding mental health, Harry said: My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to William and I, Well, it was like that for me, so its gonna be like that for you. That doesnt make sense.

Just because you suffered, it doesnt mean that your kids have to suffer. In fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever experiences, negative experiences that you had, you can make it right for your kids.

He added that he and his wife chose to put our mental health first, which he says his father still doesnt understand.

The remarks have ignited a back-and-forth between people online with some supporters criticizing the media for taking the Countess of Wessexs comments out of context.

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The Rumble Online criticized the outrage, noting, In no way was the couple disparaging Oprahs work or achievements, but The Oprah Winfrey Show never aired in the UK, it didnt have the following it had in the US  it doesnt take away from the impact that Oprah has had on the media world of wider.

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Twitter user Jennifer Chaung asked whether Royal Editor Omid Scobie took an issue with Sophies statements and if the Oprah Winfrey Show aired in the United Kingdom. It aired on British TV in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, he responded.

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Jun. 5At a recently held board meeting, members of the Saint Jo Independent School District Board of Trustees honored senior Kaili Gaston.

Gaston earned her associate's degree from North Central Texas College, as well as her high school diploma from Saint Jo ISD. Gaston is the Valedictorian of the Saint Jo ISD 2021 graduating class, according to a news release from the district.

The dual credit partnership between Saint Jo ISD and NCTC began 13 years ago with a limited number of classes being offered and has grown exponentially to what it is today. Gaston has accomplished what Saint Jo ISD and NCTC outlined as a vision for the future of dual credit by earning an associate's degree while attending high school. Gaston plans to attend Texas A&M University and pursue a degree in Biomedical Science, according to school officials.

"Our school district cannot be more thankful for the partnership with NCTC, as well as the tremendous financial support of our Saint Jo ISD Education Foundation," Saint Jo ISD Superintendent Curtis Eldridge said in the release.

The Saint Jo ISD Education Foundation has assisted in the dual credit funding of core courses required of a high school diploma. The tuition assistance provided by the foundation is a result of donations from many local, regional, and state contributors, according to the release.

Gaston joins a "prestigious list" of graduates that have attained a Saint Jo ISD diploma and a NCTC associate's degree concurrently, school officials said.
Gordon had traveled from Israel to Baltimore for a weeks visit to attend his cousins wedding. When he was shot in the Glen neighborhood, he was walking back to his aunt and uncles house, Councilman Isaac Yitzy Schleifer previously said.
A nonprofit affiliated with the late former President George H.W. Bush agreed to accept $5 million from a policy group at the center of China's U.S. influence efforts, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: As tensions escalate between the U.S. and China, leaders with the George H.W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations have sounded off for closer ties  and while criticizing Beijing in some cases, have toed China's line on some major geopolitical issues.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Driving the news: Axios obtained a written agreement that spells out the details of a $5 million grant from the China-United States Exchange Foundation to the Bush China Foundation, established in 2017 with the former president's blessing.

CUSEF leadership has close ties to Chinese government officials, and the group has a reputation as an arm of Bejing's political influence operation. It provided a significant share of the funds for the Bush group's efforts to improve Sino-American relations.

What they're saying: Bush China Foundation spokesperson Leslie Reagan confirmed the authenticity of the agreement, but stressed that CUSEF's funding has no effect on its policy work.

"We are proud of our partnership with CUSEF and deeply appreciative of CUSEFs generous support," she wrote in an emailed statement.

"(T)he Bush China Foundation has staked out a very strong independent posture on virtually all of the major issues in the U.S.-China relationship; in the process, we have frequently leveled sharp criticism of Chinese policies and actions when we believe that has been merited," she said.

Reagan said the organization rejects suggestions that CUSEF acts as a mouthpiece for political interests in China. "Knowing CUSEF as we do, we do not buy into that narrative," she wrote. "CUSEF has never sought to influence our editorial positions or encroach on our editorial independence."

Details: The grant agreement, dated September 19, 2019, and signed by both parties, calls for CUSEF to donate $1 million per year to the Bush China Foundation from 2019 through 2023.

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Tax filings covering May through December of 2019 show the Bush China Foundation brought in a total of under $1.2 million in contributions, meaning CUSEF's donations would likely comprise a substantial portion of its revenue.

The funds are designed to bolster the Bush China Foundation's efforts to promote "a bilateral relationship that is functional, constructive, commercially robust, mutually beneficial and politically sustainable," according to the agreement

The Bush China Foundation agreed to keep CUSEF in the loop on its activities "to assure continued alignment of the two parties' objectives."

Background: The Hong Kong-based CUSEF is run by the city's former chief executive, Tung Chee-Hwa. It calls itself "an independent, non-profit and non-governmental foundation."

Tung is also the vice-chair of a Beijing-based advisory body that promotes the Chinese Communist Party's political aims, which is chaired by a Politburo official who plays a leading role in Beijing's "united front" global influence campaign.

CUSEF has disclosed in U.S. filings that it paid for lobbying campaigns to "influence key constituencies" in the U.S. regarding "China's true intentions and efforts in Tibet," including an analysis of how U.S. high school textbooks portray Tibet.

CUSEF is one of a number of Beijing-affiliated organizations "intended to spread China's political agenda," two Texas congressmen  Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican who chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat  charged in a 2018 letter.

Between the lines: The Bush China Foundation's agreement with CUSEF is careful to include language designed to head off any suggestion that it's acting as an agent for foreign interests.

"The Bush China Foundation in no way acts under the order, request, direction or control of CUSEF," it says. "This agreement establishes no 'principal'/'agent' relationship between the two parties."

The groups "will naturally consult in good faith on matters pertaining to the work of the Bush China Foundation supported by this grant," it says, but CUSEF has no authority or veto power over the foundation's work.

CUSEF denies that it acts as a Beijing mouthpiece, but its ties to party leaders have drawn scrutiny from some academic institutions it's worked with and supported financially.

Bush China Foundation president David Firestein previously led the University of Texas' China Public Policy Center. In 2017, he proposed CUSEF funding for the center. The plan was rejected after university faculty noted the group's Communist Party ties.

In response to Axios' inquiry, Reagan, the Bush China Foundation spokesperson, provided a list of occasions in which Firestein has criticized the Chinese government on high-profile political issues. But the group's leadership has echoed Beijing's line in other areas.

Founder and chairman Neil Bush, George H.W. Bush's third son, blamed pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong on "outside influence" in 2019 remarks at a conference organized by a division of the Chinese foreign ministry. The remarks were widely circulated by state-run media.

Some American complaints about Chinese human rights abuses, mass surveillance and foreign influence campaigns are "based on half-truths or all out fake news," Bush said at 2019 forum in Hong Kong organized by CUSEF's Tung.

Bush has longstanding business ties in the country. Chinese executives at a real estate investment firm he runs illegally steered $1.3 million to a super PAC supporting his brother Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign.

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Jun. 5AMERICUS  Georgia Southwestern State University's chapter for Beta Gamma Sigma held an induction ceremony followed by a reception honoring new members recently. Twenty-four students were officially inducted into BGS, including the following local students:

 Margaret Halbrook of Albany;

 Mandy Hogan of Leesburg;

 James Fowler of Camilla;

 Carly Hall of Albany;

 Katie Stalvey of Dawson.

Founded in 1913, BGS is the international honor society for outstanding students in business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. BGS is present on more than 580 college campuses on six continents and has members residing in 190 countries. The mission of BGS is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business, to cultivate and celebrate leadership and professional excellence, to advance the values of the society, and to serve its lifelong members.

To become a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, students must be enrolled full-time and be in the top 10% of the class academically in their junior or senior years or the top 20% in terms of graduate students.

Georgia Southwestern State University, located in Americus, is a public, four-year unit of the University System of Georgia with approximately 3,000 students. Georgia Southwestern offers professional programs of study as well as degrees in the arts, humanities, sciences and graduate programs in business, computer science, education, English, and nursing. Founded in 1906, Georgia Southwestern is recognized as one of the best value colleges in the nation. Visit www.gsw.edu for more information.
A 93-year-old man was left penniless after police say his niece and her son forged documents and stole his Hialeah home and cash valued at $500,000, the Miami-Dade State Attorneys office announced Friday.

The son, Italo Nelli, 19, was arrested and charged with an organized scheme to defraud and elderly exploitation. He faced a judge Friday.

His mother, however, did not want to get arrested, and fled to Malaga, Spain, he told investigators.

A warrant was issued for Hadee Toledo, 50, who is now considered a fugitive. She faces charges including exploitation of the elderly, conspiracy to commit organized scheme to defraud and forgery.

The thief who steals from the elderly reveals a callousness buried deep in their own heart, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a news release. But the relative who steals everything possible from an aged family member, can often be snatching the persons very will to live.

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According to police, the 93-year-old man was hospitalized in August 2020 after contracting COVID-19.

He was not allowed any visitors.

A family member contacted Hialeah police earlier this year to report that his niece had forged documents that gave her power over his bank accounts, according to the report.

The joint investigation between Hialeah police and the state attorneys office revealed that Toledo had the documents legally notarized, with her son as the witness.

Toledo, police said, signed the mans house deed over to herself and drained all of his accounts. When questioned, Nelli told investigators that his great-uncle had signed the documents in front of him.

Police, however, said the documents were dated during the time he was quarantined for COVID and was not allowed visitors.

Nelli received $5,000 and a 2019 Mercedes-Benz E220 from the scheme, police said.

Said Fernandez Rundle: I commend the detectives of the Hialeah Police Department and the prosecutors of my Elderly Exploitation Unit for their commitment to ending such despicable crimes.
Jun. 5A small market in Manchester celebrated its grand opening Saturday, selling locally-grown produce and working to provide healthy eats to the Center City neighborhood.

The shop, Fresh Start Market, is part of Fresh Start Farms, a program of the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success. Fresh Start Farms employs immigrants and refugees on farms in Dunbarton and Concord, growing produce sold around the state.

The farm program has been growing quickly, said program manager Jameson Small, and they had been looking for a while for a central hub.

The building at 150 Spruce St. had been vacant for years, said Robert Tourigny, executive director of housing nonprofit NeighborWorks. The empty storefront was a hub of drugs, prostitution and gambling  and a hazard for families on the block. NeighborWorks bought the building in 2019.

The group wasn't sure what they wanted the space to be, but Tourigny didn't want to see another vape shop or convenience store selling junk food. A neighborhood survey found nearby residents needed a grocery store.

Enter Fresh Start Farms.

Around the time NeighborWorks bought the building, Small said the Fresh Start was trying to figure out a new way to sell its produce. There were too many farmers for everyone to sell at farmers' markets round the state, he said, and the group didn't have a central location to pack and distribute farm shares to consumers.

Small said Fresh Start has a rent-to-own agreement with NeighborWorks for the building, and funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a grant from TD Bank paid for equipment to furnish the space.

On Saturday, the market was stocked with early-season goods, like green onions and strawberries, as well as potatoes and onions, fresh pasta and less-local produce like mangoes and bananas.

Godance Ndabumvirubusa, one of the Fresh Start farmers, said she is looking forward to selling more of her produce at the store, once it is in season. Small said the market is also buying produce from other farms in northern New England and New York, to keep the shelves stocked year-round.

Story continues

In addition to providing a market for the Fresh Start farmers and other local growers, the store serves as a convenient place to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Small said that of 39 convenience stores in the Center City neighborhood, only four sell fresh produce.

To give people more incentive to buy fruits and vegetables, the market is participating in a U.S. Department of Agriculture program. People who get food assistance like SNAP can buy fresh fruits and vegetables at half price. The Fresh Start Market is one of 20 stores in the state participating in the program, and the only one in Manchester.

Small said the program allows the store to sell most produce to people with food assistance for less than they could get them than big grocery stores  and, he said, the food for sale at Fresh Start Market is organic, mostly locally-grown, and supports jobs for people in the community.

Jean D'Amout Nzarulinda, mobile market coordinator for Fresh Start Farms, said he was excited to see the market open. The central location will make it easy for neighbors to get to the store, and get high-quality, affordable produce.

"The neighborhood can find food near them," he said.
Enmanual Familia died while attempting to save 14-year-old Troy Love, who also drowned

Enmanuel Familia, an officer of the Worcester Police Department in Massachusetts, died on Friday afternoon while trying to save a teenager from drowning in a pond.

The teen, Troy Love, also died in the pond, according to WWLP.

Familia, 38, was one of several police officers and firefighters who responded to a 911 call of a person drowning in a pond at Worchesters Green Hill Park. Upon arrival, several people were in the pond, including Love, who was struggling in the water.

Enmanuel Familia (left) and Troy Love (right)

Among the others in the water was Loves sister, Arieanna Potter, older brother, Joseph Guy, and Guys girlfriend, Kristen Breeden, as reported by WBTS-CD. Love and his family were in Worchester on vacation from Virginia. The city of Worcester is about 50 miles west of Boston.

READ MORE: MLK memorial effort in Boston gets $1M from Bank of America

Guy, 21, said that Love was a good swimmer and was attempting to swim across the pond.

I didnt know how deep that lake was, Guy said.

Potter said Love was OK until he got to the middle, and he was just yelling, Help, help, help, like over and over.

Guy and Breeden tried to save him before police arrived.

Me and Kristen jumped in the water to try and help him, but his body went under, Guy told WBTS-CD. We couldnt find him.

Familia, along with four other officers, entered the pond in a rescue attempt. Officers noticed that Familia went missing in the water after they brought two others safely to shore.

READ MORE: North Carolina man, son, 5, die after father tries to save drowning child

Familia was finally located by divers at 2:28 p.m. Familia died later at the hospital.

Love was recovered by divers soon after, but he also was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. The remaining officers who went into the water were evaluated at the hospital, as well as one diver who was treated for minor injuries.

Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent made a statement about Familias death at the news conference.

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The Worcester Police Department has lost a brother, friend, and a partner, Sargent said. The city of Worcester has lost a hero. We will remember and honor his selfless devotion to Worcester, and his ultimate sacrifice to save someone he didnt know.

Familia is survived by his wife, two children and his parents. In honor of Familia, all U.S. and commonwealth flags at state buildings will be flown at half-staff as ordered by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.

Loves family also thanked the Worchester police for trying to save Love.

To the officers family that died, thank you all, Guy said. I know we spoke at the hospital, my prayers will be with him. Potter also stated of Familia, I just want to say thank you, especially to his family, and Im sorry that he died saving my brother, but he died a hero.

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The post Teenager, police officer drown during rescue attempt in pond near Boston appeared first on TheGrio.
A Roman Catholic pastor in Tennessee confessed in an open letter that as a 19-year-old seminarian he was the target of sexual advances by an older priest later accused of abusing other teens, and admits he failed to forcefully sound the alarm about this troublesome person.

Father Brent Shelton insisted he was not a sexual abuse victim, as such, but I am a witness to priestly predation, which I was complicit in covering up.

Shelton did not say in the letter why he chose this year to divulge that Father Jose Saldana, now deceased, allegedly forced himself on top of him at a Red Roof Inn in Texas more than three decades ago.

Ive thought about that hotel incident every single day since it happened over 30 years ago, but I cringe whenever any priest or bishop speaks of the need for healing in these situations, Shelton, who is pastor of St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge, wrote. In my case, I have this cross to carry, and I intend to continue doing so, offering it up for reform in Our Lords Church.

Shelton did not respond to phone calls or an emailed request for comment.

Image: St. Mary's Pastor Brent Shelton. (Diocese of Knoxville)

His letter published Feb. 1 by Catholic blogger Faith Hakesley and updated in March, came amid reports that his bishop, Rick Stika of the Knoxville Diocese, was under fire for allegedly interfering in the diocesan investigation of a seminarian accused of sexually assaulting a male church worker. The unidentified seminarian in Tennessee was not Saldana, a priest who worked in Texas.

Father Shelton said that this post was written last year and should not be construed as a response to any recent reports about the Diocese of Knoxville, diocesan spokesman Jim Wogan said in an email. He feels it is important for you to understand this.

The Pillar, a local Catholic newspaper, first reported the Vatican had received complaints from priests and parishioners in the Diocese of Knoxville about the bishops alleged actions on behalf of the accused seminarian.

With respect to the allegations raised by The Pillar, we are not aware of any investigation by the Vatican into the Diocese of Knoxville or Bishop Stika, Wogan said.

Story continues

Wogan said Friday that Stika denies he interfered with the investigation. But Stika told the Pillar that he removed an investigator for causing confusion and replaced him with a retired police officer, who told the newspaper that he interviewed only the accused seminarian.

NBC News Vatican correspondent reached out to the Congregation for Bishops in Rome about a possible investigation of Stika but has not yet received a response.

In his letter, Shelton said that if the church is to root out problem priests, bishops have to be included in this dialogue.

Bishops are, on the whole, delicate men, very sensitive to what people think of them, Shelton wrote. Therefore, if we are committed to the fruitfulness of the Church, then we must learn how to work with them as they are. If we just condemn them, then theyll ignore us, and the Church will suffer.

Saldana was outed as a predator priest in 2019 by Bishop of Dallas Edwards Burns. Saldana had served in a dozen Texas parishes in the Dallas, Fort Worth and Tyler dioceses. He is listed as deceased by the diocese. The dioceses did not have any comment about the allegations against Saldana.

Mitchell Garabedian, the Boston lawyer whose efforts on behalf of predator priest victims were dramatized in the Oscar-winning move Spotlight, said many of the survivors were teenage seminarians.

It is quite common for young seminarians to be sexually abused by predator priests who have or do belong to religious orders, dioceses and archdioceses, Garabedian said in an email. Through the years I have represented dozens of seminarians who were sexually abused by priests or religious brothers while their supervisors looked the other way. Some sexually abused seminarians will leave the seminary as a result of the sexual abuse and others will continue on in the seminary.

Shelton, in his letter, said his alleged encounter with Saldana nearly drove him from the priesthood.

A Catholic convert, Shelton said he was 17 when Saldana took over as pastor of his parish, St. Michael Parish in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.

The new pastor in Mt. Pleasant was clearly a troubled man, and began sexually propositioning me soon after his arrival, he wrote.

Shelton admitted that he failed to react decisively to this persistent propositioning.

I was worried that Saldana could prevent me from joining the Church or entering the seminary, and so I was very determined not to overreact to the confusing situation, he wrote.

On the strength of Saldanas recommendation, Shelton said he entered the seminary. And once enrolled, he agreed to go with Saldana to the state fair even though it was against the rules.

I was well aware of the danger posed by Saldana, the pastor wrote. But I concluded that I had more clout as a seminarian than I did previously, and so I thought he was unlikely to trouble me beyond what I could repel.

That was, Shelton wrote, a mistake.

Throughout the entire night in the hotel, he repeatedly forced himself on top of me, not in an attempted rape, as such, but in a sort of desperation, Shelton wrote. I lacked the forcefulness needed to respond definitively to the situation, and was well aware of the nature of a predicament I had caused both by absenting myself without permission from the seminary and by consenting to share a room with this troublesome person.

Shelton said he kept quiet about what happened and dropped out of the seminary. He said he went into law enforcement and worked for a couple years for a sheriffs office in east Texas.

Eventually, Shelton said, he told his priestly mentor, Father Joe Dean, about my troubles with Saldana, and he assured me that the problem had been resolved.

He said that with Deans help, he returned to the seminary and became a priest. Dean died in 2007.

My goal was to find a way to answer the call to the priesthood without ever having to see, hear from or hear about Saldana again, he wrote.

Shelton said that he made, over the years, several admittedly weak attempts to discuss Saldana with someone at the Tyler chancery. But otherwise, he kept silent.

I am very well aware that it was my own reticence and lack of courage that led me out of my home diocese in order to distance myself from Saldana, he wrote.

It wasnt until 2019, when according to Shelton, he read that Saldana had been credibly accused of abusing children that he reached out to Bishop Burns.
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Three U.S. senators will visit Taiwan on Sunday and will meet President Tsai Ing-wen to discuss security and other issues, Taiwan's government and the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei said on Saturday, a trip that will likely irritate China.

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with the island that is claimed by China, but is its most important international backer and supplier of arms.

Tammy Duckworth and Dan Sullivan of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Christopher Coons of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will visit the island on Sunday as part of a larger trip to to the Indo-Pacific region, the American Institute in Taiwan said.

"The bipartisan congressional delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, and other significant issues of mutual interest," it added.

Taiwan's presidential office said Tsai would meet the three at Taipei's downtown Songshan airport on Sunday morning, and expressed thanks for the show of support, especially at a time when the island is dealing with a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Taiwan has also complained about China trying to block the island from accessing vaccines internationally, which Beijing has denied.

In recent months China has increased pressure on democratically-ruled Taiwan as it tries to assert its sovereignty, including regularly flying military aircraft into Taiwan's air defence zone.

China routinely denounces visits of foreign officials to Taiwan, calling them an interference in the country's internal affairs.

(Reporting by Ben BlanchardEditing by Frances Kerry)
Donald Trump gives a speech to Republicans in North Carolina (witn.com screengrab)

Major news networks reportedly declined to air Donald Trumps first public speech in months to the Republican Party of North Carolinas annual convention on Saturday evening.

The former president appeared at the event in Greenville, North Carolina, but CNN and Fox News did not carry the speech on their networks.

Mr Trump continued to advance his stolen election myth, immersing himself in his denial of the results and his departure from the White House while fuelling the narrative behind a pro-Trump mob that stormed the US Capitol to overturn the votes of millions of Americans.

He also praised a partisan vote audit underway in Arizona and encouraged GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Georgia to do the same.

He claimed he is trying to save democracy while also calling the 2020 presidential election the crime of the century and a hoax and by far the most corrupt election in the history of our country despite no evidence from his own campaign or administration officials, the Justice Department, FBI and elections officials from both parties across the US.

We all know what happened with the election, he said. And we can never, ever let that happen again, and were going to go forward and were going to continue to look and things are being found that is not even believable.

The former president also called on China to pay $10 trillion in reparations to the United States and the world for the coronavirus pandemic and said nations should cancel their debt to Beijing.

Mr Trump also said a criminal investigation launched by the New York attorney generals office into his financial affairs is the ultimate fishing expedition and an attempt by Democrats to bring him down after he was twice impeached while in office.

Its been a five-year witch hunt, hoax after hoax, said Mr Trump. Theyll never stop until November of 2024.

Read More

Trump claims credit for US Covid vaccines: Youd be in a lot of trouble right now

Trump demands 'reparations' from China over Covid: 'They must pay'

Lara Trump reveals she is not running for Senate seat at Donald Trump speech

Trump and Giuliani personally pushed for conspiracy-driven Arizona vote audit, emails show
Twitter took down a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari earlier in the week, though no direct connection has been drawn

Nigeria will prosecute anyone found to have breached the country's ban on the social media firm Twitter, a government spokesperson has told the BBC.

The government announced on Friday it was suspending Twitter's operations in the country.

Mobile phone networks blocked access after being ordered to do so, but some users are getting around the ban.

The move comes after Twitter deleted a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari for breaching the site's rules.

Some users saw his post, which referred to Nigeria's civil war four decades ago, as a veiled threat towards a secessionist movement in the south-east of the country

His government said on Saturday the tweet's removal was "disappointing", but not the only reason for the "temporary" suspension.

"There has been a litany of problems with the social media platform in Nigeria, where misinformation and fake news spread through it have had real world violent consequences," the government said.

Twitter said the announcement of a ban on Friday by Information Minister Lai Mohammed was "deeply concerning".

The move also brought widespread condemnation from human rights groups and international powers, who say it will limit free speech in Nigeria.

In a statement, Justice Minister Abubakar Malami said he had "directed for immediate prosecution of offenders of the Federal Government ban on Twitter operations in Nigeria", telling the public prosecutor to "swing into action".

The message was targeted at both corporations and individuals, the minister's spokesperson Umar Gwandu told the BBC.

The government of Nigeria alleges that Twitter was being used to undermine "Nigeria's corporate existence".

The platform was allowing "the spread of religious, racist, xenophobic and false messages" that "could tear some countries apart", a spokesperson said.

Story continues

The national broadcasting regulator, NBC, had been told to begin "licensing all internet streaming services and social media operations in Nigeria", a government statement said.

Earlier, the professional body of Nigerian mobile phone operators - known as Alton - confirmed they had been told to stop people getting on to Twitter. The group said its members had complied with the government order due to "national interest provisions" in Nigerian telecoms law and licensing terms.

But Alton also said that it backed the UN's position that the right to communicate both offline and online should be protected.

A long time coming

Analysis by Nduka Orjinmo, BBC News, Abuja

The Nigerian government has toyed with the idea of regulating social media in the country, and this administration has been obsessed with the idea since it came into office in 2015. Deleting the president's tweet, however, was seen as the final straw.

But it was the role Twitter played in the #EndSars anti-police brutality protests which shook Nigeria last year that truly sealed its fate.

The demonstrations were mostly organised on the platform and the company's CEO, Jack Dorsey, encouraged donations to one of the leading groups of organisers. A special emoji was also created for the protests.

Twitter helped give Nigeria's many youths a voice. But in the eyes of the government, the company's role in galvanising the country's young population was a line crossed.

Yet the government appears not to have reckoned with the ingenuity of #EndSars protesters. People are already downloading VPNs to bypass the block when it happens.

On Saturday, BBC reporters in Lagos and Abuja said they were unable to connect to Twitter through two of the country's largest phone networks: MTN and Airtel.

Internet monitoring site Netblocks reported that Twitter was restricted on all the leading networks.

Access was still possible through some wi-fi providers, but this is not the most common way to connect to the internet in Nigeria.

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Shortly thereafter, police said, a 31-year-old woman arrived at an area hospital with gunshot wounds to her leg and foot, and told police she was near Walbrook Junction when she was shot.
The State Department on Friday announced more than $266 million in new humanitarian aid for Afghanistan.

Why it matters: The assistance comes as the U.S. completes the drawdown of military forces. The impending departure has led to fears about the Taliban returning to power.

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"This funding will allow our partners to provide lifesaving protection, shelter, livelihoods opportunities, essential health care, emergency food aid, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to respond to the needs generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," the State Department said in a release.

The money will also address protections for Afghan women and girls facing gender-based violence, according to the agency.

By the numbers: The aid includes $157.5 million from the U.S. Agency for International Developments Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and nearly $109 million from the State Departments Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, per a State Department spokesperson.

It is separate from the $300 million in civilian assistance announced in April.

Editor's note: This story incorrectly suggested that the $266 million in humanitarian assistance was part of $600 million in international aid announced last year.

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In this March 18, 2021, file photo, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during his monthly news conference in Salt Lake City. Spenser Heaps/The Deseret News via AP, Pool, File

Gov. Spencer Cox asked for Utahns to engage in a "weekend of prayer" to combat the state's drought.

"We need more rain, and we need it now," he said. "We need some divine intervention."

According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, the entire state is deemed "abnormally dry."

See more stories on Insider's business page.

GOP Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah on Thursday asked state residents to engage in a "weekend of prayer" for rain amid a severe drought.

Cox's request came after he declared a state of emergency last month. The entire state is considered to be "abnormally dry," with 90.2 percent of Utah undergoing an "extreme drought" and 62.2 percent of the state experiencing an "exceptional drought," according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Under such conditions, there is an increased risk of fire danger and native vegetation is adversely impacted.

"By praying collaboratively and collectively, asking God or whatever higher power you believe in, for more rain, we may be able to escape the deadliest aspects of the continuing drought," he said in a video. "Please join me and Utahns, regardless of religious affiliation, in a weekend of humble prayer for rain."

Cox detailed the measures that he's already promoted to prevent a strain on existing water reserves but was frank in his assessment of the lack of moisture throughout the state.

"I've already asked all Utahns to conserve water by avoiding long showers, fixing leaky faucets, and planting water-wise landscapes," he said in a press statement. "But I fear those efforts alone won't be enough to protect us."

He added: "We need more rain, and we need it now. We need some divine intervention."

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Read more: Get to know the Delaware senator who's known Biden for 47 years and could be key to passing his infrastructure package

Story continues

On Thursday, the National Weather Service in Utah advised of "excessive heat" across much of the state through Saturday evening.

Last month, Cox signed an executive order prohibiting state agencies from watering during the warmest times of the day, roughly between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Glen Merrill, the hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, told The Washington Post that about 95% of Utah's water supply originates from melting snowpack in higher elevations.

This year, the "reduced snow cover" generated less water, which was absorbed by the dry soil.

"It didn't make it into the channels and streams," he told The Post. "The forecast for [stream] volume through July is about 25 to 40 percent of normal."

Merrill added that the drought came on in 2019 and accelerated last summer, advancing across the state.

"[The drought] even spread all the way into the beginning of our cool season [in 2020]," he told The Post. "It's rare to see that."

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Jun. 4The man found dead on Memorial Day outside of a home in Uptown Village was identified as 45-year-old Therron D. Pitman of Vancouver.

The Clark County Medical Examiner's Office stated Pitman died from multiple gunshot wounds and ruled his death a homicide.

The Vancouver Police Department is investigating the shooting but hasn't made any arrests.

Police found Pitman dead outside of a home in the 200 block of East 27th Street after responding at around 5:25 a.m. Monday to reports of gunfire.

"The investigation is continuing, and detectives from the Vancouver Police Department Major Crimes Unit have interviewed multiple witnesses, so far none have been cooperative with the investigation," a Thursday police news release said.

On Thursday, Vancouver police released an image of a gray Dodge Charger that detectives identified, through video, leaving the scene. Police said Friday they contacted the owner of the vehicle.

Anyone with information about the shooting should contact the police department via its Tip Line at 360-487-7399.
Isaac Wright, a US Army veteran with PTSD, used urban exploration at sites like New York Citys Queensborough Bridge (pictured), as a way to heal. Now hes facing criminal charges. (AFP via Getty Images)

The photo, posted on an Instagram account called @driftershoots, shows a man standing precariously close to the ledge of a building in New York City, higher even than the famous spire of the Chrysler Building, gazing down in contemplation. But the message below it is a positive one.

Picking up a camera was lifesaving for me, it showed me all the beautiful things in life after my life was falling apart, the caption reads. After losing a friend to deployment, two others to suicide and my partner of four years all in the span of six months. Im forever thankful for this new life and for the privilege of serving.

The arresting image is just one of many that Isaac Wright, a US Army veteran, captured as he explored buildings and bridges around the country as a way to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder. Now, his high-flying exploits have earned him criminal charges across the country and he could go to prison for 25 years.

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Mr Wright was a paratrooper and chaplains assistant with the Army for six years, before retired in 2020 with an honorable discharge after an ankle injury.

His time in the armed services, while rewarding, often took a toll on him, as his job required supervising a hundreds of troops often suffering from serious mental health challengeseven as he had PTSD and depression himself. After leaving the Army last year, the pandemic made it hard for him to access psychotherapy treatments at a veterans hospital, and he soon turned to urban exploration as a way to calm his mind and find joy and fulfillment.

Using a small medical pension, he traveled around the country, using his wits and military training to scale buildings, bridges, and construction sites in New York, Texas, Michigan and Louisiana, racking up more than 20,000 Instagram followers for his striking aerial photos.

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One day, however, after scaling the Great American Tower in Cincinnati, Ohio, and leaving a sticker with his Instagram handle, authorities began catching up with him, putting out a nationwide warrant for his arrest and warning that his military experience made him armed and volatile, when the reality was more like it made him depressed and seeking fulfillment.

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In December, state troopers in Arizona shut down a highway to catch him, with more than 20 officers descending on his car with assault rifles, dogs, and a helicopter circling above. He came to find out he had also picked up criminal charges in Louisiana, Philadelphia, and Michigan, some including felonies for breaking into buildings to take photos, even though most urban explorers are fined or charged with low-level misdemeanors.

You could put me through years of therapy, give me all the meds in the world, and it would not help me the way that my art helps me, he told The New York Times, which first reported his story, adding, Not everything thats illegal is immoral. What if it is a victimless crime that is bringing something wonderful into the world and inspiring and helping people?

He has been offered a plea deal to avoid prison time if he pleads guilty to a felony, agrees to therapy, and ceases climbing, which he says he already has.

Police officials told the Times they took such a strong line against the veteran because of the extent of his activities and how dangerous they were.

The level of sophistication this guy is using and the magnitude of his crimes is pretty scary, captain Doug Wiesman of the Cincinnati police said. The pictures are beautiful, Im not going to deny that, but he leaves a wake of destruction.

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In another post from this Friday, featuring in image atop the Queensborough Bridge in New York City amid a flurry of snow, Mr Wright vowed to fight the charges against him.

This fight is just beginning but we will get there, he said.
The above picture is of Victoria Park in Hong Kong on the evening of June 4.

Why it matters: Every year since 1990, thousands of Hong Kong residents have met in Victoria Park on June 4 for a candlelit vigil in memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

This year, police blocked off the park to prevent the gathering and arrested the vigil's organizer in perhaps the most visceral sign of the Chinese government's crackdown on the city.

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What to watch: A long piece published in Foreign Affairs this week made a convincing case that the example of Hong Kong has eliminated any chance of peaceful reunification between China and Taiwan, which in turn raises the risk that Beijing could attempt a preemptive invasion.

The bottom line: This is history being written  and rewritten  in our time.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
- By GF Value





The stock of The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, 30-year Financials) appears to be significantly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $177.18 per share and the market cap of $321.9 billion, The Walt Disney Co stock appears to be significantly overvalued. GF Value for The Walt Disney Co is shown in the chart below.





The Walt Disney Co Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

Because The Walt Disney Co is significantly overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be much lower than its future business growth, which averaged 1.2% over the past three years and is estimated to grow 8.60% annually over the next three to five years.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

Since investing in companies with low financial strength could result in permanent capital loss, investors must carefully review a company's financial strength before deciding whether to buy shares. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage can give a good initial perspective on the company's financial strength. The Walt Disney Co has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.28, which ranks worse than 74% of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. Based on this, GuruFocus ranks The Walt Disney Co's financial strength as 4 out of 10, suggesting poor balance sheet. This is the debt and cash of The Walt Disney Co over the past years:

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The Walt Disney Co Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

Companies that have been consistently profitable over the long term offer less risk for investors who may want to purchase shares. Higher profit margins usually dictate a better investment compared to a company with lower profit margins. The Walt Disney Co has been profitable 9 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $58.3 billion and loss of $2.5 a share. Its operating margin is 2.23%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. Overall, the profitability of The Walt Disney Co is ranked 7 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability. This is the revenue and net income of The Walt Disney Co over the past years:

The Walt Disney Co Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

Growth is probably one of the most important factors in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus' research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long-term performance of a company's stock. If a company's business is growing, the company usually creates value for its shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. Likewise, if a company's revenue and earnings are declining, the value of the company will decrease. The Walt Disney Co's 3-year average revenue growth rate is in the middle range of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. The Walt Disney Co's 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -35.5%, which ranks worse than 86% of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified.

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, The Walt Disney Co's return on invested capital is 0.70, and its cost of capital is 8.16. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of The Walt Disney Co is shown below:

The Walt Disney Co Stock Appears To Be Significantly Overvalued

Overall, The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, 30-year Financials) stock is believed to be significantly overvalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks worse than 86% of the companies in the industry of Media - Diversified. To learn more about The Walt Disney Co 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.


A 57-year-old man from West Hartford was arrested and charged with operating under the influence in a construction zone and two additional charges after crashing into a state troopers vehicle Friday afternoon.

The state police trooper was traveling north on I-91 near exit 32a in Hartford with its emergency lights activated in a construction pattern, a news release said.

Richard Harris, of West Hartford, was driving behind the trooper when he then drove into the construction pattern at which time it struck the drivers side, of the police vehicle.

The accident was determined to be Harris fault and an investigation found that the 57-year-old was operating his vehicle under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

He was also charged with failure to maintain in a proper lane in a construction zone and failure to obey an officers signal in a construction zone. Hes free on $500 bond and expected in court on June 28.

Harris Honda Civic was towed from the scene.

Jessika Harkay can be reached at jharkay@courant.com.
Republican mayors are close to extinct in big-city America. And there might be one fewer after Saturdays mayoral runoff in Fort Worth, Texas.

While Democrats hold City Hall in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin, the fifth-largest city in Texas  Fort Worth  is a holdout. Retiring GOP Mayor Betsy Price has held office through a decade of explosive growth that has seen the citys population add more than 200,000 new residents, bringing it to nearly 1 million people.

The race to succeed her is officially nonpartisan, but the political backdrop is hard to miss: Fort Worth is not only one of the few remaining big cities with a GOP mayor, its part of the last major urban county in Texas  Tarrant County  that remains Republican.

What happens in Tarrant County is closely watched, both inside and outside the state. Once a Republican stronghold, Tarrant has seen its GOP margins decline in recent years  President Joe Bidens narrow victory there in November marked the first time in over a half-century that a Democratic presidential nominee carried the county. If the county continues to move leftward, it stands to affect the balance of power in statewide elections.

President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 vaccination program, in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus on June 2, 2021, in Washington.

We've never had a race that was this partisan, said Kenneth Barr, the former Democratic mayor of Fort Worth who led the city from 1996 to 2003. In Texas, you're not allowed, for city governments, to hold partisan primaries. And this particular election has moved as far in the partisan direction as any we've ever had.

The runoff features Republican Mattie Parker, a former chief of staff to Price, and Democrat Deborah Peoples, a retired AT&T executive, both of whom insist they are running nonpartisan campaigns.

To some extent, its true: Parker declined any GOP endorsements in her general election campaign and Peoples backed away from joint events with the national Democratic groups backing her campaign. Central to the contest are questions related to how Fort Worth will change as the city continues to grow  its currently the 12th largest city in the nation. The population influx has increased the need for more city infrastructure, and brought public safety issues into sharper focus for voters in light of a rise in violent crime in 2020.

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Yet the county Republican Party continues to make calls and knock doors on Parkers behalf. And Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed her on Wednesday, specifically underlining her support for law enforcement  and contrasting it with Peoples record.

For her part, Peoples, a former Tarrant County Democratic chair, has been endorsed by a slew of national Democratic groups and prominent state and national Democrats including former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke, former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, and Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison.

The Collective PAC  which helps elect Black candidates to office  poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the race in an effort to turn out the citys Black voters in support of Peoples, who would be the citys first Black mayor.

Republicans worry that Fort Worths rapid growth is not only altering the citys traditional character and politics but moving it in the same direction as the states four largest cities  Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin. Those cities typically power Democratic candidates in statewide elections.

There's a great concern here that if you end up with a Democrat mayor, it will change what people know Fort Worth to be, said Rick Barnes, chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party.

The ongoing national debate on race and policing has served to heighten the partisan stakes. Republicans have sought to make the contest in part a referendum on Democratic leadership in other cities across the country. Against the backdrop of ongoing conversations about police funding in Austin and the rest of the country, the topic has become the biggest talking point in the final days.

With a Democratic mayor, Republicans argue, Fort Worth would be more susceptible to the scenes of disorder and violence that occurred in some large U.S. cities last summer.

We see what Democrats have done more to Austin than Dallas, but those two cities [have] Democrat mayors. And then when you add in Houston and San Antonio, people in Fort Worth are just not accepting of letting their city go in that direction, said Barnes.

In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Abbott described Peoples reform-oriented stance on policing as along the lines of taking a position of defunding the police. He and other state Republicans have sought to paint her as an opponent of law enforcement.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott takes part in a roundtable discussion.

While Peoples campaign platform calls for reallocation of funds from law enforcement to community policing initiatives, she has eschewed the term defund the police.

But her opposition to a taxpayer-funded police budget referendum in 2020 has given Republican critics some ammunition. While a majority of Fort Worth voters passed the Crime Control and Prevention District, a half-penny tax that helps pay for police equipment as well as officers presence at special events and in schools, Peoples opposed it, saying that citizens should have more input in how the money is used.

You can't deny the fact that she was out there trying to defeat this, that she was on the wrong side of that issue, said Cary Moon, a Fort Worth city councilmember. I think that's probably the larger issue that people see  and they don't want to defund police.

Peoples, who has stressed racial inclusion as part of her platform, has referred to herself as a progressive change-maker.

What [Fort Worth] leadership is espousing now does not include the entire population of the city. We're a minority-majority city, Peoples said in an interview. Our biggest issue is ensuring that all of us across the city benefit from this explosive growth that we're seeing.

Peoples criticized Parker for accepting the governors endorsement, citing the governors support of the voting bill put forth by Republicans in the state legislature that would curb access to the ballot for millions of Black, Latino and low income voters.

This endorsement makes it clear that Mattie Parker will embrace Abbotts divisiveness as mayor, she tweeted.

Parker concedes that the pull of national politics has served to intensify the race.

Some of it's just what's happening across the country that seems to translate here, whether it was a problem here or not, said Parker, who has endorsements from the city police officers and firefighters unions. Because Fort Worth grew so fast and were now the 12th largest city, sometimes we haven't always talked about the hard things that a growing city has to talk about.

Fort Worth's pattern of voting  its elected both Democratic and Republican mayors in recent decades  makes Saturdays outcome hard to predict. Peoples was the top vote-getter in the May 1 general election but Parker stands to pick up votes from some of the more conservative candidates who were eliminated.

Anyone who runs for the mayor's office that tries to run it based on, I'm doing this for Republican or Democrat control is going to lose, said Brian Mayes, a Texas-based media strategist who cut ads for the Parker campaign. The voters [in Fort Worth] have always just had an independent streak.


Court documents and video surveillance footage show that a black Mercedes with Delaware tags was parked at the shooting scene in the 1100 block of Washington Boulevard. A man, identified as Cooper, got out of the vehicle carrying a semi-automatic handgun. He approached Randall and shot him several times before fleeing to the vehicle and leaving the scene, according to a press release from the office.
Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston, two of Y Combinator's founding partners. Joe Corrigan/Getty Images; Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

Two Y Combinator entrepreneurs say they were kicked out for talking about issues within the accelerator.

Dark CEO Paul Biggar said YC booting him for tweeting about internal posts on skipping COVID-19 vaccine lines.

Prolific CEO Katia Damer said she was cut after calling out misogyny by YC founders.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Two entrepreneurs claimed Friday the startup accelerator Y Combinator kicked them out of its program for speaking publicly about misogyny and members' efforts to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine eligibility requirements.

"Lol just got kicked out of @ycombinator," Dark CEO Paul Biggar tweeted.

Biggar said he was expelled for a March tweet in which he claimed two founders posted to internal Y Combinator forums saying they had skipped vaccine queues in Oakland, California, and had shared tips to help other founders also jump spots in line.

Just hours later, Prolific CEO Katia Damer replied to Biggar's tweet, claiming Y Combinator had kicked her out for speaking about misogyny within the accelerator.

"OK, I'll come out publicly: 2 weeks ago YC kicked me out as well because I dared to criticise their beloved founders," Damer said.

"Jessica literally defended a misogynist," she said, referring to Y Combinator founding partner Jessica Livingston, adding: "I called it out and got expelled from their 'oh-so-great' community lmao."

"YC has systemically disadvantaged female founders for years," Damer said, claiming Y Combinator's success stories included "almost exclusively white male founders."

"We don't provide details into why people get removed from the YC community, but both tweet threads are not accurate. They were not removed for the content of their posts but for breaking the terms of the community," Y Combinator spokesperson Lindsay Amos told Insider.

"One of our most important rules: we don't share anything from the forum with anyone outside of YC. This is a community built on trust and privacy," she added.

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Venture capital has long had a diversity problem, with firms hiring few investors or employees of color and funneling an overwhelming majority of their investments toward white male founders. Y Combinator has been vocal at times over the years about the need to increase diversity in its ranks, but it has struggled to make significant progress.

In September, Y Combinator touted that its Black-, Latinx-, and female-founded portfolio companies had a combined post-money valuation of $23.6 billion - less than 8% of the more than $300 billion combined valuation of its top companies alone.

Read the original article on Business Insider
In this Aug. 6, 2020 file photo, New York State Attorney General Letitia James takes a question at a news conference in New York. Kathy Willens/Associated Press

The National Rifle Association dropped its lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

NRA lawyers sued James and her office, claiming her investigation was politically motivated.

"We were victorious," James' office said in a statement, according to Law & Crime.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

The National Rifle Association on Friday dropped its lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James and her office.

"The NRA dropping its countersuit today in federal court is an implicit admission that their strategy would never prevail," James said in a statement to legal news outlet Law & Crime.

"The truth is that Wayne LaPierre and his lieutenants used the NRA as a breeding ground for personal gain and a lavish lifestyle," she continued. "We were victorious against the organization's attempt to declare bankruptcy, and our fight for transparency and accountability will continue because no one is above the law."

According to CNN, the NRA said in a statement the suit was "voluntarily" withdrawn in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York "in favor of pursuing the same claims against James in New York State court in Manhattan.

The organization filed a similar lawsuit against James in New York state court earlier this year, according to CNN.

Lawyers for the NRA sued James and her office in August 2020, claiming James and her office were illegally investigating the organization for political reasons.

"There can be no doubt that the James's actions against the NRA are motivated and substantially caused by her hostility toward the NRA's political advocacy," lawyers for the NRA claimed in the filing the lawsuit last year.

As Law & Crime reported, that lawsuit was filed the same day James' office filed a petition seeking the dissolution of the NRA over claims of fraud at the organization, including that longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre and others improperly organization funds for pay for things like travel and "expensive meals."

A federal judge last month dismissed the NRA's request to declare bankruptcy and said its petition to do so had not "been filed in good faith" and that the NRA attempted to file bankruptcy to avoid litigation in New York.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rory Burns made a battling hundred for England but Tim Southees six for 43 helped New Zealand gain the upper hand on the penultimate day of the first Test at Lords.

England captain Joe Root departed to the first ball of Saturday morning while Southee used his guile and a hint of movement to snare Ollie Pope, Dan Lawrence and James Bracey  all of whom fell within the space of 21 deliveries.

A position of 140 for three became 140 for six in response to New Zealands 378 but Burns made use of let-offs on 77 and 88 to post a gritty 132 from 297 balls in Englands 275 all out  a first-innings deficit of 103.

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Burns and Ollie Robinson had earlier ensured England avoided the follow-on but the latter was caught in the deep to give Southee his place on the Lords honours board.

A third day washout seemingly increased the prospect of a draw in the first of two Tests between the teams, although the tourists boosted their hopes from the off on Saturday morning.

Kyle Jamieson, in his first overseas Test, produced a fantastic delivery, angling one in to Root (42) which caught the edge and was taken low down by Ross Taylor, ending a 93-run stand between the home skipper and Burns.

Pope got under way with a couple of streaky boundaries as Jamieson continued to probe away in the channel, but the Surrey batsman gradually gained in fluency, until he overbalanced against Southee and was trapped in front for 22, the not out decision overturned on review.

Tim Southee took six wickets (Adam Davy/PA)

Lawrence wafted at his second ball and was caught in the cordon from a thick edge off Southee, who crowned a sensational morning spell of 9-4-18-3 by bowling Bracey between bat and pad.

Burns showed admirable resolve in his first innings back  he was dropped for the final two Tests in India last winter  amid the tumble of wickets at the other end, even if he added just 13 runs to his total in the session.

Robinson overturned a bat-pad decision off Mitchell Santner in the final over before lunch, after which the lower order batsman, who has had a turbulent week on Test debut after apologising for historical racist and sexist tweets, and Burns stabilised Englands position.

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There were few alarms until the final over before the second new ball, when BJ Watling missed a simple stumping to reprieve on Burns, on 77, while the England opener was also given a life on 88 when Southee shelled a chance at second slip off Neil Wagner.

Ollie Robinson provided good support for Rory Burns (Adam Davy/PA)

Robinson fell for 42 after hooking Southee to long leg, Mark Wood inside-edged Jamieson behind to become the fourth England batsman to fall for a duck in the innings while Stuart Broad (10) was bowled by Wagner the ball after despatching the left-armer into the stands for six.

Broads dismissal left England nine down and Burns still needing nine to reach three figures. But last man James Anderson withstood a couple of nervy moments to allow Burns to bring up his third Test ton.

Having batted at a glacial pace for most of the day, Burns upped the tempo after going past his hundred, unfurling some glorious drives and a slog sweep off Wagner for six.

Burns contributed 41 from 35 balls in a priceless last-wicket stand of 52 before nicking to Watling off the returning Southee ended Englands innings.
Trump has slammed the probe as "purely political," and those around him insist he isn't concerned about potential legal exposure even as they suggest his political posture is evolving.

"I have definitely picked up a shift that there's more of an intentionality to be leaning on the side of it's going to happen than it's not," said Matt Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union, who is close to the former president. "I think it's a very real possibility."

Trump would face daunting headwinds in addition to his legal vulnerabilities. He would run with the legacy of being the only American president to be impeached twice. A campaign would almost certainly revive memories of the deadly insurrection he helped spark at the U.S. Capitol earlier this year, potentially dragging down other Republicans who have sought to move past the violence.

Beyond that, Trump would be 78 years old on Inauguration Day in 2025  the same age as Democrat Joe Biden on his own Inauguration Day this year  and multiple Republicans are already making moves for runs of their own. Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, is slated to visit the early voting state of New Hampshire on Thursday.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  The Biden administration has quietly tasked six humanitarian groups with recommending which migrants should be allowed to stay in the U.S. instead of being rapidly expelled from the country under federal pandemic-related powers that block people from seeking asylum.

The groups will determine who is most vulnerable in Mexico, and their criteria has not been made public. It comes as large numbers of people are crossing the southern border and as the government faces intensifying pressure to lift the public health powers instituted by former President Donald Trump and kept in place by President Joe Biden during the coronavirus pandemic.

Several members of the consortium spoke to The Associated Press about the criteria and provided details of the system that have not been previously reported. The government is aiming to admit to the country up to 250 asylum-seekers a day who are referred by the groups and is agreeing to that system only until July 31. By then, the consortium hopes the Biden administration will have lifted the public health rules, though the government has not committed to that.

So far, a total of nearly 800 asylum-seekers have been let in since May 3, and members of the consortium say there is already more demand than they can meet.
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP)  Jerry Falwell Jr. is asking a court in Virginia to dismiss a lawsuit Liberty University filed over his headline-grabbing departure last year as leader of the evangelical school his father founded.

Falwell claims in a court filing that much of Liberty's suit serves only to keep shaming him after a provocative photo of him came to light and revelations surfaced of his wifes extramarital affair, The News & Advance in Lynchburg reported Thursday.

Falwell claims the suit focuses on his wifes personal life while not addressing his actions as the leader of Liberty.

The rehashing of these events and protected defamation of Falwell through litigation serves one mission  ruining Falwells reputation through mischaracterization of events and public shaming through out-of-context pictures filed in a public complaint, according to Tuesdays filing in Lynchburg Circuit Court.
Its not just Tulsa.

From the 2019 premiere of HBOs Watchmen, which introduced many Americans to a racial atrocity theyd never heard of, to all the recent media attention  CNN, the New York Times, NPR  marking this weeks centennial, the Tulsa Race Massacre of May 31 to June 1, 1921 has lately been inescapable.

As well it should be.

It stands out for multiple reasons. There is the sheer size of it: at least 35 square blocks leveled by white mobs. There is the death toll of it: an estimated 300 African Americans  the exact number will never be known  killed. And there is the cussed gall of it. Barred from white community and society, Black people created a thriving community and society of their own, a Black Wall Street  only to have white people burn it to the ground.

Its important that all this be known. Yet its also important to recognize that what happened in that Oklahoma town was not some isolated event. No, Tulsa in 1921 is echoed by New York in 1863, Memphis and New Orleans in 1866, Wilmington, North Carolina in 1898, Atlanta in 1906, Springfield in 1908, East St. Louis in 1917, Chicago and Elaine, Arkansas, in 1919, Rosewood, Florida in 1923  among others.
However, he soon became so popular that he rarely drew serious Democratic opposition  and sometimes had no Democratic opposition at all. He won in 1984 with 70% of the vote, and in 1990 with 80.9%. Warner was, by all measures, the most popular politician in Virginia.

All that changed in 1996 when Warner faced a very different type of Democratic contender  a wealthy young tech entrepreneur named Mark Warner. It soon became apparent that John Warner faced a more serious challenge than he ever had before. In early October, his campaign went on the attack. The typical Republican playbook then was the same as it is now  to portray the Democratic candidate as dangerously liberal.

In some ways, that was easier to do then than it is now because back then Virginia still voted reliably Republican in presidential elections. Successful Democrats then had to be careful about what they said and how they said it. They certainly denied being liberals, insisting they were merely moderates.

Whether that was true or not is beside the point today; that was just the political environment at the time. Republicans had one advantage in 1996: A Democrat, Bill Clinton, was president, and so Republicans were keen to tie Virginia Democrats to him.
When it comes to eating on the road, there are a few schools of thought. Some pack pretzels, fruit, and lunch meats into a cooler with Tetris-like precision. Others prefer rolling the dice on roadside stands and gas station burritos.

When avid traveler and chef Marc Matsumoto is on the move, his go-to meals are bentosJapanese-style packed lunches that often include combinations of rice, meat or tofu, and vegetables. If my trip were to involve a lot of physical activity like hiking, says Matsumoto, co-author of Ultimate Bento: Healthy, Delicious, and Affordable: 85 Mix-and-Match Bento Box Recipes and host of Bento Expo on NHK World, Id pack a bento with a lot of protein and carbs.

In Japan, the dominant form of transportation is by train, and the modern form of bento comes from ekiben, which literally means train station bento. These were bentos sold by vendors at train stations around Japan for travelers looking for a meal to eat on their trip, Matsumoto says. Bento refers to the lunch box and the meal, and there are whole online communities dedicated to the art of making them.

In addition to being portable, bentos are eaten at room temperature and typically not refrigerated, making them perfect for your next road trip or camping adventure. A typical Japanese bento box is about the size of an American pack of butter, Matsumoto says. It may seem small, but the idea is to keep it compact so that its easy to take with you when youre on the go. Matsumoto estimates that an average bento box could hold at least a pound of food, which equates to around 600 to 1,000 calories, making them hearty enough to sustain you on a rigorous hike. A couple of Matsumotos favorite meats to include are loco moco (burger patty with a mushroom gravy) and chicken nanban (fried chicken coated with egg batter). You can purchase the bento box container from any Asian grocery store or from Amazon.
Sometimes he and Agatha would go for walks and when she would look back, Nathan would be strolling along about two blocks or more behind her, his sister said. He was known to be slow, or should we say, never in a hurry. He took his time about everything, and it didnt bother him a bit.
Japan has donated 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine to Taiwan. The vaccines landed in Taoyuan early Friday afternoon.

Health minister Chen Shih-chung said the vaccines, after passing inspection, will be first offered to health care workers and other front-line workers, as well as residents of long-term care homes and people 75 and older.

At 1:57 Friday afternoon, Japan Airlines flight JL809 touched down at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, carrying 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

It arrived 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Staff was seen carefully moving container after container of vaccine off the cargo plane.

By 3:30, the vaccines had arrived at a logistics center in Taoyuan.
TOKYO -- Signs of a hole in Japan's measures to lock down its borders against the coronavirus have been spotted in an unexpected place: a department store in downtown Tokyo's ritzy Ginza district.

An employee involved in analyzing customer data there began feeling a creeping sense of unease last fall. While looking at passport information from shoppers taking advantage of tax exemptions for non-residents, he noticed that some had come to the store not long after arriving in the country.

It was clear that they had breached a two-week quarantine requested by the government.

The pandemic caused foreign travel to Japan to plunge more than 90%, but not to zero. A trickle of visitors has continued to flow across the border. The government asks everyone entering the country, regardless of nationality, to stay at home or in a hotel for two weeks after arrival, and to report their location and health status regularly via a smartphone app.

But these conditions are not legally binding. The health ministry says it does not hear from as many as 100 of the 20,000-plus people who need to check in each day. Some likely go out shopping regardless of the government's demands to self-isolate.

Before the pandemic, many foreign visitors took advantage of Japan's tax-free shopping program.

Information on department store databases can pinpoint which customers may have broken quarantine because they need to show the entry date stamped on their passports to receive sales tax refunds.

When the employee in Ginza combed through his store's data and confirmed his suspicions, he wondered at the same time whether the government knew how valuable this information would be.

Japan switched to digital records of tax-free shopping transactions in April 2020. This data is sent to the National Tax Agency, meaning that the government should have the same information that stores do.

However, officials face hurdles when trying to use this resource directly.

"The people who handle coronavirus countermeasures probably don't even know that the data exists," said an employee at an economic agency. Even if they do, there are legal restrictions on using tax data for non-tax-related purposes.

Visas and other essential passport information fall under the jurisdiction of the Immigration Services Agency, which faces separate barriers to using that data for border control measures. - Nikkei
Despite cannabis becoming more widely accepted in many countries around the world, in Japan its still considered a major crime to have or use any amount.

It wasnt until just last month that laws concerning medicinal marijuana were even considered to be relaxed.

Which is why its of the utmost importance to stay far away from the substance while in Japan and especially not be a part of mailing it around the country.

Unfortunately thats exactly what one American English teacher from Tsukuba City in Ibaraki Prefecture did, helping to smuggle cannabis oil inside hair treatment bottles.

The 43-year-old English conversation school (eikaiwa) teacher, Richard Thomas Gonzalez Melgarejo, was arrested in April at a hotel in Ibaraki Prefecture. He was found with about two kilograms of cannabis oil hidden inside hair treatment bottles.

He was suspected of receiving the parcel of smuggled goods at the hotel, and of planning to ship it out. A search of his home found five more kilograms of cannabis oil, which resulted in him being further charged of possession with intent to sell.

The value of the seven total kilograms of cannabis oil comes to about 280 million yen (US$2,556,960), and is suspected of being a part of a larger organization.
Finance ministers of the Group of Seven countries have agreed to commit to a global minimum corporate tax of at least 15 percent.

The G7 finance ministers gathered in London on Friday and Saturday.

A statement issued after the meeting says they have agreed to the principle of a global minimum rate that ensures multinational companies pay tax of at least 15 percent in each country where they operate.

Securing tax revenues from multinationals is hoped to help the nations recover from economic fallout caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministers also agreed that part of any profit above a certain margin will be reallocated and then subjected to tax in the countries where they operate.

The rule would apply to the world's 100 largest and most profitable companies, many of which are US firms.
A strange session packed with Zoom committee meetings and arguments about masks ended in late May for the Iowa legislature, and farmers are just starting to figure out what it all means for them.

It will go down as one of the most extraordinary sessions because of the circumstances, said Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman.

Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill said he was concerned both with the circumstances surrounding the session and the tenor of the debate at times, but he said that for farmers it ended well.

For Hill, the biggest accomplishment achieved by lawmakers this year came at the end of the session when they changed the funding mechanism for mental health care in the state. Local property taxes had been a major part of that funding, and after much debate lawmakers decided in the closing days that the state should take over that responsibility. That change was the No. 1 priority for the Farm Bureau this session, Hill said.

The change did not reduce the amount of government funding for mental health care, Hill said, but it shifted the funding.

All the tax issues this session were important, but we had been fighting for property tax relief for many years, he said.
After officers arrived, Gionet agreed to take his friend home. When the friend became belligerent in the car, Gionet called police again and was somewhat uncooperative with the second set of officers who respond, prosecutors said.

"He also appears to threaten his friend," they wrote.

Defense attorney Zachary Thornley said Gionet didn't break any laws or violate any conditions of his release.

I really don't know why we're all here today, he said during a remote hearing Friday.

We're all here because your client recorded all of this and put it up on YouTube, which a smart person might wonder if that's what you should be doing while you're under court supervision, the magistrate countered.

Prosecutors say the video appears to be a money-making vehicle for Gionet, a social media personality who was listed as one of the speakers at the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that erupted in violence in 2017.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary election does not occur until May 10, more than 11 months from now, and Heineman does not need to be concerned about name recognition.

"The one message I am getting from talking with people, including business, agricultural and community leaders, is that there's not a lot of interest in the governor's race now," Heineman said.

After more than a year of isolation imposed by the pandemic, "people just want their lives back," he said.

In addition to Herbster, University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen of Columbus is an announced candidate and already has been laying the groundwork for a campaign that appears likely to have the active support of Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha is also expected to enter the race.

Heineman became governor in January of 2005, when he stepped up from lieutenant governor to fill the vacancy created by Gov. Mike Johanns' resignation to become U.S. secretary of agriculture.

In 2006, he was elected to a four-year term, after defeating Rep. Tom Osborne in a hotly contested Republican primary election.

Heineman's 2010 reelection was a cakewalk, topped by a 230,000-vote victory in November.
When I lived in France many years ago, I went to Mass regularly at Notre Dame Cathedral. My French was not so good, so the ability to attend Mass in Latin was a blessing, because I was able to understand much of what was going on.
Jill Mendygral, of Kingston, Pennsylvania, was lounging on the beach on her first day of vacation when an umbrella was swept up by gusts of wind and impaled her chest, according to the federal lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for Maryland. The complaint seeks more than $150,000.
If somebody wanted to order a sword, Id be willing to give it a try, OBrien said. I like a good challenge. I just did a dagger for a guy here the other day and had never done one before. It was a challenge for sure.

OBrien decided to test his skills on Forged on Fire in February 2020 as he responded to an online casting call.

He heard back and did some preliminary interviews, but things then went quiet with the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was contacted again this February and told he would be casted in a show.

The first two rounds of the show took place in a studio in Connecticut over two days in early March.

The two finalists then returned home for four days to build the two Ginunting swords.

They returned to the studio for the last round.

He said the first round was perhaps the most stressful when the four contestants had to make a Damascus san mai blade  basically one made from a decorative but durable steel.

Youre using tools youre not used to, you have cameramen running around you and three judges watching everything you do, OBrien said. And you have three hours to do (the project).
State Sen. Mike Groene provided advice to the public for the next time they head to the polls

Never vote for somebody who is nice. Never.

Im not nice, the North Platte lawmaker told an estimated crowd of more than a few hundred at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds Friday night. Im kind.

Groene was one of the speakers during the Arise USA event, a political-themed tour across the country that states its focus is on health, human rights and constitutional freedom.

North Platte is one of 84 stops across the country in a three-month tour that started May 17.

The crowd was energized by a selection of music that ranged from country songs like John Denvers Country Roads to 80s-era heavy metal before the program started.

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Groene told the crowd that candidates seem nice because they have no core values.

You cannot be nice if you have to defend core values. You have to be truthful, Groene said. To be nice, you have to lie to people because you dont want to hurt their feelings.

Groene was the second speaker at the event, which was still going on as The Telegraph went to press.
Another new state law, LB 644, requires a joint public hearing by counties, cities, school districts and community colleges seeking to raise their property tax requests by more than 2% plus the percentage of growth in their respective taxable values.

Such hearings must be held between Sept. 17 and 29, with local governments having until Sept. 30  10 days later than before  to adopt their budgets and file them with the State Auditors Office.

The County Board still has until Oct. 15 to ratify final 2021 tax rates, though it cant affect any individual rate but its own.

Residential valuations again remained static for three North Platte homes  one apiece on the citys north, west and southwest sides between the Platte Rivers two branches  that The Telegraph follows during tax-setting season.

That once more puts the fate of their gross 2021 tax bills in the hands of the eight local governments serving property owners within city limits.

Taxable values rose in other parts of the county, Stenger said, as the Assessors Office works its way through inspecting every county property at least once every six years under state law.
A Dundy County law enforcement officer is one of 14 Nebraskans appointed to the states new Commission on African American Affairs.

John Carter of Benkelman has extensive experience in law enforcement, having worked at police departments in David City and Lincoln as an officer, and in Tekamah as interim chief of police. He currently serves as chief deputy sheriff for Dundy County. He holds a Juris Doctor from Creighton Law School.

Throughout Nebraskas history, African American leaders have helped grow Nebraska and have richly contributed to our heritage in many ways, Gov. Pete Ricketts said in announcing the appointments. Thank you to the dedicated men and women who have stepped up to serve on the new African American Commission. I look forward to working alongside commissioners to grow our state for the benefit of all Nebraskans.

The Commission on African American Affairs was created through the 2020 enactment of Legislative Bill 918, introduced by state Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha.

Among its responsibilities, the commission is tasked to coordinate programs relating to the African American community in Nebraska regarding housing, education, welfare, medical and dental care, employment, economic development, law and order, and related problems.
Could I consider adopting another unwanted, rejected canine? My heart was an automatic yes, but I knew that it would need to be a prayerful decision. Two hurdles were time  Wichita, Kansas, is a 15-hour round trip  and the expense of the adoption fee.

It was the first week of September and that is significant in the story because it demonstrated the providence of God, working when I was not aware. I was scheduled to lead a workshop in Kansas at a womens conference the next weekend. When I called the director of the rescue, she was excited that we would even consider adoption. They had spent several thousand dollars restoring Algeas health over those months because she had been so emaciated. The adoption fee was waived, and Gypsy, as she was named then, would be delivered to Salina on the day I was returning to Nebraska. Every obstacle had vanished. I renamed her Algea, who was the lesser goddess of pain, suffering and sorrow in Greek mythology.

She was afraid of people and other dogs because she had been beaten and neglected. She had suffered physically and emotionally. She is still a work in progress, but she continues to recover with love. Rebuilding trust is a slow and steady process.
Tembe Denton-Hurst is a writer whose interests include shiny lip gloss and natural hair. Before the Strategist, she wrote about race and beauty for Nylon and Elle. Photo: Retailers

I remember clearly the hair products I used when I first went natural eight years ago. There was Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, which I used for moisturizing and defining my curls. Carols Daughters Black Vanilla line was my go-to for shampooing and conditioning. And, eventually, I became so attached to EcoStyler Gel that I scooped a big olive-hued glob into a ziplock bag and schlepped it all the way to Spain, where I studied abroad for four months.

This product obsession isnt me-specific. Hair-care products are and always have been essential to the natural-hair community. When the movement started in the early aughts, the obsession was fueled by a lack of options. Black women were making hair solutions in their kitchens. When Black-owned early-entry brands, like Kinky-Curly and Miss Jessies, arrived, naturals suddenly had effective products designed specifically for popping wash and gos, twist outs, and braid outs.

It was inevitable, then, that I noticed when natural-hair products started looking very gold. About five years into my being natural, I started seeing bronze and metallic palettes and crown/queen motifs everywhere, particularly with legacy brands that had expanded their offerings to cater to natural hair. I felt uneasy about the look, but didnt think much of it at first. Later, I realized the gold and crowns and queens were someone elses concept of Black womanhood. Or as Erin Williams, director of marketing and product at TPH by Taraji, put it, when mass brands started making products for natural hair, they tried to reflect who they thought the consumer was. They wanted to celebrate the textured-hair community. But they leveraged familiar, and often stereotypical, imagery that felt celebratory and luxurious.

This gold rush was triggered by a rapid expansion of the natural-hair market. Relaxer sales fell 38 percent from 20122017, and have continued to decline since. Meanwhile, products like Carols Daughter Hair Milk and Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie soared in popularity  in 2018, market-research firm Mintel valued the Black hair-care industry at $2.5 billion. Mass, conglomerate-owned brands like Pantene and Head & Shoulders wanted in. And with them came the gold palettes and royalty vibes. While well-intentioned, in practice it felt like a gimmick, and only pushed me (and the broader community) deeper into the arms of the brands who had seen and served us all along.

Presently, Black-owned brands lead in innovation and solving age-old hair concerns like tangling, weightless volume, and arduous wash days. Bread Beauty, for instance, founded by former brand manager Maeva Heim, launched a lazy girl wash-day kit in 2020 that employed a three-step system to allow for an easy, painless routine. Patterns Styling Cream has become a favorite for twist outs and wash and gos, and Sienna Naturals, which relaunched with Issa Rae in 2020, is focusing on sustainable ingredients. All that and no gold packaging in sight.

Its been nearly 30 years since Shea Moisture founder Richelieu Dennis sold shea butter in Harlem and 20 since Target opened its doors to natural-hair brands. Theres been thousands of products in between  the good, the gold, and the holy grails. To make sense of it all, weve put together a timeline  a (very) abridged history of natural-hair products and packaging.

Natural-Hair Products Through the Years

1991: Richelieu Dennis sells shea-butter shampoo from a table on 125th Street in Harlem. Hes inspired to add the ingredient because its widely used in his native Liberia.

1993: A few miles away in Brooklyn, Carols Daughter founder Lisa Price makes early formulations in her kitchen, selling them at flea markets at the urging of her mother. On her first day out, she sells out of almost everything.

1999: Ouidad, the first curly-hair salon, introduces the Climate Control collection. While it isnt marketed exclusively to Black women, it marks a shift in the visibility of curly hair.

2002: Lisa Price and Carols Daughter appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The Oprah Effect boosts sales overnight and traffic on the Carols Daughter site went from 17 people to over 10,000 in four minutes. It was as if we had arrived, Price has said. Her Black Vanilla line and Lisas Hair Elixir become staples in natural-hair routines and the line is later endorsed by Black celebrities like Solange and Jada Pinkett Smith.

20022003: DevaCurl and Kinky-Curly launch within months of each other. The brands most popular products, no-poo cleanser and curling custard, address two major priorities in the natural-hair community: Cleansing without stripping, and defining coils and kinks.

Miss Jessies Curly Pudding packaging at launch in 2004.

2004: Miss Jessies launches with Curly Pudding. The bright-lavender formula and vintage-looking, text-heavy packaging is unlike anything else in the marketplace. Sisters and founders Titi and Miko Branch said the packaging was inspired by their grandmother and her love of baking, along with old-school, vintage beauty products.

2010: Design Essentials, a longtime Black-owned hair-care brand, launches Design Essentials Naturals  its first sulfate-free, mineral-oil-free line.

2010: Target is the first mass retailer to sell natural-hair brands like Miss Jessies, Curls, the Jane Carter Solution, and Shea Moisture.

2010: Popular relaxer brand Mizani rolls out True Textures, a five-product hair-care line formulated specifically for natural hair. Maria Cerminara, the vice-president of marketing at the time, tells WWD that they developed the line in response to a growing trend of women wearing their hair natural. The line includes a sulfate-free shampoo, a hair mask, conditioning wash, cream gel, and curl-defining cream. Its only available in the salon.

2011: Carols Daughter announces Cassie, Solange, and Selita Ebanks as spokeswomen for the brand on the cover of WWD Style.

2012: Cantu, founded in 2004 by AB Brands, releases the Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream, and is marketed to women with natural and relaxed hair. The formula is thick and deeply nourishing, which is appealing to tighter, coilier textures. It takes off thanks to its affordability (most products were under $10) and accessibility, and is reviewed frequently on natural-hair forums, sites, and YouTube channels.

2013: Naptural85, along with other beauty gurus of the time, document its use of apple cider vinegar as a natural-hair cleanser, popularizing its use. Not long after, several apple cider vinegar natural-hair-care products appear on the market, like Shea Moisture Apple Cider Vinegar line, Txtr by Cantu, and Creme of Nature Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse.

Pantene Truly Natural shampoo and conditioner.

2013: Pantene launches Truly Natural. The shampoo, co-wash, conditioner, and curling custard are packaged in bronze bottles. Unlike the leading Black-owned and -operated brands of the time (e.g., Carols Daughter and Curls), the products contain sulfates and silicones.

2014: Curls debuts a clean shampoo, conditioner, and curling jelly that are sulfate-, paraben-, and mineral-oil-free.

2014: The Jamaica Black Castor Oil line from Shea Moisture includes all the popular ingredients of the time: peppermint oil, apple cider vinegar, castor oil, shea butter, and coconut oil.

2015: Relaxer brands like Dark and Lovely and ORS introduce their collections for natural hair. Their packaging is reminiscent of their perm packaging, but with colorful, silhouetted Afros, and an emphasis on ingredients.

2018: Pantene quietly phases out Truly Natural and launches the Gold Series, which is meant for all Black hair  including chemically processed and transitioning hair. Head & Shoulders launches the Royal Oils collection, its first collection specifically designed for natural hair. Both lines are criticized online for their gold packaging, which is billed as dated.

2019: Tracee Ellis Ross launches Pattern Beauty and kicks off a year of natural-hair-care brands founded by Black celebrities. Its lauded as fresh and innovative. The packaging is graphic and elevated, and its available at an accessible price, with products starting at $20.

2020: TPH by Taraji debuts a few months later in January 2020. Flawless by Gabrielle Union (founded in 2017) relaunches in August 2020. Issa Rae becomes co-owner of Sienna Naturals and the brand relaunches in fall 2020. TPH has bright-colored, custom packaging with focused nozzles to get products directly into the scalp. Sienna Naturals uses shades of green and features topographical-looking lines inspired by the shapes of curls.

2020: Bread Beauty Supply introduces the Wash Day Kit at Sephora and is only the third Black-owned hair-care brand sold by the retailer. Breads effortless, lazy girl ethos cut down traditionally laborious wash days to three simple steps. In the textured-hair space, having a face visual on products is actually quite common and old-school. I wanted a face visual to not only signal to this customer that this product was for her, but also for it to be a nod to a design style thats extremely nostalgic, but modernized for todays consumer, says founder Maeva Heim.

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Lee Countys health care infrastructure will get a needed boost very soon.

Auburn city and university officials joined with East Alabama Medical Center Friday to cut the ribbon on Auburn Medical Pavilion, a new emergency department in Auburn Universitys research and technology campus on Auburns south side.

This is a very exciting day for us  our hospital familys been looking forward to this day for a very long time, said EAMC President and CEO Laura Grill to a crowd of about 100 people. It seems like weve been talking about and planning this facility for many years.  We knew we wanted to be associated with the university and with the research and technology park, and this turned out to be the perfect location for this facility.

The $33.7 million building, located on Shug Jordan Parkway just west of College Street, will house the 12-bed emergency department, an outpatient surgery center, inhouse pharmacy and a breast health center  84,000 square feet on three floors, all told.

EAMC spokesman John Atkinson said the emergency department will initially handle walk-in traffic and reroute ambulances to the Opelika campus. It should open later this month, with the other services at the site available by the end of this summer.
VaccineCheck gives people an easy, convenient way to access their CDC vaccine card, said Amanda Haugh, administrative program manager at the Carroll County Health Department, who helped bring the program to Carroll County. People call us every day to say they lost or damaged their paper card, and this is a great alternative. The Health Department has worked hard to make COVID-19 vaccinations easy and accessible, so we are happy to be able to offer this program to make it easy for people to get a digital version of their vaccination cards as well.
Washington, PA (15301)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning. Thunderstorms likely during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to mainly clear skies after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 58F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Washington, PA (15301)

Today

Partly cloudy early. Thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 81F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then becoming clear after midnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 58F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Multimedia Reporter

Staff writer Harry Funk, a professional journalist for three-plus decades, has been on the staff of The Almanac since 2015. He has a bachelors degree in journalism and master of business administration, both from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Staff Writer

Brad Hundt came to the Observer-Reporter in 1998 after stints at newspapers in Georgia and Michigan. He serves as editorial page editor, and has covered the arts and entertainment and worked as a municipal beat reporter.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have chosen a top U.S. coal-producing state as the location for a new kind of nuclear reactor, using Natrium as its power source.

The natrium power plant, with an anticipated cost of $1 billion, will repurpose a coal plant for its operations in Wyoming, with the exact location to be announced by the end of 2021. The partners hope this will help the U.S. on its way to a carbon-zero future.

The development consists of a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled fast reactor with molten salt-based energy storage that could boost the systems power output to 500MW during peak power demand. This would provide enough energy to power as many as 400,000 homes.

The project will be overseen by TerraPower and Pacificorp, founded by Gates and Buffett respectively. TerraPower has been key in exploring the potential of Natrium power as the U.S. energy department awarded the company $80 million in funding last year to demonstrate the potential power of this chemical.

We think Natrium will be a game-changer for the energy industry, Gates stated of the project.

President and CEO of TerraPower, Chris Levesque, adds We need this kind of clean energy on the grid in the 2030s.

Some experts are critiquing the plans, warning that advanced reactors may present a higher risk than their conventional counterparts. Reactor fuel needs to be enriched at a higher rate than conventional fuel, making the supply chain a potential target for groups trying to build a crude nuclear weapon.

However, advanced nuclear reactors have simpler designs than typical reactors, making them easier to build, more fuel-efficient, cheaper, and safer.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon believes This is our fastest and clearest course to becoming carbon negative," stating, "Nuclear power is clearly a part of my all-of-the-above strategy for energy."

The project is expected to provide on-demand, no-carbon energy, as well as providing hundreds of short and long-term jobs in construction and plant operations. This will give a much-needed boost to Wyomings job sector following two decades of coal plant closures.

While two out of every three nuclear power reactors globally are scheduled for retirement in the near future, the U.S. is still investing heavily in nuclear power. For example, the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia is expected to commence commercial operation in November 2021, at an estimated cost of $28 billion. It seems that despite a movement away from nuclear power in recent years we cannot overlook its potential as a global energy leader.

Following a decade of decline after major disasters such as Fukushima in 2011, which obliterated Japans nuclear power program, two countries, Belarus and the United Arab Emirates have recently commissioned new nuclear power plants. In addition, Japan is aiming to reintroduce nuclear capacities, with at least 5 safety-upgraded reactors expected to be recommissioned by 2025.

The Middle East and South Asia are expected to boost their nuclear power production by the end of the decade, with Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh, China, and India all investing in nuclear reactors. This has sent uranium stocks up since late 2020, with two leading US-listed uranium miners, Uranium Energy Corp. and Cameco Corporation, both experiencing a steady climb.

Despite the recent decline in nuclear power, plans to invest in the recommissioning of existing reactors and develop new ones suggest that nuclear energy is not yet dead. Further, if Gates and Buffett are successful in developing their Natrium advanced reactor is could lead the way for future projects.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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The reputation of coal has sustained great damage from an increasing amount of analytical reports describing it as the lowest-hanging fruit to halt global warming. Especially amongst OECD countries, getting out of coal (oftentimes taking on great financial losses just to have it off their hands) has become an infectious habit. Thermal coal remains the main target as its use in electricity generation triggers much more public backlash than, for instance, metallurgical coal, an indispensable component of the steel industry as we know it. As much as coal pollutes the skies of the Old Continent, the brusqueness of anti-coal sentiment is almost certain to generate conflict between remaining producers and their neighbours. The diplomatic spat between Poland and Czech Republic certainly points to that direction.

It should come as no surprise that the onslaught is coming on the back of Europe seeking more coal (albeit as an interim measure). The speed with which European gas prices have risen surpassed the simultaneous appreciation of coal, thus limiting opportunities for coal-to-gas switching. This is quite a development as it goes completely against two major coal industry trends. First and foremost, carbon prices still hover around 50 EUR per metric ton CO2, roughly double of what they were a year ago. Second, the coal market has been going through something of a supply crisis  Chinas ban on Australian coal pushed up prices globally, whilst heavy rainfall in the Southern Hemisphere this year hindered exports from Indonesia and partially Australia.

Against the background of all the above, Central Europe has transformed into a legal battlefield. The Czech Republic filed a lawsuit against Poland, the absolute coal-producing heavyweight of CEE, claiming Warsaws volte-face on its coal energy commitments constituted an immediate impediment to its long-term sustainability  including but not limited to its polluting and potentially desiccating of underground waters currently used as drinking water on the Czech side. The Turow coal mine is one of Europes largest and oldest, having been producing for a whopping 117 years already, since 1904. With the operating license for Turow running out, the coal mine was expected to be phased out, propelling Poland to a greener future.

The Polish government, however, decided to extend Turows license to 2044, meaning that the open pit would be extended and the 2 GW coal-fired next to the mine will be kept alive. Turow is Polands second-largest coal project after Belchatow, in contrast to the latter, however, it is located immediately next to two borders, those with Germany and the Czech Republic. Considering that the extension of the Turow coal project would bring the open-pit mine as close as 70 meters from the Czech border, it should not come as a surprise that the Czech government sued Poland for violation of EU environmental regulations. Prague alleges that the decision was taken without required rounds of public consultation and without carrying out a necessary environmental impact assessment.

The Polish government has a doubly difficult task ahead of it. Not only is coal cheap to extract domestically and plentiful in terms of reserves, it serves also a symbolic role in Polands history, as the manifestation of the local miners revolts in Soviet times that brought down the Communist regime there. Being the nations perhaps only commercially viable bid for energy self-sufficiency, Polands coal deposits are also located in the southern Silesian region, i.e. far away from the most profitable wind farms in the Baltic Sea and the prospective nuclear plants (also located along the Baltic Coast). This essentially means that Warsaw is fully cognizant that if it shuts down its coal mines in Silesia, new non-polluting production sites that could supplant coal would be far away from the traditional coal regions. Apart from straightforward export-import economics, this has also far-reaching social implications.

Related: Russia Claims Its Compliance With OPEC+ Cuts Was Almost 100% In May



Poland is working to create a new state-owned mining company, presumably by the end if 2022, poised to take over all coal assets from private producers that might leave the country as debts eat away coals profitability. The nationalization of the coal sector has many disadvantages and one evident advantage  the European Commission would find it harder to hand-wring regional governments into obedience. Brussels effectively sided with Prague on the issue of the Turow coal plant, stating that the Bogatynia Region (where Turow is located) would not receive funds from the EU Just Transition programme. For a country that remains the largest recipient of EU funds (between 2014 and 2020 Warsaw received a hefty 106 billion from the EU budget) that is a serious threat, not to be taken lightly.

The final outcome of the Czech-Polish coal dispute largely depends on the flexibility of the Polish side. Czech authorities have previously claimed that provided Poland sets up systems of long-term monitoring of groundwater and noise levels, ensures that no subsidence is to take place on the Czech and German side as a result of coal extraction and guarantees financial compensation should any of the above conditions not be met, then it could bite the bullet and abandon its claim at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Warsaw seems to be willing to settle the deal amicably with its southern neighbour, with Prime Minister Morawiecki going as far as stating that Poland would spend up to 45 million to prevent the loss and pollution of groundwater. Wary of having long-standing rows with Poland, the Czech authorities might agree to such a deal  triggering the end of the first of many European coal wars to come.

By Gerald Jansen for Oilprice.com



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In addition, The Baltimore Sun published an editorial in which it drew a parallel between Hannah-Jones and the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, describing it in a headline as the whitewashing of American history, a reference to The 1619 Project led by Hannah-Jones. Some believe conservative criticism of this project is at the heart of the decision by the UNC Board of Trustees to deny her tenure at the school of journalism and media.
Reevaluating whether the standards are measurable.

Opponents have questioned whether some of the standards dealing with sexuality are measurable.

The writing team will begin working this summer on the second draft.

Board member Jacquelyn Morrison said people have asked her whether additional people will be added to the writing team as it works on the second draft.

The governor and others have said advocacy groups were invited to give input on the standards, while others with more traditional views were not.

Blomstedt said state law says standards must be written by educators. He said hes looking at how to get people involved in an advisory role.

Weve heard concerns that certain folks werent engaged, so were looking for some other things to kind of add to that process to ensure that theres other voices at the table and able to be a part of that, he said.

None of the board members offered any specifics about what they think of the first draft.

Board member Robin Stevens said that when people ask him where he stands, he gives a canned response.
When some of the passengers decided to travel to Jackson, Mississippi, every Trailways driver turned down the job except Ruth, who was white and 23 at the time, wrote Bobby Ruth, his brother, and Blondell Strong Kimbrough, his friend, in a news release.

He agreed to drive the students and never asked any questions although he was aware of the risks involved, the release stated. Ruth was willing to aid in the cause for freedom and justice at all cost.

The college-age Freedom Riders who set out from Nashville into the Deep South included Diane Nash, the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis and C.T. Vivian. Lewis, a civil rights icon who died last year, was arrested in Jackson and was held at the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

With no regrets of his earlier decision, he expressed great gratitude for being honored and continued to bubble with pride for what he considered to be a small gesture and learned later how significant a contribution he had made to the history of the civil and human rights movement during the early sixties, Kimbrough and Bobby Ruth wrote.

Ruth continued to drive trucks for Jack Johnson and Continental Bus until he was forced to stop because of an accident in 1963.

Ruth died while hospitalized at Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett in Bartlett, Tennessee, on Wednesday. His funeral is scheduled for June 8.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
MIAMI (AP)  Royal Caribbean International said Friday that eight of its ships will resume U.S. voyages in July and August with trips leaving ports in Florida, Texas and Washington state.

The cruise line said all crew members will be vaccinated against COVID-19. Passengers 16 and older on cruises to Alaska will also be required to be vaccinated. The requirement will be expanded to cover Alaska-bound passengers 12 and over starting Aug. 1.

For other trips passing through U.S. water, Royal Caribbean said that passengers are strongly recommended to get vaccinated. Unvaccinated passengers must be tested for the virus and follow other measures that will be announced later, the company said.

Royal Caribbean said that its first U.S. sailing since March 2020 will leave Miami on July 2 on the Freedom of the Seas.

The company said that over the following six weeks, five other ships will sail the Caribbean after leaving from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Port Canaveral, Florida, and Galveston, Texas. Two ships will sail from Seattle to Alaska.

Royal Caribbean, which is headquartered in Miami but registers its ships in other countries, plans to have 12 ships operating worldwide by the end of August. Those include ships sailing from the United Kingdom, Europe and the Bahamas.
The African Development Bank Group and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have signed a $400,000 grant agreement to develop a risk-based supervisory solution for the Ghana capital market.



The grant, from the African Development Banks Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, will finance the provision of technical assistance and capacity building for the SEC, the markets regulator, and the Ghana Stock Exchange.



The project will enhance the SECs institutional capacity and readiness to transition from a compliance-based to a risk-based supervision approach for the securities market.



It will also enable the development and streamlining of policy and regulatory frameworks for pooled funds, and support the broadening of market instruments through the introduction of products such as asset-backed securities.



Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Director-General of the SEC, commended the African Development Bank for supporting the development of a risk-based solution to bolster the Commissions capacity to fulfill its mandate.



The objectives of the project align with the priorities of the Banks Country Strategy for Ghana, which envisages measures to stimulate capital market development and unlock financial resources that will advance Ghanas industrialization, the private sector and infrastructure development.



The collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission to promote an enabling regulatory and supervisory environment with diversified financial market products and instruments is timely. This support demonstrates the Banks desire for a deepened and broadened financial system  a driver of investment and economic growth in Ghana, said Ahmed Attout, Manager of the Banks Capital Markets Development Division.



The project will benefit capital market participants in Ghana, including securities issuers and investors and also help to broaden available products and structures for savings and investment.



Mr Ekow Afedzie, Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, expressed his appreciation to the Bank and noted that the project had come at an opportune time when the stock market planned to introduce new products to deepen the market and improve liquidity.



Thus, the introduction of the new products will boost investor confidence and achieve the ultimate goal of making the Ghana Stock Exchange a preferred investment destination in the sub-region, Mr Afedzie said.



The Securities and Exchange Commission will cooperate closely with the Ghana Stock Exchange and other market stakeholders to implement the project.

Source: GNA









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National Peace Council (NPC) has called for strong financial support from members of the public to enable it to achieve its mission of sustaining peace in the country.



Reverend Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman of NPC, said the Council lacked adequate resources to build the capacities of Staff and enhance their work.



He made the appeal, in a speech read on his behalf, during a three-day Northern Sector Peace Council staff training workshop in Tamale.



The event was funded by the Danish Embassy through its Peace Building and Conflict Prevention Project and aimed to build the capacity of participants in conflict management techniques.



Reverend Dr Adu-Gyamfi said the NPC needed support to enhance the establishment of early warning and response mechanisms at the national and sub-national levels.



He advised members of the NPC to be professional in their line of work and to maintain peace and development in the country.



Reverend Father Thaddeus Kuusah, Executive Secretary of Northern Regional Peace Council (NRPC), said the NRPC had begun processes to index the performance of the Council's essential services by generating a reference list that would be used to check its routine work.



He noted that indexing was one of the tools used to keep records on conflicts, which helped to improve on sustaining peace in the Northern sector.

Source: GNA









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The United Nations is warning of a repeat of Ethiopia's devastating 1984 famine, and is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the northern region of Tigray.



Mark Lowcock, the world body's humanitarian chief, told the BBC that hundreds of thousands of people were already experiencing famine conditions in Tigray after months of conflict.



Mr Lowcock called on the "men with guns" and their political masters to allow full access for aid workers.



And he said more money was urgently needed to support a massive expansion of humanitarian assistance.



But the Ethiopian government has brushed aside talk of a ceasefire.



And those in most urgent need appear to be trapped behind the frontlines - isolated and increasingly desperate, their homes and crops and clinics destroyed.

Source: BBC









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First, focus on the 20% of unvaccinated but persuadable Americans who the nonprofit Surgo Ventures concludes are least resistant to the idea of getting vaccinated. They are working people with limited transportation options and heavy job and family commitments. They trust their friends, their church, or their family doctor, but not the medical establishment.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Atta Mills Institute, Samuel Koku Anyidoho claims under the John Dramani Mahama-led NDC government, the Asomdwee Park where former President Atta Mills was buried, was virtually a residence for miscreants.



According to him, after the burial of former President Atta Mills at the Asomdwee Park, the place was abandoned by his Vice President [John Mahama] who took over from him.



We heard that the Asomdwee Park has become a wee smoking place for some people. And also one will go and find used condoms over there. Some people practically lived at the Asomdwee Park; it became their residence and they do everything over theresome people also turned the Asomdwee Park their place of convenience. This happened 2 to 3 years after the burial of President Atta Mills, he disclosed.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, the founder of Atta Mills Institute noted that it had to take the personal intervention of some NDC stalwarts, including himself, to tidy up the place every year.



When President Atta Mills died, an NDC Government took over from him; how come that an NDC government left the Asomdwee Park in that state? When Atta Mills died, he was succeeded by his Vice President as the next President and how come Asomdwee Park after 2 to 3 years was in that state?, he wondered.



President Mills died in the afternoon, by the evening, his Vice President was sworn-in and 4 and a half years, why did you leave the Asomdwee Park in that state? The NDC Government...my own government didnt do anything about the place, he chided.



While commending the Akufo-Addo led NPP administration for restoring the Asomdwee Park to a befitting burial grounds for an ex-president, Mr Anyidoho believed next year's commissioning of the late Mills' resting place will be grand. And this is why.



I believe that next year when Atta Mills will be 10 years after death, President Akufo-Addo should be able to go to the Asomdwee Park to commission it ....it will be one of the best monuments Ghana will ever have and I will be proud as the Founder-CEO of the Atta Mills Institute to stand side-by-side with President Akufo-Addo to commission the Asomdwee Park. I will be remembered by grandchildren that I did something great for the nation, he posited.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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I sort of hit a wall, not wanting to be a full-time fundraiser. As founder, that was my duty, trying to raise millions of dollars a year, and even though I was the artistic director, I wasnt keeping up with the field, he said.

The curatorial field is competitive, and successful curators need to know what is happening in the art scene all around the world.

Cameron got an attractive offer to move to Southern California as chief curator of the Orange County Museum of Art, where he stayed for 3 1/2 years. He got laid off by a new director but was immediately hired to lead the inaugural Kansas City biennial, which brought midwestern and internationally famous artists to Kansas City for a sprawling exhibition in the summer of 2018.

For the past five years, he has been working as an independent curator and also rediscovering his own creative impulses.

Back home, with books

He had kept an apartment in New York City during all his travels, but after marrying his longtime partner a few years ago, he felt obliged to clear out some of his clutter, especially his thousands of art books. He began looking for a library for rent, and he found it next door to his hometown, in the Colvin Building on Glen Street in Glens Falls.
As the Texas legislative session drew near its end Sunday, lawmakers appeared set to pass a bill overhauling the states elections, until Democrats did one final maneuver: They snuck out of the building. Members, take your key and leave the chamber discreetly, a Democratic leader in the state House told his caucus in a 10:35 p.m. text message.

The extraordinary move deprived the House of a quorum, killing the bill for now, at the cost of undermining the legislative process. But what do you expect after months of Democratic alarms about voter suppression? President Biden on Saturday called the Texas plan un-American and part of an assault on democracy. At least this time he didnt say its worse than Jim Crow, which was the political bomb he lobbed at Georgias bill.

The reality is more prosaic. To start with the controversial, the 67-page bill would roll back Covid-19 innovations like Harris Countys drive-through voting and 24-hour voting. Those options were used disproportionately last year by black and Hispanic residents. But when did emergency procedures amid a 100-year pandemic suddenly become the new baseline? Its hardly crazy to think polling-place shenanigans might be more likely at 3 a.m.
It all started when Mark Fudge Nutter, president of the Richmond, Virginia, chapter, reached out to a prospect from an Illinois chapter and asked him to find Coffee.

A week later, he sent me his obituary, Nutter said. I got his obituary and made a couple calls. I called (club member Laberne Undertaker Hicks) and told him, Hey, man, we got his obituary. We have an idea where hes at. We need to go and find him.

When they were able to pinpoint the cemetery, they were faced with another hurdle: Freddies grave wasnt in the books for some reason. That led to several members having to take matters into their own hands.

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Apparently, this was a brand new section (of the cemetery), said Hicks, of Pennsauken. So where the gravesite is, this is one of the first graves in here, but he has a grave number not in any of the books. We were running around looking for a number that doesnt exist, so we spent like three hours out here walking sections to find it.

+12 New Jersey's largest arcade planned for Showboat ATLANTIC CITY  Gone are the roulette tables and slot machines that were once at the Showboa

Freddie Parker was born in Townsend, Georgia, in 1928. After a short time with the Navy, he moved to Pleasantville with his parents and eventually founded the State Burners with six other riders in Atlantic City.
Friedenberg died at 96 in 2018. He was still active well into his 90s with veterans causes and still spoke in public about his war experiences.

Medics  who in the Marines are called corpsmen  are deeply embedded into units, Satterfield said. They are the soldiers everyone knows.

Friedenberg witnessed suffering and death on the battlefield and wrote about his experiences. His book, Of Being Numerous: World War II as I Saw It, was published through the Holocaust Resource Center at the former Richard Stockton College in 2008.

In a 2011 interview with The Press, Friedenberg said he was jokingly known as the Hostile Hebrew by his fellow soldiers for his strong desire to fight the Germans. He was injured twice while trying to reach injured men  once in the Battle of the Bulge and once outside Aachen, Germany. But his deepest wounds come from remembering the men he couldnt save, he said then.

One young soldier who was hit in the chest and bleeding from an artery on Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion remained in his mind all his life. Friedenberg had no equipment left to stop the bleeding, and only direct pressure slowed it. But he had to leave him to help scores of others calling out for help.

Area WWII vets write own history Mike Sciullo had stacks of film negatives he kept for 60-plus years after World War II.

You never forget something like this, he said then.
The Statue of Liberty could be getting company from her native France.

Paris acclaimed Pompidou Center announced plans Friday to open a satellite museum in what is now a gutted industrial building in Jersey City, Hudson County, not far from where Lady Liberty stands in New York Harbor.

Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, scheduled to open in 2024, would be the French museums first venture in North America, said Centre Pompidou President Serge Lasvignes. It currently has sites in Metz, France; Shanghai, China; Malaga, Spain; and Brussels, Belgium.

The satellite would be completed in time for the start of a major renovation of the Pompidous landmark Paris museum, which houses more than 120,000 modern works of art in its unique architecture of exposed colored pipes and air ducts.

Jersey City hasnt historically been widely visited by the hordes of tourists who come to New York City area each year, but it is an easy train ride from Lower Manhattan.

While the French would provide the art and expertise, Jersey City would provide the cash.
As a result, Democrats opted to use population estimates from the American Community Survey, a product of the federal Census Bureau that is less accurate than the granular census count. The use of estimated data to draw map lines is expected to be part of any legal challenge to the new boundaries. Lawsuits on redistricting are inevitable.

Democrats opted to use the less specific data because of a provision in the state constitution that requires a legislative redistricting map be signed into law by June 30, much earlier than the arrival of the hard census count. Failure to meet the end-of-June deadline would have set in motion a process that would have given Republicans a 50-50 chance to take control of the maps for the next decade.

Democrats, who have one-party control of state government in Illinois, have a 73-45 majority over Republicans in the House and a 41-18 advantage over the GOP in the state Senate.

Republicans were sidelined in the mapmaking process, largely complaining about a lack of transparency and the use of estimated data, and urged Pritzker to uphold his campaign pledge to veto the Democratic product.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP)  A 76-year-old Minnesota man has been arrested in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old suburban Chicago girl nearly half a century ago, authorities said Friday.

The Naperville Police Department arrested Barry Lee Whelpley of Mounds View, Minnesota, on Wednesday for the 1972 slaying of Julie Ann Hanson. The retired welder, who was 27 at the time of the killing, has been charged with murder and was taken into custody in Minnesota.

At a court hearing Friday, Whelpley waived extradition to Illinois and is expected to return to the state in the next few days, Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said. It wasn't clear whether he has an attorney.

The girl was reported missing July 8, 1972, after last being seen riding away from her home on a bicycle. Her body was discovered later that day in a field in Naperville. She had been stabbed 36 times and sexually assaulted, investigators said at the time.

No suspects were immediately identified and Marshall said through the years those suspects who were identified were all eliminated through the exhaustive investigation of our detectives. He said Whelpley was never considered a suspect and was never interviewed by police.
Lewis was being held Friday in the Scott County Jail on a $5,000 bond, cash or surety.

On Oct. 30, Lewis was sentenced to serve three years on probation until Oct. 30, 2023, after pleading guilty to a charge of first-degree theft, a Class C felony for which he would have been sentenced to 10 years in prison. The theft charge was part of a plea agreement in which a charge of second-degree robbery, also a Class C felony, was dropped.

According to the arrest affidavit in that case filed by Davenport Police Officer Jordan Sander, at 1:49 a.m. on April 14, 2020, officers were sent to 804 W. 6th St., to investigate a report of a robbery.

In that case, Lewis threatened the victim and his with what turned out to be a CO2 handgun with a laser. Lewis took the victims cash and a gold chain. The victim described the weapon and Lewis was identified in a photo lineup. Lewis was arrested April 22, 2020, when he was stopped for an unrelated incident.
The same, he said, holds true for mental health therapy by a counselor, marriage and family therapist or a social worker.

"If we open up access to those folks, yes, there may be those costs, but in a real way they pale in comparison to the savings you see from" helping local hospitals, ERs, jails and nursing homes from becoming overburdened with Medicare beneficiaries with severe, chronic mental illness, substance abuse and other conditions, Whitaker said.

It also means patients who have seen mental health counselors for years are forced to find another therapist when they age into Medicare, because providers are no longer able to be reimbursed, Whitaker said.

"We also see a shortage of providers coming," Whitaker said. "We have a shortage now. We're not able to serve everyone we can serve in a timely way, because we are short on therapists. And as Baby Boomers start to age up into Medicare, and we're starting to see that now, we're seeing more and more people coming in and that shortage gets more acute."

Grassley said he will support the bill and work to get it passed in the Senate "so we can broaden the base beyond just licensed social workers of the people who can help them deliver the services."
Pakistan's Punjab cabinet has expressed its concern over the irresponsible behaviour of the Sindh government for the sake of point-scoring on the water issue.

"We negate such an approach towards federating units. Punjab has always acted as an elder brother but it will not allow anyone to make a dacoity on its rights," said Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan while briefing the media about the Punjab cabinet's 44th meeting's proceedings, reported The Dawn.

The tug of war between the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) members from Pakistan's Sindh and Punjab over water distribution has touched a new low over the opening of TP-link canal from the Indus at a time when the low riparian federating units are craving for water even for drinking purposes.

Indus River System Authority (IRSA) authority has reviewed the water situation on May 27 after giving its new estimates under which the country will experience 17 per cent water shortages during the period from May 21 to June 10.

The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, approved an increase in government employees' salaries, adding that more than 7,21,000 provincial government employees serving in BS-1 to BS-19 would be given 25 per cent special allowance from June 1 this year.

The cabinet approved Rs 7.1 billion for free medical facilities to the residents of Dera Ghazi Khan and Sahiwal divisions under the Universal Health Insurance Programme. It also approved many amendments including, amendment to the Punjab Board of Revenue Act 1957, amendments to the 122-year-old stamp act of 1899.

However, the Chief Minister ordered a master plan for all cities. Approval was given to exempt affordable housing projects peri-urban areas from PRA's sales tax. Extension to the contract of PFSA Director-General Muhammad Ashraf Tahir was also approved.

It also approved Imran Amin as the CEO of Ravi Urban Development Authority and the nomination of new members.

Similarly, an amendment to the Punjab Arms Rules, 2017 AND amendments to the Punjab Motor Vehicles Rules, 1969, were also approved in the cabinet.

(ANI)

Also Read: Ahead of Tiananmen crackdown anniversary, Hong Kong police arrests vigil organiser
Robert J. Strupp, 77, found the combat diary while researching his father's military history.

Baker Battery fought through northern France, in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. They saw combat in the Battle of the Bulge, and spent 307 days in combat in Europe. This is where Strupp earned his Bronze Star Medal.

The younger Strupp used to ask his father which was worse, Normandy or the Battle of the Bulge. The answer was Normandy was awful, the Bulge was worse, exacerbated by horrible winter weather.

After World War II, Strupp's National Guard career continued  he fought in the Korean Conflict and Vietnam War, and his unit was called to Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention to quell riots. When he wasn't fulfilling his military duties, Strupp worked for Deere & Co.

"He was a citizen soldier," the younger Strupp said.

While away from home, the elder Strupp wrote his wife, urging her not to worry, that he wasn't near combat. He was a good liar, Strupp laughed.

He stayed with the National Guard and Deere until he died in 1972 at the age of 56. He is buried at Rock Island National Cemetery, Arsenal Island.
But closing the detention centers doesn't mean that immigrants detained there would be released. ICE could transfer them to one of more than 100 other detention centers it operates or contracts nationwide, an ICE official said.

On May 18, the McHenry County board of commissioners voted down a proposal to cancel its ICE contract, following a year-long campaign from dozens of activist groups. Some board members argued at the meeting that the country shouldn't forgo that revenue since ICE will detain immigrants anyway. The contract netted the county more than $3 million per fiscal year from 2016 to 2020, according to a report from the county board.

But Amanda Hall, an educator and co-founder of the Coalition to Cancel the ICE Contract in McHenry County, said the ICE contract with the county jail "terrorizes" immigrants in the area because they're "scared of police officers and being pulled over" and then put in ICE custody.
NAPERVILLE, Ill.  A former Naperville man has been charged with first-degree murder in the 1972 stabbing death of 15-year-old Julie Ann Hanson, linked to the case through DNA evidence and genealogy, Naperville police Chief Robert Marshall and Will County States Attorney James Glasgow said Friday.

Barry Lee Whelpley, 76, of Mounds View, Minnesota, about 12 miles outside of St. Paul, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He was arrested Wednesday and is awaiting extradition; bond was set at $10 million.

The Naperville girl disappeared July 7, 1972, while riding her 12-year-old brothers bicycle. Her body was found a day later in a ditch along 87th Street, about 100 feet away in a cornfield less than a mile east of Modaff Road in Will County.

The teenager had been stabbed 36 times and sexually assaulted.

This brutal crime haunted our community many, many, many years. It hit the community, very hard, Marshall said. This young girl, 15 years old, left her home in Naperville and never returned.

Whelpley, who was 27 at the time of Julie Ann Hansons murder, lived in a home in the 600 block of South Wehrli Drive, within a mile of the Hanson residence.
Lack of vaccination does not only reflect hesitancy, she said.

There are fears and there are concerns about vaccination but also sheer access issues, Martin said. The solution is not simple.  It really has to come from that level of understanding.

Thats why community groups and connecting with unvaccinated people are so important.

In May, to boost confidence in the vaccine, the city created the Vaccine Ambassador Course, which provides free online training to help people become educated about the vaccine and to share that with their communities. The training is offered in English and Spanish through the Malcolm X Colleges Continuing Education Department. Participants learn about the background of COVID-19, the history of mistrust and causes of vaccine hesitancy.

When talking to people, Millan shares that he has been vaccinated and I dont have another head growing out of me, he said. It helps when I told them my mother was also reluctant. She took her time to get vaccinated. You dont pressure people into now, now, now.

The man who was worried about the vaccine affecting his sperm, for example, seemed to hear what Millan said when Millan was patient and curious, he said.
Heres the bigger point: Much of this conversation, debate, disagreement, whatever you want to call it, could and probably should have taken place between the auditors and governors staff before either one of them went public.

Clearly, the auditor and governor have different interpretations of the state law in question. One option would have been for their respective staffs to hash some of that out between themselves before airing their dirty laundry for the public.

In other words: They could have governed.

I'm not assigning motives here, but this all is happening against this backdrop: Reynolds likely will be running for re-election next year, and Sand has acknowledged he is weighing whether to run for governor.

It does not take a giant leap in logic to question whether both parties were at least partially, if not entirely motivated, by politics in their handling of this report.

Sand could have given the governors office more time to respond to the report. Reynolds could have taken her disagreement with the reports findings to Sand first.
The federal government, during the Obama administration, purchased this prison. It was a high enough priority then to involve the president. Running it the right way should also be a high priority now. We think it is time that conditions there change.

Thumbs Up  to improving conditions in the Quad-Cities when it comes to COVID-19 infections. Earlier this week, the 14-day average daily infection rate in Scott County fell to 5 per 100,000 population, while the test positivity rate declined to less than 5%. That's something that hasnt happened since last June.

In Illinois, meanwhile, vaccinations are continuing to climb. According to the New York Times, 55% of the population has received at least one shot; that is higher than the 49% in Iowa, though Iowa has a bit more of its population that is fully vaccinated.

There still are gaps, and lest we forget, hundreds of Americans continue to die each day from this scourge, including more than 600 on Thursday. Here in the Quad-Cities, we got a stark reminder earlier this week.
South Dakota Farm Bureau (SDFB) recently announced eight winners of the 2021 SDFB Scholarship.

SDFB will award $7,600 in scholarships. Recipients are high school seniors and college students whose parents or guardians are current members of South Dakota Farm Bureau, and have been for at least two years. Applicants could be considered for an agriculture-focused or community-focused scholarship, depending on their major and experience with agriculture.

South Dakota Farm Bureau takes great pride in recognizing young people that have a passion for agriculture and their rural communities each year with this scholarship, said Krystil Smit, SDFB executive director. We are proud to continue this tradition and wish them success in their educational journey.

The South Dakota Farm Bureau Scholarship Fund was established in 2005 by Richard and Agnes Ekstrum of Kimball, S.D. Richard served as South Dakota Farm Bureau's president from 1975-1995.

2021 SDFB Scholarship winners include:

Agriculture-focused applicants/awardees:

Everett Paul of Faith is a Precision Machining major who will be attending Lake Area Technical College.
The Korean War Memorial, though, is changing. Construction has just begun on building it all over again. Incredibly, following the example of the Vietnam War Memorial, the plan is to etch on black granite the names of all the American troops killed in the war.

The number, though, will go well beyond those who were in U.S. uniforms. They also will include the names of 7,200 Koreans who served as Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, known by the rather awkward acronym, KATUSA. For the first time, those Koreans who died while in U.S. military units, under the command not of Koreans but American officers, will be getting the recognition they deserve as having fought as members of the U.S. armed forces.

A U.S. park ranger told me reconstruction of the Korean War Memorial will take at least two years. The statues of the soldiers on patrol will have to be cleaned and moved to somewhat different places on the site. The linden trees will be replanted. The list of names of those who died, whether American or Korean, is expected to attract many more visitors to a memorial that is often overlooked, forgotten, just like the war.
"All you were thinking about was getting to the other side, moving from pillar to pillar," Priest said at the time the 45-minute "Die Brucke von Remagen," or "The Bridge at Remagen," was released. The bridge "had vertical joists, so that's what you were doing, jumping from one to the next, hiding behind them to avoid gunfire and get across the bridge."

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The bridge was the last one spanning the Rhine, and Priest said if it was taken, it would trap several hundred thousand German troops on the west side of the river. He was one of the first to cross the bridge and helped make a sign hung on the east end that said Keep your feet dry courtesy of the 9th Armored Division.

The crossing of the Rhine River opened the way for Allied troops to drive into the heart of Germany and hastened the wars end.

Although the bridge collapsed soon after Allied troops had streamed eastward, on April 25, American and Russian forces linked up at the Elbe River. Germany surrendered on May 8, about two months after the battle of the bridge at Remagen.

For Germany, Priest said, "It had begun to fall apart before we took the bridge. But by us taking it, it really shortened the way, because they had no way to get their troops back across or supplies across."
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Hata said he and his wife spend twice as much on groceries compared to five years ago. He is relying primarily on investment income to cover his expenses until he can collect Social Security, but even then he said he will have to continue to cash out his portfolio to cover living expenses.

Kowalchuk said she tries to live within her means  she does not have cable or any kind of television subscription, her car is paid off, and her son pays her phone bill.

To me, its a big deal to buy a coffee and a bagel. Thats the way it is, because of the expenses, she said. When property taxes start going up at $200ish, thats a lot to a person in my situation.

Future concerns

As costs continue to rise, homeowners fear the situation will necessitate leaving their homes. Kowalchuk said if nothing changes, she will not be able to afford a single-family dwelling in the area.

Kowalchuk said she is fortunate  her son lives nearby and if it became necessary she could move in with his family. She said it is not ideal for her or them, but she knows others who have no such fallback.
As of Friday, June 4, Burrows said the county had not received a response from the landowners.

The Ravalli Republic was unable to contact the Merritts.

Burrows said the county will give the landowners some additional time to respond to the letter, after which they will seek advice from the county attorneys office on their next step.

The county isnt certain the Merritts have received the county road departments letter, he added.

We are just hoping that they will reach out to us and give us an indication of what their interest is, he said. Right now, we dont have a push by the access groups, but we know if it doesnt get resolved and starts dragging out, that could change. I dont think we have the whole summer to figure this out.

The Forest Service also has an interest in opening the road, Burrows said.

A survey showed the road touched national forest lands in some places, although landowners say those areas are steep and dont have adequate space for parking.
Having the ability to take this time with my daughter  I didnt give it a second thought, he said.

Most importantly, he credits his employer, the commonwealth of Virginia, which provides eight weeks of paid paternal leave. He felt there were no barriers to him taking leave, adding that his agency was extremely supportive.

He said his part of the office, in particular, was fantastic. His co-workers monitored his clients while he was out. He said he was lucky to have support of his leadership and co-workers.

Flaherty said he felt no reputational risk and didnt have to worry about how his co-workers would feel; he knew they were supportive.

His advice to dads is that if time is available  take it.

He reflected on how much his child was changing almost daily. This is time you wont get back, no matter how hard you try. In 10 years, you wont remember a specific meeting or project, but you will remember the first time your child laughed, or that sunny day you strolled them around the park, he said.

Flaherty appreciated taking the time in one lump sum because, he said, it allowed him and his wife to keep their daughter out of day care until she was 5 months old.
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Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. It develops in cells called melanocytes that produce melanin, the pigment that gives your skin its color. The exact cause of all melanomas is not clear, but exposure to UV radiation increases your risk of developing melanoma. Genetic factors and skin type can play a part in developing melanoma.

While regular self-evaluation makes it more likely that melanoma and other types of skin cancer will be caught early, having a trained expert look for subtle changes you may not see is always helpful. This is particularly important for people who have undergone a solid organ transplant and are at greater risk for developing skin cancer. This increased risk is mostly related to the effects of the anti-rejection medications on the immune systems ability to ward off the development of skin cancer.

It is recommended that solid organ transplant recipients have at least yearly skin checks with a dermatologist. In the meantime, I recommend that you get into the habit of checking your skin once a month and be diligent about protecting your skin as much as possible.
The court unwaveringly believed the recitation of facts, as proffered by the Commonwealth, were true and beyond dispute or refutation, as the Court repeatedly posited legal conclusions of the Accuseds guilt and the reasonableness of the officers behaviors and actions, Poindexter wrote in her motion.

In court Friday, amid tense exchanges between the defense attorney and the judge, Poindexter said some of the facts of the case are very much in dispute.

Poindexter said Carter was shot three times in the back, something the attorney said is inconsistent with the prosecutions theory that Carter was pointing a gun at officer Ja-Ontay Wilson when Carter was shot.

Whether Carter was in possession of a gun at the time is a key issue in the case, but Poindexter alleged that Cheek already had decided that Carter had a gun.

The court in this case appeared to believe the Accused was guilty, stating unequivocally six (6) times that he was in possession of a gun, Poindexter wrote in her motion, to which she attached an 87-page transcript of the January bond hearing.
Virginia isnt there yet. As of Friday, 4.7 million people  or 55% of the total population  had received at least one dose and 3.8 million people, or 45% of the state, were fully vaccinated.

At the end of April, Avula said that hitting the last 10% to 15% would likely take until July or August.

While an analysis from The New York Times predicts Virginia could have 70% of its adult population inoculated with at least one shot within two weeks, some residents remain more at risk of contracting the virus than others even as cases statewide fall to the lowest rates since last April.

The gap is due to vaccinations varying significantly among localities, the University of Virginias Biocomplexity Institute reported in its update Friday. The institute monitors COVID-19 trends.
Tulsa massacre reflects

recasting of D.C. riot

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

After reading the June 2 Roanoke Times editorial  "Why werent we taught about Tulsa?  reprinted in The Times-Dispatch, I couldnt help but reflect on the current attempt by Republicans to block a federal commission to investigate the Jan. 6 riot/insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building.

I am by no means comparing the death and destruction in Tulsa with the riot in Washington, D.C. Atrocity, cold-blooded murder, wanton hatred, massacre, cruelty and cowardice only would begin to describe the racist actions that occurred in Tulsa 100 years ago. Although there were tragic deaths and property destruction, the recent Capitol riot was more of an existential affront to our democracy and a stain on our republic.

Both events point out the danger and irresponsibility of not shining the light of truth on incidents that although might be shameful with criminal and civil consequences, they must be investigated. Such cases must be thoroughly examined with full disclosure of the discoverable details not only so those at fault are held responsible, but also so that public policy can be devised to ensure this type of incident does not reoccur.
Lightfoot denies she put downtown ahead of the neighborhoods. There is no way, no way we would ever let any neighborhood receive more resources and protection than any others. Ever, she was quoted as saying last June. That certainly didnt happen over the course of the weekend.
The Blacksburg restaurant where police are looking into complaints that customers were drugged announced Friday that it is cooperating with investigators  and hoped they would not find anything.

We have a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that violates or threatens the safety of our patrons or employees, said the statement from Centro Taco Bar, located at 201 N. Main St. in Blacksburgs downtown. It is extremely concerning that anyone has felt that their safety or health was compromised in our establishment, and we take these allegations very seriously.

We are hopeful that the investigation proceeds lawfully and results in no evidence to support these claims, the statement continued.
A Franklin County homicide case that temporarily stalled late last year was recently resolved after the defendant confessed to killing his friend, prosecutors said.

The case involved the death of James Edward Kirby, 68, whose body was found in his Rocky Mount home on Nov. 29, 2019. A medical examiner later determined that Kirby had died from manual strangulation.

In an April 28 hearing in Franklin County Circuit Court, Derry Dee Finney, 36, of Martinsville pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, and to unauthorized use of a car. Through his plea agreement he received 10 years for the killing and three for the car theft. That combined term falls slightly above the midpoint of the overall sentencing guidelines of 12 years and seven months. Those results recently became available in the online court case record system.

Statements made at previous court hearings established that the two men were friends who had been at Kirbys home on the day of his death, the same evening Kirbys 2007 Jaguar went missing.

Home security cameras captured footage of Finney arriving at Kirbys Mamie Street house about 5 p.m., and Kirby could also be seen in the videos, still alive, as late as shortly before 9:30 p.m., according to prosecutors, who said they seemed to be watching television.
Watson has said he doesnt see his age as a disadvantage, and instead considers it as an opportunity to bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to the county.

Watson has leaned on his roots to Montgomery County to demonstrate his familiarity with a number of issues. He has said he was particularly close to and even affected by some issues the board of supervisors tackled over the years.

Watson attended Kipps Elementary School and was later among the Blacksburg Middle School students who were temporarily shifted to Christiansburg due to the 2010 collapse of the old Blacksburg High Schools gym roof.

The collapse of the gym roof alerted him to the issue of crumbling school infrastructure, an issue he said hed like to more seriously tackle if elected.

He recalled that infamous incident.

All of that is a consequence of the county not seeing far enough into the future to take steps to actively mitigate those risks, he said.

Watson said he sees school infrastructural issues in other parts of the county, particularly in the eastern Montgomery County community of Shawsville.

If we say our students are our future, then we need to be prepared to make an investment in that, he said.
To that end, the local Goodwill organizationwhich employs close to 1,000runs a host of programs for youth, adults, seniors and people with disabilities, barriers and disadvantages, helping equip them with job skills and experience to improve employment opportunities. Last year, Goodwill of the Valleys helped 60,000 people in its 35-county, 14-city service area.

Most people know about our stores, pretty much everybody does, but they dont understand that the store is the fuel that allows us to impact the community, Vincent said. Without those stores, we cannot do any of the programs that we do in our respective communities.

Goodwills numerous programs include youth camps and mentoring, paid job training for adults older than 55 looking to resume their involvement in the workforce, as well as job placement services for people reentering society from incarceration.

We rely so heavily on our donors and our shoppers, Vincent said. The more donors we can get and the more shoppers, the more work we can do.

As the nonprofit paces through the process of crafting a new five-year strategic plan, Vincent said he and the organization are open to community input from the greater public on what matters need attention.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The FBI issued a subpoena demanding U.S. newspaper giant Gannett provide agents with information to track down readers of a USA Today story about a suspect in a child pornography case who fatally shot two FBI agents in February.

The subpoena, served on the company in April, came to light this week after the media company filed documents in federal court asking a judge to quash the subpoena. The Justice Departments actions were immediately condemned by press freedom advocates.

The news comes as the Justice Department has disclosed in recent weeks that it seized the email and phone records of reporters in at least three separate instances during the Trump administration. It raises questions about what liberties federal authorities are taking in using news organizations, journalists and their work as investigative tools.

The subpoena asks for information about anyone who clicked on the article for a period of about 35 minutes on the day after the shooting. It seeks the IP addresses  which can sometimes be used to identify the location of a computer, the company or organization it belongs to, and where it was registered  along with mobile phone identification information of the readers.
But Ayala didnt give much of any justification, just that her decisions in elected office have always been based on whats best for Virginia families.

More likely, she acted in what she felt was the best interest of her campaign. Shes in third place in fund-raising; Rasoul has raised nearly twice as much as she has. To put it bluntly, it looks as if she needs the money  but by accepting it, she suffered more than $100,000 worth of political damage.

She now comes across looking like a hypocritical, money-grubbing pol, and the beneficiary is  you guessed it, Rasoul, who has made a point of not accepting Dominion money.

One Democratic state legislator who had endorsed Ayala even un-endorsed her and endorsed Rasoul instead. Del. Josh Cole of Fredericksburg blasted out no fewer than seven tweets on the subject, finally declaring that Rasoul is a model of integrity. He keeps his promises.

Having someone withdraw their endorsement, and then endorse your rival, is generally considered not a good thing. To make matters worse for Ayala, the Clean Virginia political action committee announced it would launch a $125,000 ad campaign against her. This is entirely her own doing, one that will go down in campaign lore as the classic self-inflicted wound.
Early voting has started in the Democratic primary! You can vote at your registrars office or absentee or you can wait to vote in person on election day, June 8.

I was proudly Waynesboros first voter, casting my ballot for Sam Rasoul for lieutenant governor.

I first met Sam back in 2007, I had just moved to Virginia and I saw an ad for a Staunton Democratic meeting, featuring Sam Rasoul, candidate running for Congress in the 6th District.

I remember being so excited to hear this young man talk about progressive ideas and solutions. Fast forward many years later, he was one of the first elected representatives to speak out against the dirty, greedy pipeline projects proposed to run through our mountains, rivers and private land.

One thing I really respect about Sam is his accessibility. Elected representatives have to interact with their constituents to really understand the issues in their district. One day, I was walking down the street with Sam and people would just pull over to talk with him about their concerns or just to chat. He was always excited to hear a constituent say his name and ask to talk, his whole face would light up and thats when I knew, Sam is in this for the right reasons.
Facebook has said Donald Trump will be banned from its network for at least two years, a move likely to inflame tensions with allies of the former US president who accuse the company of censoring conservative views.

The ban was a revision from a previous indefinite suspension by Facebook, which was criticised by the companys oversight board. The board last month upheld the decision to kick Trump off the platform but found fault with the lifetime ban.

The new suspension will be effective from the date of Trumps initial suspension on January 7, the day after the attack by the ex-presidents supporters on the US Capitol building in Washington, Facebook said. The company had barred him from its platform for voicing support for the Capitol rioters. The ban will only be lifted if the company feels the risk to public safety has receded.

When the suspension is eventually lifted, there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered if Mr Trump commits further violations in future, up to and including permanent removal of his pages and accounts, wrote Nick Clegg, Facebooks head of global policy, in a blog post explaining the decision on Friday.

The decision came as part of an announcement detailing broader changes to the companys policies on how it moderates speech by influential public figures, following criticism last month from the oversight board that its existing approach had created widespread confusion.

While upholding the social networks decision to suspend Trumps account, the board chastised the company for implementing an indefinite suspension that fell outside the companys published policies. Calling it a vague and standardless penalty, the board referred back to Facebook the ultimate decision on whether to permanently ban the former president.

Facebook on Friday outlined its framework for dealing with inciteful public figures during times of civil unrest and ongoing violence, with a two-year ban being the most severe penalty.

Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr Trumps suspension, Clegg wrote, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols.

The Oversight Board said it was reviewing Facebooks announcement.



White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Trumps use of social media had revealed a lot during his term, adding: Feels pretty unlikely that the zebra is going to change his stripes over the next two years.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, Trump repeated false claims about the 2020 US presidential election, and said Facebooks decision was an insult to the people who voted for him.

They shouldnt be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing, and ultimately, we will win, Trump said. Our country cant take this abuse any more!

As well as clarifying the length of Trumps ban, Facebook also shared more details about its strikes system for users and groups being suspended from the service. It said it would in future make it clear when questionable content by prominent figures had been left published on the platform due to its newsworthiness being in the public interest.

In a significant policy U-turn, Clegg said content posted by politicians would no longer be treated any differently from other users. Previously, the company had said political leaders, even when posting factually untrue comments, should as a general rule be seen and heard to enable public scrutiny.

The effectiveness of deplatforming has angered Americas conservatives, many of whom argue Silicon Valley elites are engaging in an unfair and unprecedented restriction of free speech. Last month Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping bill into state law that would give Floridians the ability to sue tech companies over moderation decisions.

Two trade associations representing the technology companies have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the new law, calling it an attack on the companies rights under the first amendment to the US constitution.

In the wake of his Facebook ban, and because of similar action taken by Twitter, Trump launched his own blog site  From the Desk of Donald J Trump  only to shut it down just 29 days later. According to several news reports, the former president had been left frustrated by a lack of readership.

The two-year suspension could seriously impair Trumps efforts to remain relevant politically for 2024, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. And the strict rules imposed for lifting the ban, as articulated by Nick Clegg, will make it very difficult for Trump to satisfy those strictures in 2023, much less before then.
Garrett K. Jones is a local fantasy author. He currently has four books released in his ongoing series, and he produces a vlog on YouTube and the Creator's Corner podcast (available on Spotify, Google, & Apple). www.archivesofthefivekingdoms.com/ IG/Twitter: @gkj_publishing

Feel free to contact him with title suggestions of films youd like him to review.
There IS hope! one man recently posted on the Facebook page of Survivor Corps, an international group of more than 167,000 members who share their experiences with the virus. I was totally asymptomatic when I had COVID, but the aftereffects had pretty much ruined me, ruined my life, I was a shadow of myself. I didnt think I was going to make it or ever get any semblance of my life back. But I DID, now Im hoping, praying, wishing that we all do/can!
Miamis top officials and relatives of the victims are pleading with the community to offer information to find the suspects in a Memorial Day weekend mass shooting that killed three people and wounded 20 others outside a banquet hall
For folks who have had little to rely on before the pandemic and lost everything, it is going to be a lot harder to ask folks to pick up the pieces and move forward, she said. If they have a child at home and still cannot go to school, it puts them in a very difficult position.

People having lost their homes early in the pandemic may be located now in places where they may not have easy access to jobs, she said.

Berkowitz said there can be a mindset with some that people not currently working are individuals not wanting to work.

It is not so simple for people who want to work to be able to access work, she said. There are a lot of variables our state refused to acknowledge to help people get into and stay in the workforce.

It is not as easy as everyone thinks it is to just make all these problems go away without coming up with policy solutions to assist, she said, noting that since the governors announcement she has heard from a number of people about their concerns.

They are saying, I dont know what I am going to do, she said. They say, I want to go back right now, but it is not possible or I have been looking and looking and nothing.

She said for many people, the jobs they were trained for are not coming back.
During training, Anderson said, they would load up in cattle trucks at 3 a.m., go to breakfast and be transported to the desert, where they would spend the morning training their dogs. He recalls there were two long benches, one on each side of the truck. He remembers stretching out under a bench and sleeping. He said he would skip breakfast and sleep until they reached their destination. He said they would train until noon. After that, it became too hot for the dogs to be out. He said they would clean the kennels out, put the dogs up and head back to the mess hall in the cattle trucks.

When his training was complete, Anderson was sent to South Korea.

Anderson said that when he arrived at the base it was dark.

I was out in the boonies, Anderson said.

He said it was the later part of 1969. He said it was still hot and muggy. South Korea was a poor country at that time, Anderson said. There were lots of dirt roads with large potholes and no electricity in the rural areas.

I saw mountains and rice paddies, he said.

He said his duty station was not on the base but up the top of a mountain, a Hawk Missile site with six different launching pads.
DARLINGTON, S.C.  The Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County Saturday played host to one of many targeted small-event COVID-19 vaccine clinics as organizations continue to work to get shots into arms that didnt attend the earlier mass clinics.

Thats been a little harder to schedule. Were definitely making it work, its more important that you get the shot than anything, said Ashton Lafevor, who was working at the clinic with Marelle Orias, a Florence pharmacist.

Saturdays event was part of the NAACPs GOTVAC campaign  an outreach to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations in rural and under served areas of South Carolina.

Saturdays event was done in conjunction with South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and offered both Moderna and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Its making people feel better because they have an option, Lafevor said of the choice.

Its very important to get vaccinated, its saving lives, said Orias. You never know who carries the virus, who is asymptomatic. Its not only protecting the family but also the who community.

Orias has been sent on several such outings in the last couple of weeks.
Before I bought my first store last year, I worked at corporate for Papa Johns, he said.

Johnson said it was fun work until this crisis.

This is taking the fun out of it, he said. I really am a great person to work for.

Mainstream Boutique

At least one Florence business, Mainstream Boutique on Evans Street, isnt having a problem.

Owner Agathoula Gioldasis said she hasnt had to hire anyone.

I know a lot of others are having a hard time, she said.

Chamber

I think the problem in hiring for retail services and in many other industries have been impacted by a variety of concerns, said Mike Miller, the president of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce. Many potential employees have not been comfortable entering the workplace up until now due to COVID-19 concerns. Others have had issues arranging childcare, while others have become accustomed to working from home and are being more selective.

Clearly, many have relied on stimulus payments and extended unemployment checks to meet their living expenses and have chosen not to enter the workplace yet.

In the end, employers might have to increase wages and adjust benefits to attract quality applicants. And, that will likely result in an increase in the cost of goods and services over the long haul, Miller said. Most will see improvements in applicants over the next six months. In the meantime, it is a struggle for most businesses to resume normal business practices.
The number of new South Carolina cases of people getting COVID-19 has dropped significantly with 122 new cases one recent day, 71 new cases the day before.

Daily deaths across the state have dropped from the double digits to just a few. The percentage of positive tests is now below 5 percent, the magic number indicating the disease is being managed.

But were not out of the woods yet  by a long shot. One in three South Carolinians still are susceptible to the disease because children under 12  approximately 800,000 people in the state cannot yet get vaccinated, and another million adults just havent. The rate of infection among people under 20, for example, has gone up from 18 percent to 26 percent since January, according to state numbers.

And in the days ahead, things can get trickier. Those who arent protected against the ravaging impacts of COVID-19 may think everythings back to normal because of what they see everyday  people congregating, not wearing masks or taking fewer precautions than in the past.

At this point in the pandemic, theyre in a health Catch 22: They think they dont need to be careful when, in fact, theyre still just as much at risk because they dont have the disease antibodies from a vaccination or natural immunity from getting the virus.
SINGAPORE, June 5 (Reuters) - The judicial managers of Singapore's Hyflux Ltd said they have applied to a court to liquidate the company after talks for an investment into the embattled water treatment firm failed.

"Given the negotiations with the investor for an investment in the entire Hyflux Group were unsuccessful and consequently a restructuring not possible, the continuation of the judicial management of the company is no longer necessary," the managers from Borrelli Walsh said in a stock exchange filing on Friday.

They said the remaining value of Hyflux was best realised in a liquidation, adding that remaining bids to buy the company's individual assets could be facilitated through winding its up.

Debt-laden Hyflux, once seen as a national champion running a strategically important water source for tiny, natural resource-poor Singapore, filed for a court-supervised financial restructuring in 2018 and defaulted on its debt payments. It was placed under judicial management in November.

National water agency PUB took over the company's key water treatment plant two years ago.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the firm and its current and former directors.

Hyflux's financial distress has battered the holdings of nearly 50,000 retail investors, including shareholders and bond holders, according to an investor group.

(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by William Mallard)
She left the profession in 1880 to decorate glass for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company and specialized in landscapes and depictions of animals until she left the company in 1884. Somehow, over time, her name has become associated with the charming decorations in white or pinkish enamel of children depicted in silhouette at play doing such things as rolling hoops, fishing, chasing butterflies, playing with a top and so forth.

It is now thought that the vast majority of this type of glass ware was made in Central Europe and had very little to do with either Boston and Sandwich or Mary Gregory. The base on the pitcher clearly indicates it was made in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) and the extruded claw or reeded handle and extravagantly ruffled top tend to confirm this place of origin. It was made several decades before Czechoslovakia came into actual existence in 1918.

Mary Gregory-style decoration can be found on a wide variety of glass colors such as red, blue, green, cranberry, amethyst and clear/colorless. The clear/colorless examples are the most common, with amethyst and cranberry the most desired by collectors of this type of glass as a general rule.
I simply dont see a path for approval because of the absence of evidence thats been shared to date that this product works, and I think it would set a remarkably dangerous precedent  not only for the field of Alzheimers research but also for the broader regulation of prescription drugs in our country, said Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, an FDA advisory committee member and an internist, public health researcher and drug safety and effectiveness expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Kemp maintained enough strength to easily beat back a resolution condemning his handling of the election. At least 15 local party conventions out of 159 counties and two congressional district conventions out of 14 adopted such resolutions. But the state partys resolutions committee shelved the matter, and Kemp opponents were unable Saturday to force a full convention vote.

But delegates censured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another Republican, for his more direct part in administering the 2020 elections. Raffensperger, like Kemp, is seeking re-election. Unlike Kemp, he did not attend his own partys convention.

The scene underscored Trumps iron hold on the Republican Party even in defeat and the potential peril for Kemp or any other GOP figure who crosses the former president, intentionally or not. And it left many Kemp supporters worried that Trump loyalists continued fixation on 2020 will doom the party in the coming midterm elections.

Im scared to death of these anti-Kemp Republicans, said James Hall, a 37-year-old delegate from Savannah.
But his focus on attacking Murphy, over supporting for the former president, drew a pair of Trump defenders into the race. Hudson County pastor and former real estate developer Phil Rizzo and Atlantic County engineer Hirsh Singh are each casting themselves as Trump's man in New Jersey. Rizzo is new to politics, but Singh has run in and lost elections before, including the Republican gubernatorial primary four years ago.

Murphy's handling of the pandemic has been a galvanizing issue for the GOP, though, providing them with a common opponent.

Also on the ballot is Brian Levine, a former Somerset County official, who is running in part on keeping businesses from leaving the state. Levine has told election law enforcement officials that he plans to raise less than $5,800, a fraction of the more roughly $6.9 million Ciattarelli has raised.

MURPHY COASTS

Murphy has no Democratic opposition on the ballot. The primary comes at a high water mark for Democrats, who have seen their registration advantage over Republicans climb to more than 1 million. He also has gotten good grades from voters for his handling of the pandemic, according to public surveys.
The number of bodies and the lawyers in this case raises a significant logistical concern of how to make sure both sides are represented at trial, given space limitations even in a big courtroom such as in Charlottesville, Moon said.

Space limitations would be a concern regardless, but I expect we could continue to see risks from COVID-19 in October.

Moon suggested potentially moving the trial to the federal courthouse in either Roanoke or Lynchburg.

Roberta Kaplan, chief attorney for the plaintiffs, said her team wants to keep the trial in Charlottesville and is willing to limit the number of plaintiffs and attorneys in the courtroom to one or two at a time. She also said the plaintiffs are open to viewing the trial proceedings via video from other rooms in the courthouse.

Several of the defendants said they had concerns about their safety if the trial is kept in Charlottesville.

Defendant Richard Spencer said he is in favor of moving the trial to Lynchburg.

I have been attacked by activists, and so that is a concern to me, he said. I think your instincts are sound, and I think we should be trying to lower the temperature and remove any kind of public spectacle aspect to this and just stick to the facts.
CHICAGO (AP)  Barack Obama continued a push to build support for his presidential center on Chicagos lakefront on Friday, urging business leaders in the city to get involved with the project.

The former president announced his choice of Jackson Park on the citys South Side in 2016 but construction for the $500 million project had been delayed because of a federal review needed in the historic parkland. The review started in 2017 and recently concluded.

Chicago officials announced in April that preliminary work at the property was underway, even as activists filed another lawsuit seeking to force its relocation to protect the surrounding environment.

Richard Epstein, an attorney for the plaintiffs in that case, said he believes they have a strong chance of prevailing.

The Obama strategy, which I do not approve of, is to simply ignore the lawsuit and take step after step to indicate its a done deal, he said. We are confident when the case goes to trial, we will win on every relevant point.

There has been no significant movement in the case this spring.
HONOLULU (AP)  A 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Honolulu police arrived at an emergency room with gunshot wounds to the back of his head and to his shoulders, according to hospital records provided by a lawyer representing the teen's family.
A year ago, the grief and anger felt nationwide following the killing of George Floyd spilled into one of Omaha's busiest intersections.

An estimated 2,000 people crowded around all four corners of 72nd and Dodge on May 29, 2020, on behalf of the 43-year-old Black man whose final moments resonated far beyond the Minneapolis sidewalk where he was murdered by a white police officer.

What began as a peaceful, sunny Friday afternoon in Omaha ended with tear gas and rubber bullets as protesters clashed with law enforcement officers in a night of civil upheaval the city hadn't seen in decades.

That night was a prologue to a fatal encounter in downtown Omaha the next night and a series of protests that stretched well into the summer.

What followed was more than 40 protests and rallies over the summer and fall. The arrests of 125 protesters last July prompted an ALCU-backed lawsuit that led to policy changes in policing. Last month, a controversial demonstration involving severed pig heads left at the police union headquarters drew widespread condemnation from officials and community members.

These activists took a high profile role in Omahas struggle to come to terms with racial inequality and policing. Either by choice or by circumstance, the events of the past year shaped how these activists pursue change.

  

Shortly after the events of May 30, when James Scurlock, a 22-year-old Black man, was killed in downtown Omaha during a confrontation with Jake Gardner, a white bar owner, a group of young Omahans began organizing. Among them was Bear Alexander, a freelance videographer who had little experience protesting.

In mid-June, Alexander and several others formed the group ProBLAC (Progressive Black-Led Ally Coalition). At its peak, the organization had as many as 75 members.

ProBLAC organized several protests as a grand jury met to consider charges against Gardner, and, months later, around the death of Kenneth Jones, a Black man who was shot and killed in November by an Omaha police officer during a traffic stop.

For much of the past year, 24-year-old Alexander could be seen, megaphone in hand, leading those protests in chants and marches.

Alexander said last summer's protests and ProBLAC were instrumental in shaping who he is today.

"I wouldnt be who I am right now without ProBLAC, without George Floyd, without James Scurlock," Alexander said. "My goals and aspirations that I have now in my mind came to be within this past year."

  

Kiara Williams wasn't in Omaha on the evening of May 29, 2020. She was at her home in Lincoln, creating the organization Change Now LNK.

Described by Williams as a "solutions-focused public policy organization," Change Now LNK hosted multiple events throughout the summer and fall, including community workshops on public policy and inclusion, sit-ins on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus and a community cleanup.

Williams' first protest in Omaha came in late August when she attended a ProBLAC protest at 12th and Howard streets.

The 20-year-old gradually became more involved in the Omaha organization and says her eventual involvement in a group called the Revolutionary Action Party was a significant factor in her decision to move to Omaha.

  

Bri Full first got involved in last year's protests when she raised money and handed out supplies at 72nd and Dodge during the initial night of protests on May 29.

Handing out water and, later, special solution for tear gas, Full watched as tensions between law enforcement officers and protesters escalated.

"I wasn't really expecting any of the things that happened to happen," Full said. "I got tear-gassed. I have a fear of loud noises now."

The experience led Full to conclude that with the momentum of the protests sweeping across the country, more could be done to address racial inequality in Omaha.

"I felt like I could make a difference," Full said. "That I have the leadership skills, the connections in the community to make something happen, and I just wanted to do that."

The 25-year-old is a University of Nebraska at Omaha graduate student working toward a master's degree in public administration with a concentration in public policy.

Last summer, Full began the organization BlackOut Omaha with the goal of connecting community members to needed resources such as legal aid, mental health services and economic support for Black-owned businesses.

The group's inaugural event last August was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns and limited venue space.

"We have plans to restart this summer," Full said.

Full also has plans to call for a police oversight board on UNO's campus in collaboration with student regent Maeve Hemmer.

The two plan to hold a community forum on the topic sometime next fall.

"Hopefully, we can do it to help support the UNO students, staff and faculty," Full said. "Making resources available and having oversight of the police is something Maeve really wanted to do, and I think its also an important policy to have."

  

Preston Love Jr. has a unique perspective on the protests of the last year that comes from his lived experience as a member of the civil rights generation.

The 78-year-old runs the Black Votes Matter Institute of Community Engagement, a nonprofit that aims to educate and mobilize voters. He takes Omaha youths on an annual bus tour of historic civil rights stops in the American South. And he teaches a class on the African American experience in politics at UNO.

Love said he felt that last year's local protests often lacked clear objectives.

"For example, I remember our demonstration for the right to vote in the '60s," Love said. "There was a clear objective and solution."

He said that while the protesters "may be righteous in their focus on the cause," they needed a "clear definition of what we want out of it, and the solution."

"On the national level, there have been articulations of things, but when you demonstrate in Omaha, you should demonstrate for Omahas solution," Love said.

  

Many involved in the protests and rallies consider Saturday, May 30, the night that kicked off the summer's unrest. That evening, the crowd at 72nd and Dodge grew to an estimated 4,000 people. Again, as the sun began to set, skirmish lines formed, and police declared the gathering illegal after protesters threw bottles at officers.

Police tried to clear the area in a torrent of tear gas and pepper balls. Protesters eventually disbanded and headed east into downtown Omaha and a more chaotic scene.

Security alarms rang out as people vandalized businesses in the Old Market. Sirens and a police helicopter could be heard as officers tried to gain control of a situation that was much more spread out and volatile than before.

Soon after the downtown street battles began, the sound of gunshots and wailing could be heard over flash bangs and fireworks.

Disoriented bystanders watched as Scurlock was wheeled to an ambulance on a gurney.

Scurlock had been shot by Gardner during a deadly confrontation in front of Gardner's downtown businesses.

In the following days, Mayor Jean Stothert enacted a citywide curfew and thousands again clashed with local law enforcement and National Guard officers on Omaha streets.

For three and half months after the deadly confrontation, the city anxiously waited as a grand jury was formed to determine whether to indict Gardner in 22-year-old Scurlock's death.

The grand jury's decision came Sept. 15 when Fred Franklin, the special prosecutor in the case, announced that Gardner would be charged with manslaughter as well as attempted first-degree assault, terroristic threats and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

An arraignment would never come.

On Sept. 20, while awaiting arrest in Oregon, Gardner took his own life.

Today, the space that once housed Gardner's bar and nightclub at 1207 Harney St. sits empty, a dark storefront. A makeshift memorial to Scurlock of flowers, signs and candles that sat for months against a neighboring building was removed over the winter.

  

Full's motivation for community activism was sparked in large part by a mass arrest of protesters on July 25, an event many consider a significant flashpoint of the summer.

That night, police arrested 125 protesters on the Farnam Street bridge near downtown Omaha. The protesters, who didnt have a permit to gather, walked downtown sidewalks and streets and were almost back to Turner Park when Omaha police stopped them on the bridge.

Most of them spent at least 12 hours at the Douglas County Jail, which was overwhelmed by the size of the group and by a computer malfunction in the jails booking system. In the end, City Prosecutor Matt Kuhse ticketed 25 of the 125 on suspicion of obstructing a public roadway.

The incident led to a lawsuit initiated by the ACLU of Nebraska against the City of Omaha.

As part of the eventual settlement, the city dismissed misdemeanor cases against 25 protesters. And under the settlement the City Council was asked to revise a city ordinance barring the blocking of public roadways to allow protesters reasonable notice and time to disperse.

Among other changes, Omaha police also will use pepper balls or spray only on those whom they have probable cause to think are committing crimes at protests, and will loudly and clearly announce any imminent deployment of any chemical agent, according to the settlement.

In return for those policy changes, several protesters and members of ProBLAC agreed to dismiss the federal lawsuit they filed alleging the city violated their rights.

Alexander was arrested that night. His charges were later dropped.

Full had left 20 minutes before police began arresting the protesters on the Farnam Street bridge.

  

After the events of last summer, internal conflict over the group's direction led a handful of ProBLAC members to break away to create the Revolutionary Action Party.

Recently, Alexander and other Revolutionary Action Party members sparked controversy with a demonstration targeting the Omaha Police Union, specifically union president Anthony Conner.

Seven people, including Alexander and Williams, were arrested May 22 during the protest outside the Omaha police union hall that included leaving three pig heads in costume police caps on the grounds.

Alexander was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police officer, disorderly conduct, trespassing, inciting a riot and failure to disperse. Williams was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct.

The arrests occurred after a gathering organized by the Revolutionary Action Party in Montclair Park, 2304 S. 135th St.

Speakers at the gathering, which was described by Alexander as a pig roast, condemned the police union and its president, Conner, for distributing a flyer just before the May election targeting independent City Council candidate Cammy Watkins. Watkins ultimately lost to Danny Begley, a candidate backed by the police union who disavowed knowledge of the flyers.

The protest was condemned by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, Mayor Jean Stothert and Conner himself, who posted photos of the pig heads on his Facebook page.

What part of this is okay? Pay attention to those that are denouncing this act and those that are silent, wrote Conner, who is Black.

Conner, in a recent Public Pulse letter, also wrote that it is "dangerously inappropriate for those who disagree with the political speech of the OPOA to criminally trespass on private property with severed pig heads and messages of harm to our members."

Alexander referred to the demonstration as a "theatrical performance that directly delineates our infuriation with white supremacy and the systems that hold it up" and said the display does not mean the group intends to "burn the city down" or harm police.

"My whole life Ive witnessed countless Black and brown bodies mercilessly executed and not one person has asked me if I take that as a threat as a Black man," Alexander said. "But as soon as we bring out some chopped off pig heads and put officer hats on them that implicates as a threat?"

Williams defended the protest and said the reaction has only served to increase awareness of the Revolutionary Action Party.

"I think that, overall, our name has been spread through the community, and the people that need to see us have seen us," Williams said. "All of the elected officials and like individuals also now see that we as RAP will hold them accountable."

Despite the controversial demonstration, Alexander said he is focusing more on community outreach and less on organizing protests.

"Were going to be more selective with our protests, and that will resonate with the community," Alexander said. "ProBLAC was to establish a culture of resilience and resistance in the community, but how we were doing that was just organizing around Black deaths instead of moving to prevent Black deaths. We realized that we need to organize, to educate, to reveal oppression, create this mass movement to serve our community."

Made up of Black and brown activists, the Revolutionary Action Party runs a food, clothing and canvassing program and is based near 24th and Emmet streets in North Omaha.

A transition from protester to activist is not uncommon, said Nikitah Imani, a professor of Black studies at UNO.

Imani noted that "it may feel really good to stand on a street corner and wave a sign," but moving away from reactionary action and into activism "gives a chance to make an actual impact on those issues."

As for what led to the events of the summer, Imani thinks that Scurlock's death, while it added local depth to an international issue, was not the sole cause.

"My sense is that it just added to it," Imani said. "If you look at it nationwide, this was going on across the country in areas that didnt have incidents, and not just in this country. I counted 16 to 17 countries where there was a tremendous wave of protests."

  

In addition to her involvement with ProBLAC and the Revolutionary Action Party, a new job factored into Williams' move to Omaha. She recently began a position at the Omaha Early Learning Center at Skinner Elementary as an associate teacher.

"The school Im located at is in North Omaha, so I work with the population that Im trying to serve outside of my job," Williams said of her activism.

Williams said she feels good came from last year's protests.

"We got all of these young leaders, we got all of these different organizations that were created and people who were really willing to put in this work continuously and really dedicate their lives to this movement and creating change," she said.

Looking ahead, Williams has plans to expand Change Now LNK to encompass both Lincoln and Omaha.

"My goals are to keep uplifting the community and spreading knowledge," she said, "because thats how change is going to happen."

  

Reflecting on the past year, Full said she hopes the protests prompted Omahans to re-evaluate the "status quo" in their city.

"We can look at policy, all the rules that we want, but its really peoples hearts and minds that we have to change to create meaningful change in our community," Full said. "I think the biggest thing the protests were able to do was shine a light on the injustice that was happening and help to understand all of the issues and challenges that we face."

Looking to the future, she plans to continue her work with BlackOut Omaha while working toward her master's degree.

"Every form of change is important in the community and everyone has the ability to make change," Full said.

  

Love said he would like to see more intergenerational communication from young protesters and activists.

"Their energy, ideas, activism. Our wisdom, counsel and experience. Merge those, and we have it."

Love said he took pride in the magnitude of response following the deaths of Floyd and Scurlock.

As he stood in Memorial Park on June 7 and took in the more than 2,000 people who came out for a solidarity march and rally, Love focused on the power of the moment and wondered whether that momentum would continue.

"Whats going on in my mind is I hope that were not dissipating all this power, all this response. It gets lost," Love said last month. "Like a small hole in the bottom of a glass. It might spread out and lose its effectiveness. My mind went to the hope that were harnessing that and turning that into meaningful action."

Love has his own lifetime of experience in harnessing meaningful action, and, as he puts it, he's "learned these lessons from the masters," who include civil rights activists John Lewis, Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. and his family.

The lesson: If you bring people together to protest, Love said, "You must inspire them, give them information, then give them instruction. If you do, that the glass stays full."

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
A local who did not want to be named, fearing for his safety, was visiting relatives in a medical clinic in Sebba town, approximately 12 kilometers from where the attacks occurred. He said he saw many wounded people enter the clinic.

I saw 12 people in one room and about 10 in another. There were many relatives caring for the wounded. There were also many people running from Solhan to enter Sebba....People are very afraid and worried, he told the Associated Press by phone.

The government has declared 72 hours of mourning.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the killings and offered the world body's full support to authorities in their efforts to overcome the threats to the peace and stability in Burkina Faso according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

He strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to Member States in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll, Dujarric said in a statement.

Islamic extremists have been increasingly staging assaults in Burkina Faso, especially in the region that borders Niger and Mali.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Maya Wiley in the race for mayor of New York, a move that has the potential to shake up the race and makes it more likely the city will have its first female mayor. We have an option of a candidate who can center people, racial justice, economic justice, and climate justice that didnt just come up to run for mayor, but has experience, Ocasio-Cortez said. That candidate is Maya Wiley. The lawmakers unexpected endorsement is expected to unite progressives behind the civil rights lawyer after lots of divisions in the campaign. Maya Wiley grew up in the movement. She was raised in this, Ocasio-Cortez said.

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The endorsement came a week before the start of early voting for the June 22 primary that is all but certain to determine who will be the citys next mayor. Until Saturday, it was unclear whether Ocasio-Cortez would endorse a candidate at all but she threw her support behind Wiley at a time when the other big-name progressives in the race suddenly lost momentum as they became embroiled in scandal and internal upheaval. City Comptroller Scott Stringer had received lots of important endorsements but lost support after accusations of sexual misconduct, and nonprofit executive Dianne Morales was suddenly met with an internal revolt by staffers amid accusations of unfair working conditions.

It is so important that we come together as a movement and rank Maya #1, because if we dont come together as a movement, we will get a New York City built by and for billionaires, Ocasio-Cortez said. Maya Wiley is the one. She will be a progressive in Gracie Mansion. For now, the little public polling that is available shows the progressive candidates behind the more moderate contenders, including former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams, and former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia.
About 9:20 p.m., a 43-year-old man was fatally wounded in the West Englewood neighborhood in the 5600 block of South Marshfield Avenue. Police said the man was walking outside when someone inside a four-door white sedan opened fire, hitting him in the head. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
A federal judge overturned Californias ban on assault weapons that has been in place for more than 30 years, declaring that it violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms and amounts to a failed experiment. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez said that the way California has described the military-style rifles that are illegal to own means law-abiding citizens of the state cant have weapons that most other states allow. The restrictions on the use of the weapons are hereby declared unconstitutional and shall be enjoined, Benitez wrote. Although the judge issued a permanent injunction forbidding the law from being enforced, he also granted a 30-day stay of the ruling to allow an appeal.

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In his ruling, Benitez said modern weapons are used for legal reasons and are a good tool to have. Like the Swiss Army knife, the popular AR-15 rifle is a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment. Good for both home and battle, he wrote. Benitez also criticized the news media, saying that its their fault assault weapons have a bad reputation. One is to be forgiven if one is persuaded by news media and others that the nation is awash with murderous AR-15 assault rifles. The facts, however, do not support this hyperbole, and facts matter, he wrote. In California, murder by knife occurs seven times more often than murder by rifle.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly criticized the ruling, taking particular issue at the way the judge likened the Swiss Army Knife to the AR-15. I grew up with deep respect for the judicial process and the importance of a judges ability to make impartial fact-based rulings, but the fact that this judge compared the AR-15a weapon of war thats used on the battlefieldto a Swiss Army Knife completely undermines the credibility of this decision and is a slap in the face to the families whove lost loved ones to this weapon, Newsom said in a statement. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the ruling is fundamentally flawed and vowed that it will be appealed. There is no sound basis in law, fact, or common sense for equating assault rifles with swiss army knives, Bonta said.

The state had argued that overturning the ban on assault rifles would open the door to lots of weapons of war. But Benitez said that was a stretch. This case is not about extraordinary weapons lying at the outer limits of Second Amendment protection. The banned assault weapons are not bazookas, howitzers, or machine guns. Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes, reads his ruling, which gun-rights activists celebrated.
Friday was the deadline by which the prizewinning reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones had asked the University of North Carolina to restore her offer of tenure to its journalism school or face legal action.

Today the University responded to a letter from the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. regarding Nikole Hannah-Jones employment, said UNCChapel Hill vice chancellor for communications Joel Curran in a statement emailed to Slate by the universitys press office. We look forward to continued dialogue with her counsel.

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Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer winner and MacArthur genius, was recruited to be a Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at UNCs Hussman School of Journalism and Media, only to see the standard tenure offer that goes with the position replaced with a five-year nontenure contract. Her tenure candidacy has also been resubmitted to the board of trustees, which gives them a chance to change course.

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On Sunday, the North Carolina online magazine the Assembly reported that in addition to the conservative trustees themselves, a crucial opponent of her hire was Walter Hussman Jr., the Arkansas newspaper publisher whose $25 million commitment to the university got the journalism school named after him in 2019.

Hussman learned of Carolinas interest in hiring Hannah-Jones in the summer of 2020, according to emails obtained by the Assembly, and he began to express concerns to top university officials, including at least one trustee, that her hire would undermine the schools values. Or, more directly, his own set of journalistic values, which his donation prompted the school to inscribe in the front of its building.

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Among those principles: Credibility is the greatest asset of any news medium, and impartiality is the greatest source of credibility. And the whole question of Hannah-Jones tenure offer, and Hussmans role in blocking it, does revolve around credibility and impartialitybut not necessarily in the way Hussman wished it to.

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Hussmans concern, in the emails, was Hannah-Jones work on the New York Times Pulitzer-winning 1619 Project, a journalistic reexamination of American history that focused on the central role of enslavement in shaping the nation. I worry about the controversy of tying the UNC journalism school to the 1619 project, wrote Hussman to several university officials in late December. I find myself more in agreement with Pulitzer prize winning historians like James McPherson and Gordon Wood than I do Nikole Hannah-Jones.

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He feared, Hussman wrote, that many will conclude she is trying to push an agenda and that such a perception would threaten his vision that the journalism school would be the champion of objective, impartial reporting and separating news and opinion.

But Hussmans account of the 1619 Project contained its own partiality. An earlier email, from September, took issue with a line For the most part, Black Americans fought back alone.from Hannah-Jones Pulitzer winning essay from the 1619 Project.

I think this claim denigrates the courageous efforts of many white Americans to address the sin of slavery and the racial injustices that resulted after the Civil War, he wrote.

He continued: Long before Nikole Hannah Jones won her Pulitzer Prize, courageous white southerners risking their lives standing up for the rights of blacks were winning Pulitzer prizes, too.

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Hussman is a newspapermanand as a journalist, he told the Assembly, he felt a professional obligation not to publicly take sides in the hiring controversy. The fact that he had personally stoked that controversy in private was beside the point. Impartiality here was reduced to a kind of performance, in which a journalists professional duty is to talk as if they are neutral on a question, no matter what the truth may be. (Hussman told both NC Policy Watch and the Raleigh News & Observer that he was standing by what he said in the emails.)

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Hussman is in a position to make a multimillion-dollar gift to a journalism school because, backed by his familys publishing wealth, he won a war for control of his local newspaper market. He is the longtime publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a marriage between what had been two rival papers. In the 1970s, Hussmans family bought the Arkansas Democrat and instated him as publisher. He positioned the Democrat as a conservative alternative to the Arkansas Gazette, a paper that was long critical of racist politicians and practices, and started a newspaper battle that the Gazette couldnt survive. The conflict was about profitability, longevity, and winningas they often areand it came at the expense of the Gazette.

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During this feud, John Robert Starr, a top editor of the Democrat, also wrote a salacious weekly column. Starr, according to research conducted by Donna Lampkin Stephens in her dissertation, used the column to position himself and the Democrat as aligning with Arkansas conservative majority. Hussman, for his part, questioned the ethics of one of the top editors also operating as an opinion columnist but allowed it to continue. The column featured nasty digs at politicians, the Gazette, and its staff. Longtime Gazette reporter Ernest Dumas said that the Gazette, to his knowledge, was never asked about the salacious information that Starr published.

The brazen disregard for journalistic principles was shocking in its outrageousness, wrote Lampkin Stephens of the Democrats practices. Such practices run completely counter to standard journalistic practices, and even the fact that they took place during Arkansass fierce newspaper war cannot condone their use. Simply, the Hussman-owned Democrat did not have the same commitment to quality journalism that the Gazette had under Heiskell family ownership.

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After an antitrust lawsuit, the Gazette was bought by Gannett before being sold off to Hussman and merged with the Democrat to form the paper as it exists today.

Actually no surprise that the architect of @UNCs deplorable treatment of @nhannahjones is Arkansas newspaper magnate Walter Hussman.

But PREPOSTEROUS to call him an advocate for balanced/non-political news. Hes been a mini-Rupert Murdoch for 40 yrs.

1/5https://t.co/EjJrQFLher  Douglas A. Blackmon (@douglasblackmon) May 30, 2021

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Hussmans family bought the dying Arkansas Democrat in the 70s & installed him as boy-publisher, still in his 20s. He hired extremist conservative editors who made war on the truth, and in the 80s begin spinning bogus Whitewaterconspiracy tales about Bill & Hillary Clinton. 3/5  Douglas A. Blackmon (@douglasblackmon) May 30, 2021

Hussman has also appeared on Tucker Carlsons show to discuss journalistic objectivity, which is an interesting choice for someone concerned about credibility. (Carlson is also an avid opponent of the 1619 Project.) Who he chooses to follow on Twitter, and who follows him, is equally revealing.

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This all makes his concerns about Hannah-Jones hiring all the more peculiar. The concern is linked, intentionally or not, to a broader conservative disinformation campaign against universitieswhich is even more complex and intense in North Carolina. Viewing the 1619 Project, particularly the marquee essay by Hannah-Jones, as opinionated, rather than as historical analysis rooted in research, is indicative of what truths are valid to him. Then theres that whole issue of a powerful donor overstepping his bounds and involving himself in university hiring protocols, which is, again, a direct violation of the journalistic ethics he touts.

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If you think you can say whatever you want to whoever you want as long as people dont find out about it, you shouldnt be lecturing people about ethics and integrity, said one trustee to NC Policy Watch. I cant say the things Id like to publicly about this, because Im told it would jeopardize a personnel process, maybe even lead to a lawsuit. But a rich donor can find out this information, make arguments to people at the highest level about the fitness of people we employ, call other donors and talk about it  and as long as he doesnt do it publicly, he thinks thats okay.
As Donald Trumps presidency was coming to an end, his closest allies were ready to cling on to any conspiracy theory that could keep the president in power. And fresh evidence shows there didnt seem to be anything too wild that they werent willing to try to get the federal government to explore. Mark Meadows, Trumps chief of staff, pushed the Justice Department to investigate several conspiracy theories related to the election, reports the New York Times. Five emails provided to Congress show that in late December and early January, Meadows called on Jeffrey Rosen, who was the acting attorney general at the time, to investigate baseless allegations of fraud.

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From the emails it seems no theory was too crazy to investigate. Meadows even called on Rosen to explore a conspiracy theory that made the rounds claiming that people in Italy had tampered voting machines in the United States with the help of military technology and satellites. Rosen was even asked to set up a meeting between the FBI and a man who had pushed the Italygate conspiracy online. He refused to set up the meeting and people close to him insist he never looked into any of the conspiracy theories, which included false claim of voter fraud in New Mexico and Georgia. But the emails served as yet another reminder of how Trump thought the Justice Department was there to do his bidding. This new evidence underscores the depths of the White Houses efforts to co-opt the department and influence the electoral vote certification, said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, who is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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This new evidence reveals that in the final weeks of the Trump Admin, Meadows asked acting AG Rosen to examine debunked claims of election fraud in New Mexico including a fantastical theory that people in Italy had used military technology to remotely tamper with voting machines.  Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) June 5, 2021

Even if nothing came of the request to open up the investigations, the simple fact that Meadows reached out to Rosen so frequently was severely out of the norm considering long-standing guidelines pretty much forbid White House personnel from contacting the Justice Department on investigations. The Justice Departments enforcement mechanisms should not be used for political purpose or for the personal benefit of the president. Thats the key idea that gave rise to these policies, said W. Neil Eggleston, who served as President Barack Obamas White House counsel.

How crazy was the Italygate conspiracy theory? When Media Matters for America wrote about it in January it said it illustrated just how nutty the world of right-wing conspiracy theories has become. The conspiracy theory at the time was bouncing around the dregs of the internet, MMFAs Parker Molloy wrote. Reuters wrote a fact-checking piece on the theory and deemed it to be false.
Update at 4:15 p.m.: The FBI has withdrawn the subpoena demanding information from USA Today that would help identify readers of a February story. The person the agency was trying to locate was found by other means, according to the Justice Department.

Original post: The FBI is trying to get the information of everyone who read a specific USA Today article at a specific time as part of an investigation. The FBI issued a subpoena demanding the IP addresses and mobile identification information that would pinpoint those who accessed a Feb. 2 article about a shooting that killed two agents and wounded three others as they tried to serve a warrant in Florida. The subpoena, which demanded the information of those who accessed the story during a 35-minute window starting at 8:03 p.m. on the day of the shooting, was issued in April but only became public recently as Gannett, USA Todays parent company, fought it in court.

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The subpoena said the information was needed as part of a criminal investigation but didnt specify why it was needed. The FBI also said USA Today had to keep in under wraps indefinitely. In its legal filing asking a judge to nix the subpoena, Gannett said it was unconstitutional and failed to follow the Justice Departments own guidelines on seeking information from the media. The FBI has failed to demonstrate compliance with the United States Attorney Generals regulations for subpoenas to the pressregulations that President Biden himself recently pledged the Administration would follow, the companys lawyers wrote.

USA Today publisher Maribel Perez Wadsworth said that forcing a news outlet to tell the government who reads what on our websites is a clear violation of the First Amendment. She said that the company is fighting the subpoena to protect the important relationship and trust between USA Todays readers and our journalists.

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The article in question had to do with what happened when agents tried to serve a warrant at an apartment in Sunrise, Fla. They had tied the apartment to an IP address that was suspected of possessing child pornography. The man inside, David Lee Huber, opened fire through the door and killed Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger before killing himself.

The revelation of the subpoena comes at a time when the Justice Department has been under heavy criticism for its efforts during former President Donald Trumps administration to obtain phone records of journalists. Last month, President Joe Biden said he wouldnt allow that practice to take place under his administration. Absolutely, positively, its wrong, Biden said.

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In response to the FBI's demand for info that could identify readers of a USA Today story, @rcfp Exec. Director Bruce Brown is calling on DOJ & FBI to explain how officials applied policies that limit when the government can seek records from news outlets. https://t.co/vFEbktBk4K  Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (@rcfp) June 5, 2021
Tracing your roots may get addictive, but what does it take to succeed?

Linda Stanko (second from the right) and her aunt Susan (second from the left) visited Slovakia in May 2015 for the first time. (Source: Courtesy of Erik Sevcik)

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Listen to the Spectator College podcast:

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1056484957&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true

Florida native Linda Stanko, who was born and raised in Pennsylvania, speaks about her family search and visits to Slovakia.

Listen to the podcast to find out why she became interested in her Slovak ancestry at an older age, why her name is Linda and not Apolonia, what a DNA test revealed, and where in Slovakia she would like to, theoretically, settle down.

Exam topic: Family

Other study materials:

Glossary: Completing a mosaic of personal histories Read more

As they age, Americans desire to reconnect with Slovakia grows Read more

The Spectator College is a programme designed to support the study and teaching of English in Slovakia, as well as to inspire interest in important public issues among young people.

28. May 2021 at 7:10 | Peter Dlhopolec
Austrian travel form requires information most people do not have

The ministry did not say how the problem will be handled.

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"Enter the address in Austria where you will spend the compulsory quarantine if necessary," the form for travelling to Austria requires. Most people from Slovakia stop right there.

How to travel to and from Slovakia during COVID-19 Read more

Filling out the Pre-Travel Clearance form is required along with a vaccination certificate or negative Covid test result before entering the country. Austria is thus overseeing the people who have entered its territory, what means of transport they have used and what they are going to do in the country.

Only people who own property or those who have paid for a stay there can give genuine information in the form, though. The potential quarantine address must be within the territory of Austria. The Pre-Travel clearance form does not need to be filled out by people who are only transiting through Austria or those taking someone to the airport and returning to Slovakia directly after.

Cannot be left blank

People who cross the border just for shopping or for a day trip have a problem filling out the form. The electronic form cannot be submitted with some of the information left blank.

A foreigner moving around Austria without the Pre-Travel clearance form faces a fine if checked by the police. The Austrian Embassy in Bratislava stated that the quarantine address is a compulsory field and needs to be filled out.

4. Jun 2021 at 11:58 | Michal Katuska
For the first time since the Gering Civic Center was constructed in 1993, the interior of the building will get a major remodeling.

Its an exciting time for the center, which hosts major conventions and events like weddings, banquets and other activities, and the community, Karla Niedan-Streeks, executive director of the Gering Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the Star-Herald.

Over the years, the civic center has had some improvements. Niedan-Streeks estimates new carpet has been installed about every 10-12 years, as well as some lighting and sound improvements. However, there have not been any major improvements.

It is kind of amazing, if you think about it, she said, noting that the center has stood the test of time. Over the years, this facility has been maintained well. People still say its an amazing, beautiful facility.

However, admittedly, the decor is dated in its rose, teal and grey color scheme and is starting to show some wear and tear, such as peeling areas on ceiling tile or wood chipping away on the bottoms of doors that Niedan-Streeks points out during a tour of the facility.

Everything we are doing is a great facelift for a remarkable facility.
Donations are collected at each site that the Tractor Relay of Nebraska drivers stop to display their tractors, for meals and breaks, with boxes set up in front of each tractor. Funds collected will be presented on Wednesday to Nebraska American Legion State Commander Gary Wooten and State Adjutant David W. Salak.

On Sunday, the Tractor Relay of Nebraska will host most of its activities at the Legacy of the Plains Museum. Thats because one of the key events this year will be a brunch with the founders of the Nebraska Antique Farming Association, which includes one of the key founders and a local man, Jack Preston. Other locals are also among the roster of founders of the association, which Moormeier said has a goal of educating people about the history of tractors and farming and also serving as an advocacy group for antique tractors and machinery.

Founders will be recognized Saturday, with some planned recognition.

It will be fun, to recognize them, especially Jack Preston, she said. It (the Antique Farming Association) is his brain child, basically, so it will be fun to hear from him about how he thought about doing it and how it has gotten bigger than he ever thought.

Also on Sunday, the tractor drivers will travel to the Scotts Bluff National Monument, where they will tour the museum.
Online court records show Figueroa is being represented by public defenders, who do not comment on cases to the media. It's not known when he will be able to appear in court, given restrictions on the movements of prisoners between state prisons and county jails because of COVD-19, Dougherty said.

He was joined outside court by police and Guitierrez-Garcias mother, Diane Romero, and her two sisters. Her three sons stayed inside the building as the news was announced.

Romero called it a day that was both heartbreaking and joyous. I have been praying for this day, so God has given this to me, she said.

It took so long to bring charges against Figueroa partly because Gutierrez-Garcias body has not been found, Dougherty said.

In one of the wiretapped conversations, Figueroa allegedly said that he had buried her body and the only way to find it would be if police inserted a probe into his brain, according to the indictment.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP)  A Wyoming sheriff's corporal who is facing a wrongful death lawsuit in the killing of an unarmed mentally ill man in 2018 has resigned.

Derek Colling left his job Wednesday, the Albany County Sheriff's Office said in a release Thursday.

No other information about the personnel matter would be provided, the release said. Colling had no listed phone number and couldn't be reached for comment.

Colling was a patrol deputy when he shot and killed Robert Robbie Ramirez, 39, after a traffic stop in Laramie in 2018. Ramirez drove off during the stop, and police car video shows that Colling followed him to his apartment, where he shot him with a Taser then his gun.

The lawsuit says the video shows Colling aggressively charge Ramirez in the apartment parking lot even though Ramirez's hands were in plain sight and Colling knew Ramirez was unarmed.

In court documents, Colling denies those allegations and others, though he acknowledges shooting Ramirez. Colling's attorney, Stephenson Emery, didn't immediately return a phone message Thursday.

A grand jury later found Colling didn't commit involuntary manslaughter.
In 1988, Zhang Xiaofu landed an opportunity to study music in Paris. After a month of learning French, the teacher from Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music embarked on his journey to France.

As he had planned, Zhang learned composition in Paris, continuing his classical music studies. But it was not until 1991 that Zhang began studying electronic musica total foreign form of music to him.

"The first time I listened to electronic music, I felt overwhelmed because it's a totally different form from classical music," Zhang says. "For a composer, electronic music offers a broader vision for writing music, or let's say creating sounds."

He then began listening to the works of pioneering electronic music composers, and spent as much time as possible learning to use the equipment in the studio. Then, he started to think about creating music with sounds from his home country.

"I've listened to a large number of works by French electronic music composers, which are full of abstract sounds with or without order. What about using sounds which are from China?" he says.

Zhang had traveled to the Tibet autonomous region with his students in 1984 to collect music materials. He brought those materials and sound recordings of Tibet with him to Paris. Recordings included rotating prayer wheels in the hands of devout Buddhists, wind blowing the prayer flags, children singing and Buddhist chants.

Nuorilang marked the beginning of new work Zhang composed, and it premiered in Paris in 1996. The piece was inspired by Zhang's trip to Nuorilang Waterfalls in the Jiuzhaigou scenic area in Sichuan province, and there has since been more than 10 versions of it. The piece then evolved into a multimedia symphony in 2016, and was staged in Beijing.

As one of Zhang's most performed works, Nuorilang is a piece that he has never stopped revising and updating since 1996.

The 20-minute music piece will be staged again at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center in Beijing on June 8, with a combination of three percussionists, visual images and sounds from both electronic music and classical music.

During the concert, Zhang will also stage another two music compositions inspired by Tibetan ethnic culture.

Drifting Dharani, which is 28 minutes long, will combine classical music with a soprano as well as visual images and electronic music sounds.

Yarlung Zangbo, a 40-minute-long music piece, will contain six chapters performed by a symphony orchestra and will feature electronic music arrangements.

"The three music pieces were composed during the last three decades, which saw my aesthetic changes as a composer," Zhang says. "I've traveled to Tibet many times to collect sound materials. It's a place full of inspiration. In the early years, I had to carry very heavy equipment with me, which were unforgettable experiences."

For the audience, Zhang adds that they will have a fresh experience of enjoying music. Amplifiers will be arranged onstage and among the audience. In one movement of Yarlung Zangbo, only one amplifier placed among the audience will be used. The sole amplifier will play recordings of an old Tibetan woman telling folk stories in local language.

"I told the musicians that when they perform the three music pieces, they just have to imagine themselves being among snowy mountains, flowing rivers and lovely Tibetan people," Zhang adds.

The three music pieces were staged at one concert in Tianjin in November. This will be the first time the three music pieces will be performed as a trilogy in Beijing to portray Tibetan culture through multimedia, classical music, visual images and electronic music.

"Though electronic music is often associated with words like abstract and obscure, I am glad that the audience enjoyed the concert because they shared familiar sounds with the music pieces," Zhang says.

As one of the first students to be admitted into the composition department of the Central Conservatory of Music in 1978 after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), Zhang attended the well-known class of 1978 with classmates such as Tan Dun, Chen Qigang, Guo Wenjing and Liu Suola. Those musicians have become the first generation of Chinese composers to be recognized by the Western audience.

Before Zhang attended university, he spent eight years working with the singing and dancing troupe of Changchun city in Jilin province, where he composed music and played the erhu and bassoon.

Zhang was trained by composer Wu Zuqiang. After graduation in 1983, Zhang became a teacher at the university.

"We focused on classical music studies then. It was hard to find materials about contemporary music in the library since the country was just opening-up," Zhang recalls.

After Zhang returned to China in 1994, he founded the Electro-Acoustic Music Center, which is part of the conservatory. It is the first professional institution researching modern electroacoustic music. He also founded the Beijing Electroacoustic Music Festival that same year, inviting international electronic musicians to perform in Beijing.

"It's exciting to witness and be involved in the birth of a totally new academic major," Zhang says. "From buying equipment to organizing teaching materials, we've trained students for bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees, who are now major sources of teachers of electronic music in the country."
The chief opposition to the COS idea comes from Sen. Morfeld. He believes that were the convention to ever happen, the whole constitution will be re-written by the States. This is a very old myth that is utterly false yet it is heard every time COS is on the agenda. The briefest study of the constitutional convention makes it very clear the delegates in Philadelphia wanted there to be TWO ways for amendments to the constitution to be proposed. I am forced to conclude opponents must trust congress more than they trust the states.

How can states not be trusted to propose amendments when the constitution requires three-fourths (38) of the states to ratify amendments to the constitution? The states have ratified twenty-seven amendments since our country was founded.

Next January thirty-three votes will be needed to end the filibuster that is certain to come. Those votes are far from a sure thing at this point. Senators have made a very large investment of political capital on this. The vote-trading that happened so the Convention of States could be back in front of the whole legislature concerns me a great deal. The Senators have got the ball down to the twenty yard line. The legislature has done all it can do on this issue. I believe the people are the only way to get this across the goal line. If you are a COS supporter, its time to step up.
Put simply, we were half-funding early childhood in Nebraska long before COVID-19 struck.

If were going to get money to stabilize early care and education, we need to recognize that the system we have wasnt stable before COVID, says Huddleston-Casas, the associate director of workforce planning and development for the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska.

Huddleston-Casas work proposes a phased solution to this gap, including higher federal and state contributions and an injection of business and philanthropic money.

All this work in Nebraska provides a model to other states, something that can be replicated across the U.S. as we try to move from a frustrating present for American childcare into a better future.

There havent been a lot of states who have done real thinking about this, says Simon Workman, an early childhood funding expert and former director for early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress. Putting the governance piece together with the finance piece is really the sweet spot. And its something that Nebraska is leading on, to be quite honest.
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Lewisville emergency dispatcher Amy Bocanegra takes a call. Lewisville is looking for ways to fill vacancies that many agencies are experiencing.
Lori Mowl of Briarhill Middle School teaches a class. School districts appear to be headed for full face-to-face learning as a bill to allow for remote learning did not make it to the governors desk.
Two shootings on Interstate 77 early Saturday morning are believed to be linked, the Iredell County Sheriffs Office reported.

Chief Deputy Andy Poteat said the suspect in the first shooting died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound while the person injured in the initial assault is recovering at a hospital.

Poteat said the first shooting happened on I-77 north. A man and his wife, from New Jersey, were traveling north when they heard two noises. They didnt realize the first noise was a gunshot, Poteat said. It was when the man was hit by the second shot that they realized it was gunfire, he said.

A short while later, he said, a car crashed into the guardrail on I-77 south near the 47 mile marker. The man inside was pronounced dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Poteat said.

The description of the vehicle that crashed fit the general description of the one involved in the shooting of the New Jersey man, he said.

Poteat said the man believed to have been the shooter is from Yadkin County.

He said the incident unfolded when the couple from New Jersey said they were being tailgated as they drove north on I-77. The vehicle went around them and thats when the shots were fired, Poteat said.
Smokey Bones delivery-only burger brand, The Burger Experience, has revamped its menu with new burgers and a secret umami XTC sauce. The curated menu features five quality burgers and new crinkle cut fries, all at $6.

The five burgers include a Classic, Classic with Cheese, a Bacon Cheeseburger, Mushroom Swiss Burger, and a Green Chile Burger  all served on a grilled brioche bun. Bringing an extra zip to the burgers is the restaurants XTC sauce, a combination that includes umami notes of mustard, soy, and hoisin sauce for a savory and complementary taste that harkens back to the days of the original burger joints. The simplified menu allows The Burger Experience to quickly prepare the meal and get it to the curb or out the door for delivery.

The pandemic has changed the way customers interact with restaurants with guests now increasingly relying on curbside, carryout, delivery, and third-party delivery apps, said CEO James OReilly. We believe many of these changes are going to be permanent and now is the time for us to innovate and invest. We have the operational and culinary capability to do just that, while focusing on one of Americans most beloved menu items  burgers.

The Burger Experience operates inside Smokey Bones 61 locations across 16 states. Guests can order curbside pick-up or delivery via The Burger Experience website: www.burgerxorder.com, or through Uber Eats and Door Dash.

At a time when food delivery is thriving, the Fla.-based restaurant group revamped its popular burger brand after research found the off-premise burger segment was crowded with high-priced, chef-driven concepts or mainstream fast food options with few, or no options in the middle for a quality burger at a reasonable price.

We wanted to do something different by offering a really delicious menu of burgers starting at $6 that are designed for off-premise customers only, said OReilly. The Burger Experience offers the kind of delicious burger you could easily order every week for your lunch, or order in large numbers for a group with drinks and crinkle fries. The brand is fun, relaxed and very focused on one simple thing: great burgers you can enjoy anytime and anywhere.

The Burger Experience joins The Wing Experience, Smokey Bones other delivery-only brand. The Wing Experience menu offers 50 wing flavors and the same crinkle cut fries. Both The Burger Experience and The Wing Experiences specialized menus allow the brands to focus on making the best burgers and wings in America at competitive prices.

Tasty Chomps Q and A  The Burger Experience

Tasty Chomps: How did the concept come about and what year did it begin?

The Burger Experience was first created in the Fall of 2019 in partnership with UberEats and was offered in about a dozen locations. It was expanded to all 61 locations in the Spring of 2020 along with The Wing Experience. After both virtual brands were expanded, both were also re-concepted. The Wing Experience was re-concepted for chicken wing flavor  seekers, with the tagline Jumbo Wings Fifty Flavors. The response to the reconcepting of The Wing Experience was so positive that The Burger Experience was reconcepted to Chef Driven Delivery Burgers starting at $6. Everything in the reconcept was changed, from the bun, toppings, patties, and the introduction of the new XTC Experience burger sauce. The Burger Experience now offers five incredible delivery burgers starting at $6 and early market response has been very strong.

 What are some of the most popular burgers right now on the menu?

The Burger Experience offers 5 prebuilt delivery burgers:

1) Classic with XTC Experience ,

2) Classic with Cheese & XTC Experience ,

3) Bacon Cheeseburger with garlic mayo and carmelized grilled onions,

4) Mushroom Swiss Burger with horshradish mayo, sauteed sliced mushrooms and swiss cheese, and

5) Green Chile Burger with hatch green chiles and pepperjack cheese.

The Burger Experience also offers a create your own option .

With only 5 pre-built burgers, all are popular!

 What are some new things coming to Burger Experience?

The Burger Experience will soon be offering new sides and an incredible new veggie burger

Question and Answers with Smokey Bones CEO James OReilly

 Tell us about your background / history in the food industry

James entered the food industry from marketing giant Procter & Gamble in 1997 on the KFC brand in Canada as its Director of Marketing. James spent thirteen years at YUM Brands working on KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, across Canada, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, and Latin America. He went on to become the US Chief Marketing Officer for KFC , Einstein Bros Bagels, and Sonic Drive In. James was appointed President and CEO of Long John Silvers in 2014, and became President and CEO of Smokey Bones in 2019.

 What are some important lessons learned in 2020 as you navigated through the pandemic?

The most important lesson of navigating 2020 was to remain a values-centered organization. As the crisis severely impacted the company and its employees, Smokey Bones leadership engaged its front line employees directly and frequently on live video communicating business updates, focusing on values, and answering tough questions. Smokey Bones restaurant leaders responded in legendary fashion, propelling the company to a steady recovery from the pandemic which is still underway. Through this experience Smokey Bones galvanized its values system in its Humanifesto and five core values: 1) Be Yourself, 2) Be Resilient, 3) Be Creative, Act with Integrity, and 5) Drive for Results

 What are your upcoming plans in the coming months for both Smokey Bones and Burger Experience / Wing Experience as the economy begins recovering and more people become vaccinated?

Smokey Bones and its virtual brands have aggressive growth plans including traditional and ghost kitchen development, menu innovation, and new marketing approaches.

 What do you want guests to know about both Smokey Bones when they come to dine?

Smokey Bones are the Masters of Meat because of its depth of meat choices and preparation methods. Only Smokey Bones can offer house-smoked award winning bbq, fire grilled steaks, burgers, and seafood, baby back and St Louis ribs, and its world famous smoked wings available in fifteen flavors. For a limited time Smokey Bones is offering a Global Rib Feast featuring five global rib flavors (Japanese Teriyaki, Chinese BBQ, Korean BBQ, Mango Tandoori, and Caribbean Jerk). Smokey Bones is Meat Heaven for meat lovers.

 What is the most surprising thing about Burger Experience that you discovered ?

The most surprising thing about The Burger Experience is how fast its sales have improved since reconcepting it from traditional $15 casual dining burgers to chef driven delivery burgers starting at $6. Smokey Bones broke the mold in its reconcepting efforts on its virtual brand and are experience a very strong consumer response.

 How will you continue to innovate as food trends and popular culture evolve?

Culinary efforts are led by Chef Peter Farrand, and amazing chef with decades of culinary experience. Chef Peter is an expert in culinary trends, and continues to evolve the menus on Smokey Bones and its virtual brands.
It was an interesting day in the world of technology today. On one hand, Google Meet stopped working for some users in India today. On the other hand, TikTok rolled out a new privacy policy that gives it broader biometric access to user data.

So, here's what happened in tech today:

Tinder gets Block Contact feature

Tinder has rolled out a new feature that enables users to block contacts from their phone books on their Tinder profiles. Tinder says that users can also block the number of a contact who isnt on Tinder. You can check all the details here.

WhatsApp gets playback speed for voice messages

WhatsApp has officially announced the launch of playback speeds for voice messages feature. Users can listen to WhatsApp voice messages at three different speeds, which include the normal speed, 1.5x speed, and 2x speed.

GOQii Smart Vital Junior smartwatch for kids launched in India

GOQii has launched a new smart fitness band for kids in India. The GOQii Smart Vital Junior costs 4,999, and it can be purchased from the companys online store, Amazon and Flipkart. You can check its specs here.

Google Meet is down for some users in India

Google Meet was down for users in India in the morning today. Google Meet outage reports started early at around 7:00 am today and by around 9:00 am, the outage saw a spike among users.

TikTok introduces new privacy policy in the US
Chinese police have cracked 2,278 criminal cases related to illegal fishing and arrested 3,966 suspects since the beginning of this year, amid a national campaign against such practices along the Yangtze River.

The crackdown has also seen the seizure of 930 fishing boats, 126,000 units of fishing gear, over 110,000 kg of catches and the dismantlement of 192 criminal rings, said the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on Friday.

Lin Rui, vice minister of public security, said police will continue resolute efforts to cut the underground industrial chain, transportation and business operations related to illegal fishing.

Launched by the MPS and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs last June, the three-year campaign aims to protect the country's longest river.




Based on a statement by bgr.com, it seems that next years iPad Pro will come equipped with the MagSafe charging system at the rear of the tablet. For those who are not familiar with MagSafe, it was first introduced during the launch of the iPhone 12 series that utilises magnets to hold a charging port in place to charge the smartphone.

But thats not all, our source also mentioned that the upcoming iPad Pro will come with the reverse wireless charging feature that allows users to charge up their iPhones and accessories such as the AirPods, AirPods Pro, and more. However, do take some of the information with a grain of salt, due to the fact that Apple has yet to provide an official statement on the leak.

Not only that, but theres also no news on the Malaysia release date, local pricing, and exact tech specs for now. What are your thoughts on next years iPad Pro coming with MagSafe wireless charging? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.
Momentum is building for a minimum level of corporate tax to prevent multinationals like tech giants from playing the system to boost profits. .

Finance ministers from wealthy G7 nations are on Saturday expected to announce support for a minimum global level of corporate tax, aimed at getting multinationalsespecially tech giantsto pay more into government coffers hit hard by the pandemic.

According to a draft communique seen by AFP, the finance chiefs and central bankers of the world's seven richest nations will express "strong support" and a "high level of ambition" over the US-backed tax plans.

French economy minister Bruno Le Maire told journalists on Friday evening: "If we have an agreement tomorrow, it will be a historic step forward".

It will also "give considerable momentum to the G20", scheduled to hold a finance meeting in July, he said.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak on Friday chaired the first of two days of meetings, held in person after an easing of COVID-19 restrictions and attended by counterparts from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

The talks were preparing the ground for a broader summit of G7 leaders in Cornwall, southwest England starting on June 11.

US President Joe Biden is set to attend on his first foreign tour since taking office in January.

'Difficult to accept'

Momentum is growing behind the US-led plans to limit the ability of multinationals like tech giants to game the system to boost profits, especially at a time when economies around the world are reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Before the crisis, it was difficult to understand," a European source told AFP. "After the crisis, it is difficult to accept."

Corporate tax is one of two pillars in efforts for global fiscal reform, the other being a "digital tax" to allow countries to tax the profits of multinationals headquartered overseas.

"It is increasingly clear that in a complex, global, digital economy, we cannot continue to rely on a tax system that was largely designed as in the 1920s," Sunak said in opening remarks.

"And I would just say this: the world has noticed. And I believe they have high expectations for what we all can agree over the coming days."

According to the draft communique, ministers also plan to commit to "sustain policy support", or stimulus, for "as long as necessary" to nurture economic recovery, while addressing climate change and inequalities in society.

Furthermore, they will urge "equitable, safe and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines" everywhere.

The thorny topic of the regulation of digital currencies such as bitcoin will also be on the agenda.

According to a draft communique seen by AFP, the finance chiefs and central bankers of the world's seven richest nations will express "strong support" and a "high level of ambition" over a minimum global minimum corporate tax rate.

Agreement 'within sight'

Biden has called for a unified minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent in negotiations with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20.

His proposal has so far won broad support from countries such as France and Germany, as well as the International Monetary Fund.

A deal is "within sight", finance ministers from France, Germany, Italy and non-G7 member Spain declared Friday.

"We have a chance to get multinational businesses to pay their fair share," France's Le Maire, Germany's Olaf Scholz, Italy's Daniele Franco and Spain's Nadia Calvino said in The Guardian newspaper.

"For more than four years, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have been working together to create an international tax system fit for the 21st century," added the four ministers.

"Now it's time to come to an agreement."

France's Le Maire told journalists in London that Biden's proposed 15 percent is "a minimum. For us, it's a starting point".

Along with its G7 and G20 partners, France wants "a more ambitious level of taxation," the minister said, with the current pandemic crisis showing that "tax evasion, the race towards the lowest possible level of taxation, is a dead end".

'Largely insufficient'

Ireland has expressed "significant reservations" about Biden's plan, however. Its 12.5-percent tax rate is one of the lowest in the world, prompting tech giants such as Facebook and Google to make Ireland the home of their European operations.

The UK-based anti-poverty organisation Oxfam argued that Biden's proposal of 15 percent was too little, with the charity's senior policy officer for France, Quentin Parrinello, telling AFP an agreement without a specific rate "would be a real failure".

Proponents argue that a minimum tax is necessary to stem competition between countries over who can offer multinationals the lowest rate.

They say that a "race to the bottom" saps precious revenues that could go to government priorities like hospitals and schools.

Britain wants multinationals to pay taxes that reflect their operations, as nations across the world seek to repair virus-battered finances.

Governments worldwide have suffered massive falls in tax receipts during COVID lockdowns, while at the same time having to borrow vast sums to prop up their economies.

 2021 AFP
A woman leads a blind man to a visiting doctor, past destroyed furniture and other items in the driveway of a hospital which was damaged and looted by Eritrean soldiers who used it as a base, according to witnesses, in Hawzen, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, on Friday, May 7, 2021. The battle for Hawzen is part of a larger war in Tigray between the Ethiopian government and the Tigrayan rebels that has led to the flight of more than 2 million of the regions 6 million people.
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I think its important to do from the standpoint of voter integrity. Other states have done it. I know the governor wants it. I know we in the Senate and the House want it. We just need people to show up to work to get it done, Schwertner said.

Texas Rep. Kyle Kacal, who represents the predominantly rural District 12, said in an interview on KBTX-TV on Tuesday that he believes it is possible to move toward legislation that encourages high voter turnout while also ensuring safe elections.

We can do both, Kacal said. Lets hope that cool heads will prevail and that we can find a bill that everyone can live with. We have to. We must have an election we can have faith in, that has integrity, and is fair to all.

In the interview, Raney also said he was happy that House Bill 1694, which creates drug overdose Good Samaritan protections in the state, passed both legislative chambers. He said Abbott has said he will sign the bill, which creates a defense from prosecution for anyone who calls emergency responders to aid someone who appears to have overdosed.

Im real proud of that. It came to me from college students here at A&M last session, and Im glad we passed it, Raney said.
For a lot of hospitals, that was all they needed to kind of stay afloat when they had their peak, he said.

Todd Bernhardt, global communications director for the organization, said working with local medical providers helps patients feel more comfortable about accepting care, especially in other parts of the world, and also can serve as a training opportunity.

Not only do we provide relief services, but we try to build self-reliance, and by hiring and training people, we get them involved, Bernhardt said. It also helps with community acceptance, because if you just have a bunch of people from the outside coming in and providing care, people look at you in a much different way than if they know the personnel.

Dr. Roy Cosico, technical officer for global classification with the World Health Organization Emergency Management Team Secretariat in Geneva, said there is a minimum standard every Type 1 emergency medical team must meet.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that the international community should work together with unprecedented ambition and action to strive for a fair and reasonable system of global environmental governance featuring win-win cooperation and promote the sustainable development of humanity.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to the World Environment Day events held in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Noting that this year marks the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Xi said the World Environment Day events held in Pakistan under the theme of ecosystem restoration are of great significance.

Xi stressed that Earth is humanity's shared home, and a sound ecosystem is essential for the prosperity of civilizations.

The human race should respect nature, follow its laws, protect it, and endeavor to foster a new relationship where humans and nature can both prosper and live in harmony, he added.

Climate change, biodiversity loss, worsening desertification and frequent extreme weather events have all posed severe challenges to human survival and development, Xi said, noting that the world is in fact a community with a shared future where everyone is in the same boat.




The closure allows for a teach-out of the currently enrolled undergraduate students, meaning the about 50 students will finish the program with an accredited bachelor's degree. But the recently started master's program was immediately shuttered, leaving about two dozen students having to transfer to other universities.

Many of those students and alumni said they didn't believe Williams' statements were related to race. They also said they didn't see an issue separating their theological beliefs on sexuality and gender with the call to be social workers.

If you are a well-trained social worker, you dont need to let your theology get in the way of your social work or helping any population that you might disagree with on a theological level, said Lizzie Walker, who graduated from the program in 2018. I think my faith lines up really well with the mission to be a social worker, to meet people where they are.

Johanna Byrd, executive director of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, condemned the closure, saying the university seemed to be sending an incorrect message that social workers can't have or maintain their faith and do their jobs.
Following the attack on our democracy on Jan. 6, Senate Republicans recently filibustered legislation to create an independent, bipartisan commission, which McConnell urged Republicans to oppose as a personal favor, its become abundantly clear that McConnell will continue to hijack the filibuster to block truth, justice and progress. The filibuster frequently was used to block progress on civil rights and voting rights legislation. We cannot let the filibuster stand in the way of progress yet again, and the Senate must do anything it can to pass the For the People Act.

This isnt just a policy disagreement. This is bigger than protecting our freedom to vote, getting big money out of politics, and stopping gerrymandering. This fight is fundamental to our democracy. If we let states take away our freedom to vote by targeting largely Black and brown voters, what would prevent states from restricting the right to vote for other groups of people?

As the parent of four boys, this fight is personal to me. This fight is about ensuring that our children, grandchildren and future generations can live in a democracy that respects the rule of law and the will of voters, instead of trying to rig the rules, and about the type of government we leave for our children and grandchildren.
Some Republicans incorrectly claim that voting laws are the province of the states and the states alone. More accurately, the Constitution allows states to craft election laws, but in most cases, Congress can enact federal laws that will preempt or overrule state laws. In practice, however, states have had the preeminent role in elections, and only in specific instances has Congress stepped in with federal laws, with the result that American elections, unlike those of other countries, are extremely decentralized. States maintain significant differences in the way they run elections, from the balance of mail vs. in-person voting, the adoption of voting technology, the offices and questions that appear on ballots, to the hours of voting at polling places. Only in some very specific cases has Congress set federal standards by law: voting rights, motor voter registration, the post-2000 reforms and overseas voting, for example.

While such a decentralized election system can have flaws, states often have been engines for change. Major reform efforts such as the adoption of the secret ballot and the introduction of absentee voting and early in-person voting occurred state by state, without any federal mandate. If states sometimes are said to be laboratories of democracy, they also can be laboratories for democracy reform.
Again, it was a fine choice. Like Dr. Sullivan, Stewart is a man of calmness and great inner strength. He was unflappable as the county geared up to vaccinate the eligible among its more than 200,000 residents.

When many of us were desperately trying to get the vaccine, Stewart assured us that everyone who wanted the vaccine would be able to, but we had to remain patient. Each week, more and more of us received the first  and eventually the second  dose.

Of course, as good as Stewart is, it took a small army of volunteers to administer those shots at the vaccine hub and to handle the paperwork required to document those vaccinations. Many of those volunteers were nurses and other medical personnel, but a lot more were nonmedical folks who just wanted to help where they could. Some of those volunteers worked almost every day the hub was open. Officials said some 3,000 volunteers worked at the vaccine hub since it opened in January.

The hub provided more than 100,000 vaccinations before it shut down Thursday, but as Dr. Sullivan said, more work is needed. As good as the hub  and local pharmacies that also offered the vaccine  was, only 39.3% of eligible residents 12 and older have received both doses.
Malicious actors are actively mass scanning the internet for vulnerable VMware vCenter servers that are unpatched against a critical remote code execution flaw, which the company addressed late last month.

The ongoing activity was detected by Bad Packets on June 3 and corroborated yesterday by security researcher Kevin Beaumont. "Mass scanning activity detected from 104.40.252.159 checking for VMware vSphere hosts vulnerable to remote code execution," tweeted Troy Mursch, chief research officer at Bad Packets.

The development follows the publication of a proof-of-concept (PoC) RCE exploit code targeting the VMware vCenter bug.

Tracked as CVE-2021-21985 (CVSS score 9.8), the issue is a consequence of a lack of input validation in the Virtual SAN (vSAN) Health Check plug-in, which could be abused by an attacker to execute commands with unrestricted privileges on the underlying operating system that hosts the vCenter Server.

Although the flaw was rectified by VMware on May 25, the company strongly urged its customers to apply the emergency change immediately. "In this era of ransomware it is safest to assume that an attacker is already inside the network somewhere, on a desktop and perhaps even in control of a user account, which is why we strongly recommend declaring an emergency change and patching as soon as possible," VMware said.

This is not the first time adversaries have opportunistically mass scanned the internet for vulnerable VMware vCenter servers. A similar remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2021-21972) that was patched by VMware in February became the target of cyber threat actors attempting to exploit and take control of unpatched systems.

At least 14,858 vCenter servers were found reachable over the internet at the time, according to Bad Packets and Binary Edge.

What's more, a new research from Cisco Talos earlier this week found that the threat actor behind the Python-based Necro bot wormed its way into exposed VMware vCenter servers by abusing the same security weakness to boost the malware's infection propagation capabilities.
Back at the custom trailer housing loaner equipment, volunteers gave pointers to those who had little fishing experience, if any. One person needed new fishing line (it was old and time to be changed, Boyd told her). Others received advice on the best type of lure for catching specific fish.

Learning about nature is one of Fords other reasons for sharing his passion for fishing with his kids.

I want my kids to learn to respect and conserve and understand the value of every fish you catch, he said.

Gabe gently let his latest catch slide from his hands back into the lakes clear waters.

Im a firm believer in catch-and-release, Ford said.

On the edge of the dock, aspiring fisherman Xavier Briseno received guidance from Boyd on moving the fishing rod just so. The two looked like they were in their element.

Thats the idea, Boyd said. In his many years casting and winding reels, he has seen fishing change lives.

The goal is to turn one; if you can turn one from the streets its a great feeling, he said. Once kids get hooked on it, they can go about anywhere to fish.
The park came to Hornady about a decade ago with the idea of doing a zombie-themed, three-gun match, Millard said.

The park staff isnt big enough to really handle the logistics, and Steve Hornady really loved the idea of a zombie-themed match. Hes a zombie enthusiast, he said.

Hornady liked the thought of bringing people to the shooting park and having fun, Millard said. Its a good opportunity to support our industry and our city.

Participants this year come from 23 or 24 states, he said. They come from as far away as Connecticut and Texas.

Shooting enthusiasts dont have a lot of chances to keep zombies from taking over the world. There are only one or two other zombie-themed shooting matches in the country, Millard said.

Participants use three different guns. One is a shotgun. Another is a semi-automatic rifle, typically an AR-15. The third is a pistol, which is either a semi-automatic handgun or a revolver.

Vendors provide products that are given out as awards for shooting well or as an incentive to come out and have a good time, Millard said.

Zombies in the Heartland runs through Sunday. The vendors had their own shoot Thursday.
Recent business and housing developments have created a new generation of leaders in Cozad. Mayor Marcus Kloepping is among Cozads young leadership.

We are fortunate to have many exciting developments in Cozad that have encouraged those originally from this area to move back home, Kloepping said. These young people are really enjoying everything this town has to offer. From splash pads to winter wonderland parades, there is something happening all the time for our young families.

More than $15 million in new economic development projects have taken place during the past five years, including a new Cobblestone Inn and Suites Hotel, Armor Insurance Agency, Caseys Travel Center, Black Hills Energy, Channel Seed, Spotanski Construction, Outlaw Garden Products and Eric Nelson Trucking. Recent company expansions include the Paulsen Inc. headquarters, Pioneer Seed, Colorado Biolabs and doubling the size of the Meadowlark Point assisted living facility.

CDC Executive Director Jen McKeone says that everywhere she travels in Nebraska, people share a story about a recent visit to Cozad and how impressed they are.

It makes me very proud of the businesses we have and how they are putting us on the map, McKeone said. More than 10 years ago Cozad lost its largest employer, and people thought we would wither up and blow away. Instead, we came back stronger than ever with a new sense of community pride and a new appreciation for every business that calls Cozad home.
The Graysons have been attending the Street Machine Nationals for years. They said they always enjoy the event and love seeing all the older cars gathered in one place.

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Participants can show off the true performance of their ride in the Continental Tire Burnout Contest at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, as well as the Dyno Challenge at any time during the event. The Performance Marketplace featured industry-leading brands with the latest parts, products and services on hand. For those looking for hard-to-find parts and custom pieces, the Egyptian Antique Auto Club is hosting a swap meet.

Obviously, folks have been cooped up for the last year and everyone just wants to get out and do something, said Veneziano. Folks cant wait to show their cars off after having them in the garage for the last year-plus.

The updated guidelines from the CDC and Perry County Health Department are in effect for fully vaccinated people no longer needing to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, but we still strongly encourage everyone to wear masks to keep people safe, said Veneziano.
According to William Daniel, a professor of canon law at Catholic University, a priest asked by his bishop to resign has the option of submitting a defense. The bishop then consults with two other pastors and issues a decree removing the priest if he determines that step is still warranted.

If the priest thinks the bishops decision is unfair, Daniel said, he can bring the case to the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy, which can uphold or change the bishops decision. A further Vatican review is possible if the priest or the bishop disagrees with the Congregations decision,

While requests for the resignation of a priest are not uncommon, its rare that they lead to a high-profile refusal to resign, Daniel said.

One of the few such cases in the U.S. came in 2002, when a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston refused to step down over an accusation that he sexually abused a child three decades earlier. The Rev. D. George Spagnolia took his case to the Vatican but was unable to overturn his suspension. He died in 2008.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed new legislative and state Supreme Court maps celebrating them for reflecting the state's diversity.

"Illinois' strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government," said Pritzker. "These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts, which help to ensure our diverse communities have electoral power and fair representation."

The Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011 requires state lawmakers to keep minority groups together when they are large enough to exercise power in elections. The state constitution also requires districts to be compact, contiguous and substantially equal in population.

Throughout the spring, Democrats and Pritzker said they wanted to produce maps that were representative of Illinois' diversity. After Pritzker signed the maps, Speaker of the House Emanuel 'Chris' Welch, D-Hillside, said in a statement the new maps ensure "Illinois remains a model for the nation for minority representation.

"Today was a win for the people of this great state," Welch said. "With Governor Pritzker's signature, people of Illinois can be confident in a legislative map that is reflective of the diversity that we see in every corner of our state."
SPRINGFIELD  Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed a law establishing legislative district maps to govern elections for the next 10 years after promising as a candidate that he would veto maps drawn by politicians.

Pritzker said in a statement Friday that the lines drawn exclusively by Democrats who control the General Assembly preserve minority representation and follow the strictures of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Illinois strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government, Pritzker said. These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts.

The Democrat also signed laws to approve new districts for the Illinois Supreme Court  the first in more than half-a-century  and the Cook County Board of Review.

As a candidate for governor in 2018, Pritzker voiced support for an independent commission to draw maps and removing political considerations in placing the lines. He vowed to veto any map authored by politicians, such as these.
During a separate interview Thursday afternoon, however, Pritzker said the opportunity to create an independent commission had passed and that Republicans were trying to delay the process for their own political advantage.

They (the General Assembly) took off the table a constitutional amendment for an independent redistricting commission. That never happened in the legislature, Pritzker said in a phone interview with Capitol News Illinois. So then youre left with, the two sides really need to work together, whether that was in a construct of an independent commission or just working in a bipartisan fashion. The Republicans seemed not to be interested in doing that.

What they really wanted was a map that favors them, Pritzker continued. You know, they dont like to say that, but thats what they were after.

[More of Pritzkers interview with Capitol News Illinois can be heard on this weeks edition of Capitol Cast  embed link when its available]
Patrols are expected to begin within the month, using license plate readers to identify individuals with outstanding warrants or vehicles that are believed to have been involved in criminal activity. A commander to lead the task force also is expected to be selected in the coming week.

The patrols will be voluntary and will take place monthly with the commander choosing a time and place for patrols, Haine said.

"We're going to use the tools that have been proven effective in law enforcement to make sure we can track individuals that we know law enforcement has a reason to know their whereabouts, arrest criminals and ensure Madison County is a safe place for everybody," he said.

Haine stressed the technology used by the task force are not "red light cameras" and won't be used to issue traffic citations. He added that the task force wouldn't be prioritizing people with Missouri license plates and stressed that Missouri residents won't be "profiled."

He also said the task force is focused on protecting the "privacy and fairness" of all residents and said racial profiling and bias has no place in the task force's efforts.
Augustine said the stolen diapers were left stacked in her car because her husband was away on a military assignment and she was far too pregnant to carry the boxes up the stairs of the apartment building by herself.

But all appeared to be normal at 11:30 the night before she and Officer McWhorter made each other's acquaintance. And she could have sworn that she had locked the car.

"I went out there that night and got my bag with my medicine in it and came back inside. My clicker was broken. So, I pressed the button on my door," Augustine said. "Sometimes that doesn't lock all of the doors, so I am guessing that's what happened."

By morning, 15 boxes and 10 packages of diapers, plus four cases of baby wipes were gone.

"They took every single one of them," Augustine said. "Who would take three or four cases of baby diapers?"

Augustine was shocked and panicked. She called her mom and her husband. Then she called Columbia Police.

'The co-workers were all in'

It had been already been a busy Sunday for McWhorter, who responded to 38 calls in all. After he took Augustine's statement, he told her he would have to return later to take pictures of the undamaged vehicle and complete his incident report.
Theres no right way to do something wrong, even for the venerable New York Times. Last week, with a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel just days old, the Times created a large block of 64 headshots to tease stories inside.

They were just children, stated a heading above the photos of 69 Palestinian youths reportedly killed in the conflict. The caption added, They had wanted to be doctors, artists, and leaders. The loss of life is enough of a tragedy, much less the lives of future doctors, artists, and leaders. How amazing that the terror group Hamas would put such talent in harms way.

Journalistically, the problem with this presentation is at least two-fold. First, there are no photographs of Israeli innocent residents, including children, who were indiscriminately killed by the rain of 4,300-plus rockets during the 11-day spree. Next, there was no reference to the roughly 50 of 200 or so Palestinian deaths that were victims of misfired Hamas missiles or those that fell short of targets in Israeli villages and cities. Thats quite a glaring omission for an international news organization.

Any reader with a heartbeat will feel anything from empathy to outrage against a perpetrator of such a result, particularly if the newspaper has a built-in bias against Israel, the Zionist entity that it wants you to believe targets innocent civilians, engages in apartheid policy, occupies stolen land as a step-child of the United States. It is clever work that most freedom-loving people would expect from government-run newspapers from Tehran, Moscow, or Beijing. But this was on the front page of The New York Times, winner of more than 130 Pulitzer Prizes since 1917.

As for the doctors, artists and leaders, what parent doesnt have big dreams for their children? At the very least, parents want their children to be happy and prepare for full lives.

The problem with lofty career/life aspirationsdoctors, artists, and leadersis that Hamas cant deliver that opportunity. Hamas has one goalto train jihadists to create the Islamic state in place of Israel. More specifically, Hamas advocates the obliteration or dissolution of Israel.

As with the May 28 front-page presentation in The Times and ancient blood libels of pogroms and expulsions past, todays lies inflame and incite acts of anti-Semitism in the United States with such terms as apartheid and stolen and occupied land. The charge that Israel intentionally targets children is simply false. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority know it. Most Western countries know it but fear reprisals in their own countries if they acknowledge it. Even radar images from Israel Defense Forces planes show bombing raids called off when images detect children.

The nation of Palestine lives daily in a fantasy: flags, rockets, and all. They do so in the United Nations and in foreign capitals to create an impression for cameras and social media propaganda. A generation with little education nor respect for history has accepted the propaganda. The Times has accepted it as if its readers were born yesterday.

Palestinian leaders seem to lack the appetite to negotiate differences with Israel. Victimhood certainly is more profitable, at least for warlords, than building an economy in which future doctors, artists, and leaders can flourish. Palestinians have even captured the imagination of movement-hungry Americans, even many Jews, whove swallowed hook, line, and sinker the Palestinians false narratives.

I hope the Palestinians find a way to build a nation of doctors, artists, and leaders in a future generation or sooner. I hope they take the 141 square miles in Gaza and portions of the West Bank to do so. I pray that the doctors, artists, and leaders show the capacity to partner with Israel, the Startup Nation, to build a real economy. Many already are. I truly hope they find the vision to replace actually starting wars with building an economy. The paradise that jihadists seek is available in demilitarized territories and along Gazas Mediterranean coastline.

Again, there is no right way to do something wrong. As for The Times, its writers and editors certainly have a right to their opinions. But the reputation and integrity of a news organization with a slew of Pulitzers depend on a full picture of valid and verifiable information, all presented responsibly. Only then will their example serve the future doctors, artists, and leaders to fuel a vision of working in tandem with Israel. Only through partnerships will the world find peace.
AP

US intel report on UFOs: No evidence of aliens, but. ...

Department of Defense via AP The image from video provided by the Department of Defense labelled Gimbal, from 2015, an unexplained object is seen at center as it is tracked as it soars high along the clouds, traveling against the wind. The U.S. government has been taking a hard look at unidentified flying objects, under orders from Congress, and a report summarizing what officials know is expected to come out in June 2021.

WASHINGTON  Whatever or whoever they are, theyre still out there. U.S. intelligence is after them, but its upcoming report won't deliver any full or final truth about UFOs.

The tantalizing prospect of top government intel finally weighing in  after decades of conspiracy theories, TV shows, movies and winking jokes by presidents  will instead yield a more mundane reality thats not likely to change many minds on any side of the issue.

Investigators have found no evidence the sightings are linked to aliens  but cant deny a link either. Two officials briefed on the report due to Congress later this month say the U.S. government cannot give a definitive explanation of aerial phenomena spotted by military pilots.

The report also doesnt rule out that what pilots have seen may be new technologies developed by other countries. One of the officials said there is no indication the unexplained phenomena are from secret U.S. programs.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the information publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Findings of the report were first published by The New York Times.

The report examines multiple unexplained sightings from recent years that in some cases have been captured on video of pilots exclaiming about objects flying in front of them.

Congress in December required the Director of National Intelligence to summarize and report on the U.S. governments knowledge of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs  better known to the public as unidentified flying objects or UFOs. The effort has included a Defense Department UAP task force established last year. The expected public release of an unclassified version of the report this month will amount to a status report, not the final word, according to one official.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Sue Gough, declined Friday to comment on news stories about the intelligence report. She said the Pentagon's UAP task force is actively working with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on the report, and DNI will provide the findings to Congress. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, when asked about the report, said of the question at first, Its always a little wacky on Fridays. But she added, I will say that we take reports of incursions into our airspace by any aircraft  identified or unidentified  very seriously and investigate each one.

The Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency have for decades looked into reports of aircraft or other objects in the sky flying at inexplicable speeds or trajectories.

The U.S. government takes unidentified aerial phenomena seriously given the potential national security risk of an adversary flying novel technology over a military base or another sensitive site, or the prospect of a Russian or Chinese development exceeding current U.S. capabilities. This also is seen by the U.S. military as a security and safety issue, given that in many cases the pilots who reported seeing unexplained aerial phenomena were conducting combat training flights.

The report's lack of firm conclusions will likely disappoint people anticipating the report, given many Americans' long-standing fascination with UFOs and the prospect of aliens having reached humankind. A recent story on CBS' 60 Minutes" further bolstered interest in the government report.

Luis Elizondo, former head of the Pentagons Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, said the one official's claim that there was no indicated link to secret U.S. programs would be significant. But he called on the government to be fully transparent.

"I think that our tax dollars paid for information and data involving UFOs," Elizondo said. And I think it is the U.S. governments obligation to provide those results to the American people.

But skeptics caution that the videos and reported sightings have plausible Earth-bound explanations. Mick West, an author, investigator, and longtime skeptic of UFO sightings, said he supported the military looking into any possible incursion of U.S. airspace, especially by an adversary.

People are conflating this issue with the idea that these UFOs demonstrate amazing physics and possibly even aliens, West said. The idea that this is some kind of secret warp drive or its defying physics as we know it, there really isnt any good evidence for that.

The Pentagon last year announced a task force to investigate the issue, and the Navy in recent years created a protocol for its pilots to report any possible sightings. And lawmakers in recent years have pushed for more public disclosure.

Theres a stigma on Capitol Hill, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told 60 Minutes in May. I mean, some of my colleagues are very interested in this topic and some kind of, you know, giggle when you bring it up. But I dont think we can allow the stigma to keep us from having an answer to a very fundamental question.
I started right there in Columbia. Ive been to Fort Bragg, and I left there and went down to Keesler Field, Mississippi. Ive been to Luke Field, Arizona, and Ive been out in California. I was out there in the service for 19 months at Bakersfield. I enjoyed it all, but some of it was scary, James said.

Used to working on small planes, James said he had to get accustomed to the larger, much faster planes that had been built and would occasionally fly over where he and others were working.

When the jets first came out, they buzzed the field where we were. We didnt know what it was. We were out there working. We used to service planes, wash them and put parts on them and everything, and then those things would come over and buzz the field sometimes. We didnt know what it was, and wed try to run and hide, James said.

We figured the people were going to hurt us. They were just flying up there just like they do now. They were brand new and fast planes just like they are now. You lost your mind for a minute because you really didnt know what was going on, he said.

He also recalled having to go up for the test flight on planes he had worked on.
Law enforcement located the baby safely moments later.

Irving is not facing any charged connected with the child, according to the incident report.

He cannot be charged with kidnapping because it does not meet the elements of kidnapping, the report states.

Irving is scheduled for a bond hearing on Saturday morning.

The Holly Hill Police Department assisted in the case.

At the time of his arrest, Irving was out on bond for charges of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, giving false information to law enforcement, first-degree burglary and petit larceny.

Irvings domestic violence charge stems from a 2020 incident where he allegedly punched a pregnant woman in her face and upper body.

Irving also has prior convictions. On Jan. 22, 2020, Irving pleaded guilty to first-offense failure to stop for blue light and malicious injury to personal property.

Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein sentenced him under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed three years, suspended to two years of probation. During the first 90 days of his probation, Irving was required to wear electronic monitoring.
COLUMBIA  Results of the 2020 Deer Hunter Survey conducted by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources indicate that the statewide harvest of deer increased by 2.4% last season.

The harvest was comprised of an estimated 107,212 bucks and 90,681 does, which made up a total harvest of 197,893 deer, up slightly from the 193,073 estimated harvested in 2019, according to Charles Ruth, SCDNR Big Game Program coordinator.

Between 2002 and 2015, the deer population in the state trended down, with the overall reduction in harvest likely attributable to a number of factors, including; habitat change, a long-term drought, two decades of aggressive antlerless deer harvest, and the complete colonization of the state by coyotes and their impact on fawn survival. Since 2016 the state's deer harvest has increased, possibly as a result of declining coyote densities.

The fall of 2020 was the fourth season of the all deer tagging system and statewide limit on antlered deer. Although the harvest has increased (15%) since 2016, this increase is primarily a result of an increase in doe harvest (25%) rather than an increase in the harvest of bucks (7%).
People having lost their homes early in the pandemic may be located now in places where they may not have easy access to jobs, she said.

Berkowitz said there can be a mindset with some that people not currently working are individuals not wanting to work.

"It is not so simple for people who want to work to be able to access work," she said. "There are a lot of variables our state refused to acknowledge to help people get into and stay in the workforce."

"It is not as easy as everyone thinks it is to just make all these problems go away without coming up with policy solutions to assist," she said, noting since the governor's announcement she has heard from a number of people about their concerns.

"They are saying, 'I don't know what I am going to do,'" she said. "They say, 'I want to go back right now but it is not possible' or 'I have been looking and looking and nothing.'"

She said for many, the jobs they were trained for are not coming back.

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The Statue of Liberty could be getting company from her native France.

Paris' acclaimed Pompidou Center announced plans Friday to open a satellite museum in what is now a gutted industrial building in New Jersey's Jersey City, not far from where Lady Liberty stands in New York Harbor.

Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, scheduled to open in 2024, would be the French museum's first venture in North America, said Centre Pompidou President Serge Lasvignes. It currently has sites in Metz, France; Shanghai, China; Malaga, Spain; and Brussels, Belgium.

The satellite would be completed in time for the start of a major renovation of the Pompidou's landmark Paris museum, which houses more than 120,000 modern works of art in its unique architecture of exposed colored pipes and air ducts.

Jersey City hasnt historically been widely visited by the hordes of tourists who come to New York City area each year, but it is an easy train ride from Lower Manhattan.

While the French would provide the art and expertise, Jersey City would provide the cash.
I'd been working like this before I got pregnant, Larkin said. It seems like when I got pregnant they wanted to work me harder. We're tired.

Sen. Katrina Shealy, who leads the panel of lawmakers reviewing this years audit, arrived in support of the employees, encouraging them to stand strong. She agreed that the workers, many of them women and minorities, are underpaid and overworked.

Shealy, a longtime agency volunteer, described its decline from a place where top leaders knew the names of individual children there to a setting where children are locked up without receiving any rehabilitative services.

Kids used to come out of here with a trade, Shealy said. Kids don't come out of here with anything now except how to become a better criminal.

Department Director Freddie Pough didn't speak to staffers publicly Friday morning, though an agency spokesman said Pough was offering to meet one-on-one with employees and handling day-to-day facility operations, given the staff shortage caused by the walkout.
Concord, NH -- New data from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows how President Biden's American Rescue Plan  which was signed into law in March  is lowering health care costs and expanding access to care in New Hampshire and across the country.

The American Rescue Plan included historic provisions to build on the strong foundation of the Affordable Care Act, and according to the data released by the Kaiser Family Foundation , millions of people across the country are benefiting.

"The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) includes provisions that increase subsidies for Marketplace shoppers who were already eligible for financial assistance and removes the upper income cap on subsidy eligibility, eliminating what was known as the subsidy cliff.

As a result, KFF estimated that roughly 3.7 million more Americans, more than a third of whom are uninsured, are newly eligible for financial assistance to buy their own coverage on the exchanges, and millions more are eligible for increased financial assistance."

Making health insurance more affordable and accessible is especially important as the country begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost millions of Americans their jobs, and their health insurance. In New Hampshire, 16,900 uninsured people are eligible for free Marketplace plans, many of whom (35%) are young adults aged 19-34.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a total of 10.9 million uninsured people could purchase Marketplace coverage for a reduced premium, and at least 6 million uninsured people could get a free Marketplace plan thanks to the increased subsidies in the American Rescue Plan.







The American Rescue Plan also includes robust financial incentives for the 14 states that have not yet implemented Medicaid expansion. An estimated 6 million people could gain coverage if the remaining holdout states expanded.

The American Rescue Plan is expanding access to quality, affordable health care in New Hampshire and across the country, and providing millions millions of people with desperately needed financial assistance as they recover from the pandemic. NH residents have Congressional Democrats to thank for this essential lifeline, because while some are claiming credit, not a single Republican in Congress voted for the American Rescue Plan.

You can read the Kaiser Family Foundation's report here , and learn more about the health care provisions in the American Rescue Plan here .

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Coquille, OR (97420)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. High 64F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with mostly cloudy conditions overnight. Low 53F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
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Zinke left his post as Secretary of the Department of the Interior in late 2018 plagued by scandals from nearly every direction. National news outlets were at his heels throughout his term as he rolled back oil and gas restrictions, took chartered flights and shrank the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. His own Interior Department reviewed a land deal between a foundation run by Zinkes wife and a company co-owned by a Halliburton chairman.

Asked Thursday if the scandals will be an Achilles heel to his 2022 campaign, Zinke said he believes voters will identify those claims against him as partisan attacks.

I got attacked from day one, he said. It was vicious and I understand they werent after me, they were after President Trump.  No, people see it for what it is. I went through over a dozen investigations; there was no wrongdoing.

The Associated Press reported in late April that the full details of an investigation into Zinkes dealings related to a casino permit are not public yet, and other investigations into his actions have ended without findings of wrongdoing by Zinke.
JACKSON  Where once there were pebbles, now sits an enormous troll.

The recycled wooden sculpture, now lounging in Rendezvous Park, is the brainchild of Copenhagen artist Thomas Dambo, who has built trolls all over the world.

Their whimsical construction beckons spectators to clamber aboard, and in the case of R Park, serves as a bridge to ferry the fun from the park to a nearby miniature island.

Dambo named the Jackson Hole troll Mama Mimi, for her motherly guidance (plus Mimi is a good, strong Scandinavian name).

Im super happy with it, the artist said of his 80th piece. It was nice to have a good time to really bust a high quality one out.

Mimi is one of the few female trolls in Dambos small army, and apart from Runde Ries rope swing (hidden near Roskilde, tucked in a northern Denmark fjord) shes the first one to interact so closely with water.

Even though its just a few feet up, crossing over on her extended leg can feel precarious, and if you glance back at her you just might topple into the water in fright. Her plywood visage is as tall as a human and you could almost imagine her gobbling one up if her expression wasnt so serene.
In Wyoming, where revenue ends, adventure begins. In addition to playing the new road-trip game  Guess the future Wyoming ghost town  you can experience the thrill of being in the outback without assurance of medical care.

Thanks to Wyomings refusal to generate tax revenue, at least 10 communities are in danger of losing emergency ambulance service. So if you get seriously hurt while mountain biking (as I did, 30 miles from the nearest hospital), you can howl beside a lonesome road for hours on end  just like the coyotes  with nothing to disturb you, except maybe the coyotes.

And if you do make it to a hospital, youll get to live like the Wild West gambler youve always longed to be. Most of our rural hospitals are losing money, in large part because the state has refused to expand Medicaid, so theyve been forced to eliminate some personnel and services. We call it Wyoming Roulette: Will the hospital (if you can find one) be equipped to help you?

Be prepared to open your wallet, regardless. Health-care procedures in Wyoming are among the most expensive in the nation. If the hospital you finally stagger into lacks the expertise to treat you, better hope your insurance covers helicopter rides. Our bare-bones hospitals often have to fly patients elsewhere, and $100,000 bills are not uncommon.

Still, a no-tax, no-vax Wyoming vacation may be just the adventure you need. Come to Wyoming and live dangerously! Well be waiting for you, pardner.

Bruce Palmer is a contributor to writersontherange.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He has long advocated for Medicaid expansion in Wyoming.

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Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has apologised for the vaccine fiasco last week, but said it was just one bad day.

After more than a year of managing and attempting to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Trinidad and Tobago, Rowley admitted that the Government made a blunder by allowing walk-in vaccinations at health centres across the country.
It is not often that well-resourced and politically powerful companies such as ExxonMobil and Shell suffer historic defeats. However, last month, in different ways, both oil majors saw activist shareholders and environmentalists cause them and the international energy sector to have to think hard about what the future holds for hydrocarbons.
After 15 months of living with Covid-19, it is clear that uncertainty is the only certainty.

A week ago, T&T was flush with the expectation of mass vaccinations and the re-opening of the countrys borders. A week later, elation has been quelled by the sober realisation that the vaccination route out of this pandemic is not assured for the foreseeable future given the realities of global supply.
PHOENIX  The states top health official said Arizona may not meet President Bidens goal of getting 70% of residents vaccinated against the coronavirus by July 4.

Historically, Arizona has had pockets of vaccine hesitancy, even before COVID-19, Dr. Cara Christ said Friday. That kind of sets a baseline.

At the same time, she said, there has been a sharp decline in the number of vaccines being administered.

A lot of Arizonans are independent. They want to make these decisions on their own, said Christ.

Her prime weapon is getting information out about the vaccines and how they are safe, effective and free, she said.

Christ said she still thinks Arizona can get to 70%  eventually.

She noted there is a wait and see group sitting on the sidelines, waiting for some specific reason to get inoculated and watching for reports of side effects.

But if there was an uptick in cases, maybe those wait-and-sees would be, All right, maybe Im not going to wait and see anymore; Im going to get vaccinated,  Christ said.

The flagging interest in getting inoculated is reflected in the numbers.
Of course, Mexicos security strategy is typically dominated by the federal government. To the extent there was a referendum on violence and who should confront it, that happened in 2018, when Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was elected president.

His security strategy has largely relied on the deployment of the new National Guard and military to areas of high violence. And the person who carried out the strategy was his original secretary of public safety, Alfonso Durazo.

Now Durazo has left the Cabinet to be the Morena Party candidate for governor of Sonora, his home state. The likelihood that a productive change in policies will come out of the election is small.

Im not surprised violence is not a campaign issue because the candidates cant change it, Lettieri said, referring to the state and local candidates to be elected Sunday. Their ability to make things better is limited, and their ability to make things worse is infinite.

The status quo levels of violence may seem intolerable in parts of Sonora and elsewhere in Mexico, but over the short term it looks like the best-case scenario.

Tim Steller is an opinion columnist. A 25-year veteran of reporting and editing, he digs into issues and stories that matter in the Tucson area, reports the results and tells you his conclusions. Contact him at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter

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SAN DIEGO (AP)  Two San Diego police officers were among three people killed Friday after their car was struck by a driver going the wrong way on an interstate highway, authorities said.

The officers were in a blue city-owned Ford Fusion sedan when they were hit by a white Honda Civic going at a high rate of speed in the wrong way down Interstate 5 near the U.S.-Mexico border south of downtown San Diego, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The female driver of the Civic was also killed after her car slammed into the officers sedan and burst into flames.

The officers were identified as a married couple, Detective Ryan Park, 32, and his wife, Detective Jamie Huntley-Park, 33.

Park was a homicide detective, and Huntley-Park was assigned to the Southern Division. They had the day off, but Ryan was on call, Police Chief David Nisleit said at a news conference Friday evening.

The two met at the police academy, married in 2016 and were both promoted to detective on the same day nearly three years ago, the chief said.

Both were beloved, dedicated, and decorated public servants," he said in a statement.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Three people were killed in separate shootings in Minneapolis early Saturday, authorities said, though none of the shootings were related to protests in the city over the fatal shooting of a Black man by sheriff's deputies earlier in the week.

Police were called at 1:37 a.m. to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, where a woman died of upon arrival after being shot in a hail of bullets along the 2200 block of N. 2nd Street in Minneapolis, department spokesman John Elder said in a news release. Investigators don't think she was the intended target. No arrests were made.

Eleven minutes later, police were called to an area of East Lake Street under a bridge about a man who had been shot. They found the wounded man and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died, Elder said.

Witnesses told police the man was struck by a stray bullet fired by people who had been street racing and then got into a shootout, Elder said. The victim had pulled over to watch the racing and was standing beside his car when he was struck. No arrests were made.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has made her recommendation about whether to reverse former President Donald Trumps decision to downsize two sprawling national monuments in Utah, but details of her decision were not released.

The Interior Department gave her report to President Joe Biden on Wednesday, according to a court filing Thursday in a legal battle that began more than three years ago after Trump's decision.

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys mentioned the report as part of a request to have until July 13 to address the judge's question about whether the legal battle has become a moot point.

Interior Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz declined to provide any information about the report.

Haaland traveled to Utah to visit the monuments in April as she became the latest cabinet official to step into a public lands tug-of-war that has gone on for years. She is the first Indigenous official to get involved in the decision.

A string of U.S. officials has heard from advocates for expanding national monuments to protect archaeological and cultural sites, and from opponents who see such moves as federal overreach.
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China and Russia pledged on Friday to firmly support each other on issues concerning the core interests of the two countries.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the pledge in a phone conversation, saying the two countries remain unswervingly committed to upholding international fairness and justice and safeguarding world peace and stability.

Wang said the all-weather China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has withstood numerous changes in the international landscape, emphasizing that China and Russia have always firmly supported each other on issues concerning their core interests.

Wang noted that the guidance of the heads of state is the fundamental guarantee for bilateral relations to develop in a steady and sustained way and enjoy long-lasting vitality.

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin witnessed together via video link the ground-breaking ceremony of a China-Russia nuclear energy cooperation project, which injected strong "nuclear impetus" into the development of bilateral relations, Wang said.

He urged the two sides to focus on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, prepare for upcoming key high-level exchanges, fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and advance cooperation in various fields in a coordinated manner in the post-pandemic era.

The two sides should work to translate their high-level political mutual trust and traditional friendship into more cooperation achievements, aiming for an ever closer and down-to-earth relationship and setting a fine example of developing a new type of relations between major countries, Wang said.

Noting the all-round China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era, Wang said that both sides should make joint efforts to continuously expand mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and Russia in various fields.

Since the beginning of this year, bilateral pragmatic cooperation has got off to a good start and moved forward despite headwinds, demonstrating a strong momentum of development, he said.

Bilateral trade volume exceeded 40 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months, up 19.8 percent year-on-year and on track to a record high for the whole year, he added.

Recalling that the construction of four nuclear power units kicked off smoothly not long ago, and that the two sides reached consensus on building an international lunar research station, Wang said these major achievements have become important symbols of China-Russia all-round cooperation.

China and Russia have made remarkable achievements in jointly fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, setting a good example for global anti-virus cooperation, Wang said, while cautioning against complacency in the face of a new wave of virus transmission.

The Chinese diplomat called on both sides to further expand professional and technical cooperation in pandemic prevention and control, strengthen coordination between the two countries' professional departments over unified testing standards, data and information sharing, joint scientific research, border pandemic prevention and control, as well as mutual recognition of health certificates for international travel, and jointly respond to challenges in the post-pandemic era.

Wang said that Russia has upheld justice on international and multilateral occasions to support China's legitimate position, in response to a smear campaign against China by the United States and some other Western countries and their gross intervention in China's internal affairs by manipulating human rights-related topics.

Wang recalled the virtual meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS countries days earlier, saying China highly appreciates that during the meeting, Lavrov once again spoke up for China on the issue of coronavirus origin-tracing, slamming the U.S.-led West for fabricating lies and slandering.

He stressed that China will also provide full political support for Russia to safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests.

The United States has sought a clique under the guise of democracy, meddled in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights, and pursued a path of unilateralism in the name of multilateralism, Wang said.

As responsible major countries and permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, China and Russia should work together to expose and oppose these perverse practices, firmly maintain the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law, uphold international fairness and justice and safeguard world peace and stability, Wang said.

For his part, Lavrov said that the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has advanced vigorously and achieved fruitful results, and the Russian side is satisfied with the high level of the two countries' relations.

Lavrov noted a series of activities held by both countries to mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Russia-China Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, saying they will further solidify public and social support for the friendship between the two countries.

Russia will work together with China to earnestly implement the consensus reached between the two countries' heads of state, support efforts to synergize the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road, and proactively advance bilateral cooperation in various fields, so as to add new dimensions to Russia-China good neighborliness and friendship, he added.

Facing the severe challenges of the pandemic, Russia hopes to strengthen anti-virus cooperation with China, optimize customs clearance process, speed up the transportation of goods, and jointly enhance the safe and efficient operation of ports, with the aim to boost economic recovery, Lavrov said.

Russia is willing to keep close strategic coordination with China on international and regional issues, firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests, resolutely oppose hegemonism, unswervingly support multilateralism, jointly safeguard world peace and stability and uphold international fairness and justice, the Russian foreign minister said.

The two senior diplomats also exchanged in-depth views, coordinated positions and reached broad consensus over a series of international and regional issues of common concern.
Sea-Eye and similar humanitarian rescue organizations say they take to the sea because European Union nations don't adequately ply the waters off Libya, where human traffickers launch overcrowded boats carrying migrants who hope to find work or family members in Europe.

Sea-Eye 4 was scrutinized on Friday because more than 10 months had passed since the vessel's last inspection and because it had taken on a large number of rescued passengers, the Italian Coast Guard said.

"The inspection turned up various irregularities of technical nature, such as to compromise not only the safety of the crew members, but also of the very persons that have been and could be, in the future, recovered on board, in the course of assistance carried out,'' the Coast Guard statement said.

It also cited alleged violations of environmental protection rules.

Isler alleged that inspections of charity-operated ships are essentially being used to prevent further missions by nongovernmental maritime rescue groups.



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OPINION: There is a lot to say about Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and what she is doing and more about what she is not doing. What are your thoughts? Write a letter to the editor at tucosn.com/letters.
Which side?! In 2021 this matters.

Union. Heres his picture. I looked into the former privates eyes and promised to continue his fight to preserve our Union.

I was struck by how simultaneously meaningful, and meaningless, it all was. I wondered about their lives, studying their stern, stoic faces for clues and found their familiar eyes revealed little save for the harsh nature of their lives as immigrants, soldiers, farmers, journalists, laborers, civil servants and pioneers.

What will our great-great-grandchildren wonder when they see images of us?

I doubt theyll be able to divine from looking at a picture of me and my older brother Bob together, that he patiently taught me to walk when I was a toddler, to love poetry when I was a teenager, to honor service to our nation when he was in Vietnam and to laugh at the absurdities of growing old together.

Studying them one can become prideful, reveling in the history of their extraordinary persistence, grit and resilience, its easy to flatter yourself and believe you are the inheritor of your ancestors more heroic traits.
CATOOSA  Federal, state and local officials gathered Friday at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa to laud Oklahomas most invaluable liquid asset: the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS).

The occasion was the 50th anniversary of then-President Richard Nixons dedication of the inland commercial navigation system, which has contributed $8.5 billion in sales since its creation.

This is the classic Oklahoma story, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said. We are here celebrating what is really I think maybe the greatest return on investment in the history of American infrastructure.

The facility was named after U.S. Sens. John L. McClellan of Arkansas and Robert S. Kerr of Oklahoma, visionaries for the project, which was undertaken as a way to mitigate flooding and create economic opportunities.

When Kerr was Oklahoma governor in the 1940s, he recognized that something needed to be done to tame the water systems and the river systems in eastern Oklahoma, Bynum said. But in classic Oklahoma fashion, and this is where I think eventually Senator Kerr really showed the genius that led him to have the career that he did, he didnt just think about how we can we fix the problem.
Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending May 29 was 385,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous weeks revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor reported.

The dip in unemployment claims comes as the OESC announced that it will host career fairs in Tulsa on June 23 and in Oklahoma City on June 25.

We are hopeful that claimants will find many employment opportunities at these career fairs, and I encourage claimants looking for employment to take these additional opportunities and attend the career fairs, said Zumwalt.

We will have thousands of open positions available from a multitude of industries, and now is the best time to get back to work and take advantage of the $1,200 Return-to-Work Incentive.

Similar to other Republican governors, Kevin Stitt announced last month that he was ending the states participation in the supplemental federal unemployment programs.

The $300 per week payment, plus unemployment benefits for contract and gig workers, will end June 26.

The state is offering a $1,200 stipend to the first 20,000 applicants who meet the program criteria and get new jobs.
He added that the American Rescue Plan had a large amount of money that was earmarked for drainage projects, so some of that money will be used in the area, as well.

Kralicek also brought along visual aids  two signs that the agency will use to notify residents more precisely about the severity of a flood event as its happening. The first, which is yellow, informs residents that Keystone Dam is releasing higher than usual amounts of water.

The second, which is red and white, warns that the dam is releasing water near flood stage and tells residents to be prepared to evacuate.

One of the biggest feedbacks I got after the flood was, We really didnt get what we felt was adequate warning. So this is one of the ways were going to try to help get that message out more, he said.

But the devil, as always, is in the details, and when Kralicek began to lay out when each sign would come into play, audience members balked.

With rising voices, they complained that the storm sirens werent sounded early enough and said water would be in their homes  water was in their homes  well before the signs would be posted.
A Song of Greenwood, a musical centered on the Tulsa Race Massacre that premiered in Tulsa more than two decades ago, may be coming to a television near you.

Oklahoma natives Tim Long and Jerome Johnson, who wrote the music, book and lyrics for A Song of Greenwood, are working with Acuity Productions, a New York-based company, to create a video of one of the production numbers from the musical, which will be used to pitch the concept of a limited TV series to various networks and streaming services.

A Song of Greenwood premiered in 1998 at the Greenwood Cultural Center; a revised version of the musical was presented in 2001, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

At a press event Thursday at the Fly Loft, where the video was to be filmed, Johnson said the idea for reconfiguring the show from the stage to the small screen was partly the result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We had been working on doing a new (stage) version for the centennial of the massacre, said Johnson, who is also the productions choreographer. When everything shut down because of COVID, that led us to thinking that the story we wanted to tell would feel better if it were in a format like a Netflix series.
The man arrested in the deaths of a Collinsville couple has been charged with first-degree murder, removal of dead bodies and other crimes.

Wesley Brock Pavey, 32, was arrested after leading Tulsa County deputies to the bodies of Kraig Chambers and Sheri Chambers near Vera, in Washington County, said Casey Roebuck, a spokeswoman for the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office.

Pavey was charged in Tulsa County District Court on Friday with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of unlawful removal of dead bodies, one count of child neglect, one count of possession of stolen property and one count of possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, according to online court records.

The Chamberses were reported missing Saturday after family members were unable to contact them. The couple reportedly had met with Pavey, who did not have a good relationship with them and most likely was not welcome at their house, Roebuck said. Authorities believe there was an altercation and that Pavey shot them.

Evidence at the couples house indicated that it was the scene of a shooting, Roebuck said.
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Nigerian government on Friday suspended the operations of Twitter, two days after it accused the U.S. social networking company of double standards and supporting the secessionists in the west African country.

Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed announced in a terse statement that the suspension was indefinite, citing "the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria's corporate existence."

"The Federal Government has also directed the National Broadcasting Commission to immediately commence the process of licensing all OTT (Over-the-top media) and social media operations in Nigeria," Mohammed said.

On Wednesday, the Nigerian government expressed doubts about Twitter's mission in the country, after it deleted a tweet by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari who issued a warning to troublemakers in Nigeria.

In the deleted tweet, Buhari had made a reference to the country's 30-month civil war in 1967-1970, warning "those who wanted the government to fail" to desist from fomenting trouble.

"Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigeria civil war. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand," the president tweeted Tuesday night.

Twitter deleted the president's post Wednesday, following criticisms from some netizens.

Mohammed, however, questioned the rule of Twitter.

"Twitter may have its own rules, it's not the universal rule. If Mr. President, anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views," the official told reporters in Abuja, saying that the social networking service had overlooked the tweets of leading secessionists in Nigeria.

"When people were burning police stations and killing policemen in Nigeria during End SARS, a decentralized social movement, for Twitter, it was about the right to protest. But when a similar thing happened in the United States, it became insurrection," Mohammed said.
With 2-3 inches of rain expected that day, every armchair hydrologist expected the Army Corps of Engineers to announce a record release: Niagara Falls times three, maybe more. But the Tulsa District official stuck to the Army Corps playbook: make decisions based only on rain already on the ground.
He felt it was his responsibility to tell what he saw with his own eyes.

Michaels first chance to tell what he witnessed at Buchenwald, where an estimated 56,000 people died, was in the letter to his parents dated April 18, 1945.

I will never forget it and I would like to tell you about what I saw, he wrote.

Death was everywhere  from one room that was filled with naked dead bodies of people who had died of malnutrition to the camp crematorium, where he could see charred skeletons quite plainly.

The prisoners who were still alive to be liberated, he said, were either wandering aimlessly around or so weak they were laying in bed.

Unterman has always been thankful for WWII veterans like Michaels, she said, but in recent years she has made a special effort to tell them so.

Regardless of whether they were directly involved in liberating concentration camps, their efforts contributed by helping end the war, she said.

I owe them gratitude, Unterman said. And I feel a very strong obligation to make sure that they are remembered  all of them.
The problem is, they are so heavy because of the ductile iron, so were trying to figure out how to do that for River Parks and provide the ability for the public to gather pieces, Stava said.

City officials initially intended to rebuild the Pedestrian Bridge and add a second deck and other enhancements to provide convenient access to Gathering Place and the west bank of the Arkansas River.

The plan was scuttled in 2015 when HNTB, the firm hired by the city to inspect the bridge, found it had substantial structural problems. The city decided it would be a better use of taxpayer dollars to build a new bridge rather than rebuild the old one.

In 2017, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, on behalf of Gathering Place, won a city-sponsored design competition for a new pedestrian bridge. Gateway Bridge is believed to be the first steel plate multiarch bridge ever built in the United States.

Construction of the new pedestrian bridge is being done in coordination with the city of Tulsa, which is spending approximately $50 million to overhaul the adjacent Zink Dam. That dam renovation is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023.
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Reducing class sizes in kindergarten and first grade is a good first step, but lets go all the way up the line to 12th grade, said Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa. And lets make sure that every classroom is filled with a competent, career-oriented classroom teacher.

Also a matter of some dispute is the dramatic expansion of a tax credit program that proponents say will spark contributions to both public and private schools but which detractors describe as a voucher program that will mostly benefit donors and higher-income students.

Speaking briefly, Rep. Jeff Boatman, R-Tulsa, said it is a great way to help local schools. Its a great tool (for businesses) to help public schools.

Also on ODonnells and Halls lists were a $42 million investment to address rural broadband deficiencies highlighted by the pandemic, a reworking of the states film and television incentive program, and Medicaid expansion.

Responding to a question, Hall and ODonnell said they do not expect to have a special legislative session to address a state Supreme Court ruling that invalidates Gov. Kevin Stitts managed Medicaid plan.

There will, however, be a special session later this year to complete redrawing of legislative and congressional districts.
Overpopulation is the gorilla in the room that journalists and scientists are afraid to talk about.

And yet recently a new population crisis has made headlines in many prominent publications. This new crisis: slowed growth, spun to sound like a population decline.

Journalists are not afraid to sound the alarm about this new population trend and its consequences  merging schools and neighborhoods turning into parks (gasp!).

Considering that we live on a finite planet with finite resources where the population explosion has resulted in unprecedented strains on the earth, and considering that the population is still growing, slowed growth is good news.

Current global crises (food scarcity, environmental degradation, mass species extinctions, biodiversity loss, climate change and health pandemics) have direct ties to overpopulation.

If people do not know that overpopulation is a concern, then the true population crisis cannot be a factor in family planning.

What I fear more than merged universities and neighborhoods turning into parks is more starvation, war, suffering and death. The first step towards avoiding these disasters is to acknowledge that population growth is a problem.
At 80 years old, Nguyen Thi Be has no plans to step into full retirement. Instead, she plans to live out her days in Binh Trung Village in An Giang Province by selling vegetables to raise money for her neighbors in need.

A helping hand

Be often spends her afternoons picking veggies from her neighbors fields. Amongst her favorite are water spinach, sweet potato leaves, Asiatic dayflower, and young banana trunk.

But the money she makes for selling these vegetables is not for herself, it is for her neighbors.

I used to sell water spinach and young banana trunk salad to make ends meet and provide for my children. Now, selling these foods is how I do good deeds for others, she said.

Be sells the vegetables she picks from her neighbors land at a local market, about one kilometer away from her home which she travels to by bicycle.

She also distributes fruits for her neighbors as well.

On some mornings, the fruits and vegetables she sells bring her about VND60,000 (US$2.59) in profit.

I will use the money to buy rice for my neighbor, Mrs Thai, she said.

Unstoppable

Be became her familys breadwinner after her husbands death. She was able to send her children to school by growing and selling vegetables.

Now, all her children have jobs and send money to support their mother.

When a serious illness sent her to the hospital several years ago, Be became inspired by fellow patients and resolved to spend her remaining years doing charity work.

I put myself in their shoes and it made me feel like I needed to help those around me and pay it forward, she said.

I started by things that I know very well  selling veggies, Be added.

The profit is used to buy food and medicine for old and ill people. Going to the market daily and talking with customers allows me to learn who are in need of help.

Bes good deeds have caught the attention of her family and neighbors, many of whom offer her limes, chillies, and banana trunks to sell.

Tran Thi Thai, 78, is one of the many neighbors whose lives have improved thanks to Be.

According to Thai, Be has helped her overcome the difficulties of living with several diseases.

I am very grateful to Be, I don't know how to repay her, she said.

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A fire suddenly broke out at an electric shop in Quang Ngai City in the namesake central province on Saturday morning, killing four people of a family, including a pregnant woman, local sources reported.

The tragic event occurred at Quang Dung electric store in Chanh Lo Ward, Quang Ngai City, at around 1:00 am on Saturday, locals said.

The witnesses narrated they discovered their neighbors house was on fire after they were wakened by the burning smell and smoke from the blaze, which later developed quickly.

They called fire police and tried to enter the house, but they failed as its door had been locked.

Five minutes later, the provincial fire police deployed four fire engines, some specialized vehicles and more than 50 firefighters to the scene.

At that time, there were four people inside the three-story shop and they could not escape as the blaze had covered the only entrance of their house.

Rescuers had to break a glass wall on the second floor to make access to the victims. However, they faced difficulties since the thick smoke from the fierce fire could not get out because of no air vents.

When rescuers could eventually make their way into the house, they found all the four already dead, including a six-month pregnant woman.

The fire, which was put out after an hour, burned up all electric goods, as well as a car and other assets, in the shop.

The four victims include Bui Phuoc T., 35 years old, and his 34-year-old wife and two children aged three and six.

Local police have cordoned off the fire scene for investigation into the cause of the fire.

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The Peoples Committee of Dong Nai has requested all people going through the southern Vietnamese province have smartphones installed with applications or able to access to websites for online health declaration.

In a sudden move, authorities in Dong Nai have put in place a number of stringent COVID-19 prevention measures from Saturday, including setting up checkpoints at the entrances to the province and imposing a mandatory 21-day quarantine at concentrated facilities on all returnees from Ho Chi Minh City, along with other restrictions on passenger and cargo transportation services.

In addition, all people traveling through the province must bring along a smartphone that is installed with such applications as NCOVI and Bluezone or able to access to websites for online health declaration.

The provincial authorities did not mention in their announcement on Friday how they will handle those who fail to perform online health declaration.

Dong Nais safety measures, set in motion while the province has recorded only one local infection since the resurgence of domestic COVID-19 cases in Vietnam on April 27, have been criticized as severer than necessary by both citizens and the state-level pandemic prevention committee.

The Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority has sought intervention from the municipal Peoples Committee in neighboring Dong Nais regulation of 21-day concentrated quarantine on all people returning from the city, saying that about 6,000 Dong Nai workers working at industrial parks in the metropolis will be affected.

On Saturday morning, a member of the National Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said that Dong Nais COVID-19 regulations will be inspected and reviewed.

In the current round of infections in Vietnam - the fourth and the worst so far, the country has logged 5,340 domestic COVID-19 cases since April 27, raising the total casesload since the disease first appeared in the nation on January 23, 2020 to 8,458.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City and multiple southern localities have been battling the emergence of community-based COVID-19 cases since May 27.

Since then, the Christian congregation Revival Ekklesia Mission in the citys Go Vap District has been associated with the majority of 339 COVID-19 cases in the metropolis, ten in Long An, three in Binh Duong, one in Bac Lieu, two in Tra Vinh, one in Tay Ninh, four in Dak Lak, one in Dong Thap, and one in Tien Giang.

Vietnams recoveries has reached 3,242 while death toll has mounted to 51.

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China on Friday handed over 50,000 face masks to the University of Zambia, Zambia's biggest public university, to help the institution in the fight against COVID-19.

The face masks comprise 30,000 from Jilin Province and 20,000 from the Chinese Embassy in Zambia.

Li Jie, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, who handed over the face masks during a ceremony, said with the third wave reported in the country, the donation was China's commitment to supporting the university to combat the pandemic.

The Chinese envoy said since the emergence of the pandemic the two countries have stood together, with Zambia giving support when the pandemic hit the Asian nation and China responding through the provision of medical supplies when Zambia was hit by the pandemic.

He added that Chinese enterprises in the African country have made donations to help the country deal with the pandemic.

Luke Mumba, the university's Vice-Chancellor, commended China for the donation, saying it will go a long way in helping protect the university community and control the spread of the pandemic among students and staff members.

The donation, he said, was timely as it comes at a time when the country has been hit with the third wave of the pandemic which has resulted in a surge in cases.

"It is a continued demonstration of our very warm strong ties with the people of China," he said.

Zambia's cumulative cases currently stood at 98,376.
All flights between the southern Ho Chi Minh City and the northern Hai Phong City will be shuttered until further notice, according to an official statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) on Thursday.

As per the statement, the CAAV required airdromes, airport authorities, and relevant agencies to immediately begin enforcing the ban.

On June 1, the Peoples Committee of Hai Phong City urged the Ministry of Transport and the CAAV to halt all flights between the city and Ho Chi Minh due to the increase in coronavirus transmissions in the southern metropolis.

According to the CAAVs initial schedule, three carriers would operate on the Ho Chi Minh  Hai Phong route from May 31 to June 6, with each making two to three round trips per day.

In total, the flagship Vietnam Airlines would run seven round-trips flights, budget carrier Vietjet eight, and mid-range Bamboo Airways six during the week.

Ho Chi Minh City is currently scrambling to curb the fourth wave of coronavirus transmissions by imposing a 15-day social distancing mandate that began on Monday.

Under restrictions in the city, public gatherings of more than 10 are banned, while those aged 60 and over are advised to stay indoors.

All non-essential businesses have been halted.

Starting May 31, Hai Phong City began mandating a 21-day quarantine on entrants from outbreak sites as well as other areas deemed high risk within Ho Chi Minh City.

The city also mandated 14 days of self-isolation for entrants from other parts of the southern metropolis, national radio Voice of Vietnam reported.

On June 1, Hai Phongs neighboring province, Quang Ninh, also requested the Ministry of Transport and the CAAV shutter all flights from the locale to Ho Chi Minh City and vice versa.

After successfully containing COVID-19 for most of last year, infections in Vietnam have risen since late April, raising the national tally to 8,364 patients as of Saturday morning.

There has been a total of 51 virus-related deaths reported in the country so far.

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A national program to call for cash donations to COVID-19 prevention and control activities by texting kicked off at a ceremony in Hanoi on Thursday.

This text-to-donate program, launched on the National Humanitarian Portal, is jointly conducted by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL), the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Donors will simply send a message in the format of COVID NK from their mobile phones to number 1408 to make their contributions to Vietnams COVID-19 Vaccine Fund.

N is any number from 1 to 2,000, and K stands for the unit of thousand Vietnam dong. For example, a text message COVID 20K means a donation of VND20,000 (US$0.87) to the program.

In this supplied photo, participants of the text-to-donate program launching ceremony are seen sending donation messages from their mobile phones to number 1408 on June 3, 2021.

All the money raised from this program will be delivered to the Vietnams COVID-19 Vaccine Fund, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said at the ceremony.

Each text-to-donate message shows the spirit of mutual affection towards Vietnamese workers amid the difficult time and contributes to the countrys efforts to drive back the pandemic, the chairman said.

All the donations will be used for the activities related to the COVID-19 prevention and control, with priority given to the purchase of vaccine to inoculate policy beneficiaries, poor people and workers, said VGCL President Nguyen Dinh Khang.

From the beginning of this year, the NAs Standing Committee and the Government have allocated more than VND13 trillion ($564 million) to the campaign of vaccination against coronavirus, the NA chairman said.

Also at the ceremony, the VGCL started another program named Vaccines for Workers through the Labor Golden Heart Fund.

The VGCL warned that the pandemic has not only spread widely in many cities and provinces, especially Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, but has also hit some industrial parks, affecting hundreds of thousands of workers who have their jobs lost or suspended.

Earlier in May, the Ministry of Health expected to buy 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine in order to vaccinate about 75 million people out of the countrys population of 98 million at an estimated cost of VND25.2 trillion ($1.1 billion).

Of the total amount, the central budget will allocate about VND16 trillion ($693 million) for this expenditure while the remaining will rely on contributions from businesses and organizations, the Ministry of Finance said.

By Saturday morning, 77 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed nationwide, including 75 domestic infections, the health ministry reported.

The new cases have taken the countrys tally of patients to 8,364, including 3,242 recoveries and 51 deaths, since early 2020.

Among the total figure, 5,249 infections have been documented from April 27, when the pandemics fourth wave started in Vietnam, the ministry said.

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A domestic multisectoral giant has provided the Minister of Health with 30 breathalyzers for coronavirus detection as a contribution to pandemic fighting in Vietnam.

Heath Minister Nguyen Thanh Long received the breathalyzers, along with relevant consumables for 20 million test samples, from the countrys largest private conglomerate Vingroup at a handover ceremony on Friday.

The total value of the donation is more than VND460 billion, or around US$20 million.

Vingroup had negotiated to buy these coronavirus breathalyzers from Breathonix, a start-up business under the National University of Singapore.

The prominent advantages of these machines are quickness and high accuracy, health experts said.

Instead of taking nasal or throat samples for COVID-19 testing, the equipment employs artificial intelligence technology to analyze biochemical changes in the breath to detect coronavirus infection, Breathonix said.

The testing result is available within a minute, the manufacturer said.

After blowing into the device through disposable mouthpieces, the breathalyzer assesses the chemical compounds of the breath to determine if a person is infected, Reuters reported last week.

The system is designed to ensure there is no cross-contamination, and it achieved over 90 percent accuracy in a Singapore-based pilot clinical trial, Reuters cited Breathonix as saying.

The manufacturer also said the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore has licensed this breathalyzer product.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Long highly appreciated Vingroups support for the health sectors epidemic prevention and control activities over the past time.

On behalf of Vingroup, Pham Thieu Hoa, general director of Vinhomes - the real estate investment arm of the group, expressed the groups appreciation and respect for the contribution and sacrifice of health workers in the fight against COVID-19 since early 2020.

The group has been accompanying the health sector in that fight as well as in other activities for the sake of peoples health, Hoa said.

Reportedly, Vingroup has so far granted VND2,287 billion ($99 million) to the COVID-19 prevention and control in Vietnam.

Since the coronavirus outbreak was first reported in Vietnam in early 2020, the country has so far documented 8,364 patients, including 3,242 recoveries and 51 deaths, the health minister confirmed on Saturday morning.

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Authorities in many provinces and cities have mandated concentrated quarantine for people returning or coming from Ho Chi Minh City and other virus-hit localities.

In Bac Lieu, returnees from Ho Chi Minh City are subject to a mandatory 21-day quarantine at home or centralized quarantine facilities with charges applied in the Mekong Delta province, starting 0:00 Saturday.

Those with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 infection or having epidemiological factors related to the virus outbreaks must immediately be taken to a district-level health center or a commune-level health station.

Authorities in southern Dong Nai Province apply the same 21-day quarantine scheme as Bac Lieus.

In Long An, the quarantine regulation is applicable to returnees from other virus-hit localities, apart from Ho Chi Minh City, and those without household registration in the southern province.

These people will also be sampled for COVID-19 testing four times with costs charged on them.

Other returnees from virus-free areas shall self-quarantine at home for 14 days and pay to have their sampled collected for COVID-19 testing three times.

All people who return to southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province from Go Vap District and Thanh Loc Ward in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City also have to be quarantined concentratedly, while returnees from other parts of the southern metropolis shall undergo home quarantine.

Dong Thap Province and central Quang Nam Province make the same regulation as Ba Ria - Vung Taus mandatory.

Authorities in central Da Nang City, Thua Thien-Hue Province, and the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong will bring all returnees from Ho Chi Minh City to centralized quarantine facilities.

All returnees from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre and Can Tho City, and south-central Binh Dinh Province are requested to stay at home, except for those from virus-hit or locked-down areas as they will be sent to concentrated quarantine facilities.

People returning to north-central Nghe An Province from localities and areas where enhanced social distancing measures are being implemented must follow a 21-day concentrated isolation.

Arrivals to north-central Thanh Hoa Province from Go Vap District and Thanh Loc Ward in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City and other sealed-off locations across the southern city from May 31 will be monitored at concentrated quarantine centers for 21 days.

Those from other parts of the metropolis shall stay at home for at least 14 days.

The list will continue to be updated.

Previously, many authorities in multiple Vietnamese provinces and cities decided to restrict travel from Ho Chi Minh City, as well as suspended flights to and from the city.

These mandates were prompted by the emergence of numerous infections in Ho Chi Minh City and southern localities since May 27.

Since then, the Christian congregation Revival Ekklesia Mission in the citys Go Vap District has been associated with the majority of 324 COVID-19 cases in the metropolis, seven out of ten in Long An, three in Binh Duong, one in Bac Lieu, two in Tra Vinh, one in Tay Ninh, four in Dak Lak, and one in Dong Thap, according to an update from the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control.

Ho Chi Minh City began 15 days of enhanced social distancing on Monday.

Nationwide, the caseload mounted to 8,458, with 3,242 recoveries and 51 virus-related deaths as of Saturday afternoon.

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Authorities in the southern Vietnamese province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province have urged the Ministry of Transport to suspend all flights to its famous tourism destination of Con Dao Islands since the pandemic situation is turning grave in many localities nationwide.

The provincial government has expected to put the flight suspension in place before 5:00 pm Saturday.

Only the helicopter route from Vung Tau City, the capital of the province, to Con Dao and vice versa will be maintained.

With a population of 10,000, Con Dao is struggling to implement COVID-19 prevention measures because of its distance of 180 kilometers off the mainland.

Normally, Vietnam Air Services Company, a subsidiary of Vietnam Airlines, and Bamboo Airways operate regular flights to the islands from Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, central Da Nang City, Vinh City in north-central Nghe An Province and north-central Thanh Hoa Province.

Ba Ria - Vung Tau has closed its public beaches and suspended passenger boat operations to Con Dao since Tuesday.

Only the waterway freight route to Con Dao Islands is allowed to operate with the number of crew members restricted.

The Ministry of Health confirmed 77 new COVID-19 cases nationwide on Saturday morning, including 75 domestic infections.

The infections have taken Vietnams patient tally to 8,364, including 51 deaths, since the pandemic appeared in the country on January 23, 2020.

Since April 27, when the pandemics fourth wave began in Vietnam, 5,249 patients have been documented across the Southeast Asian country.

Hanoi has detected 432 infections in this round.

In Ho Chi Minh City, 324 community cases have been confirmed since April 27, most traced to Revival Ekklesia Mission, a Christian congregation based in Go Vap District.

About 100 kilometers from the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria - Vung Tau has recorded no local COVID-19 cases since April 27.

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ABC has now confirmed tomorrows Four Corners episode after reports a planned episode would undergo further editorial.

This is a buy-in doco Ghosts of Afghanistan from Gala Films as former war correspondent Graeme Smith returns to Afghanistan.

Powerful armies invaded this country with slogans about peace, democracy, womens rights. It was a disaster. Now the foreign troops are withdrawing I want to see if there is hope for peace. Graeme Smith, former war correspondent

In April, US President Joe Biden declared that all remaining US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan. He gave a deadline of September 11, a symbolic date and a powerful reminder of the events that sent America, along with her allies, into a long and brutal war.

On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against Al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The name of todays military operation is Enduring Freedom. US President, George W Bush, 2001

Twenty years on from the 9/11 terror attacks, one war correspondent returns to Afghanistan to try and make sense of the conflict.

Im heartbroken about the way things went in Afghanistan Why would I come back to a place that gave me nightmares? Graeme Smith, former war correspondent

Canadian Graeme Smith travels back through the cities and provinces where he witnessed the intense conflict with the Taliban forces and explains what it was like to have a birds eye view of history in the making.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into It wasnt unusual to hear people saying, Oh this is like the opening scene in Star Wars, you know with all of the crazy characters walking around.

His reporting captured the brutality of the battles as well as dark and troubling incidents that cast a shadow over the mission in Afghanistan.

Terrible things happened to these prisoners when they were being interrogated. This shook me because it wasnt an accident of war. It was deliberate. It was a part of the design of the war.

Now he wants to see how life has changed for the Afghan people and if they feel confident that Afghanistan can find peace.

Im still here. Im still surviving. Its definitely hard. Its very risky here to help all these women get education, especially modern education, to go out and work, to be self-sustained, to be independent. This is something unacceptable for extremists. School principal

From school principals to keen university students and housewives, he finds many worried about what life will be like once the US has left and whether that means a return of the Taliban.

They will not accept us and we will not accept them. Young female student

Taliban leaders themselves boast about their resurgence and how they felt about peace talks with America.

It shows the loss and the weakness of the Americans and all other foreign troops, foreign countries who have troops in Afghanistan. Taliban spokesperson

With the clock now ticking, those that have spent a lifetime opposing the Taliban say they fear for the future.

The Taliban are extremists, so you may see a bloodbath on the streets of Kabul This is about the future of my country, my people, quite literally our lives. National security adviser

Monday 7th June at 8.30pm.

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Russia and the United States must try to find ways to mend their relations, which are at an extremely low level, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

At the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said that he plans to discuss strategic stability, international conflict settlement, cooperation against COVID-19, arms control, anti-terrorism, and climate change with U.S. President Joe Biden during their first summit in Geneva on June 16.

"To a certain extent, Russian-American relations have become hostage to internal political processes in the United States. But I hope this will end someday," he told a plenary session of the forum.

"Fundamental interests in the fields of security, strategic stability and arms reduction are still more important than the current domestic political situation in the United States," Putin stressed.
MV X-Press Pearl vessel sinks as its towed into deep sea off the Colombo Harbour

By Channa Kumara

LELLANA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lankan fisherman say they feel helpless after a cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals and plastics caught fire and later sank, resulting in a ban on fishing along an 80 km (50 mile) stretch of the island nation's west coast.

The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid along with other chemicals and cosmetics, was anchored offshore when a fire erupted after an explosion on May 20.

Flaming containers filled with billions of plastic pellets tumbled into the sea from the ship's deck as emergency crews sought to contain the blaze over the next two weeks.

In Lellama, a fishing town north of the capital Colombo, more than 100,000 people are partly or wholly dependent on the 2,000 or so boats that normally operate from there.

Fishing has been banned since May 22.

"We're told not to go to sea: that has caused a lot of problems," said 67-year-old fisherman Antony Sebastian.

"Fishermen are very helpless. We can't do our work because of this ship for more than a week now. We are just hanging around at home."

The disaster is an additional blow to the fishing community, already badly affected by repeated lockdowns due to the coronavirus.

The X-Press Pearl, which was only four months old, began to sink early on Wednesday. A salvage crew tried to tow the vessel to deeper water, away from the coast, but the attempt was abandoned after the rear of the ship touched the sea bed.

Now there are fears some 300 tonnes of fuel oil remaining on board could leak from the ship.

The ship's operators, X-Press Feeders, said on Friday there was no sign of an oil spill.

The firm has previously said that much of the remaining toxic cargo had been incinerated in the fire.

Sri Lanka's government has said it would seek redress for the incident, while Singapore has started its own investigation into the incident.

Story continues

But experts say the damage to the marine habitat may already have been done.

Charitha Pattiaratchi, a professor of coastal oceanography at the University of Western Australia, said the plastic pellets, that are expected to travel as far as Indonesia and Somalia, could act as a breeding ground for bacteria, putting marine life at risk.

Nirashan Fernando, a 44-year-old fisherman, said some boats had been able to evade the navy, that has been turning back those still trying to work, but the outlook wasn't good.

"A few of those who went to sea found that the catch has reduced," he said.

(Reporting by Channa Kumara in Lellana; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Robert Birsel)
A Nationally Recognized Program

UNG is one of only six federally designated senior military colleges, which include The Citadel, Norwich University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Military Institute.

Because of our unique role, the state legislature designated UNG as The Military College of Georgia.

Leadership Rooted in Tradition

Building on nearly 150 years of tradition, UNG cadets experience hands-on leadership opportunities and an exceptional military education while enjoying the benefits of attending one of the nations top public universities.

UNGs nationally acclaimed Corps of Cadets has earned the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Award and honors multiple times as the top Army ROTC program among the six senior military colleges.
Bracing for a make-or-break meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains squeezed between an imposing need for a thaw in his fraught ties with Washington and the task of selling it to his fold at home, where anti-American sentiment is running high, Al-Monitor writes.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14 in what would be their first face-to-face encounter since. Hectic preparations are under way in Ankara for the meeting, sources close to the government say, as a slew of thorny dossiers await the two NATO allies. Chief among them is the lingering row over Turkeys purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems and its ensuing ouster from the F-35 joint strike fighter program by Washington.

Bilateral tensions have simmered also over US support for Kurdish forces in Syria, the US trial of a Turkish public bank for helping Iran evade sanctions, Washingtons refusal to extradite Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based preacher accused of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey and Ankaras territorial rows with Greece in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Other issues of mutual concern include relations with Russia and tensions in the Black Sea region, the future of Syria and the situation in Iraq, particularly in the Kurdish-run north, where the Turkish army has been pursuing armed Kurdish militants from Turkey taking refuge in the region.

In a TV interview June 1, Erdogan conceded that his dialogue with Biden has not been easy thus far, unlike his very peaceful and easy-going phone diplomacy with Trump. Referring also to the terms of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, he said he had never experienced such tension with the White House, putting the blame on Biden for recognizing the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as genocide.

Nevertheless, the row over the S-400s remains the most pressing, with Ankara still scrambling to find a solution that would satisfy Washington. It has floated several options, including the so-called Crete model  a reference to the Greek Cypriots controversial purchase of S-300 missiles from Russia in the 1990s, which ended up in storage on Greeces island of Crete.

There are signs that Erdogan might propose a new formula to Biden  to deploy the S-400s under US control at the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, without any Russian involvement in their operation and maintenance. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed this week that Ankara would have 100% control over the systems and no Russian military experts would be present in Turkey.

Mehmet Kocak, a columnist for the pro-government Islamist daily Yeni Akit, for instance, argues that bilateral ties are doomed to deteriorate further, recalling that Biden, in an interview before his election, advocated support for Turkeys opposition to defeat Erdogan. Despite those remarks, President Erdogan congratulated Joe Biden on his election and offered to open a new chapter in bilateral ties, but that, too, has remained unreciprocated, he writes. According to such isolationist Islamists, any dialogue with Washington would be futile. Similar arguments have been raised by Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, backed by the Nationalist Movement Party, Erdogans de facto coalition partner. Soylu, who insists that the United States was behind the 2016 coup attempt. Patriotic Party leader Dogu Perincek, the foremost voice of the Eurasianists, has recently lashed out at SETA  a government-linked think-tank, from where many presidential aides hail  for trying to besiege Erdogan and talk him into changing course toward reconciliation with the United States and Israel.

Meanwhile, as the Turkish Daily Sabah writes, even if a new page opens, nothing will change in the eternal geopolitics of the West with regard to Turkey. The main goal of the West is to avert Turkeys attention away from Asia and the Middle East and bring it back under the Atlantic control.
A journalist by trade, Djabborov referenced an article he had written a few months before, where he promised to be the first to volunteer for clinical trials if Uzbekistan developed its own national vaccine. Since that hadnt happened, he said, he would instead participate in trials taking place in Uzbekistan for a Chinese-made vaccine, to do his part in the battle against the coronavirus.

He uploaded a photo showing him receiving his first of three doses, Eurasianet writes. Several dozen comments on the post wished him well, while a few people suggested he was taking a risk experimenting with a drug invented by China in a hurry. A number of negative comments were consistent with a poll of 2,000 Uzbeks conducted by Central Asia Barometer in October and November, which found 41 percent had an unfavorable opinion of China. I was a bit afraid, but it needed to be done, Djabborov told Eurasianet. I already had the coronavirus, so it was my contribution to battling the [pandemic] on a larger scale.

Djabborov was among the first to join stage 3 clinical trials for the vaccine developed by Chinas Anhui Zhifei Longcom under the name ZF2001. Uzbekistan  along with Pakistan, Indonesia and Ecuador  agreed to partner with China to test the vaccine in 29,000 volunteers around the world.

For Uzbekistans contribution, Anhui Zhifei Longcom listed the country as a co-developer and granted Jurabek Laboratories in Tashkent the right to manufacture it for domestic use at some point down the road. The partnership was later cemented with a local trademark, ZF-UZ-VAC 2001, colloquially referred to as our own vaccine by the Uzbek public. First Deputy Minister of Innovative Development Shahlo Turdikulova said she and her family had received the shot before clinical trials began, lauding it as absolutely safe and  though trial results have not yet been published  up to 97 percent effective.

None of this much boosted confidence. A nationwide survey of almost 20,000 people conducted in late March on the Telegram messaging app found only 8 percent trusted the Sino-Uzbek shot. By comparison, 34 percent said they would accept a Sputnik V jab made by Russia. Overall, the survey found 44 percent of respondents plan to forego vaccination altogether.

The Sino-Uzbek shot may not be the most popular, but it is the most widely available. As of June 2, 3.5 million doses had been imported, compared with only enough Sputnik V to inoculate 85,000 people. Another 660,000 AstraZeneca shots have arrived through the UNs COVAX program, an initiative to provide poor countries with vaccines.

[China] has been battling with the virus the longest. It made sense for them to have the best equipment for the fight, said Djabbarov, explaining his reasoning. At the end of the day I trusted it even more than the alternatives. [] But there is also a sense of pride in being able to promote your own. Across town, Lola Yunuskhanova, who is in her 70s, decided to take Sputnik V.

Familiarity is important

People trust the people [they know], said Azizbek Nizomov, a doctor in Tashkents Almazar district. I got the AstraZeneca vaccine, he said. Since then, I would say 70 percent of the vaccines Ive administered in my community have been AstraZeneca.

Reports of extremely rare blood clots damaged AstraZenecas image in Uzbekistan, as elsewhere. Yunuskhanova says she would have settled for the Sino-Uzbek shot over AstraZeneca, if she couldnt get Sputnik V. Everything you heard about AstraZeneca started to sound scary, she said.

Nizomov linked the hesitancy he has observed among his patients to social media posts casting doubts on vaccine safety. Fighting misinformation is tough, he said.
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday expressed hope that China and Vietnam will constantly enhance political mutual trust and deepen practical cooperation, so as to promote the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.

Li made the remarks during a phone conversation with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Noting that China and Vietnam are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and waters, Li said that in more than seven decades since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, both sides have always valued the profound friendship forged by the leadership of the older generation of the two countries.

At present, leaders of the two countries and the two parties have been maintaining frequent communication, he noted.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) will soon embrace the 100th anniversary of its founding, he said, expressing hope that China and Vietnam will constantly enhance political mutual trust and deepen practical cooperation, so as to promote their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.

Li pointed out that facing the challenges and shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising instabilities and uncertainties of the world economy, the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Vietnam will help the East Asian economy to recover steadily.

China is willing to work with Vietnam to improve synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Vietnam's "Two Corridors and One Economic Circle" plan, promote the construction of cross-border economic cooperation zones between the two countries, and keep industrial and supply chains stable and smooth, he said.

Li also pledged to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in COVID-19 prevention and control, as well as in vaccine development and manufacturing, saying that China will continue to provide support and assistance to Vietnam within its capacity, and expects Vietnam to facilitate the vaccination of Chinese nationals in Vietnam.

China stands ready to work with Vietnam and other countries concerned for an early entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, so as to better serve the interests of the people in the region, he added.

Pham Minh Chinh, on behalf of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese government and people, extended warm congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the CPC's founding.

The two countries' profound traditional friendship is the common wealth of both sides, and maintaining and developing Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is a top priority for Vietnam's diplomacy, he said.

Vietnam, he said, stands ready to further strengthen its relations with China, deepen cooperation in such fields as trade and investment, infrastructure, and connectivity in order for the healthy and steady development of Vietnam-China relations.

The Chinese premier and his Vietnamese counterpart agreed to properly handle maritime issues in compliance with the consensus reached by both sides and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Vietnam-made goods quality and price nowadays are much better than the past. Some products have become so famous that they have been counterfeited by foreign manufacturers.

Permanent member of the Partys Secretariat Vo Van Thuong has signed the Secretariats Instruction No 03 on strengthening the Partys leadership over the Buy Vietnamese campaign in new conditions.

Though the Buy Vietnamese campaign has been well known for many years, the document says in order to step up the implementation of the campaign, the Secretariat asks to further heighten the responsibility of Party committees and Party organizations in leading and guiding the organization of the campaign, emphasizing that this is an important and regular task.

The Party mentioned the responsibility of cadres and Party members, especially the heads of agencies, to set an example in using Vietnam-made products. The agencies and institutions using the state budget have to prioritize using Vietnams goods and services in compliance with international commitments and Vietnamese laws.

Improving goods quality

Only when improving the quality of products and reducing product prices will Vietnamese manufacturers be able to attract customers, said Dang Vu Chu, former Minister of Light Industry and Minister of Industry.

He mentioned the story of 30 years ago when Vietnamese producers struggled with China in consumer goods manufacturing.

In early 1992, when Chu was Minister of Light Industry, Chu received a call from Do Muoi, who was then Chair of the Council of Ministers.

You are Minister of Light Industry and you let the Chinese Liquan beer (Bia Van Luc) reach as far as HCM City and gradually conquer the domestic beer market, Muoi said with exasperation.

Chu did not have time to reply briefly and clearly about the issue, when Muoi continued with a critical voice: Not only beer, but Chinese light bulbs and thermos have also been flooding the domestic market. What do you think about this serious thing?

Chu then gave a brief answer to the question and said he would give a detailed report later.

The Minister and the heads of some agencies then flew to HCM City and had a working session with Sabeco, a Vietnamese-owned beer company.

At that moment, it was very difficult to buy Sabeco and Habeco beer. The products of the companies had high quality, but their output was low. Chinese products with low prices were flooding the domestic market.

After returning to Hanoi, he set up a high-ranking delegation headed by the Minister himself and left for China on a business trip.

The members of the delegation all affirmed that Chinese technology was not better and making high-quality beer was within Vietnamese enterprises reach.

The Liquan beer sold well in the Vietnamese market because it was very cheap (they evaded tax), but the quality was not high. The beer was made in an area near the Chinese border with Vietnam. The manufacturer did not have to spend much money to carry beer to Vietnam. This was also an advantage.

Chu also found that Chinese light bulbs and thermos had low prices but low quality, and the products were not durable.

Vietnam-made goods quality and price nowadays are much better than the past. Some products have become so famous that they have been counterfeited by foreign manufacturers.

The Ministry of Light Industry then decided that factories should borrow capital and import modern production lines with high capacity to expand production to drive the foreign products back.

In the beer industry, Vietnams beer yeast is naturally brewed, so it is fragrant and delicious. This great advantage, plus the modern production lines imported from Germany, gave the products high quality with a high output. The production cost also became competitive after several years.

Three or four years later, during a business trip to a northern border province, when Chu went to a restaurant and ordered Chinese beer, the restaurant owner said that Chinese beer was no longer available because the products could not sell.

Meanwhile, Rang Dong Light Source and Vacuum Flask JSC were able to make products better than Chinese products thanks to Japanese technology and machines.

Opportunities for local goods

Chu said that when Vinfast automobile plant became operational, he and former leaders of the industry ministry were invited to visit the plant and test-drive new cars.

Chu, who had visited many foreign automobile plants during his business trips when he was Minister of Industry, felt satisfied about its rapid growth.

He said the Secretariats Directive 03 will provide an opportunity for the Vietnam automobile industry to grow.

Are high-ranking leaders of the Party and the State, ministries and branches and local authorities using Vinfast or Truong Hai products? They reportedly have the same quality as imports and the prices are reasonable.

Vietnamese diplomatic agencies and trade representatives overseas should think of using Vietnam-made cars.

According to Chu, the current situation is different from the past. Enterprises have to engage in healthy competition to attract customers. If the quality of products is high and the prices are reasonable, then there should not be too much concern about Vietnamese not using Vietnam-made products.



Quoc Phong

State-financed agencies must give priority to Vietnamese goods The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam has promulgated Directive 03, which has requested agencies financed by the State budget to priotize the use of Vietnamese goods.
It is necessary to have new approaches in fighting Covid-19 as per the PMs direction  being more proactive, switching from defense to attack, applying technology, and applying rapid and proactive testing and vaccinations at lightning speed.

We have experienced four Covid outbreaks, with the next bigger than the previous one. And we still follow the same way to cope with the outbreaks, which relies on the political system and human power. The ratio of people put under quarantine to infected cases is among the highest in the world.

The method brings efficiency when the number of cases is small and the epidemic spreads slowly. Meanwhile, the new coronavirus variants are spreading more rapidly. If tens of thousands of infections are found, as many as hundreds of thousands of people would have to be tested and put under quarantine. In this case, the methods wont be feasible.

Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces have found high numbers of infections and the virus is spreading rapidly. Therefore, it is necessary to have new approaches to cope with the pandemic in accordance with the PMs instructions.

If considering the outbreak in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang as an opportunity for us to apply new approaches, we are likely to be able to control Covid-19 in the long term and in a more radical way. If so, the scene of people nationwide getting anxious and seeing their lives upset and the economy being seriously affected wont be repeated in the future.

So, we need to exploit the fourth outbreak, mobilizing the societys brainpower and resources and creating longer-term, serious policies to find out more radical ways to control the pandemic in the future.

If we can do this, the situation will be better and things wont come to a standstill, if the fifth or the sixth wave reoccurs. Every time when dealing with one situation, we should think of a long-term solution.

Technological solutions

There are three directions of attack that the PM has pointed out  active testing, mandatory use of technology, and vaccinations.

Vietnam has all necessary technological solutions to prevent and control Covid-19, from the control of entries to Vietnam to testing, tracing, quarantining and vaccinations. Electronic vaccine passports can facilitate peoples travel.

More recently, Vietnam has the solution of measuring CO2 concentration and air flow to monitor indoor ventilation. Recent research has found that the combination of protective masks and ventilation in closed rooms can significantly reduce the spread of disease.

On May 29, MIC set up the Technology Center for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, which serves as the focal point in technology application, both developing solutions and operating IT systems to prevent and control Covid-19. The center is under the management of AITA.

IT apps have been centrally connected and data have been shared. This is a significant progress in technology and data application.

The PM has issued a decision assigning the Ministry of Health and MIC to determine which key technologies are compulsory for pandemic prevention and control. This is major progress in taking initiative in fighting the pandemic.

The technological solutions can be used with Covid-19, but also with other epidemics in the future.

The 5K plus vaccine message has shifted to a 5K, vaccine and technology message.

Regarding the technology application, there are four prerequisite conditions to ensure success.

First, the application of some key technologies is mandatory. Second, data and data processing need to be concentrated and connected among apps. The more data sources and the bigger data there are, the more quickly and accurately will we be able to discover risks.

Third, software needs to be written as a platform for easy sharing. Fourth, private data should be deleted after one-month use, so that people feel secure when complying with the regulation on providing personal information.

So, to sum up:

1.Sooner. We now can discover infected people via active testing and screening tests.

2.Faster. It is easy to trace infected cases with technology within several hours instead of one week.

3.More accuracy. We can discover those who have close contact with infection cases, thus reducing the number of F1 and F2 that need to be put under quarantine by tens of times.

4.More radical. Each source of disease creates a network of infected people. Many infected people have no symptoms and go undetected, but they still can infect others. The person who is found infected could have been an F1 or F2.

The important thing is that when a person in the network of infected people is detected, there must be a tool that quickly detects the entire network. If we can do this, we will be able to control the situation. Close-contact technology can solve this problem.

5.More normal. With these methods, those who are infected will receive treatment, those who have close contact will be isolated, and the rest will still go to work and live their daily lives with the 5K principle.

When the epidemic subsides, technology will continue to serve as the night watchman to help prevent epidemics. Even if more epidemics come, it wont be too hard. Technology application is the best way to prevent epidemics today. To be able to live and work normally, every citizen needs to use technology.

6. Vaccination is a long term solution.

Regarding the communication orientation, to prevent confusing information, MIC will drive the communication focus on the responsibilities of each individual and each organization to make everyone understand that the best way to protect the community is to protect themselves and their own units; on the new solutions, new approaches, new ways of doing things; on the improvement of testing and medical capacity; on the speeding up of the vaccine purchase; on the donation to the vaccine fund to fight against Covid-19; on mandatory technologies and home quarantine; on production and business reorganization, and on safe living.

We need to talk about the fact that although the number of cases has increased, we are controlling the situation; about the efforts of the government; about the promotion of e-commerce to help people sell farm produce.

These all will help consolidate peoples confidence in the fight against Covid-19, reinforce the belief that the world will control the pandemic because the largest epidemic centers in the world are declining and some countries that have successfully controlled Covid are coming back to normal life.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung
The total public investment capital has increased sharply in the 2021-2025 period compared with 2016-2020, but the number of projects has fallen significantly.

The Ministry of Public Investment's (MPI) report to the Prime Minister on medium-term public investment in 2016-2020 and predictions for 2021-2025 showed that the total investment capital of the state in the next period is VND2.75 quadrillion, an increase of 37.5 percent over the previous period (the amount approved by NA in 2016-2020 was VND2 quadrillion).

MPI is determined to maximize the mobilization of all resources in the economy to reach the states investment of VND2.75 quadrillion.

The total number of projects to be allocated capital for the period is 6,447, a 50 percent reduction from the 2016-2020 period. This includes 3,304 new projects, or 78.5 percent of that in the previous period.

The average capital of each project is VND154 billion, a two-fold increase compared with the VND88 billion in 2016-2020.

As such, the number of new projects is on the decrease.

However, when supervising public investment capital expenditure plans, MPI found that some ministries, localities and agencies do not strictly observe the regulations and principles on capital allocation. They start projects while not ensuring the capital arrangement for transitional projects, and approve projects that exceed the allocated capital.

The problem needs to be fixed, and the rampant, fragmented investment needs to be stopped so that unfinished projects can be completed.

Only 7,354 projects were completed in the 2016-2020 period, or 66.2 percent of the total projects in the medium-term plan.

According to MPI, a series of large transport projects will be developed with public capital in the next five years.

The Government will spend VND97.9 trillion on 74 key inter-region projects, and arrange VND8.1 trillion to complete 10 projects belonging to the coastal route from Quang Ninh to Nghe An.

Regarding the criteria for capital allocation in 2021-2025, MPI said the allocation will follow the laws on Public Investment and State Budget, and National Assembly and National Assembly Standing Committees resolutions and Governments decisions.

Public investment capital will be allocated to key industries and sectors, large projects and important projects at the national level that connect regions and create new development space, promoting the growth areas of Hanoi, HCM City and key economic zones.

MPI estimated that in 2020 every one percent in increase of public investment disbursement led to a 0.06 percent GDP growth rate over the previous year. As such, increased public investment capital in the next five years is expected to give a push to GDP growth.

The halving in number of projects and the twofold increase in capital of each project shows that public investment has become less fragmented.

Disbursement

MPI estimated that in 2020 every one percent in increase of public investment disbursement led to a 0.06 percent GDP growth rate over the previous year. As such, increased public investment capital in the next five years is expected to give a push to GDP growth.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 15, during his first cabinet meeting ordered to boost public investment disbursement as one of the key solutions to stimulate national economic growth.

MPI on April 20 sent a document to ministries, agencies, and localities asking them to report barriers involving disbursement of state budget capital.

Speeding up disbursement is one of the biggest issues. Slow disbursement was seen in 2016-2019, especially in 2018 and 2019 with disbursement rates of 71.69 and 78.68 percent, respectively.

The Government then had to propose to the National Assembly an unprecedented solution to speed up disbursement  allowing the Government to adjust the investment plan with the central budget capital among ministries, central agencies and localities.

Four Government resolutions were released, and six conferences and seven government working delegations were organized in an effort to speed up disbursement.

Thanks to a series of drastic measures, the disbursement in 2020 reached its highest ever rate.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has warned that the slow disbursement may come back. The disbursement rate by April 30, 2021 was only 16.66 percent.

The ministry reported that in the first four months of the year, five ministries and 10 localities had disbursement rates of over 20 percent of the plans. Localities with high disbursement rates included Thai Binh (76.74 percent), Ha Nam (50.57 percent), Hung Yen (43.21 percent), Thanh Hoa (42.39 percent) and Quang Ninh (39.62 percent).

Meanwhile, 41 out of 50 ministries and 26 out of 60 localities had disbursement rates of below 15 percent. Seventeen ministries have not made disbursements.

Luong Bang

Vietnam to spend $124.5 billion on public investment over next five years Vietnam plans to outlay 2.87 quadrillion VND (124.5 billion USD) on public investment in the 2021-2025 period, up 120 trillion VND compared to the previous estimate.
Some of the islands in the Truong Sa archipelago have been equipped with special shelter areas considered common homes at sea for fishermen to stay safe amid storms and access fishery logistics services,

and which also help safeguard Vietnams maritime sovereignty.

Dozens of fishing vessels dock in the shelter area of Da Tay A Reef. (Photo: VNA)

The boat registered NT 91007 TS from the south-central province of Ninh Thuan was among nearly 100 Vietnamese fishing vessels docked in the shelter area of Da Tay A Reef in early May to have repairs done and to get fuel, food, and fresh water.



Its captain Vo Van Du said that since shelter areas have been established in the Truong Sa archipelago, fishermen working offshore have felt more secure about being out at sea at all times.



He noted that the waters surrounding Truong Sa are the traditional fishing ground of Vietnamese fishermen, including those from Ninh Thuan. Each fishing trip usually lasts about two months.

Workers of the Da Tay A Reef fishery logistics services centre. (Photo: VNA)

The essential services provided have helped them save a lot of money on fuel, food, and fresh water, Du added.



Nguyen Thanh, another boat captain, said that after spending more than a month at sea, his boat docked at the shelter area on Song Tu Tay Island to gain fuel and essential goods such as food and fresh water.



The shelter area on Song Tu Tay and other islands are visited frequently by fishermen seeking fuel, other goods and services, and protection during their long journeys, he added.



Nguyen Xuan Moi, who is captain of the Da Tay 03 vessel and in charge of the Da Tay Reef fishery logistics services centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the centre, based at the shelter area on Da Tay Reef, supplies essential services, food, fuel, and ice for fishermen working on the fishing grounds of the Truong Sa archipelago.



The centre always offers maximum aid to boats in need of repair, he went on, saying that fishermen are also given free fresh water and medicine at the shelter area.



Lt. Col. Nguyen Dinh Dung, Commander of Da Tay A Reef, said that in 2020 and the first quarter of this year, more than 2,700 fishing boats sought assistance at the reef, which also supplies rice, fresh water, and essential goods.



The healthcare centre on Da Tay A also provided check-ups and treatment to 1,581 people, including over 1,200 fishermen.



He said Da Tay Reef has rescue vessels standing by to help boats in distress or in need of repairs at sea, adding that after being notified, vessels like Da Tay 03 and tug boats bring them to the shelter area.

The boat from Ninh Thuan Province is among nearly 100 Vietnamese fishing vessels docked in the shelter area of Da Tay A Reef. (Photo: VNA)

Le Dinh Hai, Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Khanh Hoa Provinces Truong Sa District, said several shelter areas and fishery logistics services centres have been set up in the Truong Sa archipelago.



The shelter areas are a common home not only providing fishery logistics services and protection for fishermen but also acting as a source of spiritual support for them to maintain their presence on the Fatherlands sacred waters, he added.

VNA

Truong Sa - Vietnams sacred archipelago More than four decades after national reunification, the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago has been changing day-by-day.
Sleeping three or four hours a day, being ready to work regardless of the time, or spending hours sweltering inside a protective suit.

Volunteers prepare equipment for medical workers to go to take samples for COVID-19 testing in Bac Giang. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Thi Ha

This is the new normal for Ngo Gia Long and Nguyen Thi Ha, two volunteers in the fight against COVID-19 in northern Bac Giang Province.

Long, 32, is a freelance photographer. He runs a small photo studio in Lang Giang District, about six kilometres away from Bac Giang City.

Since April 27 when the fourth wave of coronavirus infections hit the country, his hometown of Bac Giang has become the worst-hit locality with more than 2,200 cases reported as of yesterday.

Like many other small businesses, Longs studio had to close amid the serious situation. Not wanting to waste time, he immediately registered to join the voluntary forces to fight against the deadly virus in his province, despite his familys opposition.

I just want to contribute my small efforts to the country and my hometown," he told Viet Nam News.

"Many people from other provinces had already volunteered to help. I am a child of this land, I feel helping people here is similar to helping me and my family."

Nguyen Thi Ha is also a child of Bac Giang. The 20-year-old is a student of Ngo Gia Tu College in Tan Uyen District.

With 13 other schoolmates and a teacher, she was willing to put her life on the line after a call for volunteers from her school.

She said in the beginning she was scared of being infected by the virus but still wanted to go because everyone was needing us and I want to contribute my youth to my hometown.

After being admitted to join the voluntary force, Long and Ha moved into a quarantine area at Thu Huong Elementary School in Bac Giang City which had been turned into makeshift accommodation for medical workers and students.

Their group consists of 17 people with the daily task of supporting more than 200 medical workers and students from Hai Duong Medical Technical University coming from Hai Duong and other localities to help contain the outbreak in Bac Giang.

Our main tasks include preparing three meals a day, cleaning and disinfecting the living areas.

Sometimes, we also receive donation goods from outside and go to deliver them to local people in the neighbourhood, Long said.

The jobs are quite tiring. We wake up at 5am every day and sometimes work until 1 or 2 am.

We dont really have a specific period of time to rest but are ready to work whenever needed.

For Ha and some of her friends, the jobs are a whole new challenge because there are many things they have not done before.

She said: When at home, we are often pampered by our parents. Some of us really do not have to do anything. But here, we have to do everything by ourselves and also serve others.

Sometimes I am worn out because of the hot weather. But our contribution is nothing compared to that of medical workers and the volunteer students from Hai Duong Medical Technical University.

Ngo Gia Long in the protective suit when doing the infection work. Photo courtesy of Ngo Gia Long

The most daunting task for Long, however, is wearing the protective suit. Unlike medical workers who must wear the protective suit almost all day, Long only wears it for about two-three hours a day when he goes to spray chemicals to disinfect living areas.

Just that makes it hard to breathe, sometimes to the point that is unbearable," Long added.

That shows how great the endurance, pressure, and resilience the medical workers are, wearing those suits all day in such hot weather.

Students of Hai Duong Medical Technical University take samples of people in a residential area in Bac Giang for COVID-19 testing. Photo courtesy of Ngo Gia Long

Long said it is the selfless dedication of the doctors and medical students that deeply touches his heart.

He added: They are so enthusiastic, responsible and selfless. Some were too tired and fainted, and needed medical care, some had pains and were asked to stay home but were still determined to carry on working.

It just touches my heart.

Despite the hardship, both Long and Ha are determined to continue their voluntary work no matter how long it takes.

Nguyen Thi Ha prepares meals for medical workers and students. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Thi Ha

Ha said sometimes after a day of hard work, doctors, students from Hai Duong and the volunteers in Has group sit around, talking and singing together to forget all the tiredness.

It was fun and cheered us up, she said.

Long added: We receive compliments and thanks from the medical workers that we are supporting. It makes us happy and we want to contribute more.

Making best use of the time there, the young photographer has also used his professional skills to produce video clips and pictures capturing the best moments of medical workers and voluntary students at work to present them as thank-you gifts.

Like everyone else, his biggest wish now is that the pandemic is soon brought under control so that life can return to normal.

I will take one or two days to rest, or maybe go on a short vacation before resuming my work, Long said.

For Ha, it is simpler.

I may just drive my motorbike around the city as I often did. I miss Bac Giangs wind so much, she said.

Thousands of people volunteer Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Minister of Health, head of the Special Standing Team of the Ministry of Health in Bac Giang, said as of May 29, there have been about 1,400 medical staff, including civil, military and police medical workers, and students of medical and pharmaceutical universities and colleges participating in all fronts of pandemic prevention and control in Bac Giang Province. According to the Ministry of Health, after a call for voluntary support from Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on May 27, about 26,000 people who are officials, lecturers, and students of 37 medical and pharmaceutical universities and colleges across the country have registered to be volunteers in the fight against COVID-19 in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces.

VNS

300,000 workers in two provinces to receive Covid-19 vaccinations The two northern provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, Vietnams largest Covid-19 hotspots, have received 300,000 doses of vaccine for 300,000 workers in industrial parks. Vaccinations started on May 27.
Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian stood eagerly waiting for Rosalyn Baldwin, an 11-year-old from Hammond, Louisiana, to arrive at the Waco Police Department on Friday to greet her with open arms.

Sure enough, Rosalyn, who is on a mission to hug as many law enforcement officers across the country as possible, arrived at the station and ran to Victorians arms, and the chief embraced the young girl in a big bear hug.

It was unexpected but it felt so good. I teared up a little bit, Victorian said. The embrace was genuine and sincere and it meant a lot to me.

Rosalyn was 6 when she decided to show her support for the men and women in uniform and began traveling across the country with her family with the goal of hugging as many police officers as her little arms could wrap around. She calls the campaign a Hug for Love.

Angie Baldwin, Rosalyns mother, said the calling came from God after Rosalyn learned about officers in Dallas who were ambushed by a sniper in 2016, killing five of them; as well as the story of a local officer who had died in the line of duty.

God has been with her. It is truly Gods blessing and anointing on her life, Angie Baldwin said. He told us to go and He would provide, and He is providing.
For most students, the end of classes is reward enough for finishing the school year, but for some Waco Independent School District students, the final days of classes mean a prize payoff as the district aims to stem a pandemic-induced slide in attendance.

A new bicycle may be in the cards, or maybe AirPods wireless earphones, games, sporting equipment, book sets or a high school class cookout.

The prizes  or in many cases, inclusion in a drawing to win one  will go to students whose perfect attendance the last six weeks of school helped the district earn its prize: its full share of state funding tied to attendance.

COVID-19 disruptions from absences due to illness or quarantines, campus closures and a high number of students online scrambled attendance this school year for districts across the state. As a result, the Texas Education Agency modified its attendance rules on which much state funding depends.

Districts that hit certain attendance levels at specified times through the year could avoid the financial penalty for what in a non-COVID-19 year would be a drastically lower number of students on campus. Heading into the final half of the school year, Waco ISD administrators worried lower attendance could put as much as $5.5 million in state funding at risk.
Interestingly, Jesus never used the term Christian. In fact the term is only found three times in the Bible, and twice it is used by non-believers. Jesus chose to speak about disciples. He said, Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27). If you continue in my word then you are truly disciples of mine. (John 8:31). By this shall all men know you are my disciples, that you have love for one another. (John 13:35). My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (John 15:8). Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19).
 Flash

Nepal's drug regulator has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech for emergency use in the country, which is suffering from a deadly second wave of the pandemic.

It is the second Chinese vaccine to have got approval from the Department of Drug Administration for emergency use in Nepal.

Nepal has already granted approval to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd, under Sinopharm, for emergency use in Nepal.

"It is to notify to all concerned that the conditional permission has been granted for emergency use authorization of COVDI-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell) Inactivated (CoronaVac) manufactured by Sinovac Life Sciences Co. Ltd in Nepal," said a statement issued by the department on Friday.

According to the department, the vaccine was approved for immunization of individuals aged 18 or above.

Bharat Bhattarai, director general of the department, told Xinhua on Saturday that the authorization was granted to Sinovac after the regulator completed the study of the data provided by the Chinese company.

"It is also the last vaccine to get regulatory approval from the department. We have not received an application from any additional company for approval at the moment," said Bhattarai.

On June 1, the World Health Organization validated the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use for people 18 years and older.

In face of the raging coronavirus, Nepal has only got 2 percent of its some 30 million population administered twice for now as there is a short supply of vaccines, according to the Health Ministry.

As of Friday, the South Asian nation had recorded 581,560 confirmed COVID-19 infections and a death toll of 7,731.
Urban Legends Tactical Laser Tag will be available at $5 for a 10-minute session.

Anyone interested should bring items for the pinstriper to paint on. Suggested items include helmet, engine parts, car, truck, motorcycle, guitar, laptop, toolbox, phone case, etc.

For more information, call 254-498-2020.

Master Gardener hotline open

The McLennan County Master Gardeners are available for gardening questions at the McLennan County Texas A&M Agrilife Extension office.

Call 254-757-5180 and ask for the Master Gardeners extension. The service is available from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

If no answer, leave a message and the call will be returned.

Hillsboro art festival

The Bonds Alley Art Festival will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in downtown Hillsboro.

The free event is hosted by Hillsboro Main Street. It will feature a food court, artisan displays selected by jury and booth displays along West Elm Street and South Covington Street.

Downtown merchants will also be featuring sidewalk sales during the festival.

For more information, call Chris Moore at 254-582-5499.

Submit printed or typed items to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco, 76702-2588; fax 757-0302; or email goingson@wacotrib.com.
The registration fee is $75 per child, in addition to session fees. Camps take place from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, on the following dates: Session 1 is June 14-July 2, $195; Session 2 is July 6-20, $260; and Session 3 is Aug. 2-20, $195.

To register, call Bledsoe-Miller at 254-750-8684; Dewey at 254-750-8677; or South Waco at 254-750-8650.

Business 77 at I-35 closure

The Texas Department of Transportation plans to close all lanes of Business 77 where they cross under Interstate 35 next week to remove the northbound I-35 overpass. Eastbound Business 77 will be closed from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday. Westbound Business 77 will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Eastbound drivers on Business 77 will be directed to the southbound frontage road where they can turn around at Forrest Street. Westbound drivers on Business 77 will be directed to the northbound frontage road where they can turn around at Waco Drive/U.S. 84.

Submit printed or typed items to Briefly, P.O. Box 2588, Waco, 76702-2588; fax 757-0302; or email goingson@wacotrib.com.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom played gameshow host Friday in a drawing for 15 winners of $50,000 prizes for getting vaccinated against the coronavirus.

If youre on the fence, if youre just a little bit hesitant or you just were unwilling in the past but all the sudden you think, Wait a sec, I could really use $50,000,' were doing all of this to encourage that and to get you to think anew and hopefully act anew," Newsom said at the California State Lottery headquarters, where he was flanked by a machine used to randomly choose winners and a Wheel of Fortune-style colored wheel for show.

It was the first in a series of drawings for $16.5 million in prize money aimed at encouraging Californians to get their shots ahead of June 15, when the state plans to lift almost all virus-related restrictions. So far, 67% of eligible people 12 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The state's goal is to fully vaccinate at least 75% of people.

Newsom announced the prize money last week, warning the state's vaccination rates were about to go off a cliff without an intervention. State officials said vaccine rates had dropped at the time by 18% from the week before.
DETROIT (AP)  The University of Michigan will keep the name of a prominent Michigan Republican on a campus building despite his description of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and two other Democrats as witches.

President Mark Schlissel said he shares the disgust over Ron Weiser's misogynistic and violent comments. But he also noted that Weiser has done much good and that the naming of a building was part of a donation agreement.

It is important to all those who enter into agreements with the university that we maintain our reputation for honoring our contracts, Schlissel wrote in a Thursday letter to people who want Weiser Hall to be renamed.

In addition, were we to decide to violate the contract and remove his name from a building, we would be obligated to return the associated gift, Schlissel said.

Weiser is chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, a philanthropist and an elected member of the university's governing board.
Apart from Nancy Reagan, there may be no one more responsible for Reagans political success than Spencer, who spent decades as a campaign strategist helping steer the former B-movie actor and long shot to the California governorship and then two terms as president.

Funny, profane and irrepressibly blunt, Spencer was more than a hired hand. He was someone Nancy Reagan and others turned to when Reagan needed prodding or a little straightening-out behind the scenes, and Spencer repaid that intimacy with a code of honor hes kept ever since. Hes one of the few people close to Reagan who never cashed in by writing an insider account; tell-alls, Spencer said, arent his style.

But he doesnt hold back when it comes to Trump, whom Spencer denounced as a demagogue and opportunist utterly lacking in core values or convictions. He sees an issue, Spencer said, and no matter what he believes, he goes where it gets him the most votes.

(In 2016, Spencer couldnt bring himself to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton, so he cast his ballot instead for Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who ran as a Libertarian.)
ATLANTA (AP)  The Biden administration is reevaluating a plan by Georgia officials to overhaul how state residents buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act as federal officials try to boost former President Barack Obamas signature health care law.

In a letter to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services raised concerns about the state's proposal to have the private sector, not the government, engage in outreach to get state residents to sign up for insurance under the ACA.

In its application, Georgia neither quantified the size of the expected investment by the private sector nor indicated any specific commitments by the private sector to engage in outreach and marketing, the letter sent Thursday said.

It asked the governor to reassess his plan to bypass healthcare.gov and have residents shop for federally subsidized health insurance through private agents. Former President Donald Trump's administration approved that plan last year, and state officials have touted it as a way to boost insurance coverage.

A spokeswoman for the governor's office, Mallory Blount, said Friday that the letter was still being reviewed.
Two Texas cities will elect a mayor Saturday. These runoff elections were necessitated when no candidate received a majority of the vote in the all-party primaries held on May 1.

Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.

City rankings are based on July 1, 2020 Census Bureau population estimates. They are for the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area.

Fort Worth

Fort Worth is the 12th largest city in the United States, with a population of about 925,000. The current mayor is Republican Betsy Price, who did not seek a 6th two-year term. Advancing to the runoff were Deborah Peoples and Mattie Parker, who received 34% and 31% of the vote, respectively, on May 1.

Peoples was formerly chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, while Parker was chief of staff for the current mayor. While the race is officially nonpartisan (NPA), endorsements have been largely along party lines, with GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Price endorsing Parker. Peoples has received the endorsement of long-time Democratic U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson as well as numerous progressive groups.

The Dallas Morning News has an overview of the runoff and how the candidates are positioned on issues.

Arlington

Arlington is the 49th largest city in the United States, with a population of about 400,000. The current mayor is Republican Jeff Williams, who won a third two-year term in 2019. He was unable to run due to term limits. Advancing to the runoff were Attorney Jim Ross and former councilman Michael Glaspie. Ross finished well ahead of the seven-person field on May 1, receiving 48% of the vote. Glaspie saw 21% support.

All five of the candidates that did not advance to the runoff have endorsed Glaspie. Ross has the endorsement of Williams.

Upcoming June 8
WENN Movie

The 'Kill Bill' director is worried that his next movie, which will be his last project as a director, will be horrible so he contemplates dropping the film.

Jun 5, 2021

AceShowbiz - Quentin Tarantino fears his last movie will be his worst.

The "Kill Bill" director has made no secret that his next film will be his last at the helm but he admits he's a little concerned by the "curse" that directors' last movies are always "horrible."

"Most directors have horrible last movies," he said during an interview on the "[t=Pure Cinema}" Podcast. "Usually their worst movies are their last movies. That's the case for most of the Golden Age directors that ended up making their last movies in the late '60s and the '70s, then that ended up being the case for most of the New Hollywood directors who made their last movies in the late '80s and the '90s. So to actually end your career on a decent movie is rare. To end it with, like, a good movie is kind of phenomenal."

Tarantino's most recent release was "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and he admits he would be bowing out on the hit movie.

"I mean, most directors' last films are f**king lousy  maybe I should not make another movie because I could be really happy with dropping the mic," he added.

The filmmaker previously said family was behind his decision to retire from directing movies.

He married wife Daniella Pick in November 2018 and they welcomed their first child, a baby boy, in February 2020.
Instagram Celebrity

The 'Boyz n the Hood' actor loses a legal battle over claims of assault and battery after his accuser has been awarded a default judgement to settle the case.

Jun 5, 2021

AceShowbiz - A female bartender who accused Cuba Gooding Jr. of groping her backside has been awarded a default judgement against the embattled star.

Natasha Ashworth launched legal action in late 2019, claiming she was working at TAO Downtown Nightclub in New York in October 2018 when Cuba made an inappropriate joke about a penis and later reportedly grabbed her butt.

She confronted the actor, who insisted he touched her lower back and, when Ashworth suggested he should leave, he is said to have replied, "You don't have to worry, because I am never coming back here again."

She sued for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but Gooding, Jr.'s criminal defence attorney Mark Heller dismissed the claims as "baseless."

However, it appears the actor failed to assign a civil attorney to formally respond to the case and, in January (21), Ashworth requested a default judgement to settle the suit.

On Wednesday (03Jun21), Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Alexander Tisch granted the motion on the claims of assault and battery, but declined to award the same judgement for the charge of infliction of emotional distress, citing redundancy, reports the New York Post.

A trial is expected to now be set to help determine damages for Ashworth, but Heller has again brushed off the accusations, declaring, "The claim is baseless and the judgment is worthless."

Heller is currently representing the actor in his upcoming criminal trial on misdemeanour sexual abuse and forcible touching charges, relating to the allegations of Ashworth and two other accusers. He has denied the charges.

Gooding, Jr.'s legal woes also include an accusation of rape following an alleged encounter with another female in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. The woman, only identified as Jane Doe, filed a civil suit in August.
Instagram Celebrity

The Drake Parker depicter on 'Drake and Josh', meanwhile, pleads not guilty after he is charged with attempted endangering children and disseminating harmful matter to juveniles.

Jun 5, 2021

AceShowbiz - Drake Bell's ex-girlfriend has weighed in on his child endangerment arrest. Melissa Lingafelt, who previously accused the "Drake and Josh" alum of abuse and pedophilia, took to social media to offer her two cents regarding the matter.

The 30-year-old musician, who goes by the stage name Jimi Ono, made use of Instagram Story on Friday, June 4 to share a screenshot of various news outlets' coverage of the arrest. Alongside the snap, she wrote, "Not gonna be like told you so, but......"

Melissa continued to unveil a DM from a fan that read, "Here in Mexico there is no news about that, but I hope he goes to jail and stays there for a while. He is some kind of God for speaking Spanish and doing cultural appropriation." Responding to the message, she penned, "Good to know. The country he is most popular in isn't broadcasting his pedo charges."

Melissa Lingafelt addressed ex Drake Bell's child endangerment arrest.

This came after reports about Drake's arrest for attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles hit media headlines. The alleged incident happened on December 1, 2017, the same day when he was set to perform at a club in Cleveland. Local station Fox 8 News additionally reported that the 34-year-old had an inappropriate chat with the unnamed victim.

Drake, who was indicted on May 21, maintained his innocence by entering a not guilty plea when appearing in a Cuyahoga County court in Ohio. He also posted a $2,500 bond on conditions he would not have no contact with his alleged victim. He is now scheduled to appear in a hearing on June 23.

In August 2020, Drake was called out by Melissa for allegedly abusing her when they were dating. "I started dating Drake when I was sixteen. I was homeschooled, I moved in with him. I was singing," she recalled in a TikTok video. "It wasn't until about a year when the verbal abuse started, and when I say verbal abuse, imagine the worst type of verbal abuse you could imagine and that's what I got."

"It then turned to physical - hitting, throwing, everything...At the pinnacle of it, he drug (sic) me down the stairs of our house on Los Feliz. My face hit every step on the way down," the artist further elaborated. "I have photos of this."

Drake, however, already shut down the accusations. "I never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video," he said in a statement. "As our relationship ended - more than a decade ago - we, unfortunately, both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up... But that is it."
Instagram Celebrity

Travis Villalobos, Richard Murphy, and Matthew Gale have all been accused of breaking into an apartment building leased for one of the 'In Da Club' hitmaker's companies.

Jun 5, 2021

AceShowbiz - Three men have been arrested on suspicion of stealing $3 million (2.1 million) in cash and jewellery from a New Jersey business owned by 50 Cent.

Travis Villalobos, Richard Murphy, and Matthew Gale stand accused of breaking into an apartment building leased for one of the "In Da Club" hitmaker's companies in early 2021, and making off with a haul of cash and valuables.

According to prosecutors, Cliffside Park Police Department officials were called to the location on the eve of the heist, when they recovered a stolen vehicle, which was eventually tied to the burglary, thanks to surveillance footage.

About the incident, prosecutors was quoted by TMZ as saying, "At the time the suspects were in the unit, police drove by but did not realize the individuals were still inside." They added, "The entire matter was caught on surveillance cameras."

The three males have since been arrested and charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, receiving stolen property, and criminal mischief. The arrest came after around six months of investigation.

Fiddy has yet to comment on the arrest as he seemed to be focusing himself on his work. Just days earlier, the rapper whose real name is Curtis Jackson shared his thought on his potential involvement in Pop Smoke's next posthumous album.

In a chat with Kris Kaylin, Fiddy spilled, "Steven [Victor] was originally Pop's manager and the label person that he was signed to. He talked to me about the new record, and I'm not sure if I'll participate with this, that record." He added, "I just wanted to make sure that his record did what it was supposed to."
WENN/Nicky Nelson/Instar Celebrity

In a sneak peek of an upcoming interview with Australia's '60 Minutes', the former 'Good Morning Britain' anchor claims 'freedom of speech is actually more important than the Meghan Markle debacle.'

Jun 5, 2021

AceShowbiz - Piers Morgan still has some words to say to Meghan Markle. Months after calling out the Duchess of Sussex over her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, the former "Good Morning Britain" anchor slammed her once again for her "downright lies."

The 56-year-old discussed his feud with Meghan in a sneak peek of an interview with Australia's "60 Minutes", which will air on Sunday, June 6. When addressing her claim that she and Prince Harry were secretly married three days before the official ceremony, he argued, "They were downright lies."

"I don't believe a word she says," the English broadcaster further told host Karl Stefanovic. "That [ceremony] would make the Archbishop of Canterbury a criminal."

During the chat, Piers couldn't help but laugh when Karl branded him "an angry old man." He then fired back to insist, "Freedom of speech is actually more important than the Meghan Markle debacle."

Viewers might find it odd that Piers sat down with Karl, who slammed him in 2018 for accusing Meghan of pretending to be in love with Harry. "I think that's disgraceful," Karl said of Piers' comment. "I think she is an amazing, amazing woman. I think she is doing her very best at the moment, and she's got a lot on her plate. Shes doing it so beautifully. She's such a great export for Great Britain."

"I mean, what is that guy on? He's lost the plot completely," the Nine Network presenter went on. "I don't know how his poor co-host puts up with it. Imagine putting up with a dude like that who is so up himself and so egotistical that he would assume to say those things about her?"

Piers himself left "Good Morning Britain" in March this year after he said he didn't believe Meghan's suicidal claims in her interview with Oprah. "I don't believe a word she says, Meghan Markle. I wouldn't believe her if she read me a weather report," he declared at that time.
WENN/News Pictures Celebrity

Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, also defends Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who famously asked the TV personality what she did for a living when she attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding.

Jun 5, 2021

AceShowbiz - Is it a shade? British royal family members, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, claimed in a new interviw with The Telegraph that they had no idea who Oprah Winfrey, who hosted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell inteview back in March, is.

During the new interview, Prince Edward and Sophie were asked about the high-profile interview, though they seemed to be refusing to comment on it in details. "Oprah, who?" Prince Edward replied. Meanwhile, the Countess added with a laugh, "What interview?"

Sophie also discussed Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who famously asked the TV personality what she did for a living when she attended Harry and Meghan's wedding. Defending the Archbishop, Sophie said, "You know, if you're not into chat shows, there's no reason why you should know who she is. Certainly not in this country, anyway."

Meghan and Prince Harry made headlines in March after they spoke against the British royal family in the interview with Oprah. The Duchess of Sussex revealed that she experienced racism from the family, explaining that there were "concerns and conversations" about how dark their son's skin might be when she was pregnant with their firstborn Archie. She also revealed that all the stress and media scrutiny made her suicidal at the time.

That made Harry better equipped to help a suicidal person and learn to listen more. Speaking to Oprah in a new bonus episode of their Apple TV+ show "The Me You Can't See", the Duke said, "So many people are afraid of being on the receiving end of that conversation (from a suicidal person) because they don't feel like they have the right tools to give the right advice."

"But what you want to say is 'You're there.' Listen, because listening and being part of that conversation is without doubt the best first step that you can take," he said.
Instagram Celebrity

When making an appearance on 'The Issue Is', the retired Olympic gold medal-winning opens up to host Elex Michaelson that coming out as a transgender 'was easier' than talking about her governor run.

Jun 5, 2021

AceShowbiz - Caitlyn Jenner has spoken out about how her family, including the KarJenner, reacted to her run for California governor. When making an appearance on "The Issue Is" on Friday, June 4, the former "I Am Cait" star revealed that it was "tougher" for her to tell her family that she is a Republican than a transgender.

When sitting down with Elex Michaelson, the former athlete was asked if Kim Kardashian, who advised former President Donald Trump on criminal justice reform, was going to be an adviser to her on the important issue. She replied and laughed, "One thing, and I've talked to all my family about running for governor and to be honest with you, it was easier to come out as trans than as a Republican candidate for governor." She then pointed out, "It was a lot tougher to sell."

Caitlyn herself announced her bid to run against Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who faces a recall election, back in April on Twitter, writing, "I'm in! California is worth fighting for." At the time, she also shared an official press release in which she blasted Gavin for enforcing an "over-restrictive lockdown" to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

"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," Caitlyn said in the statement. The 71-year-old added, "Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision. I have been a compassionate disrupter throughout my life, from representing the United States and winning a gold medal at the Olympics to helping advance the movement for equality."

A month ago, Caitlyn released her first campaign video. In the clip, she promoted her goal to restore the Californian dream and took a jab at "career politicians" Gavin and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The former spouse of Kris Jenner also dubbed them "elitists." Calling them out, she showed footage of Nancy breaking COVID protocols by visiting a hair salon without a mask and a photo of Gavin being present at a large dinner party, where guests weren't wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

Caitlyn showed off her trophies and Olympic gold medal in the nearly 3-minute ad video. "I've always been a dreamer," she said in the clip. As old footage took over, she continued her narration, "California was once the envy of the world, we had what everyone else wanted. the American dream grew up here."

Elsewhere in the video, the father of Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner also blamed politicians and their policies for shattering the dream. "The government is now involved in every part of our lives," she strongly declared. "They've taken our money, our jobs, and our freedom. California needs a disrupter - a compassionate disrupter!"
ABC Movie

The former movie co-stars are set to reteam for a special screening and a question and answer session with fans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their classic movie.

Jun 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are reteaming to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their cult film classic "Thelma & Louise".

The Oscar-winning 1991 movie, directed by Brit Ridley Scott, features the two actresses as best friends embarking on a wild American road trip, during which Louise, portrayed by Sarandon, kills a man who was trying to rape her pal, Thelma, played by Davis, ultimately leading to further tragedy.

The film, which really struck a chord with audiences for its themes of female empowerment, is also notable for an early, and memorable, screen appearance by Brad Pitt, who plays a sexy thief who captures the heart of Davis' character.

Now Susan and Geena will host a special drive-in screening to commemorate the milestone, in conjunction with Cinespia's Drive In bosses, at Los Angeles' iconic Greek Theatre - and the pair will also sit down for a question and answer session about the movie.

In a statement obtained by Deadline, Geena says, "What was so striking was the intense reaction to the film. Thelma and Louise end up driving off a cliff, and still viewers felt exhilarated by their story. It made me realize how few opportunities we give women to come out of a movie feeling inspired and empowered by the female characters. It changed everything about how I chose roles moving forward."

Sarandon, meanwhile, adds, "When we were filming Thelma & Louise 30 years ago, we had no idea the kind of cultural impact it would continue to have for decades."

"At the time, it was revolutionary to have two women in a film that weren't enemies and were having fun together on screen. I think that's been one of the biggest breakthroughs - today there are so many brilliant female actors making films where women aren't adversarial to each other and have the power to determine their own destiny."

Proceeds from the event will benefit the LA Regional Food Bank and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.
WENN/Instagram Movie

The '12 Years a Slave' actress is tapped to narrate a documentary special about the life and legacy of Peanuts creator while CNN will debut a documentary about late author Jackie Collins.

Jun 6, 2021

AceShowbiz - Actress Lupita Nyong'o is helping to celebrate the life and legacy of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz in a documentary special.

The "Black Panther" star will narrate "Who Are You, Charlie Brown?", which will explore the origins of the famed comic strip characters and feature appearances from the animator's widow, Jean Schulz, as well as stars like Drew Barrymore, Kevin Smith, Noah Schnapp, and Paul Feig, among others.

A new animated story about Charlie Brown's quest for self-discovery will also be interwoven throughout the programme, reports Deadline.

The show, co-executive produced by Ron Howard and Brain Grazer, will debut on AppleTV+ on 25 June (21).

Also getting a documentary is Jackie Collins. The late author is to be the subject of a new CNN documentary.

"Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story" will debut on the news channel on 27 June (21).

Directed by Laurie Fairrie, the film takes its title from one of Collins' 32 novels and features family photographs, home movies, and excerpts from the writer's personal diaries.

"Fairrie follows Collins through her final days, including a determined return to London for a farewell to her beloved siblings, actress Joan and Bill, her sister-in-law, Hazel, and her close circle of business confidants," a CNN statement reads. "During that London visit, most did not realize Collins was in her final days of breast cancer, and had secretly lived with the devastating disease for six years."

"Along the way, Fairrie interweaves interviews with Collins' cherished daughters, Tiffany, Tracy, and Rory, and dearest friends, to yield a sometimes surprisingly vulnerable portrait of a relatable and complex woman, behind the fan-craved chronicles of Hollywood scandals and sex."
CHICO, Calif. - As the state drops its mask mandate this month it is still unclear if students are able to get rid of their masks come the fall semester.

To mask-up or not to mask-up is a popular question for students at Chico State.

"It definitely is confusing just because I obviously don't want to get in trouble if I go on campus without mask, said Chico State student Sara Mitrano.

"I think it is just really confusing and they should just let us know if we are going to be required to wear a mask or not, said Chico State student Esmeralda Mejia.

The university says it doesn't know what it is doing just yet due to unclear guidance it received from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

"After what they put out from last night, nothing changes from now until June 15, said Director for Emergency Operations Michael Guzzi. But we potentially have some options from distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated after June 15."

RELATED: Californians can soon go maskless at work -- if every worker in a room is fully vaccinated, safety board says

"They shouldn't require it because you can hardly hear people with a mask and being a classroom it will be a lot harder, said Mejia.

"I would definitely be uncomfortable, said Mitrano. It is just not normal to wear a mask sitting in a classroom."

The university conducted a survey that showed 78% of students and faculty will be fully vaccinated for the fall semester.

"It's a very encouraging number, said Guzzi. We are very excited about that data and we will continue to try and make some risk-based decisions off that data moving forward."

"Everyone has a choice if they should be vaccinated or not but I think that in order to go back fully in person, they are going to want to see most of the student body vaccinated, said Mitrano.

Approximately 65% of classes will have an in-person element for the fall semester.
CHICO, Calif. - Some relief for bars and restaurants that have been struggling over the past year, they will be able to keep their outdoor dining parklets longer, they will also still be able to offer alcohol drinks to-go.

Places like Duffys Tavern in downtown Chico is one of the businesses that has been using a parklet.

Businesses in California will still be able to offer to-go drinks to help restaurants and bars emerge from the pandemic. Businesses in California will still be able to offer to-go drinks to help restaurants and bars emerge from the pandemic.

Owner, Doug Roberts said this barricade has been critical in helping keep his doors open.

Thursday, Governor Newsom announced that he is expanding outdoor dining parklets and alcohol to-go to help struggling restaurants and bars as the state emerges from the pandemic.

Roberts said it was a long process to get the permit and to set all this up and get it going and hed like to keep the outdoor space as long as possible.

Its been really critical," Roberts said. "Its made all the difference in the world, had we stuck to the original plan, had we stuck to the 6 foot distancing with the tables inside it would have not had enough capacity to stay open. Having the parklet made the difference between being open and not being open.

The Downtown Chico Business Association (DCBA) said right now there are no plans to get rid of the parklets anytime soon.

The concrete barriers that have been lent to them but ideally theyd like to figure out a way to build more permanent outdoor structures.

There are around 10 of these in Downtown Chico.

The DCBA said these parklets have been a great asset to these businesses and they are looking into ways they can make them permanent here in downtown.

They said right now they dont have all the details about what that would look like but the city is in the process of adding a long parklet in front of The Banshee, Naked Lounge and Aonami's on Second Street.

Tres Hombres general manager Javier Franco said the ability to sell their drinks to-go helped them survive when the pandemic first hit.

"It definitely took off at the beginning of the pandemic when we weren't allowed to have anyone and had to be a take-out restaurant that was something that allowed us to continue to operate as a business," Franco said.

Governor Newsom said even though to-go alcohol sales will be able to continue they must be coupled with food purchases.
RED BLUFF, Calif. - A three-day spree of power outages in Red Bluff have people frustrated and concerned about the hot months ahead.

PG&E told Action News Now that the power outages were due to capacity issues and a higher demand brought on by the heat, but people living in northeast Red Bluff and up and down St. Marys Avenue still have questions.

"I am wondering is this going to happen every day of the week? said Steve Paulissen, who lost power in Red Bluff.

The three consecutive days of blackouts occurred from around 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

"No water here because we are on a community well, you just can't plan, said Paulissen.

Not being able to plan made it difficult for neighbors.

"Typically if we have a warning we'll fill our bath tub up with water, said Scott Isaacson, who also lost power in Red Bluff.

Action News Now asked Paul Moreno, spokesman for PG&E, that if there was not a remedy found on Monday did they anticipate that there were going to be more outages on Tuesday and Wednesday?

We did look, yes, said Moreno. We looked at the temperature, we looked at the load forecast and we looked for ways to work around and try to avoid that. We did find a solution, unfortunately we couldn't implement that solution more quickly."

Neighbors wish they were told sooner.

"It would have been good to get notified because we were kind of in the dark so to speak, said Isaacson.

PG&E did ultimately notify people before Wednesdays blackout and worked through the night to solve the problem.

"We installed a cable so that we could provide more capacity to that neighborhood and bring things back to a normal condition, said Moreno.

A total of 168 people lost power on Monday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday 694 more people lost power.

What can people expect for the rest of this hot summer ahead?

"We want to strive to do better. We do apologize for the situation and we yes, we could have done a better job about proactively communicating to our customers about the situation, but we couldn't predict what was going to be happening each day," said Moreno.

Since PG&E did fix the cable, they do not anticipate more power outages happening in this area, but neighbors living on this street still have their concerns.

"When the real heat comes and the real wind comes are we going to have our power? I am just hoping they fixed everything, said Paulissen.
Update Tuesday, June 8, 2021: Firefighters have determined the fire was caused by an escaped campfire in the area of an illegal encampment, according to the Shasta Trinity CAL FIRE unit.

CAL FIRE said no one has been arrested.

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Updated 5:35 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2021 - According to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office all of the evacuations for the River Fire have been lifted and all roads are now open.

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Updated 5:15 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2021 - Bartel Street remains under a mandatory evacuation order due to the large fire crew working in the area. Residents of all over evacuated streets are now allowed to return home.

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Updated 3:23 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2021 - The River Fire is 20-percent contained at this time. According to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, the fire burned seven acres. The Sheriff's Office reports that 40-45 homes have been evacuated from a neighborhood behind the Pit River Casino. They said no structures have been damaged from this fire at this time.

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Updated 2:35 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2021 - Hard road closures are now established at Bartel Street, Sapphire and Bartel Street, and at Park Avenue due to the River Fire. Only law enforcement and firefighting personnel are being allowed in the area.

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Updated 2:21 p.m. Saturday, June 5, 2021 - Mandatory evacuations have been ordered by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office for Park Avenue to Mowry Lane in Burney.

Just ten minutes prior to that evacuation order the Shasta County Sheriff's Office shared that mandatory evacuations were in place for Park Avenue from Pit River Casino to Bartel Street and also for the west side of Bartel Street.

Evacuation advisories had been issued for Park Avenue, Sapphire Road, and Galena Circle. Since then part of Park Avenue (to Mowry Lane) has turned into an evacuation order. Sapphire Road and Galena Circle remain as evacuation advisories.

All evacuees are asked to go to Burney High School for shelter. The address of the high school is 37571 Mountain View Road in Burney, California.

According to the Sheriff's Office, their Shasta County Search and Rescue division is assisting with evacuations.

Road closures are being operated by the Shasta County Department of Public Works and the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

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BURNEY, Calif.  CAL FIREs Shasta-Trinity Unit has reported the River Fire. By 1:40 p.m. it had burned four or five acres in Burney. It was first reported at 12:42 p.m. on Saturday.

A spokesperson for CAL FIRE said there are evacuations taking place at this time behind the Pit River Casino.

Action News Now is reaching out to the Shasta County Sheriffs Office to get official details about the evacuations.

Please check this article periodically for official updates concerning the River Fire.
On World Environment Day the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) has released a video that chronicles the journey of its widely acclaimed Olive Crown Awards.

Says IAA President Megha Tata, "On World Environment Day the India Chapter of the IAA looks back with satisfaction and looks ahead with confidence at its own special, ongoing tribute to the environment space.

The Olive Crown Awards.

12 years old, this is an initiative that salutes creativity in communicating sustainability. And acknowledges the efforts of those valiant Green Warriors who are committed to do their bit for Brand Earth.

We've had amazing people joining hands with us on this journey. From Mystics to Ministers. Film stars to climate activists. And all industry leaders. We've also had committed jury members and the whole hearted participation of the entire Marcom community.

We've run it as a cause, and are looking forward to releasing this year's award winners list at an appropriate time very soon."
Among the greatest actresses of any generation, icon for the importance of self-belief, and activist for change - LOreal Paris is thrilled to announce Kate Winslet as global ambassador: to share the mission for women: never doubt yourself; were all worth it.

SHAPING HER OWN DESTINY

After soaring to fame aboard the biggest blockbuster of its time, Titanic, Hollywood came calling for 21-year-old Kate Winslet. Instead, the young actress chose meaningful roles for which she felt a personal connection, and which show women in their full, complex humanity. Determined to be her characters rather than act, from playing a woman who has her boyfriends memories erased in the breakout hit Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, an unlikable mother in Little Children or a restless wife in Revolutionary Road, she developed the range and versatility that would make her performances both critically and commercially acclaimed. She became the youngest, most Oscar-nominated actress by her early thirties, winning her first Academy Award for The Reader in 2008.

Utterly committed to her craft, her superhuman capacity to perform her own stunts, include recently learning to freedive for her upcoming role in Avatar 2. She held her breath underwater for more than 7 minutes for the film, which sees her reunited with Titanic director James Cameron.

LIFTING WOMENS VOICES

Kate Winslet is passionate about portraying women whose stories have never been told on-screen, returning long erased women to their rightful place in history. In her most recent role, Ammonite, the second feature from director Francis Lee, she tells the untold history of trailblazing fossil hunter Mary Anning. Kate Winslet plays the role of Anning, whose discoveries of the most important fossils of the 19th Century were reappropriated by her male peers.

Talking about the announcement Kate Winslet, Global Ambassador, LOreal Paris said, Its taken work to get to a place where I make no apology for who I am, where I accept my flaws. Im delighted to join the LOreal Paris sisterhood to say: it takes courage and strength to believe that you are worth it. Sometimes, you may not feel worth it at all... We all have moments like that, and that is what makes us all human. But the more you say these words and believe in everything that you truly are, and however you identify, then with time and belief in yourself, you too will feel worth it.

Adding to it Delphine Viguier-Hovasse Global Brand President LOreal Paris said, Kate Winslet is a true icon  in film and as a strong woman  an empowering voice in our mission at LOreal Paris: believe in yourself so the next generation doesnt doubt it for a moment. With her talent for elevating womens stories and supporting those without a voice  Kate Winslet shares our reason for being at LOreal Paris. To encourage women to know their worth, celebrate their beauty and dare to be themselves.

FROM SELF-DOUBT TO SELF-WORTH

Kate Winslet shares her journey from self-doubt to self-acceptance with an openness that inspires. Dedicating one of her many awards to all the girls who are doubting themselves the actress is a vocal, confident advocate for positive self-worth.

A trusted mentor for the next generation, the actress is starring in and executive producing the critically acclaimed series Mare of Easttown for HBO, where she plays a small-town detective investigating a local murder.

GIVING VOICE TO THE VOICELESS

Kate Winslet shines her star on causes close to the values LOreal Paris stands for: equal rights, feminism, inclusivity and sustainability.

In life, as in art, she supports womens rights. As domestic violence skyrocketed during lockdown, the actress joined UN Women to narrate their global Shadow Pandemic campaign to encourage people to check in on at-risk women. She also works for a world where no woman dies of ovarian cancer, by supporting Ovarian Cancer Action. An advocate for disadvantaged children, she is a founder of the Golden Hat Foundation, which campaigns to shift attitudes towards people on the autism spectrum. And for the charity, Cardboard Citizens she advocates to change perceptions of homeless people through theatre. Her environmental actions include support for The Word Forest Organisation, which works to plant trees, facilitate education, and support a womens empowerment group in Kenya. And she walks the talk on environmentalism: cancelling out the carbon emissions that come with her acting career.
This graph from a Kyrene School District survey of 4,595 parents and 1,493 staffers, showed more people were uncomfortable with an optional mask policy for people inside school buildings.